Select the option that is true for the Assertion and Reason given below : Assertion : India is home to one of the largest bases of netizens in the world. Reason : Lack of awareness and a tangible gender gap lie at the heart of the matter. (A) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion. (B) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion. (C) The Assertion is true, but the Reason is false. (D) The Assertion is false, but the Reason is true.
Select the option that is true for the Assertion and Reason given below : Assertion : India is home to one of the largest bases of netizens in the world. Reason : Lack of awareness and a tangible gender gap lie at the heart of the matter. (A) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion. (B) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion. (C) The Assertion is true, but the Reason is false. (D) The Assertion is false, but the Reason is true.
Options
(B) Both the Assertion and the Reason are true, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion — the gender gap explains a limitation within India's internet story, not the scale of its total netizen base.
Marking Scheme
- 11 mark for selecting option (B) — no partial marks in MCQ.
Hint
Check both statements for truth first, then ask: does the Reason actually CAUSE or EXPLAIN the Assertion, or does it describe a separate/related issue?
Quick Oral Answer
Both statements are true, but the Reason explains the gender gap issue, not why India has such a large netizen base overall — so the answer is option B.
Analysis & Explanation
Assertion-Reason (A-R) questions require independently checking the truth of each statement before checking causal linkage.
Concept
- Assertion: India has one of the largest netizen bases — true (supported by passage data).
- Reason: lack of awareness and a gender gap lie at the heart of "the matter" — also true, but this explains the LOW share of women users, not the large TOTAL user base.
Key points
- A large user base is driven by population size, smartphone penetration, and cheap data — not by the gender gap.
- Hence both statements are true, but the Reason does not explain the Assertion → option (B).
Common mistakes
- Defaulting to (A) whenever both statements "sound related" without verifying the actual cause-effect link.
Common Mistakes
- 1Automatically choosing (A) because both statements are true, without checking whether the Reason causally explains the Assertion.
- 2Confusing the topic of 'large netizen base' (a scale/size fact) with the topic of 'gender gap in internet access' (a distribution/equity fact) — these are related but distinct ideas in the passage.
Interesting Facts
India is consistently ranked as having the second-largest internet user base in the world after China, driven largely by affordable mobile data and widespread smartphone adoption.
Despite the large overall user base, reports on India's digital divide have repeatedly highlighted that a significantly smaller proportion of women use the internet compared to men, especially in rural areas.
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Frequently Asked Questions
In A-R questions, what is the first step?
Independently verify if the Assertion is true and if the Reason is true, based only on the passage — before checking if they are logically connected.
Why isn't the gender gap a valid explanation for India having a large netizen base?
Because the size of India's netizen base is driven by its huge population and rising smartphone/data access, whereas the gender gap describes an internal disparity within that user base, not the cause of its overall size.