Practice Test for IIFT - 10 - CAT MCQ
30 Questions MCQ Test - Practice Test for IIFT - 10
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the mostappropriate answer to each question.Raja Ravi Varma's name conjures a vision of an artist who was revolutionary in his contribution to Indian art. A popular and significant artist of his time, he was a prominent representative of Europeanised School of Indian artists. His oleographs of Indian divinities still survive in many homes and shrines and these kitsch prints are framed and sacredly worshipped for posterity. His works are also popular and visible in religious prints, calendars, posters, and other popular arts. Interestingly enough, in the last decade of the Twentieth Century, with changing perceptions and trends in collecting art, Ravi Varma's paintings have soared in the art collector's esteem. Even after a century he is still one of the most celebrated painters of India.Ravi Varma's life began in the small village of Killimanoor, 40 km to the North of Trivandrum in Kerala. Bom on 29th April 1848, he hailed from a princely family, very closely linked to the mling house of the former State of Travancore. Ravi Varma grew up in a traditional environment, learning Sanskrit, listening to the music of the Bhagavatas and watching the performances put up by the Kathakali Kurpe maintained by the family. His uncle, Raja Raja Varma, was an amateur artist who painted in the Tanjore style. Ravi Varma's mother, Uma Amba Bai Tampurathi was a poet and his father Ezhymavil Neelakantan Bhattatripad was a Sanskrit scholar. Therefore when Ravi Varma displayed his interest in painting, his uncle encouraged him with the initial lessons.Even as a boy of six he filled the walls of his home with pictures of animals and vignettes from his everyday life. In these scrawls and doodles, his uncle Raja Raja Varma, discovered the signs of a genius. Raja Varma gave his nephew all the lessons he knew but it was not adequate.At the age of thirteen, Ravi Varma was brought to the Palace at Trivandrum. Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal was impressed by the quality of Ravi Varma's artistic efforts and directed the young boy to stay in Trivandrum. Ravi Varma sought the guidance of the palace artist Ramaswami Naicker, who had mastered the European style of painting, and later from Theodore Jensen, a Dutch portrait painter who came to Travancore. But due to their own personal interests none of them helped much. But this merely strengthened Ravi Varma's resolve to master the art.For nine years Ravi Varma experimented with crude colours and different techniques. Despite the mediocre nature of the materials, his efforts were creditable. In his struggle to understand the principles of European art, he spent more time studying albums and the prints and paintings in the Travancore palace collection. Ravi Varma devoted all his time and energy in mastering painting as an art form and was encouraged by his uncle Raja Raja Varma as well as Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal.The year was 1870. A question that bothered him was whether he should take up art as a profession. Especially since artists were not important persons in higher societies he wondered if he had adequate skills to establish an identity as an artist. Nevertheless he decided to make a break with tradition when the ruler assured him that art was a great profession. To make an auspicious beginning he travelled by foot to Mookambika temple in South Canara district of Karnataka, to worship and gain the blessing of the goddess. On his way back he received the first paid commission to do a portrait of a family in Calicut.With the influence of the West, Ravi Varma, acquired new materials and new techniques, convinced of their power and serviceability. Through self-instruction and by the simple method of trial and error he learnt the art of mixing colours. He painted both portraits and landscapes and introduced new elements into Indian painting. For the first time in the annals of Indian art, he had mastered and introduced the principle of perspective, the usage of canvas and oil colours. He brought in a perfect blend of European Academic realism and the true spirit of the Indian context. What sustained him were his will to excel and his faith in Divine grace.His marriage, in 1866, to a girl of the Mavelikkara Kottaram Royal family and its social status brought him into contact with the British Resident at Trivandrum. It was the Resident who persuaded him to participate in the Fine Art Exhibition, Madras in 1873. His work titled "A Nair Lady at her Toilet" showing a pretty woman adoring her hair with a garland of jasmine was adjudged to be the best. Not only did he win the first prize Governor's Gold Medal but was also granted an interview by the Governor Lord Hobart, who spoke encouragingly of his work, and advised him to persevere and make a name for himself. The Maharaja of Travancore feted him on his return to Trivandrum for bringing honour to the State. In the same year the painting was sent to an international exhibition at Vienna, where it was awarded a medal and a Certificate of Merit. And more importantly, this award received appreciative notices in the English dailies published from Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, thereby spreading Ravi Varma's reputation as an artist of merit to other parts of India.In 1874, Ravi Varma once again received the first prize at the Madras Exhibition for his painting titled "A Tamil Lady Playing the Sarabat". The Maharaja of Travancore presented this prize-winning painting along with two other paintings, to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, during the Prince's visit to Madras in 1875. His majesty expressed his admiration of the works and said, "for an artist who had no European training, the paintings were highly creditable".These paintings marked a big change not only in Ravi Varma's career but also in the entire span of Indian Art in the decades to follow.
Q.
What was the positive effect of Theodore Jensen and Ramaswami Naicker's lack of interest in teaching Raja Ravi Varma?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The tables below show the number of total employees and number of managers for ten companies across the globe for the period 2008-2014.
Q.
What is the approximate proportion of managers to non-managers for the 1 period 2009-2011?
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Answer the following question based on the information given below. The tables below show the number of total employees and number of managers for ten companies across the globe for the period 2008-2014.
Q.
For which of the following companies is the proportion of managers to1 total employees over the entire period not less than 25%?Marks
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The tables below show the number of total employees and number of managers for ten companies across the globe for the period 2008-2014.
Q.
In which of these years has the maximum number of companies shown a higher number of non-managers compared to the previous year?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The tables below show the number of total employees and number of managers for ten companies across the globe for the period 2008-2014.
Q.
For how many companies is the total number of employees in the first two years less than the total number of employees in the last two years?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The tables below show the number of total employees and number of managers for ten companies across the globe for the period 2008-2014.
Q.
Which of the following statements is not true?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. Six friends - Ajay, Bharti, Charu, Dushyant, Esha and Farhaan - are working on a research project in groups of two, as a part of their college curriculum. Their research areas include Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. Table 1 summarizes the different research areas of all project groups, while Table 2 summarizes the marks obtained in the respective projects by each member of these very groups. Table 3 provides the maximum marks allotted to each project of a particular research area, and the number of credits awarded to each member of a group that scores above 60% in that project. A student is not awarded any credit if he/she scores 50% or less in a project and 3 credits if he/she scores between 50% and 60%. If a student drops a particular project, he/she is allowed to join another group and work on that group’s project. In such a case, he/she gets credits as per the group’s result in that new project. If a students drops a project, his/her partner can still complete the project. The number of members in a group cannot exceed 3.
Q.
Which of the following project groups got the highest percentage?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. Six friends - Ajay, Bharti, Charu, Dushyant, Esha and Farhaan - are working on a research project in groups of two, as a part of their college curriculum. Their research areas include Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. Table 1 summarizes the different research areas of all project groups, while Table 2 summarizes the marks obtained in the respective projects by each member of these very groups. Table 3 provides the maximum marks allotted to each project of a particular research area, and the number of credits awarded to each member of a group that scores above 60% in that project. A student is not awarded any credit if he/she scores 50% or less in a project and 3 credits if he/she scores between 50% and 60%. If a student drops a particular project, he/she is allowed to join another group and work on that group’s project. In such a case, he/she gets credits as per the group’s result in that new project. If a students drops a project, his/her partner can still complete the project. The number of members in a group cannot exceed 3.
Q.
Bharti has had to drop her Chemistry project with Dushyant (who completes it alone) due to her extra-curricular commitments. If she has joined another group but not lost credits, which of these groups has she joined?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. Six friends - Ajay, Bharti, Charu, Dushyant, Esha and Farhaan - are working on a research project in groups of two, as a part of their college curriculum. Their research areas include Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. Table 1 summarizes the different research areas of all project groups, while Table 2 summarizes the marks obtained in the respective projects by each member of these very groups. Table 3 provides the maximum marks allotted to each project of a particular research area, and the number of credits awarded to each member of a group that scores above 60% in that project. A student is not awarded any credit if he/she scores 50% or less in a project and 3 credits if he/she scores between 50% and 60%. If a student drops a particular project, he/she is allowed to join another group and work on that group’s project. In such a case, he/she gets credits as per the group’s result in that new project. If a students drops a project, his/her partner can still complete the project. The number of members in a group cannot exceed 3.
Q.
If Bharti, Charu and Dushyant are allowed to join each other’s project groups but not change the number of projects they were originally workingon, what is the maximum number of credits that any of them can score?Assume that a group can have any number of people for only this question.
Answer the following question based on the information given below. Six friends - Ajay, Bharti, Charu, Dushyant, Esha and Farhaan - are working on a research project in groups of two, as a part of their college curriculum. Their research areas include Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. Table 1 summarizes the different research areas of all project groups, while Table 2 summarizes the marks obtained in the respective projects by each member of these very groups. Table 3 provides the maximum marks allotted to each project of a particular research area, and the number of credits awarded to each member of a group that scores above 60% in that project. A student is not awarded any credit if he/she scores 50% or less in a project and 3 credits if he/she scores between 50% and 60%. If a student drops a particular project, he/she is allowed to join another group and work on that group’s project. In such a case, he/she gets credits as per the group’s result in that new project. If a students drops a project, his/her partner can still complete the project. The number of members in a group cannot exceed 3.
Q.
Who was Ajay’s partner in the project in which Ajay scored the maximum 1 percentage?Marks
Answer the following question based on the information given below. Six friends - Ajay, Bharti, Charu, Dushyant, Esha and Farhaan - are working on a research project in groups of two, as a part of their college curriculum. Their research areas include Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. Table 1 summarizes the different research areas of all project groups, while Table 2 summarizes the marks obtained in the respective projects by each member of these very groups. Table 3 provides the maximum marks allotted to each project of a particular research area, and the number of credits awarded to each member of a group that scores above 60% in that project. A student is not awarded any credit if he/she scores 50% or less in a project and 3 credits if he/she scores between 50% and 60%. If a student drops a particular project, he/she is allowed to join another group and work on that group’s project. In such a case, he/she gets credits as per the group’s result in that new project. If a students drops a project, his/her partner can still complete the project. The number of members in a group cannot exceed 3.
Q.
Which among the following actions helps Bharti increase her number of 1 credits, when all projects are completed?Marks
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The following charts represent the placement report of ‘School of Business’ for the academic year 2010-2011. All numbers are rounded off to the nearest integer. Each student gets exactly one offer. Answer the following questions based on the data provided in the charts.
Q.
How many international offers were made in 2011-2012?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The following charts represent the placement report of ‘School of Business’ for the academic year 2010-2011. All numbers are rounded off to the nearest integer. Each student gets exactly one offer. Answer the following questions based on the data provided in the charts.
Q.
The number of offers made in BFSI in 2013-2014, when compared to those made in 2011-2012, is approximately:
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The following charts represent the placement report of ‘School of Business’ for the academic year 2010-2011. All numbers are rounded off to the nearest integer. Each student gets exactly one offer. Answer the following questions based on the data provided in the charts.
Q.
What was the approximate number of domestic offers in IT/ITeS in 2012- 2013?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The following charts represent the placement report of ‘School of Business’ for the academic year 2010-2011. All numbers are rounded off to the nearest integer. Each student gets exactly one offer. Answer the following questions based on the data provided in the charts.
Q.
What is the approximate proportion of domestic offers in FMCG as a percentage of total offers in 2013-2014?
Answer the following question based on the information given below. The following charts represent the placement report of ‘School of Business’ for the academic year 2010-2011. All numbers are rounded off to the nearest integer. Each student gets exactly one offer. Answer the following questions based on the data provided in the charts.
Q.
How many offers have been made in Consulting and Telecom from 2010- 2011 to 2013-2014?
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the mostappropriate answer to each question.Raja Ravi Varma's name conjures a vision of an artist who was revolutionary in his contribution to Indian art. A popular and significant artist of his time, he was a prominent representative of Europeanised School of Indian artists. His oleographs of Indian divinities still survive in many homes and shrines and these kitsch prints are framed and sacredly worshipped for posterity. His works are also popular and visible in religious prints, calendars, posters, and other popular arts. Interestingly enough, in the last decade of the Twentieth Century, with changing perceptions and trends in collecting art, Ravi Varma's paintings have soared in the art collector's esteem. Even after a century he is still one of the most celebrated painters of India.Ravi Varma's life began in the small village of Killimanoor, 40 km to the North of Trivandrum in Kerala. Bom on 29th April 1848, he hailed from a princely family, very closely linked to the mling house of the former State of Travancore. Ravi Varma grew up in a traditional environment, learning Sanskrit, listening to the music of the Bhagavatas and watching the performances put up by the Kathakali Kurpe maintained by the family. His uncle, Raja Raja Varma, was an amateur artist who painted in the Tanjore style. Ravi Varma's mother, Uma Amba Bai Tampurathi was a poet and his father Ezhymavil Neelakantan Bhattatripad was a Sanskrit scholar. Therefore when Ravi Varma displayed his interest in painting, his uncle encouraged him with the initial lessons.Even as a boy of six he filled the walls of his home with pictures of animals and vignettes from his everyday life. In these scrawls and doodles, his uncle Raja Raja Varma, discovered the signs of a genius. Raja Varma gave his nephew all the lessons he knew but it was not adequate.At the age of thirteen, Ravi Varma was brought to the Palace at Trivandrum. Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal was impressed by the quality of Ravi Varma's artistic efforts and directed the young boy to stay in Trivandrum. Ravi Varma sought the guidance of the palace artist Ramaswami Naicker, who had mastered the European style of painting, and later from Theodore Jensen, a Dutch portrait painter who came to Travancore. But due to their own personal interests none of them helped much. But this merely strengthened Ravi Varma's resolve to master the art.For nine years Ravi Varma experimented with crude colours and different techniques. Despite the mediocre nature of the materials, his efforts were creditable. In his struggle to understand the principles of European art, he spent more time studying albums and the prints and paintings in the Travancore palace collection. Ravi Varma devoted all his time and energy in mastering painting as an art form and was encouraged by his uncle Raja Raja Varma as well as Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal.The year was 1870. A question that bothered him was whether he should take up art as a profession. Especially since artists were not important persons in higher societies he wondered if he had adequate skills to establish an identity as an artist. Nevertheless he decided to make a break with tradition when the ruler assured him that art was a great profession. To make an auspicious beginning he travelled by foot to Mookambika temple in South Canara district of Karnataka, to worship and gain the blessing of the goddess. On his way back he received the first paid commission to do a portrait of a family in Calicut.With the influence of the West, Ravi Varma, acquired new materials and new techniques, convinced of their power and serviceability. Through self-instruction and by the simple method of trial and error he learnt the art of mixing colours. He painted both portraits and landscapes and introduced new elements into Indian painting. For the first time in the annals of Indian art, he had mastered and introduced the principle of perspective, the usage of canvas and oil colours. He brought in a perfect blend of European Academic realism and the true spirit of the Indian context. What sustained him were his will to excel and his faith in Divine grace.His marriage, in 1866, to a girl of the Mavelikkara Kottaram Royal family and its social status brought him into contact with the British Resident at Trivandrum. It was the Resident who persuaded him to participate in the Fine Art Exhibition, Madras in 1873. His work titled "A Nair Lady at her Toilet" showing a pretty woman adoring her hair with a garland of jasmine was adjudged to be the best. Not only did he win the first prize Governor's Gold Medal but was also granted an interview by the Governor Lord Hobart, who spoke encouragingly of his work, and advised him to persevere and make a name for himself. The Maharaja of Travancore feted him on his return to Trivandrum for bringing honour to the State. In the same year the painting was sent to an international exhibition at Vienna, where it was awarded a medal and a Certificate of Merit. And more importantly, this award received appreciative notices in the English dailies published from Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, thereby spreading Ravi Varma's reputation as an artist of merit to other parts of India.In 1874, Ravi Varma once again received the first prize at the Madras Exhibition for his painting titled "A Tamil Lady Playing the Sarabat". The Maharaja of Travancore presented this prize-winning painting along with two other paintings, to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, during the Prince's visit to Madras in 1875. His majesty expressed his admiration of the works and said, "for an artist who had no European training, the paintings were highly creditable".These paintings marked a big change not only in Ravi Varma's career but also in the entire span of Indian Art in the decades to follow.
Q.
Why is it that in the last decade of the Twentieth century, art collectors' interest in Raja Ravi Varma's paintings increased?
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the mostappropriate answer to each question.Raja Ravi Varma's name conjures a vision of an artist who was revolutionary in his contribution to Indian art. A popular and significant artist of his time, he was a prominent representative of Europeanised School of Indian artists. His oleographs of Indian divinities still survive in many homes and shrines and these kitsch prints are framed and sacredly worshipped for posterity. His works are also popular and visible in religious prints, calendars, posters, and other popular arts. Interestingly enough, in the last decade of the Twentieth Century, with changing perceptions and trends in collecting art, Ravi Varma's paintings have soared in the art collector's esteem. Even after a century he is still one of the most celebrated painters of India.Ravi Varma's life began in the small village of Killimanoor, 40 km to the North of Trivandrum in Kerala. Bom on 29th April 1848, he hailed from a princely family, very closely linked to the mling house of the former State of Travancore. Ravi Varma grew up in a traditional environment, learning Sanskrit, listening to the music of the Bhagavatas and watching the performances put up by the Kathakali Kurpe maintained by the family. His uncle, Raja Raja Varma, was an amateur artist who painted in the Tanjore style. Ravi Varma's mother, Uma Amba Bai Tampurathi was a poet and his father Ezhymavil Neelakantan Bhattatripad was a Sanskrit scholar. Therefore when Ravi Varma displayed his interest in painting, his uncle encouraged him with the initial lessons.Even as a boy of six he filled the walls of his home with pictures of animals and vignettes from his everyday life. In these scrawls and doodles, his uncle Raja Raja Varma, discovered the signs of a genius. Raja Varma gave his nephew all the lessons he knew but it was not adequate.At the age of thirteen, Ravi Varma was brought to the Palace at Trivandrum. Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal was impressed by the quality of Ravi Varma's artistic efforts and directed the young boy to stay in Trivandrum. Ravi Varma sought the guidance of the palace artist Ramaswami Naicker, who had mastered the European style of painting, and later from Theodore Jensen, a Dutch portrait painter who came to Travancore. But due to their own personal interests none of them helped much. But this merely strengthened Ravi Varma's resolve to master the art.For nine years Ravi Varma experimented with crude colours and different techniques. Despite the mediocre nature of the materials, his efforts were creditable. In his struggle to understand the principles of European art, he spent more time studying albums and the prints and paintings in the Travancore palace collection. Ravi Varma devoted all his time and energy in mastering painting as an art form and was encouraged by his uncle Raja Raja Varma as well as Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal.The year was 1870. A question that bothered him was whether he should take up art as a profession. Especially since artists were not important persons in higher societies he wondered if he had adequate skills to establish an identity as an artist. Nevertheless he decided to make a break with tradition when the ruler assured him that art was a great profession. To make an auspicious beginning he travelled by foot to Mookambika temple in South Canara district of Karnataka, to worship and gain the blessing of the goddess. On his way back he received the first paid commission to do a portrait of a family in Calicut.With the influence of the West, Ravi Varma, acquired new materials and new techniques, convinced of their power and serviceability. Through self-instruction and by the simple method of trial and error he learnt the art of mixing colours. He painted both portraits and landscapes and introduced new elements into Indian painting. For the first time in the annals of Indian art, he had mastered and introduced the principle of perspective, the usage of canvas and oil colours. He brought in a perfect blend of European Academic realism and the true spirit of the Indian context. What sustained him were his will to excel and his faith in Divine grace.His marriage, in 1866, to a girl of the Mavelikkara Kottaram Royal family and its social status brought him into contact with the British Resident at Trivandrum. It was the Resident who persuaded him to participate in the Fine Art Exhibition, Madras in 1873. His work titled "A Nair Lady at her Toilet" showing a pretty woman adoring her hair with a garland of jasmine was adjudged to be the best. Not only did he win the first prize Governor's Gold Medal but was also granted an interview by the Governor Lord Hobart, who spoke encouragingly of his work, and advised him to persevere and make a name for himself. The Maharaja of Travancore feted him on his return to Trivandrum for bringing honour to the State. In the same year the painting was sent to an international exhibition at Vienna, where it was awarded a medal and a Certificate of Merit. And more importantly, this award received appreciative notices in the English dailies published from Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, thereby spreading Ravi Varma's reputation as an artist of merit to other parts of India.In 1874, Ravi Varma once again received the first prize at the Madras Exhibition for his painting titled "A Tamil Lady Playing the Sarabat". The Maharaja of Travancore presented this prize-winning painting along with two other paintings, to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, during the Prince's visit to Madras in 1875. His majesty expressed his admiration of the works and said, "for an artist who had no European training, the paintings were highly creditable".These paintings marked a big change not only in Ravi Varma's career but also in the entire span of Indian Art in the decades to follow.
Q.
Which of the following is untrue according to the passage?
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the mostappropriate answer to each question.Raja Ravi Varma's name conjures a vision of an artist who was revolutionary in his contribution to Indian art. A popular and significant artist of his time, he was a prominent representative of Europeanised School of Indian artists. His oleographs of Indian divinities still survive in many homes and shrines and these kitsch prints are framed and sacredly worshipped for posterity. His works are also popular and visible in religious prints, calendars, posters, and other popular arts. Interestingly enough, in the last decade of the Twentieth Century, with changing perceptions and trends in collecting art, Ravi Varma's paintings have soared in the art collector's esteem. Even after a century he is still one of the most celebrated painters of India.Ravi Varma's life began in the small village of Killimanoor, 40 km to the North of Trivandrum in Kerala. Bom on 29th April 1848, he hailed from a princely family, very closely linked to the mling house of the former State of Travancore. Ravi Varma grew up in a traditional environment, learning Sanskrit, listening to the music of the Bhagavatas and watching the performances put up by the Kathakali Kurpe maintained by the family. His uncle, Raja Raja Varma, was an amateur artist who painted in the Tanjore style. Ravi Varma's mother, Uma Amba Bai Tampurathi was a poet and his father Ezhymavil Neelakantan Bhattatripad was a Sanskrit scholar. Therefore when Ravi Varma displayed his interest in painting, his uncle encouraged him with the initial lessons.Even as a boy of six he filled the walls of his home with pictures of animals and vignettes from his everyday life. In these scrawls and doodles, his uncle Raja Raja Varma, discovered the signs of a genius. Raja Varma gave his nephew all the lessons he knew but it was not adequate.At the age of thirteen, Ravi Varma was brought to the Palace at Trivandrum. Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal was impressed by the quality of Ravi Varma's artistic efforts and directed the young boy to stay in Trivandrum. Ravi Varma sought the guidance of the palace artist Ramaswami Naicker, who had mastered the European style of painting, and later from Theodore Jensen, a Dutch portrait painter who came to Travancore. But due to their own personal interests none of them helped much. But this merely strengthened Ravi Varma's resolve to master the art.For nine years Ravi Varma experimented with crude colours and different techniques. Despite the mediocre nature of the materials, his efforts were creditable. In his struggle to understand the principles of European art, he spent more time studying albums and the prints and paintings in the Travancore palace collection. Ravi Varma devoted all his time and energy in mastering painting as an art form and was encouraged by his uncle Raja Raja Varma as well as Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal.The year was 1870. A question that bothered him was whether he should take up art as a profession. Especially since artists were not important persons in higher societies he wondered if he had adequate skills to establish an identity as an artist. Nevertheless he decided to make a break with tradition when the ruler assured him that art was a great profession. To make an auspicious beginning he travelled by foot to Mookambika temple in South Canara district of Karnataka, to worship and gain the blessing of the goddess. On his way back he received the first paid commission to do a portrait of a family in Calicut.With the influence of the West, Ravi Varma, acquired new materials and new techniques, convinced of their power and serviceability. Through self-instruction and by the simple method of trial and error he learnt the art of mixing colours. He painted both portraits and landscapes and introduced new elements into Indian painting. For the first time in the annals of Indian art, he had mastered and introduced the principle of perspective, the usage of canvas and oil colours. He brought in a perfect blend of European Academic realism and the true spirit of the Indian context. What sustained him were his will to excel and his faith in Divine grace.His marriage, in 1866, to a girl of the Mavelikkara Kottaram Royal family and its social status brought him into contact with the British Resident at Trivandrum. It was the Resident who persuaded him to participate in the Fine Art Exhibition, Madras in 1873. His work titled "A Nair Lady at her Toilet" showing a pretty woman adoring her hair with a garland of jasmine was adjudged to be the best. Not only did he win the first prize Governor's Gold Medal but was also granted an interview by the Governor Lord Hobart, who spoke encouragingly of his work, and advised him to persevere and make a name for himself. The Maharaja of Travancore feted him on his return to Trivandrum for bringing honour to the State. In the same year the painting was sent to an international exhibition at Vienna, where it was awarded a medal and a Certificate of Merit. And more importantly, this award received appreciative notices in the English dailies published from Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, thereby spreading Ravi Varma's reputation as an artist of merit to other parts of India.In 1874, Ravi Varma once again received the first prize at the Madras Exhibition for his painting titled "A Tamil Lady Playing the Sarabat". The Maharaja of Travancore presented this prize-winning painting along with two other paintings, to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, during the Prince's visit to Madras in 1875. His majesty expressed his admiration of the works and said, "for an artist who had no European training, the paintings were highly creditable".These paintings marked a big change not only in Ravi Varma's career but also in the entire span of Indian Art in the decades to follow.
Q.
Why was Raja Ravi Varma hesitant to take up art as a profession?
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the mostappropriate answer to each question.Raja Ravi Varma's name conjures a vision of an artist who was revolutionary in his contribution to Indian art. A popular and significant artist of his time, he was a prominent representative of Europeanised School of Indian artists. His oleographs of Indian divinities still survive in many homes and shrines and these kitsch prints are framed and sacredly worshipped for posterity. His works are also popular and visible in religious prints, calendars, posters, and other popular arts. Interestingly enough, in the last decade of the Twentieth Century, with changing perceptions and trends in collecting art, Ravi Varma's paintings have soared in the art collector's esteem. Even after a century he is still one of the most celebrated painters of India.Ravi Varma's life began in the small village of Killimanoor, 40 km to the North of Trivandrum in Kerala. Bom on 29th April 1848, he hailed from a princely family, very closely linked to the mling house of the former State of Travancore. Ravi Varma grew up in a traditional environment, learning Sanskrit, listening to the music of the Bhagavatas and watching the performances put up by the Kathakali Kurpe maintained by the family. His uncle, Raja Raja Varma, was an amateur artist who painted in the Tanjore style. Ravi Varma's mother, Uma Amba Bai Tampurathi was a poet and his father Ezhymavil Neelakantan Bhattatripad was a Sanskrit scholar. Therefore when Ravi Varma displayed his interest in painting, his uncle encouraged him with the initial lessons.Even as a boy of six he filled the walls of his home with pictures of animals and vignettes from his everyday life. In these scrawls and doodles, his uncle Raja Raja Varma, discovered the signs of a genius. Raja Varma gave his nephew all the lessons he knew but it was not adequate.At the age of thirteen, Ravi Varma was brought to the Palace at Trivandrum. Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal was impressed by the quality of Ravi Varma's artistic efforts and directed the young boy to stay in Trivandrum. Ravi Varma sought the guidance of the palace artist Ramaswami Naicker, who had mastered the European style of painting, and later from Theodore Jensen, a Dutch portrait painter who came to Travancore. But due to their own personal interests none of them helped much. But this merely strengthened Ravi Varma's resolve to master the art.For nine years Ravi Varma experimented with crude colours and different techniques. Despite the mediocre nature of the materials, his efforts were creditable. In his struggle to understand the principles of European art, he spent more time studying albums and the prints and paintings in the Travancore palace collection. Ravi Varma devoted all his time and energy in mastering painting as an art form and was encouraged by his uncle Raja Raja Varma as well as Maharaja Ayilyam Tirunaal.The year was 1870. A question that bothered him was whether he should take up art as a profession. Especially since artists were not important persons in higher societies he wondered if he had adequate skills to establish an identity as an artist. Nevertheless he decided to make a break with tradition when the ruler assured him that art was a great profession. To make an auspicious beginning he travelled by foot to Mookambika temple in South Canara district of Karnataka, to worship and gain the blessing of the goddess. On his way back he received the first paid commission to do a portrait of a family in Calicut.With the influence of the West, Ravi Varma, acquired new materials and new techniques, convinced of their power and serviceability. Through self-instruction and by the simple method of trial and error he learnt the art of mixing colours. He painted both portraits and landscapes and introduced new elements into Indian painting. For the first time in the annals of Indian art, he had mastered and introduced the principle of perspective, the usage of canvas and oil colours. He brought in a perfect blend of European Academic realism and the true spirit of the Indian context. What sustained him were his will to excel and his faith in Divine grace.His marriage, in 1866, to a girl of the Mavelikkara Kottaram Royal family and its social status brought him into contact with the British Resident at Trivandrum. It was the Resident who persuaded him to participate in the Fine Art Exhibition, Madras in 1873. His work titled "A Nair Lady at her Toilet" showing a pretty woman adoring her hair with a garland of jasmine was adjudged to be the best. Not only did he win the first prize Governor's Gold Medal but was also granted an interview by the Governor Lord Hobart, who spoke encouragingly of his work, and advised him to persevere and make a name for himself. The Maharaja of Travancore feted him on his return to Trivandrum for bringing honour to the State. In the same year the painting was sent to an international exhibition at Vienna, where it was awarded a medal and a Certificate of Merit. And more importantly, this award received appreciative notices in the English dailies published from Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, thereby spreading Ravi Varma's reputation as an artist of merit to other parts of India.In 1874, Ravi Varma once again received the first prize at the Madras Exhibition for his painting titled "A Tamil Lady Playing the Sarabat". The Maharaja of Travancore presented this prize-winning painting along with two other paintings, to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, during the Prince's visit to Madras in 1875. His majesty expressed his admiration of the works and said, "for an artist who had no European training, the paintings were highly creditable".These paintings marked a big change not only in Ravi Varma's career but also in the entire span of Indian Art in the decades to follow.
Q.
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A passage is followed by questions pertaining to the passage. Read the passage and answer the questions. Choose the most appropriate answer.
Saxon pagan practices were closely related to Saxon political practices. The annual councils of the entire tribe began with invocations of the gods, and the procedure by which dukes were elected in wartime, by drawing lots, probably had pagan significance, that is, giving trust to divine providence to guide the seemingly random decision making. There were also sacred rituals and objects, such as the pillars called Irminsul, which were believed to connect heaven and earth. Charlemagne had one such pillar chopped down in 772. Something of pagan Saxon practice in Britain can be gleaned from place names. The Germanic gods Woden, Frigg, Tiw, and Thunor, who are attested to in every Germanic pagan tradition, were worshipped in Wessex, Sussex, and Essex, and they are the only ones directly attested to, though the names of the third and fourth months (March and April) of the Old English calendar bear the names Hrethmonath and Eosturmonath, meaning “month of Hretha” and “month of Eostre”, apparently from the names of two goddesses who were worshipped around that season. The pagan Saxons offered cakes to their gods in February (Solmonath) and there was a religious festival associated with the harvest, Halegmonath (“holy month” or “month of offerings”, September). The pagan calendar began on 25 December, and the months of December and January were called Yule (or Giuli) and contained a Modra niht or “night of the mothers”, another religious festival of unknown content.
The Saxon freemen and servile class remained practising pagans long after their nominal conversion to Christianity. Nursing a hatred of the upper class which, with Frankish assistance, had marginalised them from political power, the lower classes (the plebeium vulgus or cives) were still a problem for Christian authorities as late as 836, when the Translatio S. Liborii remarks on their obstinacy in pagan ritus et superstitio (usage and superstition). The conversion of the Saxons in England from their original Germanic paganism to Christianity was accomplished in the early to late seventh century under the influence of the already converted Jutes of Kent. In the 630s, Birinus became the “apostle to the West Saxons” and converted Wessex, whose first Christian king was Cynegils. The West Saxons begin to emerge from obscurity only with their conversion to Christianity and the keeping of written records. The Gewisse, a West Saxon people, were especially resistant to Christianity; but Birinus merely exercised more efforts against them. In Wessex, a bishopric was founded at Dorchester. The South Saxons were first evangelised extensively under Anglian influence; Aethelwalh of Sussex was converted by Wulfhere, King of Mercia, and allowed Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, to evangelise his people beginning in 681. The chief South Saxon bishopric was that of Selsey. The East Saxons were more pagan than the southern or western Saxons; their territory had a superabundance of pagan sites. Their king, Saeberht, was converted early and a diocese was established at London, but its first bishop, Mellitus, was expelled by Saeberth's heirs. The conversion of the East Saxons was only completed under Cedd in the 650s and 660s. The continental Saxons were evangelised largely by English missionaries in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. Around 695, two early English missionaries, Hewald the White and Hewald the Black were martyred by the vicani, that is, villagers. Throughout the century that followed, it was the villagers and other peasants who were to prove the greatest opponents of Christianisation, while missionaries often received the support of the edhilingui and other noblemen. Saint Lebuin, an Englishman who preached to the Saxons between 745 and 770, built a church and made many friends among the nobility, some of whom were compelled to save him from an angry mob at the annual council at Marklo. Social tensions arose between the Christianity-sympathetic noblemen and the staunchly pagan lower castes.
Under Charlemagne, the Saxon Wars had as their chief object the conversion and integration of the Saxons into the Frankish empire. Though much of the highest caste converted readily, forced baptisms and forced tithing made enemies of the lower orders. Even some contemporaries found the methods employed to win over the Saxons wanting, as this excerpt from a letter of Alcuin of York to his friend Meginfrid, written in 796, shows:
If the light yoke and sweet burden of Christ were to be preached to the most obstinate people of the Saxons with as much determination as the payment of tithes has been exacted, or as the force of the legal decree has been applied for fault of the most trifling sort imaginable, perhaps they would not be averse to their baptismal vows.
Louis the Pious, Charlemagne’s successor, reportedly treated the Saxons more as Alcuin would have wished, and consequently they were faithful subjects. The lower classes, however, revolted against Frankish overlordship in favour of their old paganism as late as the 840s, when the Stellinga rose up against the Saxon leadership, who were allied with the Frankish emperor Lothair I. After the suppression of the Stellinga, in 851 Louis the German brought relics from Rome to Saxony to foster a devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. When the Poeta Saxo composed his verse Annales of Charlemagne s reign with an emphasis on his conquest of Saxony, the great emperor was viewed on par with the Roman emperors as the bringer of Christian salvation to a pagan people.
Q.
Identify the FALSE statement
A passage is followed by questions pertaining to the passage. Read the passage and answer the questions. Choose the most appropriate answer. Saxon pagan practices were closely related to Saxon political practices. The annual councils of the entire tribe began with invocations of the gods, and the procedure by which dukes were elected in wartime, by drawing lots, probably had pagan significance, that is, giving trust to divine providence to guide the seemingly random decision making. There were also sacred rituals and objects, such as the pillars called Irminsul, which were believed to connect heaven and earth. Charlemagne had one such pillar chopped down in 772. Something of pagan Saxon practice in Britain can be gleaned from place names. The Germanic gods Woden, Frigg, Tiw, and Thunor, who are attested to in every Germanic pagan tradition, were worshipped in Wessex, Sussex, and Essex, and they are the only ones directly attested to, though the names of the third and fourth months (March and April) of the Old English calendar bear the names Hrethmonath and Eosturmonath, meaning “month of Hretha” and “month of Eostre”, apparently from the names of two goddesses who were worshipped around that season. The pagan Saxons offered cakes to their gods in February (Solmonath) and there was a religious festival associated with the harvest, Halegmonath (“holy month” or “month of offerings”, September). The pagan calendar began on 25 December, and the months of December and January were called Yule (or Giuli) and contained a Modra niht or “night of the mothers”, another religious festival of unknown content. The Saxon freemen and servile class remained practising pagans long after their nominal conversion to Christianity. Nursing a hatred of the upper class which, with Frankish assistance, had marginalised them from political power, the lower classes (the plebeium vulgus or cives) were still a problem for Christian authorities as late as 836, when the Translatio S. Liborii remarks on their obstinacy in pagan ritus et superstitio (usage and superstition). The conversion of the Saxons in England from their original Germanic paganism to Christianity was accomplished in the early to late seventh century under the influence of the already converted Jutes of Kent. In the 630s, Birinus became the “apostle to the West Saxons” and converted Wessex, whose first Christian king was Cynegils. The West Saxons begin to emerge from obscurity only with their conversion to Christianity and the keeping of written records. The Gewisse, a West Saxon people, were especially resistant to Christianity; but Birinus merely exercised more efforts against them. In Wessex, a bishopric was founded at Dorchester. The South Saxons were first evangelised extensively under Anglian influence; Aethelwalh of Sussex was converted by Wulfhere, King of Mercia, and allowed Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, to evangelise his people beginning in 681. The chief South Saxon bishopric was that of Selsey. The East Saxons were more pagan than the southern or western Saxons; their territory had a superabundance of pagan sites. Their king, Saeberht, was converted early and a diocese was established at London, but its first bishop, Mellitus, was expelled by Saeberth's heirs. The conversion of the East Saxons was only completed under Cedd in the 650s and 660s. The continental Saxons were evangelised largely by English missionaries in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. Around 695, two early English missionaries, Hewald the White and Hewald the Black were martyred by the vicani, that is, villagers. Throughout the century that followed, it was the villagers and other peasants who were to prove the greatest opponents of Christianisation, while missionaries often received the support of the edhilingui and other noblemen. Saint Lebuin, an Englishman who preached to the Saxons between 745 and 770, built a church and made many friends among the nobility, some of whom were compelled to save him from an angry mob at the annual council at Marklo. Social tensions arose between the Christianity-sympathetic noblemen and the staunchly pagan lower castes. Under Charlemagne, the Saxon Wars had as their chief object the conversion and integration of the Saxons into the Frankish empire. Though much of the highest caste converted readily, forced baptisms and forced tithing made enemies of the lower orders. Even some contemporaries found the methods employed to win over the Saxons wanting, as this excerpt from a letter of Alcuin of York to his friend Meginfrid, written in 796, shows: If the light yoke and sweet burden of Christ were to be preached to the most obstinate people of the Saxons with as much determination as the payment of tithes has been exacted, or as the force of the legal decree has been applied for fault of the most trifling sort imaginable, perhaps they would not be averse to their baptismal vows. Louis the Pious, Charlemagne’s successor, reportedly treated the Saxons more as Alcuin would have wished, and consequently they were faithful subjects. The lower classes, however, revolted against Frankish overlordship in favour of their old paganism as late as the 840s, when the Stellinga rose up against the Saxon leadership, who were allied with the Frankish emperor Lothair I. After the suppression of the Stellinga, in 851 Louis the German brought relics from Rome to Saxony to foster a devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. When the Poeta Saxo composed his verse Annales of Charlemagne s reign with an emphasis on his conquest of Saxony, the great emperor was viewed on par with the Roman emperors as the bringer of Christian salvation to a pagan people.
Q.
Identify the TRUE statement
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
In 1991, Armstrong competed in his first Tour DuPont, a long and difficult 12- stage race, covering 1,085 miles over 11 days. Though he finished in the middle of the pack, his performance announced a promising newcomer to the world of international cycling. He went on to win another stage race, the Settimana Bergamasca race, in Italy later that summer.
After finishing second in the U.S. Olympic time trials in 1992, Armstrong was favored to win the road race in Barcelona, Spain. With a surprisingly sluggish performance, however, he came in only 14th. Undeterred, Armstrong turned professional immediately after the Olympics, joining the Motorola cycling team for a respectable yearly salary. Though he came in dead last in his first professional event, the day-long San Sebastian Classic in Spain, he rebounded in two weeks and finished second in a World Cup race in Zurich, Switzerland.
Armstrong had a strong year in 1993, winning cycling's "Triple Crown"—the Thrift Drug Classic, the Kmart West Virginia Classi and the CoreStates Race (the U.S. Professional Championship). That same year, he came in second at the Tour DuPont. He started off well in his first-ever Tour de France, a 21-stage race that is widely considered cycling's most prestigious event. Though he won the eighth stage of the race, he later fell to 62nd place and eventually pulled out.
In August 1993, the 21-year-old Armstrong won his most important race yet: the World Road Race Championship in Oslo, Norway, a one-day event covering 161 miles. As the leader of the Motorola team, he overcame difficult conditions— pouring rain made the roads slick and caused him to crash twice during the race— to become the youngest person and only the second American ever to win that contest.
The following year, he was again the runner-up at the Tour DuPont. Frustrated by his near miss, he trained with a vengeance for the next year's event, which he won, finishing two minutes ahead of his closest rival, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, who had defeated him in 1994. He repeated at the Tour DuPont in 1996, setting several event records, including largest margin of victory (three minutes, 15 seconds) and fastest average speed in a time trial (32.9 miles per hour).
Also in 1996, Armstrong rode again for the Olympic team in Atlanta, Georgia. Looking uncharacteristically fatigued, he finished sixth in the time trials and 12th in the road race. Earlier that summer, he had been unable to finish the Tour de France, as he was sick with bronchitis. Despite such setbacks, Armstrong was still riding high by the fall of 1996. Then the seventh-ranked cyclist in the world, he signed a lucrative contract with a new team, France's Team Cofidis.
Armstrong retired in 2005, only to announce three years later, on September 9, 2008, that he planned to return to competition and the Tour de France in 2009. He placed third in the race, beaten by his teammate, race leader Alberto Contador and Saxo Bank team member Andy Schleck. After the race, Armstrong told reporters that he intended to compete again in 2010, with a new team endorsed by Radio Shack. The retail chain will also sponsor Armstrong as a runner and triathlete.
For nearly a decade, Armstrong has been under intense speculation that he had used performance-enhancing drugs from 1999 to 2005 (he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times during this period), but in June 2012, the U.S Anti- Doping Agency brought formal charges against him, threatening to strip the famous cyclist of his Tour titles. The case heated up in July 2012, when some media outlets reported that five of Armstrong’s former teammates, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde—all of whom were on the 2012 Tour de France—were planning to testify against Armstrong.
Over the past several years, Armstrong has vehemently denied using illegal drugs to boost his performance, and the 2012 USADA charges were no exception. He disparaged the new allegations, calling them ’’baseless." On August 23, 2012, Armstrong publicly announced that he was giving up his fight with the US ADA's recent charges, and that he had declined to enter arbitration with the agency because he was tired of dealing with the case, along with the stress the case has created for his family and recent work.
"There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said in an online statement around this time. "I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today—finished with this nonsense."
The following day, on August 24, 2012, the USADA announced that Armstrong would be stripped of his seven Tour titles—as well as other honors he received from 1999 to 2005—and banned from cycling for life. The agency concluded in its report that Armstrong had used banned performance-enhancing substances. On October 10, 2012, the USADA released its evidence against Armstrong, which included documents such as laboratory tests, emails and monetary payments. "The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that the sport had ever seen," Travis Tygart, chief executive of the USADA, said in a statement.
The USADA evidence against Armstrong also contained testimony from 26 people. Several former members of Armstrong's cycling team were among those who claimed that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs and served as a type of a ringleader for the team's doping efforts. According to The New York Times, one teammate told the agency that "Lance called the shots on the team" and "what Lance said went."
Armstrong disputed the US ADA's findings. His attorney, Tim Herman, called the USADA's case against Armstrong "a one-sided hatchet job" featuring "old, disproved, unreliable allegations based largely on axe-grinders, serial perjurers, coerced testimony, sweetheart deals and threat-induced stories," according to USA
Today.
Shortly after the release of the US AD A findings, the International Cycling Union (cycling's governing body) supported the US ADA's decision and officially stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories. The union also banned Armstrong from the sport for life. ICU president Pat McQuaid said in a statement that "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling."
In a strange turn of events, in January 2013, during a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, beginning in the mid-1990s. During his interview with Winfrey, Armstrong stated that he took the hormones cortisone, testosterone and erythropoietin (also known as EPO), and conducted blood transfusions to boost his oxygen levels. "I am deeply flawed ... and I'm paying the price for it, and I think that's okay. I deserve this," Lance stated during the interview, adding that he took illegal drugs as a professional athlete due to a "ruthless desire to win ... the level that it went to, for whatever reason, is a flaw."
Of the interview, Winfrey said in a statement, "He did not come clean in the manner I expected. It was surprising to me. I would say that, for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized by some of his answers. I felt he was thorough. He was serious. He certainly prepared himself for this moment. I would say he met the moment. At the end of it, we both were pretty exhausted."
Around the same time that the OWN interview was conducted, CBS reported that Armstrong was in talks with U.S. Justice Department officials about returning some of the nearly $35 million in sponsorship funding that the U.S. Postal Service paid Armstrong's cycling team.
Q.
Match the following.
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
In 1991, Armstrong competed in his first Tour DuPont, a long and difficult 12- stage race, covering 1,085 miles over 11 days. Though he finished in the middle of the pack, his performance announced a promising newcomer to the world of international cycling. He went on to win another stage race, the Settimana Bergamasca race, in Italy later that summer.
After finishing second in the U.S. Olympic time trials in 1992, Armstrong was favored to win the road race in Barcelona, Spain. With a surprisingly sluggish performance, however, he came in only 14th. Undeterred, Armstrong turned professional immediately after the Olympics, joining the Motorola cycling team for a respectable yearly salary. Though he came in dead last in his first professional event, the day-long San Sebastian Classic in Spain, he rebounded in two weeks and finished second in a World Cup race in Zurich, Switzerland.
Armstrong had a strong year in 1993, winning cycling's "Triple Crown"—the Thrift Drug Classic, the Kmart West Virginia Classi and the CoreStates Race (the U.S. Professional Championship). That same year, he came in second at the Tour DuPont. He started off well in his first-ever Tour de France, a 21-stage race that is widely considered cycling's most prestigious event. Though he won the eighth stage of the race, he later fell to 62nd place and eventually pulled out.
In August 1993, the 21-year-old Armstrong won his most important race yet: the World Road Race Championship in Oslo, Norway, a one-day event covering 161 miles. As the leader of the Motorola team, he overcame difficult conditions— pouring rain made the roads slick and caused him to crash twice during the race— to become the youngest person and only the second American ever to win that contest.
The following year, he was again the runner-up at the Tour DuPont. Frustrated by his near miss, he trained with a vengeance for the next year's event, which he won, finishing two minutes ahead of his closest rival, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, who had defeated him in 1994. He repeated at the Tour DuPont in 1996, setting several event records, including largest margin of victory (three minutes, 15 seconds) and fastest average speed in a time trial (32.9 miles per hour).
Also in 1996, Armstrong rode again for the Olympic team in Atlanta, Georgia. Looking uncharacteristically fatigued, he finished sixth in the time trials and 12th in the road race. Earlier that summer, he had been unable to finish the Tour de France, as he was sick with bronchitis. Despite such setbacks, Armstrong was still riding high by the fall of 1996. Then the seventh-ranked cyclist in the world, he signed a lucrative contract with a new team, France's Team Cofidis.
Armstrong retired in 2005, only to announce three years later, on September 9, 2008, that he planned to return to competition and the Tour de France in 2009. He placed third in the race, beaten by his teammate, race leader Alberto Contador and Saxo Bank team member Andy Schleck. After the race, Armstrong told reporters that he intended to compete again in 2010, with a new team endorsed by Radio Shack. The retail chain will also sponsor Armstrong as a runner and triathlete.
For nearly a decade, Armstrong has been under intense speculation that he had used performance-enhancing drugs from 1999 to 2005 (he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times during this period), but in June 2012, the U.S Anti- Doping Agency brought formal charges against him, threatening to strip the famous cyclist of his Tour titles. The case heated up in July 2012, when some media outlets reported that five of Armstrong’s former teammates, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde—all of whom were on the 2012 Tour de France—were planning to testify against Armstrong.
Over the past several years, Armstrong has vehemently denied using illegal drugs to boost his performance, and the 2012 USADA charges were no exception. He disparaged the new allegations, calling them ’’baseless." On August 23, 2012, Armstrong publicly announced that he was giving up his fight with the US ADA's recent charges, and that he had declined to enter arbitration with the agency because he was tired of dealing with the case, along with the stress the case has created for his family and recent work.
"There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said in an online statement around this time. "I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today—finished with this nonsense."
The following day, on August 24, 2012, the USADA announced that Armstrong would be stripped of his seven Tour titles—as well as other honors he received from 1999 to 2005—and banned from cycling for life. The agency concluded in its report that Armstrong had used banned performance-enhancing substances. On October 10, 2012, the USADA released its evidence against Armstrong, which included documents such as laboratory tests, emails and monetary payments. "The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that the sport had ever seen," Travis Tygart, chief executive of the USADA, said in a statement.
The USADA evidence against Armstrong also contained testimony from 26 people. Several former members of Armstrong's cycling team were among those who claimed that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs and served as a type of a ringleader for the team's doping efforts. According to The New York Times, one teammate told the agency that "Lance called the shots on the team" and "what Lance said went."
Armstrong disputed the US ADA's findings. His attorney, Tim Herman, called the USADA's case against Armstrong "a one-sided hatchet job" featuring "old, disproved, unreliable allegations based largely on axe-grinders, serial perjurers, coerced testimony, sweetheart deals and threat-induced stories," according to USA
Today.
Shortly after the release of the US AD A findings, the International Cycling Union (cycling's governing body) supported the US ADA's decision and officially stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories. The union also banned Armstrong from the sport for life. ICU president Pat McQuaid said in a statement that "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling."
In a strange turn of events, in January 2013, during a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, beginning in the mid-1990s. During his interview with Winfrey, Armstrong stated that he took the hormones cortisone, testosterone and erythropoietin (also known as EPO), and conducted blood transfusions to boost his oxygen levels. "I am deeply flawed ... and I'm paying the price for it, and I think that's okay. I deserve this," Lance stated during the interview, adding that he took illegal drugs as a professional athlete due to a "ruthless desire to win ... the level that it went to, for whatever reason, is a flaw."
Of the interview, Winfrey said in a statement, "He did not come clean in the manner I expected. It was surprising to me. I would say that, for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized by some of his answers. I felt he was thorough. He was serious. He certainly prepared himself for this moment. I would say he met the moment. At the end of it, we both were pretty exhausted."
Around the same time that the OWN interview was conducted, CBS reported that Armstrong was in talks with U.S. Justice Department officials about returning some of the nearly $35 million in sponsorship funding that the U.S. Postal Service paid Armstrong's cycling team.
Q.
Identify the correct statement:
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
In 1991, Armstrong competed in his first Tour DuPont, a long and difficult 12- stage race, covering 1,085 miles over 11 days. Though he finished in the middle of the pack, his performance announced a promising newcomer to the world of international cycling. He went on to win another stage race, the Settimana Bergamasca race, in Italy later that summer.
After finishing second in the U.S. Olympic time trials in 1992, Armstrong was favored to win the road race in Barcelona, Spain. With a surprisingly sluggish performance, however, he came in only 14th. Undeterred, Armstrong turned professional immediately after the Olympics, joining the Motorola cycling team for a respectable yearly salary. Though he came in dead last in his first professional event, the day-long San Sebastian Classic in Spain, he rebounded in two weeks and finished second in a World Cup race in Zurich, Switzerland.
Armstrong had a strong year in 1993, winning cycling's "Triple Crown"—the Thrift Drug Classic, the Kmart West Virginia Classi and the CoreStates Race (the U.S. Professional Championship). That same year, he came in second at the Tour DuPont. He started off well in his first-ever Tour de France, a 21-stage race that is widely considered cycling's most prestigious event. Though he won the eighth stage of the race, he later fell to 62nd place and eventually pulled out.
In August 1993, the 21-year-old Armstrong won his most important race yet: the World Road Race Championship in Oslo, Norway, a one-day event covering 161 miles. As the leader of the Motorola team, he overcame difficult conditions— pouring rain made the roads slick and caused him to crash twice during the race— to become the youngest person and only the second American ever to win that contest.
The following year, he was again the runner-up at the Tour DuPont. Frustrated by his near miss, he trained with a vengeance for the next year's event, which he won, finishing two minutes ahead of his closest rival, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, who had defeated him in 1994. He repeated at the Tour DuPont in 1996, setting several event records, including largest margin of victory (three minutes, 15 seconds) and fastest average speed in a time trial (32.9 miles per hour).
Also in 1996, Armstrong rode again for the Olympic team in Atlanta, Georgia. Looking uncharacteristically fatigued, he finished sixth in the time trials and 12th in the road race. Earlier that summer, he had been unable to finish the Tour de France, as he was sick with bronchitis. Despite such setbacks, Armstrong was still riding high by the fall of 1996. Then the seventh-ranked cyclist in the world, he signed a lucrative contract with a new team, France's Team Cofidis.
Armstrong retired in 2005, only to announce three years later, on September 9, 2008, that he planned to return to competition and the Tour de France in 2009. He placed third in the race, beaten by his teammate, race leader Alberto Contador and Saxo Bank team member Andy Schleck. After the race, Armstrong told reporters that he intended to compete again in 2010, with a new team endorsed by Radio Shack. The retail chain will also sponsor Armstrong as a runner and triathlete.
For nearly a decade, Armstrong has been under intense speculation that he had used performance-enhancing drugs from 1999 to 2005 (he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times during this period), but in June 2012, the U.S Anti- Doping Agency brought formal charges against him, threatening to strip the famous cyclist of his Tour titles. The case heated up in July 2012, when some media outlets reported that five of Armstrong’s former teammates, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde—all of whom were on the 2012 Tour de France—were planning to testify against Armstrong.
Over the past several years, Armstrong has vehemently denied using illegal drugs to boost his performance, and the 2012 USADA charges were no exception. He disparaged the new allegations, calling them ’’baseless." On August 23, 2012, Armstrong publicly announced that he was giving up his fight with the US ADA's recent charges, and that he had declined to enter arbitration with the agency because he was tired of dealing with the case, along with the stress the case has created for his family and recent work.
"There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said in an online statement around this time. "I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today—finished with this nonsense."
The following day, on August 24, 2012, the USADA announced that Armstrong would be stripped of his seven Tour titles—as well as other honors he received from 1999 to 2005—and banned from cycling for life. The agency concluded in its report that Armstrong had used banned performance-enhancing substances. On October 10, 2012, the USADA released its evidence against Armstrong, which included documents such as laboratory tests, emails and monetary payments. "The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that the sport had ever seen," Travis Tygart, chief executive of the USADA, said in a statement.
The USADA evidence against Armstrong also contained testimony from 26 people. Several former members of Armstrong's cycling team were among those who claimed that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs and served as a type of a ringleader for the team's doping efforts. According to The New York Times, one teammate told the agency that "Lance called the shots on the team" and "what Lance said went."
Armstrong disputed the US ADA's findings. His attorney, Tim Herman, called the USADA's case against Armstrong "a one-sided hatchet job" featuring "old, disproved, unreliable allegations based largely on axe-grinders, serial perjurers, coerced testimony, sweetheart deals and threat-induced stories," according to USA
Today.
Shortly after the release of the US AD A findings, the International Cycling Union (cycling's governing body) supported the US ADA's decision and officially stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories. The union also banned Armstrong from the sport for life. ICU president Pat McQuaid said in a statement that "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling."
In a strange turn of events, in January 2013, during a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, beginning in the mid-1990s. During his interview with Winfrey, Armstrong stated that he took the hormones cortisone, testosterone and erythropoietin (also known as EPO), and conducted blood transfusions to boost his oxygen levels. "I am deeply flawed ... and I'm paying the price for it, and I think that's okay. I deserve this," Lance stated during the interview, adding that he took illegal drugs as a professional athlete due to a "ruthless desire to win ... the level that it went to, for whatever reason, is a flaw."
Of the interview, Winfrey said in a statement, "He did not come clean in the manner I expected. It was surprising to me. I would say that, for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized by some of his answers. I felt he was thorough. He was serious. He certainly prepared himself for this moment. I would say he met the moment. At the end of it, we both were pretty exhausted."
Around the same time that the OWN interview was conducted, CBS reported that Armstrong was in talks with U.S. Justice Department officials about returning some of the nearly $35 million in sponsorship funding that the U.S. Postal Service paid Armstrong's cycling team.
Q.
Identify the incorrect statement:
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
In 1991, Armstrong competed in his first Tour DuPont, a long and difficult 12- stage race, covering 1,085 miles over 11 days. Though he finished in the middle of the pack, his performance announced a promising newcomer to the world of international cycling. He went on to win another stage race, the Settimana Bergamasca race, in Italy later that summer.
After finishing second in the U.S. Olympic time trials in 1992, Armstrong was favored to win the road race in Barcelona, Spain. With a surprisingly sluggish performance, however, he came in only 14th. Undeterred, Armstrong turned professional immediately after the Olympics, joining the Motorola cycling team for a respectable yearly salary. Though he came in dead last in his first professional event, the day-long San Sebastian Classic in Spain, he rebounded in two weeks and finished second in a World Cup race in Zurich, Switzerland.
Armstrong had a strong year in 1993, winning cycling's "Triple Crown"—the Thrift Drug Classic, the Kmart West Virginia Classi and the CoreStates Race (the U.S. Professional Championship). That same year, he came in second at the Tour DuPont. He started off well in his first-ever Tour de France, a 21-stage race that is widely considered cycling's most prestigious event. Though he won the eighth stage of the race, he later fell to 62nd place and eventually pulled out.
In August 1993, the 21-year-old Armstrong won his most important race yet: the World Road Race Championship in Oslo, Norway, a one-day event covering 161 miles. As the leader of the Motorola team, he overcame difficult conditions— pouring rain made the roads slick and caused him to crash twice during the race— to become the youngest person and only the second American ever to win that contest.
The following year, he was again the runner-up at the Tour DuPont. Frustrated by his near miss, he trained with a vengeance for the next year's event, which he won, finishing two minutes ahead of his closest rival, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, who had defeated him in 1994. He repeated at the Tour DuPont in 1996, setting several event records, including largest margin of victory (three minutes, 15 seconds) and fastest average speed in a time trial (32.9 miles per hour).
Also in 1996, Armstrong rode again for the Olympic team in Atlanta, Georgia. Looking uncharacteristically fatigued, he finished sixth in the time trials and 12th in the road race. Earlier that summer, he had been unable to finish the Tour de France, as he was sick with bronchitis. Despite such setbacks, Armstrong was still riding high by the fall of 1996. Then the seventh-ranked cyclist in the world, he signed a lucrative contract with a new team, France's Team Cofidis.
Armstrong retired in 2005, only to announce three years later, on September 9, 2008, that he planned to return to competition and the Tour de France in 2009. He placed third in the race, beaten by his teammate, race leader Alberto Contador and Saxo Bank team member Andy Schleck. After the race, Armstrong told reporters that he intended to compete again in 2010, with a new team endorsed by Radio Shack. The retail chain will also sponsor Armstrong as a runner and triathlete.
For nearly a decade, Armstrong has been under intense speculation that he had used performance-enhancing drugs from 1999 to 2005 (he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times during this period), but in June 2012, the U.S Anti- Doping Agency brought formal charges against him, threatening to strip the famous cyclist of his Tour titles. The case heated up in July 2012, when some media outlets reported that five of Armstrong’s former teammates, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde—all of whom were on the 2012 Tour de France—were planning to testify against Armstrong.
Over the past several years, Armstrong has vehemently denied using illegal drugs to boost his performance, and the 2012 USADA charges were no exception. He disparaged the new allegations, calling them ’’baseless." On August 23, 2012, Armstrong publicly announced that he was giving up his fight with the US ADA's recent charges, and that he had declined to enter arbitration with the agency because he was tired of dealing with the case, along with the stress the case has created for his family and recent work.
"There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said in an online statement around this time. "I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today—finished with this nonsense."
The following day, on August 24, 2012, the USADA announced that Armstrong would be stripped of his seven Tour titles—as well as other honors he received from 1999 to 2005—and banned from cycling for life. The agency concluded in its report that Armstrong had used banned performance-enhancing substances. On October 10, 2012, the USADA released its evidence against Armstrong, which included documents such as laboratory tests, emails and monetary payments. "The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that the sport had ever seen," Travis Tygart, chief executive of the USADA, said in a statement.
The USADA evidence against Armstrong also contained testimony from 26 people. Several former members of Armstrong's cycling team were among those who claimed that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs and served as a type of a ringleader for the team's doping efforts. According to The New York Times, one teammate told the agency that "Lance called the shots on the team" and "what Lance said went."
Armstrong disputed the US ADA's findings. His attorney, Tim Herman, called the USADA's case against Armstrong "a one-sided hatchet job" featuring "old, disproved, unreliable allegations based largely on axe-grinders, serial perjurers, coerced testimony, sweetheart deals and threat-induced stories," according to USA
Today.
Shortly after the release of the US AD A findings, the International Cycling Union (cycling's governing body) supported the US ADA's decision and officially stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories. The union also banned Armstrong from the sport for life. ICU president Pat McQuaid said in a statement that "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling."
In a strange turn of events, in January 2013, during a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, beginning in the mid-1990s. During his interview with Winfrey, Armstrong stated that he took the hormones cortisone, testosterone and erythropoietin (also known as EPO), and conducted blood transfusions to boost his oxygen levels. "I am deeply flawed ... and I'm paying the price for it, and I think that's okay. I deserve this," Lance stated during the interview, adding that he took illegal drugs as a professional athlete due to a "ruthless desire to win ... the level that it went to, for whatever reason, is a flaw."
Of the interview, Winfrey said in a statement, "He did not come clean in the manner I expected. It was surprising to me. I would say that, for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized by some of his answers. I felt he was thorough. He was serious. He certainly prepared himself for this moment. I would say he met the moment. At the end of it, we both were pretty exhausted."
Around the same time that the OWN interview was conducted, CBS reported that Armstrong was in talks with U.S. Justice Department officials about returning some of the nearly $35 million in sponsorship funding that the U.S. Postal Service paid Armstrong's cycling team.
Q.
In August 1993, Armstrong won the World Road Race Championship in Oslo, Norway, a one-day event covering:
The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
In 1991, Armstrong competed in his first Tour DuPont, a long and difficult 12- stage race, covering 1,085 miles over 11 days. Though he finished in the middle of the pack, his performance announced a promising newcomer to the world of international cycling. He went on to win another stage race, the Settimana Bergamasca race, in Italy later that summer.
After finishing second in the U.S. Olympic time trials in 1992, Armstrong was favored to win the road race in Barcelona, Spain. With a surprisingly sluggish performance, however, he came in only 14th. Undeterred, Armstrong turned professional immediately after the Olympics, joining the Motorola cycling team for a respectable yearly salary. Though he came in dead last in his first professional event, the day-long San Sebastian Classic in Spain, he rebounded in two weeks and finished second in a World Cup race in Zurich, Switzerland.
Armstrong had a strong year in 1993, winning cycling's "Triple Crown"—the Thrift Drug Classic, the Kmart West Virginia Classi and the CoreStates Race (the U.S. Professional Championship). That same year, he came in second at the Tour DuPont. He started off well in his first-ever Tour de France, a 21-stage race that is widely considered cycling's most prestigious event. Though he won the eighth stage of the race, he later fell to 62nd place and eventually pulled out.
In August 1993, the 21-year-old Armstrong won his most important race yet: the World Road Race Championship in Oslo, Norway, a one-day event covering 161 miles. As the leader of the Motorola team, he overcame difficult conditions— pouring rain made the roads slick and caused him to crash twice during the race— to become the youngest person and only the second American ever to win that contest.
The following year, he was again the runner-up at the Tour DuPont. Frustrated by his near miss, he trained with a vengeance for the next year's event, which he won, finishing two minutes ahead of his closest rival, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, who had defeated him in 1994. He repeated at the Tour DuPont in 1996, setting several event records, including largest margin of victory (three minutes, 15 seconds) and fastest average speed in a time trial (32.9 miles per hour).
Also in 1996, Armstrong rode again for the Olympic team in Atlanta, Georgia. Looking uncharacteristically fatigued, he finished sixth in the time trials and 12th in the road race. Earlier that summer, he had been unable to finish the Tour de France, as he was sick with bronchitis. Despite such setbacks, Armstrong was still riding high by the fall of 1996. Then the seventh-ranked cyclist in the world, he signed a lucrative contract with a new team, France's Team Cofidis.
Armstrong retired in 2005, only to announce three years later, on September 9, 2008, that he planned to return to competition and the Tour de France in 2009. He placed third in the race, beaten by his teammate, race leader Alberto Contador and Saxo Bank team member Andy Schleck. After the race, Armstrong told reporters that he intended to compete again in 2010, with a new team endorsed by Radio Shack. The retail chain will also sponsor Armstrong as a runner and triathlete.
For nearly a decade, Armstrong has been under intense speculation that he had used performance-enhancing drugs from 1999 to 2005 (he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times during this period), but in June 2012, the U.S Anti- Doping Agency brought formal charges against him, threatening to strip the famous cyclist of his Tour titles. The case heated up in July 2012, when some media outlets reported that five of Armstrong’s former teammates, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde—all of whom were on the 2012 Tour de France—were planning to testify against Armstrong.
Over the past several years, Armstrong has vehemently denied using illegal drugs to boost his performance, and the 2012 USADA charges were no exception. He disparaged the new allegations, calling them ’’baseless." On August 23, 2012, Armstrong publicly announced that he was giving up his fight with the US ADA's recent charges, and that he had declined to enter arbitration with the agency because he was tired of dealing with the case, along with the stress the case has created for his family and recent work.
"There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said in an online statement around this time. "I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today—finished with this nonsense."
The following day, on August 24, 2012, the USADA announced that Armstrong would be stripped of his seven Tour titles—as well as other honors he received from 1999 to 2005—and banned from cycling for life. The agency concluded in its report that Armstrong had used banned performance-enhancing substances. On October 10, 2012, the USADA released its evidence against Armstrong, which included documents such as laboratory tests, emails and monetary payments. "The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that the sport had ever seen," Travis Tygart, chief executive of the USADA, said in a statement.
The USADA evidence against Armstrong also contained testimony from 26 people. Several former members of Armstrong's cycling team were among those who claimed that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs and served as a type of a ringleader for the team's doping efforts. According to The New York Times, one teammate told the agency that "Lance called the shots on the team" and "what Lance said went."
Armstrong disputed the US ADA's findings. His attorney, Tim Herman, called the USADA's case against Armstrong "a one-sided hatchet job" featuring "old, disproved, unreliable allegations based largely on axe-grinders, serial perjurers, coerced testimony, sweetheart deals and threat-induced stories," according to USA
Today.
Shortly after the release of the US AD A findings, the International Cycling Union (cycling's governing body) supported the US ADA's decision and officially stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories. The union also banned Armstrong from the sport for life. ICU president Pat McQuaid said in a statement that "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling."
In a strange turn of events, in January 2013, during a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, beginning in the mid-1990s. During his interview with Winfrey, Armstrong stated that he took the hormones cortisone, testosterone and erythropoietin (also known as EPO), and conducted blood transfusions to boost his oxygen levels. "I am deeply flawed ... and I'm paying the price for it, and I think that's okay. I deserve this," Lance stated during the interview, adding that he took illegal drugs as a professional athlete due to a "ruthless desire to win ... the level that it went to, for whatever reason, is a flaw."
Of the interview, Winfrey said in a statement, "He did not come clean in the manner I expected. It was surprising to me. I would say that, for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized by some of his answers. I felt he was thorough. He was serious. He certainly prepared himself for this moment. I would say he met the moment. At the end of it, we both were pretty exhausted."
Around the same time that the OWN interview was conducted, CBS reported that Armstrong was in talks with U.S. Justice Department officials about returning some of the nearly $35 million in sponsorship funding that the U.S. Postal Service paid Armstrong's cycling team.
Q.
Which of the following events accelerated US ADA's findings on Armstrong case?
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given at the end.
Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC), loved by global investors for its steady profit growth, faces an intensifying battle for business and market share as banks aggressively push home loans. With India's economic flu hitting corporate lending, banks have cranked up efforts to tap into the country's housing loan demand, which has proven to be brick-hard by comparison.
Demand for homes, and loans, has been stoked by a persisting housing shortage as
long-term demographic changes - urbanisation, rising incomes, more nuclear families - transform how and where people live in Asia’s third-biggest economy.
With their eyes on the prize, banks such as state-run Bank of India (BOI) and ICICI Bank, the biggest private sector lender, are swarming the market with discounts and special offers, willing to even live with narrower margins. They are also expanding into lower-tier cities, a market that HDFC is nurturing.
"This is a very safe business. All our branches are working hard to grow home loans. We want to grow faster than the industry," said Anil Verma, BOI's chief financial officer.
BOI is setting up branches that only sell auto and home loans, taking five days to process a mortgage. It often takes between two weeks and a month to get a home loan approved in India.
State Bank of India (SBI), which dethroned HDFC as India's top mortgage lender about two years ago, was charging mortgage interest of up to 200 basis points above its base rate in 2011. SBI is now offering home loans at just 10-30 basis points above the base rate, underscoring the intensifying competition.
SBI's home loans grew 20 per cent in the September quarter from 13 per cent a year earlier. ICICI doubled its mortgage growth to 23 per cent, while HDFC was flat at 23 per cent, according to a report by Ambit Capital this month.
Two of the country’s largest lenders, State Bank of India and HDFC, have cut home loan rates in a surprise bonanza for borrowers who earlier this month saw interest rates inch up. SBI, for the first time, has offered better loan deals to women borrowers. This move, the bank says, will empower women by increasing their share in home ownership. A day after RBI governor Raghuram Raj an decided to hold rates, SBI said that its home loan rates for up to Rs 75 lakh have been reduced from a high of 10.5% to 10.1% if there is a woman borrower involved. Home loans where a male is the sole borrower will incur 10.15%.
The mortgage company said that the new rates are valid for all new applications submitted before January 31, 2014. But the battle for mortgage borrowers is threatening to squeeze net interest margins (NIMs). Analysts expect a 10-20 basis point margin decline for banks in the year ending March 2014 from an average of 3.1 per cent in 2010/11.
Brokerage Jefferies expects HDFC’s NIM to ease to 4.14 per cent from 4.4 per cent over the same period. So far, HDFC's overall profitability has remained unscathed, thanks to demand for homes in smaller cities as well as income from other businesses.
For the December quarter, net profit may have risen about 12 per cent from a year earlier to Rs 1280 crore, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For its part, HDFC, which counts Blackrock Inc, the Singapore government and Aberdeen Asset Management among its investors, is spreading into smaller cities and towns and seeking more agents to find more mortgage borrowers.
It pays a fee to partners Induslnd Bank and Ratnakar Bank to bring in customers, and its share of business from the two banks and other agents has more than doubled in three years to 17 per cent of its total loans in the September quarter.
"We have to go out, we have to keep reaching out, we have to keep up the effort of finding more and more agents, more and more partners who will source loans for us," HDFC CEO Keki Mistry said in an interview last month.
HDFC is also relying increasingly on other businesses including insurance, asset management and private equity to drive profit. In the year ended March 2013, the share of profit from subsidiaries and associate companies more than doubled to 27 per cent from 13 per cent in 2008.
HDFC's stock has risen more than five times over the last decade, compared with a 263 per cent gain in the wider market. It also has the highest concentration of foreign institutional ownership of stocks in the Sensex, at more than 74 per cent, according to data on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Investors have long held it for its relatively stable returns. Its shares fell 4 per cent in 2013, but outperformed the bank index, which lost 9 percent.
SBI, which accounts for a quarter of all loans in India, expects to grow its mortgage loans by about 20 per cent in the current fiscal year. Smaller rival LIC Housing Finance, which posted a 38 per cent profit increase in the December quarter, also expects to grow at 20 per cent during the year. HDFC has a similar projection.
"With 60 per cent of India's population being below 30 years of age, all these people will in the next three, five or seven years need housing and therefore housing loans," HDFC's Mistry said.
While industry players say there is enough business to go around, some analysts are not as hopeful.
"We expect NIMs of both LIC Housing Finance and HDFC Ltd to remain under pressure over FY14-15, owing to continued pressure on incremental spreads from higher competitive intensity," wrote Pankaj Agarwal, analyst at brokerage Ambit Capital, which has a sell rating on HDFC.
Q.
Which of the following statements is incorrect according to the passage?
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given at the end.
Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC), loved by global investors for its steady profit growth, faces an intensifying battle for business and market share as banks aggressively push home loans. With India's economic flu hitting corporate lending, banks have cranked up efforts to tap into the country's housing loan demand, which has proven to be brick-hard by comparison.
Demand for homes, and loans, has been stoked by a persisting housing shortage as
long-term demographic changes - urbanisation, rising incomes, more nuclear families - transform how and where people live in Asia’s third-biggest economy.
With their eyes on the prize, banks such as state-run Bank of India (BOI) and ICICI Bank, the biggest private sector lender, are swarming the market with discounts and special offers, willing to even live with narrower margins. They are also expanding into lower-tier cities, a market that HDFC is nurturing.
"This is a very safe business. All our branches are working hard to grow home loans. We want to grow faster than the industry," said Anil Verma, BOI's chief financial officer.
BOI is setting up branches that only sell auto and home loans, taking five days to process a mortgage. It often takes between two weeks and a month to get a home loan approved in India.
State Bank of India (SBI), which dethroned HDFC as India's top mortgage lender about two years ago, was charging mortgage interest of up to 200 basis points above its base rate in 2011. SBI is now offering home loans at just 10-30 basis points above the base rate, underscoring the intensifying competition.
SBI's home loans grew 20 per cent in the September quarter from 13 per cent a year earlier. ICICI doubled its mortgage growth to 23 per cent, while HDFC was flat at 23 per cent, according to a report by Ambit Capital this month.
Two of the country’s largest lenders, State Bank of India and HDFC, have cut home loan rates in a surprise bonanza for borrowers who earlier this month saw interest rates inch up. SBI, for the first time, has offered better loan deals to women borrowers. This move, the bank says, will empower women by increasing their share in home ownership. A day after RBI governor Raghuram Raj an decided to hold rates, SBI said that its home loan rates for up to Rs 75 lakh have been reduced from a high of 10.5% to 10.1% if there is a woman borrower involved. Home loans where a male is the sole borrower will incur 10.15%.
The mortgage company said that the new rates are valid for all new applications submitted before January 31, 2014. But the battle for mortgage borrowers is threatening to squeeze net interest margins (NIMs). Analysts expect a 10-20 basis point margin decline for banks in the year ending March 2014 from an average of 3.1 per cent in 2010/11.
Brokerage Jefferies expects HDFC’s NIM to ease to 4.14 per cent from 4.4 per cent over the same period. So far, HDFC's overall profitability has remained unscathed, thanks to demand for homes in smaller cities as well as income from other businesses.
For the December quarter, net profit may have risen about 12 per cent from a year earlier to Rs 1280 crore, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For its part, HDFC, which counts Blackrock Inc, the Singapore government and Aberdeen Asset Management among its investors, is spreading into smaller cities and towns and seeking more agents to find more mortgage borrowers.
It pays a fee to partners Induslnd Bank and Ratnakar Bank to bring in customers, and its share of business from the two banks and other agents has more than doubled in three years to 17 per cent of its total loans in the September quarter.
"We have to go out, we have to keep reaching out, we have to keep up the effort of finding more and more agents, more and more partners who will source loans for us," HDFC CEO Keki Mistry said in an interview last month.
HDFC is also relying increasingly on other businesses including insurance, asset management and private equity to drive profit. In the year ended March 2013, the share of profit from subsidiaries and associate companies more than doubled to 27 per cent from 13 per cent in 2008.
HDFC's stock has risen more than five times over the last decade, compared with a 263 per cent gain in the wider market. It also has the highest concentration of foreign institutional ownership of stocks in the Sensex, at more than 74 per cent, according to data on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Investors have long held it for its relatively stable returns. Its shares fell 4 per cent in 2013, but outperformed the bank index, which lost 9 percent.
SBI, which accounts for a quarter of all loans in India, expects to grow its mortgage loans by about 20 per cent in the current fiscal year. Smaller rival LIC Housing Finance, which posted a 38 per cent profit increase in the December quarter, also expects to grow at 20 per cent during the year. HDFC has a similar projection.
"With 60 per cent of India's population being below 30 years of age, all these people will in the next three, five or seven years need housing and therefore housing loans," HDFC's Mistry said.
While industry players say there is enough business to go around, some analysts are not as hopeful.
"We expect NIMs of both LIC Housing Finance and HDFC Ltd to remain under pressure over FY14-15, owing to continued pressure on incremental spreads from higher competitive intensity," wrote Pankaj Agarwal, analyst at brokerage Ambit Capital, which has a sell rating on HDFC.
Q.
Which of the following can be concluded from the passage?
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given at the end.
Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC), loved by global investors for its steady profit growth, faces an intensifying battle for business and market share as banks aggressively push home loans. With India's economic flu hitting corporate lending, banks have cranked up efforts to tap into the country's housing loan demand, which has proven to be brick-hard by comparison.
Demand for homes, and loans, has been stoked by a persisting housing shortage as
long-term demographic changes - urbanisation, rising incomes, more nuclear families - transform how and where people live in Asia’s third-biggest economy.
With their eyes on the prize, banks such as state-run Bank of India (BOI) and ICICI Bank, the biggest private sector lender, are swarming the market with discounts and special offers, willing to even live with narrower margins. They are also expanding into lower-tier cities, a market that HDFC is nurturing.
"This is a very safe business. All our branches are working hard to grow home loans. We want to grow faster than the industry," said Anil Verma, BOI's chief financial officer.
BOI is setting up branches that only sell auto and home loans, taking five days to process a mortgage. It often takes between two weeks and a month to get a home loan approved in India.
State Bank of India (SBI), which dethroned HDFC as India's top mortgage lender about two years ago, was charging mortgage interest of up to 200 basis points above its base rate in 2011. SBI is now offering home loans at just 10-30 basis points above the base rate, underscoring the intensifying competition.
SBI's home loans grew 20 per cent in the September quarter from 13 per cent a year earlier. ICICI doubled its mortgage growth to 23 per cent, while HDFC was flat at 23 per cent, according to a report by Ambit Capital this month.
Two of the country’s largest lenders, State Bank of India and HDFC, have cut home loan rates in a surprise bonanza for borrowers who earlier this month saw interest rates inch up. SBI, for the first time, has offered better loan deals to women borrowers. This move, the bank says, will empower women by increasing their share in home ownership. A day after RBI governor Raghuram Raj an decided to hold rates, SBI said that its home loan rates for up to Rs 75 lakh have been reduced from a high of 10.5% to 10.1% if there is a woman borrower involved. Home loans where a male is the sole borrower will incur 10.15%.
The mortgage company said that the new rates are valid for all new applications submitted before January 31, 2014. But the battle for mortgage borrowers is threatening to squeeze net interest margins (NIMs). Analysts expect a 10-20 basis point margin decline for banks in the year ending March 2014 from an average of 3.1 per cent in 2010/11.
Brokerage Jefferies expects HDFC’s NIM to ease to 4.14 per cent from 4.4 per cent over the same period. So far, HDFC's overall profitability has remained unscathed, thanks to demand for homes in smaller cities as well as income from other businesses.
For the December quarter, net profit may have risen about 12 per cent from a year earlier to Rs 1280 crore, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For its part, HDFC, which counts Blackrock Inc, the Singapore government and Aberdeen Asset Management among its investors, is spreading into smaller cities and towns and seeking more agents to find more mortgage borrowers.
It pays a fee to partners Induslnd Bank and Ratnakar Bank to bring in customers, and its share of business from the two banks and other agents has more than doubled in three years to 17 per cent of its total loans in the September quarter.
"We have to go out, we have to keep reaching out, we have to keep up the effort of finding more and more agents, more and more partners who will source loans for us," HDFC CEO Keki Mistry said in an interview last month.
HDFC is also relying increasingly on other businesses including insurance, asset management and private equity to drive profit. In the year ended March 2013, the share of profit from subsidiaries and associate companies more than doubled to 27 per cent from 13 per cent in 2008.
HDFC's stock has risen more than five times over the last decade, compared with a 263 per cent gain in the wider market. It also has the highest concentration of foreign institutional ownership of stocks in the Sensex, at more than 74 per cent, according to data on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Investors have long held it for its relatively stable returns. Its shares fell 4 per cent in 2013, but outperformed the bank index, which lost 9 percent.
SBI, which accounts for a quarter of all loans in India, expects to grow its mortgage loans by about 20 per cent in the current fiscal year. Smaller rival LIC Housing Finance, which posted a 38 per cent profit increase in the December quarter, also expects to grow at 20 per cent during the year. HDFC has a similar projection.
"With 60 per cent of India's population being below 30 years of age, all these people will in the next three, five or seven years need housing and therefore housing loans," HDFC's Mistry said.
While industry players say there is enough business to go around, some analysts are not as hopeful.
"We expect NIMs of both LIC Housing Finance and HDFC Ltd to remain under pressure over FY14-15, owing to continued pressure on incremental spreads from higher competitive intensity," wrote Pankaj Agarwal, analyst at brokerage Ambit Capital, which has a sell rating on HDFC.
Q.
Based on the information given in the passage, which of the following is not a strategy adopted by banks to grow their home loans?
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