Critical Reasoning questions are comprehension questions based on a small paragraph. These questions test your comprehension skills. Primarily, there are three important elements in any critical reasoning question. They are the premise, the conclusion and the assumption.
• A premise is a fact stated in the passage and can be assumed to be true. All conclusions are derived on the basis of these facts and implicit assumptions hidden within the stated inferences.
• A conclusion is a stated inference based on the given premises.
• An assumption is a fact that is not explicitly stated in the paragraph but is necessary to arrive at the conclusion stated in the paragraph. If an assumption is proved to be false, the conclusion of the paragraph will be invalidated.
In this topic, generally questions are of the following types:
• Find the assumption in the above passage.
• Which of the following statements contradicts the above finding mentioned in the passage?
• Which of the following statements strengthens the conclusion?
Assumption is the un-stated part of the argument. Try to connect the premises and conclusion and then verify the information that is missing. This missing information is the assumption in an argument.
• To strengthen the conclusion, find the assumption in the passage and choose the option that bolsters the assumption.
• To weaken the conclusion, find the assumptions in the passage and choose the option that attacks the assumption.
Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given below.
The centre reportedly wants to continue providing subsidy to consumers for cooking gas and kerosene for five more years. This is not good news from the point of view of reining in the fiscal deficit. Mounting subventions for subsidies means diversion of savings by the government from investment to consumption, raising the cost of capital in the process. The government must cut expenditure on subsidies to create more fiscal space for investments in both physical and social infrastructure. It should outline a plan for comprehensive reform in major subsidies including petroleum, food and fertilizers and set goal posts.
Which of the following is an inference which can be made from the facts stated in the above paragraph ?
a) India’s fiscal deficit is negligible in comparison to other emerging economies in the world.
b) Subsidy on food and fertilizers are essential for growth of Indian economy.
c) Reform in financial sector will weaken India’s position in the international arena.
d) Gradual withdrawal of subsidy is essential for effectively managing fiscal deficit in India.
e) None of these
Explanation:
The paragraph talks about the effect of subsidies on fiscal deficit. It says that continuous subsidies will have a bad effect on fiscal deficit. Hence it can be inferred that, to manage fiscal deficit effectively, gradual withdrawal of subsidies is necessary. Hence D is the answer.
