UPSC CSE 2025 (Prelims) CSAT Official Paper (25-May-2025); Download PDF
UPSC CSE 2025 Prelims CSAT paper, conducted on 25th May 2025, assessed candidates on aptitude, reasoning, comprehension, and decision-making skills. Designed as a qualifying paper, it required a minimum of 33% marks to clear. The questions were of moderate to high difficulty, testing both analytical depth and time management.
Q1.
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow the passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. Passage-1 Maintaining an ecosystem just to conserve biodiversity will affect its commercial potential as well as the livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem. There is also a conflict between using an ecosystem only for livelihoods, for commercial exploitation, or strictly for conservation. Deforestation caused due to commercial exploitation will lead to indirect harm like floods, siltation problems and microclimatic instability, apart from adversely affecting livelihoods dependent on forests. These conflicts are particularly acute in developing countries where the dependence of people on the ecosystem is significant, and commercial exploitation has the potential to boost national income.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the author of the passage?
Q2.
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow the passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. Passage-1 Maintaining an ecosystem just to conserve biodiversity will affect its commercial potential as well as the livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem. There is also a conflict between using an ecosystem only for livelihoods, for commercial exploitation, or strictly for conservation. Deforestation caused due to commercial exploitation will lead to indirect harm like floods, siltation problems and microclimatic instability, apart from adversely affecting livelihoods dependent on forests. These conflicts are particularly acute in developing countries where the dependence of people on the ecosystem is significant, and commercial exploitation has the potential to boost national income.
With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
I. No country needs to depend on ecosystems to boost national income.
II. Resource-rich countries need to share their resources with those of scant resources so as to prevent the degradation of ecosystems.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?