Banking Exam PCI202517 Welcome to your Banking Exam PCI202517 Name Email DIRECTIONS (Qs. 1-6) : In the following multiple graphs production of wheat (in quintals) by three states - Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab have been given. Study the following graphs carefully to answer the questions. 1. If the production of wheat by Madhya Pradesh in the years2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 increase by 30%, 40%, 45% and40% respectively, what will be the overall percentageincrease in the production of wheat in the state in the givenyears? (a) 23% (b) 25% (c) 35% (d) 16% (e) 19% None 2. What was the average production of wheat by all threestates in the year 2005? (in quintals) (a) 2866 1/3 (b) 2866 2/3 (c) 2688 2/3 (d) 2688 1/3 (e) None of these None 3. In the given years, what is the average production of wheatin Bihar? (in quintals) (a) 3068 (b) 3076 (c) 3086 (d) 3088 (e) None of these None 4. If the productions of wheat in Bihar in the years 2001, 2002,2003 and 2004 increase by 20%, 25%, 28% and 35%respectively; what will be the percentage increase in theaverage production of the state for the given years? (a) 35.7% (b) 38.7% (c) 40.7% (d) 42.5% (e) None of these None 5. By what per cent is the total production of wheat by threestates in the year 2002, 2003 and 2004 more or less than thatin the years 2005, 2006 and 2007? (a) 2.5% (b) 2.6% (c) 1.9% (d) 1.09% (e) None of these None 6. What was the total production of wheat by these threestates in the year 2007? (in quintals) (a) 9900 (b) 9700 (c) 9980 (d) 8800 (e) None of these None DIRECTIONS (Qs. 1-5): Study the following graph carefully to answer these questions. 1. If the quantity sold of item D increased by 50% and theprice reduced by 10%. What was the total value of thequantity sold for item D ? (a) 675 (b) 6750 (c) 67550 (d) 67500 (e) None of these None 2. If the quantity sold of item D increased by 50% and theprice reduced by 10%. What was the total value of thequantity sold for item D ? (a) 675 (b) 6750 (c) 67550 (d) 67500 (e) None of these None 3. What is the ratio between the total values of quantity soldfor items E & F respectively ? (a) 15 : 14 (b) 3 : 2 (c) 5 : 7 (d) 7 : 5 (e) None of these None 4. Total value of the quantity sold for item C is what per centof the total value of the quantity sold for item E ? (a) 111 (b) 85 (c) 90 (d) 87.5 (e) None of these None 5. If the price as well as the quantity sold is increased by 20%for item A, what is the total value of quantity sold for itemA? (a) 48500 (b) 49000 (c) 42000 (d) 50400 (e) None of these None DIRECTIONS (Qs. 1-5) : Study the following information to answer the given questions : Eight people are sitting in two parallel rows containing four people each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between adjacent persons. In row-1 P, Q, R and S are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing south. In row-2 A, B, C and D are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing north. Therefore, in the given seating arrangement each member seated in a row faces another member of the other row.R sits second to the right of P. A is an immediate neighbour of the person who faces R. Q sits second to left of the person who faces A. Only one person sits between B and C. C does not face P. C does not sit at any of the extreme ends of the line.1. Four of the following five are alike in a certain way based on the given seating arrangement and thus form a group. Which is the one that does not belong to that group ? (a) A (b) P (c) R (d) B (e) S None 2. Who amongst the following faces B ? Eight people are sitting in two parallel rows containing four people each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between adjacent persons. In row-1 P, Q, R and S are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing south. In row-2 A, B, C and D are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing north. Therefore, in the given seating arrangement each member seated in a row faces another member of the other row.R sits second to the right of P. A is an immediate neighbour of the person who faces R. Q sits second to left of the person who faces A. Only one person sits between B and C. C does not face P. C does not sit at any of the extreme ends of the line. (a) P (b) Q (c) R (d) S (e) Cannot be determined None 3. Which of the following is true regarding S ? Eight people are sitting in two parallel rows containing four people each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between adjacent persons. In row-1 P, Q, R and S are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing south. In row-2 A, B, C and D are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing north. Therefore, in the given seating arrangement each member seated in a row faces another member of the other row.R sits second to the right of P. A is an immediate neighbour of the person who faces R. Q sits second to left of the person who faces A. Only one person sits between B and C. C does not face P. C does not sit at any of the extreme ends of the line. (a) S sits exactly between R and P (b) S sits second to left of Q (c) P is an immediate neighbour of S (d) D is an immediate neighbour of the person who faces S (e) None is true None 4. Who amongst the following faces Q ? Eight people are sitting in two parallel rows containing four people each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between adjacent persons. In row-1 P, Q, R and S are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing south. In row-2 A, B, C and D are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing north. Therefore, in the given seating arrangement each member seated in a row faces another member of the other row.R sits second to the right of P. A is an immediate neighbour of the person who faces R. Q sits second to left of the person who faces A. Only one person sits between B and C. C does not face P. C does not sit at any of the extreme ends of the line. (a) A (b) B (c) C (d) D (e) Cannot be determined None 5. Who amongst the following faces the person who sits exactly between B and C ? Eight people are sitting in two parallel rows containing four people each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between adjacent persons. In row-1 P, Q, R and S are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing south. In row-2 A, B, C and D are seated (but not necessarily in the same order) and all of them are facing north. Therefore, in the given seating arrangement each member seated in a row faces another member of the other row.R sits second to the right of P. A is an immediate neighbour of the person who faces R. Q sits second to left of the person who faces A. Only one person sits between B and C. C does not face P. C does not sit at any of the extreme ends of the line. (a) P (b) Q (c) R (d) S (e) Cannot be determined None DIRECTIONS (Qs. 1-5) : Study the given information carefully to answer the questions given below . 12 friends are sitting in 2 parallel rows containing 6 persons each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between the adjacent persons. In row 1 P,Q,R,S,T and U and all of them are facing south. In row 2 J, K, L, M, N and O are facing North. M is sitting 3rd to the left of J. N is facing R. P is sitting 3rd to the right of T. Q is facing J and sitting at one end of the row. U is sitting second to the right of T. K is facing S and he is not sitting in the middle position of the row. The person facing T is second to the right of M. L is not facing T and he is not sitting on the immediate left of J.1. Who are the immediate neighbour of U ? (a) P,R (b) R,Q (c) C,A (d) O,U (e) None of these None 2. In the row facing south who is sitting at the ends of the row ? 12 friends are sitting in 2 parallel rows containing 6 persons each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between the adjacent persons. In row 1 P,Q,R,S,T and U and all of them are facing south. In row 2 J, K, L, M, N and O are facing North. M is sitting 3rd to the left of J. N is facing R. P is sitting 3rd to the right of T. Q is facing J and sitting at one end of the row. U is sitting second to the right of T. K is facing S and he is not sitting in the middle position of the row. The person facing T is second to the right of M. L is not facing T and he is not sitting on the immediate left of J. (a) R,P (b) P,U (c) S,Q (d) S,T (e) None of these None 3. Who are the immediate neighbour of N ? 12 friends are sitting in 2 parallel rows containing 6 persons each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between the adjacent persons. In row 1 P,Q,R,S,T and U and all of them are facing south. In row 2 J, K, L, M, N and O are facing North. M is sitting 3rd to the left of J. N is facing R. P is sitting 3rd to the right of T. Q is facing J and sitting at one end of the row. U is sitting second to the right of T. K is facing S and he is not sitting in the middle position of the row. The person facing T is second to the right of M. L is not facing T and he is not sitting on the immediate left of J. (a) L,M (b) N,M (c) O,J (d) M,O (e) None of these None 4. If S interchange his position with U, similarly P with R and T with Q then who among them facing U 12 friends are sitting in 2 parallel rows containing 6 persons each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between the adjacent persons. In row 1 P,Q,R,S,T and U and all of them are facing south. In row 2 J, K, L, M, N and O are facing North. M is sitting 3rd to the left of J. N is facing R. P is sitting 3rd to the right of T. Q is facing J and sitting at one end of the row. U is sitting second to the right of T. K is facing S and he is not sitting in the middle position of the row. The person facing T is second to the right of M. L is not facing T and he is not sitting on the immediate left of J. (a) M (b) K (c) O (d) J (e) None of these None 5. Who is sitting second right of U ? 12 friends are sitting in 2 parallel rows containing 6 persons each, in such a way that there is an equal distance between the adjacent persons. In row 1 P,Q,R,S,T and U and all of them are facing south. In row 2 J, K, L, M, N and O are facing North. M is sitting 3rd to the left of J. N is facing R. P is sitting 3rd to the right of T. Q is facing J and sitting at one end of the row. U is sitting second to the right of T. K is facing S and he is not sitting in the middle position of the row. The person facing T is second to the right of M. L is not facing T and he is not sitting on the immediate left of J. (a) S (b) P (c) R (d) M (e) None of these None DIRECTIONS(Qs.1-9) Read the passage and answer the questions that follow With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. 1. Which among the following is a synonym for ‘certain’? (a) Dramatic (b) Create (c) Inevitable (d) Mount (e) Connection None 2. Define the level of shortfall of water availability per capita With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. (a) From 5 million litres to 1.3 million litres (b) From 4 million litres to 1.3 million litres (c) From 5 million litres to 2.0 million litres (d) From 7 million litres to 2.0 million litres (e) From 9 million litres to 1.3 million litres None 3. Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage? With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. (a) Water Challenges in the New Millennium (b) The Bureau of Water Efficiency vs. the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (c) Unchecked Urban Consumption of Water (d) Challenges of the Agricultural Sector and Water Resources (e) The Route to Conservation of Water Resources None 4. What does ‘low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly’ mean in the context of the passage as given in bold? With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. (a) The bureau should employ the cheapest methods possible to effectively control the current situation of improper usage of water resources. (b) The bureau should target the industrial sector as well as the domestic sector to reduce water wastage. (c) The bureau should target the agricultural sector only for producing quick results in reducing wastage of water. (d) The bureau should ensure that all the state officials concerned with the measures are actively involved. (e) The bureau should start with adopting measures that are simple to execute and produce immediate results in reducing water wastage None 5. Which of the following, according to the author, is/are the indication/s of a water crisis? With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. (i) Many agrarian areas in the country are facing a drought-like situation.(ii) Almost three-fifth of the naturally available water has been reduced to a very critical level in a relatively short span of time.(iii) There has been a significant drop in the availability of water over the past fifty years (a) Only (ii) (b) Only (i) and (iii) (c) Only (iii) (d) Only (ii) and (iii) (e) All the three None 6. Find the antonym for the word, ‘exception’ from the passage. With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. (a) Elaborate (b) Dramatic (c) Norm (d) Relatively (e) Fallen None 7. Which of the following is true about the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, in context of the passage? With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. (i) It failed to pay adequate attention to industries like metal, textiles, etc. in terms of energy consumption. (ii) It focused on rating systems for efficient use of goods in the domestic sector.(iii) It mostly focused on the energy consumption in the domestic sector. (a) Only (i) and (iii) (b) Only (i) and (ii) (c) Only (i) (d) Only (ii) and (iii) (e) All the three None 8. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the passage. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need _______, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water __________ doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only _________ precipitation and rainfall. With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. (a) Irrigation, precipitation, decreased (b) Water-logging, evaporation, strengthens (c) Water-logging, decrease, weakened (d) Sedimentation, evaporation, strengthens (e) Irrigation, increase, weakens None 9. What is the meaning of the phrase, ‘low hanging fruit’ as mentioned in the passage? With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago. Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million liters in the 1950s to 1.3 million liters in 2010- that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which bore wells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly. The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per ton of steel or cement or aluminum that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change. Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 percent of freshwater is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of freshwater is in single digit. So, the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organizations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of bore wells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water needs are not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent. The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘up cycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with reuse, and recycling of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water. A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitization with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life cycle impact in a way that we see the connection between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connection to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems. (a) The obvious or easy things that can be most readily done to achieve success (b) Finding solutions using difficult techniques or measures (c) Looking for an answer at the wrong place (d) Efficiently finding solutions for a particular problem (e) None of the above None DIRECTIONS(1-5): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage against each, four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case. The economics of owning and running a Ration Shop, the familiar name for the outlets in our Public Distribution System (PDS), are such that under normal business terms, the shop owner could never make a profit. Yet, whenever the governmentannounces that new permits for ration shops will be given out, there is frenzy in the market to grab one of these (A)? The answer is obvious, the business is not for the honest and if one knows the ropes, there is a fortune to be made. What are these tricks of the trade? Getting fake names into the user list is the most obvious option; the State seems to be a losing battle against this practice, judging by the endless efforts to weed out bogus ration cards. The next is to get the ‘right customers’ on the list, not just more customers. These are people who are registered but who do not have any interest in (B) on their entitlements. In a system where caste and income certificates are for sale, it is not difficult to ‘produce’ these documents for mutual benefit. Receipts are duly made in their names, and the rations thus ‘drawn’ are (C) off into the open market. The sale price of an item like rice makes clear the underlying economics it costs Rs. 8 in a ration shop while in the latter it is Rs. 30 or above. There are also customers who would rather exchange their entitlements for hard cash at the beginning of the month. As the degradation progresses, the shopkeeper, in (D) with the official machinery, manages to withhold effectively the entitlements from even the genuine beneficiaries, and diverts them to the open market. The targeted group is usually not in a position to (E) itself to get its due. And thus one has all the ingredients of a good PDS business. 1. Which of the following words should fill in the blank (A) to make a contextually correct and meaningful sentence? (a) where (b) when (c) what (d) why None 2. The economics of owning and running a Ration Shop, the familiar name for the outlets in our Public Distribution System (PDS), are such that under normal business terms, the shop owner could never make a profit. Yet, whenever the governmentannounces that new permits for ration shops will be given out, there is frenzy in the market to grab one of these (A)? The answer is obvious, the business is not for the honest and if one knows the ropes, there is a fortune to be made. What are these tricks of the trade? Getting fake names into the user list is the most obvious option; the State seems to be a losing battle against this practice, judging by the endless efforts to weed out bogus ration cards. The next is to get the ‘right customers’ on the list, not just more customers. These are people who are registered but who do not have any interest in (B) on their entitlements. In a system where caste and income certificates are for sale, it is not difficult to ‘produce’ these documents for mutual benefit. Receipts are duly made in their names, and the rations thus ‘drawn’ are (C) off into the open market. The sale price of an item like rice makes clear the underlying economics it costs Rs. 8 in a ration shop while in the latter it is Rs. 30 or above. There are also customers who would rather exchange their entitlements for hard cash at the beginning of the month. As the degradation progresses, the shopkeeper, in (D) with the official machinery, manages to withhold effectively the entitlements from even the genuine beneficiaries, and diverts them to the open market. The targeted group is usually not in a position to (E) itself to get its due. And thus one has all the ingredients of a good PDS business. Which of the following words should fill in the blank (B) to make a contextually correct and meaningful sentence? (a) harping (b) must (c) drawing (d) realising None 3. The economics of owning and running a Ration Shop, the familiar name for the outlets in our Public Distribution System (PDS), are such that under normal business terms, the shop owner could never make a profit. Yet, whenever the governmentannounces that new permits for ration shops will be given out, there is frenzy in the market to grab one of these (A)? The answer is obvious, the business is not for the honest and if one knows the ropes, there is a fortune to be made. What are these tricks of the trade? Getting fake names into the user list is the most obvious option; the State seems to be a losing battle against this practice, judging by the endless efforts to weed out bogus ration cards. The next is to get the ‘right customers’ on the list, not just more customers. These are people who are registered but who do not have any interest in (B) on their entitlements. In a system where caste and income certificates are for sale, it is not difficult to ‘produce’ these documents for mutual benefit. Receipts are duly made in their names, and the rations thus ‘drawn’ are (C) off into the open market. The sale price of an item like rice makes clear the underlying economics it costs Rs. 8 in a ration shop while in the latter it is Rs. 30 or above. There are also customers who would rather exchange their entitlements for hard cash at the beginning of the month. As the degradation progresses, the shopkeeper, in (D) with the official machinery, manages to withhold effectively the entitlements from even the genuine beneficiaries, and diverts them to the open market. The targeted group is usually not in a position to (E) itself to get its due. And thus one has all the ingredients of a good PDS business. Which of the following words should fill in the blank (C) to make a contextually correct and meaningful sentence? (a) siphoned (b) donated (c) borrowed (d) sold None 4. The economics of owning and running a Ration Shop, the familiar name for the outlets in our Public Distribution System (PDS), are such that under normal business terms, the shop owner could never make a profit. Yet, whenever the governmentannounces that new permits for ration shops will be given out, there is frenzy in the market to grab one of these (A)? The answer is obvious, the business is not for the honest and if one knows the ropes, there is a fortune to be made. What are these tricks of the trade? Getting fake names into the user list is the most obvious option; the State seems to be a losing battle against this practice, judging by the endless efforts to weed out bogus ration cards. The next is to get the ‘right customers’ on the list, not just more customers. These are people who are registered but who do not have any interest in (B) on their entitlements. In a system where caste and income certificates are for sale, it is not difficult to ‘produce’ these documents for mutual benefit. Receipts are duly made in their names, and the rations thus ‘drawn’ are (C) off into the open market. The sale price of an item like rice makes clear the underlying economics it costs Rs. 8 in a ration shop while in the latter it is Rs. 30 or above. There are also customers who would rather exchange their entitlements for hard cash at the beginning of the month. As the degradation progresses, the shopkeeper, in (D) with the official machinery, manages to withhold effectively the entitlements from even the genuine beneficiaries, and diverts them to the open market. The targeted group is usually not in a position to (E) itself to get its due. And thus one has all the ingredients of a good PDS business. Which of the following words should fill in the blank (D) to make a contextually correct and meaningful sentence? (a) show (b) meeting (c) collusion (d) flow None 5. The economics of owning and running a Ration Shop, the familiar name for the outlets in our Public Distribution System (PDS), are such that under normal business terms, the shop owner could never make a profit. Yet, whenever the governmentannounces that new permits for ration shops will be given out, there is frenzy in the market to grab one of these (A)? The answer is obvious, the business is not for the honest and if one knows the ropes, there is a fortune to be made. What are these tricks of the trade? Getting fake names into the user list is the most obvious option; the State seems to be a losing battle against this practice, judging by the endless efforts to weed out bogus ration cards. The next is to get the ‘right customers’ on the list, not just more customers. These are people who are registered but who do not have any interest in (B) on their entitlements. In a system where caste and income certificates are for sale, it is not difficult to ‘produce’ these documents for mutual benefit. Receipts are duly made in their names, and the rations thus ‘drawn’ are (C) off into the open market. The sale price of an item like rice makes clear the underlying economics it costs Rs. 8 in a ration shop while in the latter it is Rs. 30 or above. There are also customers who would rather exchange their entitlements for hard cash at the beginning of the month. As the degradation progresses, the shopkeeper, in (D) with the official machinery, manages to withhold effectively the entitlements from even the genuine beneficiaries, and diverts them to the open market. The targeted group is usually not in a position to (E) itself to get its due. And thus one has all the ingredients of a good PDS business. Which of the following words should fill in the blank (E) to make a contextually correct and meaningful sentence? (a) voiced (b) assert (c) offered (d) ask None DIRECTIONS (Qs. 1-3): In the question given below, a set of sentences is given, which when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Arrange the sentences in the correct sequence, and answer the questions. P. Among the biggest implications of the coming drop in population is the end of plentiful labour. Q. China’s population is shrinking faster than expected. R. According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the long-anticipated population decline will start in 2027. S. Over the past 40 years, companies benefited from the seemingly endless scale of the Chinese workforce. T. Now, that era is drawing to a close, and companies need to prepare for a shrinking talent pool. 1. Which of the following would be the SECOND statement after rearrangement? (a) P (b) R (c) Q (d) S (e) T None 2. Which of the following would be the FIFTH statement after rearrangement? P. Among the biggest implications of the coming drop in population is the end of plentiful labour. Q. China’s population is shrinking faster than expected. R. According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the long-anticipated population decline will start in 2027. S. Over the past 40 years, companies benefited from the seemingly endless scale of the Chinese workforce. T. Now, that era is drawing to a close, and companies need to prepare for a shrinking talent pool. (a) P (b) R (c) Q (d) S (e) T None 3. Which of the following would be the THIRD statement after rearrangement? P. Among the biggest implications of the coming drop in population is the end of plentiful labour. Q. China’s population is shrinking faster than expected. R. According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the long-anticipated population decline will start in 2027. S. Over the past 40 years, companies benefited from the seemingly endless scale of the Chinese workforce. T. Now, that era is drawing to a close, and companies need to prepare for a shrinking talent pool. (a) P (b) R (c) Q (d) S (e) T None Time's up
