उपर्युक्त परिच्छेद से निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा सर्वाधिक तर्कसंगत और विवेकपूर्ण निष्कर्ष निकाला जा सकता है?
Read this question in English
Which one of the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?
(a) Rivers and other wetlands should be protected under Ramsar Convention. · (b) Engineering water systems should be modernized and further augmented. · (c) Wetlands need to be reinforced as more than just open sources of water. · (d) Water supply should not be free of cost so as to prevent its misuse or overuse.
उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English
Answer: (c) आर्द्रभूमियों को जल के मुक्त स्रोत के रूप से कहीं अधिक प्रबलित करना चाहिए।
The irony the author points to is that water comes from rivers and wetlands, yet policy treats it as a resource divorced from them and engineers supply instead of strengthening ecosystems. The inference is that wetlands must be seen as ecological systems, not merely as taps of water.
- ✗ (a) The Ramsar Convention is outside the passage; the author criticises how policy views water, not the lack of a treaty listing.
- ✗ (b) This is the very approach the author criticises — engineering to augment supply rather than strengthening ecological systems.
- ✓ (c) Policy fails to 'grasp that it is a part of the natural ecosystem'; recognising wetlands as ecosystems rather than just sources of water answers that failure.
- ✗ (d) Pricing, misuse and overuse of water are not discussed at all.
Remember · Name the author's complaint in one line; the right inference is its remedy, not an outside fact or a policy the passage never discusses.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·