Questions

Who is the newly appointed Foreign Secretary of India who took charge in early 2018?

The amount of Rs. 10,000 after 2 years, compounded annually with the rate of interest being 10% per annum during the first year and 12% per annum during the second year, would be (in rupees)

Which famous film actress and celebrity won the PETA 'Person of the Year' award in 2017?

In which year, was the Noble Peace Prize jointly given to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai?

Who received the Man Booker Prize in 2015 for his novel ' A brief history of seven killings'?

The Arjuna Awards given by the Government of India is for public achievement in which of the following fields?

The question below consists of a set of labelled sentences. These sentences, when properly sequenced form a coherent paragraph. Select the most logical order of sentences from among the options.

P: Then the liberalisation process became inevitable.
Q: It encourages initiative, entrepreneurship and competition which is very vital for growth of the economy.
R: In due course of time our institutions became stagnant, corrupt and inefficient due to permit raj and centralized control.
S: Liberalisation enhances economic activities.

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.

According to the passage, which of the following statement is NOT true?