SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 17 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

The accelerating depletion of fossil fuels, coupled with mounting ecological degradation, has propelled renewable energy from a peripheral concern to a central component of global energy discourse. Yet, the conversation often fixates on production rather than application. A nuanced understanding of renewable energy must include not only its sources—solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass—but also the multifaceted domains in which it can transform economies, decentralize power structures, and promote environmental justice. In the domain of electricity generation, renewables have already begun to displace conventional energy systems. Solar photovoltaic installations now power not only urban rooftops but remote rural hamlets long excluded from centralized grids. Micro-hydel projects have enabled mountain communities to harness perennial streams for electricity without the ecological upheaval of large dams. Similarly, wind energy has emerged as a significant contributor in coastal and arid zones, transforming local economies by creating decentralized, sustainable employment ecosystems. Beyond electricity, renewable energy finds compelling applications in transportation, industrial heating, and agriculture. The rise of biofuels—especially second-generation variants derived from agricultural waste—offers a pathway to decarbonize aviation and freight transport, sectors that have traditionally been resistant to electrification. In agrarian contexts, solar-powered pumps have reduced farmers’ dependence on erratic grid supply and diesel generators, enhancing irrigation autonomy while mitigating carbon emissions. Industries, often vilified for their carbon intensity, are also experimenting with renewable alternatives. Concentrated solar thermal technologies, for instance, are being employed in textile processing, food dehydration, and even metallurgy, demonstrating that clean energy need not be confined to low-intensity applications. Furthermore, geothermal energy is increasingly being harnessed for space heating in colder regions and for cooling through absorption chillers—thereby offsetting conventional HVAC loads. However, the significance of renewable energy transcends utility. At a deeper level, it challenges existing geopolitical hierarchies shaped by fossil fuel dependency. While oil-rich nations have historically wielded disproportionate influence, renewable resources—abundant yet diffuse—enable energy sovereignty for resource-scarce regions. This democratization of energy, if properly managed, can catalyze more equitable development paradigms. Nevertheless, integration challenges persist. Intermittency, storage limitations, land use conflicts, and upfront costs are not insignificant barriers. A hasty transition without resilient infrastructure or community consent could replicate the very injustices renewables seek to redress. Therefore, the question is not merely how to produce renewable energy, but how to embed it meaningfully across sectors, geographies, and social hierarchies.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage : What primary argument does the author make about renewable energy?

(a)It can only replace fossil fuels in electricity generation
(b)It has limited potential beyond solar energy
(c)Its transformative use lies across multiple sectors
(d)It is primarily a Western innovation

Answer

Why

Correct — C.
The author states the case at both ends of the passage.

Early on: "the conversation often fixates on production rather than application", and understanding must include "the multifaceted domains in which it can transform economies".

The last line: "the question is not merely how to produce renewable energy, but how to embed it meaningfully across sectors, geographies, and social hierarchies."

That is option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
It can only replace fossil fuels in electricity generation — only ... electricity generation is contradicted directly: "Beyond electricity, renewable energy finds compelling applications in transportation, industrial heating, and agriculture."
(b)
It has limited potential beyond solar energy — limited potential beyond solar ignores the wind, micro-hydel, biofuel and geothermal uses the passage describes, such as geothermal space heating in colder regions.
(d)
It is primarily a Western innovation — a Western innovation has no basis in the passage, which never discusses where renewables came from. Its geopolitical point is that they challenge hierarchies shaped by fossil fuel dependency.

Concept

A primary argument question asks for the claim the whole passage supports, not one detail. Look where the author takes a position: here, the opening contrast of production with application, and the closing "not merely ... but" sentence.

The body then walks through sectors: electricity, transport, agriculture, industry, and heating and cooling. Option (c) summarises that walk.

The passage also names barriers: intermittency, storage limitations, land use conflicts and upfront costs. They qualify the argument rather than replace it, since the author still ends on how to embed renewables across sectors.

Key facts

The closing sentence states the thesis: embed renewable energy across sectors, geographies and social hierarchies.
Sectors named: electricity, transport, agriculture, industry, and heating and cooling.
Barriers named: intermittency, storage limitations, land use conflicts and upfront costs.

Study next

Main-idea vs. detail questions in comprehensionSpotting the thesis in a "not merely ... but" sentenceEliminating options that carry absolute words such as only

Common traps

Picking an option that matches one paragraph, such as electricity generation, instead of the whole passage
Choosing an option that echoes a passage theme, such as geopolitics, but adds a claim the text never makes

21 Sep 2025, 16:00, English Q.4 asks for the primary argument of a mountaineering passage and keys option (c), the one joining several strands, with a Western-dominance distractor like this one's.

18 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.16 asks the same kind of question, "What is the central argument of the passage?", keyed option (b).

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Reading comprehension — all 128 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.

The accelerating depletion of fossil fuels, coupled with mounting ecological degradation, has propelled renewable energy from a peripheral concern to a central component of global energy discourse. Yet, the conversation often fixates on production rather than application. A nuanced understanding of renewable energy must include not only its sources—solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass—but also the multifaceted domains in which it can transform economies, decentralize power structures, and promote environmental justice. In the domain of electricity generation, renewables have already begun to displace conventional energy systems. Solar photovoltaic installations now power not only urban rooftops but remote rural hamlets long excluded from centralized grids. Micro-hydel projects have enabled mountain communities to harness perennial streams for electricity without the ecological upheaval of large dams. Similarly, wind energy has emerged as a significant contributor in coastal and arid zones, transforming local economies by creating decentralized, sustainable employment ecosystems. Beyond electricity, renewable energy finds compelling applications in transportation, industrial heating, and agriculture. The rise of biofuels—especially second-generation variants derived from agricultural waste—offers a pathway to decarbonize aviation and freight transport, sectors that have traditionally been resistant to electrification. In agrarian contexts, solar-powered pumps have reduced farmers’ dependence on erratic grid supply and diesel generators, enhancing irrigation autonomy while mitigating carbon emissions. Industries, often vilified for their carbon intensity, are also experimenting with renewable alternatives. Concentrated solar thermal technologies, for instance, are being employed in textile processing, food dehydration, and even metallurgy, demonstrating that clean energy need not be confined to low-intensity applications. Furthermore, geothermal energy is increasingly being harnessed for space heating in colder regions and for cooling through absorption chillers—thereby offsetting conventional HVAC loads. However, the significance of renewable energy transcends utility. At a deeper level, it challenges existing geopolitical hierarchies shaped by fossil fuel dependency. While oil-rich nations have historically wielded disproportionate influence, renewable resources—abundant yet diffuse—enable energy sovereignty for resource-scarce regions. This democratization of energy, if properly managed, can catalyze more equitable development paradigms. Nevertheless, integration challenges persist. Intermittency, storage limitations, land use conflicts, and upfront costs are not insignificant barriers. A hasty transition without resilient infrastructure or community consent could replicate the very injustices renewables seek to redress. Therefore, the question is not merely how to produce renewable energy, but how to embed it meaningfully across sectors, geographies, and social hierarchies.