English: Theme Detection Questions Set 7

Directions (1-10): In each questions below, a Theme has been given followed by two passage. You have to determine which passage is based on the given theme and mark it as your option. More than one passage can be based or not based on the given theme that is highlighted in bold.

1. Should both developed and underdeveloped countries have equal binding in combating climate change?
   a. Global warming and Climate change have caused some serious damage to this planet earth. Keeping this in mind, whether the citizen belongs to the developed or developing country category, they all have the common goal and mission to save this planet. Kyoto Protocols and Rio declarations have majorly contributed to this much debatable issue and tried to solve the crisis. However, we need more such structured global initiatives and binding amendations that could collectively bring effective changes to generate productive outcomes.
   b. “Greed is Good” – is the holy catechism of neo-liberal politics as expressed by the fictional Gordon Gekko. There is a fundamental and brutal problem with that statement though. Every single major religion on the planet says it is wrong, that sharing with others and putting the society ahead of oneself is good, and the self-centered approach to managing society is bad, evil or “one of the seven deadly sins”. That leads to the question of why do only religions that encourage sharing, social justice and equity survive? They disagree about so much but they all agree on that point. I surmise that this is because the societies that they are part of are cohesive and better able to survive. They easily exceed Dunbar’s Number and their people are able to work together.
   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option D
   

    

2. Should Uniform Civil Code be implemented?
   a. Yes. A country should have uniform legal provision through out and equally applicable to all the citizen of India. Unfortunately, UCC (uniform civil code) is considered as if it is totally against Muslim community alone and is targeted at them. In fact, all the communities including Hindus will to compromise to some extent.
   b. Though the concept of Uniform civil code is good, it may be very difficult to implement considering the opposition from all communities. Instead of trying to force ”one india one law” on all religions, it is much better to impose changes in personal laws that are outdated and are derogatory to any section of people.
   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option D
   

    

3. Is E-Commerce, a Sustainable business model?
   a. A major chunk of money is also going into developing technology capabilities, especially on the mobile front through acquisitions. For example, post the latest round of investment by Softbank, Snapdeal said it will look to make 3-4 strategic acquisitions in the coming few months specifically in the area of mobile technology while setting up an incubation centre to hone and harness start-up businesses in this space. Flipkart’s Sachin Bansal had said much the same in an interview with us earlier this year. A spokesperson for Myntra, which was acquired by Flipkart earlier this year also said that the company could turn profitable within months if needed. “But we are investing for future growth, in terms of capacity planning, mobile technology, warehousing, etc.,” he said
   b. E-commerce industry is in a mess– valuations are crumbling, many portals are shutting down and some getting merged with others. Couple of years could be watershed for the sector, but the industry is confident of the inherent strength of the sector and is optimistic that realistic valuations and sustainable business models will emerge at the end of the pain.
   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option D
   Statement “a” is ambiguous. We are unable to conslude anything from it. statement “b” says “it will emerge” but when . we donot know. hence “d”.

    

4. Is BRICS Significant in the world economy?
   a. When the term BRICS arose during the 2000s, some people seem to have thought that this group of countries had some significance beyond the economic performance of the individual countries – that the whole was somehow greater than the sum of the parts. This ideas seems to have faded over time, as the five countries have experienced very different economic and political fortunes.
   b. BRICS account for about two-thirds of emerging market GDP. The World Bank has estimated that in the event that growth in BRICS economies fell one percentage point below expectations, this would knock 0.8 percentage points off growth in other emerging markets over a period of two years and reduce global growth by 0.4 percentage points. The effects of a BRICS slowdown on other emerging markets and the global economy are significantly worse if one assumes that financial sector turbulence will also accompany the slowdown. These effects are a result of unintended knock-on effects, in the form of financial, trade and economic spill-overs.
   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option C
   

    

5. Is Delhi’s Odd-Even Rule : a success?
   a. Air-pollution levels in Delhi rose 15 percent during the 15-day period (January 1 to 15, 2016) of the state government’s odd-even measure over the previous 15 days (December 17 to 31, 2015), according to an analysis of PM (particulate matter) 2.5 data, generated by IndiaSpend’s #Breathe air-quality monitoring devices.
   b. : Delhi has earned the tag of being the most polluted city in the world, outstripping the Chinese capital Beijing, known for its record pollution levels. Owing to the toxic air that Delhi is breathing, the Odd-Even road rationing scheme will be back in Delhi from November 13 to 17. Under the scheme, cars with license plates ending in an odd number and even number are allowed to ply on alternate days. The scheme aims to cut down vehicular traffic by half, thereby reducing air pollution.
   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option A
   Staement “b” lays down the aims of the plan and not its conclusions.

    

6. Bullet trains in india – Is it a right step?
   a. The bullet train project will bring speed and employment, PM Modi said during its inauguration. The bullet train project is expected to create 4,000 direct job opportunities, along with 20,000 indirect jobs. 20,000 construction workers will also be employed during the set up period of Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train.
   b. Bullet Train has high fares, it further negates expectation of any increase in daily ridership as GoI’s Udaan Scheme already promises to offer airfare as low as Rs.2500/- one way on this route. I don’t think people will opt for two hours Bullet Train journey on a higher fare than 30 minutes air flight for a lesser fare. Delhi Metro Rail has almost on the break-even or bear losses in the last couple of years, and remember that it has a huge ridership & low fares – and there is a margin to increase fares that can’t be done with Bullet Trains as fares already are on the higher side.
   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option C
   Statement “a” says it will bring employement. So, it is a right step. Statement “b” says it is an expensive scheme so we cannot rely on it.

    

7. How to eliminate the threat of Nuclear war?
   a. Nations that are possessing nuclear weapons are not participating in the talks of Treaty to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. In this situation, it is the responsibility of citizens to put pressure on their governments to sign the treaty and to destruct the weapons safely to ensure safe and secure world.
   b. When USA dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, they caused the death of 2 lakh people approximately and caused diseases due to nuclear radiation in others who were survived. The present nuclear weapons exhibit nearly 1000 time of nuclear radiation compared to the bombs that are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option A
   

    

8. Can we rely on Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin?
   a. Future belongs to technology. Cryptocurrencies make peer-to-peer financial transactions a lot easier. This currency can be sent from any part of the world to any part of the world. Hence there will be no struggle of exchanging the currencies like Dollar to Rupee etc.
   b. Bitcoin, the earliest cryptocurrency will generates only 21 million coins. That means when the demand for the bitcoin is more, the value of the bitcoin will increases. There is a downside to this, the value of the currency completely depends on the demand it has, that means if the major investors withdrew their money, the value of this currency will crash.
   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option C
   Statement “a” is in favour whereas statement “b” is against the theme.

    

9. How to tackle Naxalism?
   a. Unless we examine naxalism with the criminological approach, it is difficult to tackle it. There are grievances, leadership styles in the naxalism movement, government neglect on development of people and ineffective policing and mixture of other approaches. Everything is complicated. There aren’t any easy solutions for political crimes that is pickled over years.

   b. Naxalism should be tackled by stunting its growth first. Naxalites recruit new members from tribal regions and rural villages. Theses regions happen to be one of the most exploited parts of India. Naxalites offer such disgruntled sections of the society a reason to live and a goal to fight for. The issue lies in the policy making of the government. A large section of the Indian population does not expect any sops from the government but just a life free from any sort of exploitation. Exploitation is as much as a cause as lack of opportunities for a majority of the tribal population. This suggestion from me requires no additional resources but for the government to perform its duty to protect its citizen equally. Once people see no incentive in joining the naxal movement, it will eventually stifle its growth.

   Only a
   Only b
   Both a & b
   Neither a nor b
   All are Correct
   Option B
   Statement “b” is quite convincing and politically acceptable. hence correct.

    

10. Should Gorkhaland be given separate state status?
    a. In 1907, the Hillmen’s association had raised the issue of being separately administered from Bengal. In 1929, the Hillsmen’s Association was joined by Gorkha Officer’s Association and Kurseong Gorkha Library in submitting a petition to the British demanding separation from the province of Bengal. The issue surfaced once again in 1941 in the demand for Darjeeling to be excluded from the province of Bengal and made into a separate Chief Commissioner’s Province. This was followed by a resolution taken by the Communist party of India in 1952 demanding autonomy for Darjeeling.
    b. Talking to a cross-section of people it emerges that the geographical composition of Darjeeling had stood in the way of its statehood. Darjeeling had been too small to be constituted as a state. According to official records Darjeeling district has a geographical area of about 3,149 sq km with three Assembly seats and only a part of a Lok Sabha seat. It has a population of about 12 lakh, according to Roshan Giri, the GJM general secretary. The ground realities, however, are far removed from what Giri and the GJM leaders visualised. After formation of the last Gorkha Territorial Administration, in February 2012, the GTA and the West Bengal government agreed to have a Commission to review the territorial jurisdiction of the GTA.
    Only a
    Only b
    Both a & b
    Neither a nor b
    All are Correct
    Option B
    Statement “a” does not lay any particular reason as of why gorkhaland should be given an autonomous status. Statement “b” says that Darjeeling is too small to be given an autonomous status hence follows the theme.