Question 9:
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
The recent sentencing of the leader of a caste outfit to lifelong imprisonment has brought some closure to the horrific killing of a Dalit youth in western Tamil Nadu in 2015, purportedly committed to uphold the pride of a dominant caste. Unlike most emblematic cases of such ‘killings for honour’, the murder of V. Gokulraj, an Engineering student, was not done by or at the instance of the family of a girl belonging to the dominant caste. Rather, it was by a gang led by S. Yuvaraj, who ran his own caste outfit and did not know either the victim or his friend, but had chanced upon them engaged in a conversation in a temple. It was likely that he sought to create a sense of awe among his own community’s youth by seizing on the opportunity to punish a man from a downtrodden community. After a quick interview to ascertain their caste status, he sent away the girl, who belonged to his own community, escorted by a couple from his own group. In a chilling sequence of events, Yuvaraj and his accomplices abducted the youth in their vehicle and devised a plan on the fly to kill him and make it appear to be a suicide. They forced him to talk about taking his own life and recorded it on a phone, and even dictated a ‘suicide note’ to be planted later on his body. After strangling him to death at an isolated spot, Yuvaraj severed his head and tossed the torso on a railway track and the head nearby. Yuvaraj, who ran a group called Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder Peravai, emerged as a key suspect after CCTV footage near the temple showed him and his accomplices leaving the temple with Gokulraj. Over the next few weeks, it was clear that Yuvaraj was after popularity, as during the three months he was absconding, he made public recorded messages and even appeared in a television discussion. Ultimately, this chutzpah proved to be his undoing, as he confirmed on air that he had confronted the couple at the temple but claimed he had left them there. The law, however, went by the principle that the accused with whom a slain victim was last seen, must explain his absence satisfactorily. The investigation saw some setbacks, when a DSP probing it died by suicide, while during trial, several witnesses turned hostile. The victim’s mother, V. Chitra, who obtained an order from the Madras High Court to transfer the trial from Namakkal to Madurai, Special Public Prosecutor B.B. Mohan and investigators who compiled technical and forensic evidence deserve plaudits for the successful prosecution. In a State where prosecutions under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act often flounder, the sentencing of 10 persons, all for the remainder of their lives, is a rare blow for substantive justice.
Which is/are the synonym(s) of the word ‘purportedly’.
(a) Allegedly
(b) Reputedly
(c) Reportedly
(d) Unanimous
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
The recent sentencing of the leader of a caste outfit to lifelong imprisonment has brought some closure to the horrific killing of a Dalit youth in western Tamil Nadu in 2015, purportedly committed to uphold the pride of a dominant caste. Unlike most emblematic cases of such ‘killings for honour’, the murder of V. Gokulraj, an Engineering student, was not done by or at the instance of the family of a girl belonging to the dominant caste. Rather, it was by a gang led by S. Yuvaraj, who ran his own caste outfit and did not know either the victim or his friend, but had chanced upon them engaged in a conversation in a temple. It was likely that he sought to create a sense of awe among his own community’s youth by seizing on the opportunity to punish a man from a downtrodden community. After a quick interview to ascertain their caste status, he sent away the girl, who belonged to his own community, escorted by a couple from his own group. In a chilling sequence of events, Yuvaraj and his accomplices abducted the youth in their vehicle and devised a plan on the fly to kill him and make it appear to be a suicide. They forced him to talk about taking his own life and recorded it on a phone, and even dictated a ‘suicide note’ to be planted later on his body. After strangling him to death at an isolated spot, Yuvaraj severed his head and tossed the torso on a railway track and the head nearby. Yuvaraj, who ran a group called Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder Peravai, emerged as a key suspect after CCTV footage near the temple showed him and his accomplices leaving the temple with Gokulraj. Over the next few weeks, it was clear that Yuvaraj was after popularity, as during the three months he was absconding, he made public recorded messages and even appeared in a television discussion. Ultimately, this chutzpah proved to be his undoing, as he confirmed on air that he had confronted the couple at the temple but claimed he had left them there. The law, however, went by the principle that the accused with whom a slain victim was last seen, must explain his absence satisfactorily. The investigation saw some setbacks, when a DSP probing it died by suicide, while during trial, several witnesses turned hostile. The victim’s mother, V. Chitra, who obtained an order from the Madras High Court to transfer the trial from Namakkal to Madurai, Special Public Prosecutor B.B. Mohan and investigators who compiled technical and forensic evidence deserve plaudits for the successful prosecution. In a State where prosecutions under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act often flounder, the sentencing of 10 persons, all for the remainder of their lives, is a rare blow for substantive justice.
Which is/are the synonym(s) of the word ‘purportedly’.
(a) Allegedly
(b) Reputedly
(c) Reportedly
(d) Unanimous
Question 10:
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
Inflation in India continues on a worrying uptrend with the consumer price index based reading accelerating to an eight month high of 6.07% last month, while wholesale prices logged a double digit increase for the eleventh straight month. February’s headline WPI inflation spurted to 13.11%. Retail inflation remained stuck above the RBI’s upper tolerance threshold of 6% for the second month, as food price inflation quickened to 5.85%. Households in the hinterland bore a bigger brunt of the burden as price gains measured by the consumer food price index for rural areas surged by 69 basis points from January’s level, to 5.87%. Price gains in the key protein source of meat and fish jumped by almost 200 basis points from the preceding month to 7.45%, while nutrient rich vegetables also logged inflation of 6.13% in February, belying the central bank’s prognostication last month of an “expected easing of vegetable prices on fresh winter crop arrivals”. And even though inflation in oils and fats eased by more than 220 basis points to 16.44%, there is little room for cheer, given that one can expect a spike again this month in the wake of the abrupt disruption in the supply of edible oils from wartorn Ukraine, which is the largest source of sunflower oil imported into India. With price gains in clothing and footwear, fuel and light and transport and communication all running well above 8% levels, the overall trend in retail inflation is now clearly broad based across consumption categories and disconcertingly way above tolerance levels. Also, with the pump prices of fuels yet to reflect the recent upsurge in international oil prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of its southwestern neighbour, transport sport and communication inflation is certain to climb sharply once staterun refiners reset prices to reflect crude costs. The price of India’s crude basket had already risen by over $20 a barrel since December to $94.07 last month and with global crude prices currently in uncharted territory on account of the war, and the rupee having weakened by about 2.5% against the dollar since the start
of the conflict, it is hard to see any nearterm relief on the fuel price front. A glance at last month’s producer prices of the energy basket shows inflation in the fuel and power category of the wholesale price index was at 31.5%. And in a sign that manufacturers are no longer able no longer able to keep absorbing cost pressures, inflation in manufactured products accelerated to 9.84% presaging more pain for consumers. RBI Deputy Governor Michael D. Patra had last week cited the headroom available for the Government to cut taxes on fuels as a source of comfort on the inflation front. With the RBI’s latest consumer confidence survey showing most households reporting further increases in overall spending on essentials and remaining far from sanguine on the prices outlook, policymakers need to act expeditiously to tame inflation or risk it undermining the very growth they are currently focused on supporting.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are true as per the passage?
(a) Retail inflation remained stuck above the RBI’s upper tolerance threshold of 6% for the second month.
(b) February’s headline WPI inflation spurted to 6%.
(c) With price decline in clothing and footwear, fuel and light and transport and communication all running well below 8% levels, the overall trend in retail inflation is now clearly broadbased across consumption categories and disconcertingly way below tolerance levels
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
Inflation in India continues on a worrying uptrend with the consumer price index based reading accelerating to an eight month high of 6.07% last month, while wholesale prices logged a double digit increase for the eleventh straight month. February’s headline WPI inflation spurted to 13.11%. Retail inflation remained stuck above the RBI’s upper tolerance threshold of 6% for the second month, as food price inflation quickened to 5.85%. Households in the hinterland bore a bigger brunt of the burden as price gains measured by the consumer food price index for rural areas surged by 69 basis points from January’s level, to 5.87%. Price gains in the key protein source of meat and fish jumped by almost 200 basis points from the preceding month to 7.45%, while nutrient rich vegetables also logged inflation of 6.13% in February, belying the central bank’s prognostication last month of an “expected easing of vegetable prices on fresh winter crop arrivals”. And even though inflation in oils and fats eased by more than 220 basis points to 16.44%, there is little room for cheer, given that one can expect a spike again this month in the wake of the abrupt disruption in the supply of edible oils from wartorn Ukraine, which is the largest source of sunflower oil imported into India. With price gains in clothing and footwear, fuel and light and transport and communication all running well above 8% levels, the overall trend in retail inflation is now clearly broad based across consumption categories and disconcertingly way above tolerance levels. Also, with the pump prices of fuels yet to reflect the recent upsurge in international oil prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of its southwestern neighbour, transport sport and communication inflation is certain to climb sharply once staterun refiners reset prices to reflect crude costs. The price of India’s crude basket had already risen by over $20 a barrel since December to $94.07 last month and with global crude prices currently in uncharted territory on account of the war, and the rupee having weakened by about 2.5% against the dollar since the start
of the conflict, it is hard to see any nearterm relief on the fuel price front. A glance at last month’s producer prices of the energy basket shows inflation in the fuel and power category of the wholesale price index was at 31.5%. And in a sign that manufacturers are no longer able no longer able to keep absorbing cost pressures, inflation in manufactured products accelerated to 9.84% presaging more pain for consumers. RBI Deputy Governor Michael D. Patra had last week cited the headroom available for the Government to cut taxes on fuels as a source of comfort on the inflation front. With the RBI’s latest consumer confidence survey showing most households reporting further increases in overall spending on essentials and remaining far from sanguine on the prices outlook, policymakers need to act expeditiously to tame inflation or risk it undermining the very growth they are currently focused on supporting.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are true as per the passage?
(a) Retail inflation remained stuck above the RBI’s upper tolerance threshold of 6% for the second month.
(b) February’s headline WPI inflation spurted to 6%.
(c) With price decline in clothing and footwear, fuel and light and transport and communication all running well below 8% levels, the overall trend in retail inflation is now clearly broadbased across consumption categories and disconcertingly way below tolerance levels
