Absence of technology would lead to : (a) Less pollution (b) Wastage of…

Concept

In passage-based combination questions, each statement must be tested only against explicit or directly implied information in the passage. A combination is accepted only when every included statement is supported and every excluded statement is unsupported.

Application

1. Statement (a), less pollution: the passage does not state that absence of technology would reduce pollution.

2. Statement (b), wastage of precious natural resources: the passage explicitly links insufficient technological impetus with such wastage.

3. Statement (c), low value addition: after linking insufficient technological impetus with lower productivity, the passage identifies low productivity or low value addition as the adverse activity pattern.

4. Statement (d), hurting the poorest most: the passage states that low-productivity or low-value-addition activities ultimately hurt the poorest most.

Cross-check

The supported set is therefore (b), (c), and (d), while (a) has no support in the passage. Hence the required combination is (b), (c) and (d) only.