Necessary and sufficient conditions – UGC NET Question

Statements A, B and C correctly define sufficient and necessary conditions and note that a condition can sometimes be both. E is also true because many exam questions exploit this confusion. D is false, since “only if” generally indicates a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. Therefore the correct set of true statements is A, B, C and E only.

Option A:
Option A is correct because it includes all the accurate definitional statements and the exam-focused remark, while excluding D which reverses the usual reading of “only if”. It captures both conceptual clarity and test relevance.

Option B:
Option B is incomplete as it leaves out C, ignoring cases where a condition is both necessary and sufficient, so it does not gather all correct statements.

Option C:
Option C omits A, failing to state what a sufficient condition does, and therefore cannot be fully correct even though it retains some true statements.

Option D:
Option D excludes B, losing the definition of a necessary condition, so A, C and E only does not contain all true statements.