Critical Reasoning — Assumptions Statement: “During the pre-harvest kharif season, the government has decided to release a vast quantity of food grains from FCI.” Assumptions to evaluate: I. There may be a shortage of food grains in the market during.

Question

Solve this multiple-choice question and choose the correct option.

Accepted Answer

Introduction / Context:FCI (Food Corporation of India) holds buffer stocks to stabilize availability and prices. Releasing grain pre-harvest aims to bridge a supply gap until new crops arrive. We must identify the underpinning beliefs behind this timing. Given Data / Assumptions: I: A seasonal shortage is likely before the kharif harvest reaches markets. II: After harvest, stocks can be replenished by new procurement. III: Farmers may demand immediate procurement after harvest (a separate issue related to MSP and logistics). Concept / Approach: The release is a bridge strategy: cover a temporary gap now (I) and later rebuild the buffer from fresh arrivals (II). III concerns post-harvest procurement behavior/demands; while common in policy discourse, it is not necessary to justify a pre-harvest release. Step-by-Step Solution: Keep I: The release would be unnecessary without a perceived pre-harvest shortfall.Keep II: Buffer sustainability requires future replenishment; otherwise, releasing “vast quantity” would be risky.Drop III: The action does not depend on projected farmer demands about timing of procurement. Verification / Alternative check: If I or II is false, the measure becomes either needless or unsustainable. If III is false, the present decision remains justified. Why Other Options Are Wrong: “All” brings in an irrelevant condition; “Only II and III” omits the core shortage premise; “None” ignores the clear bridging-logic; “None of these” does not match the valid pair. Common Pitfalls: Conflating stock-release logic with MSP procurement politics; they are related but not logically necessary to each other. Final Answer: Only I and II are implicit

More Questions from Statement and Assumption

Discussion & Comments