English
Language Practice Reading Comprehension and Double Fillers Questions (20 – 09 –
2017)
Directions (1 – 7): Read the passage carefully and
answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are given in bold to
help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new direction to Niti Aayog is
timely, bold and deserves serious attention. He has laid out the road map for
India and set a high benchmark for the institution. Modi has rightly cautioned
Niti Aayog members not to repeat the mistakes of the past, also suggesting ways
to avoid them. He has clearly conveyed that he expects a transformational
change that positions and prepares India for the next century. The agenda
discussion points suggest that Niti Aayog will start in the right direction.
Over the next 30 years, the Indian economy could be growing at near double
digits. But this will bring its own set of challenges. India will have to plan
for resources that not only take care of its increasing population but also the
changes within that growing population. This will need forecasting and
provisioning of water, nutrition, health, human resources, education and
energy, and the generation of adequate resources to support the roadmap.
The prime minister's vision calls for productive jobs for
every hand with a focus on agricultural productivity and profitability. Importantly, Niti Aayog
will need to factor in the impact on the environment in all its plans. According
to the 2016 Global Footprint Network report, in just over seven months, we have
already consumed one year's worth of natural resources. In any case, India
would be reaching a population level where it would become very difficult to
meet the needs and aspirations of so many more people in so short a time. This
and other issues are interlinked globally. Which is why Niti Aayog has to
select its expertise with great care.The pace of growth of India's geriatric
population is faster now, and the country will double its proportion of people
above 64 over the next 25 years. In many high-income countries, this kind of demographic
transition has taken more than a century to happen. Also, one needs to take
into account that people over 65 have a higher per capita consumption on healthcare:
between 3.4 and 5.4 times the amount spent on healthcare by under-65 people.
Niti Aayog will need to pick up the lessons from ageing societies like Japan
and factor in measures based on our requirements.
The dependency ratio – the average number of economically
dependent people per 100 economically productive people – in India has
increased from 7.8 in 1950 to 11.1in 2010. This will be a challenge for a
developing country like India.
The interactions between demographic growth and economic
growth are quite complex, particularly when both are reaching unprecedented
levels. The growing number of people will, over time, result in a lower
standard of life and a more complex web of socioeconomic problems. It is,
therefore, imperative for the planners at Niti Aayog to present a document with
a clear road map for: population stabilisation, addressing quality of life
without freezing growth, increasing life expectancy and keeping the dependency
ratio low, increasing incomes and removing disparities, and bridging the urban-rural
infrastructural divide.
The review at Niti Aayog gives thrust to creating jobs and
wealth, technology, natural resources, and food and nutrition for an increasing
population and a zero-import regime in agriculture. Niti Aayog will need to
give special emphasis to renewable and solar energy to make the requirements
future-proof.
It will also have to factor in the transition between rural-tribal-urban
and smart cities over the next century. Niti Aayog will have to look at
building a socioeconomic framework that supports social harmony as we progress
materially and culturally with high ethical standards. Niti Aayog need
visionaries, people with experience in execution of projects and programmes, a
strong team to provide real-time data and work in tandem with interdisciplinary
teams. Also, with the Goods and Services Tax Bill passed, it must work towards
creating a business-friendly ecosystem.
Modi has also clearly pointed out the underlying principles
for transforming India. He has suggested inviting more subject-specific experts
rooted in Indian experiences and case studies, crowdsourcing ideas and adequate
hearing to different viewpoints. This would mean redefining and reinventing
fundamentals for future planning and development. This, in turn, requires a new
level of thinking. A lot of this will depend on Niti Aayog's team composition
and approach.
1. Which of the following statements is/are true
with respect to geriatric population? Answer in the context of the passage.
(A) Geriatric population is a burden on society and the government should
make plans to reduce this burden.
(B) India’s geriatric population will double over the next 25 years.
(C) In many high-income countries the government takes care of
such population and manages their well being.
a) Only (A) and (B)
b) Only (B) and (C)
c) Only (A) and (C)
d) All (A), (B) and (C)
e) Only (B)
2. In order to meet the requirements of increasing
population and create a zero-import regime in agriculture, the review at Niti
Aayog has given thrust on all of the following except
a) Natural resources
b) Technology
c) Education and Infrastructure
d) Food and nutrition
e) Creating jobs and wealth
3. What has Modi asked the members of Niti Aayog
to do? Answer in the context of the passage.
(A) He has asked the members of Niti Aayog not to repeat the mistakes of the
past.
(B) He has asked the members of Niti Aayog to bring a
transformational change.
(C) He has asked the members of Niti Aayog to decide their own
course of action so that Indian economy could grow in double digits.
a) All (A), (B) and (C)
b) Only (A) and (B)
c) Only (B) and (C)
d) Only (A) and (C)
e) Only (A)
4. What, according to the author, should Niti
Aayog planners necessarily incorporate in their mission document?
a) They should incorporate how to
increase incomes and remove disparities.
b) They should incorporate how to
increase life expectancy and keep the dependency ratio low
c) They should incorporate how to
address quality of life with freezing growth.
d) They should incorporate how to
bridge the urban-rural infrastructural devide.
e) All the above
5. Find the incorrect statement on the basis of
the given passage.
a) India will have to plan for
resources that not only take care of its increasing population but also the changes
within that growing population.
b) The PM’s vision calls for
productive jobs for every hand with a focus on agricultural productivity and
profitability.
c) The dependency ratio is the
average number of economically dependent per 100 economically productive
people.
d) Demographic growth is directly
proportional to economic growth.
e) All the above statements are
correct
6. Which of the following statements expresses the
same meaning of the phrase ‘in tandem’ as used in the passage?
(A) The heart and lungs will be transplanted in tandem.
(B) I want these two groups to work/operate in tandem on this
project.
(C) The tight fiscal policy is working in tandem with the tight
foreign exchange policy.
a) Only (A) and (B)
b) Only (A) and (C)
c) Only (B) and (C)
d) All (A), (B) and (C)
e) None of these
7. Which of the following is one of the reasons
that the forecasting and provisioning of water, nutrition, health, human
resources, education and energy is required in India at this point of time?
Answer in the context of the passage.
a) To meet its own as well as its
immediate neighbours’ needs.
b) To take care of the changes taking
place within India’s population.
c) To increase export in the above
mentioned sectors.
d) With rapid industrialisation,
India will have to face floods of reverse migration.
e) The govt wants to make India self
sufficient in almost all sectors.
Directions (8 – 15): Read each sentence to find out
whether there is any grammatical or idiomatic 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 e). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.)
8. a) The weapons on display in the capital on January 26 / b) may have
shown how strong the country is in military terms / c) but the day also offered
a glimpse into the increasing fragile nature / d) of cultural life in the
Republic. / e) No error
9. a) In the north, new storm arose at / b) the Jaipur
Literary Festival with politicians demanding arrest / c) of one of India’s most
famous academicians / d) for a sweeping statement. / e) No error
10. a) Talking to mediapersons at a marriage ceremony / b) the
singer said that / c) she deserves the ‘Bharat Ratna’ for having sung / d)
thousands of songs in various languages. / e) No error
11. a) With no Pied Piper to help it out, the Railways has little
choice / b) left but to hire ‘contract killers’ to eliminate hundreds of giant
rodents / c) that have dug tunnels in the platforms / d) of the British-era
railway station. / e) No error
12. a) The standing committee suggested that separate action
should be taken / b) to prepare calamity maps of all important cities / c) by
developing standard vulnerable indices / d) so as to minimise loss of life and
property. / e) No error
13. a) The chairman, while recalling the discussions / b) he had
with the Union Minister of Textiles regarding / c) strengthening sericulture
and silk industry, called upon the participants / d) to avail them the benefit
of various schemes of the government. / e) No error
14. a) A unique feature of the Charbagh railway station is that /
b) an aerial view of the station building shows / c) it as a chess board and
the domes and pillars of / d) the building appears to be pieces of a chess
game. / e) No error
15. a) The RBI unions have put forward / b) a charter of demands,
the most prominent among which / c) relates to / d) the centre’s proposed
labour law reforms. / e) No error
Answers:
1. E) 2. C) 3. B)
4. E) 5. D) 6. A)
7. E)
8. C) Replace ‘increasing’ with
‘increasingly’
9. A) Add
‘a’ before ‘new’
10. C) Replace
‘deserves’ with ‘deserved’
11. C) Replace
‘in’ with ‘under’
12. C) Replace
‘vulnerable’ with ‘vulnerability’
13. D) Replace
‘them’ with ‘themselves’
14. D) Replace
‘appears’ with ‘appear’
15. E)
