Consider the following statements: 1. According to the Census 2001, Kerala has the smallest gap in male and female literacy rates among the 28 states of India (Delhi and Pondicherry not included). 2. According to the Census 2001, Rajasthan has literacy rate above the national average literacy rate. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Neither statement holds for Census 2001.

The idea

The gender literacy gap is male literacy minus female literacy, in percentage points. The highest total literacy does not necessarily imply the smallest gap. Test the gap and the national-average comparison separately using Census 2001.

Why the others are wrong

(a) Mizoram (≈4 points) had a smaller male–female gap than Kerala (≈6.5).

(b) Rajasthan was below the national average.

(c) Both are false.

The trap

Kerala tops literacy, so it “must” have the smallest gap — but Mizoram’s is smaller.

Elimination technique

One State with a smaller 2001 gap than Kerala disproves statement 1. That leaves (b) or (d); comparing Rajasthan with the national average resolves statement 2.

Also know

A fall from a 10-point gap to a 5-point gap is a reduction of five percentage points and 50% of the original gap. Census literacy refers to people aged seven and above. A national literacy rate is population-weighted, not the simple average of all State rates.