IPMAT Indore 2022 · Verbal Ability · Question 29

Step 1 — find the opener. Sentence 4 is the only one that names its subject in full — “The June-to-September rain-bearing system” — with no backward reference and no connective. Every other sentence depends on it: 3 begins “This is because”, 5 begins “Unfortunately, however”, and 1 and 2 both discuss monsoon quality without having introduced the monsoon.

Step 2 — the explanation. Sentence 3: “This is because half the Indian population depends upon farm-derived income.” The This refers to the lifeblood claim in 4, and the sentence justifies it. A mandatory pair: 4\to 3.

Step 3 — the complication. Sentence 5: “Unfortunately, however, nearly 40% of India’s net sown area does not have access to irrigation.” The contrast marker turns the paragraph from the monsoon’s importance to India’s vulnerability — and it is this lack of irrigation that makes the monsoon decisive.

Step 4 — the consequences. With no irrigation, outcomes hinge entirely on the rains, so the paragraph sets out both directions:

Sentence 1: a sub-par monsoon cuts yields and raises import dependence.

Sentence 2: a robust monsoon curbs food inflation.

Bad case before good case, closing on the positive note.

The sequence:

4\to 3\to 5\to 1\to 2

Answer: 43512

Shortcut. Three of the five sentences are disqualified from opening by a connective or a pronoun — This is because (3), Unfortunately, however (5) — and 1 and 2 are a matched pair of outcomes that need a premise first. That leaves 4.

Then the pair 4–3 is locked by “This is because”, and the pair 1–2 is locked as the sub-par/robust contrast. The only question left is where 5 goes, and its however must introduce the vulnerability that makes both outcomes matter.

Look for matched pairs of sentences built on the same frame — here “A sub-par monsoon…” and “A robust monsoon…”. Such twins almost always sit together, and usually at the end.