Questions

Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.

The conclusion of World Trade Organization’s 11th biennial ministerial conference at Buenos Aires was worrisome. From an Indian standpoint, there was no loss as status quo continues in the most important issue: the right to continue the food security programme by using support prices. But the inability of the negotiators to reach even one substantive outcome suggests that WTO’s efficacy is under question. As a 164-country multilateral organisation dedicated to crafting rules of trade through consensus, WTO represents the optimal bet for developing countries such as India. Strengthening WTO is in India’s best interest.

Perhaps the biggest threat to WTO’s efficacy today is the attitude of the US. The world’s largest economy appears to have lost faith in the organisation and has begun to undermine one of its most successful segments, the dispute redressal mechanism. This is significant as the US has been directly involved in nearly half of all cases brought to WTO. Separately, large groups of countries decided to pursue negotiations on e-commerce, investment facilitation and removal of trade obstacles for medium and small scale industries. By itself this should not weaken WTO. But it comes at a time when there is growing frustration with gridlock at WTO.

India did well to defend its position on its food security programme. The envisaged reform package which will see a greater use of direct cash transfers to beneficiaries will be in sync with what developed countries do. But it’s important for India to enhance its efforts to reinvigorate WTO. In this context, India’s plan to organise a meeting of some countries early next year is a step in the right direction. WTO represents the best available platform to accommodate interests of a diverse set of nations. Therefore, India should be at the forefront of moves to fortify it.

Which of the following nation is keen to fortify its interest on WTO platform?

In the given question, a part of the sentence is printed in bold. Below the sentence, three alternatives to the bold part are given which may help improve the sentence. Choose the option that reflects the correct use of the phrase in the context of the sentence. In case the given sentence is correct, your answer is (E) i.e. No correction required. Living in the heart of New York city is certainly like a far cry from living in the rural countryside. (i) heart of New York city is certainly a far cry from (ii) heart of New York city is a far cry than (iii) heart of the New York city is certainly ruing

The latitudes of main land of India extends between __________.

Indravati Tiger Reserve is in which state?

The ________ balance is the sum of the balance of merchandise trade, services and net transfers received from the rest of the world.

In the following questions, the sentence given with blank to be filled in with an appropriate word. Select the correct alternative out of the four and indicate it by selecting the appropriate option.

Education is for life, not merely for a livelihood. As long as we are unmindful of this _____, the _____ of our educational curriculum as well as that of our _____ and students is likely to remain _____. It is not enough for a society to have experts. It needs human beings who can think, feel and act generously, the kind of people who cannot be replaced by computers and _____.

the kind of people who cannot be replaced by computers and _____.

Which of the following authors wrote the novel ‘The Black Hill’ ?

4*(-­0.1(5.5 + 8.5)) of 0.5 = ?