According to the article, what is Hindi's rank among the world's most-spoken languages?

Explanation

Hindi has a growing global profile, and the specific ranking comes from the 22nd edition of the world language database Ethnologue. Ethnologue ranks Hindi as the third most-spoken language in the world. There are around 80 crore Hindi-speaking people globally, and Hindi is spoken beyond India as well. For the MCQ, the key is not a general impression of Hindi's importance but the exact Ethnologue-based rank: third.

Why the other options are wrong

• (A) Second is wrong because Ethnologue ranks Hindi third among the world's most-spoken languages, not second.
• (B) Fourth is wrong because the Ethnologue-based ranking gives Hindi a higher position: third.
• (D) Fifth is wrong because Hindi is ranked as the third most-spoken language in the world.

Concept

This tests official-source current affairs under Indian Constitution & Governance, especially exact rank-and-figure statements about Hindi's public profile. Such items recur in RAS-style MCQs because the answer depends on careful reading of a government article rather than a loose memory of the topic.

Source

• New India Samachar, Press Information Bureau

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