The question given below consists of a statement, followed by three arguments numbered I, II and III. You have to decide which of the arguments is/are ‘strong’ arguments and which is/are ‘weak’ arguments and accordingly choose your answer from the alternatives given below each question. Statement: India has conveyed to Russia that it will not be a part of the project now to develop a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and may join the programme at a later stage, according to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It was conveyed to Russia that they can go ahead with the project and we may join it at a later stage.Which among the following arguments support the above statement in the best possible manner? Arguments: I. India and Russia had signed an inter-governmental agreement for the mega project in 2007, vowing to take the military ties between the two strategic partners to the next level. II. However, the project has been stuck for the last 11 years as there have been serious differences between the two sides on sharing cost of developing the jet, technologies to be used in it and number of aircraft to be produced. III. The government is adopting a layered approach to achieve the final goal of theatre command and that the thrust was on a bottom-up approach. Correct Answer Only III is strong. The correct answer is option 3, i.e. Only III is strong. We first make sure to read the statement carefully and then see what immediate inferences can be drawn based on our first reading. The next step is to look at the arguments given in the options, analyze them and see if they seem relevant with respect to the information/data provided to us. Finally, it is very important to study the question closely. The above statement deals with the fact that India has opted out from the deal with Russia and the latter has been conveyed that it can go ahead with the project and India may join it at a later stage. Argument (I) can be rejected on first reading as it deals with the details of the deal and does not answers the question asked. Argument (II) can also be rejected as it hints at the idea of the problems between the two nations. It might look as an appropriate answer choice but does not provides a suitable reason as to why India may be interested in the project in later stages (as mentioned in the statement). Argument (III) generalizes the approach of India that it is adopting a layered approach and might be interested in the project later on. It captures the essence of the given statement and thus, answers the question in the complete manner. Thus, option 3 captures the correct arguments that support the statement in the best possible manner and is our answer choice. Hence, rest of the options can be rejected.