SBI Clerk Mains Mock Test - 10 - Bank Exams MCQ

What do the first four alphabetic characters in the 11-digit IFSC code represent?

The Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary hosts two-thirds of the world's

Yuan is the currency of

The term 'Financial Exclusion' is used for

Fiscal deficit is defined as

In what forms is the SLR maintained by the banks?

a. Cash

b. Gold

c. Equity bonds

d. Government-approved securities

e. Foreign exchange

f. Treasury bills

Which of the following is known as Plastic Money?

(A) Demand Draft

(B) Credit Card

(C) Debit Card

The National Mathematics Day is celebrated in December to commemorate the birth anniversary of great Indian Mathematician,

Which of the following country is not among the member of the G4 Group?

Which of the following is not a Regional Development Bank?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon Indians to be "vocal for local". The way in which we, as citizens and professionals, interpret the local will have far-reaching effects on the country's landscape and prosperity.

We could transform ourselves into a greener and more humane society, with access to affordable health care, functioning public schools, choices over where we work and live, and support for those who cannot work. Cities could breathe again and families could move to opportunity rather than be forced out of their homes by drought and desperation. Or, we could rapidly roll backwards, buying umbrellas with easily broken frames, toasters whose levers have to be held down, office chairs with castors that grip rather than slide, researchers who find it difficult to (A) equip their laboratories and avoid reading research at the disciplinary frontier because they are too far from being able to produce it. And most importantly, there will be people with experience and skills who cannot find the capital, the designs, or the markets to use them. Thousands of them continue to return to their villages each day.

COVID-19 has brought many countries to an unexpected fork in their development trajectories. It has made visible new facts, figures and the feelings of citizens towards these facts and figures.

Village demographics have changed dramatically. Pockets of virtually empty villages in the Himalayan foothills have become re-populated and many of the poorest parts of the country have experienced the largest inflows. After the trauma of the last two months, re-united families would like to stay together. They will search for local livelihoods and they desperately need immediate and substantial social transfers. Strengthening these communities would show a real commitment to the right kind of local. This requires making our safety nets wide, accessible and fair. It involves building schools, clinics and hospitals within easy reach, and (B)______________________________ to label themselves as farmers or micro-entrepreneurs. If we imagine villages as consisting only of farmers and labourers, hit periodically by cyclones and drought, our support to them will not move beyond Kisan credit cards and employment guarantees. Those returning home are from many walks of life and have travelled far and wide. Development policy should help them use their skills and new perspectives to reimagine their communities while they earn a living.

The wrong kind of local would be to promote goods that are made in India through tariffs, quotas and new government procurement rules. We have attained global competitiveness over the last two decades in many new fields such as software development, pharmaceuticals and engineering products. All of these have flourished through international collaboration and feedback from foreign consumers. (C) It would be (1) restricted to (2) imagine that we would (3) reach these consumers if we (4) short-sighted access to our own markets. I am reminded of a conversation with a friend a few years ago. She said she wanted to design products that were bought in the international market because they were simply the most beautiful; not because they were cheap or supported artisans. She subsequently succeeded in doing just that, and, in the process, probably taught many the (D)_______ of good design.

Out of the following options which option does support the statement "The wrong kind of local would be to promote goods that are made in India through tariffs, quotas and new government procurement rules," made by the author in the paragraph?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon Indians to be "vocal for local". The way in which we, as citizens and professionals, interpret the local will have far-reaching effects on the country's landscape and prosperity.

We could transform ourselves into a greener and more humane society, with access to affordable health care, functioning public schools, choices over where we work and live, and support for those who cannot work. Cities could breathe again and families could move to opportunity rather than be forced out of their homes by drought and desperation. Or, we could rapidly roll backwards, buying umbrellas with easily broken frames, toasters whose levers have to be held down, office chairs with castors that grip rather than slide, researchers who find it difficult to (A) equip their laboratories and avoid reading research at the disciplinary frontier because they are too far from being able to produce it. And most importantly, there will be people with experience and skills who cannot find the capital, the designs, or the markets to use them. Thousands of them continue to return to their villages each day.

COVID-19 has brought many countries to an unexpected fork in their development trajectories. It has made visible new facts, figures and the feelings of citizens towards these facts and figures.

Village demographics have changed dramatically. Pockets of virtually empty villages in the Himalayan foothills have become re-populated and many of the poorest parts of the country have experienced the largest inflows. After the trauma of the last two months, re-united families would like to stay together. They will search for local livelihoods and they desperately need immediate and substantial social transfers. Strengthening these communities would show a real commitment to the right kind of local. This requires making our safety nets wide, accessible and fair. It involves building schools, clinics and hospitals within easy reach, and (B)______________________________ to label themselves as farmers or micro-entrepreneurs. If we imagine villages as consisting only of farmers and labourers, hit periodically by cyclones and drought, our support to them will not move beyond Kisan credit cards and employment guarantees. Those returning home are from many walks of life and have travelled far and wide. Development policy should help them use their skills and new perspectives to reimagine their communities while they earn a living.

The wrong kind of local would be to promote goods that are made in India through tariffs, quotas and new government procurement rules. We have attained global competitiveness over the last two decades in many new fields such as software development, pharmaceuticals and engineering products. All of these have flourished through international collaboration and feedback from foreign consumers. (C) It would be (1) restricted to (2) imagine that we would (3) reach these consumers if we (4) short-sighted access to our own markets. I am reminded of a conversation with a friend a few years ago. She said she wanted to design products that were bought in the international market because they were simply the most beautiful; not because they were cheap or supported artisans. She subsequently succeeded in doing just that, and, in the process, probably taught many the (D)_______ of good design.

The sentence given in (C) has four words given in bold. Amongst given bold words, which of the following must replace each other to make the sentence contextually correct and meaningful?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon Indians to be "vocal for local". The way in which we, as citizens and professionals, interpret the local will have far-reaching effects on the country's landscape and prosperity.

We could transform ourselves into a greener and more humane society, with access to affordable health care, functioning public schools, choices over where we work and live, and support for those who cannot work. Cities could breathe again and families could move to opportunity rather than be forced out of their homes by drought and desperation. Or, we could rapidly roll backwards, buying umbrellas with easily broken frames, toasters whose levers have to be held down, office chairs with castors that grip rather than slide, researchers who find it difficult to (A) equip their laboratories and avoid reading research at the disciplinary frontier because they are too far from being able to produce it. And most importantly, there will be people with experience and skills who cannot find the capital, the designs, or the markets to use them. Thousands of them continue to return to their villages each day.

COVID-19 has brought many countries to an unexpected fork in their development trajectories. It has made visible new facts, figures and the feelings of citizens towards these facts and figures.

Village demographics have changed dramatically. Pockets of virtually empty villages in the Himalayan foothills have become re-populated and many of the poorest parts of the country have experienced the largest inflows. After the trauma of the last two months, re-united families would like to stay together. They will search for local livelihoods and they desperately need immediate and substantial social transfers. Strengthening these communities would show a real commitment to the right kind of local. This requires making our safety nets wide, accessible and fair. It involves building schools, clinics and hospitals within easy reach, and (B)______________________________ to label themselves as farmers or micro-entrepreneurs. If we imagine villages as consisting only of farmers and labourers, hit periodically by cyclones and drought, our support to them will not move beyond Kisan credit cards and employment guarantees. Those returning home are from many walks of life and have travelled far and wide. Development policy should help them use their skills and new perspectives to reimagine their communities while they earn a living.

The wrong kind of local would be to promote goods that are made in India through tariffs, quotas and new government procurement rules. We have attained global competitiveness over the last two decades in many new fields such as software development, pharmaceuticals and engineering products. All of these have flourished through international collaboration and feedback from foreign consumers. (C) It would be (1) restricted to (2) imagine that we would (3) reach these consumers if we (4) short-sighted access to our own markets. I am reminded of a conversation with a friend a few years ago. She said she wanted to design products that were bought in the international market because they were simply the most beautiful; not because they were cheap or supported artisans. She subsequently succeeded in doing just that, and, in the process, probably taught many the (D)_______ of good design.

Which of the following words can replace the word given in bold in (A) without changing the meaning of the sentence?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon Indians to be "vocal for local". The way in which we, as citizens and professionals, interpret the local will have far-reaching effects on the country's landscape and prosperity.

We could transform ourselves into a greener and more humane society, with access to affordable health care, functioning public schools, choices over where we work and live, and support for those who cannot work. Cities could breathe again and families could move to opportunity rather than be forced out of their homes by drought and desperation. Or, we could rapidly roll backwards, buying umbrellas with easily broken frames, toasters whose levers have to be held down, office chairs with castors that grip rather than slide, researchers who find it difficult to (A) equip their laboratories and avoid reading research at the disciplinary frontier because they are too far from being able to produce it. And most importantly, there will be people with experience and skills who cannot find the capital, the designs, or the markets to use them. Thousands of them continue to return to their villages each day.

COVID-19 has brought many countries to an unexpected fork in their development trajectories. It has made visible new facts, figures and the feelings of citizens towards these facts and figures.

Village demographics have changed dramatically. Pockets of virtually empty villages in the Himalayan foothills have become re-populated and many of the poorest parts of the country have experienced the largest inflows. After the trauma of the last two months, re-united families would like to stay together. They will search for local livelihoods and they desperately need immediate and substantial social transfers. Strengthening these communities would show a real commitment to the right kind of local. This requires making our safety nets wide, accessible and fair. It involves building schools, clinics and hospitals within easy reach, and (B)______________________________ to label themselves as farmers or micro-entrepreneurs. If we imagine villages as consisting only of farmers and labourers, hit periodically by cyclones and drought, our support to them will not move beyond Kisan credit cards and employment guarantees. Those returning home are from many walks of life and have travelled far and wide. Development policy should help them use their skills and new perspectives to reimagine their communities while they earn a living.

The wrong kind of local would be to promote goods that are made in India through tariffs, quotas and new government procurement rules. We have attained global competitiveness over the last two decades in many new fields such as software development, pharmaceuticals and engineering products. All of these have flourished through international collaboration and feedback from foreign consumers. (C) It would be (1) restricted to (2) imagine that we would (3) reach these consumers if we (4) short-sighted access to our own markets. I am reminded of a conversation with a friend a few years ago. She said she wanted to design products that were bought in the international market because they were simply the most beautiful; not because they were cheap or supported artisans. She subsequently succeeded in doing just that, and, in the process, probably taught many the (D)_______ of good design.

Which of the following phrases should fill the blank given in (B) to make it grammatically and contextually correct and meaningful?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon Indians to be "vocal for local". The way in which we, as citizens and professionals, interpret the local will have far-reaching effects on the country's landscape and prosperity.

We could transform ourselves into a greener and more humane society, with access to affordable health care, functioning public schools, choices over where we work and live, and support for those who cannot work. Cities could breathe again and families could move to opportunity rather than be forced out of their homes by drought and desperation. Or, we could rapidly roll backwards, buying umbrellas with easily broken frames, toasters whose levers have to be held down, office chairs with castors that grip rather than slide, researchers who find it difficult to (A) equip their laboratories and avoid reading research at the disciplinary frontier because they are too far from being able to produce it. And most importantly, there will be people with experience and skills who cannot find the capital, the designs, or the markets to use them. Thousands of them continue to return to their villages each day.

COVID-19 has brought many countries to an unexpected fork in their development trajectories. It has made visible new facts, figures and the feelings of citizens towards these facts and figures.

Village demographics have changed dramatically. Pockets of virtually empty villages in the Himalayan foothills have become re-populated and many of the poorest parts of the country have experienced the largest inflows. After the trauma of the last two months, re-united families would like to stay together. They will search for local livelihoods and they desperately need immediate and substantial social transfers. Strengthening these communities would show a real commitment to the right kind of local. This requires making our safety nets wide, accessible and fair. It involves building schools, clinics and hospitals within easy reach, and (B)______________________________ to label themselves as farmers or micro-entrepreneurs. If we imagine villages as consisting only of farmers and labourers, hit periodically by cyclones and drought, our support to them will not move beyond Kisan credit cards and employment guarantees. Those returning home are from many walks of life and have travelled far and wide. Development policy should help them use their skills and new perspectives to reimagine their communities while they earn a living.

The wrong kind of local would be to promote goods that are made in India through tariffs, quotas and new government procurement rules. We have attained global competitiveness over the last two decades in many new fields such as software development, pharmaceuticals and engineering products. All of these have flourished through international collaboration and feedback from foreign consumers. (C) It would be (1) restricted to (2) imagine that we would (3) reach these consumers if we (4) short-sighted access to our own markets. I am reminded of a conversation with a friend a few years ago. She said she wanted to design products that were bought in the international market because they were simply the most beautiful; not because they were cheap or supported artisans. She subsequently succeeded in doing just that, and, in the process, probably taught many the (D)_______ of good design.

Which of the following words given in the options should come at the place marked as 'D' in the above passage to make it grammatically and contextually meaningful and correct? Also, the word should fill the two sentences given below to make them contextually correct and meaningful.

A. The ________ he had to deal with could not be welded together.

B. Legal training may include the _________of economics and political science

The following paragraph below has five blanks which show that the paragraph is incomplete. The words that can fill these blanks have been given in the questions below the same. You are required to read the given passage carefully and choose the options that can fit the blanks to make a complete and meaningful paragraph.

Why are we witnessing a large number of Indians defend and celebrate the Russian invasion of Ukraine? We are a ____(A)____ nation-state with a long history of colonial domination that has caused ____(B)____ damage to people at large. Despite this, if people cheer for the Russian invasion, it reflects perhaps the ____(C)____ imperial ambition of Hindu majoritarianism in India and its desire for an “imagined” Hindu Rashtra. In addition to this, the current obsession with the image of a “strong and decisive leader” further ____(D)____ these celebrations. It seems that urging for and waging war, and the celebration of it, is at the core of national identity. In the context of Britain, the cultural theorist Paul Gilroy has interpreted such aspirations as “after-effects of imperial domination, and responses to the loss of imperial prestige.” They are key components in what Gilroy terms as the “melancholic cultural formations.” And the present-day war on Ukraine by Russia is a classic example of this.

Which of the given words would best fill the blank labelled (A)?

The following paragraph below has five blanks which show that the paragraph is incomplete. The words that can fill these blanks have been given in the questions below the same. You are required to read the given passage carefully and choose the options that can fit the blanks to make a complete and meaningful paragraph.

Why are we witnessing a large number of Indians defend and celebrate the Russian invasion of Ukraine? We are a ____(A)____ nation-state with a long history of colonial domination that has caused ____(B)____ damage to people at large. Despite this, if people cheer for the Russian invasion, it reflects perhaps the ____(C)____ imperial ambition of Hindu majoritarianism in India and its desire for an “imagined” Hindu Rashtra. In addition to this, the current obsession with the image of a “strong and decisive leader” further ____(D)____ these celebrations. It seems that urging for and waging war, and the celebration of it, is at the core of national identity. In the context of Britain, the cultural theorist Paul Gilroy has interpreted such aspirations as “after-effects of imperial domination, and responses to the loss of imperial prestige.” They are key components in what Gilroy terms as the “melancholic cultural formations.” And the present-day war on Ukraine by Russia is a classic example of this.

Choose the word that will complete the blank labelled (C) to make a meaningful sentence.

The following paragraph below has five blanks which show that the paragraph is incomplete. The words that can fill these blanks have been given in the questions below the same. You are required to read the given passage carefully and choose the options that can fit the blanks to make a complete and meaningful paragraph.

Why are we witnessing a large number of Indians defend and celebrate the Russian invasion of Ukraine? We are a ____(A)____ nation-state with a long history of colonial domination that has caused ____(B)____ damage to people at large. Despite this, if people cheer for the Russian invasion, it reflects perhaps the ____(C)____ imperial ambition of Hindu majoritarianism in India and its desire for an “imagined” Hindu Rashtra. In addition to this, the current obsession with the image of a “strong and decisive leader” further ____(D)____ these celebrations. It seems that urging for and waging war, and the celebration of it, is at the core of national identity. In the context of Britain, the cultural theorist Paul Gilroy has interpreted such aspirations as “after-effects of imperial domination, and responses to the loss of imperial prestige.” They are key components in what Gilroy terms as the “melancholic cultural formations.” And the present-day war on Ukraine by Russia is a classic example of this.

Choose the correct option that fits the blank labelled (E) as given in the paragraph

The following paragraph below has five blanks which show that the paragraph is incomplete. The words that can fill these blanks have been given in the questions below the same. You are required to read the given passage carefully and choose the options that can fit the blanks to make a complete and meaningful paragraph.

Why are we witnessing a large number of Indians defend and celebrate the Russian invasion of Ukraine? We are a ____(A)____ nation-state with a long history of colonial domination that has caused ____(B)____ damage to people at large. Despite this, if people cheer for the Russian invasion, it reflects perhaps the ____(C)____ imperial ambition of Hindu majoritarianism in India and its desire for an “imagined” Hindu Rashtra. In addition to this, the current obsession with the image of a “strong and decisive leader” further ____(D)____ these celebrations. It seems that urging for and waging war, and the celebration of it, is at the core of national identity. In the context of Britain, the cultural theorist Paul Gilroy has interpreted such aspirations as “after-effects of imperial domination, and responses to the loss of imperial prestige.” They are key components in what Gilroy terms as the “melancholic cultural formations.” And the present-day war on Ukraine by Russia is a classic example of this.

The word that would complete the sentence with the blank (B) is?

The following paragraph below has five blanks which show that the paragraph is incomplete. The words that can fill these blanks have been given in the questions below the same. You are required to read the given passage carefully and choose the options that can fit the blanks to make a complete and meaningful paragraph.

Why are we witnessing a large number of Indians defend and celebrate the Russian invasion of Ukraine? We are a ____(A)____ nation-state with a long history of colonial domination that has caused ____(B)____ damage to people at large. Despite this, if people cheer for the Russian invasion, it reflects perhaps the ____(C)____ imperial ambition of Hindu majoritarianism in India and its desire for an “imagined” Hindu Rashtra. In addition to this, the current obsession with the image of a “strong and decisive leader” further ____(D)____ these celebrations. It seems that urging for and waging war, and the celebration of it, is at the core of national identity. In the context of Britain, the cultural theorist Paul Gilroy has interpreted such aspirations as “after-effects of imperial domination, and responses to the loss of imperial prestige.” They are key components in what Gilroy terms as the “melancholic cultural formations.” And the present-day war on Ukraine by Russia is a classic example of this.

The word that fills the fourth blank in the passage from the given options is?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

The-pandemic-crisis has seen a gradual erosion of privacy through the proliferation of apps and measures undertaken by governments and companies. Some of these measures, such as the introduction and deployment of Arogya Setu, (I), while others have slipped under the radar.

One such instance is the request for expression of interest floated by the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) last month for the empanelment of an agency "for the supply of healthcare equipments". As part of the scope of work, BECIL, which comes under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has provided a list of 22 items that have to be delivered by the bidders, (II), COVID-19 test kits, rescue team GPS location monitoring system, and N95 face masks. BECIL then issued a corrigendum and added a hand-held thermal imaging system, optical thermal fever sensing system, and a COVID-19 patient tracking tool, as part of the products to be delivered.

Through these (A) innocuous additions, the building blocks of a perfect surveillance tool have been smuggled in. Consider the specifications of the "COVID-19 patient tracking tool", presumably meant to be (B)________ to reduce health risks. The very first specification, however, is for the tool to be useful as an "intelligence investigation platform and tactical tool (III) to national security using CDR, IPDR, tower, mobile phone forensics data".

The law enforcement aspect of this "patient tracking" tool is further made evident in other parts of the corrigendum, such as for its use as an "intelligence investigation platform…"; for location-based analysis to "geo-fence an area of interest" such as "airport, mosque, railway station" to identify "all the people" present there at the time of the event; to identify a "suspect's behaviour", including where they "order food from", where they go for regular walks, where they "work during the day" and "sleep at night". These are just some examples that illustrate the vast swathes of personal data being collected. For all practical purposes, therefore, the government will have intimate knowledge of our every movement and be able to monitor every aspect of our daily routine.

Interestingly, the specifications for this patient tracking tool use the words "infected person" and "suspect" separately, (C)__________________________________. Under the guise of supplying healthcare equipment during a national epidemic, the government (through BECIL) is using COVID-19 as an opportunity to shore up its surveillance infrastructure. This is concerning both for practical and philosophical reasons.

(D) The practical concern stems by the fact that India still does not have a data protection law, and there are no established norms that regulate the collection, storage, and use of such data. The patient tracking tool is collecting far more data than required for the task of contact tracing. We have no information on where this data is being stored, the period of storage, and whether the data will be deleted after the COVID-19 crisis passes.

Which of the following words can replace the word given in bold in (A) without changing the meaning of the sentence?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

The-pandemic-crisis has seen a gradual erosion of privacy through the proliferation of apps and measures undertaken by governments and companies. Some of these measures, such as the introduction and deployment of Arogya Setu, (I), while others have slipped under the radar.

One such instance is the request for expression of interest floated by the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) last month for the empanelment of an agency "for the supply of healthcare equipments". As part of the scope of work, BECIL, which comes under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has provided a list of 22 items that have to be delivered by the bidders, (II), COVID-19 test kits, rescue team GPS location monitoring system, and N95 face masks. BECIL then issued a corrigendum and added a hand-held thermal imaging system, optical thermal fever sensing system, and a COVID-19 patient tracking tool, as part of the products to be delivered.

Through these (A) innocuous additions, the building blocks of a perfect surveillance tool have been smuggled in. Consider the specifications of the "COVID-19 patient tracking tool", presumably meant to be (B)________ to reduce health risks. The very first specification, however, is for the tool to be useful as an "intelligence investigation platform and tactical tool (III) to national security using CDR, IPDR, tower, mobile phone forensics data".

The law enforcement aspect of this "patient tracking" tool is further made evident in other parts of the corrigendum, such as for its use as an "intelligence investigation platform…"; for location-based analysis to "geo-fence an area of interest" such as "airport, mosque, railway station" to identify "all the people" present there at the time of the event; to identify a "suspect's behaviour", including where they "order food from", where they go for regular walks, where they "work during the day" and "sleep at night". These are just some examples that illustrate the vast swathes of personal data being collected. For all practical purposes, therefore, the government will have intimate knowledge of our every movement and be able to monitor every aspect of our daily routine.

Interestingly, the specifications for this patient tracking tool use the words "infected person" and "suspect" separately, (C)__________________________________. Under the guise of supplying healthcare equipment during a national epidemic, the government (through BECIL) is using COVID-19 as an opportunity to shore up its surveillance infrastructure. This is concerning both for practical and philosophical reasons.

(D) The practical concern stems by the fact that India still does not have a data protection law, and there are no established norms that regulate the collection, storage, and use of such data. The patient tracking tool is collecting far more data than required for the task of contact tracing. We have no information on where this data is being stored, the period of storage, and whether the data will be deleted after the COVID-19 crisis passes.

Which of the following words should fill in the blank in (B) to make a contextually correct and meaningful sentence?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

The-pandemic-crisis has seen a gradual erosion of privacy through the proliferation of apps and measures undertaken by governments and companies. Some of these measures, such as the introduction and deployment of Arogya Setu, (I), while others have slipped under the radar.

One such instance is the request for expression of interest floated by the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) last month for the empanelment of an agency "for the supply of healthcare equipments". As part of the scope of work, BECIL, which comes under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has provided a list of 22 items that have to be delivered by the bidders, (II), COVID-19 test kits, rescue team GPS location monitoring system, and N95 face masks. BECIL then issued a corrigendum and added a hand-held thermal imaging system, optical thermal fever sensing system, and a COVID-19 patient tracking tool, as part of the products to be delivered.

Through these (A) innocuous additions, the building blocks of a perfect surveillance tool have been smuggled in. Consider the specifications of the "COVID-19 patient tracking tool", presumably meant to be (B)________ to reduce health risks. The very first specification, however, is for the tool to be useful as an "intelligence investigation platform and tactical tool (III) to national security using CDR, IPDR, tower, mobile phone forensics data".

The law enforcement aspect of this "patient tracking" tool is further made evident in other parts of the corrigendum, such as for its use as an "intelligence investigation platform…"; for location-based analysis to "geo-fence an area of interest" such as "airport, mosque, railway station" to identify "all the people" present there at the time of the event; to identify a "suspect's behaviour", including where they "order food from", where they go for regular walks, where they "work during the day" and "sleep at night". These are just some examples that illustrate the vast swathes of personal data being collected. For all practical purposes, therefore, the government will have intimate knowledge of our every movement and be able to monitor every aspect of our daily routine.

Interestingly, the specifications for this patient tracking tool use the words "infected person" and "suspect" separately, (C)__________________________________. Under the guise of supplying healthcare equipment during a national epidemic, the government (through BECIL) is using COVID-19 as an opportunity to shore up its surveillance infrastructure. This is concerning both for practical and philosophical reasons.

(D) The practical concern stems by the fact that India still does not have a data protection law, and there are no established norms that regulate the collection, storage, and use of such data. The patient tracking tool is collecting far more data than required for the task of contact tracing. We have no information on where this data is being stored, the period of storage, and whether the data will be deleted after the COVID-19 crisis passes.

In the passage given, a sentence D is given in Italics. There may or may not be an error in one part of the sentence. Choose the part which has an error in it as your answer.

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

The-pandemic-crisis has seen a gradual erosion of privacy through the proliferation of apps and measures undertaken by governments and companies. Some of these measures, such as the introduction and deployment of Arogya Setu, (I), while others have slipped under the radar.

One such instance is the request for expression of interest floated by the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) last month for the empanelment of an agency "for the supply of healthcare equipments". As part of the scope of work, BECIL, which comes under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has provided a list of 22 items that have to be delivered by the bidders, (II), COVID-19 test kits, rescue team GPS location monitoring system, and N95 face masks. BECIL then issued a corrigendum and added a hand-held thermal imaging system, optical thermal fever sensing system, and a COVID-19 patient tracking tool, as part of the products to be delivered.

Through these (A) innocuous additions, the building blocks of a perfect surveillance tool have been smuggled in. Consider the specifications of the "COVID-19 patient tracking tool", presumably meant to be (B)________ to reduce health risks. The very first specification, however, is for the tool to be useful as an "intelligence investigation platform and tactical tool (III) to national security using CDR, IPDR, tower, mobile phone forensics data".

The law enforcement aspect of this "patient tracking" tool is further made evident in other parts of the corrigendum, such as for its use as an "intelligence investigation platform…"; for location-based analysis to "geo-fence an area of interest" such as "airport, mosque, railway station" to identify "all the people" present there at the time of the event; to identify a "suspect's behaviour", including where they "order food from", where they go for regular walks, where they "work during the day" and "sleep at night". These are just some examples that illustrate the vast swathes of personal data being collected. For all practical purposes, therefore, the government will have intimate knowledge of our every movement and be able to monitor every aspect of our daily routine.

Interestingly, the specifications for this patient tracking tool use the words "infected person" and "suspect" separately, (C)__________________________________. Under the guise of supplying healthcare equipment during a national epidemic, the government (through BECIL) is using COVID-19 as an opportunity to shore up its surveillance infrastructure. This is concerning both for practical and philosophical reasons.

(D) The practical concern stems by the fact that India still does not have a data protection law, and there are no established norms that regulate the collection, storage, and use of such data. The patient tracking tool is collecting far more data than required for the task of contact tracing. We have no information on where this data is being stored, the period of storage, and whether the data will be deleted after the COVID-19 crisis passes.

In the question below three phrases are given which must be filled in the positions given in I, II and III in the passage. From the options given below, choose the correct order of phrases that should be filled in the positions given.

A. including a sanitisation/disinfectant chamber

B. have received a lot of attention

C. to detect, prevent and investigate threats

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question as directed.

The-pandemic-crisis has seen a gradual erosion of privacy through the proliferation of apps and measures undertaken by governments and companies. Some of these measures, such as the introduction and deployment of Arogya Setu, (I), while others have slipped under the radar.

One such instance is the request for expression of interest floated by the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) last month for the empanelment of an agency "for the supply of healthcare equipments". As part of the scope of work, BECIL, which comes under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has provided a list of 22 items that have to be delivered by the bidders, (II), COVID-19 test kits, rescue team GPS location monitoring system, and N95 face masks. BECIL then issued a corrigendum and added a hand-held thermal imaging system, optical thermal fever sensing system, and a COVID-19 patient tracking tool, as part of the products to be delivered.

Through these (A) innocuous additions, the building blocks of a perfect surveillance tool have been smuggled in. Consider the specifications of the "COVID-19 patient tracking tool", presumably meant to be (B)________ to reduce health risks. The very first specification, however, is for the tool to be useful as an "intelligence investigation platform and tactical tool (III) to national security using CDR, IPDR, tower, mobile phone forensics data".

The law enforcement aspect of this "patient tracking" tool is further made evident in other parts of the corrigendum, such as for its use as an "intelligence investigation platform…"; for location-based analysis to "geo-fence an area of interest" such as "airport, mosque, railway station" to identify "all the people" present there at the time of the event; to identify a "suspect's behaviour", including where they "order food from", where they go for regular walks, where they "work during the day" and "sleep at night". These are just some examples that illustrate the vast swathes of personal data being collected. For all practical purposes, therefore, the government will have intimate knowledge of our every movement and be able to monitor every aspect of our daily routine.

Interestingly, the specifications for this patient tracking tool use the words "infected person" and "suspect" separately, (C)__________________________________. Under the guise of supplying healthcare equipment during a national epidemic, the government (through BECIL) is using COVID-19 as an opportunity to shore up its surveillance infrastructure. This is concerning both for practical and philosophical reasons.

(D) The practical concern stems by the fact that India still does not have a data protection law, and there are no established norms that regulate the collection, storage, and use of such data. The patient tracking tool is collecting far more data than required for the task of contact tracing. We have no information on where this data is being stored, the period of storage, and whether the data will be deleted after the COVID-19 crisis passes.

Two sentences are given in italics on both sides of C. Which of the following statements can come in between the two sentences in place of C so as to maintain the continuity of the paragraph?

The following passage carries some information based on which questions have been framed. Few words or phrases have also been highlighted to help you answer some of the questions. You must read the same carefully and answer the questions that follow:

The new reality with which many advanced economies and emerging markets must reckon is higher inflation and slowing economic growth. And a big reason for the current bout of stagflation is a series of negative aggregate supply shocks that have curtailed production and increased costs.

This should come as no surprise. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many sectors to lock down, disrupted global supply chains, and produced an apparently persistent reduction in labour supply, especially in the United States. Then came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has driven up the price of energy, industrial metals, food, and fertilizers. And now, China has ordered draconian COVID-19 lockdowns in major economic hubs such as Shanghai, causing additional supply-chain (A) disruptions and transport (B) bottlenecks.

But even without these important short-term factors, the medium-term outlook would be darkening. There are many reasons to worry that today’s stagflationary conditions will continue to characterize the global economy, producing higher inflation, lower growth, and possibly recessions in many economies. For starters, since the global financial crisis, there has been a retreat from globalization and a return to various forms of protectionism. This reflects geopolitical factors and domestic political motivations in countries where large cohorts of the population feel “left behind.” Rising geopolitical tensions and the supply-chain trauma left by the pandemic are likely to lead to more reshoring of manufacturing from China and emerging markets to advanced economies – or at least near-shoring (or “friend-shoring”) to clusters of politically allied countries. Either way, production will be misallocated to higher-cost regions and countries.

Moreover, demographic aging in advanced economies and some key emerging markets (such as China, Russia, and South Korea) will continue to reduce the supply of labour, causing wage inflation. And because the elderly tend to spend savings without working, the growth of this cohort will add to inflationary pressures while reducing the economy’s growth potential.

The sustained political and economic backlash from immigration in advanced economies will likewise reduce labour supply and apply upward pressure on wages. For decades, large-scale immigration kept a lid on wage growth in advanced economies. But those days appear to be over.

Similarly, the new cold war between the US and China will produce wide-ranging stagflationary effects. Sino-American decoupling implies fragmentation of the global economy, balkanization of supply chains, and tighter restrictions on trade in technology, data, and information – key elements of future trade patterns.

Why have the COVID lockdowns been termed as ‘draconian’ by the author?

The following passage carries some information based on which questions have been framed. Few words or phrases have also been highlighted to help you answer some of the questions. You must read the same carefully and answer the questions that follow:

The new reality with which many advanced economies and emerging markets must reckon is higher inflation and slowing economic growth. And a big reason for the current bout of stagflation is a series of negative aggregate supply shocks that have curtailed production and increased costs.

This should come as no surprise. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many sectors to lock down, disrupted global supply chains, and produced an apparently persistent reduction in labour supply, especially in the United States. Then came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has driven up the price of energy, industrial metals, food, and fertilizers. And now, China has ordered draconian COVID-19 lockdowns in major economic hubs such as Shanghai, causing additional supply-chain (A) disruptions and transport (B) bottlenecks.

But even without these important short-term factors, the medium-term outlook would be darkening. There are many reasons to worry that today’s stagflationary conditions will continue to characterize the global economy, producing higher inflation, lower growth, and possibly recessions in many economies. For starters, since the global financial crisis, there has been a retreat from globalization and a return to various forms of protectionism. This reflects geopolitical factors and domestic political motivations in countries where large cohorts of the population feel “left behind.” Rising geopolitical tensions and the supply-chain trauma left by the pandemic are likely to lead to more reshoring of manufacturing from China and emerging markets to advanced economies – or at least near-shoring (or “friend-shoring”) to clusters of politically allied countries. Either way, production will be misallocated to higher-cost regions and countries.

Moreover, demographic aging in advanced economies and some key emerging markets (such as China, Russia, and South Korea) will continue to reduce the supply of labour, causing wage inflation. And because the elderly tend to spend savings without working, the growth of this cohort will add to inflationary pressures while reducing the economy’s growth potential.

The sustained political and economic backlash from immigration in advanced economies will likewise reduce labour supply and apply upward pressure on wages. For decades, large-scale immigration kept a lid on wage growth in advanced economies. But those days appear to be over.

Similarly, the new cold war between the US and China will produce wide-ranging stagflationary effects. Sino-American decoupling implies fragmentation of the global economy, balkanization of supply chains, and tighter restrictions on trade in technology, data, and information – key elements of future trade patterns.

Which of the given impacts of Sino-American cold war has not been discussed in the passage?