Reading Comprehension (61-70) | CSAT Preparation - UPSC PDF Download

Passage - 1

Books today have become mere adjuncts to the world of the mass media, offering light entertainment and reassurances that all is for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds. The resulting control on the spread of ideas is stricter than anyone would have thought possible in a free society. The need for public debate and open discussion, inherent in the democratic idea, conflicts with the ever-stricter demand for total profit.

Passage - 2

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), is brazenly discriminatory and it is only a matter of time before its constitutionality is subjected to severe Judicial Scrutiny. The government’s obstinacy in going ahead with it, despite opposition in parliament, as well as from enlightened sections, is unfortunate. In both its intent and wording, the proposed amendment singles out a community for hostile treatment. In short, the bill chooses to open its citizenship door to non-muslims from three nations with a Muslim majority-Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. A key argument against the CAA is that it will not extend to those persecuted in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, from were Rohingya Muslims and Tamils are staying in the country as refugee. Further, it fails to allow Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims, who also face persecution, to apply for citizenship. If protecting persecuted neighbourhood minorities is the

objective, the classification may fail the test of constitutionality because of the exclusion of some neighbouring countries and communities using religion. It would be a sad day for the republic if legislation that challenges its founding principles of equality and secularism is allowed to be passed.

Passage - 3

Education plays a transformatory role in life, particularly so in this rapidly changing and globalising world. Universities are the custodians of the intellectual capital and promoters of culture and specialised knowledge. Culture is an activity of thought, and receptiveness to beauty and human feelings. A merely well informed man is only a bore on God’s earth. What we should aim at is producing men who possess both culture and expert knowledge. Their expert knowledge will give them a firm ground to start from and their culture will lead them as deep as philosophy and as high as art. Together it will impart meaning to human existence.

On the basis of the above passage the following can be said to be true

I. Without acquiring culture, a person’s education is not complete

II. A society of well educated people cannot be transformed into a modern society

III. It is essential that a society has cultured as well as intellectual people.

Passage - 4

Scientists have warned that global warming will keep getting worse until humanity reaches “net zero” emissions globally — that is, the point at which we are no longer pumping any additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. So in recent years a growing number of countries and businesses have been pledging to “go net zero” by various dates. But the concept can easily be abused. It’s one example of climate terminology that can be hard to decipher.

Passage - 5

The new cotton technology, Bollgard-II, with herbicide tolerant traits has developed into a thriving business in India. However, the commercial use of this technology is not legal in India. Not withstanding that, reports indicate that the herbicide tolerant Bt cotton had been purchased by farmers at an average of Rs. 200 more than the control price of ordinary cotton, and planted in 15% of the cotton growing area in the 2017 Kharif season.

Passage - 6

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 indiatives 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

Passage - 7

The existing police infrastructure is inadequate to cater to the needs of the police force. There is huge manpower shortage in the police department. The police-population ratio, currently 144 policemen per lakh population, is less than what is recommended by UN i.e. 222 policemen per lakh population. Similarly, when it comes to weaponry, the police machinery is still using obsolete and outdated

weapons. Police mobility is another issue, which has been hampered by the shortage of police vehicles. The CAG reported that there is very little increment in vehicle availability and there is a shortage of drivers too. This compromises the swiftness of action and increases the response time of the police force. Another problematic area relates to the communication networks. In an era of ICT, the police system is still struggling to get proper communication network. The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) data shows that across all states and UTs, there are 51 police stations which have neither telephones nor wireless sets.

Passage - 8

Cause and effect assumes history marches forward, but history is not an army. It is a crab scuttling sideways, a drip of soft water wearing away stone, an earthquake breaking centuries of tension. Sometimes one person inspires a movement, or her words do decades later, sometimes a few passionate people change the world; sometimes they start a mass movement and millions of others; sometimes those millions are stirred by the same outrage or same ideal, and change comes upon us like a change of weather. What all these transformations have in common is that they begin in the imagination, in the hope.

Passage - 9

The plunder of Latin America left 70 million indigenous people dead in its wake. In India, 30 million died of famine under British rule. Average living standards in India and China, which had been on par with Britain before the colonial period, collapsed. So too did their share of world GDP, falling from 65 percent to 10 percent, while Europe’s share tripled. And mass poverty became an issue for the first time in history, as European capitalism - driven by the imperatives of growth and profit - prised people off their land and destroyed their capacity for self-sufficient subsistence. Development for some meant underdevelopment of others.

Consider the following statements

A. European capitalism is the root cause of mass poverty

B. Colonialism caused displacement of indigenous population.

C. Europe’s status as a wealthy nation is based on the destruction of third world countries.

Passage - 10

Those who pay attention to the Olympics tend to view them from one end of a telescope or the other. Most who tune in for the sporting event every couple of years love the suspense. They may know, in the recesses of their minds, that the spectacle disguises a rusty and corrupt system, prone to vote buying in the selection of host cities, appeasement of dictators and unkept promises. To the fans of the Olympics, the positives outweigh the negatives.

Those who analyse the Olympics more broadly see the balance in reverse. They may appreciate the athletic achievements, but not enough to outweigh concerns about damage inflicted by the Olympics.