Passage – Open defecation refers to the practice whereby people go out in fields, bushes, forests, open bodies of water, or other open spaces rather than using the toilet to defecate. The practice is rampant in India and the country is home to the world’s largest population of people who defecate in the open and excrete close to 65,000 tonnes of faeces into the environment each day. The practice is the main reason India reports the highest number of diarrhoeal deaths among children under-five in the world. Children weakened by frequent diarrhoea episodes are more vulnerable to malnutrition, stunting, opportunistic infections such as pneumonia thus weakening their learning abilities. Open defecation also exposes women to the danger of physical attacks and encounters such as snake bites. Poor sanitation also cripples national development where workers produce less, live shorter lives, save and invest less, and are less able to send their children to school. Hence as a part of national policy, states have now realized the need for more community-level participation about sanitation and have begun to recruit frontline workers to promote and implement sanitation strategies, with mechanisms for their training, management, and supervision.

Q.1) According to the passage, which of the following would contribute to the healthy sanitation practices in Inida ?

a) Budgetary resources and technical assistance should be made available from the central government to all the state governments.

b) A national sample-survey of rural sanitation should be conducted every year by independent third-party agencies.

c) States should be given the flexibility to adopt the messages and methods that resonate most with the social and cultural sensibilities of their people.

d) Shifting entire communities and social norms towards health and economic benefits along with dedicated workers towards implementation of sanitation strategies.

Ans. D

Explanation – Option a), b) and c)  are relevant add-ons to the theme of the passage but fails to find their reference in the passage. Only option d) matches the passage content as well as the tone. Hence option d) is correct.

Q.2) Which among the following is the most critical inference that can be made from the above passage?

(a) The Central and State governments in India do not have enough resource to afford a latrine for each household.

(b) Open defecation is the most important public health problem of India.

(c) Open defecation reduces the human capital of India’s workforce.

(d) Open defecation is a public health problem in all the developing countries.

Ans. C

Explanation – Option a) and option b) mentions about scarcity of resources and most important public health problem of India. Based on the passage content, we can’t be sure about them. Also option d) talks about all developing counties and fails to find it’s reference in the passage content. Only option c) is correct and can be verified from the passage tone and content.