Question

Difficulty: MediumCourse of Action

Statement: A recent administrative report highlights that a significant number of elderly beneficiaries in rural districts are being denied their monthly subsidized food rations because the newly implemented point-of-sale biometric fingerprint scanners frequently fail to recognize their faded fingerprints.

Courses of Action:
I. The state government should completely abolish the digital public distribution system across all districts and permanently revert to the manual ledger system.
II. The state food distribution department should immediately authorize alternative identity verification methods, such as iris scanning or mobile OTP validation, for beneficiaries experiencing repeated fingerprint authentication failures.

Which of the following logically follows from the given statement and proposed courses of action?

  1. A
    Only I follows
  2. Only II followsAnswer
  3. C
    Either I or II follows
  4. D
    Neither I nor II follows
  5. E
    Both I and II follow

Answer

Only the second proposed course of action logically follows.
The correct answer identifies that only the second course of action is a valid administrative response. It provides a targeted, practical solution (alternative verification) that solves the specific issue without dismantling the entire distribution infrastructure.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the core problem presented in the statement.
The problem is that a specific demographic (elderly beneficiaries) cannot access rations because a new technological mandate (fingerprint scanners) fails to read their faded fingerprints.
Understanding the exact scope and cause of the problem is necessary to evaluate the proposed solutions.
2
Evaluate Course of Action I against proportionality and potential negative impact.
Abolishing the entire digital system across all districts is a drastic, extreme overreaction to a targeted problem. It destroys the benefits of the digital system rather than fixing its flaws, making it an invalid course of action.
Administrative decisions must be proportionate to the problem; extreme, destructive measures do not logically follow as valid solutions.
3
Evaluate Course of Action II against administrative feasibility and problem resolution.
Providing alternative verification methods (like iris scanning or OTP) directly solves the problem for the affected group while maintaining the integrity of the overall digital system. It is a practical, balanced, and valid course of action.
A valid course of action must mitigate the issue effectively without causing new major systemic problems.

Key Concept

Administrative decision-making requires implementing proportionate, practical solutions that address the specific problem without causing excessive disruption or abandoning systemic progress.
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