English Quizzes, for IBPS PO Mains 2022

Directions (1-5): Read the following passage and answer the following questions based on the given passage.

With collections from the goods and services tax peaking at over ₹1 lakh crore in April, industry hoped the GST Council would make life simpler for an increasingly compliant tax-payer base. Indeed, at its meeting last week the Council decided to introduce a new compliance system under which a single monthly GST return will have to be submitted by firms, barring a few exceptions. However, this will only be done in a phased manner — with the first of three transition stages to begin six months from now. Discussions over simplifying GST returns have been under way for months and considered by the Council, a committee of officers and a Group of Ministers. Nandan Nilekani, chairman of Infosys Technologies, the firm in charge of the GST Network’s IT system, has been consulted. Yet, the solution offered has gaps. For instance, in the second stage of the transition to simpler returns, buyers will get provisional input credit even if the seller doesn’t upload the invoices. While this could lead to disputes, in the third stage input credits will only be granted after sellers upload invoices. If a seller defaults on depositing GST dues collected from a buyer and remains evasive, the authorities can reverse the credit availed by the buyer for such outstanding taxes.
In any case, the timelines for the transition are long and bring fresh uncertainty for businesses still recovering from the initial jitters and confusion around the tax regime. Firms will again have to cope with significant changes in accounting software in the middle of the financial year. The Council, credited with swift and significant course correction in GST processes in its initial months, could have done more. The most troubling is the Centre’s push for the imposition of a cess on sugar over and above the 5% GST levied on it. A cess at the rate of ₹3 a kg is proposed to reduce ‘deep distress’ among sugarcane farmers. Not surprisingly, this faces opposition from several States. It has been rightly argued that this will burden consumers while favouring larger sugarcane-growing States like U.P. and Maharashtra. In addition, a special sugar cess will signal a looming breakdown of the basic tenet of GST: the abolition of such cesses and surcharges, barring the compensation cess for funding States’ revenue losses for five years. Along with a proposal to reward digital GST payments, this has been referred to new ministerial groups, which are to revert in a fortnight. Lastly, the decision to make the GSTN a 100% government-owned firm, instead of the present structure with 51% private ownership, explains neither how this will address data security concerns nor the impact on the Network’s functional efficiency, which was the original stated intent for giving private players an upper hand in operations.

Q1. Why have been the transition phases under GST, a cause of concern for businesses?

(a) The annual GST return calls for the bifurcation of data across various fields such as input tax credit, HSN codes, demands and refunds, to name a few.
(b) GST was introduced in India in July 2017, which means the first year of filing the annual return form GSTR-9 will only be for 9 months and not for the entire year.
(c) Businesses having operations in multiple States/UTs need to file a separate GSTR-9 annual return for each State/UT, and not for the entire company/business as a whole.
(d) The transition phases are long and businesses are still recovering from the initial tensions caused by the new tax regime.
(e) None of these

Q2. Why will any cess on sugar expected to face opposition?

(i) It will undermine the basic feature of GST which is to do away with surcharges and cesses
(ii) It will create an additional burden for consumers simultaneously favoring larger Indian states
(iii) It will alleviate the distress of the sugarcane farmers

(a) Only (i)
(b) Only (ii)
(c) Both (i) & (ii)
(d) Both (ii) & (iii)
(e) All (i), (ii), (iii)

Q3. What was the new compliance system introduced by the government under the GST regime?

(a) The process of refund has been fairly streamlined
(b) Periodic notices even before the year is complete for differences in Input Tax credit claimed by the trade and as appearing in the GSTN network
(c) Firms will have to submit single monthly GST returns
(d) arrest and granting of bail for offences under GST
(e) None of these

Q4. Why were private firms given larger part of GSTN shareholding?

(a) the new tax regime was grappling with the frequent changes and notifications which could be more stable under larger private shareholding
(b) there was absence of any clear guidelines or mechanism for cross charging of expenses
(c) business with multiple locations are finding it difficult to appear for assessment or inquiries before authorities
(d) larger private shareholding was expected to boost GSTN’s functional efficiency
(e) none of these

Q5. What has/ have been the drawback(s) of the solutions offered for simplifying the process of filing online returns under GSTN?

(a) Various writ petitions challenging the procedures and sections of the new tax system are pending before High Courts
(b) Eligibility of input tax credit has been a bone of contention between trade and authorities from pre-GST era.
(c) Periodic notices even before the year is complete for differences in Input Tax credit claimed by the trade and as appearing in the GSTN network are putting a strain on trade and industry.
(d) During the second phase of transition, buyers will receive input tax credit even before sellers upload the invoices which will not be the case in the third phase of transition.
(e) None of these

Directions (6-10): In the following questions, a paragraph is given with three blanks named A,B, and C, followed by six words. You have to choose the most suitable combination of words among the four alternative options, which will fill the blank coherently, forming a grammatically correct and contextually meaningful paragraph. If none of the given combination is appropriate to fill the blank, mark option (e) i.e. “none of these” as your answer choice.

Q6. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said sovereign government _________(A)_________ issues of credit and liquidity does not _________(B)_________ on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) autonomy and _________(C)_________ things will work out with the central bank in future.
(i)debarring
(ii)infringe
(iii)flagging
(iv)hoped
(v) disentangled
(vi) imagine

(a) A-(i), B-(ii), C-(iii)
(b) A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(v)
(c) A-(iv), B-(ii), C-(v)
(d) A-(iii), B-(ii), C-(iv)
(e) None of these

Q7. Mr. Rajan’s note _________(A)_________ to banking reforms in which he argued that public sector bank boards are still not _________(B)_________ professionalised and that the government’s role in deciding board appointments leads to “_________(C)_________ politicisation.”

(i)pertained
(ii) incentivised
(iii)adequately
(iv)inevitable
(v) deplorably
(vi) exclaimed

(a) A-(iii), B-(i), C-(v)
(b) A-(i), B-(iii), C-(iv)
(c) A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(iv)
(d) A-(vi), B-(v), C-(iv)
(e) None of these

Q8. In a/an _________(A)_________ decision that will help secure the rights of Internet users in the country, the Telecom Commission has approved the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on net neutrality. By _________(B)_________ steps that call for amendments to access services licences for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Telecom Operators, the Commission has made it clear that any violation of net neutrality will be _________(C)_________ as a violation of the licence conditions.
(i) wretched
(ii) attenuated
(iii) accelerates
(iv)vital
(v)endorsing
(vi)treated

(a) A-(i), B-(ii), C-(iv)
(b) A-(iv), B-(v), C-(vi)
(c) A-(i), B-(iii), C-(vi)
(d) A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(v)
(e) None of these

Q9. Russia 2018 may not, as FIFA president Gianni Infantino _________(A)_________ put it, have been “the best World Cup ever”, but there is no denying that it was among the most entertaining. The final was a/an _________(B)_________ of the tournament as a whole: a thrilling _________(C)_________ featuring surprises, errors, and loads of goals.

(i) untoward
(ii) delicately
(iii) spectacle
(iv) supercilious
(v) artless
(vi) snapshot

(a) A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(iv)
(b) A-(i), B-(v), C-(vi)
(c) A-(ii), B-(vi), C-(iii)
(d) A-(ii), B-(iii), C-(v)
(e) None of these

Q10. A waiver of the fee charged by banks on fund transfers _________(A)_________ in this week, following a Reserve Bank of India directive. Separately, payment gateway Paytm has denied _________(B)_________ any transaction charges on users transferring money to their wallets from any source, as some media reports had _________(C)_________.

(i)conveyed
(ii)vexation
(iii) saturated
(iv)kicked
(v) resulting
(vi)levying

(a) A-(iv), B-(vi), C-(i)
(b) A-(iv), B-(ii), C-(iii)
(c) A-(v), B-(vi), C-(ii)
(d) A-(vi), B-(i), C-(iii)
(e) None of these

Solutions

S1. Ans. (d)
Sol. To validate the answer, refer to the second paragraph of the passage given above, which states, “In any case, the timelines for the transition are long and bring fresh uncertainty for businesses still recovering from the initial jitters and confusion around the tax regime.” Here, we can infer the quoted text from the statement given in option (d). Hence, option (d) is the most suitable answer choice.

S2. Ans. (c)
Sol. To validate the answer, refer to the second paragraph of the passage given above, which mentions, “A cess at the rate of ₹3 a kg is proposed to reduce ‘deep distress’ among sugarcane farmers. Not surprisingly, this faces opposition from several States. It has been rightly argued that this will burden consumers while favouring larger sugarcane-growing States like U.P. and Maharashtra. In addition, a special sugar cess will signal a looming breakdown of the basic tenet of GST: the abolition of such cesses and surcharges, barring the compensation cess for funding States’ revenue losses for five years.” Here, the reason for opposition can be quoted from statements (i) and (ii). Hence, option (c) is the most suitable answer choice.

S3. Ans. (c)
Sol. To validate the answer, refer to the first paragraph of the passage given above, which mentions, “Indeed, at its meeting last week the Council decided to introduce a new compliance system under which a single monthly GST return will have to be submitted by firms, barring a few exceptions.” Here, the statement given in option (c) clearly justifies the quoted text. Hence, option (c) is the most suitable answer choice.

S4. Ans. (d)
Sol. To validate the answer, refer to the last line of the passage given above, which mentions, “…the impact on the Network’s functional efficiency, which was the original stated intent for giving private players an upper hand in operations.” Referring to the quoted text, we can infer that the statement given in option (d) justifies the text. Hence, option (d) is the most suitable answer choice.

S5. Ans. (d)
Sol. Refer to the last few lines of the first paragraph of the passage given above, which mentions, “…in the second stage of the transition to simpler returns, buyers will get provisional input credit even if the seller doesn’t upload the invoices. While this could lead to disputes, in the third stage input credits will only be granted after sellers upload invoices”. Here, the statement given in option (d) clearly justifies the quoted text. Hence, option (d) is the most suitable answer choice.

S6. Ans. (d)
Sol. Citing hint from the former part of the sentence, “flagging” which means “to mention something so that people know about it” should come in the place of A. And “infringe” which means “actively break the terms”, perfectly fit in the B. Then “hoped” will come in the last blank as Finance Minister hoped things would work out in the future. Apart from these words none of the given options fits in the blank to make it contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (d) is the most suitable answer choice.

S7. Ans. (b)
Sol. For the A “pertained” meaning “to have reference” will correct choice. There is a mention of “a note by Mr.Rajan” in which “he argued the PSBs are not professionalised”. So “adequately” should come in front of professionalised. “Inevitable” will come in the last blank. Hence, option (b) is correct answer choice.
Exclaimed: cry out suddenly in surprise, strong emotion, or pain.
Deplorably: deserving censure or contempt

S8. Ans. (b)
Sol. As per the given lines the decision is important one hence, “vital” will come in the first blank. As for B “endorsing” is the only option, as none of the given options go with “steps”. And the violation mentioned in the last line will be “treated” as a violation of the licence conditions, so “treated” will come in the last blank. Hence, option (b) is correct option choice.
Attenuated: reduced the force, effect, or value of
Wretched: extremely bad or distressing

S9. Ans. (c)
Sol. For A “delicately” an adverb will fit accurately. “Snapshot” meaning “an informal photograph taken quickly, typically with a small handheld camera” will go in the place of B. And “spectacle” will come at C. Hence, option (c) is the correct answer choice.
supercilious: behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others.
untoward: unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient.
artless: without effort or pretentiousness; natural and simple.

S10. Ans. (a)
Sol. The former part of the paragraph tells us that the fee waiver was put forward so “kicked” will come in A. “levying” will come in B which means “imposing (a tax, fee, or fine)”. C will be replaced with “conveyed” as “media reports conveyed” the information provided.
Hence, option (a) is correct answer choice.
Vexation: the state of being annoyed, frustrated, or worried