Comprehension PYQs – UPSC Prelims

Reading Passage

Based on the passage:
The process by which countries close their labour-productivity gap with the technology leader is based on convergence theory. The convergence model divides economic eras into three phases : the breakaway, the catch-up, and the fine-tuning phase. It also divides economic entities into two categories : the technology leaders and the technology followers. The process begins with the development of a new technology, such as scavenging three million years ago (MYA), hunting—one MYA, farming—12 thousand years ago, and industrial technology—a little more than 200 years ago. During the breakaway phase, the per capita income of the technology leaders (e.g., Western Europe and North America in the industrial era) rises, but is unchanged for the technology followers. In the catch-up phase, the followers adopt the new technology and close their per capita income gap with the technology leaders. In the fine-tuning phase, where participants try to extract the remaining benefits from an increasingly exhausted technology, leaders and followers have similar per capita incomes.

Which of the following conclusions are correct?
1. In the breakaway phase, economic progress is slow for the technology followers.
2. In the catch-up phase, leaders stagnate and followers, therefore, close the gap between them and the leaders.
3. In the fine-tuning phase, technology is exhausted, as it were, and both leaders and followers attempt to extract leftover benefits, leading to more or less similar per capita income levels.
4. Industrial technology followed scavenging, which preceded hunting, which itself was followed by farming.

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Reading Passage

Based on the passage:
When SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in 2019, it was a truly novel virus for the world. At that time, no one in the world had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 or had specific immunity against it. In contrast, people across the world have been exposed to HMPV for decades and the virus is well-studied. HMPV and SARS-CoV-2 belong to two very different virus families with fundamentally different characteristics and epidemiology, with strong seasonality seen in HMPV, unlike SARS-CoV-2. Both viruses cause different severity of symptoms, particularly over the long term, and the affected population segments do not fully overlap. In general, HMPV causes milder illness with deaths being very rare and with no long-term post-viral symptoms.

Which of the following conclusions is/are valid?
1. Though SARS-CoV-2 and HMPV are similar viruses with somewhat different epidemiology, the former became a pandemic because it was novel and people had not been exposed to it in the past.
2. The two viruses have fundamentally different impacts on human populations and should not therefore be dealt with in a similar manner.

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Reading Passage

Based on the passage:
India is starting to deploy AI for critical use cases such as weather forecasting, pest detection and control, and crop yield optimisation. However, penetration is limited to a small subset of tech-savvy farmers. In the US and in Europe, generative AI tools have started offering precision farming at scale, integrating large datasets to provide real-time agronomic insights. For at-scale integration and accessibility of AI tools in India, it would be helpful to develop Indian languages-based AI tools for smallholder farmers, partner with AgTechs to create affordable AI solutions, and disseminate AI-based advisory services through government programmes.

Which of the following assumptions is/are valid?
1. Agricultural productivity has marched ahead in the West because of the economies of scale facilitated by the adoption of AI tools.
2. Affordable AI tools rendered available in local languages can help AI-based solutions reach more and more small farmers.
3. Though penetration is as yet low, critical application areas deploying AI tools are already in use in India.

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Reading Passage

Based on the passage:
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, or the JJ Act, 2015 allows for the possibility for trying adolescents above 16 as adults if they are accused of committing a heinous offence. A heinous offence is one with a minimum punishment of seven years. Offences such as culpable homicide and causing death by negligence, which are common in drunken driving cases, are not heinous offences because they do not have a prescribed minimum punishment. The JJ Act, amended in 2021, now categorises an offence that has no minimum sentence, but has a maximum sentence of seven years or more as a serious offence which nonetheless, in the opinion of activists, does not merit the transfer of a case to the adult criminal justice system.

Which of the following conclusions is/are valid?
1. Only a serious offence as categorised by the revised JJ Act, justifies the transfer of a case to the adult judicial system.
2. The JJ Act, 2021, categorises an offence as a serious offence based on the maximum sentence it carries, rather than on the minimum sentence.

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Reading Passage

Based on the passage:
Was it the sun-dappled ambience, the strawberries and cream, the frustration of Flavio Cobolli's unforced errors against Serbian Novak Djokovic on Centre Court or simply the crushing weight of being a 64-year-old man in the third act of a very public life? Whatever the reason, Hugh Grant, the actor, deserves empathy. There he was, in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, flanked by Britain's well-dressed and well-rested spectators, watching the men's singles quarterfinals, when the actor did something quietly radical : head at a tilt, eyes closed, utterly unbothered, he took a nap. So praise be to Grant for serving up an unexpected ace. In that small, delicious moment, he didn't merely catch forty winks, he made an elegant case for surrender. Not to laziness, but to limits. To the body's quiet wisdom over society's relentless performance metrics. Wimbledon had its tennis. The perpetually sleep-deprived discovered a leading man, not of action, but of rest.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Radical action can also be attributed to mild surrender where one acts against societal expectations.
2. Submitting to one's limitations, given the effect of age and other factors, ought not to be conflated with laziness.
3. 'Leading man' usually refers to one who plays the lead role in a movie; in this instance the implication is that Hugh Grant is performing the role of not an action hero, but that of a resting one!

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Which one among the following statements most appropriately reflects the point of view of the given passage?

Reading Passage

Based on the passage:
Kalagram, the cultural village set up at the Maha Kumbh Mela, unfolded as a mosaic of India's diverse regions, each represented by seven meticulously crafted 'Sanskriti Angans'—stepping through the grand portal was like entering another world. These thematic zones, inspired by iconic temples like the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple and the Brahma Mandir, were treasure troves of regional artistry. Bengal's Pattachitra paintings, Assam's bamboo crafts, Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur paintings, and Madhya Pradesh's tribal sculpture—all were showcased in these living galleries where 230 master artisans breathed life into them using age-old techniques, their hands shaping India's ancient history into creations to behold.

Which of the following conclusions are valid?
1. Seven Sanskriti Angans, representing different regions of India, had been showcased in Kalagram.
2. Regional artistry was recognised via the inspiration drawn from iconic temples.
3. India's ancient history had been crafted by the contemporary craftsmanship of 230 artisans into creations to behold.
4. Art forms from all regions of India had been showcased in these living galleries.

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Reading Passage

Based on the passage:
Sport is not just about winning medals or getting jobs through a sports quota. Today's generation is struggling with issues like depression and anxiety. Parents often say that their children are inactive and rarely leave the house. Sport can help tackle these problems. From sport you can learn time management, fitness, teamwork, coordination, and so much more. We need to develop a culture in which sport is seen as a way of life—a path to building a healthier, happier society.

Which of the following conclusions are valid?
1. Sport is more than just games; it is a way of life.
2. Sport can help mitigate the problems of seclusion among the young.
3. Earning laurels in sport can help one secure a job on the basis of an assigned quota.
4. Standard corporate sector skills cannot be learnt through sport.

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