Read
the following passage carefully and answer the questins given below it. Certain
words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you to locate them while
answering some of the questions.
Rural
India faces serious shortages – power, water, health facilities, roads, etc.
these are known and recognized. However, the role of technology in solving these
and other problems is barely acknowledged and the actual availability of technology
in rural areas is marginal. The backbone of the rural economy is agriculture,
which also provides sustenance to over half the country’s population. The ‘green
revolution’ of the 1970s was, in fact, powered by the scientific work in various
agricultural research institutions. While some fault the green
revolution for excessive exploitation of water and land resources through
overuse of fertilizers, it did bring about a wheat surplus and prosperity in
certain pockets of the country.
In
rural India today, there is a dire inadequacy of both science (i.e. knowledge)
and technology (which derives from science and manifsts itself in physical
form). The scope to apply technology to both farm and non-farm activities in
rural areas is huge, as are the potential benefits. In fact, crop yields
are far lower than what they are in demonstration farms, where science and
technology are more fully applied. Technologies that redmuce power consumption
of pumps are vital, unfortunately, their use is minimal, since agricultural
power is free or largely subsidized. Similarly, there is little incentive to
optimise through technology or otherwise water use, especially in irrigated
areas ( a third of total arable land), given the water rates, post harvest
technologies for processing and adding value could greatly enhance rural
employment and incomes but at present deployment of technology is marginal.
Cold storage and cold chains for transportation to market is of great
importance for many agricultural products particularly, fruits and vegetables,
but are non-existent. These are clearly technologies with an immediate return
on investment, and benefits for all, the farmer, the end consumer, the technology
provider.
However,
regulatory and structural barriers are holding back investments. Power is a key
requirement in rural areas, for agricultural as well as domestic uses.
Technology can provide reliable power at comparatively low cost in a
decentralized manner. However, this needs to be upgraded and scaled in a big way,
with emphasis on renewable and non-polluting technologies, Reliable and low cost
means of transporting goods and people is an essential need for rural areas.
The bullock-cart and the tractor-trailer are present vehicles of choice.
Surely, technology can provide a better, cheaper and more efficient solution?
Information related to commodity prices, agricultural practices, weather etc.
are crucial for the farmer. Technology can provide these through mobile phones,
which is a proven technology however the challenge to ensure connectivity
remains. Thus, there is a pressing need for technology as currently economic
growth though skewed and iniquitous has created an economically
attractive market in rural India.
1.
Which of the following is not an impact of the green revolution?
a)
Over utilization of water resources
b)
Application of scientific research only in demonstration farms
c)
Wealth creation restricted to creation areas
d)
Damage caused to land by inordinate use of fertilizers
2.
Why is there no motivation to reduce power consumption?
a)
Freely available sources of energy
b)
Government will have to subsidise the cost of technology required to reduce
power consumption
c)
Power distribution has been decentralized
d)
None of these
3.
What effect will the implementation of post harvest technologies such as cold
storages have?
a)
Regulatory procedures will have to be more stringent.
b)
Prices of commodities like fruits and vegetables will fall since there is no wastage
from spoilage
c)
Incomes of rural population will fall
d)
Pollution of the environment
4.
The author’s main objective in writing the passage is to
a)
Censure scientists for not undertaking research
b)
Criticise farmers for not utilising experimental low cost post h arvesting technology
c)
Exhort the government subsidise the cost of utilising technology
d)
Advocate broadening the scope of research and use of technology in agriculture
5.
Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word printed in
bold as used in the passage.
Marginal
a)
Austere b) Severe c) Detrimental
d)
Insignificant
6.
Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the
word
printed in bold as used in the passage.
Fault
a)
Defect b) Offend c) Imperfect
d)
Blame
7.
Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the
word
printed in bold as used in the passage.
Dire
a)
Pessimistic b) Alarming c) Futile
d)
Frightened
8.
Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word
printed
in bold as used in the passage.
Potential
a)
Unlikely b) Incapable c) Unable d) Ineffective
9.
Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold
as used in the passage.
Iniquitous
a)
Immoral b) Godly c) Victatious
d)
Just
Read
the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain
words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of
the questions.
Giving
loans to impoverished women to make ceramics or to farmers to buy milk cows
were not seen as great business. Microfinance was an industry championed by
antipoverty activists. Today it is on the verge of a revolution, with billions
of dollars from big banks, private equity shops and pension funds pouring in,
driving growth of 30% to 40% this year alone. In 1998, a nonprofit microfinance
organization in Peru, converted into a bank (called Mibanco). This demonstrated
that the poor are good risks who repay loans on time and getting them together,
not only chips away at poverty but also turns a profit. The success of Mibanco
has piqued the interest of commercial banks, which had previously
shunned the country’s poor. Now big banks are going after Mibanco’s clients
with low-rate loans and realising it takes special know how to work with the
unbanked are hiring away Mibanco’s staff.
But
with the emergence of players who are only out for profit, microfinance schemes
could end up milking the poor. This could happen in countries where lenders don’t
have to disclose interest rates. When a Mexican microfinancier went public,
revealing its loans had rates of about 86% annually, the Consultative Group to
Assist the Poor criticised it for putting shareholders ahead of clients. The
pressure to turn a profit also forces microfinanciers to change their business
models in ways that depart from the industry’s core mission, to
help poor people lead better lives. Such shifts have caused the average loan
size to triple. Moreover smaller loans being costlier to service, a lower
percentage of loans go to women because they tend to take out smaller sums,
According to CGAP, with the flood of new large en tities there is the risk that
a large percentage of cross border funds go to Latin America and Eastern
Europe, the World’s most developed microfinance markets. “The poorest of the
World’s poor, who are predominantly in Asia and Africa get left out,’ says the
CEO of the nonprofit Grameen Foundation, which helps develop microfinance
institutions.
Segementing
the industry, might be worthwhile if it allows more of the poor to get access
to credit. Multinational corporations could take the top microfinance institutions
to the next level, and the remainder could be the responsibility of development
groups and regional banks. Yet making loans to poor people is hardly a poverty
cure. Property rights and the rule of law matter too. One cannot overidealize
what microfinance alone can do. Most nonprofits started with lending simply
because local laws prohibited nonbanks from offering deposit accounts. With an
increase in competition and marketing efforts, poverty alleviation experts are
concerned that people will be talked into loans they wouldn’t otherwise want.For
example, organisations like Mibanco are providing consumer loans. There is nothing
wrong with buying. TVs and microwaves on credit, but certain markets, like
Mexico, have been flooded w ith loans that have nothing to do with providing capital
to aspiring entrepreneurs just increasing household debt.
10.
Why did most microfinance institutions initially provide only credit services?
a)
They were unable to compete with the interest rates o ffered on deposits by
commercial banks
b)
They have to operate purely on a nonprofit basis
c)
Government restrictions prevented them from offering additional services
d)
To ensure the poor have access to modern necessities like microwaves
11.
What was the impact of the non-disclosure of their interest rates by lending
institutions?
a)
The Government issued sanctions against such firms
b)
Shareholders interests were not protected
c)
More microfinance institutions were motivated to go public
d)
The poor were exploited
12.
What is CGAP’s fear with respect to new entities providing microfinance?
a)
NGOs will be unable to survive in an environment of cut throat competition
b)
The poor will hesitate to take advantage of credit facilities because of the formalities
involved
c)
The poor in the developed world will be overlooked
d)
The interests of the most deserving among the poor will be neglected
13.
What is the author’s opinion about the competition for customers among
microfinanciers?
a)
It benefits the poor by providing them with loans they would have otherwise not
had access to
b)
It is futile since the poor have to pay high rates of interest on property loans
c)
It is not beneficial since firms waste their profits on marketing rather than helping
the poor
d)
None of these
14.
Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as
used in the passage.
Depart
a)
Absent b) Retirement c) Divide
d)
Vary
15.
Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as
used in the passage.
Piqued
a)
Provoked b) Irritated c) Disturb
d)
Offended
16.
Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as
used in the passage.
Verge
a)
Tend b) Crossroad c) Ascent d) Slope
17.
Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold
as used in the passage.
Aspiring
a)
Uninterested b) Ungrateful c) Anxious
d)
Miserable
18.
Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold
as used in the passage.
Core
a)
Clear b) Unnecessary c) Crust
d)
Besides
ANSWERS:
1.
Option B
2.
Option D
3.
Option B
4.
Option D
5.
Option D
6.
Option D
7.
Option B
8.
Option A
9.
Option D
10.
Option C
11.
Option D
12.
Option D
13.
Option D
14.
Option D
15.
Option C
16.
Option D
17.
Option C
18.
Option C
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