Directions (1-10): Read the
following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain
words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of
the questions.
Financial
Inclusion (FI) is an emerging priority for banks that have nowhere else to go
to achieve business growth. The viability of FI business is under question,
because while banks and their delivery partners continue to make investments,
they haven't seen commensurate returns. In markets like India, most programmes
are focused on customer on-boarding, an expensive process which people often
find difficult to afford, involving issuance of smart cards to the customers.
However, large-scale customer acquisition hasn't translated into large-scale
business, with many accounts lying dormant and therefore yielding no return on
the bank's investment. For the same reason, Business Correspondent Agents, who
constitute the primary channel for financial inclusion, are unable to pursue
their activity as a full-time job. One major reason for this state of events is
that the customer on-boarding process is often delayed after the submission of
documents (required to validate the details of the concerned applicant) by the
applicant and might take as long as two weeks. By this time the initial
enthusiasm of applicants fades away. Moreover, the delivery partners don't have
the knowledge and skill to propose anything other than the most basic financial
products to the customer and hence do not serve their banks"' goal of expanding
the offering in unbanked markets.
Contrary
to popular perception, the inclusion segment is not a singular impoverished,
undifferentiated mass and it is important to navigate its diversity to identify
the right target customers for various programmes. Rural markets do have their
share of rich people who do not use banking services simply because they are
inconvenient to access or have low perceived value. At the same time, urban
markets, despite a high branch density, have multitude of low wage earners outside
the financial net. Moreover, the branch timings of banks rarely coincide with
the off-work hours of the labor class.
Creating
affordability is crucial in tapping the unbanked market. No doubt pricing is a
tool, but banks also need to be innovative in right-sizing their proposition to
convince customers that they can derive big value even from small amounts. One
way of doing this is to show the target audience that a bank account is
actually a lifestyle enabler, a convenient and safe means to send money to
family or make a variety of purchases. Once banks succeed in hooking customers
with this value proposition they must sustain their interest by introducing a
simple and intuitive user application, ubiquitous access over mobile and other
touch points, and adopting a banking mechanism which is not only secure but
also reassuring to the customer. Technology is the most important element of
financial inclusion strategy and an enabler of all others. The choice of
technology is therefore a crucial decision, which could make or mar the agenda.
Of the various section criteria, cost is perhaps the most important. This
certainly does not mean buying the cheapest package, but rather choosing that
solution which by scaling transactions to huge volumes reduces per unit
operating cost. An optimal mix of these strategies would no doubt offer an
innovative means of expansion in the unbanked market.
1. Which of the following
facts is true as per the passage?
(1)
People from rural areas have high perceived value of banking services.
(2)
Cost is not a valid criterion for technological pack selection for
financial-inclusion initiatives.
(3)
The inclusion segment is a singular impoverished_ undifferentiated mass.
(4)
The branch timings of banks generally do not coincide with the off-work hours
of the labour class in urban markets
(5)
All the given statements are true
2. According to the passage,
for which of the following reasons do the delivery partners fail to serve their
bank-‘s goal to expand in the unbanked markets?
(A)
They do not have adequate client base to sell they financial products.
(B)
They do not have adequate knowledge and skills explain anything beyond basic
financial products to the customers.
(C)
They do not have the skills to operate advanced technological aids that are a
prerequisite to tap the unbanked-market.
1)
Only (B)
2)
Only (C)
3)All
(A), (B) & (C)
4)
Only (A)
5)
Both (B) and (C)
3. According to the passage,
for which of the following reasons is the viability of financial inclusion
under question?
(1)
Banks always prefer the cheapest package (to cut cost) while making a choice of
technology to be used.
(2)
The Business Correspondent Agents are highly demotivated to pursue their
activity as a full-time job.
(3)
The investments made by banks and their delivery partners are not yielding
equal amounts of returns.
(4)
Banks do not have adequate number of delivery partners required to tap the
unbanked market.
(5)
Banks do not have adequate manpower to explore the diversity of the unbanked
market and thereby identify the right target customers for various programs.
4. In the passage, the
author has specified which of the following characteristics of the customer
on-boarding process?
(1)
It involves collection of documents from the applicants in order to validate
their details.
(2)
It involves issuance of smart cards to the customers.
(3)
It suffers from latency as it takes a long time after submission of documents
by the customer
(4)
It is an expensive process which people find difficult to afford.
(5)
All of the given characteristics have been specified
5. What did the author try
to highlight in the passage?
(A)
The ailing condition of financial inclusion business at present
(B)
Strategies that may help banks expand in the unbanked market
(C)
Role of government in modifying the existing financial-inclusion policies
(1)
Both A & B
2)
All A, B, & C
(3)
only C
(4)Only
A
(5)
Only B
6. According to the passage,
which of the following ways may help banks sustain the interest of their
customers after hooking them?
(A)
Adoption of a banking mechanism which is not only secure but reassuring to the
customers
(B)
Increasing the number of delivery partners in rural market
(C)
Introduction of a simple and intuitive user application
(1)
Only (A)
(2)
Only (C)
(3)
Only (B)
(4)
All (A), (B) and (C)
5)
Both (A) and (C)
For Q (7-8): Choose the word
which is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the
passage.
7.
Multitude
1)
Impoverished
2)
Handful
3)
Acknowledged
4)
Plenty
5) Solitude
8.
Ubiquitous
(1)
Quintessential
(2)
Popular
(3)
Omnipresent
(4)
Simplified
(5)
Abnormal
For Q (9-10): Choose the
word which is MOST OPPOSITE in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in
the passage.
9.
Dormant
1)
Emaciated
2)
Pertinent
3)
Cornered
4)
Rejected
5)
Active
10.
Delayed
1)
Perturbed
2)
Popularised
3)
Expedited
4)
Stabilised
5)
Represse
Directions: (11 - 20): Read
the following passage carefully and answers the questions given below it.
Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of
the questions.
Simple
definition of On Line Shopping or Shopping on the Web is enabling you to buy
and sell through your computer on –line using Web or Internet environment. One
reason people like without a salesperson because you can browse inside the shop
for number of hours at your leisure time without a salesperson peering over the
shoulder and making unwanted recommendations. As a customer, we may find this
approach convenient and less time consuming, but how does this affect the
economy as a whole? Is it safe to pay credit card online? Is buying and selling
products over the internet considered as a risky business for merchants? Is the
Web going to replace old-fashioned stores? Is virtual shopping really is better
than the real thing? Cyberspace is a vast territory where computers meet and
exchange information. In this 21st century, cyberspace has already to your
computer will look you into wealth of goods and services.
In
your home, modern box attached to your computer will look you into wealth of
goods and services. Not only does it allow you to talk to your friends on the
other side of the world, but also allows you to watch a movie, buy airline
tickets, pay bills and even get cash, People in developed countries like U.S.
and Canada have already started using On Line Shopping as a routine mode of
their purchasing goods and services. Internet shoppers still believe that there
is no secure and convenient way of paying on the Internet. Consumers are
concerned with two main security fears. They are worried that their credit card
information is jeopardizing while travelling over the net. They also express
concern over data privacy whereby the vendors and blanking institutions can
tamper with the data and easily record their purchasing habits. These fears
over privacy and security have kept E- Commerce from taking off.
11. What does the passage
imply by the word ‘Virtual shopping’?
(1)
shopping widely
(2)
shopping spree
(3)
literal shopping
(4)
net shopping
(5)
a wider perspective of e-com.
12. Why is it risky to pay
online?
(1)
It reveals the identity of the buyer
(2)
It intrudes upon the privacy of the buyer
(3)
The buyer is apprehensive of his credit card details going over the net
(4)
The merchants may record the buyer’s purchasing habits.
(5)
None of these
13. Which of the following
statement is/are TRUE______?
(A)
Cyberspace has opened an immense wealth of services but has affected the
economy too.
(B)
Data privacy is no longer a thing of the past.
(C)
People in developing countries use online shopping as a routine mode
(1)
Only a
(2)
Only b and c
(3)
a, b and c
(4)
Only c
(5)
None of these
14. What is the authors view
regarding shopping on the web?
(1)
shopping on the net makes the buyers wary of financial transactions.
(2)
shopping in the stores is on obsolete idea.
(3)
Net shopping has affected our economy on the whole
(4)
Payment by credit card easily outnumbers cash transactions.
(5)
All of the above
15. Why has online shopping
caught on so much in the U.S.A. and Canada?
(1)
The developed countries can well afford to indulge in such luxuries
(2)
The pace of life is superfast in these countries
(3)
Virtual shoppers need not hide their credit card information.
(4)
Banks etc do not tamper with the financial details of the net-shoppers
(5)
None of these
For Qs (16-18): Choose the
word that is most nearly the SAME in meaning to the word as used in passage.
16.
Environment
(1)
provision
(2)
conditions
(3)
circumstantial
(4)
department
(5)
enclave
17.
Browse
(1)
look through
(2)
enjoy
(3)
examine leisurely
(4)
nibble
(5)
spend
18.
Modern
(1)
gadget
(2)
appliance
(3)
device
(4)
apparatus
(5)
equipment
For Qs (19-20): Choose the
word that is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning to the word as used in
passage.
19.
Jeopardized
(1)
safe
(2)
risked
(3)
benefit
(4)
secure
(5)
endangered
20.
Peering
(1)
leaning
(2)
looking
(3)
staring
(4)
peeking
(5)
peeping
Chief
Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian’s first Economic Survey is notable for
three main reasons. First, the overall sense of optimism that it exudes — and
justifiably so — on the economy and its prospects in the medium term. Second,
the emphasis on fiscal discipline, quality of expenditure and public
investment, mainly in the Railways, to give a boost to the economy. And
finally, the thrust on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet schemes of Jan Dhan
Yojana and Direct Benefit Transfers as means of eliminating leakages in the
subsidy mechanism and ensuring that subsidies reach those who deserve it.
Alongside, Mr. Subramanian has also raised a question mark over the new data
series on GDP growth announced a couple of weeks ago, pointing out that India
is not a ‘tiger economy’ yet as the data would have us believe. India’s is a
recovering economy rather than a surging one, the Survey says, pointing out
that the numbers seem difficult to reconcile with other developments in the
economy. Other major economic data such as on industrial output and trade and
agriculture, coupled with anecdotal evidence,
point to an economy that is on the mend gradually and not to one that is
galloping away on growth. That said, there is little reason to question the
Survey’s conclusion that India is now in a sweet spot thanks to a government
that has a mandate for reform and a benign external environment that has had a
favorable impact on the current account deficit (CAD) and inflation. Indeed, if
India does achieve the projected CAD of 1 per cent in 2015-16, that would be in
large part due to the falling commodity prices, particularly of crude oil.
The
Survey’s projection of a 8.1-8.5 per cent GDP growth in 2015-16 is credible
given the present economic environment, though the bets would be more on the
lower end of the band. Mr. Subramanian has reiterated his advocacy for public investment to
act as a booster dose. And, interestingly, he has picked on the Railways as the
“growth locomotive”, arguing that reversing the cycle of under investment in
the Railways can do wonders to the economy. This ties in with this week’s
Railway budget and its emphasis on long-term investment; in fact, it is
tempting to conclude that the increase in gross budgetary support to the
Railways by a third to about Rs.40,000 crore is evidence of this policy in
action. Railways could be to the Narendra Modi government what roads were to
the Vajpayee administration. The Survey has clear advice for Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley: control expenditure through subsidy reduction, improve the
quality of expenditure by spending more on investment and less on consumption
and borrowing only for investment. Will Mr. Jaitley act on this in his Budget
today?
Q.21 Which of the following
is not the significant highlight of the economic survey?
(a)
It infuse the hope of revival of the Indian Economy.
(b)
The Direct benefit transfer schemes will ensure plugging of leaking funds.
(c)
Government will control the expenditure in Railway.
(d)
Austerity measures will be adopted by Govenrment.
(e)
None of these
Q.22 What can be the reason
for the reversal of cycle of under investment in Indian Railway?
Q.23 Why Arvind Subramaniam
is skeptical about India GDP growth rate?
Q.24 Which external factors
had a favourable impact on CAD and how?
Q.25 What measures Economic
Survey suggested to the Finance Minister of India?
Directions (26-28): Which of the following words is most opposite
in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage?
Q.26
Anecdotal
(a)
abstract
(b)
informal
(c)
unreliable
(d)
unscientific
(e)
based on hearsay
Q.27
Benign
(a)
harmless
(b)
safe
(c)
adverse
(d)
white
(e)
inoffensive
Q.28
Reiterated
(a)
duplicate
(b)
repeat
(c)
reprise
(d)
redo
(e)
new
