Which of the following assumptions is/are valid?
- 1.Agricultural productivity has marched ahead in the West because of the economies of scale facilitated by the adoption of AI tools.
- 2.Affordable AI tools rendered available in local languages can help AI-based solutions reach more and more small farmers.
- 3.Though penetration is as yet low, critical application areas deploying AI tools are already in use in India.
Select the answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) 2 and 3 only
The passage's recommendations rest on the belief that affordable, local-language AI tools will reach more small farmers, and it notes AI is already being deployed in India for critical uses despite low penetration. It makes no claim that Western farm productivity rose because of AI-driven economies of scale.
- ✗ 1. The passage only says AI tools in the US and Europe 'have started offering precision farming at scale'; it says nothing about productivity having marched ahead because of them.
- ✓ 2. The passage recommends Indian languages-based and affordable AI tools 'for at-scale integration and accessibility' among smallholder farmers.
- ✓ 3. India 'is starting to deploy AI for critical use cases' such as weather forecasting and pest control, though 'penetration is limited'.
Remember · An unstated cause-and-effect claim (X happened because of Y) is invalid unless the passage links the two.
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper II (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·