In recent times, India has grown fast not only compared to its own past but also in comparison with other nations. But there cannot be any room for complacency because it is possible for the Indian economy to develop even faster and also to spread the benefits of this growth more widely than has been done thus far. Before going into details of the kinds of micro-structural changes that we need to conceptualize and then proceed to implement, it is worthwhile elaborating on the idea of inclusive growth that constitutes the defining concept behind this Government’s various economic policies and decisions. A nation interested in inclusive growth views the same growth differently depending on whether the gains of the growth are heaped primarily on a small segment or shared widely by the population. The latter is cause for celebration but not the former. In other words, growth must not be treated as an end in itself but as an instrument for spreading prosperity to all. India’s own past experience and the experience of other nations suggests that growth is necessary for eradicating poverty but it is not a sufficient condition. In other words, policies for promoting growth need to be complemented with policies to ensure that more and more people join’ in the growth process and, further,· that there are mechanisms in place to redistribute some of the gains to those who are unable to partake in the market process and, hence, get left behind.
A simple way of giving this idea of inclusive growth a sharper form is to measure a nation’s progress in terms of the progress of its poorest segment, for instance the bottom 20 per cent of the’ population. One could measure the per capita income of the bottom quintile of the population and also calculate the growth rate of income; and evaluate our economic success in terms of these measures that pertain to the poorest segment. This approach is attractive because it does not ignore growth like some of the older heterodox criteria did. It simply looks at the growth of income of the poorest sections of the population. It also ensures that those who are outside of the bottom quintile do not get ignored. If that were done, then those people would in all likelihood drop down into the bottom quintile and so would automatically become a direct target of our policies. Hence the criterion being suggested here is a statistical summing up of the idea of inclusive growth, which, in turn, leads to two corollaries: to wish that India must strive to achieve high growth and that we must work to ensure that the weakest segments benefit from the growth.
The author’s central focus is on
(a) applauding India’s economic growth not only against its own past performance, but against other nations.
(b) emphasizing the-need for economic growth which is the sole determinant of a country’s prosperity.
(c) emphasizing inclusive growth where gains of growth are shared widely by the population.
(d) emphasizing high growth.
Solution: c)
Just focus on getting the essence and overview of the passage while reading. Such questions will be a cakewalk for you.
Lesson 6
From the same passage above.
The author supports policies which will help
(a) develop economic growth.
(b) better distribution of incomes irrespective of rate of growth.
(c) develop economic growth and redistribute economic gains to those getting left behind.
(d) put an emphasis on the development of the poorest segments of society.
Solution: d)

• Options (a) and (b) can be eliminated right away. (b) talks about “irrespective of rate of growth”.
• Option (c) says, “redistribute to those left behind”. But that is not what the author is trying to say.
• In the whole passage, he keeps talking about the growth of the poorest segments first. So, (d) has to be the answer.
• So, Lesson 6 is: EVALUATE THE OPTIONS IN THE LIGHT OF THE ESSENCE OF THE PASSAGE.

Lesson 7
Consider the following UPSC passage. Three questions have been demonstrated based on it.
Many nations now place their faith in capitalism and governments choose it as the strategy to create wealth for their people. The spectacular economic growth seen in Brazil, China and India after the liberalisation of their economies is proof of its enormous potential and success. However, the global banking crisis and the economic recession have left many bewildered. The debates tend to focus on free market operations and forces, their efficiency and their ability for self correction. Issues of justice, Integrity and honesty are rarely elaborated to highlight the failure of the global banking system. The apologists of the system continue to justify the success of capitalism and argue that the recent crisis was a blip.
Their arguments betray an Ideological bias with the assumptions that an unregulated market is fair and competent, and that the exercise of private greed will be in the larger public interest.
Few recognize the bidirectional relationship between capitalism and greed; that each reinforces the other. Surely, a more honest conceptualisation of the conflicts of interest among the rich and powerful players who have benefited from the system, their biases and ideology is needed; the focus on the wealth. creation should also highlight the resultant gross inequity.
The apologists of the “Free Market System”, according to the passage, believe in
(a) market without control by government authorities.
(b) market without protection by the government.
(c) ability of market to self correct.
(d) market for free goods and services.

• Solution: a)
• Here you can easily discard options (d) and (b) because there cannot be made out from the text. For aspirants, there might be confusion between the other two, because as per your knowledge, both options show the characteristics of a free market system. And both are somewhere mentioned in the passage.
• Now, you need to be a little careful and be objective in selecting the options. You need to select the answer “according to the passage”.
• The temptation to pick up option (c) will come from this line – “The debates tend to focus on free market operations and forces, their efficiency and their ability for self correction”. But notice that the word ‘apologists’ has not come into picture till now. It has been mentioned later. Moreover, “ability for self correction” is still a debate.
• Now move on to examine the first option. Here is the supporting text – “…The apologists of the system continue to justify the success of capitalism and argue that the recent crisis was a blip. Their arguments betray an ideological bias/ with the assumptions that an unregulated market is fair…..”
• Notice the word “unregulated” (not regulated by government). This is your answer. This option is more appropriate than the option (c), because it has been explicitly mentioned in the passage.

With reference to “ideological bias”, the passage implies that
(a) free market is fair but not competent.
(b) free market is not fair but competent.
(c) free market is fair and competent.
(d) free market is neither fair nor biased.
Solution: d)
The ideological bias of the apologists is that free markets are fair and competent. But the passage criticizes this bias. This implies that free markets are neither fair, nor competent.
“The exercise of private greed will be in the larger public interest” from the passage refers to the false ideology of capitalism.
underlies the righteous claims of the free market.
shows the benevolent face of capitalism.
ignores resultant gross inequity.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 4
(d) 4 only
Solution: d)

• It might appear that statement 1 should also have been correct. But it is not because the passage does not say it is a false ideology. It says it is an “ideological bias” and that a more “honest conceptualization of interests of rich and poor are needed”.
• Therefore, don’t mistake by reading too much between the lines. Stick to what the passage suggests. Do not draw your own conclusions. Its very important to read the passage “objectively” for what it is- and not what you may think.

So, Lesson 7 is: DON’T READ TOO MUCH BETWEEN THE LINES. READ CAREFULLY  & OBJECTIVELY.

Consider another example for the same.

It is essential that we mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases .and thus avoid some of the worst impacts of climate change that would take place in coming years and decades. Mitigation would require a major shift in the way we produce and consume energy. A shift away from overwhelming dependence on fossil fuels is now long overdue, but unfortunately, technological development has been slow arid inadequate largely because government policies have not promoted investments in research and development, myopically as a result of relatively low prices of oil. It is now, therefore, imperative for a country like India treating the opportunity of harnessing renewable energy on a large scale as a national imperative. This country is extremely well endowed with solar, wind and biomass sources of energy. Where we have lagged, unfortunately, is in our ability to develop and to create technological solutions for harnessing these resources.
One particular trajectory for carrying out stringent mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions assessed by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) clearly shows the need for ensuring that global emissions of greenhouse gases peak no later than 2015 and reduce rapidly thereafter. The cost associated with such a trajectory is truly modest” and would amount, in the estimation of IPCC, to not more than 3 percent of the global GDP in 2030. In other words, the level of prosperity that the world would have reached without mitigation would at worst be postponed by a few months or a year at the most. This is clearly not a very high price to pay for protecting hundreds of millions of people from the worst risks associated with climate change. Any such effort, however, would require lifestyles to change appropriately also. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is not a mere technological fix, and clearly requires changes in lifestyles and transformation of a country’s economic structure, whereby effective reduction in emissions is brought about, such as through the consumption of much lower quantities of animal protein. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has determined that the emissions from the livestock sector amount to 18 percent of the total. The reduction of emissions from this source is entirely in the hands of human beings, who have never questioned the impacts that their dietary habits of consuming more and more animal protein are bringing about. Mitigation overall has huge co-benefits, such as lower air pollution and health benefits, higher energy security and greater employment.
Why do we continue to depend on the fossil fuels heavily?

1. Inadequate technological development
2. Inadequate funds for research and development
3. Inadequate availability of alternative sources of energy
4. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Solution: a)

• Statement 2 is incorrect because “technological development has been slow arid inadequate largely because government policies have not promoted investments in research and development”; not because of lack of funds.
• Therefore, Lesson 7 is: STICK TO WHAT THE PASSAGE TELLS YOU. DON’T EXTRAPOLATE FROM THE PASSAGE I.E. DON’T READ TOO MUCH BETWEEN THE LINES. READ CAREFULLY OBJECTIVELY.

Lesson 8
Consider this passage from CSAT 2012:
In a typical Western liberal context, deepening of democracy invariably leads to consolidation of ‘liberal values’. In the Indian context, democratization is translated into greater involvement of people not as ‘individuals’ which is a staple to liberal discourse, but as communities or groups. Individuals are getting involved in the public sphere not as ‘atomized’ individuals but as members of primordial communities drawn on religious or caste identity. Community-identity seems to be the governing force. It is not therefore surprising that the so-called peripheral groups continue to maintain their identities with reference to the social groups {caste, religion or sect} to which they belong while getting involved in the political processes despite the fact that their political goals remain more or less identical.  By helping to articulate the political voice of the marginalized, democracy in India has led to ‘a loosening of social strictures’ and empowered the peripherals to be confident of their ability to improve the socio economic conditions in which they are placed. This is a significant political process that had led to a silent revolution through a meaningful transfer of power from the upper caste cities to various subaltern groups within the democratic framework of public governance.
According to the passage, what does “deepening of democracy” mean in the Western context?
a) Consolidation of group and class identities.
b) Democratization translated as greater involvement of people.
c) Democratization as greater involvement of ‘atomized’ individuals in the public sphere.
d) None of the statements a, b and c given above is correct in this context.
Solution: d)

• Option (a) talks about the Indian context. Option (b) talks about democracy in general.
• Option (c) talks about the consequences of democratization in a normal society. In the Western context it simply means people embrace liberal values. So, none of the statements are correct.
• A careful reading of passage will give you the solutions.

Greater democratization in India has not necessarily led to
a) The dilution of caste and communal identities in the public sphere.
b) Irrelevance of community identity as governing force in Indian politics.
c) Marginalization of elite groups in society.
d) Relative unimportance of hereditary identities over class identities.
Solution: b)

• Option (a) could have been true; but its very general – it talks about public sphere; and not Indian politics in specific.
• So, Lesson 8 is: KEEP A CHECK ON GENERAL AND OVER-ARCHING STATEMENTS.
• To summarize the key lessons:
• Always choose the explicit over the implicit.
• Be careful of extreme and emphasizing words like only, necessarily, permanent, totally, completely etc.
• Be careful with the ‘keywords’.
• First eliminate, then choose.
• While reading try to get the essence (central core/idea/message/view) of the passage.
• Evaluate the options in the light of the essence of the passage.
• Stick to what the passage tells you. Don’t extrapolate from the passage i.e. don’t read too much between the lines. Read carefully objectively.
• Keep a check on general and over-arching statements.