If social change is to involve, as it should, the quality of life, then the fundamental requirements are obvious: compulsory education up to school leaving standards, the provision of basic health facilities, and social welfare. Education is included in the Constitution but rarely effectively implemented, doubtless through fear that it would challenge the status quo. There would have to be thousands more schools, but if the teachers are from the village or from the neighbourhood and given training, there would be more chances of their remaining on the job. The achievements of Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are a pointer to this requiring an effort of will rather than lavish expenditure.

The emphasis on the village and on the urban neighbourhood providing personnel for medical clinics would also reduce the distance between the person and the institution. Informal organisations need not replace the more advanced institutions but could fill the interstices left by the latter. A sense of participation in the process of acquiring knowledge or healing one’s body can be effective in itself.

1. Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational message conveyed by the passage?

 According to the passage, why is there a reluctance to effectively implement compulsory education?

How does the passage suggest improving the availability of teachers in rural and urban neighbourhoods?

What role do informal organizations play according to the passage?

How many distinct 8-digit numbers can be formed by rearranging the digits of the number 11223344 such that odd digits occupy odd positions and even digits occupy even positions?

If a cuboid has dimensions 4 cm x 5 cm x 6 cm, how many smaller cubes of side length 1 cm can be obtained from this cuboid?

If the sum of the first 15 terms of an arithmetic progression is 240 and the common difference is 2, what is the first term?

Five friends P, Q, R, S, and T are sitting in a row facing north. T is not sitting at either end of the row. S is sitting to the immediate right of R. Q is not sitting at any end of the row. P is not sitting next to T. Who is sitting at the leftmost end of the row?

Passage-2 

The value of gold imports fell 38.7% in June to $3.06 billion, the lowest so far in 2024-25. But silver imports, which have been rising sharply, jumped 377% in June. The government must investigate concerns about disruptions in India’s bullion market due to concessional duty imports through the GIFT City under the free trade pact with the United Arab Emirates. Alongside, a sustained decline in India’s gems and jewellery exports, which contracted for the seventh successive month in June, needs attention. The import bill, beyond oil and gold, has risen about 3% so far this year, from a 10% dip in the same quarter last year, with growth accelerating to 7% in June, indicating a recovery in discretionary domestic demand — a good omen for the economy.

Question

Which one of the following statements best reflects the main concerns highlighted in the passage?