UPSC Prelims 2015·CSAT·Reading Comprehension·Passage Comprehension

Individuals, groups and leaders who promote human development operate under strong institutional, structural and political constraints that affect policy options. But experience suggests broad principles for shaping an appropriate agenda for human development. One important finding from several decades of human development experience is that focusing exclusively on economic growth is problematic. While we have good knowledge about how to advance health and education, the causes of growth are much less certain and growth is often elusive. Further, an unbalanced emphasis on growth is often associated with negative environmental consequences and adverse distributional effects. The experience of China, with its impressive growth record, reflects these broader concerns and underlines the importance of balanced approaches that emphasize investments in the non- income aspects of human development. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1) Higher economic growth is essential to ensure reduction in economic disparity. 2) Environmental degradation is sometimes a consequence of economic growth. Which of the above is/are valid assumption/assumptions?

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  1. A1 only
  2. B2 onlyCorrect
  3. CBoth 1 and 2
  4. DNeither 1 nor 2

Explanation

The passage explicitly states that "an unbalanced emphasis on growth is often associated with negative environmental consequences." This directly supports statement 2, making it a valid assumption. Regarding statement 1, the passage states that "an unbalanced emphasis on growth is often associated with... adverse distributional effects." Adverse distributional effects mean increased economic disparity, not its reduction. The passage also highlights that "focusing exclusively on economic growth is problematic" and emphasizes "balanced approaches that emphasize investments in the non-income aspects of human development." This contradicts the idea that higher economic growth is *essential to ensure* reduction in economic disparity; in fact, it suggests growth can worsen disparity if not balanced. Therefore, statement 1 is not a valid assumption based on the passage. Thus, only statement 2 is a valid assumption.
Reading Comprehension: Individuals, groups and leaders who promote human development operate under strong institutional, structural and politic

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