Read the following three passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only. In India, the segregation of municipal waste at source is rare. Recycling is mostly with the informal sector. More than three- fourths of the municipal budget goes into collection and transportation, which leaves very little for processing/resource recovery and disposal. Where does waste- to- energy fit into all this? Ideally it fits in the chain after segregation (between wet waste and the rest), collection, recycling, and before getting to the landfill. Which technology is most appropriate in converting waste to energy depends on what is in the waste (that is biodegradable versus non- biodegradable component) and its calorific value. The biodegradable component of India's municipal solid waste is a little over 50 per cent, and biomethanation offers a major solution for processing this. Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1. Collection, processing and segregation of municipal waste should be with government agencies. 2. Resource recovery and recycling require technological inputs that can be best handled by private sector enterprises. Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

The passage describes the current state of municipal waste management in India and where waste-to-energy fits in. It does not make prescriptive statements about who should manage these processes. Assumption 1: "Collection, processing and segregation of municipal waste should be with government agencies." The passage states that "More than three-fourths of the municipal budget goes into collection and transportation," implying that government agencies (municipalities) are currently involved in these activities. However, it does not state that they *should* be with government agencies, nor does it exclude other sectors. The passage is descriptive, not prescriptive, regarding who should handle these tasks. Assumption 2: "Resource recovery and recycling require technological inputs that can be best handled by private sector enterprises." The passage mentions technological solutions like biomethanation and waste-to-energy. It also states that "Recycling is mostly with the informal sector." However, the passage *does not* state that these technological inputs can be "best handled by private sector enterprises." It makes no comparison between the capabilities of the private sector, government agencies, or the informal sector in handling technology. Since neither assumption can be supported or inferred from the information provided in the passage, both are incorrect. The final answer is D