Because the time between the announcement of the programs

Good catch. "it" doesn't look like referring to program. If that is the case then its true in all the five choices. I think you can make some assumption here and move on.

Answer should be C.

i agree...

the first "its" is already suspect. although the posessive pronoun "its" CAN TECHNICALLY refer to "program's" per MGMAT SC book (as well as other sources), it should be avoided if possible. my editor also said this is just bad style.

the two other references to "it" in the sentence can ambiguously point to announcement, existence, or implementation!

I guess this is simply a bad question. Though E changes the meaning, the "its" is correct. "It" cannot replace a possessive noun.

none of the options look good.

(E) does not make any sense.

the 'it' in all other options cannot refer to "program's" and replacing 'it' with 'announcement' or 'implementation' does not make sense either.

That being said the non-underlined portion has 'it'

"many observers assumed that it had been hastily put together" and this "it" is clearly referring to 'program'

what is the source of this question?

i would pick C too. however, i think this question is not clear of what the IT and ITS refer to. the question didn't mention any PROGRAM, there's PROGRAM'S. so it's not a good one...

guys i found this question in the gmat tests v2. Although C is the best option, the "it" doesnt appear to have a correct antecedent. I believe it is supposed to refer to program (which is not available and "it" cannot refer to a possesive noun program's ).

Is my understanding right, or am i missing something here. Please do let me know your thoughts

E is too wordy.
C is the right answer and the OA

thanks guys... yes indeed C is the most apr one and hence the OA.

But my concern is with the IT. there appears to be no antecedent for IT, or am i missing something?
SC experts please advise.

Even though C is the best answer, how can 'it' refer to program in both non-underlined and undelined portion?

'It' need not always have an antecedent. Here comes the concept of "Dummy Pronoun"

I am not sure if this particular sentence will fit into this category but still..
Please have a look at the content here,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dummy_pronoun



Regards,
Archana

when stripped:

Because the time between the PROGRAM'S EXISTENCE and IT'S implementation was so short, observers
assumed IT had been hastily put together; in reality IT was based on years of...

"program's existence and it's" implementation": implementation of program's existence?
"assumed it had been hastily...": program's existence was hastily put together?
"in reality it was based": the pronoun "it" has no clear antecedent (pronoun) on the left

However, C is the better of the other bad options.

true. you are not being asked to find the right answer on the GMAT but the best answer!

nope, the "it" as used in this sentence is NOT of the expletive type.

.. many observers assumed that "IT" had been hastily put together ..

i don't know what 'it' refers to. it cannot logically refer to 'program’s existence'. what is the source of this question?

Because the time between the announcement of the program’s existence and its implementation was so short, many observers assumed that it had been hastily put together; in reality, however, it was based off of years of careful research.

a. in reality, however, it was based off of years of careful research. --> based off is not the correct idiom in the context
b. in reality, however, it was based on careful years of research. --> careful years emphasizes on years not on the reseach
c. in reality, however, it was based on years of careful research. --> correct formation
d. however, in reality, it was based off of years of careful research. --> based off is not the correct idiom in the context
e. however, in reality, its existence was actually based on years of careful research. --> wordy

in reality, however, it was based off of years of careful research

in reality, however, it was based on years of careful research

If the options are given as below

1. in reality, however, it was based on years of careful research.
2. however, in reality, it was based on years of careful research.

Would there be any preference in the positioning of "however"?