Which of the following cause-and-effect pairs is correct, as per the National Education Policy 2020?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Climate change and depleting natural resources → Need for new skilled labour in biology, agriculture and climate science
As per the National Education Policy 2020, climate change and depleting resources call for new skilled labour in biology, agriculture and climate science.
Option (1) Rise of big data and artificial intelligence → Unskilled jobs taken over by machines and less demand for a skilled workforce — Incorrect. The demand for a skilled workforce will grow, not fall.
Option (2) Growing emergence of epidemics and pandemics → Less need for collaborative research on vaccines — Incorrect. Epidemics call for more collaborative research on vaccines.
Option (3) Rise of big data and artificial intelligence → Need for new skilled labour mainly in agriculture and climate science — Incorrect. Big data and AI raise the need for skills in mathematics, computer science and data science.
Option (4) Climate change and depleting natural resources → Need for new skilled labour in biology, agriculture and climate science — Correct. A shift in how we meet energy, water, food and sanitation needs calls for new skills in these fields.
NCERT (2026-27): “Human Capital and Economic Growth: … The National Education Policy 2020 states that the world is undergoing rapid changes in the knowledge landscape. With various dramatic scientific and technological advances, such as the rise of big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, many unskilled jobs worldwide may be taken over by machines, while the need for a skilled workforce, particularly involving mathematics, computer science, and data science, in conjunction with multidisciplinary abilities across the sciences and social sciences, and humanities, will be increasingly in greater demand. With climate change, increasing pollution, and depleting natural resources, there will be a sizeable shift in how we meet the world’s energy, water, food, and sanitation needs, again resulting in the need for new skilled labour, particularly in biology, chemistry, physics, agriculture, climate science, and social science. The growing emergence of epidemics and pandemics will also call for collaborative research in infectious disease management and development of vaccines and the resultant social issues heightens the need for multidisciplinary learning. …” |