Direction for the following 6 (six) items: Read the following five passages and answer the items (61-66) that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

India has tremendous potential for solar energy. We all realize that we have to stop burning fossil fuels to meet our energy needs. But certain renewable resources are still going through their cost curves and learning curves to get the required amount of output. The Indian Government has strongly committed to its targets of reducing emissions by 33 per cent by 2030, and towards this it has initiated a strong push towards a gas-based economy and has also invested heavily in renewable energy. However, business houses are wary of investing too heavily in renewable energy at a time when the technology is not yet ready.

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
1. Governments often provide inefficient and costly subsidies for technologies that may not be ready in the near future.
2. India’s commitment of reducing emissions by 33% by 2030 shall be on the basis of gas-based economy.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Correct Option: 1 only

Passage Breakdown & Analysis:

Let us analyze the given assumptions based strictly on the text provided in the passage:

Assumption 1: "Governments often provide inefficient and costly subsidies for technologies that may not be ready in the near future."
The passage notes that certain renewable energy technologies are still going through their cost and learning curves and are "not yet ready." It also explicitly mentions that the Indian Government "has invested heavily in renewable energy" while "business houses are wary of investing too heavily in renewable energy at a time when the technology is not yet ready." Heavy government investment in technologies that are not yet ready and are going through cost curves implies government subsidies/funding that are currently costly and potentially inefficient compared to private market readiness. Thus, Assumption 1 is valid based on the contextual logic of the passage.

Assumption 2: "India’s commitment of reducing emissions by 33% by 2030 shall be on the basis of gas-based economy."
The passage states that towards reducing emissions, the government has initiated a push towards a gas-based economy and has also invested heavily in renewable energy. Therefore, the commitment is not solely or strictly "on the basis of gas-based economy" alone, making Assumption 2 invalid as an exclusive premise.

Conclusion:
Only Assumption 1 is valid. Hence, the correct choice is 1 only.