UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

A necessary condition is one without which a particular event cannot occur. If the necessary condition is absent, the event is impossible. However, the necessary condition by itself may not be enough to bring about the event, as other conditions may also be required. This description is exactly what the stem presents, so it is a necessary condition.

Option A:
Option A is correct because the word necessary highlights the idea of requirement rather than guarantee. For example, oxygen is necessary for ordinary fire, but oxygen alone is not sufficient to produce fire. This illustrates the difference captured in the question.

Option B:
Option B, sufficient, refers to a condition that, when present, ensures the occurrence of an event by itself. A sufficient condition may not be required in every case, unlike a necessary one. Therefore sufficient condition does not match the focus on "must be present" in the stem.

Option C:
Option C, remote, suggests distance or weak connection and is not a standard technical expression in conditional logic. It does not tell us anything clear about necessity or sufficiency. Consequently remote is not the right answer.

Option D:
Option D, accidental, implies that something happens by chance and does not entail a stable conditional relation. An accidental factor may or may not be present without systematically affecting the event. Thus accidental condition does not fit the description.

A necessary condition is one without which a given event or property cannot occur. If the necessary condition is absent, the event is impossible. However, simply having the necessary condition may not be enough to bring about the event because additional conditions might also be required. Thus the condition described in the stem is a necessary condition.

Option A:
Option A, sufficient, would mean that the condition by itself is enough to produce the event whenever it occurs. This emphasises guarantee rather than requirement, and so does not fit the stem’s description.

Option B:
Option B, causal, indicates that a factor plays some role in producing an effect, but not every cause is necessary and not every necessary condition is a direct cause. The term is therefore too vague for the precise logical relation required.

Option C:
Option C is correct because necessity focuses on what must hold whenever the event occurs. For instance, having oxygen is necessary for ordinary fire, even though oxygen alone cannot start a fire without fuel and ignition. This illustrates the idea that presence is required but not by itself sufficient.

Option D:
Option D, random, connotes lack of systematic relation and is the opposite of being required. A random factor is neither necessary nor reliably connected to the event.