UPSC Prelims 2018— Question 17

**Concept and analysis:** Open APIs in the Aadhaar ecosystem mean that authorised applications and service providers can interact with identity and authentication services through defined software interfaces. Aadhaar authentication has supported biometric modes such as iris and fingerprint, subject to the authentication architecture and permitted use. The phrase 'open APIs' does not mean Aadhaar can simply be embedded into any arbitrary electronic device without authorisation or compatible infrastructure. The question is testing precise UPSC-level identification rather than a broad association. The key is to distinguish the exact institutional, constitutional, historical, geographical, economic or scientific feature being asked. **Option-wise evaluation** **Option A:** Incorrect. It selects 1 only, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **Option B:** Incorrect. It selects 2 only, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **Option C:** Correct. It selects statements 1, 2; these are the statements supported by the relevant constitutional, economic, historical, scientific or geographical facts. **Option D:** Incorrect. It selects Neither 1 nor 2, but that combination does not match the verified statement-level assessment; it either includes a false statement or omits a true one. **UPSC takeaway:** The safest way to solve this type of question is to anchor the answer in the defining feature of the concept and then test every option against that feature. Closely related institutions or terms are often used as distractors. In statement-based questions, do not judge the option as a whole before checking each statement independently. In factual questions, compare the wording of each option with the exact definition, location, institutional role, chronology or scientific property. The correct answer follows from that verification rather than from familiarity with a keyword.