RBI Assistant I IBPS Mains 16th October, 2020 English Quiz : Attempt Now

  

Directions (1-8): Read the passage carefully and
answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in
bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

 

Political ploys
initially hailed as masterstrokes often end up as
flops. The Rs. 60000-crore farm loan waiver announced in the budget writes off
100% of over dues of small and marginal farmers holding up to two hectares, and
25% of over dues of larger farmers. While India has enjoyed 8%-9% GDP growth
for the past few years, the boom has bypassed many rural areas and farmer
distress and suicides have made newspaper headlines. Various attempts to provide
relief (employment guarantee scheme, public distribution system) have had
little impact, thanks to huge leakages from the government’s lousy delivery
systems. So, many economists think the loan waiver is a worthwhile alternative
to provide relief. However, the poorest rural folk are landless laborers, who
get neither farm loans nor waivers. Half of small and marginal farmers get no
loans from banks and depend entirely on money lenders, and will not benefit,
Besides, rural India is full of family holdings rather than individual
holdings, and family holdings will typically be much larger than two hectares
even for dirt-poor farmers, who will, therefore, be denied the 100% waiver. It
will thus fail in both it economic and political objectives. IRDP loans to the

rural poor in
the 1980s demonstrated that crooked bank officials demand bribes amounting to
one-third

the intended
benefits. Very few of the intended beneficiaries who merited
relief received it. After the last farm loans
waiver in 1990, many banks went slow on fresh farm loans for some years. This
waiver will similarly slow down fresh loans to deserving farmers. While over
dues to co-operatives may be higher, economist Surjit Ballad says less than 5%
of farmer loans to banks are overdue, i.e. over dues exist for only 2.25
million out of 90 million farmers. If so, then the 95% who have repaid loans
will not benefit. They will be angry at being penalized for honesty. The budget
thus grossly overestimates the number of beneficiaries. It also underestimates
the negative effects of the waiver–encouraging will full defaults in future and
discouraging fresh bank lending for some years. Instead of trying to reach the
needy through a plethora of
leaky schemes we should transfer cash directly to the needy, using new
technology like biometric smart cards, which are now being used in many
countries, and mobile phone bank accounts. Then benefits can go directly to
phone accounts operable only by those with biometric cards, ending the massive
leakages of current schemes. The political benefits of the loan waiver have
also been exaggerated since if only a small fraction of farm families benefit,
and many of these have to pay massive vote-winner ? Members of joint families
will feel aggrieved that,
despite having less than one hectare per head, their family holding is too
large to qualify for the 100% waiver. All finance ministers, of the central or
state governments, give away freebies in their last budgets, hoping to win
electoral regards. Yet, four-fifths of all incumbent governments are voted out.
This shows that beneficiaries of favors are not notably grateful, while those
not so favored may feel aggrieved, and vote for the Opposition. That seems to
be why election budgets constantly fail to win elections in India and the loan
waiver will not change that pattern.

 

Q1.
Why do economists feel that loan waivers will benefit farmers in distress?

(a) It will improve the standard of living of
those farmers who can afford to repay their loans but are

exempted.

(b) Other government relief measures have proved
ineffective.

(c) Suicide rates of farmers have declined after
the announcement of the waiver.

(d) Farmers will be motivated to increase the
size of their family holdings not individual holdings.

(e) The government will be forced to reexamine
and improve the public distribution system.

 

Q2.
What message will the loan waiver send to farmers who have repaid loans?

(a) The government will readily provide them with
loans in the future.

(b) As opposed to money lenders, banks are a
safer and more reliable source of credit.

(c) Honesty is the best policy

(d) It is beneficial to take loans from
co-operatives since their rates of interest are lower.

(e) None of these

 

Q3.
What is the author’s suggestion to provide aid to farmers?

(a) Families should split and joint holding to
take advantage of the loan waiver.

(b) The government should increase the reach of
the employment guarantee scheme

 (c) Loans
should be disbursed directly into bank accounts of the farmer using the latest
technology.

(d) Government should ensure that loan waivers
can be implemented over a number of years.

(e) Rural infrastructure can be improved using
schemes which were successful abroad.

 

Q4.
What was the outcome of IRDP loans to the rural poor?

(a) The percentage of bank loans sanctioned to
family owned farms increased

(b) The loans benefited dishonest money lenders,
not landless labors.

(c) Corrupt bank officials were the unintended
beneficiaries of the loans.

(d) It resulted in the government sanctioning
thrice the amount for the current loan waiver.

(e) None of these

 

Q5.
What are the terms of the loan waiver?

(A) One-fourth of the overdue loans of landless
laborers will be written off.

(B) The Rs. 60000-crore loan waiver has been sanctioned
for 2.25 million marginal farmers.

(C) Any farmer with between 26 per cent and 100
per cent of their loan repayments overdue will be

penalized.

(a) Only (A)

(b) Only (B)

(c) Both (B) & (C)

(d) All (A), (B) & (C)

(e) None of these

 

Q6.
What is the author’s view of the loan waiver?

(a) It will have an adverse psychological impact
on those who cannot avail of the waiver.

(b) It is justified measure in view of the high
suicide rate among landless laborers.

(c) It makes sound economic and political sense
in the existing scenario.

(d) It will ensure that the benefits of India’s
high GDP are felt by the rural poor.

(e) None of these

 

Directions (7–
8): Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the
passage.

 

Q7.
INCUMBENT

(a) mandatory 

(b) present

(c) incapable

(d) lazy

(e) officious

 

Q8.
PLOYS

(a) surveys 

(b) entreaties

(c) ruses

(d) conspiracies

(e) assurances

 

Directions
(9-15): The Following questions have two blanks, each blank
indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each
blank that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 

Q9. Handicrafts constitute
an important ________ of the decentralized sector of India’s economy and
__________ employment to over six million artisans.

(a) factors, aims                   

(b) extension, plans

(c) segment, provides         

(d) supplier, gives

(e)
period, projects

 

Q10. Germany had been a nation………………in one
country of numerous states which had a common language and…………………

(a)  assembles, dialect       

(b)
assimilating, script

(c)  embedded, civil           

(d)
togetherness, traditions 

(e)  formed, code

 

Q11. The quality of
__________ between individuals and the organization for which they work can be
_________ to the benefit of both the parties.

(a) services, evaluate          

(b) interaction, improved

(c) sophistication,
developed          

(d) worked, appreciated

(e)
life, conceptualized

 

Q12. Part of the confusion
in our societies ____________ from our pursuit of efficiency and economic
growth, in the __________ that these are the necessary ingredients of progress.

(a) stems, conviction                         

(b) derives, access

(c) emerged, consideration

(d) obtained, exploration

(e)
extended, planning

 

Q13. The problem of
housing shortage ___________ with the population explosion has also been
___________ by this policy.

(a) coped, highlighted                       

(b) dispensed,
acknowledged

(c) compounded, addressed            

(d) threatened, manifested

(e)
project, discussed

 

Q14.
Since the hospital has a _________ of doctors, there is always a long wait in
the _________ room.

(a) dissolve, alleviate

(b) shortage, emergency

(c) demote, promotion

(d) rescue, waning

(e) fade, downfall

 Q15.
It took the accountant nearly a month to ________ the Sisyphean job of ________my
financial records.

(a)
accomplish, organizing

(b)
forthcoming, innocuous

(c)
brief, sequent

(d)
refigure, continuous

(e)
prompt, deciduous

 

 SOLUTIONS:

S1.Ans.(b)

Sol. Other government relief measures have proved
ineffective.

S2.Ans.(e)

Sol.  None
of these

S3.Ans.(c)

Sol. Loans should be disbursed directly into bank
accounts of the farmer using the latest technology.

S4.Ans.(c)

Sol. Corrupt bank officials were the unintended
beneficiaries of the loans.

S5.Ans.(c)

Sol. Both (B) & (C)

S6.Ans.(e)

Sol. None of these

S.7.Ans.(a)

Sol. Incumbent
means necessary for (someone) as a duty or responsibility.

Mandatory- compulsory

For other options:

incapable – not having the ability of doing
something

lazy – inactive

officious – eager to tell people what to do the
one who thinks of himself to be knowing everything and

having all the good qualities.

S8.Ans.(c)

Sol. Ploy
means something which is done or said to gain advantage (usually by cheating on
people)

ruses – tricks

For other options:

surveys – view or examine something in detail.

entreaties – earnest requests or petitions

conspiracies – unlawful or evil plans which are
meant to ring harm to someone and plotted secretly.

 

 

S9. Ans.(c)

Sol. Segment means each of the
parts into which something is or may be divided.

 

S10. Ans.(e)

Sol. The correct use is ‘formed, code’.

 

 

S11. Ans.(b)

 

S12. Ans.(a)

Sol. Stems mean originate in or be caused by.

Conviction means a firmly held belief or opinion.

S13. Ans.(c)

Sol. Compounded means to make
up (a composite whole); constitute.

S14. Ans. (b)

Shortage means
a lack of something.

S15. Ans. (a)

Sol.
“accomplish, organizing” is the most suitable pair to fill the given blanks.

 

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