Directions: Five statements are given below, labelled a, b,
c, d and e. Among these, four statements are in logical
order and form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the
given options, choose the option that does not fit into the
theme of the passage.
Q 1.
(a)Although aging may seem a less pressing problem
than global population growth, it is real and has to be
tackled.
(b)Providing contraception to the 215 million women
that today want to avoid pregnancy but can’t, would cost
about $3. 6 billion.
(c) It would annually result in 640,000 fewer new born
deaths, 150,000 fewer maternal deaths and 600,000
fewer children who lose their mother.
(d)Estimating this misery in economic terms may seem
cold, but it makes it possible to compare contraception
to other big challenges.
(e) In total, contraception would avoid about $145
billion in human misery. That alone means that every
dollar spent will do $40 good.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 2.
(a)Thirty years after it began, the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) has made
middling progress.
(b) Power trading and evacuation is continuing despite
belligerence on the China-Vietnam border.
(c)Each time a Saarc summit ends with relative
disappointment — as the one in Kathmandu did last
month — the same cries emerge, essentially blaming
India and Pakistan and their bilateral problems for
holding Saarc hostage.
(d)This is largely true, and Saarc has had to wait for
India and Pakistan to sort out their issues.
(e) The Chinese have exploited a vacuum and moved into
many of the Saarc countries, unencumbered by the
institutional inertia of the association and happy to do
easier, bilateral deals.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 3.
(a)It seems that one way or another, sooner or later, the
Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 will become a
law.
(b) This Bill is often described as critical whose passage
is necessary for the whole economic reforms process to
move forward.
(c)This means that industry and the regulator measure
success by how much money insurers have taken from
customers, rather than how much insurance they have
delivered and to how many people.
(d)In fact, for many years now, this Bill has been
referred to as a litmus test of whether the government of
the day was serious about economic reforms.
(e)On the flip side, opposition the insurance Bill has
been a given among those against economic reforms.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 4.
(a)Islamic banking encourages and facilitates investment
in real economic activity and societal welfare while
prohibiting investment in speculative businesses. It has
its roots in religious principles.
(b) So does the concept of the Hindu Undivided Family,
which is treated as a distinct class of taxpayer and not
taxed as an Association of Persons (AoP).
(c) The tax laws have been specially modified to
harmonise the legislation with Hindu customs and social
practices.
(d)The goal of trade and enterprise in Islamic finance is
equitable generation of wealth and prosperity through
acceptable business activities.
(e)The provision blatantly favours only a section of
society.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 5.
(a)The clamour for security, accountability and
transparency is leading to unfettered increase in the
power of states.
(b) We are enacting law after law, introducing
technology after technology, to render citizens
transparent to the state.
(c) But at the same time, we are weakening protections
and consenting to technologies in a way that makes the
state less transparent to us.
(d) Totalitarian states often do this against the wishes of
their citizens; in our democracy, our consent is being
mobilised to put an imprimatur over more control and
arbitrariness.
(e)Clearing ambiguity means “the judiciary should not
be allowed to hold the state accountable.”
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 6.
(a)It is common knowledge that the auction proceeds
are expected to balance the country budget and
deferring the entire process to the next fiscal would
mean foregoing the receipts estimated in this year’s
budget.
(b)As the Telecom sector prepares to slip into the New
Year 2015, the top of the mind issue for all the sector
stakeholders is the upcoming spectrum auctions
announced for February 2015.
(c)Aavailability and quantum of 2100 Mhz spectrum,
spectrum trading/sharing guidelines, effectiveness of
existing M&A guidelines, technology agnostic spectrum
award etc. being some of the foremost issues.
(d) Clarity on one or more of these issues will have a
significant bearing on the bidding strategy that each of
the Operators will deploy in the upcoming auctions as
Operators will have spectrum availability options that
will go beyond just buying replacement spectrum in this
auction process which has minimal fresh spectrum to
offer.
(e) The other benefits of providing clarity on the pending
issues before rushing into the auction will be the much
needed restoration of trust and policy proactiveness that
as country and as a sector we need to demonstrate to
both internal and external investors.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 7.
(a)For the last decade-and-a-half, the world has made a
few, smart promises with the so-called Millennium
Development Goals: halve the proportion of hunger and
poverty, get all kids in school and dramatically reduce
child mortality.
(b)Most participants discussing the Sustainable
Development Goals recognize that we need much, much
fewer targets.
(c)We have definitely seen a huge move towards success,
although not all promises will be achieved.
(d)What is somewhat surprising, however, is that we
have fairly little information about what exactly we
achieved.
(e) According to data from the World Health
Organization and the World Bank, in 1990 there were
560 maternal deaths out of 100,000 live births in India
and this number went down to 190 last year.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 8.
(a)To paraphrase a famous quote, it may have been one
small step in launching rockets, but a giant leap for a
country’s space ambitions.
(b) The debut experimental flight of India’s
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV
Mk III) on Thursday must have dispelled whatever
doubts that lingered in the minds of India’s space
scientists about their flagship launcher’s capabilities.
(c)Manned space flight capability will enable India to
enter an advanced field where there are few
competitors, especially given Isro’s credentials as a
unique organisation where the return on investment is
very high.
(d)For, India’s most powerful rocket was yet to prove its
reliability, having failed in four of its previous seven
flights.
(e)The Mk III did not launch any satellite. Instead, the
630-tonne rocket carried aloft the hopes of Indian Space
Research Organisation (Isro) scientists as they validated
its flight parameters and stability during its suborbital
hop of the planet at a height of around 126 km.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 9.
(a)According to the International Energy Agency, India is
among the highest non-OECD subsidisers of energy
consumption, with subsidies of over $10 billion per year,
despite undertaking price reform of fossil fuels in the
last decade.
(b) With the rise in crude oil prices since 2005, the cost
of subsidies more than doubled. Although subsidy cost to
government has been falling as petroleum prices are
falling, it still remains high.
(c) Such a subsidy is both inefficient and inequitable.
Until 2012, this was completely untargeted: the subsidy
was available for all households on as many LPG
cylinders as one consumed.
(d)A subsidy was offered to all households for up to nine
cylinders per year, and consumption after the ninth
cylinder was chargeable at full cost.
(e)There is no reason for middle class and above
households not to pay the full cost of production,
especially since they consume a much higher number
than poor households who rarely consume more than six
cylinders a year.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
Q 10.
(a)Ever since the global financial crisis, India has been
trying to come to grips with its twin balance sheet (TBS)
problem — over-leveraged corporates and the bad-loan
encumbered banks.
(b) But a decisive resolution has proved elusive, and the
problem has continued to fester.
(c) Perhaps it is time to consider a different approach —
a centralised Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency
(PARA) that could take charge of the largest, most
difficult cases and make politically tough decisions to
reduce debt.
(d) For some years, it seemed possible to regard TBS as a
minor problem, which would largely be resolved as
economic recovery took hold. But the problem has only
worsened.
(e)With balance sheets under such strain, the private
corporate sector has been forced to curb its investments,
while banks have been reducing credit in real terms.
(A)(a)
(B)(b)
(C)(c)
(D)(d)
(E)(e)
