The question below consists of four labelled sentences P, Q, R and S about India's budget priorities and security. Out of the four options given, select the most logical order of the sentences to form a coherent paragraph.

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: RPSQ

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This is another sentence arrangement question. The four labelled sentences describe changes in India's budget priorities, with special focus on security and terrorism. Your goal is to arrange them in an order that gives a clear timeline and logical explanation of why spending patterns have changed.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • R: India earlier days gave more importance to the development of industry and less importance to other departments.
  • P: But the scenario has quite changed now-a-days by allocating a special budget of funds for security.
  • Q: In the last ten years, budget towards the development of military forces is higher when compared to others.
  • S: This is because of the frightening increase in terrorism all around the world especially emerging after the 9/11 terror attack in U.S.
  • Options: PRQS, SPQR, QSPR, RPSQ.


Concept / Approach:
A good paragraph will normally begin with the past situation, then move to present changes, provide reasons, and finally support those reasons with specific facts. R talks about “earlier days” and serves as a natural starting point. P then introduces a contrast with “But the scenario has quite changed now-a-days…”. S explains this change by referring to the increase in terrorism and the 9/11 attack. Q gives a concrete statistic or trend: in the last ten years, more budget has gone to military forces. The sequence R → P → S → Q respects this timeline and causal flow.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Start with the sentence that clearly refers to the past: R mentions “earlier days” and explains that industry got more importance then.Look for a sentence that introduces a contrast with the present: P begins with “But the scenario has quite changed now-a-days…”, logically following R.Now identify the reason for this change: S begins with “This is because of the frightening increase in terrorism…”, which clearly explains why the scenario described in P has changed.Finally, Q supports the explanation with a specific statement about the last ten years, confirming that the military budget has been higher than others.Thus, the logical order is R → P → S → Q, which corresponds to option RPSQ.


Verification / Alternative check:
Read RPSQ as a paragraph: “India earlier days gave more importance to the development of industry and less importance to other departments. But the scenario has quite changed now-a-days by allocating a special budget of funds for security. This is because of the frightening increase in terrorism all around the world especially emerging after the 9/11 terror attack in U.S. In the last ten years, budget towards the development of military forces is higher when compared to others.” The narrative moves smoothly from past to present, gives a cause, and ends with a clear statistic.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
PRQS starts with P (“But the scenario has quite changed”), which is awkward because “But” should contrast with something already stated. SPQR begins with S (“This is because…”), but “This” has no clear antecedent if S comes first. QSPR starts with Q, then S, P, R, mixing up the timeline and leaving “But the scenario has quite changed” without a proper preceding statement. Only RPSQ respects both the time sequence and the logical connectors “But” and “This”.


Common Pitfalls:
Examinees sometimes overlook simple time markers such as “earlier days”, “now-a-days” and “in the last ten years”. These phrases are strong hints about the correct order of events. Always align sentences chronologically unless there is a clear reason not to. Also pay attention to contrast words like “But” and reference words like “This”, which usually cannot appear at the very beginning of a paragraph.


Final Answer:
The most logical order of the sentences is RPSQ.

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