Reading Comprehension Test - 10

Is the electronic media a monster that needs to be tamed?

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

The closure of the popular tabloid, News of the World, the arrest of the top executives of the Rupert Murdoch-run News International on phone hacking charges and the proceedings of the Leveson inquiry have focussed attention on the skewed internal workings of an otherwise vibrant British media. This has resulted in a bizarre turning of the tables. A readership accustomed to viewing the media as white knights in shining armour puncturing the pretensions of the powerful and the pompous has suddenly been exposed to unethical practices, blatant illegalities and the cosy relationship that exists between the fourth estate and politicians. 
The results have not been edifying. In the past, the media conducted themselves with the militant cussedness of trade unions. Every right was fiercely guarded and transformed into a privilege; every hint of regulation was instantly transformed into a larger battle for democracy; and the occasional statement on accountability was painted as an insidious assault on the people’s inalienable right to know.
The boot is now on the other foot. Instead of being assiduously wooed and flattered by the powerful, the Leveson inquiry has witnessed powerful media barons such as Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, being subjected to merciless interrogation. Indeed, as the inquiry meanders from the internal workings of the newsrooms to politics, the likes of the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, are having a torrid time explaining their convivial relations with the Murdoch empire. Hostile public opinion is veering to the opinion that existing laws and quasi-official bodies such as the Press Complaints Commission aren’t enough. What the media need is a public-spirited, independent regulator.
It is difficult to gauge whether or not the chairman of Press Council, Markandey Katju, was influenced by developments in London when he rushed into battle against India’s ‘unionized’ media. A high-spirited individual with very definite (and occasionally bizarre) views on all subjects ranging from Salman Rushdie’s writings to cricket’s role as a promoter of false consciousness, the retired Supreme Court judge has proffered a simple argument: if all professions are regulated, why should media be any different? Waging a turf battle against the electronic-media-appointed watchdog body headed by the former chief justice, J.S.Verma, Katju has strongly argued that the Press Council be transformed into a Media Council and assume the role of a regulator.
Katju, it would seem, had very definite ideas about editorial content and the hierarchy of news. In his perception, the media must play the role of social reformers and not fritter away their eagerness in frivolity and tittle-tattle, never mind the fact that not all their consumers are preoccupied with virtuousness. It is precisely because of his highbrow certitudes and disdain for popular journalism that his insistence on a media regulator has been viewed with a measure of amusement by the fourth estate.
If an all powerful regulator in the mould of Katju, it has been argued, assumed responsibility for the whole media, it would be tantamount to murdering diversity and ruining a vibrant and growing industry. In spelling out his philosophical preferences robustly, Katju unwittingly helped focus attention on the dangers posed by an activist regulator who would replicate the ideals of the so-called New Information Order, once favoured by the fellow travellers of the Soviet Union.

Which of the following can be inferred about media from this report?

1. it is a growing industry that would not want to be fettered.
2. it embodies the principles of freedom of expression.
3. free news is more important than controlled news.
4. a regulated media cannot be the fourth estate.

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

The closure of the popular tabloid, News of the World, the arrest of the top executives of the Rupert Murdoch-run News International on phone hacking charges and the proceedings of the Leveson inquiry have focussed attention on the skewed internal workings of an otherwise vibrant British media. This has resulted in a bizarre turning of the tables. A readership accustomed to viewing the media as white knights in shining armour puncturing the pretensions of the powerful and the pompous has suddenly been exposed to unethical practices, blatant illegalities and the cosy relationship that exists between the fourth estate and politicians. 
The results have not been edifying. In the past, the media conducted themselves with the militant cussedness of trade unions. Every right was fiercely guarded and transformed into a privilege; every hint of regulation was instantly transformed into a larger battle for democracy; and the occasional statement on accountability was painted as an insidious assault on the people’s inalienable right to know.
The boot is now on the other foot. Instead of being assiduously wooed and flattered by the powerful, the Leveson inquiry has witnessed powerful media barons such as Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, being subjected to merciless interrogation. Indeed, as the inquiry meanders from the internal workings of the newsrooms to politics, the likes of the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, are having a torrid time explaining their convivial relations with the Murdoch empire. Hostile public opinion is veering to the opinion that existing laws and quasi-official bodies such as the Press Complaints Commission aren’t enough. What the media need is a public-spirited, independent regulator.
It is difficult to gauge whether or not the chairman of Press Council, Markandey Katju, was influenced by developments in London when he rushed into battle against India’s ‘unionized’ media. A high-spirited individual with very definite (and occasionally bizarre) views on all subjects ranging from Salman Rushdie’s writings to cricket’s role as a promoter of false consciousness, the retired Supreme Court judge has proffered a simple argument: if all professions are regulated, why should media be any different? Waging a turf battle against the electronic-media-appointed watchdog body headed by the former chief justice, J.S.Verma, Katju has strongly argued that the Press Council be transformed into a Media Council and assume the role of a regulator.
Katju, it would seem, had very definite ideas about editorial content and the hierarchy of news. In his perception, the media must play the role of social reformers and not fritter away their eagerness in frivolity and tittle-tattle, never mind the fact that not all their consumers are preoccupied with virtuousness. It is precisely because of his highbrow certitudes and disdain for popular journalism that his insistence on a media regulator has been viewed with a measure of amusement by the fourth estate.
If an all powerful regulator in the mould of Katju, it has been argued, assumed responsibility for the whole media, it would be tantamount to murdering diversity and ruining a vibrant and growing industry. In spelling out his philosophical preferences robustly, Katju unwittingly helped focus attention on the dangers posed by an activist regulator who would replicate the ideals of the so-called New Information Order, once favoured by the fellow travellers of the Soviet Union.

What impact, in the author's perception, do aberrations like phone hacking have had on the otherwise vibrant British media?
(i) They have seriously dented the reputation of media.
(ii) They are symptomatic of a malaise that gives excuse to the forces that wish to trim the wings of the media.
(iii) They can have far-reaching consequences as it showed in England.

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

The closure of the popular tabloid, News of the World, the arrest of the top executives of the Rupert Murdoch-run News International on phone hacking charges and the proceedings of the Leveson inquiry have focussed attention on the skewed internal workings of an otherwise vibrant British media. This has resulted in a bizarre turning of the tables. A readership accustomed to viewing the media as white knights in shining armour puncturing the pretensions of the powerful and the pompous has suddenly been exposed to unethical practices, blatant illegalities and the cosy relationship that exists between the fourth estate and politicians. 
The results have not been edifying. In the past, the media conducted themselves with the militant cussedness of trade unions. Every right was fiercely guarded and transformed into a privilege; every hint of regulation was instantly transformed into a larger battle for democracy; and the occasional statement on accountability was painted as an insidious assault on the people’s inalienable right to know.
The boot is now on the other foot. Instead of being assiduously wooed and flattered by the powerful, the Leveson inquiry has witnessed powerful media barons such as Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, being subjected to merciless interrogation. Indeed, as the inquiry meanders from the internal workings of the newsrooms to politics, the likes of the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, are having a torrid time explaining their convivial relations with the Murdoch empire. Hostile public opinion is veering to the opinion that existing laws and quasi-official bodies such as the Press Complaints Commission aren’t enough. What the media need is a public-spirited, independent regulator.
It is difficult to gauge whether or not the chairman of Press Council, Markandey Katju, was influenced by developments in London when he rushed into battle against India’s ‘unionized’ media. A high-spirited individual with very definite (and occasionally bizarre) views on all subjects ranging from Salman Rushdie’s writings to cricket’s role as a promoter of false consciousness, the retired Supreme Court judge has proffered a simple argument: if all professions are regulated, why should media be any different? Waging a turf battle against the electronic-media-appointed watchdog body headed by the former chief justice, J.S.Verma, Katju has strongly argued that the Press Council be transformed into a Media Council and assume the role of a regulator.
Katju, it would seem, had very definite ideas about editorial content and the hierarchy of news. In his perception, the media must play the role of social reformers and not fritter away their eagerness in frivolity and tittle-tattle, never mind the fact that not all their consumers are preoccupied with virtuousness. It is precisely because of his highbrow certitudes and disdain for popular journalism that his insistence on a media regulator has been viewed with a measure of amusement by the fourth estate.
If an all powerful regulator in the mould of Katju, it has been argued, assumed responsibility for the whole media, it would be tantamount to murdering diversity and ruining a vibrant and growing industry. In spelling out his philosophical preferences robustly, Katju unwittingly helped focus attention on the dangers posed by an activist regulator who would replicate the ideals of the so-called New Information Order, once favoured by the fellow travellers of the Soviet Union.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

1. Agriculture is the largest job provider in any country.
2. Most of the countries derive income by processing raw food material.
3. India is one of the largest producers of milk and live stock in the world.

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

Agriculture occupies a pivotal position for ensuring livelihood, food and nutritional security, sustainable development and eradication of poverty in India. It is the prime sector for generating employment opportunities for majority of the population of any country. 
The contribution of agriculture sector to the national gross domestic product (GDP) has been continuously declining over the years, while other sectors, especially the service sector, are showing an increasing trend. In 1970-71 agriculture sector contributed about 44 per cent of GDP, which declined substantially to 13.5 per cent in 2010-11 (at 2004-05).
During the last decade, there was a paradigm shift in the patterns of production, consumption, and trade in Indian agriculture through the use of new technologies. The shift in production and consumption from food-grains to high-value agricultural commodities such as fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, meat, eggs, fish etc. took place in a big way. Now there is a declining share of traditional crops/commodities in production, consumption and trade in India. Agriculture, horticulture and other non-traditional high-value, agricultural crops occupy an important place in income growth in rural areas.
Despite being one of the largest producers of many agricultural commodities such as fruits, vegetables, milk and livestock etc. in the world, the extent of value addition to raw food material in India is only 8% while it is 23%, 45% and 188% in China, Philippines and UK respectively. Furthermore, only 2.2% of total fruits and vegetables is processed in India as compared to 30% in Thailand, 80% in Malaysia and 70% in UK.
It is pertinent to mention here that total annual loss during the post harvest operations under agriculture produce is approximately Rs. 88000 crore. This trend can be reversed by properly financing to secondary agriculture, which can lead to 2-3 times value addition to primary agriculture products. Most of the primary agriculture produce requires processing before being finally consumed and the value addition/processing of the farm production to transform it into consumable item which is called secondary agriculture. It includes processing and value addition in all food and non-food products for human, animal and industrial use.

The passage refers to a paradigm shift. It refers to

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

Agriculture occupies a pivotal position for ensuring livelihood, food and nutritional security, sustainable development and eradication of poverty in India. It is the prime sector for generating employment opportunities for majority of the population of any country. 
The contribution of agriculture sector to the national gross domestic product (GDP) has been continuously declining over the years, while other sectors, especially the service sector, are showing an increasing trend. In 1970-71 agriculture sector contributed about 44 per cent of GDP, which declined substantially to 13.5 per cent in 2010-11 (at 2004-05).
During the last decade, there was a paradigm shift in the patterns of production, consumption, and trade in Indian agriculture through the use of new technologies. The shift in production and consumption from food-grains to high-value agricultural commodities such as fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, meat, eggs, fish etc. took place in a big way. Now there is a declining share of traditional crops/commodities in production, consumption and trade in India. Agriculture, horticulture and other non-traditional high-value, agricultural crops occupy an important place in income growth in rural areas.
Despite being one of the largest producers of many agricultural commodities such as fruits, vegetables, milk and livestock etc. in the world, the extent of value addition to raw food material in India is only 8% while it is 23%, 45% and 188% in China, Philippines and UK respectively. Furthermore, only 2.2% of total fruits and vegetables is processed in India as compared to 30% in Thailand, 80% in Malaysia and 70% in UK.
It is pertinent to mention here that total annual loss during the post harvest operations under agriculture produce is approximately Rs. 88000 crore. This trend can be reversed by properly financing to secondary agriculture, which can lead to 2-3 times value addition to primary agriculture products. Most of the primary agriculture produce requires processing before being finally consumed and the value addition/processing of the farm production to transform it into consumable item which is called secondary agriculture. It includes processing and value addition in all food and non-food products for human, animal and industrial use.

What is the most important issue for banks in India?

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

Indian banking has undergone a total transformation over the last decade. Moving seamlessly from a manual, scale-constrained environment to a technology-lending tradition, it has been a miracle. Nowhere in the world has such a transformation taken place in such a short span of time at such a low cost. The process began in 1999-2000, when a couple of banks signed their first core-banking transformation deal with Infosys. By 2009, about 50 banks with about 55,000 branches had completed the migration, offering their customers anywhere, anytime banking through various channels. Today, a consumer can go to an ATM across more than 44,000 locations, operate the bank account through the web, with instant reconciliation facility and all information available in a single database to help the decision makers.
Banking industry has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% during the last decade. It has grown by a factor of five times. Total deposits have grown by 4.8 times, assets by 6.6 times, income interest by 9.5 times and net-worth by 4.5 times. Employee strength has grown by a mere 5%. This is an incredible transformation of an industry with no parallel in country. During 2000-2009, the gross domestic product (GDP) nearly trebled from Rs. 19,25,000 crore to Rs. 54,75,000 crore. Return on assets (ROA) which varies between 0.25% and 1.5% worldwide has risen from 0.87% to 1.0% in 2009 in the country.
In contrast to most countries, in India retail deposit forms a sizeable chunk of gross domestic savings, creating a large potential for investment. The ratio of the total deposit to GDP, which stood at 44% in 2000, has now climbed to 74%. However, the credit to GDP ratio presents an opposite picture and at 55% India lags behind many countries whose banks lend more than the size of their economies. We also have to catch up with the world’s best run banks in the area of cost management. India’s cost-income ratio lies anywhere between 37% and 66% and it is no match for international benchmark of 30-35%.
But the transformation is remarkable and this transformation has largely been enabled by indigenously developed information technology tools. Looking forward, the journey becomes even more remarkable, possibly because of the technology transformation that the banking sector has undergone. Although impressive, these numbers pale into insignificance when compared to the projected growth in the customer base. As per an estimate, Indian banks will add another 400 million customer accounts in the next decade. The focus on financial inclusion will deepen with the government and the industry working together. This has enormous implications for the industry, which must scale up systems, processes and infrastructure as well as boost the employee productivity to manage such growth. Likewise, the industry must change its mindset and innovate to cater to the unique needs of the next generation consumers when, according to a demographic projection for 2019, 450 million Indians will be below the age of 20.
The emergence of the new class of customers is the result of this transformation process of the last decade. The emerging challenges call for a new, more dynamic, and aggressive and challenging banking culture which meets the demands of customer relationships, product differentiation, brand values, reputation, corporate governance and regulatory prescriptions. Every bank, depending on its strategy, will have to migrate to its best position in this new structure from the branch level itself. The basic aim of the above strategies will have to be to improve the business performance of the banks. The size of ubiquitous and mass market retail banking and entry of non-traditional players will result in both seeking to collaborate more. And banking will wear a totally new look as urban consumers use their hand-held devices in lieu of cash and their rural counterparts discover the benefits of smart cards and other plastic technologies.

The author attributes emergence of the new class of customers to ‘this transformation’. According to the passage ‘this transformation’ is

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

Indian banking has undergone a total transformation over the last decade. Moving seamlessly from a manual, scale-constrained environment to a technology-lending tradition, it has been a miracle. Nowhere in the world has such a transformation taken place in such a short span of time at such a low cost. The process began in 1999-2000, when a couple of banks signed their first core-banking transformation deal with Infosys. By 2009, about 50 banks with about 55,000 branches had completed the migration, offering their customers anywhere, anytime banking through various channels. Today, a consumer can go to an ATM across more than 44,000 locations, operate the bank account through the web, with instant reconciliation facility and all information available in a single database to help the decision makers.
Banking industry has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% during the last decade. It has grown by a factor of five times. Total deposits have grown by 4.8 times, assets by 6.6 times, income interest by 9.5 times and net-worth by 4.5 times. Employee strength has grown by a mere 5%. This is an incredible transformation of an industry with no parallel in country. During 2000-2009, the gross domestic product (GDP) nearly trebled from Rs. 19,25,000 crore to Rs. 54,75,000 crore. Return on assets (ROA) which varies between 0.25% and 1.5% worldwide has risen from 0.87% to 1.0% in 2009 in the country.
In contrast to most countries, in India retail deposit forms a sizeable chunk of gross domestic savings, creating a large potential for investment. The ratio of the total deposit to GDP, which stood at 44% in 2000, has now climbed to 74%. However, the credit to GDP ratio presents an opposite picture and at 55% India lags behind many countries whose banks lend more than the size of their economies. We also have to catch up with the world’s best run banks in the area of cost management. India’s cost-income ratio lies anywhere between 37% and 66% and it is no match for international benchmark of 30-35%.
But the transformation is remarkable and this transformation has largely been enabled by indigenously developed information technology tools. Looking forward, the journey becomes even more remarkable, possibly because of the technology transformation that the banking sector has undergone. Although impressive, these numbers pale into insignificance when compared to the projected growth in the customer base. As per an estimate, Indian banks will add another 400 million customer accounts in the next decade. The focus on financial inclusion will deepen with the government and the industry working together. This has enormous implications for the industry, which must scale up systems, processes and infrastructure as well as boost the employee productivity to manage such growth. Likewise, the industry must change its mindset and innovate to cater to the unique needs of the next generation consumers when, according to a demographic projection for 2019, 450 million Indians will be below the age of 20.
The emergence of the new class of customers is the result of this transformation process of the last decade. The emerging challenges call for a new, more dynamic, and aggressive and challenging banking culture which meets the demands of customer relationships, product differentiation, brand values, reputation, corporate governance and regulatory prescriptions. Every bank, depending on its strategy, will have to migrate to its best position in this new structure from the branch level itself. The basic aim of the above strategies will have to be to improve the business performance of the banks. The size of ubiquitous and mass market retail banking and entry of non-traditional players will result in both seeking to collaborate more. And banking will wear a totally new look as urban consumers use their hand-held devices in lieu of cash and their rural counterparts discover the benefits of smart cards and other plastic technologies.

Which of the following demands, according to the passage, are required to be met by the challenging banking culture?

1. Brand values
2. Corporate governance
3. Customer relationship
4. Financial inclusion

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

Indian banking has undergone a total transformation over the last decade. Moving seamlessly from a manual, scale-constrained environment to a technology-lending tradition, it has been a miracle. Nowhere in the world has such a transformation taken place in such a short span of time at such a low cost. The process began in 1999-2000, when a couple of banks signed their first core-banking transformation deal with Infosys. By 2009, about 50 banks with about 55,000 branches had completed the migration, offering their customers anywhere, anytime banking through various channels. Today, a consumer can go to an ATM across more than 44,000 locations, operate the bank account through the web, with instant reconciliation facility and all information available in a single database to help the decision makers.
Banking industry has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% during the last decade. It has grown by a factor of five times. Total deposits have grown by 4.8 times, assets by 6.6 times, income interest by 9.5 times and net-worth by 4.5 times. Employee strength has grown by a mere 5%. This is an incredible transformation of an industry with no parallel in country. During 2000-2009, the gross domestic product (GDP) nearly trebled from Rs. 19,25,000 crore to Rs. 54,75,000 crore. Return on assets (ROA) which varies between 0.25% and 1.5% worldwide has risen from 0.87% to 1.0% in 2009 in the country.
In contrast to most countries, in India retail deposit forms a sizeable chunk of gross domestic savings, creating a large potential for investment. The ratio of the total deposit to GDP, which stood at 44% in 2000, has now climbed to 74%. However, the credit to GDP ratio presents an opposite picture and at 55% India lags behind many countries whose banks lend more than the size of their economies. We also have to catch up with the world’s best run banks in the area of cost management. India’s cost-income ratio lies anywhere between 37% and 66% and it is no match for international benchmark of 30-35%.
But the transformation is remarkable and this transformation has largely been enabled by indigenously developed information technology tools. Looking forward, the journey becomes even more remarkable, possibly because of the technology transformation that the banking sector has undergone. Although impressive, these numbers pale into insignificance when compared to the projected growth in the customer base. As per an estimate, Indian banks will add another 400 million customer accounts in the next decade. The focus on financial inclusion will deepen with the government and the industry working together. This has enormous implications for the industry, which must scale up systems, processes and infrastructure as well as boost the employee productivity to manage such growth. Likewise, the industry must change its mindset and innovate to cater to the unique needs of the next generation consumers when, according to a demographic projection for 2019, 450 million Indians will be below the age of 20.
The emergence of the new class of customers is the result of this transformation process of the last decade. The emerging challenges call for a new, more dynamic, and aggressive and challenging banking culture which meets the demands of customer relationships, product differentiation, brand values, reputation, corporate governance and regulatory prescriptions. Every bank, depending on its strategy, will have to migrate to its best position in this new structure from the branch level itself. The basic aim of the above strategies will have to be to improve the business performance of the banks. The size of ubiquitous and mass market retail banking and entry of non-traditional players will result in both seeking to collaborate more. And banking will wear a totally new look as urban consumers use their hand-held devices in lieu of cash and their rural counterparts discover the benefits of smart cards and other plastic technologies.

Which according to the passage is/are the indicator(s) of an incredible transformation for which there is no parallel in the country?

1. While deposits, assets, income interest and net worth of banks have grown manifold, there has been no significant increase in the number of employees, a feat not achieved by any other industry in the country.
2. During 2000-2009, the gross domestic product (GDP) nearly trebled from Rs. 1925,000 crore to Rs. 5475,000 crore. Return on assets (ROA) which varies between 0.25% and 1.5% worldwide has risen from 0.87% to 1.0% in 2009 in the country.
3. The transformation is remarkable as this transformation has been largely enabled by indigenously developed information technology tools and this helped create a world leading banking industry in India.
4. There has been an incredible growth in young customers who have forced banking industry to work out new products to meet the growing requirements of the new and burgeoning client base in India.

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

Indian banking has undergone a total transformation over the last decade. Moving seamlessly from a manual, scale-constrained environment to a technology-lending tradition, it has been a miracle. Nowhere in the world has such a transformation taken place in such a short span of time at such a low cost. The process began in 1999-2000, when a couple of banks signed their first core-banking transformation deal with Infosys. By 2009, about 50 banks with about 55,000 branches had completed the migration, offering their customers anywhere, anytime banking through various channels. Today, a consumer can go to an ATM across more than 44,000 locations, operate the bank account through the web, with instant reconciliation facility and all information available in a single database to help the decision makers.
Banking industry has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% during the last decade. It has grown by a factor of five times. Total deposits have grown by 4.8 times, assets by 6.6 times, income interest by 9.5 times and net-worth by 4.5 times. Employee strength has grown by a mere 5%. This is an incredible transformation of an industry with no parallel in country. During 2000-2009, the gross domestic product (GDP) nearly trebled from Rs. 19,25,000 crore to Rs. 54,75,000 crore. Return on assets (ROA) which varies between 0.25% and 1.5% worldwide has risen from 0.87% to 1.0% in 2009 in the country.
In contrast to most countries, in India retail deposit forms a sizeable chunk of gross domestic savings, creating a large potential for investment. The ratio of the total deposit to GDP, which stood at 44% in 2000, has now climbed to 74%. However, the credit to GDP ratio presents an opposite picture and at 55% India lags behind many countries whose banks lend more than the size of their economies. We also have to catch up with the world’s best run banks in the area of cost management. India’s cost-income ratio lies anywhere between 37% and 66% and it is no match for international benchmark of 30-35%.
But the transformation is remarkable and this transformation has largely been enabled by indigenously developed information technology tools. Looking forward, the journey becomes even more remarkable, possibly because of the technology transformation that the banking sector has undergone. Although impressive, these numbers pale into insignificance when compared to the projected growth in the customer base. As per an estimate, Indian banks will add another 400 million customer accounts in the next decade. The focus on financial inclusion will deepen with the government and the industry working together. This has enormous implications for the industry, which must scale up systems, processes and infrastructure as well as boost the employee productivity to manage such growth. Likewise, the industry must change its mindset and innovate to cater to the unique needs of the next generation consumers when, according to a demographic projection for 2019, 450 million Indians will be below the age of 20.
The emergence of the new class of customers is the result of this transformation process of the last decade. The emerging challenges call for a new, more dynamic, and aggressive and challenging banking culture which meets the demands of customer relationships, product differentiation, brand values, reputation, corporate governance and regulatory prescriptions. Every bank, depending on its strategy, will have to migrate to its best position in this new structure from the branch level itself. The basic aim of the above strategies will have to be to improve the business performance of the banks. The size of ubiquitous and mass market retail banking and entry of non-traditional players will result in both seeking to collaborate more. And banking will wear a totally new look as urban consumers use their hand-held devices in lieu of cash and their rural counterparts discover the benefits of smart cards and other plastic technologies.

Why does the author call transition from scale constrained banking to technology lending tradition a miracle?

1. Because of the negligible cost involved in the transition
2. Because the transition happened in a short span of time
3. Because some banks migrated to CBS by aligning with Infosys
4. Because the cost involved and time taken was very little

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

Indian banking has undergone a total transformation over the last decade. Moving seamlessly from a manual, scale-constrained environment to a technology-lending tradition, it has been a miracle. Nowhere in the world has such a transformation taken place in such a short span of time at such a low cost. The process began in 1999-2000, when a couple of banks signed their first core-banking transformation deal with Infosys. By 2009, about 50 banks with about 55,000 branches had completed the migration, offering their customers anywhere, anytime banking through various channels. Today, a consumer can go to an ATM across more than 44,000 locations, operate the bank account through the web, with instant reconciliation facility and all information available in a single database to help the decision makers.
Banking industry has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% during the last decade. It has grown by a factor of five times. Total deposits have grown by 4.8 times, assets by 6.6 times, income interest by 9.5 times and net-worth by 4.5 times. Employee strength has grown by a mere 5%. This is an incredible transformation of an industry with no parallel in country. During 2000-2009, the gross domestic product (GDP) nearly trebled from Rs. 19,25,000 crore to Rs. 54,75,000 crore. Return on assets (ROA) which varies between 0.25% and 1.5% worldwide has risen from 0.87% to 1.0% in 2009 in the country.
In contrast to most countries, in India retail deposit forms a sizeable chunk of gross domestic savings, creating a large potential for investment. The ratio of the total deposit to GDP, which stood at 44% in 2000, has now climbed to 74%. However, the credit to GDP ratio presents an opposite picture and at 55% India lags behind many countries whose banks lend more than the size of their economies. We also have to catch up with the world’s best run banks in the area of cost management. India’s cost-income ratio lies anywhere between 37% and 66% and it is no match for international benchmark of 30-35%.
But the transformation is remarkable and this transformation has largely been enabled by indigenously developed information technology tools. Looking forward, the journey becomes even more remarkable, possibly because of the technology transformation that the banking sector has undergone. Although impressive, these numbers pale into insignificance when compared to the projected growth in the customer base. As per an estimate, Indian banks will add another 400 million customer accounts in the next decade. The focus on financial inclusion will deepen with the government and the industry working together. This has enormous implications for the industry, which must scale up systems, processes and infrastructure as well as boost the employee productivity to manage such growth. Likewise, the industry must change its mindset and innovate to cater to the unique needs of the next generation consumers when, according to a demographic projection for 2019, 450 million Indians will be below the age of 20.
The emergence of the new class of customers is the result of this transformation process of the last decade. The emerging challenges call for a new, more dynamic, and aggressive and challenging banking culture which meets the demands of customer relationships, product differentiation, brand values, reputation, corporate governance and regulatory prescriptions. Every bank, depending on its strategy, will have to migrate to its best position in this new structure from the branch level itself. The basic aim of the above strategies will have to be to improve the business performance of the banks. The size of ubiquitous and mass market retail banking and entry of non-traditional players will result in both seeking to collaborate more. And banking will wear a totally new look as urban consumers use their hand-held devices in lieu of cash and their rural counterparts discover the benefits of smart cards and other plastic technologies.

What according to the passage took place in a big way?

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

Agriculture occupies a pivotal position for ensuring livelihood, food and nutritional security, sustainable development and eradication of poverty in India. It is the prime sector for generating employment opportunities for majority of the population of any country. 
The contribution of agriculture sector to the national gross domestic product (GDP) has been continuously declining over the years, while other sectors, especially the service sector, are showing an increasing trend. In 1970-71 agriculture sector contributed about 44 per cent of GDP, which declined substantially to 13.5 per cent in 2010-11 (at 2004-05).
During the last decade, there was a paradigm shift in the patterns of production, consumption, and trade in Indian agriculture through the use of new technologies. The shift in production and consumption from food-grains to high-value agricultural commodities such as fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, meat, eggs, fish etc. took place in a big way. Now there is a declining share of traditional crops/commodities in production, consumption and trade in India. Agriculture, horticulture and other non-traditional high-value, agricultural crops occupy an important place in income growth in rural areas.
Despite being one of the largest producers of many agricultural commodities such as fruits, vegetables, milk and livestock etc. in the world, the extent of value addition to raw food material in India is only 8% while it is 23%, 45% and 188% in China, Philippines and UK respectively. Furthermore, only 2.2% of total fruits and vegetables is processed in India as compared to 30% in Thailand, 80% in Malaysia and 70% in UK.
It is pertinent to mention here that total annual loss during the post harvest operations under agriculture produce is approximately Rs. 88000 crore. This trend can be reversed by properly financing to secondary agriculture, which can lead to 2-3 times value addition to primary agriculture products. Most of the primary agriculture produce requires processing before being finally consumed and the value addition/processing of the farm production to transform it into consumable item which is called secondary agriculture. It includes processing and value addition in all food and non-food products for human, animal and industrial use.

There is a huge post harvest operation loss of food materials in India. One of the ways suggested to stem this loss is through

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Agriculture occupies a pivotal position for ensuring livelihood, food and nutritional security, sustainable development and eradication of poverty in India. It is the prime sector for generating employment opportunities for majority of the population of any country. 
The contribution of agriculture sector to the national gross domestic product (GDP) has been continuously declining over the years, while other sectors, especially the service sector, are showing an increasing trend. In 1970-71 agriculture sector contributed about 44 per cent of GDP, which declined substantially to 13.5 per cent in 2010-11 (at 2004-05).
During the last decade, there was a paradigm shift in the patterns of production, consumption, and trade in Indian agriculture through the use of new technologies. The shift in production and consumption from food-grains to high-value agricultural commodities such as fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, meat, eggs, fish etc. took place in a big way. Now there is a declining share of traditional crops/commodities in production, consumption and trade in India. Agriculture, horticulture and other non-traditional high-value, agricultural crops occupy an important place in income growth in rural areas.
Despite being one of the largest producers of many agricultural commodities such as fruits, vegetables, milk and livestock etc. in the world, the extent of value addition to raw food material in India is only 8% while it is 23%, 45% and 188% in China, Philippines and UK respectively. Furthermore, only 2.2% of total fruits and vegetables is processed in India as compared to 30% in Thailand, 80% in Malaysia and 70% in UK.
It is pertinent to mention here that total annual loss during the post harvest operations under agriculture produce is approximately Rs. 88000 crore. This trend can be reversed by properly financing to secondary agriculture, which can lead to 2-3 times value addition to primary agriculture products. Most of the primary agriculture produce requires processing before being finally consumed and the value addition/processing of the farm production to transform it into consumable item which is called secondary agriculture. It includes processing and value addition in all food and non-food products for human, animal and industrial use.