Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer should be based on the passage only…
Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer should be based on the passage only.
With steady economic growth, higher literacy and increasing skill levels, the number of Indian middle-class families has gone up exponentially. Direct results of the affluence have been changes in dietary patterns and energy consumption levels. People have moved to a higher protein-based diet like milk products, fish and meat, all of which need significantly more water to produce than cereal-based diets. Increasing use of electronic and electric machines/gadgets and motor vehicles needs more and more energy and generation of energy needs water.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?
People should be persuaded to continue with the mainly Indian traditional cereal-based diets.
India needs to focus on developing agricultural productivity and capacity for more energy generation in the coming years.
Modern technological developments result in the change of cultural and social behaviour of the people.
Water management practices in India need to change dramatically in the coming years.
Solution
The passage shows that affluence-driven changes in dietary patterns and energy consumption both increase water demand. The crux is that water management practices in India need to change considerably in the coming years. Option D is correct.