Dear Aspirants, Our IBPS Guide team is providing a new series of English Language Questions for IBPS Clerk 2021 Mains so the aspirants can practice it on a daily basis. These questions are framed by our skilled experts after understanding your needs thoroughly. Aspirants can practice these new series questions daily to familiarize with the exact exam pattern and make your preparation effective.
Paragraph fillers
Direction (1-5): In each of the following questions a short passage is given with one of the lines in the passage missing and represented by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given, to make the passage complete and coherent.
1) ________________________________________. Other states in which the Congress holds office, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, could follow suit soon. Notwithstanding whether President Ram NathKovind gives his assent to the state bills that undermine the central ones, the important issue is to sift the grain from chaff — how much of this conflict is about economics aimed at helping farmers and how much sheer politics. My take on this episode is that it is 90 per cent politics and only 10 per cent economics — if at all. Let me explain.
- By passing its farm bills, Punjab has fired the first salvo against the pieces of legislation enacted by Parliament last month.
- In Punjab’s farm laws, I find resonances of the wheat trade takeover of 1973-74 — that was also the period of “licence raj” in industry with marginal income tax rates going as high as 98 per cent.
- Do we want to go back to the economic philosophy of those days in the early 1970s that gave us what my teacher, the famous agri-economist, Raj Krishna, described as the “Hindu rate of growth” or 3.5 per cent GDP growth?
- Anyone trying to do so will end up with three years in prison, and also levied a hefty fine.
- In 2003, a model act on agri-marketing was circulated to the states.
2) Punjab’s farm bills prohibit private players from buying wheat and paddy below the MSP (minimum support price) even outside the APMC (agriculture produce market committee) markets. __________________________. The point is that this pertains only to wheat and paddy. Why not do it for other crops, say maize, cotton, pulses and oilseeds that are under the ambit of the central MSP system? Or even extend it to milk and vegetables by declaring local MSPs for them? Because the state government is smart and knows full well that it will create a fiasco in agri-markets, which might boomerang on it politically.
- Anyone trying to do so will end up with three years in prison, and also levied a hefty fine.
- In 2003, a model act on agri-marketing was circulated to the states.
- Let me get to the economic roots of this politics.
- My reading is that the Congress and many social activists who demand that MSP be made a legal instrument (rather than indicative) actually exhibit deep distrust of the private sector and markets. This line of thinking goes back to about 50 years.
- All this was part of the socialist era, although the word, “socialist”, was inducted in the Preamble of the Constitution only in 1976.
3) ___________________________. Not really, as the Centre already buys more than 95 per cent of Punjab’s wheat and paddy at MSP through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state procurement agencies. So, where is the economic gain for the Punjab farmer? Much of the uproar is about the Rs 5,000 crore that the state government (Rs 3,500 crore) and arhtiyas (Rs 1,500 crore) squeeze annually from the FCI for wheat and paddy procurement.
- The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up a high-level committee (HLC) under Shanta Kumar in 2014 to restructure the grain management system.
- Would a law for only wheat and paddy help farmers?
- Do we want to go back to the economic philosophy of those days in the early 1970s that gave us what my teacher, the famous agri-economist, Raj Krishna, described as the “Hindu rate of growth” or 3.5 per cent GDP growth?
- The COVID-19 crisis opened a window of opportunity to reform the agri-marketing system.
- It may be worth recalling what late Indira Gandhi did to wheat and paddy traders in 1973-74, when she was at the peak of her popularity.
4) Let me get to the economic roots of this politics. My reading is that the Congress and many social activists who demand that MSP be made a legal instrument (rather than indicative) actually exhibit deep distrust of the private sector and markets. This line of thinking goes back to about 50 years. _______________________. Recall that in 1971, she had won the war with Pakistan (that gave birth to Bangladesh), abolished the privy purses of the families of erstwhile princely states, given the catchy slogan of “Garibihatao”, and nationalised commercial banks in 1969. All this was part of the socialist era, although the word, “socialist”, was inducted in the Preamble of the Constitution only in 1976.
- It may be worth recalling what late Indira Gandhi did to wheat and paddy traders in 1973-74, when she was at the peak of her popularity.
- The COVID-19 crisis opened a window of opportunity to reform the agri-marketing system.
- The Modi government grabbed it — this is somewhat akin to the crisis of 1991 leading to de-licensing of industry.
- Patience and professionalism will bring rich rewards in due course, not noisy politics.
- But Indira Gandhi learnt, and gave up the policy the very next year.
5) In October 1972, Indira Gandhi announced an important agri-marketing policy step — that the wholesale trade in wheat and rice (paddy) will be taken over by the government as traders were being unscrupulous in not giving farmers their due MSP and manipulating prices. The first marketing season of the government takeover of wholesale wheat trade, in 1973-74, saw a major fiasco. Market arrivals dropped, and wheat prices shot up by more than 50 per cent. It was a bitter lesson. ________________________________________.
- But Indira Gandhi learnt, and gave up the policy the very next year.
- It also tried going the Vajpayee way through model acts on agri-marketing reforms.
- But again, they did not go far enough.
- The COVID-19 crisis opened a window of opportunity to reform the agri-marketing system.
- The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up a high-level committee (HLC) under Shanta Kumar in 2014 to restructure the grain management system.
Spelling check
Directions (6-10): In each question below, four words printed in bold type are given. These are numbered (A), (B), (C) and (D). One these words printed in bold might either be wrongly spelt or inappropriate in thecontext of the sentence. Find out the word that is inappropriate or wrongly spelt, if any. The number of the word is your answer. If the words printed in bold are correctly spelt and appropriate in the context of the sentence then mark (E), i.e. ‘All Correct’, as your answer.
6) Earlier ahead (A) of the festive season, the bank had announced (B) concessions (C) in interest rate (D) on home loan and car loan.
- Ahead
- Announced
- Concession
- Rate
- All are correct
7) Every single argument (A) over the failures of French multiculturelism (B) or its neocolonial (C) past is being trotted (D) out as an explanation.
- Argument
- Multiculturelism
- Neocolonial
- Trotted
- All are correct
8) To put the point bluntly (A), the use of caricature (B) or writings about Muhammad as a paradigm (C) case to limit free speech does incalculable (D) harm to liberal freedom across the world.
- Bluntly
- Caricature
- Paradigm
- Incalculable
- All are correct
9) Offensiveness (A) has become a competitive community sport in many contexts, presisely (B) because it can beweaponised (C) for political mobilisation (D).
- Offensiveness
- Precisely
- Weaponised
- Mobilisation
- All are correct
10) No doubt then that you can feel the passions (A) flowing right through you in the run-up to a match, specially (B) as you might’ve predicted (C) its outcome somewhere (D) or the other already.
- Passions
- Specially
- Predicted
- Somewhere
- All are correct
Answers :
Directions (1-5) :
1) Answer: A
The line missing is the introductory line, and from the mentioning pf “other states” in the next line it is clear that the blank is speaking about a certain states. Amongst all the options only option A and B has mentioned a certain state’s name. But the next lien after the blank also speaks of a certain suit, which is unlikely highlighted in option B but a certain fact. However, from option A we can infer a closer meaning to the paragraph.
Therefore, option A is the correct answer.
2) Answer: A
The line prior to the blank highlights about the prohibition of certain things. The next line after the blank highlights the problem in this prohibition. Thus, the blank must consist of the sentence that explains the ramifications if the prohibition is violated. Only option A is close to the context.
Therefore, option A is the correct answer.
3) Answer: B
By understanding the line next to the blank it seems to answer a certain question. This narrows us down option B and C. Now, according to the context of the answer, it speaks about paddy which is closer to option B
Therefore, option B is the correct answer.
4) Answer: A
The line prior to the blank speaks about taking us back about 50 years, thus with that case option B, C and D gets eliminated. Only option A and E speaks about Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India in the past. But only option A speaks closely with the context.
Therefore, option A is the correct answer.
5) Answer: A
The initial statement of this paragraph speaks about Indira Gandhi and her policy. Later, in the paragraph it explains its whereabouts. Thus, since the blank is a conclusive sentence, ending the paragraph with Indira Gandhi seems best in this context. In that case only option A holds true.
Therefore, option A is the correct answer.
Directions (6-10) :
6) Answer: D
The sentence speaks about concessions on two loans, thus inferring a plural sense. Rate on the other hand speaks in a singular term, which is erroneous. This should be replaced with rates.
Therefore, option D is the correct answer.
7) Answer: B
Multiculturelismis misspelled in this sentence. It should be spelled as multiculturalism that refers to the presence of, or support for the presence of, several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society.
Therefore, option B is the correct answer.
8) Answer: B
Since, the word caricature is associated with a plural word writings, it is clear that this word must also be in its plural form, which is not in this case. Thus, replacing it as caricatures solves the mistake.
Therefore, option B is the correct answer.
9) Answer: B
The word precisely is misspelled, thus is erroneous. It should be changed as precisely, which means in exact terms; without vagueness.
Therefore, option B is the correct answer.
10) Answer: B
Specially, which refers for a special purpose, is erroneous in this context. It should rightly be replaced with especially used to single out one person or thing over all others, to make the word more with the context.
Therefore, option B is the correct answer.
