Comprehension - Online Test
Q1.
Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
As bitcoin launched in 2009, most early adopters saw its disruptive potential. While bitcoin has stalled for some time approaching a valid use of the term “stagnation”, cryptocurrency in a larger context is still just as disruptive. In 2011, I stated that bitcoin (cryptocurrency) will do to banks what e-mail did to the postal services. This is not just true, but it will be even more brutal to governments, and by extension, governmental services.
Now, governments love anything that smells like innovation, because it means jobs, this magic word that smells of magic unicorns to anybody in government. Therefore, people who like innovation are nurturing this bitcoin thing, this cryptocurrency thing, this ethereum thing (as if governments made a difference, but still). Lots of startups in tip-of-the-spear financial technology means that their government may get a head start over other governments. They have no idea that cryptocurrency will radically scale back the power of government, not just their own one, but also all those other governments over which it seeks a competitive edge.
Individual people in government can also love bitcoin because it gives them something to do. More specifically, it gives them something to regulate. Fortunately, other people in government see that this gives them something to do, which is to hold those government regulators with an overdeveloped sense of order somewhat in check. You’ll hear no shortage of wannabe regulators saying that “bitcoin is bad because it’s being used in crime and contraband trade!”, to which I usually respond, “well, bitcoin is a currency, so I mean you put it in relation to the US Dollar, which then… is not used in crime and contraband trade, is this the argument you’re using to support your position?”, at which point the discussion generally changes topic.
This completely disregards the observation that bitcoin and cryptocurrency were designed to not submit to regulation in the first place. Well, at least not governmental regulation. It is heavily regulated – but by its source code, and by its source code alone.
The reason this will cripple today’s governments — today’s idea of what a government is and does — is because today’s economy is built on one layer doing actual work and three layers of abstraction on top.
At the first and bottom layer of our economy are the individual people doing all the actual work.
The second layer on top of the first is the abstraction we call corporations, which is a way to organize our economy and optimize transaction costs.
The third layer on top of the second would be banks, which handle money for corporations and individual people in a middleman gatekeeper position.
Finally, the fourth layer is the government, which takes advantage of the banks’ gatekeeper position to siphon off taxes from money flows in order to fund itself and governmental services. In other words, layer four completely depends on layer three for its operations – or at least for the relative simplicity of funding its operations.
Now, what bitcoin and cryptocurrency do is make away with the banks – cutting them out of the loop entirely, making them redundant, obsolete, dinosaurified. This resulting absence of anything where banks used to be creates an air gap between the functional part of the economy – people and corporations – and governments who want funding.
The way governments want to tap all money flows in order to fund itself is not entirely unlike how the surveillance agencies want to tap all information flows in order to have an information advantage. In this way, the deployment of cryptocurrency is to tax collection what deployment of end-to-end encryption is to mass surveillance. The government can no longer reach into money flows and grab what it wants, but will be dependent on people actively sending it money. The government can’t point a gun at a computer and have it give up its money; you can only make a computer operator feel very sorry for not voluntarily producing the keys to that money. So the government is no longer able to collect taxes without the consent – even if coerced and forced consent – of the people being thus collected.
The deployment of cryptocurrency is to tax collection what deployment of end-to-end encryption is to mass surveillance.
Governments, and individual people in government, have no idea about this bigger picture. They’re far too wrapped up in things-as-usual to notice. They won’t see it coming until it’s already happened.
When this happens, there will be no shortage of people in government who suddenly want to regulate cryptocurrency – only to find out it will be as effective as regulating gravity. When this happens, it will be redefined from a coercive Colossus able to take what it wants and do what it wants into a construct that actually depends on people wanting to fund it. This will be a very interesting time to live in. While today’s governments will see themselves as getting crippled, I suspect most citizens will regard it as unquestionably healthy that governments will actually begin to depend on the approval of the people at large.
We’re just beginning to see the changes to society that the Internet brings. This is one of them.
Which of the following would be the impact of the prevalence of cyrptocurrencies on banking system in the long run?
(i) Banking system may lose the confidence of the customers
(ii) It will make banks redundant
(iii) It will remove the mediation of banks and thus create micro markets
(i) Banking system may lose the confidence of the customers
(ii) It will make banks redundant
(iii) It will remove the mediation of banks and thus create micro markets
Answer : Option B
Explaination / Solution:
This can be interpreted from these lines, “Now, what bitcoin and cryptocurrency do is make away with the banks – cutting them out of the loop entirely, making them redundant, obsolete, dinosaurified.” Hence, option B is the correct answer.
Q2.
Direction: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
State Bank of India (or SBI) is India’s largest public sector bank, and a Fortune 500 company. It has now branched into various financial services, and is a government-owned corporation headquartered out of Mumbai. As of 2014-15, SBI had assets worth Rs. 20,480 billion and was ranked 232rd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2016.SBI traces its roots back to 1806, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian subcontinent. The State Bank of India as it is today has been in existence since 1956. As on date, it has a market share of over a whopping 20 percent in deposits and loans among Indian commercial banks.SBI offers a range of banking products and services through its extensive branch network, which includes products targeted at resident Indians as well as non-resident Indians (or NRIs).In addition to its five associate banks, the SBI also operates in the non-banking sphere which includes credit cards, life and general insurance, funds management and capital markets among others.
What sets them apart from competition is the sheer reach that SBI offers, reaching out to potential home owners in semi-urban and rural areas in addition to metropolitan cities. Further, in keeping with the rapid technological development in the banking and financial services (BFSI) sector, the SBI has expanded its reach by offering services at the click of a button.SBI has a wide reach that is not spread only domestically but as well as in the overseas market. There are 14 regional hubs and over 57 zonal offices located in India. The number of bank branches has crossed 18,354 in India itself, and as of 2014-15, the Bank had 191 offices spread across 36 countries worldwide. It also operates several foreign subsidies or affiliates.When it comes to home loans, SBI offers various products, and all of these product offerings can be categorised as under:Home loans, which include options for new homes, resale (or pre-owned) homes, as well as construction of a house. It provides Loan for Earnest Money Deposit, which is to help individuals finance their requirements towards earnest money to book residential plots/ built-up housing uses, properties being sold by government housing agencies an urban development authorities and housing boards. Further, this loan can be repaid through the proceeds of the housing loan availed of from SBI.Takeover of home loans, which is a balance transfer facility to shift your existing home loan from scheduled commercial banks, or private and foreign banks and even housing finance companies (registered with the National Housing Bank) to SBI.Tribal Plus Scheme, which is a special housing finance scheme for the hill/ tribal areas of North East India and areas around Chandigarh, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna and Bhubaneswar.HerGhar, loans exclusively for women home owners, offered at a concessional interest rate. FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme, which is targeted at young working professionals to ease the financial burden by offering attractive repayment options.In addition the SBI also caters to the NRI audience with a selection of housing loan product offerings.In keeping with the tradition of employing the latest technological advances, you can apply for a housing loan both at a SBI branch and online as well. SBI also has digital branches known as SBI InTouch, which offer an instant loan facility for home loans, among other products and services. Rewarding individuals for availing of a home loan, SBI has an attractive rewards programme called the State Bank Rewardz, which offers reward points as part of its Group Loyalty Programme. These points can then be redeemed upon accrual for various products and services, both offline as well as online.
What makes SBI the largest public sector bank in India?
Answer : Option E
Explaination / Solution:
What makes a bank the best are not the small factors like its age or its shares but what policies it brings for its customers and how it retains them increasing its market share. So, option E is the most suitable response.
Q3.
Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
As bitcoin launched in 2009, most early adopters saw its disruptive potential. While bitcoin has stalled for some time approaching a valid use of the term “stagnation”, cryptocurrency in a larger context is still just as disruptive. In 2011, I stated that bitcoin (cryptocurrency) will do to banks what e-mail did to the postal services. This is not just true, but it will be even more brutal to governments, and by extension, governmental services.
Now, governments love anything that smells like innovation, because it means jobs, this magic word that smells of magic unicorns to anybody in government. Therefore, people who like innovation are nurturing this bitcoin thing, this cryptocurrency thing, this ethereum thing (as if governments made a difference, but still). Lots of startups in tip-of-the-spear financial technology means that their government may get a head start over other governments. They have no idea that cryptocurrency will radically scale back the power of government, not just their own one, but also all those other governments over which it seeks a competitive edge.
Individual people in government can also love bitcoin because it gives them something to do. More specifically, it gives them something to regulate. Fortunately, other people in government see that this gives them something to do, which is to hold those government regulators with an overdeveloped sense of order somewhat in check. You’ll hear no shortage of wannabe regulators saying that “bitcoin is bad because it’s being used in crime and contraband trade!”, to which I usually respond, “well, bitcoin is a currency, so I mean you put it in relation to the US Dollar, which then… is not used in crime and contraband trade, is this the argument you’re using to support your position?”, at which point the discussion generally changes topic.
This completely disregards the observation that bitcoin and cryptocurrency were designed to not submit to regulation in the first place. Well, at least not governmental regulation. It is heavily regulated – but by its source code, and by its source code alone.
The reason this will cripple today’s governments — today’s idea of what a government is and does — is because today’s economy is built on one layer doing actual work and three layers of abstraction on top.
At the first and bottom layer of our economy are the individual people doing all the actual work.
The second layer on top of the first is the abstraction we call corporations, which is a way to organize our economy and optimize transaction costs.
The third layer on top of the second would be banks, which handle money for corporations and individual people in a middleman gatekeeper position.
Finally, the fourth layer is the government, which takes advantage of the banks’ gatekeeper position to siphon off taxes from money flows in order to fund itself and governmental services. In other words, layer four completely depends on layer three for its operations – or at least for the relative simplicity of funding its operations.
Now, what bitcoin and cryptocurrency do is make away with the banks – cutting them out of the loop entirely, making them redundant, obsolete, dinosaurified. This resulting absence of anything where banks used to be creates an air gap between the functional part of the economy – people and corporations – and governments who want funding.
The way governments want to tap all money flows in order to fund itself is not entirely unlike how the surveillance agencies want to tap all information flows in order to have an information advantage. In this way, the deployment of cryptocurrency is to tax collection what deployment of end-to-end encryption is to mass surveillance. The government can no longer reach into money flows and grab what it wants, but will be dependent on people actively sending it money. The government can’t point a gun at a computer and have it give up its money; you can only make a computer operator feel very sorry for not voluntarily producing the keys to that money. So the government is no longer able to collect taxes without the consent – even if coerced and forced consent – of the people being thus collected.
The deployment of cryptocurrency is to tax collection what deployment of end-to-end encryption is to mass surveillance.
Governments, and individual people in government, have no idea about this bigger picture. They’re far too wrapped up in things-as-usual to notice. They won’t see it coming until it’s already happened.
When this happens, there will be no shortage of people in government who suddenly want to regulate cryptocurrency – only to find out it will be as effective as regulating gravity. When this happens, it will be redefined from a coercive Colossus able to take what it wants and do what it wants into a construct that actually depends on people wanting to fund it. This will be a very interesting time to live in. While today’s governments will see themselves as getting crippled, I suspect most citizens will regard it as unquestionably healthy that governments will actually begin to depend on the approval of the people at large.
We’re just beginning to see the changes to society that the Internet brings. This is one of them.
“Coercive colossus” used in the passage refers to-
Answer : Option D
Explaination / Solution:
This can easily be interpreted from these lines of the passage, “When this happens, it will be redefined from a coercive Colossus able to take what it wants and do what it wants into a construct that actually depends on people wanting to fund it.” Hence, option D is the correct answer.
Q4.
Direction: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
State Bank of India (or SBI) is India’s largest public sector bank, and a Fortune 500 company. It has now branched into various financial services, and is a government-owned corporation headquartered out of Mumbai. As of 2014-15, SBI had assets worth Rs. 20,480 billion and was ranked 232rd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2016.SBI traces its roots back to 1806, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian subcontinent. The State Bank of India as it is today has been in existence since 1956. As on date, it has a market share of over a whopping 20 percent in deposits and loans among Indian commercial banks.SBI offers a range of banking products and services through its extensive branch network, which includes products targeted at resident Indians as well as non-resident Indians (or NRIs).In addition to its five associate banks, the SBI also operates in the non-banking sphere which includes credit cards, life and general insurance, funds management and capital markets among others.
What sets them apart from competition is the sheer reach that SBI offers, reaching out to potential home owners in semi-urban and rural areas in addition to metropolitan cities. Further, in keeping with the rapid technological development in the banking and financial services (BFSI) sector, the SBI has expanded its reach by offering services at the click of a button.SBI has a wide reach that is not spread only domestically but as well as in the overseas market. There are 14 regional hubs and over 57 zonal offices located in India. The number of bank branches has crossed 18,354 in India itself, and as of 2014-15, the Bank had 191 offices spread across 36 countries worldwide. It also operates several foreign subsidies or affiliates.When it comes to home loans, SBI offers various products, and all of these product offerings can be categorised as under:Home loans, which include options for new homes, resale (or pre-owned) homes, as well as construction of a house. It provides Loan for Earnest Money Deposit, which is to help individuals finance their requirements towards earnest money to book residential plots/ built-up housing uses, properties being sold by government housing agencies an urban development authorities and housing boards. Further, this loan can be repaid through the proceeds of the housing loan availed of from SBI.Takeover of home loans, which is a balance transfer facility to shift your existing home loan from scheduled commercial banks, or private and foreign banks and even housing finance companies (registered with the National Housing Bank) to SBI.Tribal Plus Scheme, which is a special housing finance scheme for the hill/ tribal areas of North East India and areas around Chandigarh, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna and Bhubaneswar.HerGhar, loans exclusively for women home owners, offered at a concessional interest rate. FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme, which is targeted at young working professionals to ease the financial burden by offering attractive repayment options.In addition the SBI also caters to the NRI audience with a selection of housing loan product offerings.In keeping with the tradition of employing the latest technological advances, you can apply for a housing loan both at a SBI branch and online as well. SBI also has digital branches known as SBI InTouch, which offer an instant loan facility for home loans, among other products and services. Rewarding individuals for availing of a home loan, SBI has an attractive rewards programme called the State Bank Rewardz, which offers reward points as part of its Group Loyalty Programme. These points can then be redeemed upon accrual for various products and services, both offline as well as online.
What makes SBI stand apart from its competitors?
Answer : Option A
Explaination / Solution:
It can be inferred from the following statement of the passage, 'What sets them apart from competition is the sheer reach that SBI offers, reaching out to potential home owners in semi-urban and rural areas in addition to metropolitan cities.'
Q5.
Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
As bitcoin launched in 2009, most early adopters saw its disruptive potential. While bitcoin has stalled for some time approaching a valid use of the term “stagnation”, cryptocurrency in a larger context is still just as disruptive. In 2011, I stated that bitcoin (cryptocurrency) will do to banks what e-mail did to the postal services. This is not just true, but it will be even more brutal to governments, and by extension, governmental services.
Now, governments love anything that smells like innovation, because it means jobs, this magic word that smells of magic unicorns to anybody in government. Therefore, people who like innovation are nurturing this bitcoin thing, this cryptocurrency thing, this ethereum thing (as if governments made a difference, but still). Lots of startups in tip-of-the-spear financial technology means that their government may get a head start over other governments. They have no idea that cryptocurrency will radically scale back the power of government, not just their own one, but also all those other governments over which it seeks a competitive edge.
Individual people in government can also love bitcoin because it gives them something to do. More specifically, it gives them something to regulate. Fortunately, other people in government see that this gives them something to do, which is to hold those government regulators with an overdeveloped sense of order somewhat in check. You’ll hear no shortage of wannabe regulators saying that “bitcoin is bad because it’s being used in crime and contraband trade!”, to which I usually respond, “well, bitcoin is a currency, so I mean you put it in relation to the US Dollar, which then… is not used in crime and contraband trade, is this the argument you’re using to support your position?”, at which point the discussion generally changes topic.
This completely disregards the observation that bitcoin and cryptocurrency were designed to not submit to regulation in the first place. Well, at least not governmental regulation. It is heavily regulated – but by its source code, and by its source code alone.
The reason this will cripple today’s governments — today’s idea of what a government is and does — is because today’s economy is built on one layer doing actual work and three layers of abstraction on top.
At the first and bottom layer of our economy are the individual people doing all the actual work.
The second layer on top of the first is the abstraction we call corporations, which is a way to organize our economy and optimize transaction costs.
The third layer on top of the second would be banks, which handle money for corporations and individual people in a middleman gatekeeper position.
Finally, the fourth layer is the government, which takes advantage of the banks’ gatekeeper position to siphon off taxes from money flows in order to fund itself and governmental services. In other words, layer four completely depends on layer three for its operations – or at least for the relative simplicity of funding its operations.
Now, what bitcoin and cryptocurrency do is make away with the banks – cutting them out of the loop entirely, making them redundant, obsolete, dinosaurified. This resulting absence of anything where banks used to be creates an air gap between the functional part of the economy – people and corporations – and governments who want funding.
The way governments want to tap all money flows in order to fund itself is not entirely unlike how the surveillance agencies want to tap all information flows in order to have an information advantage. In this way, the deployment of cryptocurrency is to tax collection what deployment of end-to-end encryption is to mass surveillance. The government can no longer reach into money flows and grab what it wants, but will be dependent on people actively sending it money. The government can’t point a gun at a computer and have it give up its money; you can only make a computer operator feel very sorry for not voluntarily producing the keys to that money. So the government is no longer able to collect taxes without the consent – even if coerced and forced consent – of the people being thus collected.
The deployment of cryptocurrency is to tax collection what deployment of end-to-end encryption is to mass surveillance.
Governments, and individual people in government, have no idea about this bigger picture. They’re far too wrapped up in things-as-usual to notice. They won’t see it coming until it’s already happened.
When this happens, there will be no shortage of people in government who suddenly want to regulate cryptocurrency – only to find out it will be as effective as regulating gravity. When this happens, it will be redefined from a coercive Colossus able to take what it wants and do what it wants into a construct that actually depends on people wanting to fund it. This will be a very interesting time to live in. While today’s governments will see themselves as getting crippled, I suspect most citizens will regard it as unquestionably healthy that governments will actually begin to depend on the approval of the people at large.
We’re just beginning to see the changes to society that the Internet brings. This is one of them.
Which one of the following is not one of the layers on which our economy is built on as described by the author?
Answer : Option D
Explaination / Solution:
The four layers described in the passage are the people who actually do the work, corporations, banks and the governments. Hence, option D is the correct answer.
Q6.
Direction: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
State Bank of India (or SBI) is India’s largest public sector bank, and a Fortune 500 company. It has now branched into various financial services, and is a government-owned corporation headquartered out of Mumbai. As of 2014-15, SBI had assets worth Rs. 20,480 billion and was ranked 232rd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2016.SBI traces its roots back to 1806, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian subcontinent. The State Bank of India as it is today has been in existence since 1956. As on date, it has a market share of over a whopping 20 percent in deposits and loans among Indian commercial banks.SBI offers a range of banking products and services through its extensive branch network, which includes products targeted at resident Indians as well as non-resident Indians (or NRIs).In addition to its five associate banks, the SBI also operates in the non-banking sphere which includes credit cards, life and general insurance, funds management and capital markets among others.
What sets them apart from competition is the sheer reach that SBI offers, reaching out to potential home owners in semi-urban and rural areas in addition to metropolitan cities. Further, in keeping with the rapid technological development in the banking and financial services (BFSI) sector, the SBI has expanded its reach by offering services at the click of a button.SBI has a wide reach that is not spread only domestically but as well as in the overseas market. There are 14 regional hubs and over 57 zonal offices located in India. The number of bank branches has crossed 18,354 in India itself, and as of 2014-15, the Bank had 191 offices spread across 36 countries worldwide. It also operates several foreign subsidies or affiliates.When it comes to home loans, SBI offers various products, and all of these product offerings can be categorised as under:Home loans, which include options for new homes, resale (or pre-owned) homes, as well as construction of a house. It provides Loan for Earnest Money Deposit, which is to help individuals finance their requirements towards earnest money to book residential plots/ built-up housing uses, properties being sold by government housing agencies an urban development authorities and housing boards. Further, this loan can be repaid through the proceeds of the housing loan availed of from SBI.Takeover of home loans, which is a balance transfer facility to shift your existing home loan from scheduled commercial banks, or private and foreign banks and even housing finance companies (registered with the National Housing Bank) to SBI.Tribal Plus Scheme, which is a special housing finance scheme for the hill/ tribal areas of North East India and areas around Chandigarh, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna and Bhubaneswar.HerGhar, loans exclusively for women home owners, offered at a concessional interest rate. FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme, which is targeted at young working professionals to ease the financial burden by offering attractive repayment options.In addition the SBI also caters to the NRI audience with a selection of housing loan product offerings.In keeping with the tradition of employing the latest technological advances, you can apply for a housing loan both at a SBI branch and online as well. SBI also has digital branches known as SBI InTouch, which offer an instant loan facility for home loans, among other products and services. Rewarding individuals for availing of a home loan, SBI has an attractive rewards programme called the State Bank Rewardz, which offers reward points as part of its Group Loyalty Programme. These points can then be redeemed upon accrual for various products and services, both offline as well as online.
How is Loan For Earnest Money Deposit beneficial?
Answer : Option E
Explaination / Solution:
It can be inferred from the following statement of the passage, 'It provides Loan for Earnest Money Deposit, which is to help individuals finance their requirements towards earnest money to book residential plots/ built-up housing uses, properties being sold by government housing agencies an urban development authorities and housing boards.'
Q7.
Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
As bitcoin launched in 2009, most early adopters saw its disruptive potential. While bitcoin has stalled for some time approaching a valid use of the term “stagnation”, cryptocurrency in a larger context is still just as disruptive. In 2011, I stated that bitcoin (cryptocurrency) will do to banks what e-mail did to the postal services. This is not just true, but it will be even more brutal to governments, and by extension, governmental services.
Now, governments love anything that smells like innovation, because it means jobs, this magic word that smells of magic unicorns to anybody in government. Therefore, people who like innovation are nurturing this bitcoin thing, this cryptocurrency thing, this ethereum thing (as if governments made a difference, but still). Lots of startups in tip-of-the-spear financial technology means that their government may get a head start over other governments. They have no idea that cryptocurrency will radically scale back the power of government, not just their own one, but also all those other governments over which it seeks a competitive edge.
Individual people in government can also love bitcoin because it gives them something to do. More specifically, it gives them something to regulate. Fortunately, other people in government see that this gives them something to do, which is to hold those government regulators with an overdeveloped sense of order somewhat in check. You’ll hear no shortage of wannabe regulators saying that “bitcoin is bad because it’s being used in crime and contraband trade!”, to which I usually respond, “well, bitcoin is a currency, so I mean you put it in relation to the US Dollar, which then… is not used in crime and contraband trade, is this the argument you’re using to support your position?”, at which point the discussion generally changes topic.
This completely disregards the observation that bitcoin and cryptocurrency were designed to not submit to regulation in the first place. Well, at least not governmental regulation. It is heavily regulated – but by its source code, and by its source code alone.
The reason this will cripple today’s governments — today’s idea of what a government is and does — is because today’s economy is built on one layer doing actual work and three layers of abstraction on top.
At the first and bottom layer of our economy are the individual people doing all the actual work.
The second layer on top of the first is the abstraction we call corporations, which is a way to organize our economy and optimize transaction costs.
The third layer on top of the second would be banks, which handle money for corporations and individual people in a middleman gatekeeper position.
Finally, the fourth layer is the government, which takes advantage of the banks’ gatekeeper position to siphon off taxes from money flows in order to fund itself and governmental services. In other words, layer four completely depends on layer three for its operations – or at least for the relative simplicity of funding its operations.
Now, what bitcoin and cryptocurrency do is make away with the banks – cutting them out of the loop entirely, making them redundant, obsolete, dinosaurified. This resulting absence of anything where banks used to be creates an air gap between the functional part of the economy – people and corporations – and governments who want funding.
The way governments want to tap all money flows in order to fund itself is not entirely unlike how the surveillance agencies want to tap all information flows in order to have an information advantage. In this way, the deployment of cryptocurrency is to tax collection what deployment of end-to-end encryption is to mass surveillance. The government can no longer reach into money flows and grab what it wants, but will be dependent on people actively sending it money. The government can’t point a gun at a computer and have it give up its money; you can only make a computer operator feel very sorry for not voluntarily producing the keys to that money. So the government is no longer able to collect taxes without the consent – even if coerced and forced consent – of the people being thus collected.
The deployment of cryptocurrency is to tax collection what deployment of end-to-end encryption is to mass surveillance.
Governments, and individual people in government, have no idea about this bigger picture. They’re far too wrapped up in things-as-usual to notice. They won’t see it coming until it’s already happened.
When this happens, there will be no shortage of people in government who suddenly want to regulate cryptocurrency – only to find out it will be as effective as regulating gravity. When this happens, it will be redefined from a coercive Colossus able to take what it wants and do what it wants into a construct that actually depends on people wanting to fund it. This will be a very interesting time to live in. While today’s governments will see themselves as getting crippled, I suspect most citizens will regard it as unquestionably healthy that governments will actually begin to depend on the approval of the people at large.
We’re just beginning to see the changes to society that the Internet brings. This is one of them.
It can be inferred from the given passage that-
(i) both cryptocurrency and end-to-end encryption weaken the role of government
(ii) the unhindered use of cryptocurrency will eventually contribute towards making a truly democratic society
(iii) cryptocurrency will cripple the government because it is dependent on banking for its operations
(i) both cryptocurrency and end-to-end encryption weaken the role of government
(ii) the unhindered use of cryptocurrency will eventually contribute towards making a truly democratic society
(iii) cryptocurrency will cripple the government because it is dependent on banking for its operations
Answer : Option E
Explaination / Solution:
Statement (i) can be inferred from the given passage as cryptocurrency weakens the government by depriving it of its regulating power. On the other hand, end-to-end encryption impedes the accessibility of the users’ data by encryption.
It is indicated in the passage that cyrptocurrency will weaken the government to such an extent that it will have to rely on its people for funding. But a truly democratic society is a very comprehensive concept. Hence, we cannot infer statement (ii).
Statement (iii) can be inferred from the given passage because Banking is one of the layers of the existing economy and the government is dependent on it for funding its operation. In its absence, the government will not be able to function at all. Hence, it can also be inferred from the passage. Hence, option E is the correct answer.
Q8.
Direction: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
State Bank of India (or SBI) is India’s largest public sector bank, and a Fortune 500 company. It has now branched into various financial services, and is a government-owned corporation headquartered out of Mumbai. As of 2014-15, SBI had assets worth Rs. 20,480 billion and was ranked 232rd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2016.SBI traces its roots back to 1806, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian subcontinent. The State Bank of India as it is today has been in existence since 1956. As on date, it has a market share of over a whopping 20 percent in deposits and loans among Indian commercial banks.SBI offers a range of banking products and services through its extensive branch network, which includes products targeted at resident Indians as well as non-resident Indians (or NRIs).In addition to its five associate banks, the SBI also operates in the non-banking sphere which includes credit cards, life and general insurance, funds management and capital markets among others.
What sets them apart from competition is the sheer reach that SBI offers, reaching out to potential home owners in semi-urban and rural areas in addition to metropolitan cities. Further, in keeping with the rapid technological development in the banking and financial services (BFSI) sector, the SBI has expanded its reach by offering services at the click of a button.SBI has a wide reach that is not spread only domestically but as well as in the overseas market. There are 14 regional hubs and over 57 zonal offices located in India. The number of bank branches has crossed 18,354 in India itself, and as of 2014-15, the Bank had 191 offices spread across 36 countries worldwide. It also operates several foreign subsidies or affiliates.When it comes to home loans, SBI offers various products, and all of these product offerings can be categorised as under:Home loans, which include options for new homes, resale (or pre-owned) homes, as well as construction of a house. It provides Loan for Earnest Money Deposit, which is to help individuals finance their requirements towards earnest money to book residential plots/ built-up housing uses, properties being sold by government housing agencies an urban development authorities and housing boards. Further, this loan can be repaid through the proceeds of the housing loan availed of from SBI.Takeover of home loans, which is a balance transfer facility to shift your existing home loan from scheduled commercial banks, or private and foreign banks and even housing finance companies (registered with the National Housing Bank) to SBI.Tribal Plus Scheme, which is a special housing finance scheme for the hill/ tribal areas of North East India and areas around Chandigarh, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna and Bhubaneswar.HerGhar, loans exclusively for women home owners, offered at a concessional interest rate. FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme, which is targeted at young working professionals to ease the financial burden by offering attractive repayment options.In addition the SBI also caters to the NRI audience with a selection of housing loan product offerings.In keeping with the tradition of employing the latest technological advances, you can apply for a housing loan both at a SBI branch and online as well. SBI also has digital branches known as SBI InTouch, which offer an instant loan facility for home loans, among other products and services. Rewarding individuals for availing of a home loan, SBI has an attractive rewards programme called the State Bank Rewardz, which offers reward points as part of its Group Loyalty Programme. These points can then be redeemed upon accrual for various products and services, both offline as well as online.
Which of the following is a unique feature of FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme?
Answer : Option D
Explaination / Solution:
It can be inferred from the following statement of the passage, 'FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme, which is targeted at young working professionals to ease the financial burden by offering attractive repayment options.'
Q9.
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The economy of India is the seventh-largest economy in the world measured by nominal GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). The country is classified as a newly industrialised country, one of the G-20 major economies, an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies, a member of BRICS and a developing economy with an average growth rate of approximately 7% over the last two decades. Maharashtra is the wealthiest Indian state and has an annual GDP of US$220 billion, nearly equal to that of Portugal, and accounts for 12% of the Indian GDP followed by the states of Tamil Nadu (US$140 billion) and Uttar Pradesh (US$130 billion). India's economy became the world's fastest growing major economy in the last quarter of 2014, replacing the People's Republic of China. The long-term growth prospective of the Indian economy is positive due to its young population, corresponding low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and increasing integration into the global economy. The Indian economy has the potentialto become the world's 3rd-largest economy by the next decade, and one of the largest economies by mid-century. And the outlookfor short-term growth is also good as according to the IMF, the Indian economy is the "bright spot" in the global landscape. India also topped the World Bank’s growth outlook for 2015-16 for the first time with the economy having grown 7.6% in 2015-16 and expected to grow 8.0%+ in 2016-17. India has the one of fastest growing service sectors in the world with annual growth rate of above 9% since 2001, which contributed to 57% of GDP in 2012-13. India has become a major exporter of IT services, BPO services, and software services with $167.0 billion worth of service exports in 2013-14. It is also the fastest-growing part of the economy. The IT industry continues to be the largest private sector employer in India. India is also the fourth largest start-up hub in the world with over 3,100 technology start-ups in 2014-15 the agricultural sector is the largest employer in India's economy but contributes to a declining share of its GDP (17% in 2013-14). India ranks second worldwide in farm output. The Industry sector has held a constant share of its economic contribution (26% of GDP in 2013-14). The Indian auto mobile industry is one of the largest in the world with an annual production of 21.48 million vehicles (mostly two and three wheelers) in FY 2013-14. India has $600 billion worth of retail market in 2015 and one of world's fastest growing E-Commerce markets. India's two major stock exchanges, Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India, had a market capitalisation of US$1.71 trillion and US$1.68 trillion respectively as of Feb 2015, which ranks 11th & 12 largest in the world respectively according to the World Federation of Exchanges. India also home to world's third largest Billionaires pool with 111 billionaires in 2016 and fourth largest number of ultra-high-net-worth households that have more than 100 million dollars. India is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Non Aligned Movement, the G20, the G8+5, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation, the United Nations, the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation, the New Development BRICS Bank the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Missile Technology Control Regime.
Which is India’s wealthiest state and what is its GDP?
Answer : Option C
Explaination / Solution:
The answer can be clearly picked up from the passage. "Maharashtra is the wealthiest Indian state and has an annual GDP of US$220 billion".
Q10.
Direction: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
State Bank of India (or SBI) is India’s largest public sector bank, and a Fortune 500 company. It has now branched into various financial services, and is a government-owned corporation headquartered out of Mumbai. As of 2014-15, SBI had assets worth Rs. 20,480 billion and was ranked 232rd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2016.SBI traces its roots back to 1806, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian subcontinent. The State Bank of India as it is today has been in existence since 1956. As on date, it has a market share of over a whopping 20 percent in deposits and loans among Indian commercial banks.SBI offers a range of banking products and services through its extensive branch network, which includes products targeted at resident Indians as well as non-resident Indians (or NRIs).In addition to its five associate banks, the SBI also operates in the non-banking sphere which includes credit cards, life and general insurance, funds management and capital markets among others.
What sets them apart from competition is the sheer reach that SBI offers, reaching out to potential home owners in semi-urban and rural areas in addition to metropolitan cities. Further, in keeping with the rapid technological development in the banking and financial services (BFSI) sector, the SBI has expanded its reach by offering services at the click of a button.SBI has a wide reach that is not spread only domestically but as well as in the overseas market. There are 14 regional hubs and over 57 zonal offices located in India. The number of bank branches has crossed 18,354 in India itself, and as of 2014-15, the Bank had 191 offices spread across 36 countries worldwide. It also operates several foreign subsidies or affiliates.When it comes to home loans, SBI offers various products, and all of these product offerings can be categorised as under:Home loans, which include options for new homes, resale (or pre-owned) homes, as well as construction of a house. It provides Loan for Earnest Money Deposit, which is to help individuals finance their requirements towards earnest money to book residential plots/ built-up housing uses, properties being sold by government housing agencies an urban development authorities and housing boards. Further, this loan can be repaid through the proceeds of the housing loan availed of from SBI.Takeover of home loans, which is a balance transfer facility to shift your existing home loan from scheduled commercial banks, or private and foreign banks and even housing finance companies (registered with the National Housing Bank) to SBI.Tribal Plus Scheme, which is a special housing finance scheme for the hill/ tribal areas of North East India and areas around Chandigarh, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna and Bhubaneswar.HerGhar, loans exclusively for women home owners, offered at a concessional interest rate. FlexiPay Home Loan Scheme, which is targeted at young working professionals to ease the financial burden by offering attractive repayment options.In addition the SBI also caters to the NRI audience with a selection of housing loan product offerings.In keeping with the tradition of employing the latest technological advances, you can apply for a housing loan both at a SBI branch and online as well. SBI also has digital branches known as SBI InTouch, which offer an instant loan facility for home loans, among other products and services. Rewarding individuals for availing of a home loan, SBI has an attractive rewards programme called the State Bank Rewardz, which offers reward points as part of its Group Loyalty Programme. These points can then be redeemed upon accrual for various products and services, both offline as well as online.
If given a chance why would one prefer SBI for home loans?
Answer : Option D
Explaination / Solution:
The deciding factors while taking a home loan from any bank depend on its interest rates, hassle-free availability and benefits that can be obtained from it. These can be inferred from the last few lines of the passage. Option D describes it all so it is the most suitable response.
