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Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.
Are the latest employment estimates by the Central Statistics Office factually correct? No. They are off the mark, and confined to the economy’s formal sector, accounting at best for 15% of the workforce. If one acknowledges that GDP estimates have apparently overstated domestic output growth on account of the infirmities in the methods applied and datasets used. Between September 2017 and April 2018, says a CSO media release last week titled Payroll Reporting in India, An Employment Perspective April 2018, the economy added 4.1 million new jobs in the formal sector. Apparently, these estimates supplement the data on organised sector employment that are reported regularly in the Economic Survey since the early 1960s, compiled by the Directorate General of Employment, Ministry of Labour and Employment. The CSO release defines jobs as ones that provide at least one government financed social security benefit such as Employees’ Provident Fun, National Pension Scheme, or Employees’ State Insurance Scheme. As the formal sector accounts for just about 8-15% of India’s workforce, the official estimates are completely silent about the majority of the workforce engaged in the informal sector. Ignoring the tiny size of the formal sector for the moment, how reliable or credible are the official estimates? Very little and for two reasons, the estimates are based on administrative records of implementing the social security schemes, whose completeness, consistency and accuracy are unknown; and since a formal sector worker, in principle, can legitimately access more than one social security scheme, double counting is a distinct possibility. The release does not explain how the problem is addressed in the database. Therefore, rightly, experts have demanded the release of the administrative data for independent verification. Moreover, the official data suffer from a conceptual problem. The social security databases, by design, are lists of workers enrolled in the schemes, as an entitlement or as voluntary subscribers not employment registers.
The present government, in its efforts to formalise employment, has incentivised employers to enroll workers under EPF by offering to make employers’ contribution to the social security scheme for three years, thus boosting enrolment. Maharashtra, for instance, as an additional labour welfare measure, has widened the ambit of EPF to include all power-loom workers, boosting formal sector employment. The formal sector stands at the apex of India’s labour market pyramid, agriculture being at the bottom, employing 50% of the workforce. Moreover, nearly half of the informal labour workers are self-employed in household enterprises, often engaging unpaid family labour. Varying degrees of disguised unemployment are the defining feature of informal labour markets. As the last round of the EUS was in held in 2011-12, there is no reliable way of updating employment trends. The EUS has been replaced with an annual Period Labour Force Survey, and a time use survey. However, it will be a while before these data series come up with stable and credible estimates. The Labour Bureau under the Ministry of Labour and Employment has been carrying out household surveys somewhat similar to the EUS since 2010-11. They show a decline in worker-population ratio between 2013-14 and 2015-16, suggesting a deteriorating employment situation recently. Why are so few jobs created when the economy is said to growing at over 7%? An answer is that GDP growth figures are probably overestimated on account of the mis-measurement of GDP in the new National Accounts Statistics series. Demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax seem to have dented informal sector production and employment, which official data sources seem in no position to capture. The CSO’s press release has claimed that 4.1 million new jobs were created in the economy’s formal sector during eight months since last September. It is based on enrolment of additional workers under state-provided social security schemes. Conceptually, the data are about enrolment in the social schemes, not about new jobs generated. The official claim is about the formal or organised sector, which at best counts for 15% of India’s labour force. In the absence of a nation-wide, time-tested EUS data for recent years, there is no way of knowing what is happening in agriculture and the non-farm informal sector, accounting for 85% of the workforce.
Now question is what can be done. First, an industrial and trade policy is needed. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is finally preparing an industrial policy. While the DIPP is preparing the industrial policy document, it is essential that trade policy is consistent with such an industrial policy. An inverted duty structure has the following features: higher duty on intermediate goods compared to final finished goods. As a result, domestic manufacturers face high tariffs since the last 12-15 years, leading to higher raw material cost at home, emanating from the unfavourable inverted duty structure. Second, special packages are needed for labour-intensive industries to create jobs. There are a number of labour intensive manufacturing sectors in India such as food processing, leather and footwear, wood manufacturers and furniture, textiles and apparel and garments. The other labour intensive sectors have been ignored. Three, there should be cluster development to support job creation in micro, small and medium enterprises. Most of the unorganised sector employment is in MSMEs, which tend to be concentrated in specific geographic locations. There are 1,350 modern industry clusters in India and an additional 4,000 traditional product manufacturing clusters, like handloom, handicraft and other traditional single product group clusters. There is a cluster development programme of the Ministry of MSMEs, which is poorly funded and could be better designed as well. But the Ministry’s total annual budget for all programmes, including cluster development, is grossly inadequate. Fourth, align urban development with manufacturing clusters to create jobs. The Ministry of Urban Development has a programme called AMRUT aimed at improving infrastructure for small towns. Infrastructure investment by the government always creates many jobs. Fifth, focus of women. Girls are losing out in jobs, or those with increasing education can’t find them, despite having gotten higher levels of education in the last 10 years. Secondary enrolment in the country rose from 58% to 85% in a matter of five years with gender parity. And sixth, public investments in health, education, police and judiciary can create many government jobs. Public investment in the health sector has remained even in the last three years at 1.15% of GDP, despite the creation of the national health policy at the beginning of 2017. The policy indicates that expenditure on health will rise to 2.5% of GDP only by 2025. Given the state of health and nutrition of the population, it is critical that public expenditure on health is increased faster and not as late as 2025.
1) According to the passage which of the following statements are mentioned as measures to revive job growth?
i) In order to strengthen job growth there is need of industrial and trade policy
ii) There is need of private investments in health, education, police and judiciary which in turn will create jobs
iii) There is a need of a cluster development to support job creation in micro, small and medium enterprises
a) i and ii
b) ii and iii
c) Only i
d) i and iii
e) None of these
2) According to the passage which of the following statements have been mentioned correct about formal or organized sector in India?
i) The formal sector stands at the apex of India’s labour market pyramid which employ 55 per cent of the workforce.
ii) The formal sector accounts for just about 8-15 percent of India’s workforce
iii) As per the latest data released by CSO the economy added 4.1 million new jobs in the formal sector.
a) ii and iii
b) i and ii
c) Only ii
d) i and iii
e) None of these
3) According to the passage which of the following is not one of the labour intensive manufacturing sectors in India?
a) Leather and footwear
b) Wood manufacturers and furniture
c) Food processing
d) Real estate and infrastructure
e) Textiles and apparel and garments
4) According to the passage why the official estimates related to formal sector cannot be considered completely reliable?
i) Because the Ministry’s total annual budget for the sector remains grossly inadequate.
ii) Because the estimates are based on administrative records of executing the security schemes, whose completeness, consistency and accuracy are unknown
iii) Because the estimates does not explain how the problem is undertaken in the database.
a) i and ii
b) ii and iii
c) Only iii
d) Only ii
e) Only i
5) According to the passage which of the following statements has been mentioned correct as per the survey done by Labour Bureau under the Ministry of Labour and Employment?
i) The survey data show a decline in worker-population ratio between 2013-14 and 2015-16 suggesting a deteriorating employment situation
ii) Enrolment in the country rose from 58% to 85% in a matter of five years with gender parity
iii) Nearly half of the informal labour workers are self-employed in household enterprises, often engaging unpaid family labour
a) ii and iii
b) i and iii
c) Only i
d) Only ii
e) None of these
6) Which of the following is true in the context of the passage?
i) AMRUT is a programme under the Ministry of Urban Development which aimed at improving infrastructure for small towns
ii) The CSO release defines jobs as ones that provide at least one government financed social security benefit such as National Pension Scheme or Employees’ State Insurance Scheme
iii) There are about 1,350 modern industry clusters in India and an additional 4,000 traditional product manufacturing clusters, like handloom, handicraft and other traditional single product group clusters.
a) ii and iii
b) i and ii
c) Only ii
d) i and iii
e) All are correct
7) Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word “emanating” printed in bold as used in the passage
a) Stashing
b) Egressing
c) Dissembling
d) Harboring
e) Ensconcing
8) Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word “disguised” printed in bold as used in the passage
a) Divulge
b) Apprise
c) Enlighten
d) Obfuscate
e) Proclaim
9) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word “dented” in bold as used in the passage
a) Perforate
b) Gouge
c) Officiate
d) Imprint
e) Indent
10) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word “ambit” in bold as used in the passage
a) Extension
b) Compass
c) Boundary
d) Purlieus
e) Verge
Directions (11-15): Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Below the sentence are five sets of words. Choose the set of words for each blank that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
11) High food inflation ________ over to the general price level during the United Progressive Alliance regime because inflation expectations were not _________.
a) Cascade, secured
b) Baffled, fastened
c) Spilled, anchored
d) Inundate, disembarked
e) Spurted, intruded
12) The process involves leveraging the expertise of field executives who have a better understanding of local addresses and before ________ a model, the data is rectified, __________ and monitored.
a) Establish, substantiated
b) Deploying, validated
c) Promulgate, sanctioned
d) Exhibiting, repudiated
e) Evincing, chastised
13) If the objective is __________ of rural distress, the government’s programme looks far more promising. But in the long run, there is no alternative to creating enough jobs outside agriculture to absorb the _________ unemployment.
a) Mitigation, pretense
b) Palliation, dissimulate
c) Abrasion, obfuscated
d) Alleviation, disguised
e) Mutilation, simulated
14) Addressing the curse of _________ capitalism will be key to restoring balance to public policy but _________ the trust deficit built over so many decades is easier said than done.
a) Stigmatized, bridging
b) Denounce, spanning
c) Confided, extending
d) Disgrace, cambering
e) Proffered, subtending
15) The entire system of healthcare food chain may be ________ with short-term gains, but the victory is incredibly pyrrhic, as the long-term damage to the ecosystem is ________.
a) Engulf, mortifying
b) Flooded, devastating
c) Saturate, consecrating
d) Overwhelmed, revering
e) Dismayed, annihilating
Directions (16-20): In each of the following questions on phrase has been given and it has been followed by four sentences. You have to find out on which sentences phrase has been used properly according to its meaning and mark your answer from the options denoted a), b), c),d). Mark e) as your answer of you find that the phrase has been applied properly in all sentences
16) Edge out
i) The runner edged her opponent out at the last moment.
ii) Everyone was talking at once and he barely managed to edge out a word
iii) One of my coworkers is trying to edge me out of my job.
iv) The party was packed so I edged out and took a place by the corner.
a) ii and iv
b) i and ii
c) iii and iv
d) i and iii
e) All are correct
17) Bust up
i) The house is so old that the plaster on this wall has busted up
ii) They busted up to the three men who were fighting.
iii) Max busted up his friend pretty badly.
iv) The rocket busted up in midair.
a) ii and iii
b) i and iv
c) iii and iv
d) All except ii
e) All are correct
18) Crack up
i) I knew I would crack up during the love scene.
ii) There was a terrible crack-up on the expressway.
iii) I decided to crack up with my novel until the break.
iv) Crack up with that report, we need it by this afternoon.
a) iii and iv
b) i and ii
c) ii and iv
d) All except iii
e) All are correct
19) Whittle away
i) The carpenter whittled the excess wood away.
ii) The sculptor whittled away the clay until a perfect form emerged.
iii) My courage whittled away with each step forward I took.
iv) He whittled away the wood.
a) i and ii
b) iii and iv
c) ii and iii
d) i and iv
e) All are correct
20) Lay away
i) I lay away part of my paycheck every week to save for a new car.
ii) The manager laid away the oven until we could get to the store.
iii) I gave the salesman a money, and he laid the carpet away for me
iv) He laid away all hopes of winning first prize
a) i and ii
b) iii and iv
c) ii and iii
d) i and iv
e) All are correct
Answers:
1). Answer: d)
It is mentioned in para 3-First, an industrial and trade policy is needed. There should be cluster development to support job creation in micro, small and medium enterprises.
2). Answer: a)
It is mentioned in para 1-Between September 2017 and April 2018, says a CSO media release last week titled Payroll Reporting in India, the economy added 4.1 million new jobs in the formal sector. As the formal sector accounts for just about 8-15% of India’s workforce, the official estimates are completely silent about the majority of the workforce engaged in the informal sector.
3). Answer: d)
It is mentioned in para 3-There are a number of labour intensive manufacturing sectors in India such as food processing, leather and footwear, wood manufacturers and furniture, textiles and apparel and garments.
4). Answer: b)
It is mentioned in para 1-Ignoring the tiny size of the formal sector for the moment, how reliable or credible are the official estimates? Very little and for two reasons, the estimates are based on administrative records of implementing the social security schemes, whose completeness, consistency and accuracy are unknown; and since a formal sector worker, in principle, can legitimately access more than one social security scheme, double counting is a distinct possibility. The release does not explain how the problem is addressed in the database.
5). Answer: c)
It is mentioned in para 2-The Labour Bureau under the Ministry of Labour and Employment has been carrying out household surveys somewhat similar to the EUS since 2010-11. They show a decline in worker-population ratio between 2013-14 and 2015-16, suggesting a deteriorating employment situation recently.
6). Answer: e)
It is clearly mentioned in para 1&3-There are 1,350 modern industry clusters in India and an additional 4,000 traditional product manufacturing clusters, like handloom, handicraft and other traditional single product group clusters. The Ministry of Urban Development has a programme called AMRUT aimed at improving infrastructure for small towns. Infrastructure investment by the government always creates many jobs, The CSO release defines jobs as ones that provide at least one government financed social security benefit such as Employees’ Provident Fun, National Pension Scheme, or Employees’ State Insurance Scheme.
7). Answer: b)
The meaning of emanating is to originate from or be produced by.
8). Answer: d)
The meaning of disguised is to pretend to be or pose as
9). Answer: c)
The meaning of dented is to have an adverse effect on something
10). Answer: e)
The meaning of ambit is the scope, extent, or bounds of something.
Direction (11-15)
11). Answer: c)
The meaning of “spilled” is “to reach a point at which it can no longer be controlled such as bad situation” and it is suitable for i blanks and the meaning of “anchored” is “hold, be held securely” so it is appropriate for ii blank.
12). Answer: b)
The meaning of “deploying” is “to utilize or bring into effective action” and it is suitable for i blanks and the meaning of “validated” is “to make or declare legally valid” so it is appropriate for ii blank.
13). Answer: d)
The meaning of “alleviation” is “the action or process of making a problem less severe” and it is suitable for i blanks and the meaning of “disguised” is “to falsify or conceal” so it is appropriate for ii blank.
14). Answer: a)
The meaning of “stigmatized” is “describe or regard as of great disapproval” and it is suitable for i blanks and the meaning of “bridging” is “to make something smaller or less significant” so it is appropriate for ii blank.
15). Answer: b)
The meaning of “flooded” is “fill or suffuse completely” and it is suitable for i blanks and the meaning of “devastating” is “highly destructive or damaging” so it is appropriate for ii blank.
Direction (16-20):
16). Answer: d)
The meaning of “edge out” is to displace or surpass someone or something gradually and the phrase has been applied properly in i and iii sentences
17). Answer: d)
The meaning of “bust out” is to break up due to natural causes or to beat someone up and the phrase has been applied properly in i, iii and iv sentences
18). Answer: b)
The meaning of “crack up” is to to break out in laughter or to have an accident or wreck and the phrase has been applied properly in i and ii sentences
19). Answer: e)
The meaning of “whittle away” is to reduce, or weaken something or to eliminate something and not wanted and the phrase has been applied properly in all the sentences
20). Answer: c)
The meaning of “lay away” is to have something held for future delivery by paying partly for it beforehand and the phrase has been applied properly in ii and iii sentences
Daily Practice Test Schedule | Good Luck
| Topic | Daily Publishing Time |
| Daily News Papers & Editorials | 8.00 AM |
| Current Affairs Quiz | 9.00 AM |
| Quantitative Aptitude “20-20” | 11.00 AM |
| Vocabulary (Based on The Hindu) | 12.00 PM |
| General Awareness “20-20” | 1.00 PM |
| English Language “20-20” | 2.00 PM |
| Reasoning Puzzles & Seating | 4.00 PM |
| Daily Current Affairs Updates | 5.00 PM |
| Data Interpretation / Application Sums (Topic Wise) | 6.00 PM |
| Reasoning Ability “20-20” | 7.00 PM |
| English Language (New Pattern Questions) | 8.00 PM |
