With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: I. Supply-side investments in companies can result in low-carbon behaviour in people. II. People are not capable of adapting low-carbon behaviour without the involvement of Government and Companies. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

CSAT 2025 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2025 · Paper II (CSAT) · Question 42 · Reading comprehension

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Question 42 — Reading comprehension.

Directions for the following 4 (four) items: Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage—1

Over the next 30 years, many countries are promising to move to net-zero carbon, implying that household emissions will have to be cut to close to nothing. A leading climate scientist reckons that, at best, half the reduction might be achieved through demand-side measures, such as behavioural changes by individuals and households. And even that would require companies and governments to provide more incentives to change through supply-side investments to make low-carbon options cheaper and more widely available.

CSAT 2025 · Q42

Reading comprehension X-Ray · Core #1 Medium

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

I.Supply-side investments in companies can result in low-carbon behaviour in people.
II.People are not capable of adapting low-carbon behaviour without the involvement of Government and Companies.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) I only

The author links cheaper, widely available low-carbon options, created through supply-side investment, to changes in household behaviour, so I is assumed. The passage never says people cannot change without Government and companies; it only says change on the required scale needs their incentives.

✓ I The passage says supply-side investments should make low-carbon options 'cheaper and more widely available', and that behavioural change requires such incentives. It takes for granted that supply-side investment can shape people's behaviour.
✗ II The passage is about how much of the reduction behaviour can deliver ('at best, half') and what would help it; it does not say individuals are incapable of changing on their own. 'Not capable' is an extreme claim.

Remember · Separate 'needed for large-scale change' from 'people are incapable'; assumptions that turn a practical need into an absolute inability are invalid.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

Cite this question: UPSC CSE CSAT 2025, Q42 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/csat/2025/q42

In the UPSC syllabus: Reading comprehension › Inference & assumptions See it and tick it covered →

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With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Passage—1

CSAT 2025 · Q42

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