Reading Comprehension Exercises with Answers for UPSC in English, | PASSAGE – 5

  Read the following passages and answer the questions given below:

13. Global population was around 1.6 billion in 1990- today it is around 7.2 billion and growing. Recent estimates on population growth predict a global population of 9.6 billion in 2050 and 10. 9 billion in 2100. Unlike Europe and North America, where only three to four percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, around 47 percent of India’s population is dependent upon agriculture. Even if India continues to do well in the service sector and the manufacturing sector picks up, it is expected that around 2030 when India overtakes China as the world’s most populous country, nearly 42 percent of India's population will still be predominantly dependent on agriculture.

Which of the following reflects the most logical inference based on the passage above?

a. Indian economy greatly depends on its agriculture

b. Prosperity of agriculture sector is of critical importance to India

c. India’s farming communities should switch over to other occupations to improve their economic conditions

d. India should take strict measures to control its rapid population growth.

14. All political systems need to mediate the relationship between private wealth and public power. Those that fail risk a dysfunctional government captured by wealthy interests. Corruption is one symptom of such failure with private willingness-to-pay trumping public goals. Private individuals and business firms pay to get routine services and to get to the head of the bureaucratic queue. They pay to limit their taxes, avoid costly regulations, obtain contracts at inflated prices. If corruption is endemic, public officials - both bureaucrats and elected officials- may redesign programmes and propose public projects with few public benefits and many opportunities for private profit. Of course, corruption is only one type of government failure. Efforts to promote good governance must be broader than anti corruption campaigns. Governments may be honest but inefficient because no one has an incentive to work productively, and narrow elites may capture the state and exert excess influence on policy. Bribery may induce the lazy to work hard and permit those not in the inner circle of cronies to obtain benefits. However, even in such cases, corruption cannot be confined to ‘functional’ areas. It will be a reasonable response to a harsh reality but, over time, it can facilitate a spiral into an even worse situation.

Consider the following statements

I. Productivity linked incentives to public/private officials is one of the indicatives of an efficient government.

II. The governments which fail to focus on the relationship between private wealth and public power are likely to biome dysfunctional

Which of the statements given above is/are valid?

a. Only (I)

b. Only (II)

c. Both (I) and (II)

d. Neither (I) nor (II)

15. All actions to address climate change ultimately involve costs. Funding is vital in order for countries like India to design and implement adaptation and mitigation plans and projects. The problem is more severe for developing countries like India, which would be one of the hardest hit by climate change, given its need to finance development. Most countries do indeed treat climate change as a real threat and are striving to address it in a more comprehensive and integrated manner with the limited resources at their disposal.

What implications can be drawn from the passage above?

a. Climate change is a complex issue that requires developing countries to adapt their financial policies

b. Climate change does not affect developed countries

c. Climate change will affect India more than other countries because of its tropical climate

d. Climate change is not taken seriously by most countries