- A. The benefit of economic reforms percolates down more slowly to the agriculture sector than in other sectors of the economy.
- B. For India, the green revolution was not as useful as it was expected to be.
- C. India lagged behind other countries in adapting mechanized and modern farming.
- D. Rural-to-urban migration resulted in the stagnant agriculture sector.
Answer: A
Explanation
The passage highlights a stark contrast: the agricultural sector “never experienced a high-growth phase” and suffered “relative stagnation” after the 1980s, unlike the non-agricultural economy which “consistently increased from the 1980s to 2000s.” The 1980s and subsequent decades were periods of significant economic reforms in India. The observed divergence in growth rates between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors strongly suggests that the benefits of these reforms did not reach agriculture as effectively or quickly as they did other sectors. Option (b) is not supported as the passage does not mention the Green Revolution. Options (c) and (d) introduce external factors (mechanization, migration) that are not discussed in the passage as reasons for stagnation. This question tests the ability to draw logical inferences or corollaries from the provided text, a critical skill for UPSC CSAT.