UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Statement C is the only wrong statement because industrial growth is not automatically environmentally benign; its impacts depend on regulation, technology and management. Statements A, B and D are correct: weak safeguards can cause pollution, cleaner production reduces impacts and regulations can stimulate innovation in control technologies. Thus, the correct option is the one that identifies C alone as the wrong statement.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it marks both A and C as wrong, even though A is a correct description of how poorly regulated industrialisation harms air and water. Including a true statement among wrong ones makes this combination invalid.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect as it treats B and C as wrong. B is in fact correct since cleaner production and efficiency are key strategies for reducing industrial environmental footprints. Grouping it with the wrong statement C cannot be accepted.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it isolates C as the only incorrect statement and leaves A, B and D acknowledged as true. It matches the requirement to select the wrong statement(s) and reflects the conditional nature of industrial impacts.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it labels A, B and C as wrong, misclassifying both A and B which are conceptually sound. This combination conflicts with the mainstream understanding of industrialisation and environment.

Cleaner production promotes preventive strategies within production processes rather than relying solely on treatment after pollution is created. By changing raw materials, redesigning products and improving process efficiency, industries can generate less waste, use fewer resources and lower risks. This approach often leads to both environmental and economic benefits through reduced material and energy costs.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because end-of-pipe controls treat pollution after it has been generated and are not the primary focus of cleaner production, which stresses prevention.

Option B:
Option B is clearly incorrect and illegal; dumping hazardous waste into rivers intensifies environmental harm and violates basic regulations.

Option C:
Option C is correct as it captures the preventive, process-oriented nature of cleaner production by emphasising changes at the source of pollution.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because ignoring standards may lower short-term costs but contradicts sustainable industrial practices and exposes firms to legal and reputational risks.

Statements A, B, C, D and F are correct because they distinguish prevention from control, highlight low-carbon options, show cost and impact benefits and recognise the interplay of technology, policy and behaviour. Statement E is false since green technologies can also create new jobs and transform employment patterns rather than always reducing opportunities. Thus, the combination that includes all the correct statements and excludes E is correct.

Option A:
Option A is correct as it offers a balanced view of cleaner technologies, showing both technical strategies and socio-economic interactions, while rejecting simplistic claims about inevitable job losses.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it omits F and therefore ignores how policies and user behaviour influence the actual environmental performance of technologies.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect as it includes E, which assumes employment always declines with cleaner technologies, contrary to evidence from many green sectors.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect since it leaves out B, so it fails to distinguish end-of-pipe controls from cleaner production, even though that distinction is important in this unit.