UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

The phrase “tragedy of the commons” describes how rational actions by individuals using a shared resource can collectively lead to its collapse. A common pasture used by many herders is the classic example. The stem explicitly refers to overexploitation of a shared pasture,which matches the commons situation. Therefore “commons” is the correct word to fill the blank.

Option A:
The village is a social unit that may include both private and common resources. Overuse is not inevitable for everything in the village,so this term is too broad and does not capture the resource focus.

Option B:
Farmers are the users but they are not the resource being degraded. The tragedy arises from how they interact with the commons,so naming the users does not complete the conceptual phrase.

Option C:
Commons refers to resources that are rivalrous but difficult to exclude people from,such as grazing lands, fisheries and groundwater. This aligns perfectly with the shared pasture described in the question.

Option D:
Soil is one component of the pasture that may degrade,but the established term in environmental economics and politics is “tragedy of the commons,”not tragedy of the soil.

The tragedy of the commons describes how unregulated access to a shared resource can lead to over exploitation, even when it is against everyone’s long term interest. The classic example is herders grazing more animals on a common pasture until it is degraded. Since the resource is common to all, the phenomenon is called the tragedy of the commons. Therefore commons is the correct completion.

Option A:
The market refers to systems of voluntary exchange and prices. While market failures can contribute to resource overuse, the specific phrase coined by Garrett Hardin concerns common property resources,not markets in general.

Option B:
Commons are resources accessible to all or many members of a community, such as grazing lands, fisheries or groundwater. When no effective governance exists, individuals may overuse them,creating the tragedy described in the question. This logic matches the stem exactly.

Option C:
The state denotes governmental institutions and public authority. Although state management can sometimes prevent tragedies of the commons, the concept itself is not called the tragedy of the state.

Option D:
The firm is a business organisation whose internal decisions about resource use are typically hierarchical. Overuse of shared resources occurs between firms or individuals using commons,not within a single firm,so this term is inappropriate.

Statements A, B, C, D and F are correct and together describe dependence on common resources, benefits of diversification, impacts of watershed programmes, long-term ecological risks of unsustainable policies and the importance of local institutions. Statement E is wrong because tenure security often shapes incentives for conservation and sustainable use. Therefore, the correct answer must include all true statements while excluding E, which denies a well-documented relationship between tenure and management.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect as it omits F and thus ignores how strong local institutions help align resource use with sustainability and equity. Without F, the role of governance in rural resource management is missing.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes E, which claims tenure has no influence on management, even though secure rights are known to encourage investment and stewardship. Including E makes the combination internally inconsistent.

Option C:
Option C is correct since it contains exactly those statements that reflect socio-ecological realities of rural livelihoods and natural resource management, and it rightly rejects E. It aligns with the unit’s emphasis on resources, livelihoods and institutions.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect as it both includes E, which is false, and omits A. Excluding A removes the basic fact of dependence on common property resources, making the picture incomplete.

Common property resources are held and used collectively by a defined community under shared rules. Village grazing lands are typically accessed by many households and managed through community norms or institutions.

Option A:
Option A is correct as it illustrates a resource whose use and management are shared among community members, fitting the classic definition of common property.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because a privately owned tube-well is controlled by an individual or family and others can be excluded, so it is private property.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect as a personal computer is normally owned and used by one person or household, not governed by community rules.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect since a petrol pump is a commercial, privately operated business where access is based on market transactions rather than communal rights.

Common property resources are held and managed by a defined group that shares rights and responsibilities. Village grazing lands used by all eligible households under customary or formal rules fit this description. The community regulates access, resolves conflicts and maintains the resource. This is different from state-owned open access land or purely private property.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because a privately owned tube well is controlled by a single owner who can exclude others, so it is private property.

Option B:
Option B is correct as it involves collective use and governance by the village community, a textbook example of common property.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect since an industrial plot is owned and managed by a firm, not by a community under shared rules.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect; a petrol pump is a private commercial enterprise, not a common resource.

Statements A, C and D correctly describe key ideas about resource use and sustainable development. Statement A explains the regenerative nature of renewable resources when used within limits, C highlights the tragedy of the commons associated with overuse of shared resources and D emphasises the role of renewable energy and efficiency in sustainability. Statements B and E are incorrect because non-renewable resources are finite and their extraction and use often cause serious environmental damage. The combination that contains A, C and D only is therefore the correct answer.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it includes only A and C and leaves out D. While A and C are true, D is also correct in stressing policy directions for sustainable development. Excluding a correct statement makes this combination incomplete.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes A, C and E. Statement E is wrong as extraction and use of non-renewable resources typically lead to pollution, habitat destruction and greenhouse gas emissions. The inclusion of this false statement invalidates the option.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it adds statement B to the otherwise correct set. Statement B falsely claims that non-renewable resources are infinite and can be exploited without concern, which contradicts their finite nature and the need for conservation. Because it contains a wrong statement, this combination cannot be accepted.

Option D:
Option D is correct because it groups A, C and D, all of which are conceptually sound and aligned with the idea of sustainable resource management. It acknowledges the properties of renewable resources, the risks of overusing common property resources and the importance of shifting to clean energy and efficiency. By excluding the incorrect statements B and E, it becomes the only fully correct combination.

Statements A, C, D, E and F are correct because they reflect multi-directional links among poverty, population dynamics and environmental change, including pressure on commons, overuse for survival, role of human development, poverty traps and integrated policy responses. Statement B is false since the impact of population growth depends on consumption levels, technology and governance; it is not automatically degrading in all cases. Thus, the option that includes all true statements and excludes B is correct.

Option A:
Option A is correct as it captures both the pressures that can arise from poverty and population and the ways in which improved human development and integrated policies can moderate these pressures. It rejects simplistic views that treat population growth as the sole determinant of environmental degradation.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes B, which overgeneralises the relationship between population and environment and ignores the role of mediating factors such as institutions, technology and behaviour.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect since it omits F and therefore ignores the importance of policies that jointly tackle poverty and environmental sustainability, which are central to this unit.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect as it leaves out A, so it fails to mention high-density pressure on common property resources, one of the classic examples in the poverty–environment discussion.

Statement C is wrong because the relationship between poverty and environment is complex and two-way: the poor can contribute to degradation due to necessity, but they are also disproportionately affected by environmental decline. Statements A, B and D are correct as they highlight dependence on common resources, the poverty-degradation spiral and the role of combined livelihood and conservation policies. Thus, the only statement that should be identified as wrong is C, making the combination C only the correct answer.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it treats both A and C as wrong, even though statement A correctly describes how poor households rely on common property resources for basic needs. This dependence is central to many analyses of the poverty–environment link, so including A in the wrong set is unjustified.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it groups C and D as wrong. While C is indeed wrong, D is correct since integrated policies that provide livelihoods and encourage conservation are widely promoted as a way to address the vicious cycle. Misclassifying D undermines well-accepted policy approaches.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it isolates C as the only incorrect statement and recognises that A, B and D reflect mainstream understanding of the nexus. It respects the multidirectional nature of poverty–environment interactions that is emphasised in the unit.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect as it includes A, C and D together as wrong statements. Both A and D are correct, so putting them with C in the wrong set contradicts the conceptual explanations of poverty, environment and policy responses.