(Paper) RBI Grade 'B' Officer Mains Exam Phase I - 2016
RBI Grade 'B' Officer Mains Exam Phase I - 2016
Directions Q. (1 - 7): In the given passage, there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. Against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately.
We all have a ___ (1) ___ in the infrastructure surrounding us-the roads, buildings, power lines and telephone networks that we __ (2) _____ on daily. How well they are built and operated is __ (3) ____ to economic growth and is a key arbiter of an economy's competitiveness- and yet, virtually every economy faces an array of infrastructure challenges. Just a few examples illustrate some of the pressing issues. South Africa's power distribution network has an estimated maintenance backlog of $4 billion- equivalent to half of the country's total investment in electronic power generation and distribution in 2011. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that 15% of the country's roads are in an unacceptable condition and says that road congestion costs the US an estimated $100 billion per year. Just to keep _____ (4) _____ with anticipated global GDP growth, the world needs to spend $57 trillion, or on average $3.2 trillion a year, on infrastructure over the next 18 years. That is more than the entire worldwide stock of infrastructure on the ground today-and nearly 60% more than the world has invested over the past 18 years. Tackling maintenance backlogs, future-proofing infrastructure to cope with climate change and ___ (5) _____development goals such as access to clean water and all-weather roads to transport goods to markets would cost a great deal. The bill for all of that looks prohibitive at a time when many governments are highly indebted and capital is tight. A focus on both, the huge need for additional investment and potential difficulties in financing it, ___ (6) ____ the debate Pessimism rules, but it needn't be that way. There are ways of cutting the bill down to size and dealing with the challenge. The answer ___ (7) ____ in improving the way we plan, build and operate infrastructure- in other words, we need to boost its productivity.
Q. (1)
1.Stake
2.Interest
3.Compromise
4.Decision
5.Subsidy
Answer: 1 (We all have a stake in the infrastructure)
Q. (2)
1.Use
2.Rely
3.Confide
4.Commute
5.Charge
Answer: 2 (We all have a stake in the infrastructure surrounding us-the roads, buildings, power lines and telephone networks that we rely on daily)
Q. (3)
1.Close
2.Deciding
3.Trivial
4.Crucial
5.Insistent
Answer: 4 (How well they are built and operated is crucial to economic growth and is a key arbiter of an economy's competitiveness- and yet, virtually every economy faces an array of infrastructure challenges)
Q. (4)
1.Gait
2.Stride
3.Walk
4.Tread
5.pace
Answer: 5 (Just to keep pace with anticipated global GDP growth, the world needs to spend $57 trillion, or on average $3.2 trillion a year, on infrastructure over the next 18 years)
Q. (5)
1.Competing
2.Meeting
3.Succeeding
4.Engaging
5.Agreeing
Answer: 2 (Tackling maintenance backlogs, future-proofing infrastructure to cope with climate change and meeting development goals such as access to clean water and all-weather roads to transport goods to markets would cost a great deal)
Q. (6)
1.Convey
2.Subject
3.Dominates
4.Command
5.Prompt
Answer: 3 (A focus on both, the huge need for additional investment and potential difficulties in financing it, dominates the debate Pessimism rules, but it needn't be that way)
Q. (7)
1.Reclines
2.Lay
3.Expects
4.Lies
5.Belongs
Answer: 4 (The answer lies in improving the way we plan, build and operate infrastructure- in other words, we need to boost its productivity)
Directions Q. (8 - 10): Select the phrase/connector from the given three options which can be used to form a single sentence from the two sentences given below, implying the same meaning expressed in the statement sentences.
Q. (8) Higher prices of cereals, rice, fruits and pulses led to an increase in food inflation. Non – food inflation was driven mainly by fibres and oilseeds.
A.While higher prices of cereals
B.Despite the higher price of rice, fruits and pulses
C.Non- food inflation was always driven by
1.Both A and B
2.Only B
3.Both B and C
4.Only A
5.None of these
Answer: 4
Q. (9) The entrepreneurship ethos in India has come a long way and has made rapid strides in recent years. It now ranks in the top five start-up communities in the world.
A.India ranks fifth among the start-up communities in the world
B.he country has made rapid strides in recent years because
C.Moreover, the entrepreneurship ethos in India has come a long way
1.Both A and B
2.Only B
3.Only C
4.Only A
5.None of these
Answer: 2
Q. (10) There are enough dirges being sung for public sector banks, but strangely the performance of their stocks does not reflect this. Five out of the seven public sector banks made losses and the profit – makers showed a worse bad loans ratio.
A.On account of the fact that five out of seven public sector banks made losses
B.The performance of public sector banks does not reflect
C.Although dirges are being sung for public sector banks
1.Both A and B
2.Only B
3.Only C
4.Only A
5.None of these
Answer: 4
Directions Q. (11 - 15): Each question given below has two blanks, each blank indicates that something has been omitted. Choose the word that best fits in the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
Q. (11) Most auto-rickshaw drivers in the city __________ to ply for short distances since doing so does not ________ them much.
1.agree, profit
2.Refuse, earn
3.disagree, revenue
4.accept, affects
5.ask, comfort
Answer: 2 (Most auto-rickshaw drivers in the city refuse to ply for short distances since doing so does not earn them much)
Q. (12) Though surprising, it is __________ that Rupesh has not got the job by _______ of his parents' political connections.
1.veritable, inspiration
2. veracious, influence
3.paradoxical, intent
4.true, virtue
5.alleged, power
Answer: 4 (Though surprising, it is true that Rupesh has not got the job by virtue of his parents' political connections)
Q. (13) In order to avoid _______ due to car parking, appropriate signage and painted boundary strips at parking locations have been ________ in the building premises.
1.problem, install
2.traffic, felicitated
3.congestion, provided
4.accidents, fix
5.sleeping, used
Answer: 3 (In order to avoid congestion due to car parking, appropriate signage and painted boundary strips at parking locations have been provided in the building premises)
Q. (14) During power cuts, one can never get _________ to the customer service executive to ________ a complaint regarding the same.
1.across, lodge
2.through, write
3.over, dictate
4.along, create
5.off, file
Answer: 1 (During power cuts, one can never get across to the customer service executive to lodge a complaint regarding the same)
Q. (15) In the olden days, shopkeepers used to dupe the ________ customers by attacking removable magnetic weights _______ their weighing instruments.
1.cheating, for
2.strict, with
3.docile, across
4.innocent, under
5.lovely, from
Answer: 4 (In the olden days, shopkeepers used to dupe the innocent customers by attacking removable magnetic weights under their weighing instruments)
Directions Q. (16 - 20): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions.
The term "shadow bank" was coined in 2007 to describe risky off-balance-sheet vehicles hatched by banks to sell loans repackaged as bonds. Today, the term is used more loosely to cover all financial intermediaries that perform the bank-like activity but are not regulated as one. These include mobile payment systems, pawnshops, peer-to-peer lending websites, hedge funds and bond-trading platforms set up by technology firms. Among the biggest are asset management companies. In 2013 investment funds make such loans raised a whopping $97 billion worldwide. The Financial Stability Board, an international watchdog estimates that globally, the informal lending sector serviced assets worth $80 trillion in 2014 up from $26 trillion more than a decade earlier. Shadow banks have flourished in part because the traditional ones, battered by losses incurred during the financial slump, are under pressure. Tighter capital requirements and fear of heavy penalties have kept them grounded. In China, where banks are discouraged from lending to certain industries and are mandated to offer frustratingly low-interest rates on deposits, non-banks fill the gap. About two-thirds of all lending in the country by shadow banks are in fact 'bank loans in disguise'. Critics worry that unlike banks, which lend against deposits from customers, nonbanks loan money using investor's cash and rotating lines of credit. This is especially risky when skittish investors who bet on short term gains withdraw their money at once. But non-bank financing need not always be a bad thing. It offers an additional source of credit to individuals and businesses in countries where formal banking is either expensive or absent. It also takes some burden off banks which have big 'maturity mismatches' (the difference between the amount of time a depositor's money is parked in the bank minus the time that it is loaned out). And belatedly, regulators, too, are waking up to the new financial order of shadow banking. Banks must now declare structured investment vehicles on their balance sheets. Authorities are imposing leverage limits on various forms of shadow banks in America and Europe. It is a small start to rein in an industry that accounts for a quarter of the global financial system.
Q. (16) Which of the following can be said about banking regulators?
1.These have been innovative in helping economies recover from the 2008 crisis.
2.Their approach to the regulation of shadow banks is unnecessarily stringent.
3.These have washed their hands off and warned people against shadow banks.
4.These have been slow to respond to the growth of shadow banking.
5.None of the given statements can be said about banking regulators.
Answer: 4 (Banking regulators have been slow to respond to the growth of shadow banking)
Q. (17) Which of the following is the central theme of the passage?
1.The global economy is headed for a financial collapse given the state of China's economy.
2.Shadow banking, an indispensable part of the global financial system, is unnecessarily perceived as risky.
3.There is tremendous upheaval in the banking sector with only state-owned banks safe and sound.
4.Shadow banks which can be useful are a high-risk alternative to traditional banks and need regulation.
5.Traditional banks are the safest given the risk the financial system currently faces.
Answer: 4 (Shadow banks which can be useful are a high-risk alternative to traditional banks and need regulation)
Q. (18) Which of the following has/have impacted the growth of shadow banks?
A.Faulty audits of these institutions by the Financial Stability Board.
B.The state of traditional banks post the financial crisis.
C.Need for credit which traditional banks are unable to meet.
1.Only A and B
2.Only B and C
3.Only B
4.All A, B and C
5.Only A and C
Answer: 2 (The state of traditional banks post the financial crisis and unable to meet the need for credit have impacted the growth of shadow banks)
Q. (19) Which of the following can be used to replace the phrase ‘Among the biggest are asset management companies’?
1.Asset management companies are responsible for over half the credit in America.
2.The financial crisis hurt asset management companies in China the most.
3.Asset management companies occupy the largest share of shadow banking firms.
4.With high rates of interest asset management companies are showing the highest profits.
5.None of the given statements.
Answer: 3 (Asset management companies occupy the largest share of shadow banking firms)
Q. (20) Which of the following aptly describes the tone of the passage?
1.Obsequious
2.Reckless
3.Poignant
4.Acrimonious
5.None of these
Answer: 5
