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Vertical growth through high-rise housing has been proposed as a solution to land scarcity in India's fast-growing cities, allowing more residents to be housed within a smaller urban footprint. Urban planners note, though, that without corresponding investment in infrastructure such as water supply, sewage systems, and public transport, densely populated high-rise developments can strain city services just as much as unplanned horizontal sprawl, undermining the very efficiency they are meant to achieve.
What is the central idea of this passage ?
- A
High-rise housing has completely solved land scarcity in Indian cities.
- B
Horizontal urban sprawl is always more efficient than vertical housing.
- C
Vertical high-rise housing can address land scarcity, but without adequate infrastructure investment, it risks straining city services much like unplanned sprawl.
- D
Public transport investment has no relationship with housing density.
Explanation
Option (c) captures both the intended benefit of vertical housing and the important infrastructure caveat raised by planners. Option (a) is wrong and overstates the passage, which only proposes high-rises as one possible solution, not a completed fix. Option (b) is wrong because the passage does not make this direct comparison in absolute terms. Option (d) is wrong and contradicts the passage, which directly links infrastructure investment to housing density outcomes.
Trade agreements between neighbouring countries are often justified on the grounds that they reduce tariffs and boost cross-border commerce, benefiting businesses and consumers on both sides. In practice, however, the actual benefits of such agreements can be unevenly distributed, with certain industries gaining significantly while others, unable to compete with cheaper imports, face job losses and reduced output, making the overall impact more complicated than simple trade volume figures suggest.
What is the central idea of this passage?
- A
Trade agreements can boost overall commerce, but their benefits are often unevenly distributed,helping some industries while harming others.
- B
Trade agreements always benefit every industry equally in both countries.
- C
Job losses only occur in countries that refuse to sign trade agreements.
- D
Trade agreements have no measurable effect on tariffs at all.
Explanation
Option (a) reflects both the general justification for trade agreements and the more nuanced, uneven reality described afterward. Option (b) is wrong and directly contradicts the passage's point about benefits being "unevenly distributed." Option (c) is wrong because the passage links job losses to industries unable to compete after signing agreements, not to refusing them. Option (d) is wrong because the passage opens by saying such agreement’s do "reduce tariffs."
India's space programme has achieved several cost-effective milestones in recent years, including missions to the Moon and Mars conducted at a fraction of the budget typically required by other space agencies. This cost efficiency has been widely praised, though scientists caution that lower spending also means fewer redundant systems and safety margins on some missions, which can raise the risk of failure compared to costlier, more heavily backed- up mission designs.
- A
India's space missions never face any risk of failure.
- B
India's space programme has achieved notable cost-effective milestones, though this efficiency may come with somewhat higher mission risk due to fewer safety margins.
- C
Other space agencies always spend less than India on similar missions.
- D
Cost efficiency has no connection to mission safety margins.
Explanation
Option (b) balances the celebrated cost efficiency with the specific risk trade-off scientists point out, matching the passage's structure. Option (a) is wrong and contradicts the passage's mention of "raised risk of failure." Option (c) is wrong and reverses the passage's actual comparison, which says India spends less than other agencies, not more. Option (d) is wrong and directly contradicts the passage, which explicitly links lower spending to fewer safety margins.
India has made considerable progress in expanding immunisation coverage among children over the past two decades, with several vaccine-preventable diseases now far less common than before. However, coverage still varies significantlybetween states and between rural and urban areas, with certain remote regions continuing to report lower vaccination rates due to limited healthcare access and, in some cases, vaccine hesitancy among parents.
What is the central idea of this passage?
- A
Vaccine-preventable diseases have been completely eradicated across India.
- B
All Indian states now have identical immunisation coverage rates.
- C
India has significantly expanded immunisation coverage, though gaps persist between regions due to access issues and hesitancy.
- D
Vaccine hesitancy is the only reason for low immunisation rates in India.
Explanation
Option (c) reflects both the genuine national progress and the specific regional gaps described in the passage. Option (a) is wrong because the passage says diseases are "far less common," not eradicated. Option (b) is wrong and contradicts the passage's mention of coverage "varying significantly" between states. Option (d) is wrong because the passage lists both limited healthcare access and hesitancy as reasons, not hesitancy alone.
Artificial intelligence-based diagnostic tools are increasingly being trialled in Indian hospitals to detect diseases such as tuberculosis and diabetic retinopathy from medical scans. Early results suggest these tools can match, and in some cases exceed, the accuracy of human specialists in specific, narrowly defined tasks. Nonetheless, doctors caution that such tools are best used to assist, rather than replace, medical professionals, since they currently lack the broader clinical judgement required to handle complex or unusual cases.
What is the central idea of this passage?
- A
AI diagnostic tools show strong accuracy in specific tasks and are best used to assist doctors rather than replace their broader clinical judgement.
- B
AI diagnostic tools have completely replaced doctors in Indian hospitals.
- C
Doctors are opposed to any use of artificial intelligence in hospitals.
- D
Diabetic retinopathy cannot be detected using any technological tool.
Explanation
Option (a) reflects both the genuine promise of these tools and the important caveat about their limited role, matching the passage's balance. Option (b) is wrong because the passage explicitly says tools should "assist, rather than replace" doctors. Option (c) is wrong because doctors are shown cautioning about limits, not opposing the technology altogether. Option (d) is wrong and contradicts the passage directly, which mentions AI detecting diabetic retinopathy.
Passage 15: The rising number of pending cases in Indian courts has been a persistent concern for the judicial system, with delays often stretching disputesover many years before final resolution. Measures such as fast-track courts for specific categories of cases and greater use of digital case management have shown some success in speeding up proceedings, but experts argue that without a substantial increase in the number of judges relative to the population, the overall backlog is unlikely to be resolved in the near future.
What is the central idea of this passage?
- A
Digital case management has completely eliminated court delays in India.
- B
Judicial delays exist only because of fast-track courts being introduced.
- C
Despite some success from measures like fast- track courts and digitisation, India's case backlog is unlikely to be resolved without a substantial increase in judges relative to population.
- D
The number of judges in India has no impact on how quickly cases are resolved.
Explanation
Option (c) captures the partial progress made through specific measures alongside the deeper structural issue of judge-to-population ratio, exactly as the passage frames it. Option (a) is wrong and overstates the passage, which only says these measures showed "some success." Option (b) iswrong because fast-track courts are described as a response to delays, not their cause. Option (d) is wrong and directly contradicts the passage, which links judge numbers to backlog resolution.
Passage 10: Contract farming arrangements, where farmers agree in advance to sell their produce to company at a fixed price, have been promoted as away to provide farmers with income certainty andaccess to better inputs and technical guidance. Critics, however, point out that the bargaining power in such arrangements often favours the larger company over individual farmers, and disputes over quality standards or pricing can leave farmers with little effective recourse.
What is the central idea of this passage?
- A
Contract farming has eliminated all financial risk for Indian farmers.
- B
Contract farming offers farmers income certainty and better inputs, but concerns remain about unequal bargaining power and limited recourse in disputes.
- C
Companies always lose money when they enter contract farming arrangements.
- D
Farmers uniformly reject contract farming arrangements across India.
Explanation
Option (b) balances the intended benefits of contract farming with the genuine criticisms raised, matching the passage's structure. Option (a) is wrong and too extreme; the passage mentions "income certainty," not the elimination of "all" risk. Option (c) is wrong because the passage does not discuss company profitability at all. Option (d) is wrong because the passage discusses criticismof the arrangement, not outright rejection by all farmers.
Passage 12: Self-help groups formed by women in rural India have played a significant role in improving household savings habits and providing access to small loans without the need for traditional collateral. Beyond the financial benefits, participation in these groups has also given many women greater confidence and a stronger voice in household and community decisions, even though deep-rooted social norms in some areas continue to limit how far thisinfluence extends into matters like land ownership or major financial decisions.
What is the central idea of this passage?
- A
Self-help groups have completely eliminated gender-based restrictions in rural India.
- B
Self-help groups provide only financial benefits to women, with no impact on their social standing.
- C
Rural women's participation in decision-making has decreased due to self-help groups.
- D
Self-help groups have improved women's financial access and confidence, though social norms still limit their broader influence in areas like land ownership.
Explanation
Option (d) reflects both the genuine gains described and the persisting limitations noted in the passage. Option (a) is wrong and far too absolute; the passage says norms "continue to limit," not that restrictions are eliminated. Option (b) is wrong because the passage explicitly mentions confidence and voice in decisions, beyond just finances. Option (c) is wrong and reverses the passage's point, which describes an increase, not a decrease in influence.
Many traditional Indian handicrafts, once passed down through generations within specific communities, are now struggling to survive as younger family members move to cities for other kinds of work. Government initiatives promoting handicraft exports and geographical indication tags have helped some craft clusters gain wider recognition and better prices. Still, without more artisans choosing to continue the craft, several unique regional traditions risk disappearing within a generation, regardless of how well-marketed the surviving products become.
What is the central idea of this passage?
- A
Every traditional Indian handicraft has already disappeared completely.
- B
Traditional handicrafts face a survival risk from declining artisans despite marketing support like GI tags , since recognition alone cannot guarantee the craft's continuation.
- C
Government marketing initiatives have fully secured the future of all handicraft traditions.
- D
Young people in cities are solely responsible for preserving traditional crafts.
Explanation
Option (b) balances the genuine risk to these crafts with the partial help from government support, exactly as the passage frames it. Option (a) is wrong and far too extreme; the passage says traditions are "at risk," not already gone. Option (c) is wrong because the passage says traditions "risk disappearing" despite support, not that the issue is fully resolved. Option (d) is wrong because the passage does not assign responsibility to young people in cities at all.
The shift towards online and blended learning in Indian schools accelerated rapidly during
recent years, offering flexibility and access to digital resources that were previously unavailable to many students. At the same time, this shift has exposed a significant digital divide, as students without reliable internet access or personal devices, often in rural or low-income households, have found it harder to keep pace with their better-connected peers.
What is the central idea of this passage?
- A
Every Indian student now has equal access to digital learning resources.
- B
Online learning has completely replaced traditional classroom teaching in India.
- C
Rural students have benefited more from online learning than urban students.
- D
Online and blended learning has expanded access to resources but also revealed a digital divide disadvantaging students without reliable connectivity or devices.
Explanation
Option (d) captures both the benefit of flexibility and the specific downside of unequal
access, matching the passage's balance. Option (a) is wrong and directly contradicts the passage's mention of a "significant digital divide." Option (b) is wrong because the passage describes a "shift," not a complete replacement of classrooms. Option (c) is wrong and reverses the passage's point, which says rural students have found it "harder," not easier.
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