Cause & Effect — Identify the Relationship:\nI. Cut-off marks in the pre-medical test (MBBS admissions) have increased significantly over the last decade.\nII. Students undertake several efforts, including intensive coaching, to succeed in the pre-medical test.\nWhich option best captures the causal link between I and II?

Introduction / Context:
This item links rising cut-offs with candidates’ increased preparatory efforts. We must determine whether greater coaching/effort drives cut-offs upward, or vice versa.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• I: Cut-offs have risen markedly across a decade.
• II: Students pursue coaching and other efforts to clear the exam.
• Assume competitive exam dynamics: stronger average preparation shifts the score distribution upward.

Concept / Approach:
In competitive selection, when more candidates prepare better, normalized performance improves, causing higher cut-offs (selection thresholds). Thus II → I is the more direct causal link.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Could I→II hold? Higher cut-offs can motivate coaching, but the stem generalizes efforts “to be successful,” not explicitly “in response to rising cut-offs.” The cleaner exam-economics explanation is that improved preparation shifts cut-offs.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing long-term competitive escalation (preparation → cut-offs) with short-term reactions; both can co-exist, but the principal driver in the stem is II→I.

Final Answer:
Option B: Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.