English: Cloze Test Set 10
In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.
Niti Aayog has turned two years old. The anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect on how the new institution (1)_____from its predecessor, the Planning Commission, and what functions it performs.
Two key activities of the Planning Commission had been to prepare and implement the Five Year Plans and to allocate financial resources (2)_____states. Neither of these activities forms a part of the mandate of Niti Aayog. The Twelfth Five Year Plan, which will conclude on March 31 this year, will be India’s last Five Year Plan.
Likewise, Niti Aayog does not allocate any financial resources to states. The 14th Finance Commission raised the share of states in the divisible pool from 32% to 42%, leaving no additional funds for allocation to states through Niti Aayog. The annual resource allocation exercise that brought state chief ministers to the doorstep of the Planning Commission is now a (3)____of the past.
Among many functions that Niti Aayog (4)____, three stand out: promotion of cooperative, competitive federalism; assisting the central government in policy making; and serving as the government’s thinktank. These three functions complement each other (5)_____of being mutually exclusive.
- A) offers
B) differs
C) overtakes
D) performs
- A) to
B) from
C) in
D) from
- A) matter
B) thing
C) concept
D) content
- A) do
B) adopts
C) does
D) performs
- A) irrespective
B) apart
C) instead
D) rather
In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.
The government expects to attract Rs 60,000-80,000 crore worth of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the defence sector. This is welcome, but a (1)_____of complex rules threatens this target. The (2)_____for FDI in defence has been raised from 26% to 49%, but investors are not enthused. Most military equipment is highly sophisticated and overseas manufacturers want (3)____control of any joint ventures. This is not allowed under current policy, which (4)_____that an Indian entity has to be in charge. The only (5)_____is when FDI comes with ‘state of the art’ technology. In that case, foreign ownership can go up to 100%. Given the ambiguity about what is state of the art, few investors have stepped up.
Meanwhile, India — whose defence budget is now Rs 2.5 lakh crore — enjoys the dubious distinction of being the world’s largest importer of arms, buying up 15% of all weapons sold globally. To shake off our addiction to arms imports, New Delhi should allow 100% FDI into the defence sector. This will boost inflows and, coupled with India’s defence offset policy which mandates that a certain proportion of each project must be given to local players, boost manufacturing at home. The country’s import dependence has sapped it of skills and technology. Allowing 100% FDI could fill up the blank.
- A) lot
B) estimate
C) situation
D) tangle
- A) option
B) ceiling
C) volume
D) investment
- A) majority
B) minor
C) least
D) affordable
- A) controls
B) makes
C) offers
D) mandates
- A) consistency
B) rejection
C) exception
D) excuse