Please wait...

Solution
Hindi language icon English language icon
Q.16 Correct
Q.16 In-correct
Q.16 Unattempt

Statement: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 24 will launch the Rs 75,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, by transferring the first of the three installments of Rs 2,000 each to over one crore farmers having cultivable land up to two hectares. Another one crore farmers will be covered in the next 2-3 days.

Assumptions:
I. The central government had announced the PM-KISAN scheme under which Rs 6,000 per year will be given in three installments to small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to two hectares.
II. The scheme has been made effective from this fiscal itself and as a result, farmers would get one installment before March-end. This programme is part of the government's effort to address farm sector distress.
III. To provide an assured income support to the small and marginal farmers, the government is launching the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN).

Statement: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 24 will launch the Rs 75,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, by transferring the first of the three installments of Rs 2,000 each to over one crore farmers having cultivable land up to two hectares. Another one crore farmers will be covered in the next 2-3 days.

Assumptions:
I. The central government had announced the PM-KISAN scheme under which Rs 6,000 per year will be given in three installments to small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to two hectares.
II. The scheme has been made effective from this fiscal itself and as a result, farmers would get one installment before March-end. This programme is part of the government's effort to address farm sector distress.
III. To provide an assured income support to the small and marginal farmers, the government is launching the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN).

Q.17 Correct
Q.17 In-correct
Q.17 Unattempt

Statement: The Indian authorities have allowed commercial operations to all the airports that were shut after a few fighter jets of the Pakistani Air Force entered the Indian side of Kashmir. The authorities had informed all airlines that airports near the Jammu & Kashmir region and Dehradun have been closed.

Assumptions:
I. The Pakistani Air Force entered into the Indian side of Kashmir after the Indian Air Force entered the Pakistani territory and bombed a terrorist training centre in Pakistan.
II. Several airline executives confirmed that the government has informed them that flights to Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, Dehradun & Dharamshala have been suspended ‘till further notice.’
III. One official added that no Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) has been issued yet. It is a notification to the government that the airlines have received, the source in the know said.

Statement: The Indian authorities have allowed commercial operations to all the airports that were shut after a few fighter jets of the Pakistani Air Force entered the Indian side of Kashmir. The authorities had informed all airlines that airports near the Jammu & Kashmir region and Dehradun have been closed.

Assumptions:
I. The Pakistani Air Force entered into the Indian side of Kashmir after the Indian Air Force entered the Pakistani territory and bombed a terrorist training centre in Pakistan.
II. Several airline executives confirmed that the government has informed them that flights to Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, Dehradun & Dharamshala have been suspended ‘till further notice.’
III. One official added that no Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) has been issued yet. It is a notification to the government that the airlines have received, the source in the know said.

Q.18 Correct
Q.18 In-correct
Q.18 Unattempt

Statement: Early-stage startups and small businesses in India have been shying away from hiring women after the government increased paid maternity leave in 2017, a survey shows. An amendment to the Maternity Benefits Act, passed in March 2017, raised paid maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, benefitting 1.8 million women workers in the organised sector. The law applies to all establishments employing 10 or more people, and the entitlement applies only up to the first two children. LocalCircles, a citizens’ forum which surveyed 9,000 early-stage startups and small businesses, said hiring women who will avail of maternity benefits, which includes six months’ paid leave, has turned into a significant economic burden for startups that typically run on shoestring budgets. In the survey, 46% of the respondents said they hired mostly male employees in the last 18 months.

Courses of action:
I. While the government late last year said it will refund employers for seven weeks of pay given to an employee on maternity leave, startups and SMEs said it isn’t enough to cover the cost. As per the survey, 65% of the respondents said that even 19 weeks of pay would be too much for them to absorb.
II. According to the latest Monster Salary Index report, women still earn 19% less than their male counterparts in India. This gap has decreased by 1% from last year. Further, the report adds that women-led businesses received only 65% of the funding secured by male-led ones.
III. However, not all small startups agree that maternity benefits need to be scrapped. Rohan Shravan, founder of AI startup Inkers Technology said that among his team of nine employees, three are women, and unlike many firms of its size, they even offer extended paternity leave benefit to employees.

Statement: Early-stage startups and small businesses in India have been shying away from hiring women after the government increased paid maternity leave in 2017, a survey shows. An amendment to the Maternity Benefits Act, passed in March 2017, raised paid maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, benefitting 1.8 million women workers in the organised sector. The law applies to all establishments employing 10 or more people, and the entitlement applies only up to the first two children. LocalCircles, a citizens’ forum which surveyed 9,000 early-stage startups and small businesses, said hiring women who will avail of maternity benefits, which includes six months’ paid leave, has turned into a significant economic burden for startups that typically run on shoestring budgets. In the survey, 46% of the respondents said they hired mostly male employees in the last 18 months.

Courses of action:
I. While the government late last year said it will refund employers for seven weeks of pay given to an employee on maternity leave, startups and SMEs said it isn’t enough to cover the cost. As per the survey, 65% of the respondents said that even 19 weeks of pay would be too much for them to absorb.
II. According to the latest Monster Salary Index report, women still earn 19% less than their male counterparts in India. This gap has decreased by 1% from last year. Further, the report adds that women-led businesses received only 65% of the funding secured by male-led ones.
III. However, not all small startups agree that maternity benefits need to be scrapped. Rohan Shravan, founder of AI startup Inkers Technology said that among his team of nine employees, three are women, and unlike many firms of its size, they even offer extended paternity leave benefit to employees.

Q.40 Correct
Q.40 In-correct
Q.40 Unattempt
Statement: India has conveyed to Russia that it will not be part of the project now to develop a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and may join the programme at a later stage, according to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It was conveyed to Russia that they can go ahead with the project and we may join it at a later stage.

Which among the following arguments support the above statement in the best possible manner?

Arguments:

I. India and Russia had signed an inter-governmental agreement for the mega project in 2007, vowing to take the military ties between the two strategic partners to the next level.
II. However, the project has been stuck for the last 11 years as there have been serious differences between the two sides on sharing the cost of developing the jet, technologies to be used in it and number of aircraft to be produced.
III. The government is adopting a layered approach to achieve the final goal of theatre command and that the thrust was on a bottom-up approach.
Statement: India has conveyed to Russia that it will not be part of the project now to develop a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and may join the programme at a later stage, according to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It was conveyed to Russia that they can go ahead with the project and we may join it at a later stage.

Which among the following arguments support the above statement in the best possible manner?

Arguments:

I. India and Russia had signed an inter-governmental agreement for the mega project in 2007, vowing to take the military ties between the two strategic partners to the next level.
II. However, the project has been stuck for the last 11 years as there have been serious differences between the two sides on sharing the cost of developing the jet, technologies to be used in it and number of aircraft to be produced.
III. The government is adopting a layered approach to achieve the final goal of theatre command and that the thrust was on a bottom-up approach.
Q.42 Correct
Q.42 In-correct
Q.42 Unattempt

Statements:
I. The world’s largest bee — a giant insect roughly the size of a human thumb — has been rediscovered in a remote part of Indonesia in its first sighting in nearly 40 years, researchers said.
II. Despite its conspicuous size, no one had observed Wallace’s giant bee — discovered in the 19th century by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.

Conclusions:
I. Several previous expeditions to the region where the bee lives failed to spot it.
II. Indonesia is home to an abundant variety of flora and fauna but there are fears for some animal and insect communities as forests being cut down for agriculture threaten many species’ natural habitat.
III. The bee which lives in the Indonesian island region of North Moluccas, makes its nest in termite mounds, using its large fang-like mandibles to collect sticky resin to protect its home from the termites.

Statements:
I. The world’s largest bee — a giant insect roughly the size of a human thumb — has been rediscovered in a remote part of Indonesia in its first sighting in nearly 40 years, researchers said.
II. Despite its conspicuous size, no one had observed Wallace’s giant bee — discovered in the 19th century by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.

Conclusions:
I. Several previous expeditions to the region where the bee lives failed to spot it.
II. Indonesia is home to an abundant variety of flora and fauna but there are fears for some animal and insect communities as forests being cut down for agriculture threaten many species’ natural habitat.
III. The bee which lives in the Indonesian island region of North Moluccas, makes its nest in termite mounds, using its large fang-like mandibles to collect sticky resin to protect its home from the termites.

Mockers logo Get latest Exam Updates
& Study Material Alerts!
No, Thanks
Arrow pointer icon
Click on Allow to receive notifications
Notification bell icon ×
Open Now