Reading Comprehension: Social Issues, Management & Finance

Which of the following according to the author has led to class chauvinism in India?

Passage:
India has been under the ‘white man’s regime’ for almost two centuries. Indians claim themselves to be victims of suppression. But frankly, have we not been double faced? If we condemn all racism, why are caste discriminations still a rule rather than being an exception? If we could not accept our oppression by the whites, how could we allow internal iscrimination based on caste and, why, even color? Many students from Tanzania, Uganda etc feel the pinch of racism in Indian educational institutions. ‘Black’ is often the word used by their peers to denote their identity. India’s diversity has often led to class chauvinism. Many have suffered its effects indignantly. There have been innumerable experiences of people, which when narrated can be deemed a national shame.
This caste and color consciousness has been apparent in some supposedly innocuous forms also. Look at all the matrimonial advertisements demanding fair skinned (as if a superior quality) brides. And why are the same matrimonial advertisements divided into castes and other such classes? If we are so obsessed by fair skin why do we rave at racism? Some might believe racism is probably a more sinister evil. It invokes arrogance of a community, both social and economic, and its domination of minority groups. With the advent of globalization though, there has been intermingling of cultures and races, breaking the rigid walls of race supremacy. People have tried to overcome all discrimination to respond to ‘oneness’ of the world. But this is a tedious and slow process. In any case, what is the difference? Discrimination, whether it is based on caste or on race or color, needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
We raised a hue and cry against a TV show in the west, on the issue of racial remarks against Shilpa Shetty. This kind of Indian attitude is surprising - practicing racism internally and condemning it externally. Why do we not raise the same question for ourselves as we raised to support Shilpa Shetty? Why can’t this sympathetic attitude be shown for the castes condemned to the peripherals of our culture? If public, media, and government work responsibly, no West Indian would have to be self - conscious living in a north Indian city.

What has caused class prejudice in India?

Passage:
India has been under the ‘white man’s regime’ for almost two centuries. Indians claim themselves to be victims of suppression. But frankly, have we not been double faced? If we condemn all racism, why are caste discriminations still a rule rather than being an exception? If we could not accept our oppression by the whites, how could we allow internal iscrimination based on caste and, why, even color? Many students from Tanzania, Uganda etc feel the pinch of racism in Indian educational institutions. ‘Black’ is often the word used by their peers to denote their identity. India’s diversity has often led to class chauvinism. Many have suffered its effects indignantly. There have been innumerable experiences of people, which when narrated can be deemed a national shame.
This caste and color consciousness has been apparent in some supposedly innocuous forms also. Look at all the matrimonial advertisements demanding fair skinned (as if a superior quality) brides. And why are the same matrimonial advertisements divided into castes and other such classes? If we are so obsessed by fair skin why do we rave at racism? Some might believe racism is probably a more sinister evil. It invokes arrogance of a community, both social and economic, and its domination of minority groups. With the advent of globalization though, there has been intermingling of cultures and races, breaking the rigid walls of race supremacy. People have tried to overcome all discrimination to respond to ‘oneness’ of the world. But this is a tedious and slow process. In any case, what is the difference? Discrimination, whether it is based on caste or on race or color, needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
We raised a hue and cry against a TV show in the west, on the issue of racial remarks against Shilpa Shetty. This kind of Indian attitude is surprising - practicing racism internally and condemning it externally. Why do we not raise the same question for ourselves as we raised to support Shilpa Shetty? Why can’t this sympathetic attitude be shown for the castes condemned to the peripherals of our culture? If public, media, and government work responsibly, no West Indian would have to be self - conscious living in a north Indian city.

How has globalization played an anti racist role?

Passage:
India has been under the ‘white man’s regime’ for almost two centuries. Indians claim themselves to be victims of suppression. But frankly, have we not been double faced? If we condemn all racism, why are caste discriminations still a rule rather than being an exception? If we could not accept our oppression by the whites, how could we allow internal iscrimination based on caste and, why, even color? Many students from Tanzania, Uganda etc feel the pinch of racism in Indian educational institutions. ‘Black’ is often the word used by their peers to denote their identity. India’s diversity has often led to class chauvinism. Many have suffered its effects indignantly. There have been innumerable experiences of people, which when narrated can be deemed a national shame.
This caste and color consciousness has been apparent in some supposedly innocuous forms also. Look at all the matrimonial advertisements demanding fair skinned (as if a superior quality) brides. And why are the same matrimonial advertisements divided into castes and other such classes? If we are so obsessed by fair skin why do we rave at racism? Some might believe racism is probably a more sinister evil. It invokes arrogance of a community, both social and economic, and its domination of minority groups. With the advent of globalization though, there has been intermingling of cultures and races, breaking the rigid walls of race supremacy. People have tried to overcome all discrimination to respond to ‘oneness’ of the world. But this is a tedious and slow process. In any case, what is the difference? Discrimination, whether it is based on caste or on race or color, needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
We raised a hue and cry against a TV show in the west, on the issue of racial remarks against Shilpa Shetty. This kind of Indian attitude is surprising - practicing racism internally and condemning it externally. Why do we not raise the same question for ourselves as we raised to support Shilpa Shetty? Why can’t this sympathetic attitude be shown for the castes condemned to the peripherals of our culture? If public, media, and government work responsibly, no West Indian would have to be self - conscious living in a north Indian city.

The author quotes from John Lennon's song and calls it 'an apt metaphor for urbanization in India.' What exactly is being referred to?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The famous line by John Lennon from a song in his last album, “Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans,” is an apt metaphor for urbanization in India. 
In September, a UN report, ‘State of the World’s Cities’, noted that Delhi had joined an exclusive league of ‘metacities’—massive conurbations of more than 20 million people. It now outstrips even Shanghai and similar behemoths to rank as the world’s second largest urban agglomeration behind Tokyo, a position it is likely to retain till 2025.
As with much of policy-making in the country, the pattern is one of being reactive not proactive, of forever playing catch-up, in this case trying to provide housing, water, transport and other services to a burgeoning urban population. To attribute purposiveness behind India’s urbanisation is to give our planners and policymakers credit (or blame) where it is not due!
Obviously a mega city has pros and cons - economies of scale that make possible good museums, hospitals and universities (agglomeration economies) have to be balanced against congestion, crime, pollution and administrative challenges (agglomeration diseconomies). In the ultimate analysis, one size-does-not-fit-all and there is space under the sun for cities of all sizes.
That said, three features of India’s urbanisation portend the future. First, till recently and contrary to popular belief, India on the whole urbanised slowly. In 1950 India was more urban than China, but the latter overtook us soon(45% urban compared to our 31%).
Second, in contrast to Europe and Africa, urban Indians tend to live in bigger cities — about 50% of them lived in cities of 5 lakh or more and 42% lived in cities of over a million.
Finally, and more worryingly, urban sprawl is increasing in India — we are urbanising wastefully in terms of land with all its attendant consequences for service delivery.
As Indian cities nibble away at their rural fringe (gobble-up would be a more appropriate description) they also corrode the nation’s moral fiber — the worst instances of corruption and scams are to be found in land deals and rural-urban conversion. Land transactions fuel the black economy and windfall gains of nouveau riche with scant regard for values.
The question then is not one of size since it alone does not make a Delhi or a Mumbai into Shanghai which are indeed bigger or of the same size. It is sensible (compact and dense) urban form, efficient service delivery and accountable and responsive city governments that would make our mega-dysfunctional-cities into Shanghai.

In the context of the passage, which of the following statements would not be true?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The famous line by John Lennon from a song in his last album, “Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans,” is an apt metaphor for urbanization in India. 
In September, a UN report, ‘State of the World’s Cities’, noted that Delhi had joined an exclusive league of ‘metacities’—massive conurbations of more than 20 million people. It now outstrips even Shanghai and similar behemoths to rank as the world’s second largest urban agglomeration behind Tokyo, a position it is likely to retain till 2025.
As with much of policy-making in the country, the pattern is one of being reactive not proactive, of forever playing catch-up, in this case trying to provide housing, water, transport and other services to a burgeoning urban population. To attribute purposiveness behind India’s urbanisation is to give our planners and policymakers credit (or blame) where it is not due!
Obviously a mega city has pros and cons - economies of scale that make possible good museums, hospitals and universities (agglomeration economies) have to be balanced against congestion, crime, pollution and administrative challenges (agglomeration diseconomies). In the ultimate analysis, one size-does-not-fit-all and there is space under the sun for cities of all sizes.
That said, three features of India’s urbanisation portend the future. First, till recently and contrary to popular belief, India on the whole urbanised slowly. In 1950 India was more urban than China, but the latter overtook us soon(45% urban compared to our 31%).
Second, in contrast to Europe and Africa, urban Indians tend to live in bigger cities — about 50% of them lived in cities of 5 lakh or more and 42% lived in cities of over a million.
Finally, and more worryingly, urban sprawl is increasing in India — we are urbanising wastefully in terms of land with all its attendant consequences for service delivery.
As Indian cities nibble away at their rural fringe (gobble-up would be a more appropriate description) they also corrode the nation’s moral fiber — the worst instances of corruption and scams are to be found in land deals and rural-urban conversion. Land transactions fuel the black economy and windfall gains of nouveau riche with scant regard for values.
The question then is not one of size since it alone does not make a Delhi or a Mumbai into Shanghai which are indeed bigger or of the same size. It is sensible (compact and dense) urban form, efficient service delivery and accountable and responsive city governments that would make our mega-dysfunctional-cities into Shanghai.

Which of the following sums up the essence of the passage?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

In this ever changing environment where companies are competing with each other to gain market space, to come up with innovation and increase their productivity, it becomes imperative that organizations adopt practices that help them to attract and retain competitive talent in the work place. It requires the organization to take the right set of people, create an ecosystem where talent can blossom/develop and at the same time weed out people who do not seem to fit into the roles assigned to them. Most of the organizations today have a performance measurement mechanism which helps them to categorize people, identify their competency gaps/strengths and decide compensation structure based on performance.
Performance management systems (PMS) have also evolved over the years. It has changed form in terms of the way it is administered and delivered as well as to the way in which PMS has been approached. It has evolved from a manual system or the normal annual form filling exercise to a more sophisticated system where even large information can be gathered using automated platforms. PMS has also emerged as part of a broader frame work where the organization’s vision, values and objectives are closely connected with each other. It has redefined its form into something more elaborate like a balance scorecard where the processes, financials, learning and development plans of the people are integrated into one. The beginning of the cold war era also saw the two major superpowers coming up with massive leaps in technology, production and making investments on a large scale in research and developmental functions. Both of these superpowers carried out a number of experiments on human beings to map the complications of human brain functioning and to find out what motivated people do to reach for greater heights in their professional as well as personal lives. Big companies with global footprint evermore felt the need to develop such systems as may stimulate people to excel in their roles. The result of these scientific studies and experiments laid the platform for the development of strength finding mechanisms where emphasis was laid on placing people in roles matching their inherent competencies.

Which of the following views is taken by the author?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The famous line by John Lennon from a song in his last album, “Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans,” is an apt metaphor for urbanization in India. 
In September, a UN report, ‘State of the World’s Cities’, noted that Delhi had joined an exclusive league of ‘metacities’—massive conurbations of more than 20 million people. It now outstrips even Shanghai and similar behemoths to rank as the world’s second largest urban agglomeration behind Tokyo, a position it is likely to retain till 2025.
As with much of policy-making in the country, the pattern is one of being reactive not proactive, of forever playing catch-up, in this case trying to provide housing, water, transport and other services to a burgeoning urban population. To attribute purposiveness behind India’s urbanisation is to give our planners and policymakers credit (or blame) where it is not due!
Obviously a mega city has pros and cons - economies of scale that make possible good museums, hospitals and universities (agglomeration economies) have to be balanced against congestion, crime, pollution and administrative challenges (agglomeration diseconomies). In the ultimate analysis, one size-does-not-fit-all and there is space under the sun for cities of all sizes.
That said, three features of India’s urbanisation portend the future. First, till recently and contrary to popular belief, India on the whole urbanised slowly. In 1950 India was more urban than China, but the latter overtook us soon(45% urban compared to our 31%).
Second, in contrast to Europe and Africa, urban Indians tend to live in bigger cities — about 50% of them lived in cities of 5 lakh or more and 42% lived in cities of over a million.
Finally, and more worryingly, urban sprawl is increasing in India — we are urbanising wastefully in terms of land with all its attendant consequences for service delivery.
As Indian cities nibble away at their rural fringe (gobble-up would be a more appropriate description) they also corrode the nation’s moral fiber — the worst instances of corruption and scams are to be found in land deals and rural-urban conversion. Land transactions fuel the black economy and windfall gains of nouveau riche with scant regard for values.
The question then is not one of size since it alone does not make a Delhi or a Mumbai into Shanghai which are indeed bigger or of the same size. It is sensible (compact and dense) urban form, efficient service delivery and accountable and responsive city governments that would make our mega-dysfunctional-cities into Shanghai.

The passage does NOT

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

In this ever changing environment where companies are competing with each other to gain market space, to come up with innovation and increase their productivity, it becomes imperative that organizations adopt practices that help them to attract and retain competitive talent in the work place. It requires the organization to take the right set of people, create an ecosystem where talent can blossom/develop and at the same time weed out people who do not seem to fit into the roles assigned to them. Most of the organizations today have a performance measurement mechanism which helps them to categorize people, identify their competency gaps/strengths and decide compensation structure based on performance.
Performance management systems (PMS) have also evolved over the years. It has changed form in terms of the way it is administered and delivered as well as to the way in which PMS has been approached. It has evolved from a manual system or the normal annual form filling exercise to a more sophisticated system where even large information can be gathered using automated platforms. PMS has also emerged as part of a broader frame work where the organization’s vision, values and objectives are closely connected with each other. It has redefined its form into something more elaborate like a balance scorecard where the processes, financials, learning and development plans of the people are integrated into one. The beginning of the cold war era also saw the two major superpowers coming up with massive leaps in technology, production and making investments on a large scale in research and developmental functions. Both of these superpowers carried out a number of experiments on human beings to map the complications of human brain functioning and to find out what motivated people do to reach for greater heights in their professional as well as personal lives. Big companies with global footprint evermore felt the need to develop such systems as may stimulate people to excel in their roles. The result of these scientific studies and experiments laid the platform for the development of strength finding mechanisms where emphasis was laid on placing people in roles matching their inherent competencies.

Which of the following best explains the utility aspect of financial literacy?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Financial literacy refers to knowledge required for managing personal finance. It does not necessarily refer to formal education in finance. Instead, it encompasses an understanding of how to use credit responsibly, manage money and savings, minimize financial risk and drive long term benefits of savings.
The ultimate goal of financial literacy is the empowerment of people to take action by them that are in their self interest. When people know about the financial products available and when they are able to evaluate the merits and demerits of each product and the suitability of the product for their specific needs, they are in a better position to decide what they want and feel empowered in a meaningful way..
Financial inclusion has been defined by United Nations as ‘a financial sector that provides access to credit for all bankable people and firms and saving and payment services to everyone. Inclusive finance does not require that everyone is eligible to use each of services but they should be able to choose if desired.’ The financial sector provides critical financial services to household and business enterprise which include safe savings and range of risk/return trade off services. It reduces dependence on informal financial sources such as pawn shops, money lenders or informal groups relating to savings and credit associations by poor low income vulnerable group of society. It facilitates payment between different parties and makes them safer to a cash transaction.
The access to financial services viz deposits, loans, money transfer and insurance to the poor and low income group households will help them to insure themselves against shocks such as illness of self or family members, loss of employment etc and equip to meet the eventualities in a better way and they need not be demoralized.
A sizeable population of the world particularly the poor, low income group and vulnerable groups remain excluded from the most basic financial assistance provided by financial sector. It has been universally accepted that developing financial sector and improving access to financial services accelerate economic growth helps to achieve inclusive growth. Although the level of banking exclusion varies across the world, it is the same group of people who are affected, people having low income or who have history of bad debt. Markets exclude them because they do not have sufficient income which can be translated into purchasing power or have assets or capabilities which are translatable into labour and capable of yielding income through wages.

In the context of the passage, financial literacy means

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Financial literacy refers to knowledge required for managing personal finance. It does not necessarily refer to formal education in finance. Instead, it encompasses an understanding of how to use credit responsibly, manage money and savings, minimize financial risk and drive long term benefits of savings.
The ultimate goal of financial literacy is the empowerment of people to take action by them that are in their self interest. When people know about the financial products available and when they are able to evaluate the merits and demerits of each product and the suitability of the product for their specific needs, they are in a better position to decide what they want and feel empowered in a meaningful way..
Financial inclusion has been defined by United Nations as ‘a financial sector that provides access to credit for all bankable people and firms and saving and payment services to everyone. Inclusive finance does not require that everyone is eligible to use each of services but they should be able to choose if desired.’ The financial sector provides critical financial services to household and business enterprise which include safe savings and range of risk/return trade off services. It reduces dependence on informal financial sources such as pawn shops, money lenders or informal groups relating to savings and credit associations by poor low income vulnerable group of society. It facilitates payment between different parties and makes them safer to a cash transaction.
The access to financial services viz deposits, loans, money transfer and insurance to the poor and low income group households will help them to insure themselves against shocks such as illness of self or family members, loss of employment etc and equip to meet the eventualities in a better way and they need not be demoralized.
A sizeable population of the world particularly the poor, low income group and vulnerable groups remain excluded from the most basic financial assistance provided by financial sector. It has been universally accepted that developing financial sector and improving access to financial services accelerate economic growth helps to achieve inclusive growth. Although the level of banking exclusion varies across the world, it is the same group of people who are affected, people having low income or who have history of bad debt. Markets exclude them because they do not have sufficient income which can be translated into purchasing power or have assets or capabilities which are translatable into labour and capable of yielding income through wages.

Financial Inclusion chiefly aims at

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Financial literacy refers to knowledge required for managing personal finance. It does not necessarily refer to formal education in finance. Instead, it encompasses an understanding of how to use credit responsibly, manage money and savings, minimize financial risk and drive long term benefits of savings.
The ultimate goal of financial literacy is the empowerment of people to take action by them that are in their self interest. When people know about the financial products available and when they are able to evaluate the merits and demerits of each product and the suitability of the product for their specific needs, they are in a better position to decide what they want and feel empowered in a meaningful way..
Financial inclusion has been defined by United Nations as ‘a financial sector that provides access to credit for all bankable people and firms and saving and payment services to everyone. Inclusive finance does not require that everyone is eligible to use each of services but they should be able to choose if desired.’ The financial sector provides critical financial services to household and business enterprise which include safe savings and range of risk/return trade off services. It reduces dependence on informal financial sources such as pawn shops, money lenders or informal groups relating to savings and credit associations by poor low income vulnerable group of society. It facilitates payment between different parties and makes them safer to a cash transaction.
The access to financial services viz deposits, loans, money transfer and insurance to the poor and low income group households will help them to insure themselves against shocks such as illness of self or family members, loss of employment etc and equip to meet the eventualities in a better way and they need not be demoralized.
A sizeable population of the world particularly the poor, low income group and vulnerable groups remain excluded from the most basic financial assistance provided by financial sector. It has been universally accepted that developing financial sector and improving access to financial services accelerate economic growth helps to achieve inclusive growth. Although the level of banking exclusion varies across the world, it is the same group of people who are affected, people having low income or who have history of bad debt. Markets exclude them because they do not have sufficient income which can be translated into purchasing power or have assets or capabilities which are translatable into labour and capable of yielding income through wages.

Which of the following can be said to have been suggested by the author?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Financial literacy refers to knowledge required for managing personal finance. It does not necessarily refer to formal education in finance. Instead, it encompasses an understanding of how to use credit responsibly, manage money and savings, minimize financial risk and drive long term benefits of savings.
The ultimate goal of financial literacy is the empowerment of people to take action by them that are in their self interest. When people know about the financial products available and when they are able to evaluate the merits and demerits of each product and the suitability of the product for their specific needs, they are in a better position to decide what they want and feel empowered in a meaningful way..
Financial inclusion has been defined by United Nations as ‘a financial sector that provides access to credit for all bankable people and firms and saving and payment services to everyone. Inclusive finance does not require that everyone is eligible to use each of services but they should be able to choose if desired.’ The financial sector provides critical financial services to household and business enterprise which include safe savings and range of risk/return trade off services. It reduces dependence on informal financial sources such as pawn shops, money lenders or informal groups relating to savings and credit associations by poor low income vulnerable group of society. It facilitates payment between different parties and makes them safer to a cash transaction.
The access to financial services viz deposits, loans, money transfer and insurance to the poor and low income group households will help them to insure themselves against shocks such as illness of self or family members, loss of employment etc and equip to meet the eventualities in a better way and they need not be demoralized.
A sizeable population of the world particularly the poor, low income group and vulnerable groups remain excluded from the most basic financial assistance provided by financial sector. It has been universally accepted that developing financial sector and improving access to financial services accelerate economic growth helps to achieve inclusive growth. Although the level of banking exclusion varies across the world, it is the same group of people who are affected, people having low income or who have history of bad debt. Markets exclude them because they do not have sufficient income which can be translated into purchasing power or have assets or capabilities which are translatable into labour and capable of yielding income through wages.