निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा एक कथन, इस परिच्छेद के केन्द्रीय विचार को सर्वोत्तम रूप में प्रतिबिंबित करता है ?
Read this question in English
Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?
(a) Global climate change adversely affects the productivity of crops. · (b) Our total dependence on genetically honed crops entails possible food insecurity. · (c) Our food security should not depend on agricultural productivity alone. · (d) Genetically honed crops should be replaced with their wild varieties in our present cultivation practices.
उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English
Answer: (b) आनुवंशिकतः संशोधित फ़सलों पर हमारी पूर्ण निर्भरता के परिणामस्वरूप खाद्य असुरक्षा होना संभव है ।
The author warns that climate change may spread plant diseases, and that crops bred for high yields have lost the genetic variety needed to cope with change. Depending wholly on these genetically honed crops therefore carries a risk to food security, as (b) says.
- ✗ (a) The passage says the effect of climate change on crop diseases is 'hard to predict'; it speaks of a disease risk, not a definite fall in productivity.
- ✓ (b) Selective breeding has made high-value crops 'spectacular' today but stripped out genetic variation, so a minor or unknown disease 'could suddenly rampage' through them. Relying entirely on such crops puts the food supply at risk.
- ✗ (c) The passage does not discuss what else food security should rest on; its concern is the fragility of genetically honed crops.
- ✗ (d) Replacing honed crops with wild varieties is a drastic prescription the author never makes; the passage even grants that breeding 'is good for yields'.
Remember · The central idea joins the problem to its cause; reject options that overstate certainty or leap to drastic remedies.
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). ·