SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 18 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 distinguishes second-generation biofuels, as mentioned in the passage?

(a)They are made from animal fats
(b)They derive from non-edible agricultural waste
(c)They require petroleum additives
(d)They emit more carbon than coal

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The passage describes these fuels in one phrase: biofuels, "especially second-generation variants derived from agricultural waste".

Option (b) restates that source: non-edible agricultural waste. The word non-edible is the option's gloss, not the passage's, but it fits: waste is what is left over from a crop, not the food itself.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
They are made from animal fats — Animal fats appear nowhere in the passage. The one source it names for second-generation biofuels is agricultural waste, and the stem asks what the passage says.
(c)
They require petroleum additives — The passage says nothing about petroleum additives. What it says about these fuels is their source, agricultural waste, and their use in decarbonizing aviation and freight transport.
(d)
They emit more carbon than coal — This reverses the passage, which says biofuels offer "a pathway to decarbonize aviation and freight transport". Coal is not mentioned at all.

Concept

This is a detail question. The answer sits in one sentence, and the stem's words "as mentioned in the passage" limit you to what that sentence says.

Find the keyword (second-generation), read the whole sentence around it, and pick the option that restates it. Discard options that bring in outside knowledge, however plausible: animal fats and petroleum additives may sound like biofuel talk, but this passage says neither.

Outside the passage, the standard classification agrees with the key. First-generation biofuels are made from food crops such as sugarcane and maize, and second-generation biofuels from non-food biomass such as crop residues.

The passage itself never says non-edible, so treat that word as the option's paraphrase, not a quotation.

Key facts

The passage's words: second-generation variants "derived from agricultural waste".
It says they offer a pathway to decarbonize aviation and freight transport.
It describes those sectors as having "traditionally been resistant to electrification".
First-generation biofuels come from food crops, second-generation ones from non-food biomass such as crop residues.

Study next

Detail questions phrased "as mentioned in the passage" or "according to the passage"Paraphrase matching: finding the passage's phrase reworded in an optionFeedstocks of first- and second-generation biofuels

Common traps

Choosing from what you know about biofuels rather than from the sentence the passage gives
Rejecting (b) because the passage never says non-edible, although nothing in the passage contradicts it

The same passage sets English Q.17, Q.19, Q.20 and Q.21 of 18 Sep 2025, 09:00. Q.17 asks for its primary argument (keyed Its transformative use lies across multiple sectors), the frame this detail sits inside.

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.