CSAT Solved Papers/ 2022/Q43
2022 CSAT — Q43
Passage
The demographic dividend, which has begun in India and is expected to last another few decades, is a great window of opportunity. The demographic dividend is basically a swelling in the working age population, which conversely means that the relative ratio of very young and very old will, for a while, be on the decline. From the experience of Ireland and China, we know that this can be a source of energy and an engine of economic growth. The demographic dividend tends to raise a nation’s savings rate since in any nation, it is the working age population that is the main saver. And since the savings rate is an important driver of growth, this should help elevate our growth rate. However, the benefits of demographic dividend depend on the quality of the working age population. And this implies bringing back the importance of education, acquisition of skills and human capital.
Which of the following would invariably happen in a country, when the demographic dividend has begun to operate?
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The number of illiterate people will decrease.
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The ratio of very old and very young will decrease for a while.
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Population growth rate will quickly stabilize.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Thinking pathway
Locate. On an “invariably happen” item, the bar is high — only what the passage states as a necessary consequence qualifies. The passage defines the demographic dividend: “a swelling in the working age population, which conversely means that the relative ratio of very young and very old will, for a while, be on the decline”; and notes its benefits “depend on the quality of the working age population… bringing back the importance of education, acquisition of skills and human capital.”
Test — the “invariably” bar. Item 2 (ratio of very young and very old declines for a while) is the passage’s own definitional consequence — invariable by construction. Item 1 (illiteracy decreases) — the passage says education matters for reaping the dividend, i.e., it is a condition for benefit, not an automatic outcome; illiteracy does not invariably fall just because the dividend begins. Item 3 (growth rate quickly stabilizes) — not stated at all.
Eliminate by anatomy. (a)/(d) seat item 1 — a step the text doesn’t license: “education is needed” misread as “illiteracy will invariably decrease,” a reading that sounds reasonable but no line supports. (c)/(d) seat item 3 — a claim the passage never makes: quick stabilization is never stated. The transferable rule on “invariably” items: a requirement for benefit (education) is not an automatic effect; only the definitional consequence (item 2) is invariable. Key: (b).
Evidence in the text
Item 2 — “The demographic dividend is basically a swelling in the working age population, which conversely means that the relative ratio of very young and very old will, for a while, be on the decline” → stated as a definitional, INVARIABLE consequence. Item 1 — the passage says benefits “depend on the quality of the working age population… bringing back the importance of education”: education is needed, not that illiteracy will invariably fall → not forced. Item 3 — “population growth rate will quickly stabilize” is nowhere in the passage → out of scope. Only 2 → (b).
Worked rationale
The dividend is defined as a working-age bulge, which mechanically means the young+old ratio dips “for a while” — item 2 is invariable. Item 1 confuses a precondition (education must improve to reap benefits) with an automatic result. Item 3 (quick stabilization of growth) is absent.
Answer: (b) 2 only.
Why the other options miss
- A sounds reasonable, but unsupported: seats item 1, reading “education matters for the dividend” as “illiteracy will invariably decrease” — a step no line in the passage licenses.
- C compounds the item-1 inference error with the out-of-scope item 3, and drops the only invariable consequence (item 2).
- D adds both the inferential item 1 and the out-of-scope item 3 to the genuine item 2.
Specialist insight
The keyword “invariably” is the whole test. The dividend’s definition forces item 2 (the age-ratio dip), so it happens necessarily. Item 1 is the classic trap: the passage stresses education’s importance, but as a condition for the dividend to pay off — “you must improve education” is not “the illiterate count will fall.” A requirement is not a guaranteed effect. Reserve “invariably” for what the passage makes definitionally true. (b).
Only the age-ratio dip is a definitional (invariable) consequence (b); "illiteracy will decrease" confuses a needed condition (education) with an automatic effect.