UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Statements A, B, C and E present a coherent picture of how industry relates to environment and sustainable development. Industrialisation can support growth and jobs, but pollution risks arise without safeguards, making cleaner technologies and resource efficiency important. Public disclosure of performance can create reputational incentives to improve compliance. Statements D and F are incorrect because regulations can drive innovation and environmental management systems explicitly support sustainable development goals. Therefore, the combination that includes A, B, C and E only is correct.

Option A:
Option A is correct because it selects all and only the statements that are conceptually sound: A and B describe growth and pollution risks, C stresses cleaner processes and E highlights disclosure as a driver of better performance. It appropriately excludes D, which overstates negative effects of regulation, and F, which ignores SDG linkages. This option aligns with contemporary views on industrial sustainability.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect as it omits statement E, thereby ignoring the role of transparency and public reporting in improving environmental behaviour. While A, B and C are true, leaving out E means the answer set is incomplete. In addition, it does nothing to correct the false notions in D and F.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it includes B, C and E but also F, which wrongly claims that environmental management systems are unrelated to SDGs. It also omits statement A, which correctly notes the economic aspect of industrialisation. The presence of F makes this combination logically flawed.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect since it brings together A, C and E with F. Although A, C and E are correct, including F introduces a clearly false statement about the irrelevance of environmental management systems to sustainable development. It also excludes B, which properly recognises pollution risks from poorly regulated industry.

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.

The Government of India notified a ban on a set of 19 identified single-use plastic items from 1 July 2022. These items were chosen because they typically have low utility but a high tendency to become litter, such as earbuds with plastic sticks, certain cutlery and decorative thermocol. The approach aims to eliminate the most problematic plastics while allowing time to improve design and regulation of other products. This selective ban is part of a broader strategy under the Plastic Waste Management Rules.

Option A:
This option correctly reflects the targeted nature of the 2022 ban, which focuses on low-utility, high-litter items. It aligns with official notifications and the list of prohibited products. The focus is on reducing visible litter and environmental harm without disrupting essential uses.

Option B:
This option is incorrect because the ban does not cover all forms of plastic; medical and some other essential uses are excluded. A complete ban would be impractical and was not notified.

Option C:
Plastic carry bags were subject to separate rules that increased minimum thickness requirements rather than banning all such bags above 120 microns. Therefore, this option confuses regulation with prohibition.

Option D:
The ban applies domestically and is not restricted to export-oriented units. In fact, export packaging may follow different rules, whereas the notified items are prohibited within the country’s regular markets and use contexts.

The polluter pays principle requires that the costs of pollution control and remediation be borne by those responsible for creating pollution. It aims to internalise environmental externalities into production and consumption decisions. The stem clearly describes the idea that polluters should pay for prevention,control and clean up,so polluter pays is the correct term. This principle underpins many modern environmental policies.

Option A:
The precautionary principle emphasises taking preventive action in the face of scientific uncertainty,but it does not specify who should bear the cost. Therefore it does not directly address the cost allocation issue highlighted in the question.

Option B:
Polluter pays encourages firms to adopt cleaner technologies and avoid wasteful practices,because they face financial responsibility for damage. This aligns well with the demand in the stem that generators of pollution cover associated costs.

Option C:
Subsidiarity is a governance principle stating that decisions should be taken at the lowest effective level,close to affected citizens. It deals with institutional arrangements rather than cost allocation for pollution,so it is not the right answer.

Option D:
Proximity refers to managing waste as close as possible to its source to reduce transport and associated impacts. While related to logistics,it does not capture the core idea that polluters should bear costs,so Option D is not suitable.