Social Issues

Directions for the following 4 (Four) items:

Read the following Two passages and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage 1

Indian states prohibit women from many factory processes. India's ten most populous states collectively impose 139 prohibitions on women from participating in specific factory processes. Governments impose these prohibitions given the dangerous nature of the processes. However, inter-state comparison and scientific literature indicate that these prohibitions are enforced without evidence of special health risks to women workers. For example, some states allow women to participate in abrasive blasting (used to clean metal surfaces), but others prohibit women from participating in the same process. Similarly, women are prohibited from participating in any process to manufacture lead or its compounds. However, scientific literature indicates that lead is not likely to pose special health risks to women. These prohibitions exclude women from high-paying jobs, making the prohibitions counterproductive.

Which of the following statements best reflect the most logical and rational inferences that can be made from the passage?

1. There is a lack of rigorous, evidence-based and standardized assessment about which factory processes pose special health risks to women.

2. The number of factories and factory processes from which women are barred might decrease.

3. The state-level prohibitions on women are well-intentioned but poorly implemented that primarily suffers from a lack of awareness among factory owners.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 3 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 1, 2 and 3

(d) 2 and 3 only