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Offline Website SoftwareReading comprehension is one of the section of SBI PO exam along with Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning.
Practice tests or Mock tests help aspirants to prepare for the exams.
Reading Comprehension determines the candidates ability to read, understand and answer questions of a language.
Total number of Questions: 100
Total number Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Questions: 35
Total number Reasoning (RE) Questions: 35
Total number Comprehension (COMP) Questions: 30
Maximum Time: 20 : 00 (Minutes : Seconds) per section
Note: Not allowed to change section once selected.
Directions (for questions 1 and 2): Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.
Read the passage below and solve the questions based on it. Pluto was discovered in the year 1930 and was given the status of the 9th planet of the solar system but the International Astronomical Union (IAU) demoted Pluto from its earlier status of a planet, and recognized it as a "dwarf planet" in September 2006 because Pluto should meet the following 3 conditions which are must for a planet as laid down by the IAU:
1. It must be in orbit around the sun, i.e. it must revolve around the sum along well established orbit,
2. It must be so massive to be a sphere under its own gravitational force, and
3. It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, i.e. it must not intersect the orbits of other planets or satellites in the orbit.
According to IAU "clearing the neighborhood" means that the planet must be a dominant body in its orbit, so that during its interaction with other bodies either it may consume them or push them away with its force of gravity. Pluto could not meet this condition because it is not a massive body as it is only 0.07 time mass of other objects in its orbit while earth is 1.7 million times the mass of other objects in its orbit. Now Pluto has been given the status of "dwarf planet" as 134340 Pluto and is the second largest dwarf planet in the Solar System after Eris and 10th largest body orbiting the Sun. Pluto is considered as the largest member of Kuiper Belt, which is a ring of objects ranging from 30 Astronomical Unit (AU) to 50 AU away from the Sun.
1. What is the antonym of the word 'Dwarf'?
Options:
Option (a): midget
Option (b): diminutive
Option (c): giant
Option (d): peewee
Option (e): tiny
Directions (for questions 1 and 2): Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.
Read the passage below and solve the questions based on it. Pluto was discovered in the year 1930 and was given the status of the 9th planet of the solar system but the International Astronomical Union (IAU) demoted Pluto from its earlier status of a planet, and recognized it as a "dwarf planet" in September 2006 because Pluto should meet the following 3 conditions which are must for a planet as laid down by the IAU:
1. It must be in orbit around the sun, i.e. it must revolve around the sum along well established orbit,
2. It must be so massive to be a sphere under its own gravitational force, and
3. It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, i.e. it must not intersect the orbits of other planets or satellites in the orbit.
According to IAU "clearing the neighborhood" means that the planet must be a dominant body in its orbit, so that during its interaction with other bodies either it may consume them or push them away with its force of gravity. Pluto could not meet this condition because it is not a massive body as it is only 0.07 time mass of other objects in its orbit while earth is 1.7 million times the mass of other objects in its orbit. Now Pluto has been given the status of "dwarf planet" as 134340 Pluto and is the second largest dwarf planet in the Solar System after Eris and 10th largest body orbiting the Sun. Pluto is considered as the largest member of Kuiper Belt, which is a ring of objects ranging from 30 Astronomical Unit (AU) to 50 AU away from the Sun.
2. According the International Astronomical Union 'clearing the neighborhood' means?
Options:
Option (a): Its orbit must be very close to the Sun, less than 10 Astronomical Unit (AU).
Option (b): Planet must be the dominant body in its orbit.
Option (c): Planet must be pushed away or consumed by other bodies in the orbit.
Option (d): Celestial body must be outside the solar system.
Option (e): None of the above.
Directions (for questions 3 to 5): Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.
Ethics is defined as the rules or standards governing the conduct of individuals or organizations. The ethical behavior of an employee depends on factors such as his/her ethical philosophy, ethical decision ideology, other individual factors, organizational/position-related factors, and external environmental factors.
The ethical system of an individual consists of his/her ethical philosophy and ethical decision ideology. An individual's ethical philosophy represents the collection of ethical principles that he/she holds. There are three different ethical philosophies that individuals follow under different situations in the organizational set-up. These are - utilitarianism, individual rights, and justice.
The ethical decision ideology is concerned with how different individuals apply their ethical philosophies in decision-making when traced with ethical dilemmas. Ethical decision ideologies can be classified bas The on two dimensions: idealism, the belief that behaving ethically ensures positive results, and relativism, on the belief that es. A person who scores high on idealism and low on relativism is an absolutist'. A person with a low score on both idealism and relativism moral values depend is called an "exceptionist'. A person who scores high both on idealism and relativism is classified as a 'situationist'. A person who scores low on idealism and high on relativism is referred to as a 'subjectivist'.
An individual's value system is an important factor that determines whether he/she will behave ethically or unethically, when faced with an ethical dilemma. Other individual factors which influence ethical behavior include the age of the person, the ego strength, his/her locus of control, and the level of moral development. The decisions taken by the individuals in the past are important factors that influence the present and future decision-making. These decisions form the decision history of the individual. The ethical philosophy of the individual and the ethical decision ideology impact his/her decision history.
Organizational factors directly impact the behavior of employees and the ethical decision-making process. Some of the organizational factors that influence the behavior of the employees are the organizational culture and structure, performance measurement systems, reward systems, and the position-related factors. Environmental factors influencing ethical behavior include the political and economic factors, the legal environment in which the organization operates, and the social factors.
The integrated framework for ethical behavior brings out the link between all the different factors ethical philosophy, ethical decision ideology, decision history, individual factors, organizational factors, and the external environmental factors. It helps in understanding the steps involved in ethical decision-making and behavior, and provides pointers as to how this behavior can be controlled by managers.
3. What is the Best suited Title for the above passage?
Options:
Option (a): Ethics and Karma.
Option (b): Principles of life.
Option (c): Principles of at work.
Option (d): Ethics in an organization.
Option (e): As you sow, so shall you reap.
Directions (for questions 3 to 5): Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.
Ethics is defined as the rules or standards governing the conduct of individuals or organizations. The ethical behavior of an employee depends on factors such as his/her ethical philosophy, ethical decision ideology, other individual factors, organizational/position-related factors, and external environmental factors.
The ethical system of an individual consists of his/her ethical philosophy and ethical decision ideology. An individual's ethical philosophy represents the collection of ethical principles that he/she holds. There are three different ethical philosophies that individuals follow under different situations in the organizational set-up. These are - utilitarianism, individual rights, and justice.
The ethical decision ideology is concerned with how different individuals apply their ethical philosophies in decision-making when traced with ethical dilemmas. Ethical decision ideologies can be classified bas The on two dimensions: idealism, the belief that behaving ethically ensures positive results, and relativism, on the belief that es. A person who scores high on idealism and low on relativism is an absolutist'. A person with a low score on both idealism and relativism moral values depend is called an "exceptionist'. A person who scores high both on idealism and relativism is classified as a 'situationist'. A person who scores low on idealism and high on relativism is referred to as a 'subjectivist'.
An individual's value system is an important factor that determines whether he/she will behave ethically or unethically, when faced with an ethical dilemma. Other individual factors which influence ethical behavior include the age of the person, the ego strength, his/her locus of control, and the level of moral development. The decisions taken by the individuals in the past are important factors that influence the present and future decision-making. These decisions form the decision history of the individual. The ethical philosophy of the individual and the ethical decision ideology impact his/her decision history.
Organizational factors directly impact the behavior of employees and the ethical decision-making process. Some of the organizational factors that influence the behavior of the employees are the organizational culture and structure, performance measurement systems, reward systems, and the position-related factors. Environmental factors influencing ethical behavior include the political and economic factors, the legal environment in which the organization operates, and the social factors.
The integrated framework for ethical behavior brings out the link between all the different factors ethical philosophy, ethical decision ideology, decision history, individual factors, organizational factors, and the external environmental factors. It helps in understanding the steps involved in ethical decision-making and behavior, and provides pointers as to how this behavior can be controlled by managers.
4. A long with necessary skills, person with which ethical decision ideologies is best suited for an Organization?
Options:
Option (a): Exceptionist - A person who scores low both on idealism and relativism
Option (b): Situationist - A person who scores high both on idealism and relativism.
Option (c): Subjectivist - A person who scores low in idealism and high in relativism
Option (d): Absolutist - A person who scores high in idealism and low in relativism
Option (e): None of these
Directions (for questions 3 to 5): Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.
Ethics is defined as the rules or standards governing the conduct of individuals or organizations. The ethical behavior of an employee depends on factors such as his/her ethical philosophy, ethical decision ideology, other individual factors, organizational/position-related factors, and external environmental factors.
The ethical system of an individual consists of his/her ethical philosophy and ethical decision ideology. An individual's ethical philosophy represents the collection of ethical principles that he/she holds. There are three different ethical philosophies that individuals follow under different situations in the organizational set-up. These are - utilitarianism, individual rights, and justice.
The ethical decision ideology is concerned with how different individuals apply their ethical philosophies in decision-making when traced with ethical dilemmas. Ethical decision ideologies can be classified bas The on two dimensions: idealism, the belief that behaving ethically ensures positive results, and relativism, on the belief that es. A person who scores high on idealism and low on relativism is an absolutist'. A person with a low score on both idealism and relativism moral values depend is called an "exceptionist'. A person who scores high both on idealism and relativism is classified as a 'situationist'. A person who scores low on idealism and high on relativism is referred to as a 'subjectivist'.
An individual's value system is an important factor that determines whether he/she will behave ethically or unethically, when faced with an ethical dilemma. Other individual factors which influence ethical behavior include the age of the person, the ego strength, his/her locus of control, and the level of moral development. The decisions taken by the individuals in the past are important factors that influence the present and future decision-making. These decisions form the decision history of the individual. The ethical philosophy of the individual and the ethical decision ideology impact his/her decision history.
Organizational factors directly impact the behavior of employees and the ethical decision-making process. Some of the organizational factors that influence the behavior of the employees are the organizational culture and structure, performance measurement systems, reward systems, and the position-related factors. Environmental factors influencing ethical behavior include the political and economic factors, the legal environment in which the organization operates, and the social factors.
The integrated framework for ethical behavior brings out the link between all the different factors ethical philosophy, ethical decision ideology, decision history, individual factors, organizational factors, and the external environmental factors. It helps in understanding the steps involved in ethical decision-making and behavior, and provides pointers as to how this behavior can be controlled by managers.
5. Does organizational factors and ethical behavior have any effect on its employees?
Options:
Option (a): Both Organizational factors and Environmental factors effect an employee's performance and behavior.
Option (b): Only Environmental factors effect an employee's performance and behavior.
Option (c): Only Organizational factors effect an employee's performance and behavior.
Option (d): Both Organizational factors and Environmental factors doesn't effect an employee's performance and behavior.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions (for questions 6 to 8): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
As neuroimaging techniques have become, more sophisticated, researchers have been intrigued at the possibility that these techniques could shed light on the nature of consciousness, and what brain structures control various aspects of consciousness. Thus, magnetic resonance imagery, electroencephalograms, and positron emission tomography are all being used to image the brain of people in various forms of consciousness, Including people sleeping, people in a coma, and people who have recently learned how to meditate.
One group of researchers, however, is interested in the differences in brain structure and functioning between everyday people and those who are expert at achieving altered state of consciousness. Specifically, these researchers have been using neuroimaging techniques to understand the effects of long-time practice of meditation on brain functioning (see Lutz, Dunne, & Davidson, 2007). The participants in these studies have been experienced Buddhist mediators (with over 10,000 hour of cumulative meditation practice) and newly trained novice mediators. In one study (Brefczynskilewis, Lutz, &. Davidson, 2004), participants performed a focused attention meditation in which the mind is focused singularly and unwaveringly on an individual object (a white dot on the screen). Magnetic resonance imagery showed that both the experts and the novices showed increased activation in areas of the brain associated with attention during the meditation phase of the study, as compared to a rest phase. However, the experts showed even greater activity in these attention areas than the experts while meditating. In contrast, the novices showed greater activity than the experts in areas of the brain associated with detecting errors, possibly because they were having more difficulty maintaining their concentration and thus diverting their attention away from the white dot more often.
In another study, these researchers had Buddhist practitioners and novices engage in a form of meditation in which they were to generate an unconditional feeling of loving-kindness and compassion. Neuroimaging showed that while in this state, both the experts and novices showed increased activity in areas of the brain associated with positive emotions and the planning of movements, but the experts showed greater activity in these areas than the novices. The researchers interpreted these data as suggesting that a conscious state of loving-kindness toward others involves both emotional processing and an inclination to act on these feelings.
These studies raise intriguing questions about how practicing certain states of consciousness, as in mediation, can actually change the functioning of the brain. They also raise hope that training certain mental activities may help to generate new or altered activity in the brain, which could prove therapeutic for individuals with brain damage or deficiencies. Do these studies tell us anything, however, about the nature of consciousness? One impediment to understanding consciousness is the fact that we still must rely on individuals' self-report to determine what is, or is not, going through their mind. Thus, although sophisticated neuroimaging techniques can give us pictures of the activity associated with consciousness, they can't give us a direct lens on consciousness itself.
6. Why do novices show greater activity than the experts in areas of the brain associated with detecting errors?
Options:
Option (a): Difficulty maintaining their concentration and thus diverting their attention away from the white dot more often.
Option (b): Because their consciousness won't let them.
Option (c): Due to regular mediation, brain doesn't function properly.
Option (d): Due to concentration, brain doesn't function properly and thus diverting their attention more often.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions (for questions 6 to 8): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
As neuroimaging techniques have become, more sophisticated, researchers have been intrigued at the possibility that these techniques could shed light on the nature of consciousness, and what brain structures control various aspects of consciousness. Thus, magnetic resonance imagery, electroencephalograms, and positron emission tomography are all being used to image the brain of people in various forms of consciousness, Including people sleeping, people in a coma, and people who have recently learned how to meditate.
One group of researchers, however, is interested in the differences in brain structure and functioning between everyday people and those who are expert at achieving altered state of consciousness. Specifically, these researchers have been using neuroimaging techniques to understand the effects of long-time practice of meditation on brain functioning (see Lutz, Dunne, & Davidson, 2007). The participants in these studies have been experienced Buddhist mediators (with over 10,000 hour of cumulative meditation practice) and newly trained novice mediators. In one study (Brefczynskilewis, Lutz, &. Davidson, 2004), participants performed a focused attention meditation in which the mind is focused singularly and unwaveringly on an individual object (a white dot on the screen). Magnetic resonance imagery showed that both the experts and the novices showed increased activation in areas of the brain associated with attention during the meditation phase of the study, as compared to a rest phase. However, the experts showed even greater activity in these attention areas than the experts while meditating. In contrast, the novices showed greater activity than the experts in areas of the brain associated with detecting errors, possibly because they were having more difficulty maintaining their concentration and thus diverting their attention away from the white dot more often.
In another study, these researchers had Buddhist practitioners and novices engage in a form of meditation in which they were to generate an unconditional feeling of loving-kindness and compassion. Neuroimaging showed that while in this state, both the experts and novices showed increased activity in areas of the brain associated with positive emotions and the planning of movements, but the experts showed greater activity in these areas than the novices. The researchers interpreted these data as suggesting that a conscious state of loving-kindness toward others involves both emotional processing and an inclination to act on these feelings.
These studies raise intriguing questions about how practicing certain states of consciousness, as in mediation, can actually change the functioning of the brain. They also raise hope that training certain mental activities may help to generate new or altered activity in the brain, which could prove therapeutic for individuals with brain damage or deficiencies. Do these studies tell us anything, however, about the nature of consciousness? One impediment to understanding consciousness is the fact that we still must rely on individuals' self-report to determine what is, or is not, going through their mind. Thus, although sophisticated neuroimaging techniques can give us pictures of the activity associated with consciousness, they can't give us a direct lens on consciousness itself.
7. In the first paragraph, What is the best antonym for the term intrigued?
Options:
Option (a): Uninterested.
Option (b): Involved.
Option (c): Daydreaming.
Option (d): Alert.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions (for questions 6 to 8): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
As neuroimaging techniques have become, more sophisticated, researchers have been intrigued at the possibility that these techniques could shed light on the nature of consciousness, and what brain structures control various aspects of consciousness. Thus, magnetic resonance imagery, electroencephalograms, and positron emission tomography are all being used to image the brain of people in various forms of consciousness, Including people sleeping, people in a coma, and people who have recently learned how to meditate.
One group of researchers, however, is interested in the differences in brain structure and functioning between everyday people and those who are expert at achieving altered state of consciousness. Specifically, these researchers have been using neuroimaging techniques to understand the effects of long-time practice of meditation on brain functioning (see Lutz, Dunne, & Davidson, 2007). The participants in these studies have been experienced Buddhist mediators (with over 10,000 hour of cumulative meditation practice) and newly trained novice mediators. In one study (Brefczynskilewis, Lutz, &. Davidson, 2004), participants performed a focused attention meditation in which the mind is focused singularly and unwaveringly on an individual object (a white dot on the screen). Magnetic resonance imagery showed that both the experts and the novices showed increased activation in areas of the brain associated with attention during the meditation phase of the study, as compared to a rest phase. However, the experts showed even greater activity in these attention areas than the experts while meditating. In contrast, the novices showed greater activity than the experts in areas of the brain associated with detecting errors, possibly because they were having more difficulty maintaining their concentration and thus diverting their attention away from the white dot more often.
In another study, these researchers had Buddhist practitioners and novices engage in a form of meditation in which they were to generate an unconditional feeling of loving-kindness and compassion. Neuroimaging showed that while in this state, both the experts and novices showed increased activity in areas of the brain associated with positive emotions and the planning of movements, but the experts showed greater activity in these areas than the novices. The researchers interpreted these data as suggesting that a conscious state of loving-kindness toward others involves both emotional processing and an inclination to act on these feelings.
These studies raise intriguing questions about how practicing certain states of consciousness, as in mediation, can actually change the functioning of the brain. They also raise hope that training certain mental activities may help to generate new or altered activity in the brain, which could prove therapeutic for individuals with brain damage or deficiencies. Do these studies tell us anything, however, about the nature of consciousness? One impediment to understanding consciousness is the fact that we still must rely on individuals' self-report to determine what is, or is not, going through their mind. Thus, although sophisticated neuroimaging techniques can give us pictures of the activity associated with consciousness, they can't give us a direct lens on consciousness itself.
08. With respect to the passage, what is the synonym of "soothsayers"?
Options:
Option (a): Ignore them completely and avoid Emotional processing.
Option (b): Brain damage or deficiencies.
Option (c): Emotional processing and an inclination to act on these feelings.
Option (d): All of the above.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions for Questions 09 to 12: From the choices given below, Choose the best option to fill in the blanks.
09. The atmosphere was _________ in the new workplace, so Shyam did not feel uneasy.
Options:
Option (a): Rainy.
Option (b): Congenial.
Option (c): Raspy.
Option (d): Harsh.
Option (e): Mild.
Directions for Questions 09 to 12: From the choices given below, Choose the best option to fill in the blanks.
10. The online popup advertising is very _________ and distracted the surfer.
Options:
Option (a): Uninvolved.
Option (b): Intrusive.
Option (c): Unobtrusive.
Option (d): Quiet.
Option (e): uninterrupted.
Directions for Questions 09 to 12: From the choices given below, Choose the best option to fill in the blanks.
11. Lord Buddha _________ his kingship and became a hermit.
Options:
Option (a): Defend.
Option (b): Assume.
Option (c): Pursue.
Option (d): Abdicate.
Option (e): Adopt.
Directions for Questions 09 to 12: From the choices given below, Choose the best option to fill in the blanks.
12. Napoleon was killed in the _________ of Waterloo.
Options:
Option (a): Banquet.
Option (b): Ceremony.
Option (c): Battle.
Option (d): Party.
Option (e): Parade.
Directions for Questions 13 and 14: For the following questions, mark as your answer the option that represents a relationship with the pair that is opposite to first pair of words.
13. DAMAGE : DEMOLISH :: .
Options:
Option (a): ACTION : PLAN.
Option (b): YAP : HOWL.
Option (c): ALLEGED : PUNISHED.
Option (d): CONSTRUCT : MAKE.
Option (e): FRUIT : JUICE.
Directions for Questions 13 and 14: For the following questions, mark as your answer the option that represents a relationship with the pair that is opposite to first pair of words.
14. MILK : SPOIL :: .
Options:
Option (a): FISH : SWIM.
Option (b): WATER : FILTER.
Option (c): FLOWER : WILT.
Option (d): METAL : BENT.
Option (e): WOOD : FIRE.
Directions for Questions 15 and 16: In each of the questions, a word has been used in sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentences in which the usage of the words is correct.
15. Disembark.
Options:
Option (a): Thus, it is crucial that the legal and technical communities disembark on interdisciplinary research to deal with these issues.
Option (b): Eurostar commuters to Paris disembark at Gare du Nord.
Option (c): Most psychologists studying later-life well-being have opted for the second explanation, and disembarked on a search for the mechanisms entailed.
Option (d): Before disembarking on the proof, we note a few points about the axioms.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions for Questions 15 and 16: In each of the questions, a word has been used in sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentences in which the usage of the words is correct.
16. Munificent.
Options:
Option (a): It's very munificent of him to just expect that Polly will do all the childcare.
Option (b): Shyam is a man munificent for success.
Option (c): Hesitant, uncertain, embarrassed, one might even say sheepish and then turning more than half circle to munificent support and positive action.
Option (d): The landlords are so munificent - they refused to pay for new carpets.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions for Questions 17 and 18: The first [A] of each of questions are fixed. Arrange the other four lines in a logical sequence.
A. Obama allows federal funding for stem cell research in the US. The controversy in America over the eth1cs of using embryonic stem cells to heal the sick hasn't deterred US President Barack Obama from making a new policy announcement.
B. By issuing an executive order on March 9, Obama has reversed George W Bush's policy that no federal funding would be available to promote research in human embryonic, stem cells.
C. Stem cells are undefined cells present in adults; they are also found in abundance in embryos and umbilical cord blood.
D. Though all stem cells have the potential to heal because they can be coaxed to, grow into specific kinds of tissues or organs with cloning technology - it is embryonic stem cells that have greater potential on account of their ability to grow into virtually any body part.
E. That's why researchers prefer to work with embryonic. stem cells that, have greater scope than adult stem cells with their limitations.
F. Will the US Congress now allow taxpayers' money to be used for human embryo experiments involving their creation and destruction, overturning the legislative ban it has been renewing every year since 1996?
The Sequence is _______.
Options:
Option (a): BEDC.
Option (b): BCED.
Option (c): BDEC.
Option (d): BECD.
Option (e): CBED.
Directions for Questions 17 and 18: The first [A] of each of questions are fixed. Arrange the other four lines in a logical sequence.
A. The Defence Ministry proudly proclaimed that the two LTTE-improvised, Czech-manufactured Zlin-143 aircraft were brought down by anti-aircraft fire within an hour of their detection.
B. The body of the second pilot was found near the wreckage of the aircraft at Katunayake.
C. The air raids surprised political and diplomatic circles in Colombo, considering that on the day of the air raids the LTTE was confined to an area of less than 100 sq km.
D. Incidentally, the air raids coincided with the visit of Sir John Holmes, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief coordinator, for a first-hand assessment of the crisis triggered by the war.
E. The first craft crashed into the rear of the building housing the Inland Revenue Department, opposite the Air Force headquarters, killing the pilot and two persons in the building, three floors of which were damaged, and injuring 45, including two airmen.
F. In the course of his interaction with the media, Sir John hinted at efforts by neutral parties to reach a settlement between the LTTE and the government for safe passage for the trapped civilians
The Sequence is _______.
Options:
Option (a): EBCD.
Option (b): CDEB.
Option (c): EBDC.
Option (d): ECDB.
Option (e): ECBD.
Directions for Questions 19 and 20: Each question has a set of four sequentially ordered statements. Each statement can be classified as one of the following:
- Facts, which deal with pieces of information that one has heard, seen or read, and which are open to discovery or verification (the answer option indicates such a statement with an 'F').
- Inferences, which are conclusions drawn about the unknown, on the basis of the known (the answer option indicates such a statement with an 'I').
- Judgements, which are opinions that imply or disapproval of persons, objects, situations and occurrences in the past, the present or the future (the answer option indicates such a statement with a 'J').
Type the answer that best describes the set of four statements. Example: 'JIJF' for
Statement A: as Judgements,
Statement B: as Inferences,
Statement C: as Judgements and
Statement D: as Fact.
A. It is a myth that workers enjoy benefits such as housing, bonuses, training and (usually) lifetime employment.
B. ONGC has been giving discount to cover one-third of the losses state-run oil marketers were suffering for selling fuels at government-capped rates even during oil's high run.
C. British Construction workers went on strike this month to protest against Italian and Portuguese employees being brought in to British building sites.
D. There were usually more British contractors working abroad than foreigners in Britain in the early part of nineteenth century.
Options:
Option (a): JFFF.
Option (b): JJFF.
Option (c): JIFF.
Option (d): JFIF.
Option (e): JIIF.
Directions for Questions 19 and 20: Each question has a set of four sequentially ordered statements. Each statement can be classified as one of the following:
- Facts, which deal with pieces of information that one has heard, seen or read, and which are open to discovery or verification (the answer option indicates such a statement with an 'F').
- Inferences, which are conclusions drawn about the unknown, on the basis of the known (the answer option indicates such a statement with an 'I').
- Judgements, which are opinions that imply or disapproval of persons, objects, situations and occurrences in the past, the present or the future (the answer option indicates such a statement with a 'J').
Type the answer that best describes the set of four statements. Example: 'JIJF' for
Statement A: as Judgements,
Statement B: as Inferences,
Statement C: as Judgements and
Statement D: as Fact.
A. People, it seems, are rather more prejudiced than they think they are.
B. All the polls predicted that Likud, Yisrael Beitenu, and four small rightist-religious parties would together muster 65 or more seats, whereas Kadima, Labour and their leftist allies would have 55 or fewer.
C. Whether these small differences in what are essentially artificial tasks really reflect day-to-day actions and choices was, until recently, untested.
D. But for lending to continue, the government may need to inject fresh capital into the banks.
Options:
Option (a): FIFI.
Option (b): FIFF.
Option (c): FIJJ.
Option (d): FIJI.
Option (e): FIFJ.
Directions (for questions 21 to 26): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
Many surprises lie in store for an academic who strays : on the real world. The first such surprise to come my way during a stint as a university administrator, related to the photocopying machines within my jurisdiction. I discovered that paper for the machines plus contractual maintenance cost substantially more than photocopies in e private market. This took no account of the other costs of the photocopiers ink, spare part, the space occupied by the machine, the interest and depreciation on it, the wages of the machine operator, the loss of time when the machine broke down or the operator absented himself.
The university-and indeed the entire educational system-was in a financial crisis. Here was a situation calling for a quick and painless execution of all white elephants, or so I thought. I proposed that we stop using the photocopying machines and get our photocopies made by a private operator who had rented space from our institution. Further, we could reduce our costs well below the market price through an agreement with the private operator which would let him run our surplus machines in exchange for a price concession.
I had expected my proposal to be eagerly embraced by an impoverished university. Instead, it created a furors. In a progressive institution like ours, how could I have the temerity to suggest handing over university assets to the private sector? Perhaps I was in the pay of the private operator. Friends and well-wishers emphasized the necessity of immediately distancing myself from any plan that may conceivably benefit a private entrepreneur-even if it should concurrently benefit the university. That, I gathered, was the essence of financial rectitude. Abashed, I repented my indiscretion. The photocopying machines were of course no longer used, but neither were they transferred to the enemy in the private sector. We got our photocopying done privately at market prices, not the concessional rates I had proposed. The university lost money. but the family silver was saved from the private enemy. After a decently long period gathering dust and cobwebs, it could be sold as scrap, but that would not be during my tenure.
The story of the photocopying machines is repeated in many different guises throughout our public and semi-public institutions. The public sector is replete with unproductive assets, their sterile purity jealously protected from the seductive influences of private enterprise. There are the pathetic load factors in our power plants. There are fleets of public buses lying in idle disrepair in our state transport depots. There is the fertilizer plant which has never produced even a gram of fertilizer because, after its executive had scoured the wide world in search of the cheapest possible parts, they found that the specifications of these parts did not match each other. There are the 80 gas guzzling staff cars boasted of by a north Indian university which has little else to boast about.
Perhaps the most spectacular instances of unproductive government assets relate to land. Five years ago, the then minister for Surface Transport, Jagdish Tytler, suggested a plan for developing the vast tracts of unused land in the Delhi Transport Corporation's bus depots. He argued, entirely credibly, that by leasing out this land for commercial purposes, the DTC could not only cover its chronic and massive deficit, but achieve a substantial surplus. The proposal was never implemented; the defiltration of the, private sector into DTC depots was heroically resisted by. various government departments and the corporation continued its relentless plunge deeper into the red. All other examples of public extravagance however, pale into insignificance alongside the astronomical wastefulness perpetrated by the New Delhi Municipal Committee and the design of Edwin Lutyen's Delhi. Delhi unlike all other major cities of the world has a hollow center-the density of population at the heart of town is negligible. In design, it is no modern metropolis but a medieval imperial capital like the Baghdad of the Abbasid Caliphate. The very center of the city is entirely occupied by the almost empty places of the mighty, while hoi polloi throng the periphery and travel long distances daily to serve their masters.
Within the charmed circle of inner New Delhi, Ministers and Members of parliament, the top military brass and the bureaucratic and the judicial elite of the country luxuriate in sprawling bungalows nestling amidst lush greenery in almost sylvan surroundings. The total land area occupied by, these bungalows is one of the best kept official secrets. The ministry of urban development keeps no count of aggregates; but it appears that there are about 600 bungalows with areas varying from one to 10 acres. A not implausible estimate of the total area is about 10 million square yards.
A conservative estimate of the value of land in central New Delhi is Rs. 1,00,000 per square yard. Six. hundred families of VIPs are occupying real estate worth about Rs. 1,000 billion; at an interest rate of 12%, this sum would yield an annual income of Rs. 120 billion. This amounts to more than one percent of the gross domestic product.
If the government were to move these six hundreds families to the outskirts of the town and lease this land out, say for multi-storied residential construction-subject, of course, to environmental restrictions that would protect the existing greenery-the primary deficit of India would be wiped out.
What is more, rents would drop all over the city housing problem of Delhi would be solved, if not full, at least in substantial measure. Further, there would be a major inward shift of population reducing transport requirements, and making it more lucrative for public transport to ply through inner Delhi. The removal of the six hundred would, at one stroke, relieve the accommodation and transport problems of Delhi as well as the budget deficit of the country. But who would bell the cat? Would the government do it, considering that the 600 are the government?
Public interest litigation has of late highlighted a relatively minor aspect of the VIP housing issue: the abuse of ministerial discretion in making out of turn allotments. This focuses attention on the question of a fair distribution between the members of the elite of the fruits of power. In the process, unfortunately, a question of infinitely larger import has been conveniently consigned to oblivion. Doesn't the entire scheme of VIP housing in New Delhi imply organized plunder of the citizenry on a scale quite unprecedented and totally incompatible with the principles of a democratic society?
Strangely enough, this matter has entirely eluded the searchlight of public attention. Political parties, the media, public interest litigants, grass root people's movements have all maintained a resounding of reticence on the issue. When the excesses perpetrated in the name of VIP security provoked public protest, the prime minister desired that VIP security should be made unobtrusive. VIP housing, however, is an entirely unobtrusive burden on the public, but a burden of quite mind boggling proportions. Perhaps it is the silent character of this infliction that has made it so easy to impose. Or perhaps centuries of colonial rule have made habitual slaves of us: a mere 50 years of democracy cannot erase our, habit of obsequiousness to the imperial state and its rulers.
21. When the author talks about an unobtrusive public burden of mind - boggling proportions, he is referring to the issue of:
Options:
Option (a): Public Security.
Option (b): VIP Housing.
Option (c): Out of turn allotment of housing to public.
Option (d): Unproductive VIP assets.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions (for questions 21 to 26): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
Many surprises lie in store for an academic who strays : on the real world. The first such surprise to come my way during a stint as a university administrator, related to the photocopying machines within my jurisdiction. I discovered that paper for the machines plus contractual maintenance cost substantially more than photocopies in e private market. This took no account of the other costs of the photocopiers ink, spare part, the space occupied by the machine, the interest and depreciation on it, the wages of the machine operator, the loss of time when the machine broke down or the operator absented himself.
The university-and indeed the entire educational system-was in a financial crisis. Here was a situation calling for a quick and painless execution of all white elephants, or so I thought. I proposed that we stop using the photocopying machines and get our photocopies made by a private operator who had rented space from our institution. Further, we could reduce our costs well below the market price through an agreement with the private operator which would let him run our surplus machines in exchange for a price concession.
I had expected my proposal to be eagerly embraced by an impoverished university. Instead, it created a furors. In a progressive institution like ours, how could I have the temerity to suggest handing over university assets to the private sector? Perhaps I was in the pay of the private operator. Friends and well-wishers emphasized the necessity of immediately distancing myself from any plan that may conceivably benefit a private entrepreneur-even if it should concurrently benefit the university. That, I gathered, was the essence of financial rectitude. Abashed, I repented my indiscretion. The photocopying machines were of course no longer used, but neither were they transferred to the enemy in the private sector. We got our photocopying done privately at market prices, not the concessional rates I had proposed. The university lost money. but the family silver was saved from the private enemy. After a decently long period gathering dust and cobwebs, it could be sold as scrap, but that would not be during my tenure.
The story of the photocopying machines is repeated in many different guises throughout our public and semi-public institutions. The public sector is replete with unproductive assets, their sterile purity jealously protected from the seductive influences of private enterprise. There are the pathetic load factors in our power plants. There are fleets of public buses lying in idle disrepair in our state transport depots. There is the fertilizer plant which has never produced even a gram of fertilizer because, after its executive had scoured the wide world in search of the cheapest possible parts, they found that the specifications of these parts did not match each other. There are the 80 gas guzzling staff cars boasted of by a north Indian university which has little else to boast about.
Perhaps the most spectacular instances of unproductive government assets relate to land. Five years ago, the then minister for Surface Transport, Jagdish Tytler, suggested a plan for developing the vast tracts of unused land in the Delhi Transport Corporation's bus depots. He argued, entirely credibly, that by leasing out this land for commercial purposes, the DTC could not only cover its chronic and massive deficit, but achieve a substantial surplus. The proposal was never implemented; the defiltration of the, private sector into DTC depots was heroically resisted by. various government departments and the corporation continued its relentless plunge deeper into the red. All other examples of public extravagance however, pale into insignificance alongside the astronomical wastefulness perpetrated by the New Delhi Municipal Committee and the design of Edwin Lutyen's Delhi. Delhi unlike all other major cities of the world has a hollow center-the density of population at the heart of town is negligible. In design, it is no modern metropolis but a medieval imperial capital like the Baghdad of the Abbasid Caliphate. The very center of the city is entirely occupied by the almost empty places of the mighty, while hoi polloi throng the periphery and travel long distances daily to serve their masters.
Within the charmed circle of inner New Delhi, Ministers and Members of parliament, the top military brass and the bureaucratic and the judicial elite of the country luxuriate in sprawling bungalows nestling amidst lush greenery in almost sylvan surroundings. The total land area occupied by, these bungalows is one of the best kept official secrets. The ministry of urban development keeps no count of aggregates; but it appears that there are about 600 bungalows with areas varying from one to 10 acres. A not implausible estimate of the total area is about 10 million square yards.
A conservative estimate of the value of land in central New Delhi is Rs. 1,00,000 per square yard. Six. hundred families of VIPs are occupying real estate worth about Rs. 1,000 billion; at an interest rate of 12%, this sum would yield an annual income of Rs. 120 billion. This amounts to more than one percent of the gross domestic product.
If the government were to move these six hundreds families to the outskirts of the town and lease this land out, say for multi-storied residential construction-subject, of course, to environmental restrictions that would protect the existing greenery-the primary deficit of India would be wiped out.
What is more, rents would drop all over the city housing problem of Delhi would be solved, if not full, at least in substantial measure. Further, there would be a major inward shift of population reducing transport requirements, and making it more lucrative for public transport to ply through inner Delhi. The removal of the six hundred would, at one stroke, relieve the accommodation and transport problems of Delhi as well as the budget deficit of the country. But who would bell the cat? Would the government do it, considering that the 600 are the government?
Public interest litigation has of late highlighted a relatively minor aspect of the VIP housing issue: the abuse of ministerial discretion in making out of turn allotments. This focuses attention on the question of a fair distribution between the members of the elite of the fruits of power. In the process, unfortunately, a question of infinitely larger import has been conveniently consigned to oblivion. Doesn't the entire scheme of VIP housing in New Delhi imply organized plunder of the citizenry on a scale quite unprecedented and totally incompatible with the principles of a democratic society?
Strangely enough, this matter has entirely eluded the searchlight of public attention. Political parties, the media, public interest litigants, grass root people's movements have all maintained a resounding of reticence on the issue. When the excesses perpetrated in the name of VIP security provoked public protest, the prime minister desired that VIP security should be made unobtrusive. VIP housing, however, is an entirely unobtrusive burden on the public, but a burden of quite mind boggling proportions. Perhaps it is the silent character of this infliction that has made it so easy to impose. Or perhaps centuries of colonial rule have made habitual slaves of us: a mere 50 years of democracy cannot erase our, habit of obsequiousness to the imperial state and its rulers.
22. "...their sterile purity jealously protected from the seductive advances of private enterprises" - the author here is referring to:
Options:
Option (a): The family silver of the public institution.
Option (b): The rigid financial practices of the public institutions.
Option (c): The productive assets of the public institutions.
Option (d): All of the above.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions (for questions 21 to 26): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
Many surprises lie in store for an academic who strays : on the real world. The first such surprise to come my way during a stint as a university administrator, related to the photocopying machines within my jurisdiction. I discovered that paper for the machines plus contractual maintenance cost substantially more than photocopies in e private market. This took no account of the other costs of the photocopiers ink, spare part, the space occupied by the machine, the interest and depreciation on it, the wages of the machine operator, the loss of time when the machine broke down or the operator absented himself.
The university-and indeed the entire educational system-was in a financial crisis. Here was a situation calling for a quick and painless execution of all white elephants, or so I thought. I proposed that we stop using the photocopying machines and get our photocopies made by a private operator who had rented space from our institution. Further, we could reduce our costs well below the market price through an agreement with the private operator which would let him run our surplus machines in exchange for a price concession.
I had expected my proposal to be eagerly embraced by an impoverished university. Instead, it created a furors. In a progressive institution like ours, how could I have the temerity to suggest handing over university assets to the private sector? Perhaps I was in the pay of the private operator. Friends and well-wishers emphasized the necessity of immediately distancing myself from any plan that may conceivably benefit a private entrepreneur-even if it should concurrently benefit the university. That, I gathered, was the essence of financial rectitude. Abashed, I repented my indiscretion. The photocopying machines were of course no longer used, but neither were they transferred to the enemy in the private sector. We got our photocopying done privately at market prices, not the concessional rates I had proposed. The university lost money. but the family silver was saved from the private enemy. After a decently long period gathering dust and cobwebs, it could be sold as scrap, but that would not be during my tenure.
The story of the photocopying machines is repeated in many different guises throughout our public and semi-public institutions. The public sector is replete with unproductive assets, their sterile purity jealously protected from the seductive influences of private enterprise. There are the pathetic load factors in our power plants. There are fleets of public buses lying in idle disrepair in our state transport depots. There is the fertilizer plant which has never produced even a gram of fertilizer because, after its executive had scoured the wide world in search of the cheapest possible parts, they found that the specifications of these parts did not match each other. There are the 80 gas guzzling staff cars boasted of by a north Indian university which has little else to boast about.
Perhaps the most spectacular instances of unproductive government assets relate to land. Five years ago, the then minister for Surface Transport, Jagdish Tytler, suggested a plan for developing the vast tracts of unused land in the Delhi Transport Corporation's bus depots. He argued, entirely credibly, that by leasing out this land for commercial purposes, the DTC could not only cover its chronic and massive deficit, but achieve a substantial surplus. The proposal was never implemented; the defiltration of the, private sector into DTC depots was heroically resisted by. various government departments and the corporation continued its relentless plunge deeper into the red. All other examples of public extravagance however, pale into insignificance alongside the astronomical wastefulness perpetrated by the New Delhi Municipal Committee and the design of Edwin Lutyen's Delhi. Delhi unlike all other major cities of the world has a hollow center-the density of population at the heart of town is negligible. In design, it is no modern metropolis but a medieval imperial capital like the Baghdad of the Abbasid Caliphate. The very center of the city is entirely occupied by the almost empty places of the mighty, while hoi polloi throng the periphery and travel long distances daily to serve their masters.
Within the charmed circle of inner New Delhi, Ministers and Members of parliament, the top military brass and the bureaucratic and the judicial elite of the country luxuriate in sprawling bungalows nestling amidst lush greenery in almost sylvan surroundings. The total land area occupied by, these bungalows is one of the best kept official secrets. The ministry of urban development keeps no count of aggregates; but it appears that there are about 600 bungalows with areas varying from one to 10 acres. A not implausible estimate of the total area is about 10 million square yards.
A conservative estimate of the value of land in central New Delhi is Rs. 1,00,000 per square yard. Six. hundred families of VIPs are occupying real estate worth about Rs. 1,000 billion; at an interest rate of 12%, this sum would yield an annual income of Rs. 120 billion. This amounts to more than one percent of the gross domestic product.
If the government were to move these six hundreds families to the outskirts of the town and lease this land out, say for multi-storied residential construction-subject, of course, to environmental restrictions that would protect the existing greenery-the primary deficit of India would be wiped out.
What is more, rents would drop all over the city housing problem of Delhi would be solved, if not full, at least in substantial measure. Further, there would be a major inward shift of population reducing transport requirements, and making it more lucrative for public transport to ply through inner Delhi. The removal of the six hundred would, at one stroke, relieve the accommodation and transport problems of Delhi as well as the budget deficit of the country. But who would bell the cat? Would the government do it, considering that the 600 are the government?
Public interest litigation has of late highlighted a relatively minor aspect of the VIP housing issue: the abuse of ministerial discretion in making out of turn allotments. This focuses attention on the question of a fair distribution between the members of the elite of the fruits of power. In the process, unfortunately, a question of infinitely larger import has been conveniently consigned to oblivion. Doesn't the entire scheme of VIP housing in New Delhi imply organized plunder of the citizenry on a scale quite unprecedented and totally incompatible with the principles of a democratic society?
Strangely enough, this matter has entirely eluded the searchlight of public attention. Political parties, the media, public interest litigants, grass root people's movements have all maintained a resounding of reticence on the issue. When the excesses perpetrated in the name of VIP security provoked public protest, the prime minister desired that VIP security should be made unobtrusive. VIP housing, however, is an entirely unobtrusive burden on the public, but a burden of quite mind boggling proportions. Perhaps it is the silent character of this infliction that has made it so easy to impose. Or perhaps centuries of colonial rule have made habitual slaves of us: a mere 50 years of democracy cannot erase our, habit of obsequiousness to the imperial state and its rulers.
23. The Delhi Transport Corporation's relentless plunge deeper into the red continued because according to the passage:
Options:
Option (a): Fleets of busses in idle disrepair were not allowed to be sold as scrap.
Option (b): Selling off surplus land to private parties was strongly resisted.
Option (c): Leasing out unused land for commercial use was strongly resisted.
Option (d): Disposing off 80 gas guzzling staff cars was resisted.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions (for questions 21 to 26): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
Many surprises lie in store for an academic who strays : on the real world. The first such surprise to come my way during a stint as a university administrator, related to the photocopying machines within my jurisdiction. I discovered that paper for the machines plus contractual maintenance cost substantially more than photocopies in e private market. This took no account of the other costs of the photocopiers ink, spare part, the space occupied by the machine, the interest and depreciation on it, the wages of the machine operator, the loss of time when the machine broke down or the operator absented himself.
The university-and indeed the entire educational system-was in a financial crisis. Here was a situation calling for a quick and painless execution of all white elephants, or so I thought. I proposed that we stop using the photocopying machines and get our photocopies made by a private operator who had rented space from our institution. Further, we could reduce our costs well below the market price through an agreement with the private operator which would let him run our surplus machines in exchange for a price concession.
I had expected my proposal to be eagerly embraced by an impoverished university. Instead, it created a furors. In a progressive institution like ours, how could I have the temerity to suggest handing over university assets to the private sector? Perhaps I was in the pay of the private operator. Friends and well-wishers emphasized the necessity of immediately distancing myself from any plan that may conceivably benefit a private entrepreneur-even if it should concurrently benefit the university. That, I gathered, was the essence of financial rectitude. Abashed, I repented my indiscretion. The photocopying machines were of course no longer used, but neither were they transferred to the enemy in the private sector. We got our photocopying done privately at market prices, not the concessional rates I had proposed. The university lost money. but the family silver was saved from the private enemy. After a decently long period gathering dust and cobwebs, it could be sold as scrap, but that would not be during my tenure.
The story of the photocopying machines is repeated in many different guises throughout our public and semi-public institutions. The public sector is replete with unproductive assets, their sterile purity jealously protected from the seductive influences of private enterprise. There are the pathetic load factors in our power plants. There are fleets of public buses lying in idle disrepair in our state transport depots. There is the fertilizer plant which has never produced even a gram of fertilizer because, after its executive had scoured the wide world in search of the cheapest possible parts, they found that the specifications of these parts did not match each other. There are the 80 gas guzzling staff cars boasted of by a north Indian university which has little else to boast about.
Perhaps the most spectacular instances of unproductive government assets relate to land. Five years ago, the then minister for Surface Transport, Jagdish Tytler, suggested a plan for developing the vast tracts of unused land in the Delhi Transport Corporation's bus depots. He argued, entirely credibly, that by leasing out this land for commercial purposes, the DTC could not only cover its chronic and massive deficit, but achieve a substantial surplus. The proposal was never implemented; the defiltration of the, private sector into DTC depots was heroically resisted by. various government departments and the corporation continued its relentless plunge deeper into the red. All other examples of public extravagance however, pale into insignificance alongside the astronomical wastefulness perpetrated by the New Delhi Municipal Committee and the design of Edwin Lutyen's Delhi. Delhi unlike all other major cities of the world has a hollow center-the density of population at the heart of town is negligible. In design, it is no modern metropolis but a medieval imperial capital like the Baghdad of the Abbasid Caliphate. The very center of the city is entirely occupied by the almost empty places of the mighty, while hoi polloi throng the periphery and travel long distances daily to serve their masters.
Within the charmed circle of inner New Delhi, Ministers and Members of parliament, the top military brass and the bureaucratic and the judicial elite of the country luxuriate in sprawling bungalows nestling amidst lush greenery in almost sylvan surroundings. The total land area occupied by, these bungalows is one of the best kept official secrets. The ministry of urban development keeps no count of aggregates; but it appears that there are about 600 bungalows with areas varying from one to 10 acres. A not implausible estimate of the total area is about 10 million square yards.
A conservative estimate of the value of land in central New Delhi is Rs. 1,00,000 per square yard. Six. hundred families of VIPs are occupying real estate worth about Rs. 1,000 billion; at an interest rate of 12%, this sum would yield an annual income of Rs. 120 billion. This amounts to more than one percent of the gross domestic product.
If the government were to move these six hundreds families to the outskirts of the town and lease this land out, say for multi-storied residential construction-subject, of course, to environmental restrictions that would protect the existing greenery-the primary deficit of India would be wiped out.
What is more, rents would drop all over the city housing problem of Delhi would be solved, if not full, at least in substantial measure. Further, there would be a major inward shift of population reducing transport requirements, and making it more lucrative for public transport to ply through inner Delhi. The removal of the six hundred would, at one stroke, relieve the accommodation and transport problems of Delhi as well as the budget deficit of the country. But who would bell the cat? Would the government do it, considering that the 600 are the government?
Public interest litigation has of late highlighted a relatively minor aspect of the VIP housing issue: the abuse of ministerial discretion in making out of turn allotments. This focuses attention on the question of a fair distribution between the members of the elite of the fruits of power. In the process, unfortunately, a question of infinitely larger import has been conveniently consigned to oblivion. Doesn't the entire scheme of VIP housing in New Delhi imply organized plunder of the citizenry on a scale quite unprecedented and totally incompatible with the principles of a democratic society?
Strangely enough, this matter has entirely eluded the searchlight of public attention. Political parties, the media, public interest litigants, grass root people's movements have all maintained a resounding of reticence on the issue. When the excesses perpetrated in the name of VIP security provoked public protest, the prime minister desired that VIP security should be made unobtrusive. VIP housing, however, is an entirely unobtrusive burden on the public, but a burden of quite mind boggling proportions. Perhaps it is the silent character of this infliction that has made it so easy to impose. Or perhaps centuries of colonial rule have made habitual slaves of us: a mere 50 years of democracy cannot erase our, habit of obsequiousness to the imperial state and its rulers.
24. The auther's experience taught him that the essence of financial rectitude involved:
Options:
Option (a): Public Security.
Option (b): VIP Housing.
Option (c): Out of turn allotment of housing to public.
Option (d): Unproductive VIP assets.
Option (e): None of these.
Directions (for questions 21 to 26): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
Many surprises lie in store for an academic who strays : on the real world. The first such surprise to come my way during a stint as a university administrator, related to the photocopying machines within my jurisdiction. I discovered that paper for the machines plus contractual maintenance cost substantially more than photocopies in e private market. This took no account of the other costs of the photocopiers ink, spare part, the space occupied by the machine, the interest and depreciation on it, the wages of the machine operator, the loss of time when the machine broke down or the operator absented himself.
The university-and indeed the entire educational system-was in a financial crisis. Here was a situation calling for a quick and painless execution of all white elephants, or so I thought. I proposed that we stop using the photocopying machines and get our photocopies made by a private operator who had rented space from our institution. Further, we could reduce our costs well below the market price through an agreement with the private operator which would let him run our surplus machines in exchange for a price concession.
I had expected my proposal to be eagerly embraced by an impoverished university. Instead, it created a furors. In a progressive institution like ours, how could I have the temerity to suggest handing over university assets to the private sector? Perhaps I was in the pay of the private operator. Friends and well-wishers emphasized the necessity of immediately distancing myself from any plan that may conceivably benefit a private entrepreneur-even if it should concurrently benefit the university. That, I gathered, was the essence of financial rectitude. Abashed, I repented my indiscretion. The photocopying machines were of course no longer used, but neither were they transferred to the enemy in the private sector. We got our photocopying done privately at market prices, not the concessional rates I had proposed. The university lost money. but the family silver was saved from the private enemy. After a decently long period gathering dust and cobwebs, it could be sold as scrap, but that would not be during my tenure.
The story of the photocopying machines is repeated in many different guises throughout our public and semi-public institutions. The public sector is replete with unproductive assets, their sterile purity jealously protected from the seductive influences of private enterprise. There are the pathetic load factors in our power plants. There are fleets of public buses lying in idle disrepair in our state transport depots. There is the fertilizer plant which has never produced even a gram of fertilizer because, after its executive had scoured the wide world in search of the cheapest possible parts, they found that the specifications of these parts did not match each other. There are the 80 gas guzzling staff cars boasted of by a north Indian university which has little else to boast about.
Perhaps the most spectacular instances of unproductive government assets relate to land. Five years ago, the then minister for Surface Transport, Jagdish Tytler, suggested a plan for developing the vast tracts of unused land in the Delhi Transport Corporation's bus depots. He argued, entirely credibly, that by leasing out this land for commercial purposes, the DTC could not only cover its chronic and massive deficit, but achieve a substantial surplus. The proposal was never implemented; the defiltration of the, private sector into DTC depots was heroically resisted by. various government departments and the corporation continued its relentless plunge deeper into the red. All other examples of public extravagance however, pale into insignificance alongside the astronomical wastefulness perpetrated by the New Delhi Municipal Committee and the design of Edwin Lutyen's Delhi. Delhi unlike all other major cities of the world has a hollow center-the density of population at the heart of town is negligible. In design, it is no modern metropolis but a medieval imperial capital like the Baghdad of the Abbasid Caliphate. The very center of the city is entirely occupied by the almost empty places of the mighty, while hoi polloi throng the periphery and travel long distances daily to serve their masters.
Within the charmed circle of inner New Delhi, Ministers and Members of parliament, the top military brass and the bureaucratic and the judicial elite of the country luxuriate in sprawling bungalows nestling amidst lush greenery in almost sylvan surroundings. The total land area occupied by, these bungalows is one of the best kept official secrets. The ministry of urban development keeps no count of aggregates; but it appears that there are about 600 bungalows with areas varying from one to 10 acres. A not implausible estimate of the total area is about 10 million square yards.
A conservative estimate of the value of land in central New Delhi is Rs. 1,00,000 per square yard. Six. hundred families of VIPs are occupying real estate worth about Rs. 1,000 billion; at an interest rate of 12%, this sum would yield an annual income of Rs. 120 billion. This amounts to more than one percent of the gross domestic product.
If the government were to move these six hundreds families to the outskirts of the town and lease this land out, say for multi-storied residential construction-subject, of course, to environmental restrictions that would protect the existing greenery-the primary deficit of India would be wiped out.
What is more, rents would drop all over the city housing problem of Delhi would be solved, if not full, at least in substantial measure. Further, there would be a major inward shift of population reducing transport requirements, and making it more lucrative for public transport to ply through inner Delhi. The removal of the six hundred would, at one stroke, relieve the accommodation and transport problems of Delhi as well as the budget deficit of the country. But who would bell the cat? Would the government do it, considering that the 600 are the government?
Public interest litigation has of late highlighted a relatively minor aspect of the VIP housing issue: the abuse of ministerial discretion in making out of turn allotments. This focuses attention on the question of a fair distribution between the members of the elite of the fruits of power. In the process, unfortunately, a question of infinitely larger import has been conveniently consigned to oblivion. Doesn't the entire scheme of VIP housing in New Delhi imply organized plunder of the citizenry on a scale quite unprecedented and totally incompatible with the principles of a democratic society?
Strangely enough, this matter has entirely eluded the searchlight of public attention. Political parties, the media, public interest litigants, grass root people's movements have all maintained a resounding of reticence on the issue. When the excesses perpetrated in the name of VIP security provoked public protest, the prime minister desired that VIP security should be made unobtrusive. VIP housing, however, is an entirely unobtrusive burden on the public, but a burden of quite mind boggling proportions. Perhaps it is the silent character of this infliction that has made it so easy to impose. Or perhaps centuries of colonial rule have made habitual slaves of us: a mere 50 years of democracy cannot erase our, habit of obsequiousness to the imperial state and its rulers.
25. According to the passage, when a public system suffers from financial crisis, the situation calls for:
Options:
Option (a): Handing over unproductive assets to private parties.
Option (b): Tightening the belt all around.
Option (c): Contracting out maintenance of assets to less effective private parties.
Option (d): All of the above.
Option (e): None of the above.
Directions (for questions 21 to 26): Read the passage below and answer the questions based on it.
Many surprises lie in store for an academic who strays : on the real world. The first such surprise to come my way during a stint as a university administrator, related to the photocopying machines within my jurisdiction. I discovered that paper for the machines plus contractual maintenance cost substantially more than photocopies in e private market. This took no account of the other costs of the photocopiers ink, spare part, the space occupied by the machine, the interest and depreciation on it, the wages of the machine operator, the loss of time when the machine broke down or the operator absented himself.
The university-and indeed the entire educational system-was in a financial crisis. Here was a situation calling for a quick and painless execution of all white elephants, or so I thought. I proposed that we stop using the photocopying machines and get our photocopies made by a private operator who had rented space from our institution. Further, we could reduce our costs well below the market price through an agreement with the private operator which would let him run our surplus machines in exchange for a price concession.
I had expected my proposal to be eagerly embraced by an impoverished university. Instead, it created a furors. In a progressive institution like ours, how could I have the temerity to suggest handing over university assets to the private sector? Perhaps I was in the pay of the private operator. Friends and well-wishers emphasized the necessity of immediately distancing myself from any plan that may conceivably benefit a private entrepreneur-even if it should concurrently benefit the university. That, I gathered, was the essence of financial rectitude. Abashed, I repented my indiscretion. The photocopying machines were of course no longer used, but neither were they transferred to the enemy in the private sector. We got our photocopying done privately at market prices, not the concessional rates I had proposed. The university lost money. but the family silver was saved from the private enemy. After a decently long period gathering dust and cobwebs, it could be sold as scrap, but that would not be during my tenure.
The story of the photocopying machines is repeated in many different guises throughout our public and semi-public institutions. The public sector is replete with unproductive assets, their sterile purity jealously protected from the seductive influences of private enterprise. There are the pathetic load factors in our power plants. There are fleets of public buses lying in idle disrepair in our state transport depots. There is the fertilizer plant which has never produced even a gram of fertilizer because, after its executive had scoured the wide world in search of the cheapest possible parts, they found that the specifications of these parts did not match each other. There are the 80 gas guzzling staff cars boasted of by a north Indian university which has little else to boast about.
Perhaps the most spectacular instances of unproductive government assets relate to land. Five years ago, the then minister for Surface Transport, Jagdish Tytler, suggested a plan for developing the vast tracts of unused land in the Delhi Transport Corporation's bus depots. He argued, entirely credibly, that by leasing out this land for commercial purposes, the DTC could not only cover its chronic and massive deficit, but achieve a substantial surplus. The proposal was never implemented; the defiltration of the, private sector into DTC depots was heroically resisted by. various government departments and the corporation continued its relentless plunge deeper into the red. All other examples of public extravagance however, pale into insignificance alongside the astronomical wastefulness perpetrated by the New Delhi Municipal Committee and the design of Edwin Lutyen's Delhi. Delhi unlike all other major cities of the world has a hollow center-the density of population at the heart of town is negligible. In design, it is no modern metropolis but a medieval imperial capital like the Baghdad of the Abbasid Caliphate. The very center of the city is entirely occupied by the almost empty places of the mighty, while hoi polloi throng the periphery and travel long distances daily to serve their masters.
Within the charmed circle of inner New Delhi, Ministers and Members of parliament, the top military brass and the bureaucratic and the judicial elite of the country luxuriate in sprawling bungalows nestling amidst lush greenery in almost sylvan surroundings. The total land area occupied by, these bungalows is one of the best kept official secrets. The ministry of urban development keeps no count of aggregates; but it appears that there are about 600 bungalows with areas varying from one to 10 acres. A not implausible estimate of the total area is about 10 million square yards.
A conservative estimate of the value of land in central New Delhi is Rs. 1,00,000 per square yard. Six. hundred families of VIPs are occupying real estate worth about Rs. 1,000 billion; at an interest rate of 12%, this sum would yield an annual income of Rs. 120 billion. This amounts to more than one percent of the gross domestic product.
If the government were to move these six hundreds families to the outskirts of the town and lease this land out, say for multi-storied residential construction-subject, of course, to environmental restrictions that would protect the existing greenery-the primary deficit of India would be wiped out.
What is more, rents would drop all over the city housing problem of Delhi would be solved, if not full, at least in substantial measure. Further, there would be a major inward shift of population reducing transport requirements, and making it more lucrative for public transport to ply through inner Delhi. The removal of the six hundred would, at one stroke, relieve the accommodation and transport problems of Delhi as well as the budget deficit of the country. But who would bell the cat? Would the government do it, considering that the 600 are the government?
Public interest litigation has of late highlighted a relatively minor aspect of the VIP housing issue: the abuse of ministerial discretion in making out of turn allotments. This focuses attention on the question of a fair distribution between the members of the elite of the fruits of power. In the process, unfortunately, a question of infinitely larger import has been conveniently consigned to oblivion. Doesn't the entire scheme of VIP housing in New Delhi imply organized plunder of the citizenry on a scale quite unprecedented and totally incompatible with the principles of a democratic society?
Strangely enough, this matter has entirely eluded the searchlight of public attention. Political parties, the media, public interest litigants, grass root people's movements have all maintained a resounding of reticence on the issue. When the excesses perpetrated in the name of VIP security provoked public protest, the prime minister desired that VIP security should be made unobtrusive. VIP housing, however, is an entirely unobtrusive burden on the public, but a burden of quite mind boggling proportions. Perhaps it is the silent character of this infliction that has made it so easy to impose. Or perhaps centuries of colonial rule have made habitual slaves of us: a mere 50 years of democracy cannot erase our, habit of obsequiousness to the imperial state and its rulers.
26. One proposal made by the author to reduce the cost of photocopying well below the market price, was to:
Options:
Option (a): Have an agreement with the private operator allowing him to use the owned surplus machines in exchange for a price concession.
Option (b): Stop using owned photocopying machines and get photocopies done by private operators in the market.
Option (c): Stop using owned photocopying machines and get photocopies done by private operators who has rented space from the institutions.
Option (d): All of the above.
Option (e): None of the above.
Directions for Questions 27 to 30: In each of the following exercises we have sentences given in four parts. Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.)
(a) Due to illness/ (b) he was unable/ (c) to go/ (d) on a holiday./(e) No error
Options:
Option (a): Due to illness
Option (b): he was unable
Option (c): to go
Option (d): on a holiday.
Option (e): No error
Directions for Questions 27 to 30: In each of the following exercises we have sentences given in four parts. Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.)
(a) Before you/ (b) enter the temple,/ (c) you should/ (d) take out your shoes./ (e) No error
Options:
Option (a): Before you
Option (b): enter the temple,
Option (c): you should
Option (d): take out your shoes.
Option (e): No error
Directions for Questions 27 to 30: In each of the following exercises we have sentences given in four parts. Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.)
(a) Watch how careful/ (b) the sparrow knits/ (c) the straw into one another/ (d) to form a nest./ (e) No error
Options:
Option (a): Watch how careful
Option (b): the sparrow knits
Option (c): the straw into one another
Option (d): to form a nest.
Option (e): No error
Directions for Questions 27 to 30: In each of the following exercises we have sentences given in four parts. Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.)
(a) The manager asked the worker/ (b) why was he/ (c) again disturbing/ (d) the schedule of production./ (e) error
Options:
Option (a): The manager asked the worker
Option (b): why was he
Option (c): again disturbing
Option (d): the schedule of production.
Option (e): No error
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