Statement and Argument Questions

• Critical reasoning – Should tuition fees in all post-graduate courses be hiked considerably? Arguments to evaluate: I. Yes. Higher fees will make students more serious and improve quality. II. No. Higher fees will force meritorious poor students to stay away.
• Critical reasoning – Should persons below 18 years be allowed to join the armed forces? Arguments to evaluate: I. No. Below 18, individuals lack full physical and mental maturity to bear such burdens. II. Yes. Early induction yields longer years of service for the country.
• Critical reasoning – Should all infrastructural development projects be handed over to the private sector? Arguments to evaluate: I. No. Private entities are not equipped to handle such projects. II. Yes. Developed countries have private sector handling such projects.
• Critical reasoning – Should all colleges be allowed to devise their own curriculum and syllabus for vocational self-employment courses? Arguments to evaluate: I. Yes. This will help generate employment opportunities. II. No. Lack of uniformity will affect education quality.
• Critical reasoning – Should agriculture in rural India be mechanized? Arguments to evaluate: I. Yes. Mechanization leads to higher production. II. No. Many villagers would become unemployed.
• Critical reasoning – Should foreign investment be concentrated in only a few states? Arguments to evaluate: I. No. Concentration contradicts the aim of overall national development. II. Yes. Many states lack infrastructure to attract foreign investment.
• Policy reasoning — petroleum pricing by market Statement: Should oil companies be allowed to fix the retail prices of petroleum products depending on prevailing market conditions? Arguments: I. Yes — this is the only way to make the oil companies commercially viable. II. No — this will increase the retail prices of essential commodities and cause hardship to the masses.
• Language of instruction — vernacular-only policy across all levels Statement: Should education at all levels be offered only in the vernacular (regional) medium? Arguments: I. Yes — this is the only way to enhance students’ performance. II. No — this would severely affect knowledge acquisition due to the lack of quality textbooks and resources in all vernaculars.
• Bank deposits — one uniform interest rate for all terms? Statement: Should there be only one rate of interest for term deposits of varying durations in banks? Arguments: I. No — people will refrain from keeping money for longer duration, reducing banks’ stability. II. Yes — a single rate is simpler for common people and may encourage higher deposits.
• Media policy in a democracy — should government control all news? Statement: Should all news be controlled by the Government in a democracy? Arguments: I. Yes — variety of news only confuses people. II. No — controlled news loses credibility.
• Tax policy — should taxes on colour televisions be further increased? Statement: Should taxes on colour televisions be raised further? Arguments: I. Yes — colour televisions are luxury items bought only by rich people. II. No — televisions are also bought by the poor.
• Social policy — should the Government pay unemployment allowance to educated unemployed youth? Statement: Should the educated unemployed be paid an “unemployment allowance” by the Government? Arguments: I. Yes — it provides monetary support to seek jobs or start self-employment. II. No — it may dampen the urge to work and promote idleness.
• Access and equity — should higher education be restricted to only those who can pay? Statement: Should higher education be restricted to only those who can bear the expenditure? Arguments: I. Yes — higher education is costly and should not be given free. II. No — many brilliant students cannot afford fees and should still receive higher education.
• Law and society — punish those who receive dowry despite prohibition? Statement: Should those who receive dowry, despite the law prohibiting it, be punished? Arguments: I. Yes — anyone who violates the law must be punished. II. No — the dowry system is deeply rooted in society since time immemorial.
• National priorities — is heavy defence expenditure justified? Statement: Is the Government justified in spending so much on defence? Arguments: I. Yes — the safety of the country is of prime importance. II. No — during peace, this money could be used for development.
• Self-defence training for girls — judo and karate in practice Statement: Should girls learn arts like judo and karate? Arguments: I. Yes — such skills can help them defend themselves from rogues and ruffians. II. No — they will lose their feminine grace.
• Critical Reasoning – National infrastructure policy Statement: Should India develop a national water grid by interlinking the rivers across the country? Arguments: I. No. This is not possible because we do not have the technical know-how. II. Yes. This will greatly help the entire country by channelizing excess water to water-shortage regions.
• Critical Reasoning – Safekeeping of national-significance awards Statement: Should individuals/institutions that possess treasures of national significance (for example, Nobel Prizes) hand them over to the Central Government for safe custody? Arguments: I. Yes. Individuals or institutions lack adequate resources to protect them. II. No. These are the property of the winners and should remain in their custody.
• Critical Reasoning – Reservation on communal basis Statement: Should seats and posts be reserved on a communal (religious/community) basis? Arguments: I. Yes. It will check most inter-communal biases. II. No. Ours is a secular state.
• Critical Reasoning – Should octroi be abolished? Statement: Should the local tax called octroi be abolished? Arguments: I. Yes. Abolishing octroi will eliminate an important source of corruption. II. No. Abolishing octroi will adversely affect government revenues.