Comprehension PYQ — Page 11

Being a member of the WTO, India is bound by the agreements that have been signed and ratified by its members, including itself. According to Article 6 of the Agriculture Agreement, providing minimum support prices for agricultural products is considered distorting and is subject to limits. The subsidy arising from 'minimal supports' cannot exceed 10 per cent of the value of agricultural production for developing countries. PDS in India entails minimum support prices and public stockholding of food grains. It is possible that, in some years, the subsidy to producers will exceed 10 per cent of the value of agricultural production. What is the crucial message conveyed by the above passage?

It is no longer enough for us to talk about providing for universal access to education. Making available schooling facilities is an essential prerequisite, but is- insufficient to ensure that all children attend school and participate in the learning process. The school may be there, but children may not attend or they may drop out after a few months. Through school and social mapping, we must address the entire gamut of social, economic, cultural and indeed linguistic and pedagogic issues, factors that prevent children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, as also girls, from regularly attending and complementing elementary education. The focus must be on the poorest and most vulnerable since these groups are the most disempowered and at the greatest risk of violation or denial of their right to education. The right to education goes beyond free and compulsory education to include quality education for all. Quality is an integral part of the right to education. If the education process lacks quality, children are being denied their right. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act lays down that the curriculum should provide for learning through activities, exploration and discovery. This places an obligation on us to change our perception of children as passive receivers of knowledge, and to move beyond the convention of using textbooks as the basis of examinations. The teaching-learning process must become stress-free; and a massive programme for curricular reform should be initiated to provide fora child-friendly learning system, that is more relevant and empowering. Teacher accountability systems and processes must ensure that children are learning, and that their right to learn in a child-friendly environment is not violated. Testing and assessment systems must be re-examined and redesigned to ensure that these do - not force children to struggle between school and tuition centres, and bypass childhood. What is the essential message in this passage?

Desertification is a term used to explain a process of decline in the biological productivity of an ecosystem, leading to total loss of productivity. While this phenomenon is often linked of the arid, semi-arid and sub-humid ecosystems, even in the humid tropics, the impact could be most dramatic. Impoverishment of human impacted terrestrial ecosystems may exhibit itself in a variety of ways : accelerated erosion as in the mountain regions of the country, salinization of land as in the semi-arid and arid 'green revolution' areas of the country, e.g., Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, and site quality decline-a common phenomenon due to general decline in tree cover and monotonous monoculture .of rice/wheat across the Indian plains. A major consequence of deforestation is that it relates to adverse alterations in the hydrology and related soil and nutrient losses. The consequences of deforestation invariably arise out of site degradation through erosive losses. Tropical Asia, Africa and South America have the highest levels of erosion. The already high rates for the tropics are increasing at an alarming rate (e.g., through the major river systems-Ganga and Brahmaputra, in the Indian context). due to deforestation and ill-suited land management practices subsequent to forest clearing. In the mountain context, the declining moisture retention of the mountain soils, drying up of the underground springs and smaller rivers in the Himalayan region could be attributed to drastic changes in the forest cover. An indirect consequence is drastic alteration in the upland-lowland interaction, mediated through water. The current concern the tea planter of Assam has is about the damage to tea plantations due to frequent inundation along the flood -plains of Brahmaputra, and the damage to tea plantation. and the consequent loss in tea productivity is due to rising level of the river bottom because of siltation and the changing course of the river system. The ultimate consequences of site desertification are soil degradation, alteration in available :water and its quality, and the consequent decline in food, fodder and fuelwood yields essential for the economic well-being of rural communities. According to the passage, which of the following are the consequences of decline in forest cover? 1. Loss of topsoil 2. Loss of smaller rivers 3. Adverse effect on agricultural production 4. Declining of groundwater Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to the given questions should be related to the passage only. A male tiger vas removed from the Pench Tiger Reserve and was relocated in Parma National Park. Later, this tiger trekked toward his home 250 miles away. The trek of this solitary tiger highlights a crisis. Many wildlife reserves exist as islands of fragile habitat in a vast sea of humanity, yet tigers can range over a hundred miles, seeking prey, mates and territory. Nearly one third of India’s tigers live outside the tiger reserves, a situation that is dangerous for both human and animals. The tigers and prey can only disperse if there are recognized corridors of land between protected areas to allow unmolested passage. Which of the following is the most rational and crucial message given by the passage?

Cooking with biomass and coal in India is now recognized to cause major health problems, with women and children in poor populations facing the greatest risk. There are more than 10 lakh premature deaths each year from household air pollution due to polluting cooking fuels with another 1.5 lakh due to their contribution to genera! outdoor air pollution in the country. Although the fraction of the Indian population using clean cooking fuels, such as LPG natural gas and electricity, is slowly rising, the number using polluting solid fuels as their primary cooking fuel has remained static for nearly 30 years at about 70 crore. Which of the following is the most crucial and logical inference that can be made from the above passage?

I am a scientist, privileged to be somebody who tries to understand nature using the tools of science. But it is also clear that there are some really important questions that science cannot really answer, such as: Why is there something instead of nothing? Why are we here? In those domains, I have found that faith provides a better path to answers. I find it oddly anachronistic that in today's culture there seems to be a widespread presumption that scientific and spiritual views are incompatible. Which of the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

An innovative India will be inclusive as tell as technologically advanced, improving it lives of all Indians. Innovation and R&D can mitigate increases in social inequality and relieve the pressures created by rapid urbanization. The growing divergence in productivity between agriculture and knowledge-intensive manufacturing and services threatens to increase income inequality. By encouraging India's R&D labs and universities to focus on the needs of poor people and by improving the ability of informal firms to absorb knowledge, an innovation and research agenda can counter this effect. Inclusive innovation can lower the costs of goods and services and create income-earning opportunities for the poor people. Which among the following is the most logical and rational assumption that can be made from the above passage?

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow the passage. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. What climate change will undeniably cause or amplify events that hasten the reduction of resources? Competition over these diminishing resources would ensue in the form of political or even violent conflict. Resource-based conflicts have rarely been overt and are thus difficult to isolate. Instead they take on veneers that appear more politically palatable. Conflicts over resources like water are often cloaked in the guise of identity or ideology. What does the above passage imply?

Productive jobs are vital for growth and a good job is the best form of inclusion. More than half of our population depends on agriculture, but the experience of other countries suggests that the number of people dependent on agriculture will have to shrink if per capita incomes in agriculture are to go up substantially. While industry is creating jobs, too many such jobs are low-productivity non-contractual jobs in the unorganized sector, offering low incomes, little protection, and no benefits. Service jobs are relatively of high productivity, but employment growth in services has been slow in recent years. Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

We live in digital times. The digitalis not just something we use strategically and specifically to do a few tasks. Our very perception of who we are, how we connect to the world around us, and the ways in which we define our domains of life, labour and language are hugely structured by the digital technologies. The digital is everywhere and, like air, invisible. We live within digital systems, we live with intimate gadgets, we interact through digital media, and the very presence and imagination of the digital has dramatically restructured our lives The digital, far from being a tool, is a condition and context that defines the shapes and boundaries of our understanding of the self, the society, and the structure of governance. Which among the following is the most logical and essential message conveyed by the above passage?

There is more than a modicum of truth in the assertion that a working knowledge of ancient history is necessary to the intelligent interpretation of current events". But the sage who uttered these words of wisdom might well have added something on the benefits of studying particularly the famous battles of history for the lessons they contain for those of as who lead or aspire to leadership. Such a study will reveal certain qualities and attributes which enabled the winners to -win-and certain deficiencies which caused the losers to lose. And the student will see that the same pattern recurs consistently, again and again, throughout the centuries. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. A study of the famous battles of history would help us understand the modern warfare. 2. Studying the history is essential for anyone who aspires to be a - leader. Which of these assumptions is/are valid?

The very first lesson that should be taught to us when we are of enough to understand it, is that complete freedom from the obligation to work is unnatural, and ought to be illegal, as we can escape our share of the burden of work only by throwing it on someone else's shoulders. Nature ordains that the human race shall perish of famine if it stops working. We cannot escape from this tyranny. The question we have to settle is how much leisure we can afford to allow ourselves. The main idea of the passage is that:

A landscape-scale approach to land use can encourage greater biodiversity outside protected areas. During hurricane ‘Mitch’ in 1998, farms using ecoagricultural practices suffered 58 percent, 70 percent and 99 percent less damage in Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala, respectively, than farms using conventional techniques. In Costa Rica, vegetative windbreaks and fencerows boosted farmers’ income from pasture and coffee while also increasing bird diversity. Bee pollination is more effective when agricultural fields are closer to natural or seminatural habitat, a finding that matters because 87 percent of the world’s 107 leading crops depend on animal pollinators. In Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Colombia silvopastoral systems that integrate trees with pastureland are improving the sustainability of cattle production, and diversifying and increasing farmers’ income. Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

Many farmers use synthetic pesticides to kill infesting insects. The consumption of pesticides in some of the developed countries is touching 3000 grams/hectare. Unfortunately, there are reports that these compounds possess inherent toxicities that endanger the health of the farm operators, consumers and the environment. Synthetic pesticides are generally persistent in environment. Entering in food chain they destroy the microbial diversity and cause ecological imbalance. Their indiscriminate use has resulted in development of resistance among insects to insecticides, upsetting of balance in nature and resurgence of treated populations. Natural pest control using the botanical pesticides is safer to the user and the environment because they break down into harmless compounds within hours or days in the presence of sunlight Plants with pesticidal properties have been in nature for millions of years without any ill or adverse effects on the ecosystem. They are easily decomposed by many microbes common in most soils. They help in the maintenance of biological diversity of predators and the reduction of environmental contamination and human health hazards. Botanical pesticides formulated from plants are biodegradable and their use in crop protection is a practical sustainable alternative. On the basis of the above passage, the following assumptions have been. made: 1. Synthetic pesticides should never be used in modern agriculture. 2. One of the aims of sustainable agriculture is to ensure minimal ecological imbalance. 3. Botanical pesticides are more effective as compared to synthetic pesticides. Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

The greatest blessing that technological progress has in store for mankind is not, of course, an accumulation of material possessions. The amount of these that can be effectively enjoyed by' one individual in one lifetime is not great.. But there is not the same narrow limit to the possibilities of the enjoyment of leisure. The gift of leisure may be abused by people who have had no experience of making use of it. Yet the creative use of leisure by a minority in societies has been the mainspring of all human progress beyond the primitive level. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions 'have been made: 1. People always see the leisure time as a gift and use it for acquiring more material possessions. 2. Use of leisure by some people to produce new and original things has been the chief source of human progress. Which of these assumptions is/are valid?

In a democratic State, where a high degree of political maturity of the people obtains, the conflict between the will of the sovereign lawmaking body and the organized will of the people seldom occurs. What does the above passage imply?

"The individual, according to Rousseau, parts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the General will and in our corporate capacity we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole." In the light of the above passage, the nature of General Will is best described as

Climate change is likely to expose a large number of people to increasing environmental risks forcing them, to migrate. The international. community is yet to recognize this new category of migrants. There is no consensus on the definition and status of climate refugees owing to the distinct meaning the term refugees carry under international laws. There are still gaps in understanding how climate change will work as the root cause of migration. Even if there is recognition of climate refugees, who is going 'to provide protection? More emphasis has been given to international migration due to climate change. But there is a need to recognize the migration of such people within the countries also so that their problems can be addressed properly. Which of the following is the most rational inference from the above passage?

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intends them to be. We are citizens of a great country, on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrowmindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or action. The challenge the author of the above passage throws to the public is to achieve.

Why do people prefer open defecation and not want toilets or, if they have them, only use them sometimes? Recent research has shown two critical elements: ideas of purity and pollution, and not wanting pits or septic tanks to fill because they have to be emptied. These are the issues that nobody wants to talk about, but if we want to eradicate the practice of open defecation, they have to be confronted and dealt properly. Which among the following is the most crucial message conveyed by the above passage?

There has been a significant trend worldwide towards regionalism in government, resulting in a widespread transfer of powers downwards towards regions and communities since 1990s. This process, which involves the creation of new political entities and bodies at a subnational level and an increase in their content and powers, is known as devolution. Devolution has been characterized as being made up 'of three factors--political legitimacy, decentralization of authority and decentralization of resources. Political legitimacy here means a mass demand from below for the decentralization process, which is able to create a political force for it to take place. In many cases, decentralization is initiated by the upper tier of government without sufficient political mobilization for it at the grassroots level, and in such cases the decentralization process often does not fulfil its objectives. Which among the-following is the most logical, rational and critical inference that can be made from the above passage?

There is no harm in cultivating habits so long as they are not injurious. Indeed, most of us are little more than bundle of habits. Take away our habits and the residuum would hardly be worth bothering about. We could not get on without them. They simplify the mechanism of life. They enable us to do a multitude of things automatically, which, if we had to give fresh and original thought to them each time, would make existence an impossible confusion. The author suggests that habits:

The IMF has pointed out that the fast growing economies of Asia face the risk of falling into 'middle-income trap'. It. means that average incomes in these, countries, which till now have been growing rapidly, will stop growing beyond a point-a 'point that is well short of incomes in the developed West. The IMF identifies a number of causes of middle-income trap-none of which is surprising from infrastructure to weak institutions, to less than favourable macroeconomic conditions. But the broad, overall cause, says IMF, is a collapse in the growth of productivity. Which among the following is the most logical, rational and critical inference that can be made from the above passage?

Many farmers use synthetic pesticides to kill infesting insects. The consumption of pesticides in some of the developed countries is touching 3000 grams/hectare. Unfortunately, there are reports that these compounds possess inherent toxicities that endanger the health of the farm operators, consumers and the environment. Synthetic pesticides are generally persistent in environment. Entering in food chain they destroy the microbial diversity and cause ecological imbalance. Their indiscriminate use has resulted in development of resistance among insects to insecticides, upsetting of balance in nature and resurgence of treated populations. Natural pest control using the botanical pesticides is safer to the user and the environment because they break down into harmless compounds within hours or days in the presence of sunlight Plants with pesticidal properties have been in nature for millions of years without any ill or adverse effects on the ecosystem. They are easily decomposed by many microbes common in most soils. They help in the maintenance of biological diversity of predators and the reduction of environmental contamination and human health hazards. Botanical pesticides formulated from plants are biodegradable and their use in crop protection is a practical sustainable alternative. Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding bio pesticides? 1. They are not hazardous to human health. 2. They are persistent in environment. 3. They are essential .to maintain the biodiversity of any ecosystem.