India needs to manage daylight much better than it does. Maximising daylight…
2023
India needs to manage daylight much better than it does. Maximising daylight is a good place to start becoming more energy-efficient. According to a Cornell study, failing to use daylight properly costs $4.1 billion, or 0.2% of GDP, in addition to its health effects.
Experts have suggested multiple time zones in India, perhaps reverting to the pre-1947 system of two time zones, as proposed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), India’s official timekeeper. However, the investment and logistical coordination required make this idea unattractive.
Daylight saving time is a more practical option. It is the system of advancing clocks by one hour to obtain more usable daylight. This would allow the extra hour of daylight to be used during the summer months from March to October. It could also reduce the use of electric lights on winter mornings because the sun rises later. This system would be particularly useful in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country.
To maximise daylight further, moving away from uniform workplace opening hours could be advantageous. The sun sets roughly 90 minutes later in western India than in eastern India. Establishments in northeastern and eastern states could begin work an hour earlier than elsewhere. This would let people align their working hours with environmental cues while giving them a head start over those elsewhere.
Advancing time to maximise daylight has the potential to save energy, alter energy use significantly, reduce India’s carbon footprint, and make better use of sunlight. It is about making hay while the sun shines.
Daylight saving time would do all of the following EXCEPT:
A. Advance clocks by one hour
B. Begin work late in all parts of the country
C. Obtain more light from the day
D. Stagger working hours
Choose the correct answer from the options given below.
Answer: B. B only — ConceptIn an EXCEPT-type reading-comprehension question, each statement must be compared with the passage’s explicit claim. The exception is the statement…
- A.
A & B only
- B.
B only
- C.
A, C & D only
- D.
B & D only
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
In an EXCEPT-type reading-comprehension question, each statement must be compared with the passage’s explicit claim. The exception is the statement that is absent from, or contrary to, the passage.
When answer choices contain combinations of statement labels, first classify every labelled statement independently, then choose the set containing exactly the exception statement or statements.
Application
A: The passage defines daylight saving time as advancing clocks by one hour, so A is included in the proposal.
B: The passage does not propose beginning work late throughout India. It says establishments in eastern and northeastern states could begin an hour earlier, so B reverses both the direction and the regional qualification.
C: The passage says the clock advance is intended to obtain more usable daylight, so C is included.
D: It recommends moving away from uniform opening times and using region-specific starts, which amounts to staggered working hours, so D is included.
Cross-check
A, C, and D each restate a mechanism explicitly described in the passage.
B alone conflicts with the passage’s proposal for earlier, region-specific starts.
Therefore, the statement excluded by the passage is B, and the answer is ‘B only’.