The key to removing corruption is the transparency of political funding. That would end – first misuse of state ___A___by the politician to raise funds, second ___B___ in the services of civil servants, and third ___C___ both accountability and integrity of the administration. So long as people need cash for bribes, they would withdraw cash and a transaction cost would not deter them. Moreover, the RBI can pass on the potential savings from reduced cash handling to lower the cost of electronic transactions. So can the government. ___D___ from the RBI and the government, in tandem with competition to Visa and MasterCard from RuPay, should make digital payments ___E___ costless for merchants and consumers.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank A A. devices B. gadget C. government D. machinery E. apparatus
Option: D
Usage of the words ‘devices’, ‘gadget’ or ‘apparatuses would be illogical in the context of the passage. Between ‘government’ and ‘machinery’, the word ‘machinery’ fits the blank aptly as the term ‘State machinery’ refers to the allocation of functions to and between departments and other government agencies.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank B A. adhering B. roping C. releasing D. luring E. chaining
Option: B
The usage of the preposition ‘in’ right after the blank hints at the idiom ‘roping in’ which means ‘to persuade a person or group to do something’ as a strong pick for the blank. The verb ‘adhering’ is followed by the preposition ‘to’, ‘releasing’, and ‘luring’ take an object right after them, and thus options A, ,C and D can be eliminated. Usage of the word ‘chaining’ is making the context absurd and can be eliminated as well.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank C A. distrusting B. negating C. undermining D. offending E. sabotaging
Option: C
Usage of any of ‘distrusting’, ‘negating’, ‘offending’, and ‘sabotaging’ is not going well with the context. The options A, B, D and E hence can be eliminated.
‘Undermining’ which means ‘to lessen the power or effectiveness of’ fits the blank appropriately.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank D A. outlays B. income C. payment D. addition E. sum
Option: A
As the first sentence of the second paragraph talks about the potential use of the expenditure amount saved from reduced cash handling, usage of the word ‘outlays’ which in Economics refers to ‘an amount spent or an expenditure’ is the most appropriate choice out of the given ones. Usage of either ‘addition’ or ‘sum’ is adding absurdity to the context. Options D and E hence can be eliminated.
Similarly, usage of the phrase ‘income from’ or ‘payment from’ in relation to RBI, which is a monetary authority and not a bank or a profit-making company doesn’t seem logical and options B and C can be eliminated as well.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank E A. never B. ever C. little D. highly E. virtually
Option: E
Usage of any of the words ‘never’, ‘little’, and ‘highly’ would add contradiction to what is being inferred from the passage. Options A, C, and D get eliminated.
‘Ever’ is too strong for an adverb to fit the blank. Option B can be eliminated too. ‘Virtually’ that refers to ‘nearly’ or ‘almost’ would be meaningful and completes the idea being stated.
The major ___A___ of establishing Regional Rural Banks is to develop the rural economy by providing credit and other ___B___ for agriculture, trade, commerce, industry, and other productive activities in the rural areas, ___C___ to the small and marginal farmers, agricultural laborers, artisans, and small entrepreneurs. An RRB is sponsored by a commercial bank. For this purpose, the sponsor bank requests the Central Government which issues a notification after consulting the ___D___ State Government. Normally, an RRB covers one district but it is also permitted to open its branches in other districts. So far, the maximum ___E___ has been eight districts, as in the case of Manipur Regional Rural Bank, which covers the entire State of Manipur.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank A A. theme B. ideas C. work D. duty E. objectives
Option: E
Usage of any of the word’s ‘theme’, ‘work’ and ‘duty’ would bring absurdity to the context of the passage and hence options A, C and D can be eliminated. Between ‘ideas’ and ‘objectives’ the latter fits the gap appropriately as the writer by the first sentence seems to be stating the purpose of establishing RRBs.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank B A. facilities B. item C. goods D. amenities E. values
Option: A
Usage of any of the word’s ‘item’, ‘goods’ and ‘values’ is illogical and doesn’t make any sense. Options B, C and D hence get eliminated. Between ‘facilities’ and ‘amenities’ the former is the better choice because an ‘amenity’ is a feature that provides comfort, convenience, or pleasure and we use this word in the context of describing the features of a hotel or a house.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank C A. clearly B. certainly C. particularly D. similarly E. likely
Option: C
Usage of any of the adverbs ‘clearly’, ‘similarly’ and ‘likely’ for the blank does not add any meaning to the context and hence option A. D and E can be eliminated. Between ‘certainly’ and ‘particularly’ the latter fits the gap logically because in the later part of the sentence the writer specifically mentions the groups going to be benefited by the establishment of the RRBs.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank D A. neighbouring B. concerned C. related D. nearest E. willing
Option: B
Usage of any of the words ‘neighbouring’, ‘nearest’ ,and ‘willing’ for the blank would be absurd as none seems to be going well with the context. Option A. D and E hence get eliminated. Between ‘concerned’ and ‘related’ the former is the more suitable word for the gap as it completes the sentence in a meaningful way.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank E A. average B. enclosures C. beneficiaries D. coverage E. share
Option: D
Usage of any of the words ‘average’, ‘enclosures’ and ‘share’ for the gap would be inappropriate as none adds any meaning to the context. Options A, B and E hence can be eliminated. Between ‘beneficiaries’ and ‘coverage’ the latter fits the gap appropriately and the presence of the verb ‘covers’ in the latter part of the sentence confirms it as well.
