Directions for the following 7 (seven) items:
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only.
Passage - 1
Climate change is already making many people hungry all over the world, by disrupting crop yields and pushing up prices. And it is not just food but nutrients that are becoming scarcer as the climate changes. It is the poorest communities that will suffer the worst effects of climate change, including increased hunger and malnutrition as crop production and livelihoods are threatened. On the other hand, poverty is a driver of climate change, as desperate communities resort to unsustainable use of resources to meet current needs.
Which among the following is the most logical corollary to the above passage?
Government should allocate more funds to poverty alleviation programmes and increase food subsidies to the poor communities.
Poverty and climate impacts reinforce each other and therefore we have to re-imagine our food systems.
All the countries of the world must unite in fighting poverty and malnutrition and treat poverty as a global problem.
We must stop unsustainable agricultural practices immediately and control food prices.
The question asks for the most logical corollary to the given passage. A corollary is a direct and logical consequence or deduction. We need to identify the option that best summarizes the core relationship highlighted in the passage and suggests a logical next step or understanding based on that relationship.
B) Poverty and climate impacts reinforce each other and therefore we have to re-imagine our food systems. This option directly reflects the passage's central argument that poverty and climate change are intertwined and exacerbate each other. The passage explicitly mentions "disrupting crop yields" and "nutrients that are becoming scarcer," making the call to "re-imagine our food systems" a logical and comprehensive response to the problems outlined.
Passage - 2
The Global Financial Stability Report finds that the share of portfolio investments from advanced economies in the total debt and equity investments in emerging economies has doubled in the past decade to 12 percent. The phenomenon has implications for Indian policy makers as foreign portfolio investments in the debt and equity markets have been on the rise. The phenomenon is also flagged as a threat that could compromise global financial stability in a chain reaction, in the event of United States Federal Reserve's imminent reversal of its "Quantitative Easing" policy.
Which among the following is the most rational and critical inference that can be made from the above passage?
Foreign portfolio investments are not good for emerging economics.
Advanced economies undermine the global financial stability.
India should desist from accepting foreign portfolio investments in the future.
Emerging economies are at a risk of shock from advanced economies.
The question asks for the most rational and critical inference from the given passage. We need to analyze the passage to understand the core message about foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) and their implications, especially concerning emerging economies and global financial stability.
Correct Option: D) Emerging economies are at a risk of shock from advanced economies.
This option directly captures the essence of the passage: the vulnerability of emerging economies due to their increased reliance on portfolio investments from advanced economies, making them susceptible to policy changes in those advanced economies.
Passage - 3
Open defecation is disastrous when practised in very densely populated areas, where it is impossible to keep away human faeces from crops, wells, food and children's hands. Groundwater is also contaminated by open defecation. Many ingested germs and worms spread diseases. They prevent the body from absorbing calories remain malnourished. Lakhs of them die from preventable conditions. Diarrhoea leaves Indians' bodies smaller on average than those of people in some poorer countries where people eat fewer calories. Underweight mothers produce stunted babies prone to sickness who may fail to develop their full cognitive potential. The germs released into environment harm rich and poor alike, even those who use latrines.
Which among the following is the most critical inference that can be made from the above passage?
The Central and State government in India do not have enough resources to afford a latrine for each household.
Open defecation is the most important public health problem of India.
Open defecation reduces the human capital of India's workforce.
open defecation is a public health problem in all developing countries.
The question asks for the most critical inference that can be made from the given passage about open defecation. We need to analyze the consequences of open defecation described in the passage and identify the option that best summarizes its overarching impact.
Correct Option: C) Open defecation reduces the human capital of India's workforce.
Passage - 4
We generally talk about democracy but when it comes to any particular thing, we prefer a belonging to our caste or community or religion. So long as we have this kind of temptation, our democracy will remain a phoney kind of democracy. We must be in a position to respect a man as a man and to extend opportunities for development to those who deserve them and not to those who happen to belong to our community or race. This fact of favouritism has been responsible for much discontent and ill-will in our country.
Which one of the following statements best sums up the above passage?
Our country has a lot of diversity with its many castes, communities and religions.
True democracy could be established by providing equal opportunities to all.
So far none of us have actually understood the meaning of democracy.
It will never be possible for us to establish truly democratic governance in our country.
The question asks to identify the statement that best summarizes the given passage. To do this, we need to understand the central theme and the main argument presented in the passage.
Correct Option: B) True democracy could be established by providing equal opportunities to all.
Passage - 5
The Existence/Establishment of formal financial institutions that offer safe, reliable, and alternative financial instruments is fundamental in mobilising savings. To save, individuals need access to safe and reliable financial institutions, such as banks, and to appropriate financial instruments and reasonable financial incentives. Such access is not always available to all people in developing countries like India and more so, in rural areas. Savings help poor households manage volatility in cash flow, Smoothen consumption, and build working capital. Poor households without access to a formal savings mechanism encourage immediate spending temptations.
With reference to the above passage, consider the following statements:
1. Indian financial institutions do not offer any financial instruments to rural households to mobilise their savings.
2. Poor households tend to spend their earnings/savings due to lack of access to appropriate financial instruments.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The question asks us to evaluate two statements based on the provided passage. We need to read the passage carefully and determine if each statement is directly supported or contradicted by the text.
B) 2 only. Statement 2 is directly supported by the passage, which mentions that a lack of formal savings mechanisms (appropriate financial instruments) leads to immediate spending temptations among poor households.
The question asks for the crucial message conveyed in an unprovided passage. Without the passage, we must infer the most common and impactful message related to banking and economic development in the context of competitive exams, especially concerning societal welfare.
D) Promote financial inclusion — This is the most encompassing and impactful message. Financial inclusion aims to extend banking and financial services to the unbanked and underserved population, fostering economic empowerment, reducing poverty, and promoting equitable growth. Establishing more banks (Option A) can be a means to achieve financial inclusion, but financial inclusion itself is the broader objective. Increasing GDP (Option B) is a general economic goal, and financial inclusion contributes to it by mobilizing savings and facilitating investments. Increasing interest rates (Option C) is a specific policy tool that might encourage savings but doesn't capture the holistic message of bringing everyone into the financial system.
Passage - 6
Governments may have to take steps which would otherwise be an infringement on the Fundamental Rights of individuals, such as acquiring a person's land against his will, or refusing permission for putting up a building, but the larger public interest by the people (Parliament). Discretionary powers to the administration can be done away with. It is becoming more and more difficult to keep this power within limits as the government has many number of tasks to perform. Where discretion has to be used, there must be rules and safeguards to prevent misuse of that power. Systems have to be devised which minimise, if not prevent, the abuse of discretionary power. Government work must be conducted within a framework of recognised rules and principles, and decisions should be similar and predictable.
Which among the following is the most logical assumption that can be made from the above passage?
Government should always be given wide discretionary power in all matters of administration.
The supremacy of rules and safeguards should prevail as opposed to the influence of exclusive discretion of authority.
Parliamentary democracy is possible only if the Government has wider discretionary power.
None of the above statements is a logical assumption that can be made from this passage.
The passage discusses the necessity for governments to sometimes infringe on fundamental rights for public interest, but it strongly emphasizes the need to control and minimize the misuse of discretionary power. The core idea is to balance government action with safeguards and rules.
B) The supremacy of rules and safeguards should prevail as opposed to the influence of exclusive discretion of authority. — This statement directly reflects the passage's strong emphasis on establishing rules and safeguards to prevent the misuse and abuse of discretionary power, even while acknowledging its necessity. The passage advocates for a system where discretion is governed by clear principles.
We need to select one Principal and two Vice-Principals from six candidates. The problem specifies that only two candidates are eligible for the Principal post, but all six are eligible for the Vice-Principal posts. We will calculate the number of ways to select the Principal and then the number of ways to select the two Vice-Principals from the remaining eligible candidates, and finally multiply these possibilities.
The calculated number of possible combinations is 20.
Correct Option: D) None of the above
The problem asks us to find the number of different combinations of two subjects a student can opt for, given a list of 5 subjects and a specific condition. We need to consider the condition carefully to determine the valid combinations.
List the available subjects:
The 5 subjects are: Commerce (C), Economics (E), Statistics (S), Mathematics I (M1), and Mathematics II (M2).
Understand the condition:
Mathematics II (M2) can be offered only if Mathematics I (M1) is also opted. This means if a student chooses M2, they must also choose M1. Since the student has to opt for exactly 2 subjects, this condition implies that the combination {M1, M2} is a valid choice. No other combination can include M2 without M1.
Case 1: M1 and M2 are chosen.
If the student opts for M1 and M2, this forms one valid combination: {M1, M2}. This choice satisfies the condition because M2 is chosen along with M1.
Case 2: M2 is NOT chosen.
If M2 is not chosen, then the condition about M1 and M2 is irrelevant. The student needs to choose 2 subjects from the remaining 4 subjects: C, E, S, M1. The number of ways to choose 2 subjects from these 4 subjects is given by the combination formula \(C(n, k) = \frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!}\), where \(n\) is the total number of items to choose from, and \(k\) is the number of items to choose.
Here, \(n=4\) (C, E, S, M1) and \(k=2\).
\[ C(4, 2) = \frac{4!}{2!(4-2)!} = \frac{4!}{2!2!} = \frac{(4 \times 3 \times 2 \times 1)}{(2 \times 1)(2 \times 1)} = \frac{24}{4} = 6 \]List the combinations from Case 2:
The 6 combinations are:
{C, E}
{C, S}
{C, M1}
{E, S}
{E, M1}
{S, M1}
Calculate the total number of combinations:
Add the combinations from Case 1 and Case 2.
Total combinations = (Combinations with M1 and M2) + (Combinations without M2)
Total combinations = \(1 + 6 = 7\).
The 7 possible combinations are:
C) 7
This problem involves setting up equations based on the given information about the prices and quantities of black and brown socks, and how an interchange in quantities affects the total bill. We will define variables for the number of brown socks and the price of a brown pair, then formulate expressions for the original bill and the increased bill. Finally, we will use the 100% increase to solve for the unknown number of brown socks.
Define variables:
Calculate the original bill:
The original bill (\(B_{\text{original}}\)) is the sum of the cost of black socks and brown socks:
\[ B_{\text{original}} = (N_B \times P_B) + (N_R \times P_R) \]Substitute the values:
\[ B_{\text{original}} = (5 \times 3P_R) + (N_R \times P_R) \] \[ B_{\text{original}} = 15P_R + N_R P_R \] \[ B_{\text{original}} = P_R (15 + N_R) \quad \text{(Equation 1)} \]Calculate the bill after interchange:
The clerk interchanged the number of black and brown pairs. So, the new number of black socks is \(N_R\) and the new number of brown socks is \(5\).
The increased bill (\(B_{\text{increased}}\)) is:
\[ B_{\text{increased}} = (N_R \times P_B) + (5 \times P_R) \]Substitute the values:
\[ B_{\text{increased}} = (N_R \times 3P_R) + (5 \times P_R) \] \[ B_{\text{increased}} = 3N_R P_R + 5P_R \] \[ B_{\text{increased}} = P_R (3N_R + 5) \quad \text{(Equation 2)} \]Use the percentage increase information:
The bill increased by 100%. This means the increased bill is double the original bill.
\[ B_{\text{increased}} = B_{\text{original}} + (100\% \text{ of } B_{\text{original}}) \] \[ B_{\text{increased}} = B_{\text{original}} + B_{\text{original}} \] \[ B_{\text{increased}} = 2 \times B_{\text{original}} \]Solve for \(N_R\):
Substitute Equation 1 and Equation 2 into the relationship from Step 4:
\[ P_R (3N_R + 5) = 2 \times P_R (15 + N_R) \]Since \(P_R\) cannot be zero (price of socks), we can divide both sides by \(P_R\):
\[ 3N_R + 5 = 2 (15 + N_R) \] \[ 3N_R + 5 = 30 + 2N_R \]Subtract \(2N_R\) from both sides:
\[ 3N_R - 2N_R + 5 = 30 \] \[ N_R + 5 = 30 \]Subtract 5 from both sides:
\[ N_R = 30 - 5 \] \[ N_R = 25 \]So, the number of pairs of brown socks in the original order was 25.
D) 25. The calculation shows that the number of brown socks was 25 for the bill to increase by 100% due to the interchange.