Which of the following conclusions are correct? 1. In the breakaway phase, economic progress is slow for the technology followers. 2. In the catch-up phase, leaders stagnate and followers, therefore, close the gap between them and the leaders. 3. In the fine-tuning phase, technology is exhausted, as it were, and both leaders and followers attempt to extract leftover benefits, leading to more or less similar per capita income levels. 4. Industrial technology followed scavenging, which preceded hunting, which itself was followed by farming. Select the answer using the code given below.

CSAT 2026 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2026 · Question 63 · Reading comprehension

Which of the following conclusions are correct?

Directions for the next 2 (two) items: Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers should be based solely on the passage.

Passage

The process by which countries close their labour-productivity gap with the technology leader is based on convergence theory. The convergence model divides economic eras into three phases: the breakaway, the catch-up, and the fine-tuning phase. It also divides economic entities into two categories: the technology leaders and the technology followers. The process begins with the development of a new technology, such as scavenging three million years ago (MYA), hunting—one MYA, farming—12 thousand years ago, and industrial technology—a little more than 200 years ago. During the breakaway phase, the per capita income of the technology leaders (e.g., Western Europe and North America in the industrial era) rises, but is unchanged for the technology followers. In the catch-up phase, the followers adopt the new technology and close their per capita income gap with the technology leaders. In the fine-tuning phase, where participants try to extract the remaining benefits from an increasingly exhausted technology, leaders and followers have similar per capita incomes.

CSAT 2026 · Q63

Reading comprehension Medium Provisional key

Which of the following conclusions are correct?

1.In the breakaway phase, economic progress is slow for the technology followers.
2.In the catch-up phase, leaders stagnate and followers, therefore, close the gap between them and the leaders.
3.In the fine-tuning phase, technology is exhausted, as it were, and both leaders and followers attempt to extract leftover benefits, leading to more or less similar per capita income levels.
4.Industrial technology followed scavenging, which preceded hunting, which itself was followed by farming.

Select the answer using the code given below.

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 3 and 4 only

The fine-tuning description and the order scavenging → hunting → farming → industry both match the passage. Statement 1 turns 'unchanged' income into 'slow' progress, and statement 2 invents stagnating leaders — the passage says followers catch up by adopting the technology.

✗ 1. The followers' per capita income is 'unchanged' in the breakaway phase — there is no progress, not slow progress.
✗ 2. Followers close the gap because they 'adopt the new technology'; nothing says the leaders stagnate.
✓ 3. Participants 'try to extract the remaining benefits from an increasingly exhausted technology' and incomes become similar.
✓ 4. The dates give scavenging (3 MYA), hunting (1 MYA), farming (12,000 years ago), industry (200 years ago); each link in the statement fits this order.

Remember · 'Unchanged' is not 'slow', and 'followers adopt' is not 'leaders stagnate'; reject statements that add a cause the passage never gives.

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). ·

Which of the following conclusions are correct?

Passage

CSAT 2026 · Q63

More on Reading comprehension