Directions (23-25):A word has been given in each question and has been used in the sentences given below. Identify the statements where the word has been used in a contextually and grammatically correct manner. If the word has been used incorrectly in all the statements, mark (e), “None of these”, as your answer.

Escalate
(i) Cost of commodities will increase as a result of escalating input prices
(ii) There were fears that violence could escalate further after Iran restricted internet access.
(iii) These past few months, India’s sports administrators have been in the news far too escalate.

The correct option is both (i) and (ii).

Meaning of 'Escalate':
The verb escalate means to increase rapidly, intensify, or make something greater or more serious in size, extent, or intensity.

Analysis of the given statements:

Statement (i): "Cost of commodities will increase as a result of escalating input prices"
Here, 'escalating' is used correctly as a present participle/adjective modifying 'input prices' to describe prices that are rising or increasing rapidly. Thus, statement (i) is contextually and grammatically correct.

Statement (ii): "There were fears that violence could escalate further after Iran restricted internet access."
Here, 'escalate' is used correctly as a verb following the modal verb 'could', meaning that violence could intensify or increase. Thus, statement (ii) is contextually and grammatically correct.

Statement (iii): "These past few months, India’s sports administrators have been in the news far too escalate."
Here, 'escalate' is used incorrectly. The sentence requires an adverb like 'frequently' or 'often' to modify how frequently administrators have been in the news. The verb 'escalate' does not make sense in this context grammatically or semantically.

Therefore, the word escalate has been used correctly in both (i) and (ii).