Yashi Pandey Solutions for Chapter: Reading Comprehension, Exercise 5: Exercise 5

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

India is the second biggest consumer of fertilizer in the world, next only to China. With improving farm economies and rising push to irrigation, fertilizer consumption has been growing considerably, leading to ever-increasing import-dependence to meet fertilizer requirement of the country. Today, 80 per cent urea requirement of the country is met from domestic production. India largely imports phosphate and potassic (P&K) fertilizers either as finished goods or raw material. A closer look at the fertilizer production in the country would show urea production has witnessed a healthy 8 per cent growth driven by favorable policy changes by the central government during 2015-16. Since last three years, the Modi government has been continuously focusing on boosting the rural economy, promoting energy efficiency in urea production, maximizing domestic urea output and timely import of urea and other fertilizer. Also the Union Budget 2017-18 put more thrust on the wellbeing of farmer and agricultural growth in the country. After two consecutive years of poor rainfall, good monsoon and favorable agro-climatic conditions helped improved the outlook for the fertilizer sector in 2016. It is expected that the sector would continue to enjoy the joy ride in the days to come. If other state governments follow the Yogi government’s move on farm loan waiver, there would be huge demand for fertilizer. Other government measures such as ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan have given birth to the concept of compost fertilizer and fertilizer companies would soon be co-marketing compost. Also the government has reduced excise duty on micronutrients from 12.5 per cent to 6 per cent. This is a positive for fertilizer companies. The government has encouraged farmers to make payment through digitization, which will help democratize market pricing and compress transaction cost. The government wants farmers to capture a higher portion of the marketable value of the produce. Also, to provide the much-needed support to farmers, the government recently decided MSP for some commodities such as pulses, wheat, raw jutes, cotton and others. With the implementation of reforms by the government on the subsidy disbursements front, the government’s continuous rural focus and promise to double farm incomes, deregulation of urea is expected to give a fillip to the sector. Recently, the government asked all fertilizer companies to deploy point of sale devices at all fertilizer retail stores in preparation for the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme. It is expected to reduce the time lag in subsidy payments and reduce the pressure of working capital on fertilizer companies. The sector continues to benefit from a subdued energy price environment, which is likely to drive the cost of production of fertilizer lower. On the flip side, the increase in global gas prices is expected to increase production cost for the urea industry, and the same would translate to higher subsidies and higher working capital borrowings for the industry.

What is the central theme of the passage?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the question given below it. Certain words have been printed in the bold to help you locate them while answering some of the question.

In spite of depression in various parts of the world, if the economists of India are still idealist concerning the condition of the affairs of the country, there must undoubtedly be a significant reason behind it. The Central Bank of the country has forecasted that the economy of the country can develop at a double digit rate during the next 20-30 years. The country has the capability with its vast labour and lauded entrepreneurial spirit. However, the private sector that is thought to do the heavy lifting that turns India from the world’s tenth largest economy to its third largest by 2030 has become fed up. Entrepreneurs often grouse about the problems of India but their irritation this time has a nervous edge. In the first quarter of 2011, GDP grew at a rate of 7.8% per annum in the years from 2005 to 2007 it coped 9-10%. The economy might be dawdling naturally as the lower rate of interest and public expenditures that have led India survived through the international crisis are tardily inhibited. At the same time the flow in inflation caused by excessive food prices has spread more widely, casting doubt over whether India might rise at 8-10% in the average term with no over rise.

In India, similar to different rapidly growing countries, the buoyancy to spend is dependent on the convection that the lasting route is integral and it is the one that is doubted. Several large Indian companies too at times tend to be happier to invest abroad than at their own country, in those that is over and over again called as signs of the country’s growing clout but at times speak to its limitations purchase of naturally available resources that the country has in profusion but strives to get out of the ground. In fact a further dip in investment would be self-fulfilling, if less roads, docks and industrial units are set up, this will hurt both short term growth figures and minimize the economy’s enduring capacity.

 There is an outlook that because fair amount of growth is assured the government need not strive real hard. The reforms of liberalization that started in CLOUTthe year 1991 freed markets for products and gave rise to vibrant competition, sometimes what the expert economists refer to as facts or markets, those for essential inputs like land, labour, etc continue to stay unchanged and mostly under the control of the state, which leads to the rise of several difficulties. Clearances today can take three to four years and many employers are ardent to change employees with machines despite a profusion of work force. This can be attributed to labour laws which are unfavorable to employee making and a teaching system which means to find excellent work force, a major problem. Indeed the Planning Commission finally stated that even attaining a 9 percent growth will require marked procedural action in unchanged sectors. 20 years ago it was said that the yardstick against which India should be measured was its potential and it is apparent that there is yet a lot to do.

Which among the following is the main theme of the comprehension?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in the bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The Current global food situation is very serious and hence, we need to understand the reasons for such a dramatic increase in food prices in a short period.It is argued the increases in energy costs are resulting in cost push inflation but contribution of energy costs to overall costs in agriculture may not explain the huge increase in food prices.
Related to the current elevated energy prices There has been a diversion of corn and edible is to bio-fuels, which is significantly influenced by policy mandates. Very clearly this diversion to bio-fuel is a policy induced new reality, which coincided with price escalation in precisely those products and hence is note worthy. The financialisation of commodity trade and current extraordinary conditions in global financial markets could have influenced the spurt in prices. The recent reductions in interest rates in the U.S. and the injection of liquidity have resulted in investors seeking new avenues such as commodity markets in view of the turbulence in financial markets and the low returns in treasuries. The relatively easy liquidity and low interest rates by themselves make holding of inventories attractive and thus induce greater volatility in commodity markets. The weakening of the U.S. dollar is also advanced as a reason for the recent volatility in commodity markets including food items. It is evident that this phenomenon is now also coinciding with the across the board  rise in food prices. In brief while there are demand and supply side pressures on food items, these is considerable merit in the argument that the recent extraordinary increases in food prices are closely linked to public policy responses to high energy costs in advanced economies, and the turbulence in financial markets and financial institutions it is said that the impact of such policy induced diversion of food to bio-fuels is significant at this juncture and reflects a preference to fill the fuel tank, of automobiles rather than fill the empty  stomachs of people. Similarly it is sometimes held that the weight accorded to financial stability in public may now be at the expense of stability in real sector especially of sensitive commodities like food. At the same time, there is a general consensus that public policy in regard to food in many economies around the world has not provided adequate incentive to farmers to increase the supply of food and other agricultural products to comfortably match the growing demand over the medium term.

The passage lays emphasis on which of the following central theme (s) ?
(A) The abysmally throwaway prices offered for food commodities.
(B) The world wide acute-shortage of food commodities.
(C) Promoting the use of bio-fuel for automobiles .

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions below.

Today, with a Nobel Prize to its credit, Grameen is one of the largest microfinance organizations in the world. It started out lending small sums to poor entrepreneurs in Bangladesh to help them grow from a subsistence living to a livelihood. The great discovery its founders made was that even with few assets, these entrepreneurs repaid on time. Grameen and microfinance have since ecome financial staples of the developing world. Grameen’s approach, unlike other microfinancers, uses the group-lending model. Costs are kept down by having borrowers vet one another, tying together their financial fates and eliminating expensive loan officers entirely. The ultimate promise of Grameen I sto use business lending as a way for people to lift themselves out of poverty.

Recently, Grameen has taken on a different challenge-by setting up operations in the US .money may be tight in the waning recession, but it is still a nation 1,00,000 bank branches. Globally, the working microfinance equation consists of borrowing funds cheaply and keeping loan defaults and overhead expenses sufficiently low. Micro lenders, including Grameen, do this by charging colossal interest rates-as high as 60% or 70%-which is necessary to compensate for the risk and attract bank funding. but loans rates much above the standard 15% would most likely be attacked as usurious in America.

So, the question is whether there is a role for a Third World lender in the world’s largest economy. Grameen America believes that in a few years it will be successful and turn a profit, thanks to 9 million US households untouched by mainstream banks and 21 million using the likes of payday loans and pawn shops for financing. But enticing the unbanked won’t be easy. after all, profit has long eluded US microfinanciers and if it is not lucrative, it is not microlrending, but charity. when Grameen first went to the US, in the late 1980s, it tripped up. Under Grameen’s tutelage, banks started micro loans to entrepreneurs with a shocking 30% loss. But Grameen America says that this time results will be making loans, not training an American bank to do it. More often than not, the borrowers, Grameen finds, in the US already have jobs(as factory workers for example) or side business-selling toys, cleaning houses etc. the loans from Grameen, by and large, provid ea steadier source of funding, but they don’t create businesses out of nothing. But money isn’t everything. More importantly for many entrepreneurs, group members are tremendous sources of support to one another. So even if studies are yet to determine if Grameen is a clear-cut pathway out of poverty it still achieves something useful.

What is the central theme of the passage?

Direction: Identify the most appropriate summary for the paragraph.

Vocal learning might involve imitating sounds or producing completely new vocalizations. Nearly all mammals on Earth make some vocal sounds, and the vast majority are born with innate abilities to do so. But humans are not: We need to learn how to speak. While many studies over the past century have helped explain how we understand language, the mechanisms behind how we process and learn to make the sounds that allow us to express language are not well understood. So, it is important to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying vocal learning and language acquisition in mammals as vocal learning plays an important role in language acquisition.

Directions: Identify the most appropriate summary for the paragraph.

No second thoughts about the fact that Bitcoin is the most actively traded cryptocurrency of all. Ever since the blockchain and cryptocurrencies became part of the financial markets conversation, Bitcoin has been a market leader. Along the same lines, Ethereum has rapidly moved up in terms of crypto valuation and other applications that are developed on its blockchain. Many tend to believe that it is on the basis of Bitcoin that several applications are run. However, this is not the case. There are a number of applications that run on the Ethereum blockchain – Stable coins, Defi, and NFTs to name a few. As blockchain and cryptocurrencies are gaining immense popularity and their use is bound to diversify, it does make sense that capital will flow to this non-Bitcoin platform. In a nutshell, it is now time that we people from the traditional thinking according to which it is the only Bitcoin that is home to a plethora of options, should not be conclusive yet on what the future holds as far as blockchain and cryptocurrencies are concerned.

Identify the most appropriate summary for the paragraph.

Vocal learning might involve imitating sounds or producing completely new vocalizations. Nearly all mammals on Earth make some vocal sounds, and the vast majority are born with innate abilities to do so. But humans are not: We need to learn how to speak. While many studies over the past century have helped explain how we understand language, the mechanisms behind how we process and learn to make the sounds that allow us to express language are not well understood. So, it is important to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying vocal learning and language acquisition in mammals as vocal learning plays an important role in language acquisition.

Directions: Identify the most appropriate summary for the paragraph.

When the world first heard that Russia had used Facebook ads in an attempt to interfere with the U.S.’s $2016$ elections, computer scientists and cybersecurity experts heard a call to action. For the past three years, we have been studying how hate and disinformation spread online so that independent researchers can build stronger defences to protect the public. But as we have raced to conduct this basic science, we have met steep resistance from the primary platform we study: Facebook. Our own accounts were shut down last month, another sign of the social media company’s rejection of scrutiny.