UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Statements A, B, D and F give a coherent picture of ESG in higher education. A is true because ESG frameworks broaden the lens beyond financial aspects. B is true as embedding ESG can improve sustainability and trust. D is true since diversity and community work fall under social dimensions. F is true because many HEIs map ESG reporting to SDG commitments. C and E are false because universities and colleges can meaningfully adopt ESG reporting and governance clearly includes transparency and accountability.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it omits F and thus misses the specific linkage between ESG reporting and SDG-oriented initiatives in institutions.

Option B:
Option B is correct as it joins A, B, D and F, the four true statements on environmental, social, governance and SDG alignment, while excluding C and E, which wrongly limit ESG to corporates or deny governance issues.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it includes E, which claims governance aspects ignore transparency and accountability, and omits A, so it does not indicate the broad scope of ESG.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it includes C, which excludes HEIs from ESG relevance, and therefore conflicts with growing adoption of ESG principles in education.

Equity in higher education is about ensuring fair opportunities for all social groups, particularly those historically marginalised or excluded. Tracking indicators for SC, ST, OBCs and women helps identify gaps and design policies to close them. The stem clearly links monitoring of these groups’ participation to a particular concern, which is equity. Thus, Option A is the correct answer.

Option A:
Equity indicators help policymakers understand whether expansion of the system benefits all groups or mainly advantaged sections. They support targeted interventions like scholarships, reservations and support services to correct imbalances. This aligns exactly with the intent described in the question.

Option B:
Monopoly refers to dominance by a single provider and is more relevant to market structures than to group-wise participation. It does not capture the social justice dimension implied in the stem, so Option B is incorrect.

Option C:
Randomisation is a statistical or experimental technique and has no direct connection to monitoring group-wise enrolment and completion. Therefore, Option C is not suitable here.

Option D:
Privatisation deals with ownership and financing patterns and, while related to equity debates, is not what monitoring participation rates directly measures. Option D does not answer the specific concern mentioned in the question.

Massification refers to the transition of higher education systems from serving a small elite to enrolling a substantial proportion of the youth population. It involves dramatic increases in enrolment, diversification of institutions and broadening of access to new social groups. The stem describes rapid expansion that brings large sections of the population, including first-generation learners, into higher education, which is the essence of massification. Therefore, Option A correctly completes the statement.

Option A:
Massification is often associated with challenges of quality, funding and governance, but it also represents progress toward democratisation of education. It reflects a shift from elite systems to mass or universal systems, a key theme in higher education studies. These features align perfectly with the description given in the question.

Option B:
Elitisation would mean concentrating opportunities in the hands of a small privileged group, which is the opposite of the inclusive expansion described. Hence, this option does not fit the scenario.

Option C:
Feminisation refers to increasing participation of women in higher education or professions and may occur within either elite or mass systems. While important, it does not cover overall enrolment expansion to all social groups, so this option is not appropriate.

Option D:
Globalisation relates to cross-border flows of students, staff and programmes and the internationalisation of curricula. It does not primarily describe domestic expansion of enrolment to broader sections of society, so this option is not the best match.

Inclusive growth refers to a pattern of economic expansion in which the poor and marginalised also share in rising incomes and opportunities. It deliberately links macro level growth with improvements in employment,education and basic services. Because the stem emphasises reducing poverty and inequality while the economy grows,this description fits inclusive growth. It is therefore the most appropriate term for the blank.

Option A:
Inclusive growth stresses broad based participation in and benefits from economic processes. It seeks to ensure that growth is not confined to a small elite but improves capabilities for many groups. For these reasons,it correctly captures the idea expressed in the question stem.

Option B:
Jobless growth occurs when output increases without a corresponding rise in employment opportunities. Such growth can actually worsen inequality because many people remain excluded from productive work. Hence it contradicts the idea of widely shared benefits mentioned in the stem.

Option C:
Trickle down growth assumes that benefits from the rich will eventually reach the poor without specific policy measures. In practice,this often fails to reduce structural inequality. Therefore it does not match the intentional, equity oriented character of inclusive growth described in the question.

Option D:
Export led growth focuses on expanding external markets for domestic goods as the main driver of development. While it can raise GDP,it does not automatically guarantee broad based poverty reduction,so it is not the best fit for the description in the stem.

The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They explicitly set targets to be met by 2030 across economic, social and environmental dimensions. Therefore the year 2030 correctly completes the stem.

Option A:
The year 2020 was the target date for certain earlier international commitments, such as some biodiversity goals, but not for the full SDG framework. Hence it is not the right answer here.

Option B:
2030 marks the end of the 15 year implementation period envisaged when the SDGs were adopted. Countries are expected to align their policies and monitoring systems with this timeline. This aligns precisely with the description in the question.

Option C:
The year 2040 has no special status in relation to the SDGs,although some longer term national plans may extend beyond 2030. It is not the official target date for the global goals.

Option D:
The year 2050 is often referenced in climate scenarios for deep decarbonisation, but it is not the time horizon for the SDGs. Thus it cannot correctly fill the blank.

Reservation in faculty positions aims to correct historical under-representation of certain social groups in academic employment. It seeks to create a more diverse and representative professoriate that reflects the social composition of society. This is an example of pursuing inclusive representation. Thus, the blank in the stem is best completed as “inclusive,” making Option C correct.

Option A:
Inclusive representation ensures that different social, caste, and gender groups participate in knowledge production and teaching. This diversity can enrich classroom perspectives and research agendas, supporting social justice goals in higher education. These points align closely with the description in the question.

Option B:
Elite representation would reinforce dominance of already privileged groups, which is precisely what reservation policies attempt to mitigate. Hence, Option A contradicts the intent of the policy.

Option C:
Exclusive representation suggests keeping others out and concentrating positions in a narrow group, again contrary to the goal of reservations. Therefore, Option B is not appropriate.

Option D:
Random representation would imply no conscious corrective policy and is not an accurate description of targeted affirmative action. Option D therefore does not fit the stem.

Statements A, B and D present a realistic view of the digital divide, while statement C oversimplifies the situation and is incorrect. The divide involves inequalities in access to devices, networks and skills; income, education and infrastructure are key determinants; and digital literacy shapes meaningful use. Even if everyone owns a mobile phone, disparities in connectivity, affordability and skills may persist, so C must be excluded. Thus, the correct combination is A, B and D only.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it lists only A and B and omits D. While A and B are true, statement D is also correct in stressing the importance of digital literacy. Excluding D ignores the usage dimension of the digital divide.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes A, B and C as correct statements, thereby accepting C. The claim that phone ownership alone dissolves the divide fails to recognise quality, skills and usage gaps. Including this statement invalidates the option.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it combines the three true statements and leaves out the oversimplified one. It reflects a multidimensional understanding of the digital divide, including access, context and capability.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it groups B, C and D as correct, accepting C. While B and D are true, incorporating C’s misleading assertion makes the combination wrong.

Statements A, B and D are correct because resilient cities need infrastructure planning, consideration of vulnerable groups and effective early warning and preparedness mechanisms. Statement C is incorrect since contemporary resilience thinking explicitly includes social inclusion, governance and equity aspects. Thus, the combination A, B and D only, excluding C, is correct.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it includes only A and B and leaves out D, even though D correctly identifies preparedness measures as part of resilience. Without D, the set of statements does not fully represent urban climate resilience strategies.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect since it adds C to A and B, treating C as true. C wrongly suggests that resilience neglects social inclusion, contradicting widely accepted frameworks such as resilient and inclusive cities.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because, although it includes B and D, it also accepts C which is wrong. The presence of C makes the combination logically inconsistent with the concept of resilience.

Option D:
Option D is correct as it groups the three statements that jointly describe infrastructure, vulnerability and preparedness aspects of climate-resilient cities while excluding the misleading statement C.