Q1. Statement: People are investing their money in Post Office fixed deposits (FDs) and recurring deposits (RDs) instead of bank FDs and RDs.
Which of the following may be the probable causes for the people doing so?
(A) Bank deposits are not considered safe and secure.
(B) Banks allows low interest rates on FD and RD in comparison to Post Office.
(C) Most of the people are not associated with banking system in India.
(D) Post Offices are widely available in comparison to banks.
(a) Only (A), (C) and (D)
(b) Only (A), (B) and (C)
(c) Only (B), (C) and (D)
(d) Only (D) and (C)
(e) None of the above
Q2. Statement: Google has received India’s permission to start testing Project Loon, under which the company will beam the internet from balloons in the sky, in an effort to provide affordable internet access.
Which of the following can be inferred from the given information? (An inference is something that is not directly stated but can be inferred from the given information).
(a) Project Loon will boost up the internet activities in rural areas.
(b) The privacy of the end user of Internet will be lost.
(c) The project will give an opportunity to watch our country and capture sensitive information, making India more vulnerable.
(d) The company will be able to save lots of money through this project.
(e) None of the above
Q3. Statement: The Central Government of Country X has decided to prune the number of Centrally sponsored schemes to 30 from 50, a move that will allow it to allocate bigger sums to ‘core of the core’ schemes and deflect criticism that it has neglected some critical areas.
Which of the following statements would strengthen the decision taken by Country X?
(a) The government of Country X is not able to properly manage the funds which have been allocated to its states.
(b) The government of Country X found that lots of projects are not benefiting the poor people.
(c) The main focus of the government and social inclusion which require more funds.
(d) The main focus of the government of Country X is on eradicating poverty and strengthening the education system in the country.
(e) The decision will help the states of Country X to spend more on social security programmes.
Q4. Statement: The Government of India has decided to lower the interest rate on small savings schemes offered by the Post Office and on PPF account offered by the banks and the Post Office.
Which of the following may not be a probable reason(s) for lowering the interest rate on small savings schemes?
(A) Banks are not able to fully pass the cut by the RBI to consumers by lowering interest rates on loans in equal proportion.
(B) Most people move towards small savings schemes offered by the Post Office and banks instead of depositing in bank FD, which offers lower rate of interest.
(C) Depositors want higher return in a short span of time.
(D) Depositors have lost interest in savings schemes offered by the banks.
(E) Banks have to generally provide lending to people while Post Office does not offer any lending facility.
(a) Only (B), (C) and (D)
(b) Only (B) and (C)
(c) Only (A) and (D)
(d) Only (C) and (E)
(e) Only (A), (C) and (D)
Q5. Statement: Solar power tariff in India touched a record low of Rs 4.63 per unit, accelerating India’s $160-billion clean energy drive and casting a shadow on fossil fuel plants that pollute air and sometime charge a higher rate.
Which of the following can be inferred from the given information? (An inference is something that is not directly stated but can be inferred from the given information).
(a) Lots of private companies are investing in solar power projects in India.
(b) The government is focusing on clean energy.
(c) The level of Carbon Dioxide (CO_2) in India is rising.
(d) The government is providing for setting up solar power plants.
(e) None of the above
Q6. Statement: The Railways has doubled the ticket cancellation charge as it has proposed to change the refund rules to help genuine passengers get confirmed tickets.
Which of the following has been assumed in the given statement? (An assumption is something that is not directly stated but is supposed or taken for granted.)
(a) There will be no refund after the departure of the train from the station.
(b) It will help check the misuse of tickets.
(c) Touts will not be able to book more tickets in fake names.
(d) Black marketing of tickets will be stopped.
(e) More number of people will be able to get confirmed tickets.
Q7. Statement: The Government of India has hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs. 1.60 per litre and the same on diesel by 40 paise.
Which of the following can be inferred from the given information? (An inference is something that is not directly stated but can be inferred from the given information.)
(a) The government has done this to control the high inflation in the country.
(b) The government has done this to narrow down the gap of Current Account Deficit (CAD).
(c) The government has done this to compensate the loss-making Indian oil companies.
(d) The government has done this to mop up additional revenue to meet budgetary targets.
(e) None of these
Q8. Statement: The government of Country A has decided to take subsidy from rich households out of LPG subsidy scheme with the aim of freeing up resources to provide clean kitchen fuel to more poor families and ensure socially responsible use of public money.
Which of the following inference drawn will be definitely true on the basis of the above passage?
(a) All the people of Country A should give up subsidy voluntarily.
(b) The government of Country A must differentiate between rich and poor households.
(c) The government of country A will be able to save millions of rupees by implementing this step.
(d) People in a particular income bracket should not be allowed the subsidy.
(e) None of the above
Q9. Statement: Bihar clocked an overall 56.8% voter turnout in the state election 2015, the highest among assembly polls held in the state since 2000.
Which of the following may be a probable reason for the growth in the high voter turnout in the year 2015?
(a) Heavy security arrangement by the Election Commission of India
(b) Large number of electorate enrolled in the voters list
(c) Boycott of elections by the Maoists.
(d) Awareness campaign by the Election Commission about the importance of voting
(e) Only (a) and (d)
Q10. The East Central Railway (ECR) has decided to run 22 pairs of special trains to clear rush of passengers after Diwali and Chhathh festivals from different places under its jurisdiction in Bihar.
Which of the following has been assumed in the given statement? (An assumption is something that is not directly stated but is supposed or taken for granted.)
(a) People of Bihar love festival.
(b) Most of the people will get a conferment ticket.
(c) East Central Railway (ECR) will be able to clear the rush of passengers.
(d) Diwali and Chhath are the most auspicious festivals for the people of Bihar.
(e) None of the above
Directions (11-12): Study the following information carefully and answer the question given below:
Statement: Booking a railway ticket through the IRCTC website has never been an easy experience but a sting operation has revealed that more than 2 lakh railway tickets under the Tatkal quota are booked by travel agents in a matter of 30 seconds, leaving almost nothing for others trying to book tickets through the site.
Q11. Which of the following can be inferred from the given information? (An inference is something that is not directly stated but can be inferred from the given information)
(a) Booking Tatkal ticket is not everybody’s cup of tea.
(b) People should book tickets in advance and should not depend on Tatkal tickets.
(c) Indian Railways should ban all the travel agents across the country.
(d) People should not depend on the railways for travelling in the last minute.
(e) None of the above
Q12. Which of the following courses of action will be taken by the government against the IRCTC for making the booking hassle-free?
(a) The government should cancel the licence of IRCTC and tickets should be allowed to be sold on railway reservation counters.
(b) A strict action should be taken against the IRCTC officials.
(c) IRCTC should not be allowed to give licence to any new travel agent.
(d) Tatkal tickets should be allowed to be sold from railway counters only.
(e) Only (b) and (d)
Q13. Statement: Indian carmakers posted an impressive 22% growth in the month of October by selling about 2.66 lakh units, making it the third-highest sales dispatch in a month in the history of Indian automotive industry.
Which of the following may be a probable reason for this growth in the sales of four-wheelers?
(A) Imposition of new taxes on the new buyers of four-wheelers.
(B) Rise in the domestic demand of imported cars
(C) Manufacturers offering heavy discount to retail customers.
(D) Reduction in the waiting period in the delivery of cars
(E) Arrival of new models in the market.
(a) Only (A), (C) and (D)
(b) Only (B), (C) and (E)
(c) Only (C), (D) and (E)
(d) Only (B), (C) and (D)
(e) All of these
Q14. Statement: Indian Railways has introduced a new scheme under which waitlisted passengers will get confirmed ticket in the next alternative train if they opt for the option while booking their tickets online.
Which of the following can be concluded from the above information?
(a) Waitlisted passengers of a train will be given option of getting confirmed accommodation in the next train running on the same route.
(b) The name of the passengers who have been provided accommodation in the alternative train will not figure in the waitlisted charts of their original train.
(c) People travelling with unreserved ticked in reserved compartment will be fined very strictly.
(d) The initiative taken by the Railways will help more passengers get confirmed seats and the Railways earn revenue from the vacant seats.
(e) None of the above
Directions (15): In making decisions about important question, it is desirable to be able to distinguish between “strong” arguments and “weak” arguments in so far as they relate to the question. “Strong” arguments are those which are both importance and directly related to the question. “Weak” arguments are those which are of minor importance and also may not be directly related to the question or may be related to a trivial aspect to the question.
Each question below is followed by two arguments numbered I and II. You have to decide which of the arguments is a “strong” argument and which is a “weak” argument. Give answer
(a) If only argument I is “strong”.
(b) If only argument II is “strong”.
(c) If either I or II is “strong”.
(d) If neither I nor II is “strong”.
(e) If both I and II are “strong”.
Q15. Statement: Should our parliament pass a resolution to ban cow slaughter?
Arguments:
I. Yes; the cow gives up milk, which is used as raw material for different products.
II. No; this policy will cost us abnormally high amount.