NSGE QUICK PICK Your Daily Dose for Government Exam preparation Wednesday, December 21, 2016 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 1. NLS forum puts some byte into consumer redress: University s online centre will offer mediation facility to settle e-commerce disputes E-commerce has changed the way people buy goods, but it sometimes comes with hidden surprises in the form of wrong orders or damaged goods landing at the buyer s doorstep. Now, there is some help at hand for customers who are unable to find an amicable resolution to disputes. The National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, is set to launch an Online Consumer Mediation Centre (OCMC) to help such customers get a remedy, for a fee of Rs.100. The initiative, which is funded by the Centre s Department of Consumer Affairs, will be launched on December 24 National Consumer Rights Day. Ashok R. Patil, Director, OCMC, said the aim is to support consumer redress by providing a platform that is quick, transparent, effective and enabling fair settlement of disputes. Its tag line is Anytime, Anywhere Dispute Resolution. 2. NCRPB tells States to submit action plan to curb pollution: HARD TO BREATHE: Burning of stubble and garbage, solid waste management and uncontrolled construction activities were some of the issues discussed in the the meeting of the National Capital Region Planning Board on With air quality deteriorating on a daily basis,the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) on Tuesday asked Delhi and adjoining States to submit action plans to control air pollution in the Capital. Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, who chaired the meeting of the NCRPB, said that air pollution in Delhi is a matter of serious concern and Delhi, along with Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab should act in unison to mitigate the suffering of the people. 1 NSGE THANE-PUNE-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD -2016
3. Cancellation of foreign funding licence badge of honour : NGO We [NGO] refuse to be cowed down, and will continue our work with Indian donations, and if these are unavailable, then with no funds. But we strongly condemn the deployment of the FCRA as a tool of repression by the central government After its foreign funding licence was cancelled by the Ministry of Home Afairs (MHA) last week, civil society group Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) said it wore the development as a badge of honour from what it termed was the most openly intolerant government to lead the country, except for the 18 months of the emergency of 1975. At a press conference on Tuesday, the NGO said that the Narendra Modiled government was openly repressive of any kind of liberal and progressive civic dissent and added that it would continue its activities sans foreign funding after the revocation of its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence by the MHA. 4. Two key missiles launches this month India s long-range, subsonic cruise missile, Nirbhay,will lift of from the Launch Complex-III of the Integrated Test Range, Balasore,Odisha, on Wednesday. The redoubtable Agni-V, which can carry nuclear warheads over a distance of about 5,000 km, will be fired from a canister mounted on a massive truck from Wheeler Island, of the Odisha coast, on December 26. Nirbhay, which has a range of about 1,000 km, has blended missile and aeronautical technologies into a single contraption. It will take of vertically like a missile. A mechanism in its first stage will tilt it horizontally and the first stage with its booster engine will then fall of. The second stage with a turbo-jet engine will cruise horizontally like an aircraft at a subsonic speed of 0.7 Mach. The missiles will be fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, which has conceived, designed and developed them. 5. SC may hear plea on tax relief for parties The Supreme Court is likely to hear a writ petition to declare as unconstitutional certain provisions of the Income-Tax Act and the Representation of the People Act giving 100 per cent tax exemption to political parties. The petition filed by advocate M.L. Sharma has challenged the constitutionality of Section 13A of the Income- Tax Act of 1961 and section 29 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The petition has asked why ordinary persons are taxed while the political parties enjoyed tax exemption. 2 NSGE THANE-PUNE-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD -2016
REASONING QUESTION: SET - 2 : Direction to solve Study the following information carefully and answers the question given below. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and K are sitting around a circular table facing the center. B is fourth to the left of G, who is second to the right of C. F is fourth to the right of C and second to the left of K. A is fourth to the right of K. D is not immediate neighbor of either K or B. H is third to the right of E. 1. Who is fourth to the right of D? A. K B. H C. E D. B Answer D 2. In which of the following combinations is the third person setting in between the first and second persons? A. EKB B. CHB C. AGC D. FGD Answer D 3. Who is third to the right of H? A. A B. D C. G D. F Answer C 4. Who is the fourth to the left of E? A. A B. C C. G D. K Answer A 3 NSGE THANE-PUNE-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD -2016
5. Who is second to the right of K? A. C B. H C. F D. E Answer B COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE QUESTION: 1. If a computer provides database services to other, then it will be known as? C A. Web server B. Application server C. Database server D. FTP server 2. Full form of URL is? A A. Uniform Resource Locator B. Uniform Resource Link C. Uniform Registered Link D. Unified Resource Link 3. In which of the following form, data is stored in computer? B A. Decimal B. Binary C. HexaDecimal D. Octal 4. Technology used to provide internet by transmitting data over wires of telephone network is? D A. Transmitter B. Diodes C. HHL D. DSL 4 NSGE THANE-PUNE-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD -2016
5. Which level language is Assembly Language? C A. high-level programming language B. medium-level programming language C. low-level programming language D. machine language QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE QUESTION: 1. A money amounts to Rs. 1200 in 3 years & to Rs. 1280 in 4 years at Simple Interest.The sum is : A. Rs. 840 B. Rs. 960 C. Rs. 900 D. Rs. 940 Answer : B 2. How much time will it take for an amount of Rs. 1500 to get Rs. 225 as interest at 5% per annum of simple interest? A. 1 year B. 2 years C. 4 years D. 3 years Answer : D 3. What will be the simple interest on an amount of Rs. 2000 in 3 years at interest 4% per annum? A. Rs. 220 B. Rs. 240 C. Rs. 250 D. Rs. 280 Answer : B 5 NSGE THANE-PUNE-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD -2016
4. At what rate of interest, a sum of Rs. 15000 will be Rs. 17625 in 5 years? A. 3 % B. 3.5 % C. 4 % D. 4.5 % Answer : B 5. What will be the ratio of simple interest earned by a certain amount at the same rate of interest for 2 years & for 4 years? A. 2 : 1 B. 1 : 2 C. 1 : 3 D. Cannot determined Answer : B Reading comprehension: China s rising power is based on its remarkable economic success. Shanghai s overall economy is currently growing at around 13% per year, thus doubling in size every five or six years. Everywhere there are start-ups, innovations, and young entrepreneurs hungry for profits. In a series of high level meetings between chinese and African officials, the advice that the African leaders received from the Chinese was sound, and more practical than they typically get from the World Bank. Chinese officials stress the crucial role of public investments, especially in agriculture and infrastructure, to lay the basis for private sector-led growth. In a hungry and poor rural economy, as China was in the 1970s and as most of Africa is today, a key starting point is to raise farm productivity. Farmers need the benefits of fertilizer, irrigation and high-yield seeds, all of which were a core part of China s economical take off. Two other equally critical investments are also needed : roads and electricity, without which there cannot be a modern economy. Farmers might be able to increase their output, but it won t be able to reach the cities, and the cities won t be able to provide the countryside with inputs. The government has taken pains to ensure that the electricity grids and transportation networks reach every village in China. China is prepared to help Africa in substantial ways in agriculture, roads, power, health and education. And that is not an empty boast. Chinese leaders are prepared to share new high yield rice varieties, with their African counterparts and, all over Africa, China is financing and constructing basic infrastructure. This illustrates what is wrong with the World Bank. The World Bank has often forgotten the most basic lessons of development, preferring to lecture the poor and force them to privatise basic infrastructure, which is untenable, rather than to help the poor to invest in infrastructure and other crucial sectors. The Banks s failure began in the early 1980s 6 NSGE THANE-PUNE-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD -2016
when under the ideological sway of them American President and British Prime Minister it tried to get Africa and other poor regions to cut back or close down government investments and services. For 25 years, the bank tries to get governments out of agriculture, leaving impoverished peasants to fend for themselves. The result has been a disaster in Africa, with farm productivity stagnant for decades. The bank also pushed for privatization of national health systems, water utilities, and road and power networks, and has grossly underfinanced these critical sectors. This extreme free-market ideology, also called structural adjustment, went against the practical lessons of development successes in China and the rest or Asia. Practical development strategy recognises that public investments - in agriculture, health, education, and infrastructure- are necessary complements to private investments. The World Bank has instead wrongly seen such vital public investments as an enemy of private sector development. Whenever the banks ideology failed, it has blamed the poor for corruption, mismanagement, or lack of initiative. Instead of focusing its attention on helping the poorest countries to improve their infrastructure, there has been a crusade against corruption. The good news is that African governments are getting the massage on how to spur economic growth and are getting crucial help from China and other partners that are less wedded to extreme free-market ideology than the world Bank. They have declared their intention to invest in infrastructure, agriculture modernistation, public health, and education. It is clear the Bank can regain its relevance only if it becomes practical once again, by returning its focus to financing public investments in priority sectors. If that happens, the Bank can still do justice to the bold vision of a world of shared prosperity that prompted its creation after World War II. 1. The author s main objective in writing the passage is to A. Illustrate how China can play a more concrete role in Africa. B. Use China s Success as an example of the changes required in World ideology. C. Recommend that China adopt the guidelines of the World Bank to sustain growth. D. make a case for the closure of the World Bank since it promotes US interests over those of other countries. Answer: Option B 2. What effect has the World Bank policy had on African nations? A. The African government has restricted private sector investment in agriculture. B. Africa has focused more on health and education rather than on agriculture. C. US and Britain have volunteered substantial aid to Africa as Africa has complied with World Bank ideology. D. The agriculture sector in these countries is not as productive as it could be. Answer: Option D 7 NSGE THANE-PUNE-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD -2016
3. Which of the following cannot be said about structural adjustment? A. It is the World Bank s free market ideology adapted by Asian countries. B. Under this strategy public sector investment in priority sectors is discouraged. C. As a development strategy it has failed in Africa. D. With this strategy there has been a lack of adequate investment in critical sectors. Answer: Option A 4. Why is the author optimistic about Africa s future? A. Africa has decided to adopt a structural adjustment ideology which has benefited many nations. B. China has urged the World Bank to waive the interest on its loans to Africa. C. Africa has committed itself to adopting China s strategy for economic growth. D. The World Bank has committed itself to invest huge sums in Africa s development. Answer: Option C 5. What advice has the author given the World Bank? A. Adopt a more practical ideology of structural adjustment. B. Change its ideology to one encouraging both public and private sector investment in basic infrastructure. C. Reduce the influence of the US and Britain in its functioning. D. Support China s involvement in developing Africa. Answer: Option B Questions Answers 8 NSGE THANE-PUNE-PIMPRI-CHINCHWAD -2016