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?

Look at the underlined part of each sentence. Below each sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them (a), (b) or (c) is better than the underlined part, indicate your response on the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter. If none of the substitutions imporves the sentence, indicate (d) as your response on the Answer Sheet.

He is now looking about a job.

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: Banks, which garner the lion’s share of retail debt allocations, pegged down their term deposit interest rates with alacrity by 200-250 basis points between 2014 and 2016 as market rates fell.
Q: Indian savers have made a decisive shift from real to financial assets in recent years prompted by policy nudges and sluggish gold and property markets.
R: But they have been tardy in passing on the rate increases of the past year.
S: But while umpteen new equity-linked options have sprung up on their menu – MFs, NPS, market-linked insurance plans – there’s a notable dearth of debt options.

The minimum short­term natural hazard is __________

Which of these islands are located in the Arabian Sea?

The largest estuarine mangrove forest in the world is at?

Under the Indus water Treaty, India has not been given the exclusive right over which of the following rivers?

How do you perform in a fast-paced and potentially stressful environment?