Reading Comprehension for SBI PO/Clerk Mains: 26th July 2018

Reading Comprehension for SBI PO-CLERK Mains

Its high time you should stick to your chairs and go through all the study matter which is very much needed to pass the exam along with the golden opportunity to let you score more. English  is thus counted as one of the among which creates heebie jeebies for most of the aspirants. Thus we are providing you with questions which will head you towards your goal. The provided quiz follows the study plan whose questions are structured according to the Mains level and through the medium of such types of questions covering one of the important topics like Reading Comprehension, Error Detection, Phrase Replacement etc., you can definitely crack any of the level as this is based on the type of questions that have come in the previous SBI PO mains exams and this quiz will also help aspirants preparing for BOB PO 2018.

Directions (1-7): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Unveiling a mini-Budget of sorts in the middle of the financial year, the Goods and Services Tax Council has announced a reduction in the tax rates for over 85 goods. The applicable indirect tax rates on consumer durables such as television sets, washing machines and refrigerators, along with a dozen other products, have been slashed from 28% to 18%. The tax rate on environmentally friendly fuel cell vehicles has been reduced from 28% to 12%, and the compensation cess levied on them dropped. This leaves just about 35 products, including tobacco, automobiles and cement, in the highest tax slab of the GST structure. Rakhis without semi-precious stones, as well as sanitary napkins that attracted 12% GST, have been exempted from the tax altogether. Several other products have been placed in lower tax slabs, including those from employment-intensive sectors such as carpets and handicrafts. 

On the services front, too, there are important tweaks and clarifications. Overall, industry and consumers may consider these rate cuts, largely on products and services of mass use, as a stimulus to drive consumption ahead of the festive season. It is also a sign that the government has begun the groundwork to woo voters ahead of State and parliamentary elections. Whichever way one looks at it, the GST Council’s 28th meeting has significantly altered the course of the nearly 13-month-old tax regime. Given that GST rates on more than 200 items were already tweaked in past meetings, the original rate structure has been upended to a great extent. The actual impact of these changes on product prices and consumption demand will be visible soon, but the government’s confidence in such a rate reduction gambit indicates it is now comfortable with revenue yields from the GST.

Estimates of revenue losses from these rate cuts vary widely, but it’s too early to fret about the impact on macro fiscal numbers. If implemented well, the revenue lost could be offset by higher consumption that may lead to more investments over time. Moreover, improvements in compliance can be expected from the Council’s decision to further simplify paperwork for small and medium enterprises. But there are two major concerns. First, since the new rates are to kick in from July 27, companies may not have enough time to rework pricing strategies and replace existing market inventory, failing which they could face anti-profiteering action. Second, members of the Council have for the first time questioned its functioning and alleged that not all of the changes and rate cuts were placed on the agenda. For a tricky tax that is still a work in progress, distrust between the Centre and the States would make further rationalisation difficult. Such friction must be avoided in a system in which the States have so far worked in tandem with the Centre.

Q1. As per the passage, what is/are the concerns regarding these rate cuts in the GST regime?

(a) Companies will not get enough time to rework pricing strategies and replace existing market inventory, failing which they could face anti-profiteering action. 

(b) The GST Council’s 28th meeting has significantly altered the course of the nearly 13-month-old tax regime in a negative way. 

(c) The decision to make the GSTN a 100% government-owned firm, instead of the present structure with 51% private ownership, explains neither how this will address data security concerns nor the impact on the Network’s functional efficiency, which was the original stated intent for giving private players an upper hand in operations.

(d) Both (a) and (c)

(e) Both (a) and (b)

Q2. Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage above?

(a) GST is a successful story of cooperative federalism

(b) Impact on macro fiscal numbers

(c) Stimulus mode: on GST rate cuts 

(d) Delivering the goods: on GST collections

(e) One year after: the GST anniversary

Q3. Which of the following statements is/are correct in context with the passage?

(a) The government is keen to start matching tax credits claimed by businesses for inputs from suppliers.

(b) In its second year, the GST Council must pursue a time-bound approach to execute plans already announced to ease taxpayers’ woes, such as an e-wallet for exporters and a simpler return form.

(c) The GST Council is one of the successes of what the government likes to call cooperative federalism, where the Centre and the states work together.

(d) The rate cuts on products of mass use can be considered as the driving force to increase consumption before the festive season. 

(e) None of the Above

Q4. Which of the following word has similar meaning to the word given in bold in the passage?

TWEAKS

(a) Scratches

(b) Calcification

(c) Ubiquitous

(d) Modification 

(e) Callousness

Q5. Which of the following word has similar meaning to the word given in bold in the passage?

GAMBIT

(a) Serendipity

(b) Gimmick

(c) Frankness

(d) Fluke

(e) Fortuity

Q6. Which of the following word is opposite in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage?

TANDEM

(a) Together

(b) Squad

(c) Contingent

(d) All of the Above

(e) None of the Above 

Q7. Which of the following word is opposite in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage?

SLASHED

(a) Gash

(b) Curtail

(c) Enlarged 

(d) Retrenched

(e) Both (c) and (d)

Directions (8-15): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

PARAGRAPH 1: In a recent discussion paper, NITI Aayog has chalked out an ambitious strategy for India to become an artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse. AI is the use of computers to make decisions that are normally made by humans. Many forms of AI surround Indians already, including chatbots on retail websites and programs that flag fraudulent bank activity. But NITI Aayog envisions AI solutions for India on a scale not seen anywhere in the world today, especially in five key sectors — agriculture, healthcare, education, smart cities and infrastructure, and transport. In agriculture, for example, machines will provide information to farmers on the quality of soil, when to sow, where to spray herbicide, and when to expect pest infestations. It’s an idea with great potential: India has 30 million farmers with smartphones, but poor extension services. If computers help agricultural universities advice farmers on best practices, India could see a farming revolution.

PARAGRAPH 2: However, there are formidable obstacles. AI start-ups already offer some solutions, but the challenge lies in scaling these to cover the entire value chain, as NITI Aayog envisions. The first problem is data. Machine learning, the set of technologies used to create AI, is a data-guzzling monster. It takes reams of historical data as input, identifies the relationships among data elements, and makes predictions. More sophisticated forms of machine learning, like “deep learning”, attempt to mimic the human brain. And even though they promise greater accuracy, they also need more data than what is required by traditional machine learning. Unfortunately, India has sparse data in sectors like agriculture, and this is already hampering AI-based businesses today.

PARAGRAPH 3: Take the Bengaluru-based Intello Labs, for instance. This is a start-up which helps buyers at agricultural mandis evaluate the quality of grains, fruits or vegetables. In the normal course, a buyer determines visually how much wheat is destroyed by pests, and if foreign particles are present, before offering the farmer a price. But this process is subjective and prone to error. Visual inspection relies too much on the buyer’s expertise, and corrupt middlemen may cheat farmers. So, a smartphone-based AI product, such as Intello Labs’ grading app, can help. To develop this product, the Intello Labs team had to photograph 2.5 million agricultural samples. Experts then identified the contents of these photos — a laborious process called annotation. Next, the team wrote a deep learning algorithm, which was trained using the photos. Today, the algorithm can predict the quality of 12 foods over 95% of the time in a few markets like Delhi and Rajasthan. But in order to expand their basket beyond 12 products and a few States, Intello Labs will need millions of more such images. This can be challenging for a private firm, unless such images are collected, digitised and annotated automatically by the government at agricultural mandis. Such data collection doesn’t happen today. “The biggest agricultural data today resides with the government. It’s entirely up to them to annotate it and make it usable,” says Nishant Mishra, the chief technological officer of Intello Labs.

PARAGRAPH 4: In fact, the lack of data means that deep learning doesn’t work for all companies in India. One example is Climate-Connect, a Delhi-based firm, which uses AI to predict the amount of power a solar plant will generate every 15 minutes. This is critical because solar electricity generation can change dramatically every hour depending on weather conditions and the position of the sun. When this happens, the plant must communicate expected changes to power distributors, which will then switch to alternative sources. With India planning to install 100 GW of solar power by 2022, such AI will play a central role in power planning.

PARAGRAPH 5: But to generate such data, Climate-Connect needs historical inputs like the time of sunrise and sunset, and cloud cover where the plant is located. Unfortunately, since most Indian solar plants are recent, data are available only for a couple of years, whereas deep learning needs data over many years to predict generation. Today, the firm uses traditional machine learning technologies such as regression analysis that work with less data. These methods have an accuracy of around 95%. While deep learning can boost accuracy for operations such as Climate-Connect, it hasn’t worked very well in the Indian scenario, says Nitin Tanwar, cofounder of the firm.

Q8. “Machine learning, the set of technologies used to create AI, is a data-guzzling monster.” Why is the set of technologies termed as data-guzzling monsters?

(a) AI is considered as a monster as it provides negative results. 

(b) It requires a huge amount of funds to create AI based technologies.  

(c) AI involves a laborious process called annotation.

(d) Large amount of data is required as input to create AI. 

(e) Both (a) and (d)

Q9. Which of the following statements is/are incorrect in context with the passage?

(I) Deep learning needs data of many years and this complete data is available with Climate-connect to use AI to predict the amount of power a solar plant will generate. 

(II) The start-up, Intello Labs help buyers to compare prices of grains, fruits and vegetables.  

(III) The use of Artificial Intelligence can cater to bring a farming revolution. 

(a) Only (I)

(b) Only (II)

(c) Both (I) and (II) 

(d) Both (II) and (III)

(e) All are correct.

Q10. As per the passage, what are the drawbacks of normal inspection of agricultural products?

(a) Virtual inspection involves a laborious process called annotation. 

(b) It becomes challenging to inspect a large amount of grains physically. 

(c) To inspect visually, it requires expertise of buyer and middlemen may cheat farmers. 

(d) None is correct

(e) All are correct

Q11. Which of the following statements is/are correct in context with the passage?

(a) The dream of a computer system with godlike powers and the wisdom to use them well is a theological construct, not a technological possibility.

(b) The biggest agricultural data today resides with the government. It’s entirely up to them to annotate it and make it usable. 

(c) Machine learning (a more precise term for AI) will certainly continue to surpass human capabilities in specific domains such as medical diagnosis and facial recognition. 

(d) People wonder whether instead of our controlling artificial intelligence, it will control us, turning us, in effect, into cyborgs.

(e) None of the Above

Q12. Which of the following word has similar meaning to the word given in bold in the passage?  

FORMIDABLE

(a) Consoling

(b) Tranquilizing

(c) Facile

(d) Effortless

(e) Horrendous 

Q13. Which of the following word has similar meaning to the word given in bold in the passage?

GUZZLING

(a) Abstaining

(b) Curtailing

(c) Quaffing 

(d) Both (b) and (c)

(e) None of the Above

Q14. Which of the following word is opposite in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage?

SPARSE

(a) Skimpy

(b) Slender

(c) Niggardly

(d) Meager

(e) Copious 

Q15. Which of the following word is opposite in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage?

ANNOTATE

(a) Commentate

(b) Construe

(c) Elucidate

(d) Expound

(e) None of the Above