Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
“Growing up, we had a great big house, which had everything,” recalls Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the NGO Sulabh International. “Everything, that is, except a toilet. So, at about four a.m. everyday, I would hear my mother, aunt, grandmother and sisters going out in the dark to relieve themselves.” Being born to an upper caste Brahmin family in 1943 granted one a number of social privileges, but open defecation was a common practice, and not even the elite were exempt. “Back then, there was no infrastructure that people could adopt for better sanitation,” he says of his home village Rampur Baghel in Bihar’s Vaishali district. “Septic tanks were costly and only very few towns even had a sewage network.”
Sanitation systems at the time (one that persists in many underdeveloped parts of India even today) were rudimentary, with convenience, comfort or dignity reserved only for those among the higher classes, such as zamindars. They used bucket toilets and dry latrines but these had to be regularly cleaned—a task typically passed on to people from the ‘lower’ caste, who were deemed ‘untouchable’. People from this marginalized group had to rely on the open out-doors for their own needs, regardless of weather or peril.
As a young boy, Pathak witnessed and became keenly aware of every-day discriminations based on caste, a system so suffocatingly powerful that it dictated everything—one’s life, occupation, even death. He remembers wondering why his grandmother sprinkled the ground with water every time the lady who sold them bamboo utensils visited their house. “When I asked, she explained that the woman was an ‘untouchable’—someone who pollutes the land,” the 80-year-old recounts. All hell broke loose one day when young Pathak touched the woman out of curiosity. His grandmother forced him to swallow cow dung and cow urine in an attempt to ‘purify’ him.
“‘Untouchables’ were not allowed to touch village wells, and so had to wait, sometimes for an entire day, for some kind stranger to draw water from the well for them,” he adds. While pained by the normalized injustices around him, Pathak’s focus turned to finding a job like most youngsters his age. He studied sociology and a bit of criminology in college and decided to pursue the latter. “I thought this could help me to be-come a member of the CID (Crime Investigation Department) or a police officer,” he says. And he would have become one, if not for a serendipitous train journey that would determine the trajectory of his life.
In 1968, while on his way to university for a criminology course, he happened to meet a cousin and a friend at Hajipur Junction railway station who told him about a vacant secretary’s position in the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee. “They said they would get me the job and took my luggage from the train even though I resisted,” he smiles. The Committee’s mission was to spread the ideals and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi through its four cells, one of which was dedicated to ‘Bhangi-mukti’ or ‘scavengers’ liberation’. The job never materialized but Pathak began working for the group, as an unpaid translator. By 1969, he was transferred to the Bhangi-mukti cell as a liaison officer and sent to live with manual scavengers in Bettiah to figure out a solution to the twin problems of open defecation and human scavenging. Despite his familiarity with the realities of caste atrocities, Pathak’s time with the scavengers was eye opening: “Beyond description …” is how he terms the grim conditions he found there. Human waste would have to be transported as head-loads in flimsy containers prone to spillage and seepage. Caste-based bondage was very strong. “The belief was once you are born an ‘untouchable’, you will die one,” says the 80-year-old.
Q. What does the word "zamindars" mean in the context of the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
“Growing up, we had a great big house, which had everything,” recalls Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the NGO Sulabh International. “Everything, that is, except a toilet. So, at about four a.m. everyday, I would hear my mother, aunt, grandmother and sisters going out in the dark to relieve themselves.” Being born to an upper caste Brahmin family in 1943 granted one a number of social privileges, but open defecation was a common practice, and not even the elite were exempt. “Back then, there was no infrastructure that people could adopt for better sanitation,” he says of his home village Rampur Baghel in Bihar’s Vaishali district. “Septic tanks were costly and only very few towns even had a sewage network.”
Sanitation systems at the time (one that persists in many underdeveloped parts of India even today) were rudimentary, with convenience, comfort or dignity reserved only for those among the higher classes, such as zamindars. They used bucket toilets and dry latrines but these had to be regularly cleaned—a task typically passed on to people from the ‘lower’ caste, who were deemed ‘untouchable’. People from this marginalized group had to rely on the open out-doors for their own needs, regardless of weather or peril.
As a young boy, Pathak witnessed and became keenly aware of every-day discriminations based on caste, a system so suffocatingly powerful that it dictated everything—one’s life, occupation, even death. He remembers wondering why his grandmother sprinkled the ground with water every time the lady who sold them bamboo utensils visited their house. “When I asked, she explained that the woman was an ‘untouchable’—someone who pollutes the land,” the 80-year-old recounts. All hell broke loose one day when young Pathak touched the woman out of curiosity. His grandmother forced him to swallow cow dung and cow urine in an attempt to ‘purify’ him.
“‘Untouchables’ were not allowed to touch village wells, and so had to wait, sometimes for an entire day, for some kind stranger to draw water from the well for them,” he adds. While pained by the normalized injustices around him, Pathak’s focus turned to finding a job like most youngsters his age. He studied sociology and a bit of criminology in college and decided to pursue the latter. “I thought this could help me to be-come a member of the CID (Crime Investigation Department) or a police officer,” he says. And he would have become one, if not for a serendipitous train journey that would determine the trajectory of his life.
In 1968, while on his way to university for a criminology course, he happened to meet a cousin and a friend at Hajipur Junction railway station who told him about a vacant secretary’s position in the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee. “They said they would get me the job and took my luggage from the train even though I resisted,” he smiles. The Committee’s mission was to spread the ideals and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi through its four cells, one of which was dedicated to ‘Bhangi-mukti’ or ‘scavengers’ liberation’. The job never materialized but Pathak began working for the group, as an unpaid translator. By 1969, he was transferred to the Bhangi-mukti cell as a liaison officer and sent to live with manual scavengers in Bettiah to figure out a solution to the twin problems of open defecation and human scavenging. Despite his familiarity with the realities of caste atrocities, Pathak’s time with the scavengers was eye opening: “Beyond description …” is how he terms the grim conditions he found there. Human waste would have to be transported as head-loads in flimsy containers prone to spillage and seepage. Caste-based bondage was very strong. “The belief was once you are born an ‘untouchable’, you will die one,” says the 80-year-old.
Q. How can the author's attitude towards the second paragraph be most accurately characterized?
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Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
“Growing up, we had a great big house, which had everything,” recalls Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the NGO Sulabh International. “Everything, that is, except a toilet. So, at about four a.m. everyday, I would hear my mother, aunt, grandmother and sisters going out in the dark to relieve themselves.” Being born to an upper caste Brahmin family in 1943 granted one a number of social privileges, but open defecation was a common practice, and not even the elite were exempt. “Back then, there was no infrastructure that people could adopt for better sanitation,” he says of his home village Rampur Baghel in Bihar’s Vaishali district. “Septic tanks were costly and only very few towns even had a sewage network.”
Sanitation systems at the time (one that persists in many underdeveloped parts of India even today) were rudimentary, with convenience, comfort or dignity reserved only for those among the higher classes, such as zamindars. They used bucket toilets and dry latrines but these had to be regularly cleaned—a task typically passed on to people from the ‘lower’ caste, who were deemed ‘untouchable’. People from this marginalized group had to rely on the open out-doors for their own needs, regardless of weather or peril.
As a young boy, Pathak witnessed and became keenly aware of every-day discriminations based on caste, a system so suffocatingly powerful that it dictated everything—one’s life, occupation, even death. He remembers wondering why his grandmother sprinkled the ground with water every time the lady who sold them bamboo utensils visited their house. “When I asked, she explained that the woman was an ‘untouchable’—someone who pollutes the land,” the 80-year-old recounts. All hell broke loose one day when young Pathak touched the woman out of curiosity. His grandmother forced him to swallow cow dung and cow urine in an attempt to ‘purify’ him.
“‘Untouchables’ were not allowed to touch village wells, and so had to wait, sometimes for an entire day, for some kind stranger to draw water from the well for them,” he adds. While pained by the normalized injustices around him, Pathak’s focus turned to finding a job like most youngsters his age. He studied sociology and a bit of criminology in college and decided to pursue the latter. “I thought this could help me to be-come a member of the CID (Crime Investigation Department) or a police officer,” he says. And he would have become one, if not for a serendipitous train journey that would determine the trajectory of his life.
In 1968, while on his way to university for a criminology course, he happened to meet a cousin and a friend at Hajipur Junction railway station who told him about a vacant secretary’s position in the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee. “They said they would get me the job and took my luggage from the train even though I resisted,” he smiles. The Committee’s mission was to spread the ideals and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi through its four cells, one of which was dedicated to ‘Bhangi-mukti’ or ‘scavengers’ liberation’. The job never materialized but Pathak began working for the group, as an unpaid translator. By 1969, he was transferred to the Bhangi-mukti cell as a liaison officer and sent to live with manual scavengers in Bettiah to figure out a solution to the twin problems of open defecation and human scavenging. Despite his familiarity with the realities of caste atrocities, Pathak’s time with the scavengers was eye opening: “Beyond description …” is how he terms the grim conditions he found there. Human waste would have to be transported as head-loads in flimsy containers prone to spillage and seepage. Caste-based bondage was very strong. “The belief was once you are born an ‘untouchable’, you will die one,” says the 80-year-old.
Q. Which of the following CANNOT be inferred from the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
“Growing up, we had a great big house, which had everything,” recalls Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the NGO Sulabh International. “Everything, that is, except a toilet. So, at about four a.m. everyday, I would hear my mother, aunt, grandmother and sisters going out in the dark to relieve themselves.” Being born to an upper caste Brahmin family in 1943 granted one a number of social privileges, but open defecation was a common practice, and not even the elite were exempt. “Back then, there was no infrastructure that people could adopt for better sanitation,” he says of his home village Rampur Baghel in Bihar’s Vaishali district. “Septic tanks were costly and only very few towns even had a sewage network.”
Sanitation systems at the time (one that persists in many underdeveloped parts of India even today) were rudimentary, with convenience, comfort or dignity reserved only for those among the higher classes, such as zamindars. They used bucket toilets and dry latrines but these had to be regularly cleaned—a task typically passed on to people from the ‘lower’ caste, who were deemed ‘untouchable’. People from this marginalized group had to rely on the open out-doors for their own needs, regardless of weather or peril.
As a young boy, Pathak witnessed and became keenly aware of every-day discriminations based on caste, a system so suffocatingly powerful that it dictated everything—one’s life, occupation, even death. He remembers wondering why his grandmother sprinkled the ground with water every time the lady who sold them bamboo utensils visited their house. “When I asked, she explained that the woman was an ‘untouchable’—someone who pollutes the land,” the 80-year-old recounts. All hell broke loose one day when young Pathak touched the woman out of curiosity. His grandmother forced him to swallow cow dung and cow urine in an attempt to ‘purify’ him.
“‘Untouchables’ were not allowed to touch village wells, and so had to wait, sometimes for an entire day, for some kind stranger to draw water from the well for them,” he adds. While pained by the normalized injustices around him, Pathak’s focus turned to finding a job like most youngsters his age. He studied sociology and a bit of criminology in college and decided to pursue the latter. “I thought this could help me to be-come a member of the CID (Crime Investigation Department) or a police officer,” he says. And he would have become one, if not for a serendipitous train journey that would determine the trajectory of his life.
In 1968, while on his way to university for a criminology course, he happened to meet a cousin and a friend at Hajipur Junction railway station who told him about a vacant secretary’s position in the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee. “They said they would get me the job and took my luggage from the train even though I resisted,” he smiles. The Committee’s mission was to spread the ideals and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi through its four cells, one of which was dedicated to ‘Bhangi-mukti’ or ‘scavengers’ liberation’. The job never materialized but Pathak began working for the group, as an unpaid translator. By 1969, he was transferred to the Bhangi-mukti cell as a liaison officer and sent to live with manual scavengers in Bettiah to figure out a solution to the twin problems of open defecation and human scavenging. Despite his familiarity with the realities of caste atrocities, Pathak’s time with the scavengers was eye opening: “Beyond description …” is how he terms the grim conditions he found there. Human waste would have to be transported as head-loads in flimsy containers prone to spillage and seepage. Caste-based bondage was very strong. “The belief was once you are born an ‘untouchable’, you will die one,” says the 80-year-old.
Q. In the context of the passage, the term "untouchable" is most probably referring to:
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
“Growing up, we had a great big house, which had everything,” recalls Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the NGO Sulabh International. “Everything, that is, except a toilet. So, at about four a.m. everyday, I would hear my mother, aunt, grandmother and sisters going out in the dark to relieve themselves.” Being born to an upper caste Brahmin family in 1943 granted one a number of social privileges, but open defecation was a common practice, and not even the elite were exempt. “Back then, there was no infrastructure that people could adopt for better sanitation,” he says of his home village Rampur Baghel in Bihar’s Vaishali district. “Septic tanks were costly and only very few towns even had a sewage network.”
Sanitation systems at the time (one that persists in many underdeveloped parts of India even today) were rudimentary, with convenience, comfort or dignity reserved only for those among the higher classes, such as zamindars. They used bucket toilets and dry latrines but these had to be regularly cleaned—a task typically passed on to people from the ‘lower’ caste, who were deemed ‘untouchable’. People from this marginalized group had to rely on the open out-doors for their own needs, regardless of weather or peril.
As a young boy, Pathak witnessed and became keenly aware of every-day discriminations based on caste, a system so suffocatingly powerful that it dictated everything—one’s life, occupation, even death. He remembers wondering why his grandmother sprinkled the ground with water every time the lady who sold them bamboo utensils visited their house. “When I asked, she explained that the woman was an ‘untouchable’—someone who pollutes the land,” the 80-year-old recounts. All hell broke loose one day when young Pathak touched the woman out of curiosity. His grandmother forced him to swallow cow dung and cow urine in an attempt to ‘purify’ him.
“‘Untouchables’ were not allowed to touch village wells, and so had to wait, sometimes for an entire day, for some kind stranger to draw water from the well for them,” he adds. While pained by the normalized injustices around him, Pathak’s focus turned to finding a job like most youngsters his age. He studied sociology and a bit of criminology in college and decided to pursue the latter. “I thought this could help me to be-come a member of the CID (Crime Investigation Department) or a police officer,” he says. And he would have become one, if not for a serendipitous train journey that would determine the trajectory of his life.
In 1968, while on his way to university for a criminology course, he happened to meet a cousin and a friend at Hajipur Junction railway station who told him about a vacant secretary’s position in the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee. “They said they would get me the job and took my luggage from the train even though I resisted,” he smiles. The Committee’s mission was to spread the ideals and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi through its four cells, one of which was dedicated to ‘Bhangi-mukti’ or ‘scavengers’ liberation’. The job never materialized but Pathak began working for the group, as an unpaid translator. By 1969, he was transferred to the Bhangi-mukti cell as a liaison officer and sent to live with manual scavengers in Bettiah to figure out a solution to the twin problems of open defecation and human scavenging. Despite his familiarity with the realities of caste atrocities, Pathak’s time with the scavengers was eye opening: “Beyond description …” is how he terms the grim conditions he found there. Human waste would have to be transported as head-loads in flimsy containers prone to spillage and seepage. Caste-based bondage was very strong. “The belief was once you are born an ‘untouchable’, you will die one,” says the 80-year-old.
Q. What most effectively encapsulates the main theme of the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
The world is experiencing a catastrophic fall in biodiversity. Not only is this an environmental disaster, it can also lead to financial ruin; $44 trillion of economic value is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its related services. All is not lost, however. With the world's economies so intrinsically linked to the health of the environment, there are huge opportunities for financial investment from both the public and private sectors to support projects designed to restore Earth's biodiversity.
Nature-based and derived solutions provide a host of compelling investment opportunities that could supercharge a positive growth trajectory for the environment and the economy going forward. The ratification of the Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022 and the release of the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) beta versions provide a solid starting point and a much-needed fillip for meaningful action.
Progress on multiple biodiversity impact assessment tools and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards enable better consideration of nature and biodiversity by financial institutions.
Both public and private capital must work in collaborative and innovative ways to finance biodiversity and nature-positive business models. Here, five global leaders from the private and public sectors, including academia, are filmed sharing their views on how to consider the impact and dependencies on nature and biodiversity when it comes to investment decision-making. We have to accept the fact that the impact of business on the planet will only be positive if we start worrying about other people than shareholders. The future is sustainable or there is no future. The future is based on us continuing to use the resources at our disposal so that we can continue to grow collectively. If we do not succeed in the next ten years in finding the right solution, which will deal with the climate crisis and the loss of nature, our humanity and our survival is at risk.
We are going to have to invent a system where we are going to take the long cost of every decision into the immediate decision. In effect, we need a new accounting system that will give us the results of our impact on natural capital, social capital and on human capital. If we at the time of the decision-making we are able to integrate these three different capitals and their interdependencies, we should be able to create value, which is not only a financial value, but also a general contribution to society.
Q. Which rhetorical device is employed in the following sentence: "Nature-based and derived solutions provide a plethora of captivating investment opportunities that could immensely boost a favorable growth path for the environment and the economy in the future"?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
The world is experiencing a catastrophic fall in biodiversity. Not only is this an environmental disaster, it can also lead to financial ruin; $44 trillion of economic value is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its related services. All is not lost, however. With the world's economies so intrinsically linked to the health of the environment, there are huge opportunities for financial investment from both the public and private sectors to support projects designed to restore Earth's biodiversity.
Nature-based and derived solutions provide a host of compelling investment opportunities that could supercharge a positive growth trajectory for the environment and the economy going forward. The ratification of the Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022 and the release of the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) beta versions provide a solid starting point and a much-needed fillip for meaningful action.
Progress on multiple biodiversity impact assessment tools and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards enable better consideration of nature and biodiversity by financial institutions.
Both public and private capital must work in collaborative and innovative ways to finance biodiversity and nature-positive business models. Here, five global leaders from the private and public sectors, including academia, are filmed sharing their views on how to consider the impact and dependencies on nature and biodiversity when it comes to investment decision-making. We have to accept the fact that the impact of business on the planet will only be positive if we start worrying about other people than shareholders. The future is sustainable or there is no future. The future is based on us continuing to use the resources at our disposal so that we can continue to grow collectively. If we do not succeed in the next ten years in finding the right solution, which will deal with the climate crisis and the loss of nature, our humanity and our survival is at risk.
We are going to have to invent a system where we are going to take the long cost of every decision into the immediate decision. In effect, we need a new accounting system that will give us the results of our impact on natural capital, social capital and on human capital. If we at the time of the decision-making we are able to integrate these three different capitals and their interdependencies, we should be able to create value, which is not only a financial value, but also a general contribution to society.
Q. What does the phrasal verb "supercharge" mean in the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
The world is experiencing a catastrophic fall in biodiversity. Not only is this an environmental disaster, it can also lead to financial ruin; $44 trillion of economic value is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its related services. All is not lost, however. With the world's economies so intrinsically linked to the health of the environment, there are huge opportunities for financial investment from both the public and private sectors to support projects designed to restore Earth's biodiversity.
Nature-based and derived solutions provide a host of compelling investment opportunities that could supercharge a positive growth trajectory for the environment and the economy going forward. The ratification of the Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022 and the release of the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) beta versions provide a solid starting point and a much-needed fillip for meaningful action.
Progress on multiple biodiversity impact assessment tools and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards enable better consideration of nature and biodiversity by financial institutions.
Both public and private capital must work in collaborative and innovative ways to finance biodiversity and nature-positive business models. Here, five global leaders from the private and public sectors, including academia, are filmed sharing their views on how to consider the impact and dependencies on nature and biodiversity when it comes to investment decision-making. We have to accept the fact that the impact of business on the planet will only be positive if we start worrying about other people than shareholders. The future is sustainable or there is no future. The future is based on us continuing to use the resources at our disposal so that we can continue to grow collectively. If we do not succeed in the next ten years in finding the right solution, which will deal with the climate crisis and the loss of nature, our humanity and our survival is at risk.
We are going to have to invent a system where we are going to take the long cost of every decision into the immediate decision. In effect, we need a new accounting system that will give us the results of our impact on natural capital, social capital and on human capital. If we at the time of the decision-making we are able to integrate these three different capitals and their interdependencies, we should be able to create value, which is not only a financial value, but also a general contribution to society.
Q. What is the financial value at risk due to the fall in biodiversity mentioned in the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
The world is experiencing a catastrophic fall in biodiversity. Not only is this an environmental disaster, it can also lead to financial ruin; $44 trillion of economic value is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its related services. All is not lost, however. With the world's economies so intrinsically linked to the health of the environment, there are huge opportunities for financial investment from both the public and private sectors to support projects designed to restore Earth's biodiversity.
Nature-based and derived solutions provide a host of compelling investment opportunities that could supercharge a positive growth trajectory for the environment and the economy going forward. The ratification of the Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022 and the release of the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) beta versions provide a solid starting point and a much-needed fillip for meaningful action.
Progress on multiple biodiversity impact assessment tools and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards enable better consideration of nature and biodiversity by financial institutions.
Both public and private capital must work in collaborative and innovative ways to finance biodiversity and nature-positive business models. Here, five global leaders from the private and public sectors, including academia, are filmed sharing their views on how to consider the impact and dependencies on nature and biodiversity when it comes to investment decision-making. We have to accept the fact that the impact of business on the planet will only be positive if we start worrying about other people than shareholders. The future is sustainable or there is no future. The future is based on us continuing to use the resources at our disposal so that we can continue to grow collectively. If we do not succeed in the next ten years in finding the right solution, which will deal with the climate crisis and the loss of nature, our humanity and our survival is at risk.
We are going to have to invent a system where we are going to take the long cost of every decision into the immediate decision. In effect, we need a new accounting system that will give us the results of our impact on natural capital, social capital and on human capital. If we at the time of the decision-making we are able to integrate these three different capitals and their interdependencies, we should be able to create value, which is not only a financial value, but also a general contribution to society.
Q. What opportunities do nature-based and derived solutions offer to the environment and the economy?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
The world is experiencing a catastrophic fall in biodiversity. Not only is this an environmental disaster, it can also lead to financial ruin; $44 trillion of economic value is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its related services. All is not lost, however. With the world's economies so intrinsically linked to the health of the environment, there are huge opportunities for financial investment from both the public and private sectors to support projects designed to restore Earth's biodiversity.
Nature-based and derived solutions provide a host of compelling investment opportunities that could supercharge a positive growth trajectory for the environment and the economy going forward. The ratification of the Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022 and the release of the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) beta versions provide a solid starting point and a much-needed fillip for meaningful action.
Progress on multiple biodiversity impact assessment tools and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards enable better consideration of nature and biodiversity by financial institutions.
Both public and private capital must work in collaborative and innovative ways to finance biodiversity and nature-positive business models. Here, five global leaders from the private and public sectors, including academia, are filmed sharing their views on how to consider the impact and dependencies on nature and biodiversity when it comes to investment decision-making. We have to accept the fact that the impact of business on the planet will only be positive if we start worrying about other people than shareholders. The future is sustainable or there is no future. The future is based on us continuing to use the resources at our disposal so that we can continue to grow collectively. If we do not succeed in the next ten years in finding the right solution, which will deal with the climate crisis and the loss of nature, our humanity and our survival is at risk.
We are going to have to invent a system where we are going to take the long cost of every decision into the immediate decision. In effect, we need a new accounting system that will give us the results of our impact on natural capital, social capital and on human capital. If we at the time of the decision-making we are able to integrate these three different capitals and their interdependencies, we should be able to create value, which is not only a financial value, but also a general contribution to society.
Q. What is the predominant emotion or feeling expressed by the author in the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
India that is Bharat, alone has the wisdom, intellectual reasoning, and the age-old, time-tested civilizational culture, to spread globally this idea that Science, Education and Religions are all meant to guide and inspire us towards discovering the purpose of daily working and living and how to build the interest and powers of mind to strive towards becoming the best.
It is this ideal of Harmony of Science-Academia-Religions that the world needs today. Harmony must triumph over and trump the idea that My-God-My-Religion alone is true; and this is now being globally recognized.
Science and Education are of no use if it cannot produce good, selfless people of character; and Religions and being religious, has no use and no meaning if religions focus on mere ‘Belief and Belonging’ while spreading violence, divisions, and ‘hatred’. All systems, teachers, leaders must focus on inspiring people to be committed to duties and to righteousness and love for all; and, be held accountable for failures.
The world needs academia and religion to work together to help and inspire us towards becoming the best. Without imbibing and realization of inner-spiritual-realization can mere secular-education or divisive-religions and divisive-democracy help solve modern problems!
Therefore, the central message of India, which really is the essence of all religions, and that needs to be taught throughout schooling and growing up was and is, how to imbibe the spirit of tyaga and seva, selflessly working for good of all and to directly realize our highest Perfection. God realization is the goal of education and religions not mere ‘degrees and literacy’ or just ‘believing and belonging’.
Education, democracy, harmony of religions, are no doubt important, but only in the backdrop of this purpose and ideal of more and more unselfishness and less and less of selfishness. It is important to note this point. If we do not understand this vital point, we may misunderstand the idea and purpose of science, technology, education, and importance of harmony of religions.
Q. Which of the following is the central idea of the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
India that is Bharat, alone has the wisdom, intellectual reasoning, and the age-old, time-tested civilizational culture, to spread globally this idea that Science, Education and Religions are all meant to guide and inspire us towards discovering the purpose of daily working and living and how to build the interest and powers of mind to strive towards becoming the best.
It is this ideal of Harmony of Science-Academia-Religions that the world needs today. Harmony must triumph over and trump the idea that My-God-My-Religion alone is true; and this is now being globally recognized.
Science and Education are of no use if it cannot produce good, selfless people of character; and Religions and being religious, has no use and no meaning if religions focus on mere ‘Belief and Belonging’ while spreading violence, divisions, and ‘hatred’. All systems, teachers, leaders must focus on inspiring people to be committed to duties and to righteousness and love for all; and, be held accountable for failures.
The world needs academia and religion to work together to help and inspire us towards becoming the best. Without imbibing and realization of inner-spiritual-realization can mere secular-education or divisive-religions and divisive-democracy help solve modern problems!
Therefore, the central message of India, which really is the essence of all religions, and that needs to be taught throughout schooling and growing up was and is, how to imbibe the spirit of tyaga and seva, selflessly working for good of all and to directly realize our highest Perfection. God realization is the goal of education and religions not mere ‘degrees and literacy’ or just ‘believing and belonging’.
Education, democracy, harmony of religions, are no doubt important, but only in the backdrop of this purpose and ideal of more and more unselfishness and less and less of selfishness. It is important to note this point. If we do not understand this vital point, we may misunderstand the idea and purpose of science, technology, education, and importance of harmony of religions.
Q. What is the tone of the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
India that is Bharat, alone has the wisdom, intellectual reasoning, and the age-old, time-tested civilizational culture, to spread globally this idea that Science, Education and Religions are all meant to guide and inspire us towards discovering the purpose of daily working and living and how to build the interest and powers of mind to strive towards becoming the best.
It is this ideal of Harmony of Science-Academia-Religions that the world needs today. Harmony must triumph over and trump the idea that My-God-My-Religion alone is true; and this is now being globally recognized.
Science and Education are of no use if it cannot produce good, selfless people of character; and Religions and being religious, has no use and no meaning if religions focus on mere ‘Belief and Belonging’ while spreading violence, divisions, and ‘hatred’. All systems, teachers, leaders must focus on inspiring people to be committed to duties and to righteousness and love for all; and, be held accountable for failures.
The world needs academia and religion to work together to help and inspire us towards becoming the best. Without imbibing and realization of inner-spiritual-realization can mere secular-education or divisive-religions and divisive-democracy help solve modern problems!
Therefore, the central message of India, which really is the essence of all religions, and that needs to be taught throughout schooling and growing up was and is, how to imbibe the spirit of tyaga and seva, selflessly working for good of all and to directly realize our highest Perfection. God realization is the goal of education and religions not mere ‘degrees and literacy’ or just ‘believing and belonging’.
Education, democracy, harmony of religions, are no doubt important, but only in the backdrop of this purpose and ideal of more and more unselfishness and less and less of selfishness. It is important to note this point. If we do not understand this vital point, we may misunderstand the idea and purpose of science, technology, education, and importance of harmony of religions.
Q. Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage as a suggestion to inspire people to fulfill their duties?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
India that is Bharat, alone has the wisdom, intellectual reasoning, and the age-old, time-tested civilizational culture, to spread globally this idea that Science, Education and Religions are all meant to guide and inspire us towards discovering the purpose of daily working and living and how to build the interest and powers of mind to strive towards becoming the best.
It is this ideal of Harmony of Science-Academia-Religions that the world needs today. Harmony must triumph over and trump the idea that My-God-My-Religion alone is true; and this is now being globally recognized.
Science and Education are of no use if it cannot produce good, selfless people of character; and Religions and being religious, has no use and no meaning if religions focus on mere ‘Belief and Belonging’ while spreading violence, divisions, and ‘hatred’. All systems, teachers, leaders must focus on inspiring people to be committed to duties and to righteousness and love for all; and, be held accountable for failures.
The world needs academia and religion to work together to help and inspire us towards becoming the best. Without imbibing and realization of inner-spiritual-realization can mere secular-education or divisive-religions and divisive-democracy help solve modern problems!
Therefore, the central message of India, which really is the essence of all religions, and that needs to be taught throughout schooling and growing up was and is, how to imbibe the spirit of tyaga and seva, selflessly working for good of all and to directly realize our highest Perfection. God realization is the goal of education and religions not mere ‘degrees and literacy’ or just ‘believing and belonging’.
Education, democracy, harmony of religions, are no doubt important, but only in the backdrop of this purpose and ideal of more and more unselfishness and less and less of selfishness. It is important to note this point. If we do not understand this vital point, we may misunderstand the idea and purpose of science, technology, education, and importance of harmony of religions.
Q. Which of the following characteristics of India is not mentioned in the passage?
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
India that is Bharat, alone has the wisdom, intellectual reasoning, and the age-old, time-tested civilizational culture, to spread globally this idea that Science, Education and Religions are all meant to guide and inspire us towards discovering the purpose of daily working and living and how to build the interest and powers of mind to strive towards becoming the best.
It is this ideal of Harmony of Science-Academia-Religions that the world needs today. Harmony must triumph over and trump the idea that My-God-My-Religion alone is true; and this is now being globally recognized.
Science and Education are of no use if it cannot produce good, selfless people of character; and Religions and being religious, has no use and no meaning if religions focus on mere ‘Belief and Belonging’ while spreading violence, divisions, and ‘hatred’. All systems, teachers, leaders must focus on inspiring people to be committed to duties and to righteousness and love for all; and, be held accountable for failures.
The world needs academia and religion to work together to help and inspire us towards becoming the best. Without imbibing and realization of inner-spiritual-realization can mere secular-education or divisive-religions and divisive-democracy help solve modern problems!
Therefore, the central message of India, which really is the essence of all religions, and that needs to be taught throughout schooling and growing up was and is, how to imbibe the spirit of tyaga and seva, selflessly working for good of all and to directly realize our highest Perfection. God realization is the goal of education and religions not mere ‘degrees and literacy’ or just ‘believing and belonging’.
Education, democracy, harmony of religions, are no doubt important, but only in the backdrop of this purpose and ideal of more and more unselfishness and less and less of selfishness. It is important to note this point. If we do not understand this vital point, we may misunderstand the idea and purpose of science, technology, education, and importance of harmony of religions.
Q. What is the writing style employed in the provided passage?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
This passage is adapted from Saki, "The Schartz-Metterklume Method." Originally published in 1911.
Lady Carlotta stepped out on to the platform of the small wayside station and took a turn or two up and down its uninteresting length, to kill time till the train should be pleased to proceed on its way. Then, in the roadway beyond, she saw a horse struggling with a more than ample load, and a carter of the sort that seems to bear a sullen hatred against the animal that helps him to earn a living. Lady Carlotta promptly betook her to the roadway, and put rather a different complexion on the struggle. Certain of her acquaintances were wont to give her plentiful admonition as to the undesirability of interfering on behalf of a distressed animal, such interference being "none of her business." Only once had she put the doctrine of non-interference into practice, when one of its most eloquent exponents had been besieged for nearly three hours in a small and extremely uncomfortable may-tree by an angry boar-pig, while Lady Carlotta, on the other side of the fence, had proceeded with the water-colour sketch she was engaged on, and refused to interfere between the boar and his prisoner.
On this occasion she merely lost the train, which gave way to the first sign of impatience it had shown throughout the journey, and steamed off without her. She bore the desertion with philosophical indifference; her friends and relations were thoroughly well used to the fact of her luggage arriving without her. She wired a vague non-committal message to her destination to say that she was coming on "by another train." Before she had time to think what her next move might be she was confronted by an imposingly attired lady, who seemed to be taking a prolonged mental inventory of her clothes and looks. "You must be Miss Hope, the governess I've come to meet," said the apparition, in a tone that admitted of very little argument.
"Very well, if I must I must," said Lady Carlotta to herself with dangerous meekness.
"I am Mrs. Quabarl," continued the lady; "and where, pray, is your luggage?"
"It's gone astray," said the alleged governess, falling in with the excellent rule of life that the absent are always to blame; the luggage had, in point of fact, behaved with perfect correctitude. "I've just telegraphed about it," she added, with a nearer approach to truth.
During the drive to the Quabarl mansion Lady Carlotta was impressively introduced to the nature of the charge that had been thrust upon her; she learned that Claude and Wilfrid were delicate, sensitive young people, that Irene had the artistic temperament highly developed, and that Viola was something or other else of a mould equally commonplace among children of that class and type in the twentieth century. "I wish them not only to be TAUGHT," said Mrs. Quabarl, "but INTERESTED in what they learn. In their history lessons, for instance, you must try to make them feel that they are being introduced to the life-stories of men and women who really lived, not merely committing a mass of names and dates to memory. French, of course, I shall expect you to talk at meal-times several days in the week."
"I shall talk French four days of the week and Russian in the remaining three."
"Russian? My dear Miss Hope, no one in the house speaks or understands Russian."
"That will not embarrass me in the least," said Lady Carlotta coldly.
Mrs. Quabarl, to use a colloquial expression, was knocked off her perch.
Q. Based on your understanding of the passage, which of the following statements best captures the essence of the passage?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
This passage is adapted from Saki, "The Schartz-Metterklume Method." Originally published in 1911.
Lady Carlotta stepped out on to the platform of the small wayside station and took a turn or two up and down its uninteresting length, to kill time till the train should be pleased to proceed on its way. Then, in the roadway beyond, she saw a horse struggling with a more than ample load, and a carter of the sort that seems to bear a sullen hatred against the animal that helps him to earn a living. Lady Carlotta promptly betook her to the roadway, and put rather a different complexion on the struggle. Certain of her acquaintances were wont to give her plentiful admonition as to the undesirability of interfering on behalf of a distressed animal, such interference being "none of her business." Only once had she put the doctrine of non-interference into practice, when one of its most eloquent exponents had been besieged for nearly three hours in a small and extremely uncomfortable may-tree by an angry boar-pig, while Lady Carlotta, on the other side of the fence, had proceeded with the water-colour sketch she was engaged on, and refused to interfere between the boar and his prisoner.
On this occasion she merely lost the train, which gave way to the first sign of impatience it had shown throughout the journey, and steamed off without her. She bore the desertion with philosophical indifference; her friends and relations were thoroughly well used to the fact of her luggage arriving without her. She wired a vague non-committal message to her destination to say that she was coming on "by another train." Before she had time to think what her next move might be she was confronted by an imposingly attired lady, who seemed to be taking a prolonged mental inventory of her clothes and looks. "You must be Miss Hope, the governess I've come to meet," said the apparition, in a tone that admitted of very little argument.
"Very well, if I must I must," said Lady Carlotta to herself with dangerous meekness.
"I am Mrs. Quabarl," continued the lady; "and where, pray, is your luggage?"
"It's gone astray," said the alleged governess, falling in with the excellent rule of life that the absent are always to blame; the luggage had, in point of fact, behaved with perfect correctitude. "I've just telegraphed about it," she added, with a nearer approach to truth.
During the drive to the Quabarl mansion Lady Carlotta was impressively introduced to the nature of the charge that had been thrust upon her; she learned that Claude and Wilfrid were delicate, sensitive young people, that Irene had the artistic temperament highly developed, and that Viola was something or other else of a mould equally commonplace among children of that class and type in the twentieth century. "I wish them not only to be TAUGHT," said Mrs. Quabarl, "but INTERESTED in what they learn. In their history lessons, for instance, you must try to make them feel that they are being introduced to the life-stories of men and women who really lived, not merely committing a mass of names and dates to memory. French, of course, I shall expect you to talk at meal-times several days in the week."
"I shall talk French four days of the week and Russian in the remaining three."
"Russian? My dear Miss Hope, no one in the house speaks or understands Russian."
"That will not embarrass me in the least," said Lady Carlotta coldly.
Mrs. Quabarl, to use a colloquial expression, was knocked off her perch.
Q. How did Mrs. Quabarl react when Lady Carlotta mentioned speaking Russian?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
This passage is adapted from Saki, "The Schartz-Metterklume Method." Originally published in 1911.
Lady Carlotta stepped out on to the platform of the small wayside station and took a turn or two up and down its uninteresting length, to kill time till the train should be pleased to proceed on its way. Then, in the roadway beyond, she saw a horse struggling with a more than ample load, and a carter of the sort that seems to bear a sullen hatred against the animal that helps him to earn a living. Lady Carlotta promptly betook her to the roadway, and put rather a different complexion on the struggle. Certain of her acquaintances were wont to give her plentiful admonition as to the undesirability of interfering on behalf of a distressed animal, such interference being "none of her business." Only once had she put the doctrine of non-interference into practice, when one of its most eloquent exponents had been besieged for nearly three hours in a small and extremely uncomfortable may-tree by an angry boar-pig, while Lady Carlotta, on the other side of the fence, had proceeded with the water-colour sketch she was engaged on, and refused to interfere between the boar and his prisoner.
On this occasion she merely lost the train, which gave way to the first sign of impatience it had shown throughout the journey, and steamed off without her. She bore the desertion with philosophical indifference; her friends and relations were thoroughly well used to the fact of her luggage arriving without her. She wired a vague non-committal message to her destination to say that she was coming on "by another train." Before she had time to think what her next move might be she was confronted by an imposingly attired lady, who seemed to be taking a prolonged mental inventory of her clothes and looks. "You must be Miss Hope, the governess I've come to meet," said the apparition, in a tone that admitted of very little argument.
"Very well, if I must I must," said Lady Carlotta to herself with dangerous meekness.
"I am Mrs. Quabarl," continued the lady; "and where, pray, is your luggage?"
"It's gone astray," said the alleged governess, falling in with the excellent rule of life that the absent are always to blame; the luggage had, in point of fact, behaved with perfect correctitude. "I've just telegraphed about it," she added, with a nearer approach to truth.
During the drive to the Quabarl mansion Lady Carlotta was impressively introduced to the nature of the charge that had been thrust upon her; she learned that Claude and Wilfrid were delicate, sensitive young people, that Irene had the artistic temperament highly developed, and that Viola was something or other else of a mould equally commonplace among children of that class and type in the twentieth century. "I wish them not only to be TAUGHT," said Mrs. Quabarl, "but INTERESTED in what they learn. In their history lessons, for instance, you must try to make them feel that they are being introduced to the life-stories of men and women who really lived, not merely committing a mass of names and dates to memory. French, of course, I shall expect you to talk at meal-times several days in the week."
"I shall talk French four days of the week and Russian in the remaining three."
"Russian? My dear Miss Hope, no one in the house speaks or understands Russian."
"That will not embarrass me in the least," said Lady Carlotta coldly.
Mrs. Quabarl, to use a colloquial expression, was knocked off her perch.
Q. What was Lady Carlotta's usual stance on interfering in situations involving distressed animals?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
This passage is adapted from Saki, "The Schartz-Metterklume Method." Originally published in 1911.
Lady Carlotta stepped out on to the platform of the small wayside station and took a turn or two up and down its uninteresting length, to kill time till the train should be pleased to proceed on its way. Then, in the roadway beyond, she saw a horse struggling with a more than ample load, and a carter of the sort that seems to bear a sullen hatred against the animal that helps him to earn a living. Lady Carlotta promptly betook her to the roadway, and put rather a different complexion on the struggle. Certain of her acquaintances were wont to give her plentiful admonition as to the undesirability of interfering on behalf of a distressed animal, such interference being "none of her business." Only once had she put the doctrine of non-interference into practice, when one of its most eloquent exponents had been besieged for nearly three hours in a small and extremely uncomfortable may-tree by an angry boar-pig, while Lady Carlotta, on the other side of the fence, had proceeded with the water-colour sketch she was engaged on, and refused to interfere between the boar and his prisoner.
On this occasion she merely lost the train, which gave way to the first sign of impatience it had shown throughout the journey, and steamed off without her. She bore the desertion with philosophical indifference; her friends and relations were thoroughly well used to the fact of her luggage arriving without her. She wired a vague non-committal message to her destination to say that she was coming on "by another train." Before she had time to think what her next move might be she was confronted by an imposingly attired lady, who seemed to be taking a prolonged mental inventory of her clothes and looks. "You must be Miss Hope, the governess I've come to meet," said the apparition, in a tone that admitted of very little argument.
"Very well, if I must I must," said Lady Carlotta to herself with dangerous meekness.
"I am Mrs. Quabarl," continued the lady; "and where, pray, is your luggage?"
"It's gone astray," said the alleged governess, falling in with the excellent rule of life that the absent are always to blame; the luggage had, in point of fact, behaved with perfect correctitude. "I've just telegraphed about it," she added, with a nearer approach to truth.
During the drive to the Quabarl mansion Lady Carlotta was impressively introduced to the nature of the charge that had been thrust upon her; she learned that Claude and Wilfrid were delicate, sensitive young people, that Irene had the artistic temperament highly developed, and that Viola was something or other else of a mould equally commonplace among children of that class and type in the twentieth century. "I wish them not only to be TAUGHT," said Mrs. Quabarl, "but INTERESTED in what they learn. In their history lessons, for instance, you must try to make them feel that they are being introduced to the life-stories of men and women who really lived, not merely committing a mass of names and dates to memory. French, of course, I shall expect you to talk at meal-times several days in the week."
"I shall talk French four days of the week and Russian in the remaining three."
"Russian? My dear Miss Hope, no one in the house speaks or understands Russian."
"That will not embarrass me in the least," said Lady Carlotta coldly.
Mrs. Quabarl, to use a colloquial expression, was knocked off her perch.
Q. The idiom/phrase 'knocked off her perch' means
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
This passage is adapted from Saki, "The Schartz-Metterklume Method." Originally published in 1911.
Lady Carlotta stepped out on to the platform of the small wayside station and took a turn or two up and down its uninteresting length, to kill time till the train should be pleased to proceed on its way. Then, in the roadway beyond, she saw a horse struggling with a more than ample load, and a carter of the sort that seems to bear a sullen hatred against the animal that helps him to earn a living. Lady Carlotta promptly betook her to the roadway, and put rather a different complexion on the struggle. Certain of her acquaintances were wont to give her plentiful admonition as to the undesirability of interfering on behalf of a distressed animal, such interference being "none of her business." Only once had she put the doctrine of non-interference into practice, when one of its most eloquent exponents had been besieged for nearly three hours in a small and extremely uncomfortable may-tree by an angry boar-pig, while Lady Carlotta, on the other side of the fence, had proceeded with the water-colour sketch she was engaged on, and refused to interfere between the boar and his prisoner.
On this occasion she merely lost the train, which gave way to the first sign of impatience it had shown throughout the journey, and steamed off without her. She bore the desertion with philosophical indifference; her friends and relations were thoroughly well used to the fact of her luggage arriving without her. She wired a vague non-committal message to her destination to say that she was coming on "by another train." Before she had time to think what her next move might be she was confronted by an imposingly attired lady, who seemed to be taking a prolonged mental inventory of her clothes and looks. "You must be Miss Hope, the governess I've come to meet," said the apparition, in a tone that admitted of very little argument.
"Very well, if I must I must," said Lady Carlotta to herself with dangerous meekness.
"I am Mrs. Quabarl," continued the lady; "and where, pray, is your luggage?"
"It's gone astray," said the alleged governess, falling in with the excellent rule of life that the absent are always to blame; the luggage had, in point of fact, behaved with perfect correctitude. "I've just telegraphed about it," she added, with a nearer approach to truth.
During the drive to the Quabarl mansion Lady Carlotta was impressively introduced to the nature of the charge that had been thrust upon her; she learned that Claude and Wilfrid were delicate, sensitive young people, that Irene had the artistic temperament highly developed, and that Viola was something or other else of a mould equally commonplace among children of that class and type in the twentieth century. "I wish them not only to be TAUGHT," said Mrs. Quabarl, "but INTERESTED in what they learn. In their history lessons, for instance, you must try to make them feel that they are being introduced to the life-stories of men and women who really lived, not merely committing a mass of names and dates to memory. French, of course, I shall expect you to talk at meal-times several days in the week."
"I shall talk French four days of the week and Russian in the remaining three."
"Russian? My dear Miss Hope, no one in the house speaks or understands Russian."
"That will not embarrass me in the least," said Lady Carlotta coldly.
Mrs. Quabarl, to use a colloquial expression, was knocked off her perch.
Q. What is the meaning of the word 'admonition' that is used in the passage?
Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.
With the European Central Bank expressing its intention to evaluate a Central Bank issued Digital Currency (CBDC) for the Euro Zone, it is apparent that regulators can no longer shrug aside digital currencies as a passing fad, or look upon them with suspicion. ECB President Christine Lagarde's statement that the Bank may be ready to launch a digital currency in two to four years, viewed along with the public consultation on CBDC initiated by the ECB, suggests that the EU is serious about launching an official digital currency to boost digital payments. China may, however, be the first in this race; work on a CBDC has already begun and the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) is currently being pilot tested in many Chinese cities. The need for a digital currency arises from two main factors: marginalising the use of 'cryptocurrency' by anonymous non-State actors, often for nefarious ends; and moving to cashless transactions to curb tax evasion. Indian regulators are yet to start work on developing a government-backed digital currency, though there were reports of the RBI exploring its feasibility around three years back. Other countries including the US and the UK are also treading cautiously, awaiting thorough due diligence before venturing into this space. Governments and monetary authorities are apprehensive for good reasons. The past decade has been a roller-coaster for cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, with frenzied rallies, large declines and numerous scams involving money laundering, terror financing and drug trafficking. The RBI had, in 2018, directed financial institutions against facilitating transactions involving crypto currencies, leading to many crypto trading platforms shutting down. The anarchic design of crypto currencies — creation as well as maintenance in the hands of the public, with no government supervision and ease of cross-border payments — renders them vulnerable to malpractice. The RBI's stance that it is against any privately issued digital currency is unexceptionable, as these currencies are not backed by any asset. Yet, a legal digital currency is not without advantages. The RBI should follow China's and the EU's example to start work on a digital currency for India. The advantages are numerous. One, official digital currencies can play an important role in weaning users away from using cash, which will help control tax evasion. Two, CBDCs will be pegged to the fiat currency and hence will not witness the volatility being seen in crypto currencies. Three, official digital currencies will be legal tender with sovereign backing, thus protecting consumers. Four, it will help distract investors from the current bunch of crypto assets that are highly risky. The feasibility study, design, testing and implementation are likely to take years, once the RBI decides on this path. It would, therefore, be best to set up a committee to begin working on this project — looking into its impact on macroeconomy and liquidity, banking systems and money markets.
Q. What is the main point conveyed in the passage?
Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.
With the European Central Bank expressing its intention to evaluate a Central Bank issued Digital Currency (CBDC) for the Euro Zone, it is apparent that regulators can no longer shrug aside digital currencies as a passing fad, or look upon them with suspicion. ECB President Christine Lagarde's statement that the Bank may be ready to launch a digital currency in two to four years, viewed along with the public consultation on CBDC initiated by the ECB, suggests that the EU is serious about launching an official digital currency to boost digital payments. China may, however, be the first in this race; work on a CBDC has already begun and the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) is currently being pilot tested in many Chinese cities. The need for a digital currency arises from two main factors: marginalising the use of 'cryptocurrency' by anonymous non-State actors, often for nefarious ends; and moving to cashless transactions to curb tax evasion. Indian regulators are yet to start work on developing a government-backed digital currency, though there were reports of the RBI exploring its feasibility around three years back. Other countries including the US and the UK are also treading cautiously, awaiting thorough due diligence before venturing into this space. Governments and monetary authorities are apprehensive for good reasons. The past decade has been a roller-coaster for cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, with frenzied rallies, large declines and numerous scams involving money laundering, terror financing and drug trafficking. The RBI had, in 2018, directed financial institutions against facilitating transactions involving crypto currencies, leading to many crypto trading platforms shutting down. The anarchic design of crypto currencies — creation as well as maintenance in the hands of the public, with no government supervision and ease of cross-border payments — renders them vulnerable to malpractice. The RBI's stance that it is against any privately issued digital currency is unexceptionable, as these currencies are not backed by any asset. Yet, a legal digital currency is not without advantages. The RBI should follow China's and the EU's example to start work on a digital currency for India. The advantages are numerous. One, official digital currencies can play an important role in weaning users away from using cash, which will help control tax evasion. Two, CBDCs will be pegged to the fiat currency and hence will not witness the volatility being seen in crypto currencies. Three, official digital currencies will be legal tender with sovereign backing, thus protecting consumers. Four, it will help distract investors from the current bunch of crypto assets that are highly risky. The feasibility study, design, testing and implementation are likely to take years, once the RBI decides on this path. It would, therefore, be best to set up a committee to begin working on this project — looking into its impact on macroeconomy and liquidity, banking systems and money markets.
Q. Which of the following CANNOT be inferred from the passage?
Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.
With the European Central Bank expressing its intention to evaluate a Central Bank issued Digital Currency (CBDC) for the Euro Zone, it is apparent that regulators can no longer shrug aside digital currencies as a passing fad, or look upon them with suspicion. ECB President Christine Lagarde's statement that the Bank may be ready to launch a digital currency in two to four years, viewed along with the public consultation on CBDC initiated by the ECB, suggests that the EU is serious about launching an official digital currency to boost digital payments. China may, however, be the first in this race; work on a CBDC has already begun and the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) is currently being pilot tested in many Chinese cities. The need for a digital currency arises from two main factors: marginalising the use of 'cryptocurrency' by anonymous non-State actors, often for nefarious ends; and moving to cashless transactions to curb tax evasion. Indian regulators are yet to start work on developing a government-backed digital currency, though there were reports of the RBI exploring its feasibility around three years back. Other countries including the US and the UK are also treading cautiously, awaiting thorough due diligence before venturing into this space. Governments and monetary authorities are apprehensive for good reasons. The past decade has been a roller-coaster for cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, with frenzied rallies, large declines and numerous scams involving money laundering, terror financing and drug trafficking. The RBI had, in 2018, directed financial institutions against facilitating transactions involving crypto currencies, leading to many crypto trading platforms shutting down. The anarchic design of crypto currencies — creation as well as maintenance in the hands of the public, with no government supervision and ease of cross-border payments — renders them vulnerable to malpractice. The RBI's stance that it is against any privately issued digital currency is unexceptionable, as these currencies are not backed by any asset. Yet, a legal digital currency is not without advantages. The RBI should follow China's and the EU's example to start work on a digital currency for India. The advantages are numerous. One, official digital currencies can play an important role in weaning users away from using cash, which will help control tax evasion. Two, CBDCs will be pegged to the fiat currency and hence will not witness the volatility being seen in crypto currencies. Three, official digital currencies will be legal tender with sovereign backing, thus protecting consumers. Four, it will help distract investors from the current bunch of crypto assets that are highly risky. The feasibility study, design, testing and implementation are likely to take years, once the RBI decides on this path. It would, therefore, be best to set up a committee to begin working on this project — looking into its impact on macroeconomy and liquidity, banking systems and money markets.
Q. Which of the following statements align with the concepts conveyed in the passage?
Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.
With the European Central Bank expressing its intention to evaluate a Central Bank issued Digital Currency (CBDC) for the Euro Zone, it is apparent that regulators can no longer shrug aside digital currencies as a passing fad, or look upon them with suspicion. ECB President Christine Lagarde's statement that the Bank may be ready to launch a digital currency in two to four years, viewed along with the public consultation on CBDC initiated by the ECB, suggests that the EU is serious about launching an official digital currency to boost digital payments. China may, however, be the first in this race; work on a CBDC has already begun and the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) is currently being pilot tested in many Chinese cities. The need for a digital currency arises from two main factors: marginalising the use of 'cryptocurrency' by anonymous non-State actors, often for nefarious ends; and moving to cashless transactions to curb tax evasion. Indian regulators are yet to start work on developing a government-backed digital currency, though there were reports of the RBI exploring its feasibility around three years back. Other countries including the US and the UK are also treading cautiously, awaiting thorough due diligence before venturing into this space. Governments and monetary authorities are apprehensive for good reasons. The past decade has been a roller-coaster for cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, with frenzied rallies, large declines and numerous scams involving money laundering, terror financing and drug trafficking. The RBI had, in 2018, directed financial institutions against facilitating transactions involving crypto currencies, leading to many crypto trading platforms shutting down. The anarchic design of crypto currencies — creation as well as maintenance in the hands of the public, with no government supervision and ease of cross-border payments — renders them vulnerable to malpractice. The RBI's stance that it is against any privately issued digital currency is unexceptionable, as these currencies are not backed by any asset. Yet, a legal digital currency is not without advantages. The RBI should follow China's and the EU's example to start work on a digital currency for India. The advantages are numerous. One, official digital currencies can play an important role in weaning users away from using cash, which will help control tax evasion. Two, CBDCs will be pegged to the fiat currency and hence will not witness the volatility being seen in crypto currencies. Three, official digital currencies will be legal tender with sovereign backing, thus protecting consumers. Four, it will help distract investors from the current bunch of crypto assets that are highly risky. The feasibility study, design, testing and implementation are likely to take years, once the RBI decides on this path. It would, therefore, be best to set up a committee to begin working on this project — looking into its impact on macroeconomy and liquidity, banking systems and money markets.
Q. What does "nefarious" mean in the context of the passage?
Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.
With the European Central Bank expressing its intention to evaluate a Central Bank issued Digital Currency (CBDC) for the Euro Zone, it is apparent that regulators can no longer shrug aside digital currencies as a passing fad, or look upon them with suspicion. ECB President Christine Lagarde's statement that the Bank may be ready to launch a digital currency in two to four years, viewed along with the public consultation on CBDC initiated by the ECB, suggests that the EU is serious about launching an official digital currency to boost digital payments. China may, however, be the first in this race; work on a CBDC has already begun and the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) is currently being pilot tested in many Chinese cities. The need for a digital currency arises from two main factors: marginalising the use of 'cryptocurrency' by anonymous non-State actors, often for nefarious ends; and moving to cashless transactions to curb tax evasion. Indian regulators are yet to start work on developing a government-backed digital currency, though there were reports of the RBI exploring its feasibility around three years back. Other countries including the US and the UK are also treading cautiously, awaiting thorough due diligence before venturing into this space. Governments and monetary authorities are apprehensive for good reasons. The past decade has been a roller-coaster for cryptocurrencies, led by Bitcoin, with frenzied rallies, large declines and numerous scams involving money laundering, terror financing and drug trafficking. The RBI had, in 2018, directed financial institutions against facilitating transactions involving crypto currencies, leading to many crypto trading platforms shutting down. The anarchic design of crypto currencies — creation as well as maintenance in the hands of the public, with no government supervision and ease of cross-border payments — renders them vulnerable to malpractice. The RBI's stance that it is against any privately issued digital currency is unexceptionable, as these currencies are not backed by any asset. Yet, a legal digital currency is not without advantages. The RBI should follow China's and the EU's example to start work on a digital currency for India. The advantages are numerous. One, official digital currencies can play an important role in weaning users away from using cash, which will help control tax evasion. Two, CBDCs will be pegged to the fiat currency and hence will not witness the volatility being seen in crypto currencies. Three, official digital currencies will be legal tender with sovereign backing, thus protecting consumers. Four, it will help distract investors from the current bunch of crypto assets that are highly risky. The feasibility study, design, testing and implementation are likely to take years, once the RBI decides on this path. It would, therefore, be best to set up a committee to begin working on this project — looking into its impact on macroeconomy and liquidity, banking systems and money markets.
Q. The central banks are anxious about launching a digital currency controlled by them because of
Directions: Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given beside.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to San Diego on March 12, 2023, to finalise the AUKUS deal — a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US that will provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. The partnership was announced in [1] as part of the US and UK's strategies to more deeply with the Indo-Pacific, largely to counter Beijing’s assertiveness in the region, including what Canberra has described as Beijing’s "economic coercion”. Mr Sunak will have meetings on March 12 and March 13 with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden.
Currently, only six countries have nuclear-fuelled submarines — [2], the US, the UK, France, Russia and China. Australia, whose fleet consists of six diesel-powered Collins-class submarines will be the seventh, once the AUKUS fleet is deployed. It would also work with the UK to design a new generation of submarines, using American technology. These would likely not be ready until the 2040s.
Mr Sunak’s trip to the west coast of the US comes as the UK prepares to release its updated Integrated Review, a comprehensive statement about its security and foreign policy, which will be released on March 13, 2023.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from: “Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese to meet in San Diego to progress AUKUS”, by Sriram Lakshman, The Hindu]
Q. In the passage above, which year has been substituted with '[1]'?
Directions: Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given beside.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to San Diego on March 12, 2023, to finalise the AUKUS deal — a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US that will provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. The partnership was announced in [1] as part of the US and UK's strategies to more deeply with the Indo-Pacific, largely to counter Beijing’s assertiveness in the region, including what Canberra has described as Beijing’s "economic coercion”. Mr Sunak will have meetings on March 12 and March 13 with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden.
Currently, only six countries have nuclear-fuelled submarines — [2], the US, the UK, France, Russia and China. Australia, whose fleet consists of six diesel-powered Collins-class submarines will be the seventh, once the AUKUS fleet is deployed. It would also work with the UK to design a new generation of submarines, using American technology. These would likely not be ready until the 2040s.
Mr Sunak’s trip to the west coast of the US comes as the UK prepares to release its updated Integrated Review, a comprehensive statement about its security and foreign policy, which will be released on March 13, 2023.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from: “Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese to meet in San Diego to progress
Q. India is a participant in three of the four pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and is not involved in one of them.
Directions: Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given beside.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to San Diego on March 12, 2023, to finalise the AUKUS deal — a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US that will provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. The partnership was announced in [1] as part of the US and UK's strategies to more deeply with the Indo-Pacific, largely to counter Beijing’s assertiveness in the region, including what Canberra has described as Beijing’s "economic coercion”. Mr Sunak will have meetings on March 12 and March 13 with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden.
Currently, only six countries have nuclear-fuelled submarines — [2], the US, the UK, France, Russia and China. Australia, whose fleet consists of six diesel-powered Collins-class submarines will be the seventh, once the AUKUS fleet is deployed. It would also work with the UK to design a new generation of submarines, using American technology. These would likely not be ready until the 2040s.
Mr Sunak’s trip to the west coast of the US comes as the UK prepares to release its updated Integrated Review, a comprehensive statement about its security and foreign policy, which will be released on March 13, 2023.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from: “Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese to meet in San Diego to progress
Q. Which country has India recently entered into a Young Professionals Scheme with?
Directions: Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given beside.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to San Diego on March 12, 2023, to finalise the AUKUS deal — a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US that will provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. The partnership was announced in [1] as part of the US and UK's strategies to more deeply with the Indo-Pacific, largely to counter Beijing’s assertiveness in the region, including what Canberra has described as Beijing’s "economic coercion”. Mr Sunak will have meetings on March 12 and March 13 with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden.
Currently, only six countries have nuclear-fuelled submarines — [2], the US, the UK, France, Russia and China. Australia, whose fleet consists of six diesel-powered Collins-class submarines will be the seventh, once the AUKUS fleet is deployed. It would also work with the UK to design a new generation of submarines, using American technology. These would likely not be ready until the 2040s.
Mr Sunak’s trip to the west coast of the US comes as the UK prepares to release its updated Integrated Review, a comprehensive statement about its security and foreign policy, which will be released on March 13, 2023.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from: “Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese to meet in San Diego to progress
Q. In which year was the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) between India and Australia signed?
Directions: Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given beside.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to San Diego on March 12, 2023, to finalise the AUKUS deal — a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US that will provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. The partnership was announced in [1] as part of the US and UK's strategies to more deeply with the Indo-Pacific, largely to counter Beijing’s assertiveness in the region, including what Canberra has described as Beijing’s "economic coercion”. Mr Sunak will have meetings on March 12 and March 13 with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden.
Currently, only six countries have nuclear-fuelled submarines — [2], the US, the UK, France, Russia and China. Australia, whose fleet consists of six diesel-powered Collins-class submarines will be the seventh, once the AUKUS fleet is deployed. It would also work with the UK to design a new generation of submarines, using American technology. These would likely not be ready until the 2040s.
Mr Sunak’s trip to the west coast of the US comes as the UK prepares to release its updated Integrated Review, a comprehensive statement about its security and foreign policy, which will be released on March 13, 2023.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from: “Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese to meet in San Diego to progress
Q. In the passage, which nation's designation has been substituted with '[2]'?
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2 videos|10 docs|83 tests
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