Directions (1-5): In each of the following questions a short
passage is given with one of the lines in the passage missing and represented
by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given, to make the
passage complete and coherent (coherent means logically complete and sound).
Q1. The long wait for the new indirect
tax rates that will apply to thousands of goods and services is finally over.
The Goods and Services Tax Council that met in Srinagar has released details of
the rates at which over 1,200 goods will be taxed when the GST regime takes
effect. The rate fitment process has been a subject matter of speculation for
months now, accompanied by fears that the new tax rates and slabs would be
influenced by special interest lobbies.__________________________________
(a) While progressive taxes may be
justified given the wide disparities in income levels in India, the principle
of simplicity is being compromised.
(b) The challenge going forward will be to prevent backdoor rigging of rates
through additional levies that are completely discretionary.
(c) So it is welcome that the government has offered better clarity.
(d) Otherwise, the decision to do away with tax competition among States, in
favour of a simple centralised tax system, will be done no justice.
(e) Lastly, the Centre and States must keep their pressing fiscal demands from
influencing tax rates upwards in the future.
Q2. Results of the local body elections
held in three of Nepal’s seven provinces on May 14 are still trickling in, but
the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the Nepali Congress
(NC) will be reasonably satisfied with their performance. These elections were
mostly held in the hill areas, with the second phase scheduled for June 14, in
which the Madhesi parties — that are still demanding amendments to the
Constitution related to state restructuring — are expected to participate.
_______________________.These polls are to elect representatives in the ward,
village, municipal and metropolitan councils that will have decentralised
decision-making powers related to local revenue generation and spending, along
with the formulation of laws in this regard.
(a) Working out a reasonable concession
to the plains-dwellers will yield the ruling parties better support in the
other provinces headed to the polls.
(b) It will also lead to greater stability and thereby a much-needed shift to
economic priorities.
(c) The Maoists could not improve on their 2013 performance.
(d) Local body elections are being held after a gap of 20 years, which saw
epochal changes in Nepal’s polity without much development to show on the
ground.
(e) The UML’s success so far will embolden it to continue its status quoist
positions on the redrawing of provincial boundaries.
Q3. News reports over the last few weeks
suggest that the Central government may finally be starting to think seriously
about jobs. Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramaniam recently pointed to the
need to achieve higher economic growth, in the range of 8% to 10%, to solve the
problem of jobless growth. _____________________________.It is worth noting
that India added just 1.35 lakh jobs in eight labour-intensive sectors in 2015,
compared to the 9.3 lakh jobs that were created in 2011, according to Labour
Bureau figures. The rate of unemployment grew steadily from 3.8% in 2011-12 to
5% in 2015-16.
(a) Job-creation needs to be an
essential axis along which economic and social policies are formulated.
(b) In particular, he flagged the underperformance of the information
technology, construction and agricultural sectors, which earlier served as huge
job-creators for the economy.
(c) Ironically, achieving both those objectives will first require labour
reforms — ones that can both boost labour mobility within the formal sector and
bring down the barriers businesses face in hiring labour.
(d) The growth record of several developed economies even after the
modernisation of their labour force explains such intensive growth.
(e) The focus on jobs is obviously vital.
Q4. For the first time in 11 years, in
2015-16 the combined fiscal deficit of India’s 29 States as a proportion of the
size of their economies breached the 3% threshold recommended as a fiscally
prudent limit by successive Finance Commissions. The Reserve Bank of India has
warned that the States’ expectation to revert to the 3% mark in their 2016-17
Budgets may not be realised, based on information from 25 States. While the
Central government has projected a fiscal deficit of 3.2% of GDP for this year,
States expect to bring theirs down further to 2.6% — still higher than the
average of 2.5% clocked between 2011-12 and 2015-16.
________________________________
(a) The Centre has been short-changing
States by relying on special levies such as surcharges, cesses and duties that
are not considered part of the divisible tax pool.
(b) With private investment remaining elusive, the States’ focus on bolstering
capital expenditure in sectors such as transport, irrigation and power is
welcome.
(c) Tepid economic growth hasn’t helped, and States have had to resort to
higher market borrowings even after the Centre hiked their share from tax
inflows to 42% from 32%, starting 2015-16.
(d) So, instead of a 10% rise in the States’ share of gross tax revenue, the
actual hike in 2015-16 was just 7.7%.
(e) Whichever way one looks at it, the steady gains made in States’ finances
over the past decade seem to be unravelling.
Q5. Each of India’s neighbours, with the
exception of Bhutan, has signed up for the B&RI, expecting to see billions
of dollars in loans for projects including roads, rail, gas pipelines, oil
pipelines, electricity and telecommunications connectivity. India’s anxiety
about the possible debt trap may be well-founded, but it ignores the benefits
these countries believe will accrue from the project. Simply put, India cannot
appear to be more worried about these countries than their own governments are,
or to determine their stance. _____________________________________
(a)The decision to not attend even as an
observer, however, effectively closes the door for diplomacy.
(b) As a friend and neighbour, India can at best alert them to the perils of
the B&RI, and offer assistance should they choose another path.
(c) India’s reservations, according to the carefully worded statement issued by
the Ministry of External Affairs, are threefold.
(d) Three years after the plan for the Belt and Road Initiative was announced,
China has concluded the first Belt and Road Forum.
(e) While 130 countries participated, of which at least 68 are now part of the
$900-billion infrastructure corridor project, India boycotted the event, making
its concerns public hours before the forum commenced in Beijing.
Directions (6-10): Each of the
following questions has a paragraph from which one sentence has been deleted.
From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most
appropriate way.
Q6. While campaigning for the
BJP during Assam’s assembly elections last year, Prime Minister NarendraModi laid
emphasis on reducing poaching in the Kaziranga National Park. The
SarbanandaSonowal-led BJP government has tried to do justice to the party’s
election plank and the Centre has reportedly lent support to its endeavours. In
the second week of February, it sanctioned the use of drones for vigilance in
Kaziranga. However, while the government’s concern about poaching in the park
that houses the highest number of one-horned rhinos in the world is
understandable, it has often been knee-jerk in its methods. On Tuesday, the
environment ministry recommended blacklisting BBC journalist, Justin Rowlatt, who
showed the anti-poaching measures in poor light. ____________________.
(a)The conservation success has, however, spawned
problems.
(b) The ministry has found Killing for conservation, a documentary directed by
him, to be “grossly erroneous”.
(c)Other reports have, in the past, accused officers and guards of Assam’s
forest department of being trigger-happy.
(d)Kaziranga’s understaffed forest department — reports estimate the shortfall
to be anything between 15 per cent to 25 per cent — has often found itselfoutmanoeuvred
by poachers.
(e)Rhinos compete with themselves and other herbivores for increasingly
declining food reserves.
Q7. Space projects are long-term and span multiple
governments. But the prime minister’s applause for the Indian Space Research
Organisation’s achievements like the Mangalyaan mission may have given fresh
energy to the launch vehicle programme.______________. The polar launch vehicle
which has now placed 104 (almost all foreign) satellites in orbit is the result
of a shrewd focus on launch services, which are in short supply. Demand will
increase as satellite swarms and cheap personalised devices become popular, and
bulk launchers like ISRO can look forward to a window of opportunity.
(a) But the window will close when entrepreneurs like
Elon Musk begin to offer reusable launch vehicles which glide back to earth.
(b) Satellite communications networks generate remote sensing and GPS data and
deliver media, telecommunications and telemedicine.
(c) These will slash launch costs dramatically, while ISRO’s own reusable
vehicle Avatar remains on the drawing board.
(d) Space industries are perceived to work mainly for the national interest,
but the commercial possibilities are immense.
(e) Isro has established a solid reputation as a cheap but reliable bulk
carrier of satellites to earth orbit.
Q8. Weddings costing more than Rs.5 lakhs are not all
same across the board. They are treated as significant life events to be
attended by friends and far and wide extended family of the bride and the
groom. To many, this endearingly makes them perfect occasions for reunions.
Some families don’t mind investing heavily for once in providing for their
guests, to make it a memorable, well-catered family event for all. In some
progressive cases, both parties – bride’s and groom’s – agree to split the
check for mutual merriment._______________.
(a)In other words, spending above the specified amount
can take place even if it is not oriented towards external extravaganza or
dowry pressure.
(b)A legal fix for a social issue is a hard sell in
pragmatic situations, as it proposes to regulate a strictly private affair of
citizens.
(c)Such a trend amounts to a social malaise in the
ever-inflating balloon of wedding expenses, as the money can be invested in
better, beneficial causes.
(d)The bill states that if a family spends above Rs.5
lakh on a wedding, it should contribute 10 per cent of that amount for
marriages of girls from poor families.
(e)While well-intentioned, an “enforcement” on how to
solemnise a wedding is not democratic in nature.
Q9.We talk a lot about the demographic dividend we are
about to get, but less about how to convert all that talent into the skills
that we need. In particular, our entire system of higher education is
desperately short of teachers; most new business schools and engineering
schools survive on part-time professors who travel from institution to
institution, delivering bread and butter courses._____________________. This is
despite the fact that salaries have risen substantially in recent years — the
problem is that the private sector demand for the kinds of people we want as
professors is also growing fast, potentially even faster. In other words, we
should not expect this problem to fix itself any time soon.
(a)There will of course need to be multiple such
lectures, in multiple languages and at multiple levels.
(b)The idea is to make getting advanced credentials easier and cheaper without
diluting the content.
(c) Even the best colleges, universities and institutes have large numbers of
jobs at the professorial level that have been unfilled for years.
(d)But we are still talking about a few hundred basic physics or economics
lectures, not several hundred thousand.
(e)Simply delivering content from a pulpit is not the most effective way to
communicate with students.
Q10. There are two common sources used in the criminal
cases for determining the age of a child — documentary and biological.
Documentary evidence is where the birth of the child is entered in a book to be
maintained by a credible agency. Biological evidence is obtained from a medical
examination specifically oriented towards determining the age of a child.
___________________.
(a) The main objective of the defence counsel is to cast
suspicion in the recorded date of birth and to prove that the girl is not a
minor.
(b) The burden of proving the age of the victim is on the
prosecution and there is no standard procedure to guide the police.
(c) Determining age on the basis of an ossification test
shall be resorted to only in the absence of the above certificates.
(d) However, as a medical test cannot determine the
precise age, it is considered only in the absence of other evidence.
(e) It says that the date of birth certificate from the
school or matriculation or the equivalent certificate from the concerned
examination board shall be the preferred evidence for determining age.
Directions (11-15): Each of the following questions has a
paragraph from which one sentence has been deleted. From the given options,
choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
Q11. Oxford University Press (OUP) and other international
publishers are withdrawing their lawsuit against Rameshwari Photocopy Service,
a licensed vendor located in Delhi University’s North Campus.
(_______________________________________________).OUP, Cambridge University
Press and Taylor and Francis Group have together decided to withdraw the case
against Rameshwari Photocopy from selling photocopies of parts of their books
to students. They believe that it is not
correct to engage in a legal battle with their stakeholders, that is
educational institutions.
(a) In September 2016, the court had ruled in
favour of the students and held that “copyright in a literary work is not an
inevitable, divine or natural right” conferred on an author.
(b) Sumeet Malik, director of EBC
(Eastern Book Co.) Publishing Pvt. Ltd said it is “unfortunate that the
publishers have decided to withdraw the suit”.
(c) In October, these publishers had
moved a fresh appeal against a September judgment of a single judge bench of
the Delhi high court that had rejected the international publishers’ case and
allowed the photocopy shop to continue its business.
(d) The case has, over the last five
years, attracted international attention as a test case for copyright
violation.
(e) The move is being seen by some as a
step back by the publishers, who said that they are willing to work “more
closely with academic institutions, teachers and students to understand and
address their needs”.
Q12. India has never been a perfect democracy. But for decades it’s
succeeded in being a representative one. Its politics are raucous, with dozens
of parties and unwieldy ruling coalitions.
(___________________________________________________). Those Indians should
beware what they wish for.
(a) Politically, if not
constitutionally, India is edging ever closer to being a one-party state .
(b) In 2014, under Narendra Modi, the
Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won an absolute majority of
seats in Parliament on its own, something that hadn’t happened in three
decades.
(c) The party has since extended its
dominance, sweeping to power in several more states this month including
India’s most populous, Uttar Pradesh.
(d) Some observers think Modi is showing
his real colours.
(e) This has long been a source of
dismay to its influential middle class, who speak longingly of the “efficiency”
they imagine one-party rule has delivered to countries as big as China and as
tiny as Singapore.
Q13.
A large majority of German companies who have taken on refugees are
satisfied with their work, although most hires have been for low-skilled
positions, according to a survey conducted last month and published on Tuesday.
The first of the estimated 1.2 million people who arrived in Germany in 2015
and 2016 from countries including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are starting to
enter the labour market. About 14 per cent have found a job. More than
three-quarters of the employers who took part in the survey said they had only
few or no difficulties in daily work with the refugees they had hired.
(_______________)
(a) The influx of migrants has eroded
the popularity of Chancellor Angela Merkel and fuelled the rise of the
anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party, although support for refugees
remains strong in many parts of society.
(b) Those who did have difficulties most
frequently cited a lack of German-language skills, vocational skills, different
work habits and uncertainty relating to the length of the employee’s stay in
Germany.
(c) The survey of 2,200 German employers
was carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development,
the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the German
ministry of labour and social affairs.
(d) Numbers of native Germans entering
the German workforce are beginning to slow as the population ages.
(e) Coupled with an unemployment rate of
just 5.9 per cent, the lowest since German reunification in 1990 and one of the
lowest in the OECD, that makes for one of the world’s most favourable job
markets for new arrivals, the OECD said.
Q14. The Maternity Benefits (Amendment)
Bill, 2016, passed by the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, will become an Act as
soon as it receives the President’s assent. The salient features of this Bill
include an expansion in the paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, a
leave of up to 12 weeks for a woman adopting a child below the age of three
months, and provision of crèche facilities by employers with more than 50
employees. This article aims to make a case for a more progressive and nuanced
debate about the pros and cons of the Bill. The supporters of the Bill argue
that it would allow a woman to take care of her infant in the most important,
formative months of a child and provide her with much needed work-life balance
at a time when she is most likely to drop out of the workforce.(__________________)
(a) They maintain that this would help
increase women’s participation in the workforce.
(b) However, it is important to
understand that the definition of workforce here is limited to the 10% of women
working in the organized sector.
(c) The economic arguments against the
Bill don’t hold for a few reasons.
(d) Critics also point out that India
should become economically strong before it apes Western countries in doling
out such social benefits to its citizens..
(e) A country’s economic standing should
not have any impact on how healthy it wants its population to be.
Q15. Affordability is a key
factor in demand for homes. A note by property consultant JLL India says that
individual purchasing power has improved over the last few years as income has
risen at a faster rate than home prices. Importantly, the chart shows the
strong inverse relationship between inflation rate and growth in home
loans.(________________________________________________). In other words, lower
inflation elevates consumer confidence through financial stability.
(a) With inflation expected to remain
low and range-bound, given increased housing affordability and purchasing
power, the environment is conducive for housing demand to revive.
(b) This finding violates the general
principle of economics.
(c) Further, lower interest rates, the
government’s move to bring in stringent regulations in favour of buyers, faster
resolution of disputed property cases and higher discounts in the sector due to
large inventory levels are other factors that could support consumer
confidence.
(d) Therefore, reducing inflation will
also infuse confidence in potential homebuyers as it has a strong influence on
the decision to borrow to buy a house.
(e) Inflation rate and interest rate are
not related to each other.
SOLUTIONS:
S1.
Ans. (c)
Sol. Read the paragraph, it talks about
applying GST to thousands of goods and services. The sentences before blank
talk about the fear and speculation that new tax rates are influenced by
special interest lobbies. Hence the paragraph must be completed by the sentence
clearing this speculation. Going through the sentences, we find that sentence
(c) completes the paragraph as it talks about the clarity offered by
government. Other sentences talk about other matters like disparities in income
levels, additional levies, central tax system, fiscal demand which are
unrelated to the issue given in the paragraph. Hence sentence (c) is the right
option.
S2. Ans. (d)
Sol. The paragraph here is about the
elections in Nepal. The sentences before blank talk about the elections going
to be held in hilly areas of Nepal and the participation of Madhesi parties in
it. The sentences after blank talk about that these elections are for ward,
village, municipal and metropolitan council. Hence the blank must be filled by
the sentence related to elections in these areas. After reading the given
sentences, we find that all the sentences except sentence (d) are not related
to the topic. Sentence (d) goes with the theme of the paragraph as it talks
about the local body elections being held after 20 years. Hence it is the right
option.
S3. Ans. (b)
Sol. The paragraph revolves around the
theme of Employment in India. The sentences before blank tell us about the need
to achieve higher economic growth and solving the problem of joblessness. The
sentences after blank tell us about the statistics of jobs created over the
years. Hence the blank must be filled by the sentence related to the cause of
the issue. After reading the given sentences, we find that sentence (b) goes in
harmony with the paragraph as here ‘he’ is mentioned that is referred to
‘Arvind Subramaniam’ and also it is mentioned that Underperformance of IT,
construction and agricultural sectors led to less growth. All other sentences
are irrelevant to the paragraph. Hence sentence (b) is the right choice.
S4. Ans. (e)
Sol. The paragraph talks about the
deterioration in the finances of the States that needs to be urgently
addressed. The sentence before blank tells us about the fiscal deficit of
states’ fiscal deficit as projected by central government. Going through the
sentences we find that sentence (e) fits into the paragraph as it talks about
steady gain of the States’ finances. All other sentences are irrelevant as they
talk about divisible tax pool, bolstering capital expenditure, market
borrowings, tax revenue. Hence sentence (e) is the right option.
S5. Ans. (b)
Sol. The paragraph is about the India’s
neighbours supporting China’s Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI) expecting for
loans for various projects. The sentence before gap talks about that concern of
India towards the countries supporting B&RI. Going through all the
sentences we find that sentence (b) completes the paragraph appropriately as it
talks about assisting these countries. All others sentences are irrelevant to
the paragraph. Hence option (b) is the correct choice.
S6. Ans. (b)
Sol. The paragraph talks about government’s endeavor to
reduce poaching in the Kaziranga national park during Assam’s assembly
elections, use of drones for vigilance and blacklisting a journalist for
showing anti-poaching measures. After going through all given sentences, it can
be concluded that only sentence (b) forms concluding part of the paragraph as
it talks about the perception of the ministry regarding documentary directed by
that journalist. Hence sentence (b) is the correct choice.
S7. Ans. (e)
Sol. Reading the paragraph and sentences, we conclude
that sentence (e) fits to the paragraph. The paragraph talks about Isrothat has
established its presence in the booming launch vehicle market and now it is the
time to start spinning off products and services. Sentence (e) is correct
choice as it tells about the Isro’s achievement as a cheap and reliable bulk
carrier of satellites to the earth orbit.
S8. Ans. (a)
Sol. The paragraph revolves around the theme of Weddings
costs that is treated as significant for reunions and some families don’t mind.
After going through the sentences, we find that sentence (a) goes in the
connection of the paragraph as it talks about spending above specified amount
if there is no dowry pressure. Hence sentence (a) is true in context of the
paragraph.
S9. Ans. (c)
Sol. The paragraph talks about converting the talentinto
skill. It is about Higher education that can be made easier and cheaper without
diluting content. Going through the sentences, we find that sentence (c) connects
with the paragraph as it talks about the unfilled jobs in best colleges,
universities and institutes. Hence sentence (c) is relevant in context to the
paragraph.
S10. Ans. (d)
Sol. The theme of the paragraph revolves around two
sources used in criminal cases for determining the age of a child i.e.
documentary and biological. After going through all sentences, we find that
sentence (d) fits as a concluding part of the paragraph as it tells that
medical test for determining age will not be precise. Hence sentence (d) is
true in context of the paragraph. Other sentences are irrelevant.
S11. Ans(d)
Sol. Option (d) is correct .Withdrawal
of lawsuit has been discussed in the first sentence, so sentence in option (d)
is the best suited follow up.
S12. Ans(e)
Sol. Option (e) is correct. The sentence
, written in option (e) , complete the passage in most appropriate way. This
sentence is the most suitable follow up on the previous sentence.
S13. Ans(b)
Sol. Option (b) is correct. The sentence
, written in option (b) , complete the passage in most appropriate way. The
sentence in option (b) is the follow up on previous sentence.
S14. Ans(a)
Sol. Option (a) is correct. The sentence
, written in option (a) , complete the passage in most appropriate way. Arguments
made by the supporters of the bill are discussed in the previous sentence,
therefore option (a) is the most suitable follow up on the previous sentence.
S15. Ans(d)
Sol. Option (d) is correct. The sentence
, written in option (d) , complete the passage most appropriately. Inverse
relationship between inflation rate and growth in home loans is discussed in
the previous sentence, so option (d) completes the paragraph.
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