Directions (Q. 1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the given questions. Certain words have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
On attending a conference which focused on the role of the service sector in Indian economy, I was amazed. The conference gave a very interesting perspective on the role of the service sector in the growth of the Indian economy in relation to growth rate in Agriculture and industry. The current situation in India is that the growth rate of services has overtaken both agriculture and industry and is now contributing to more than fifty per cent of GDP. The services sector has the highest growth rate and is the least volatile sector. Growth is particularly marked in public services, IT and financial services. In some areas the growth rate of services sector is forty to fifty per cent due to increased use of mobile technologies. India, therefore, has a services-oriented economy. It hasn’t followed traditional growth models as in China. However, in the process of doing so it has skipped the manufacturing stage and has jumped straight from the agricultural stage to service stage, which is also the main reason for the expansion of the service sector. In fact, the situation now is such that the growth in the service sector can and will support the growth in the agricultural and industrial sectors. However, the only setback for Indian economy is the lack of growth in the manufacturing sector, which causes dependence on other countries, which is not so desirable in terms of job creation and increase in prosperity. Population is also a major concern of the Indian economy. As the population of India grows so also does the number of dependents in the population both in the lower and higher age groups. In such a scenario of increasing population, especially in an economy which is still recovering from crisis, growth becomes difficult. For such an economy to grow it has to invest. Currently, the public sector invests more than it saves. The household sector saves in surplus but it is not increasing, so it cannot continue to support private and public sectors. There is a massive need to spend on agriculture and infrastructure development of the country. Apart from health, education should also be the priority of the government, particularly the education of women, in order to reduce the birth rate.
However, all said and done, we cannot deny the fact that growing population of the country can also benefit the economy if considered as a resource and used efficiently. In fact, it is said that in the next two decades a ‘growth window’ for India will open, which may not come again because the working population to total population ratio will rise up to mid 2030s only. It is important for India to maximise its economic growth in this period. For doing so, it will be important for India to absorb the growing labour force. This would mean that most people in the country would be employed (with a steady income), the number of dependents in the population would reduce and with effect the economy would prosper. Absorbing the labour force is also very important if the service sector is to play a key role in the growing Indian economy. Today, to address the issue of poverty in India, there is a need to change the bad sectors into good sectors and in turn to move people from unemployment to employment. Only the service sector can help in doing so and thus can have major impact on poverty. Although service-intensive sectors such as hotels, restaurants and IT are booming with growth in human skills, there are geographical, labour unions and human skills restrictions on labour movement. The key question here, I suppose, is that – can service sector lead the economy? For example, can service such as IT be taken to rural areas? Experts in the conference have suggested that it seems that services could lead the economy. However, there are certain prerequisites for the same. In other words, there needs to be greater equality between the different states and better gender balance. There is also the need for additional fiscal equality, tax reforms to fund education, reduction in goverment debt, and the revenue account must be kept in balance. Progress is good but still the initial conditions for growth have not yet been achieved.
Direction (Q. 1): Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.
1. VOLATILE
1) erratic
2) impatient
3) stable
4) solid
5) strained
2. According to the passage, which of the following is/ are true about the impact of the increasing population on Indian economy?
(A) If India attempts to absorb all the labour force, it will impact the growth of service sector negatively and, in turn, hamper the economic growth of the country.
(B) As the population of the country increases, the number of dependents in the country also increases, which, in turn, increases the pressure on the economy.
(C) An increasing population can never lead the economy of the country towards prosperity. In
fact, it can only put strain on the economy of a country.
1) All (A), (B) and (C)
2) Only (C)
3) Both (B) and (C)
4) Both (A) and (C)
5) Only (B)
3. According to the passage, which of the following can be said about the agriculture and industry sectors in India?
(A) Looking at the growth of the service sector in India, it can be safely said that the service sector
will soon be in a position to support both agriculture and industry sector.
(B) The agriculture and the industry sector of the country have reached their threshold and there
would be no use of further investment in these sectors.
(C) Currently, the agriculture and industry sectors contribute less as compared to service sector to
the GDP of the country.
1) Only (A)
2) Only (C)
3) Both (A) and (C)
4) Both (B) and (C)
5) All (A), (B) and (C)
4. What does the author mean by the statement, “... a ‘growth window’ for India will open.”?
1) In the coming years the Indian economy will grow as the service sector of the country would be
booming due to the focus of the government in that sector.
2) In the next two decades Indian economy will have an opportunity to grow as the working population of India will be high as compared to the dependent population.
3) There would be only a small period of time in which the economy of India has to grow and if it fails to do so it will never be able to recover from the economic downfall.
4) Only up to the next two decades would Indian people be interested in finding jobs in the country,
beyond which they would search for jobs abroad, thus hampering the growth of Indian economy.
5) The growth of Indian economy is like a small window and in order to substantiate the growth it
is important to increase the size of the window by improving trade relations with other countries.
Direction (Q. 5): Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage.
5. PREREQUISITES
1) requirements
2) instincts
3) acknowledgments
4) prohibitions
5) problems
6. What does the author mean by the statement ‘to change the bad sectors into good sectors”?
1) In order to deal with the problem of poverty, it is important to distinguish between good and bad
sectors and encourage people to start searching for jobs in the good sectors.
2) The government should make efforts to improve the sectors that are not functioning well in order to create greater job opportunities in those sectors and in turn eradicate poverty.
3) Poverty alleviation is possible only if the government understands the importance of good sectors and provides them with necessary opportunities.
4) The bad sectors of the country should be identified and such jobs should be outsourced to other
underprivileged countries in order to eradicate poverty from those countries.
5) People should be educated to ensure that they work only in the good sectors and, in turn, the issue of poverty in the country is resolved.
Direction (Q. 7): Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word given in bold as used in passage.
7. PERSPECTIVE
1) viewpoint
2) prospect
3) attitude
4) agreement
5) proportion
8. Which of the following is true as per the passage?
1) India has not followed the conventional model of growth and has moved directly from the agriculture sector to the service sector.
2) The service sector of the country is yet to make a mark on the IT and financial sectors of the country.
3) With availability of labour and growth in human skills, the service sector of Indian economy is
booming limitlessly as there is no restriction on the movement of labour.
4) India has become self-reliant and does not have to depend on other countries because of the
development in the manufacturing sector.
5) All the given statements are true.
9. According to the author, which of the following can be said about the growth of service sector in India?
1) India is essentially an agrarian economy and is not yet ready to shift focus from agriculture sector to service sector.
2) The expansion of service sector in India has been mainly because of the growth in the agricultural
sector.
3) Indian economy cannot run only on the basis of service sector, ie without further development in
the agriculture and the industrial sector.
4) The growth of service sector in India is facilitated by the improvement in technology.5) It will take the service sector at least around two decades before it can overtake the agriculture and industry sector.
Direction (Q. 10): Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.
10. MASSIVE
1) prominent
2) proactive
3) short
4) little
5) vast | Q. 1 (3) | Q. 2 (5) | Q. 3 (3) | Q. 4 (2) | Q. 5 (1) |
| Q. 6 (2) | Q. 7 (1) | Q. 8 (1) | Q. 9 (4) | Q. 10 (4) |
