PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK MANAGEMENT TRAINEES MAIN EXAM PATTERN

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK MANAGEMENT TRAINEES MAIN EXAM PATTERN

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has released the written test results of its recruitment for 390 Management Trainee posts.These vacancies were advertised along with other officer postings in various departments.
The PNB management trainee selection process consists of Written test (Preliminary & Main), Group discussion, Computer proficiency test & Interview.The preliminary test was conducted on November 28, 2010 for which the results have been declared.The roll numbers of those selected can be downloaded from here (pdf file)

No GD: The bank has also announced that Group discussion & Computer proficiency test have been dropped & will not be conducted.Hence it seems, candidates selected through main exam would proceed to the Interview stage directly.

PNB Main Exam: For the written test (mains) to be conducted on Feb 13, 2011 at Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai & Kolkata centres - here is the pattern:

Test paper	Questions	Marks	Duration
General awareness & Computer skills Quantitative aptitude & Reasoning English Language Marketing	80 80 50 50	80 80 50 50	150 minutes
Descriptive Test in English	3	50	60 minutes

Details on test location,time & more info on this test might be sent to candidates selected in preliminary individually.

Punjab National Bank Specialist Officers Exam., 2010

English Language (Held on 4-10-2010) 

Directions—(Q. 1–10) In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

What Indian politicians and bureaucrats share with their scientist, engineer and carpenter counterparts is their acceptance of mediocrity and lack of skill. The greatest moral failure of Indian institutions is the tolerance of incompetence, …(1)… criminality or corruption. The tolerance of incompetence in …(2)… is a result of a low cultural value attached to the creation and …(3)… of institutions.

Institution building is a hard work; it requires a combination of vision, commitment and performance. Any institution involves a contract between those who …(4)… to the institution and those who support it. The support can take the form of money or votes but that support must be …(5)… continuously. In a properly functioning institutional system, the institutional contract …(6)… the institution members and their supporters takes the form : you give me support and I will give you results. Competence is the channel that sustains the flow of trust from supporters to institutions and back. If doctors don’t cure will they not lose our trust ? While blaming individual politicians and babus for their corrupt ways, let us also examine the system that accepts mediocrity and even lets it …(7)….

What we are seeing in India is a case of contract failure. The contractor who bribes an official and then builds a leaky stadium is not just being …(8)…. He is sustaining a collusive system that subverts rules regulating mutual co-operation between government institutions, market players and society as a whole. In the case of endemic contract failure everyone …(9)…, including the contractor, for once the public loses its trust in institution is even businessmen will …(10)… out on opportunities to make money. The moral status of institutions is central to continued development and prosperity.

1. (A) as
(B) to
(C) never
(D) not
(E) for
Ans : (D)

2. (A) turn
(B) individual
(C) world
(D) partly
(E) importance
Ans : (B)

3. (A) destruction
(B) justification
(C) sustenance
(D) excess
(E) marginalization
Ans : (C)


4. (A) belong
(B) work
(C) help
(D) employed
(E) trust
Ans : (A)

5. (A) returned
(B) earned
(C) needed
(D) discouraged
(E) asked
Ans : (C)

6. (A) suggests
(B) akin
(C) twosome
(D) centered
(E) between
Ans : (E)

7. (A) question
(B) bolder
(C) thrive
(D) out
(E) kill
Ans : (C)

8. (A) variant
(B) trivial
(C) immature
(D) corrupt
(E) generous
Ans : (D)

9. (A) succeeds
(B) suffers
(C) proliferates
(D) responsible
(E) encompasses
Ans : (B)

10. (A) storm
(B) venture
(C) lose
(D) get
(E) walk
Ans : (E)

Directions—(Q. 11–15) Rearrange the following five sentences (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.
(a) Thus, if we really value it, we will work hard to make it a reality.
(b) Inner peace is the most elusive thing that a human being can seek.
(c) The most important criterion in order to experience it is to value the importance of inner peace.
(d) To experience inner peace one doesn’t have to retreat to a Himalayan cave; rather, one can experience inner peace seated exactly where they are by watching these thoughts.
(e) Nobody can gift the other inner peace at the same time it is only one’s own thoughts that can rob them of their inner peace.

11. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) (a)
(B) (b)
(C) (c)
(D) (d)
(E) (e)
Ans : (C)

12. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) (e)
(B) (d)
(C) (c)
(D) (b)
(E) (a)
Ans : (A)

13. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) (e)
(B) (d)
(C) (c)
(D) (b)
(E) (a)
Ans : (C)

14. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) (a)
(B) (b)
(C) (c)
(D) (d)
(E) (e)
Ans : (B)

15. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) (a)
(B) (b)
(C) (c)
(D) (d)
(E) (e)
Ans : (D)

Directions—(Q. 16–20) Each question below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank which best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

16. After ……… payrolls and tightening perks to cope with the economic slowdown last year, software companies are finding that a rising number of engineering and management graduates are transferring their ……… to vocations such as manufacturing and banking.
(A) trimming - loyalties
(B) reducing - accounts
(C) hiking - services
(D) increased - affections
(E) dropped – potentials
Ans : (A)

17. It is very important to ……… that when the swine flu virus enters a human body, it takes a minimum of one day to a maximum of eight days for the disease to develop ……….
(A) gauge - extensively
(B) ascertain - further
(C) understand - fully
(D) verify - remarkably
(E) fathom – clearly
Ans : (C)

18. Scientists, working to save the earth, have ……… ‘dry water’ that soaks carbon three times better than water, and hence helps ……… global warming.
(A) aided - cut
(B) created - combat
(C) built - stop
(D) produced - increase
(E) invented – monitoring
Ans : (B)

19. The first round of the contest had the students ……… themselves and ……… about their hobbies.
(A) introducing - talking
(B) sensitizing - sketching
(C) showcasing - planning
(D) acclimatizing - mentioning
(E) gearing – chalking
Ans : (D)

20. The varsity’s poll process for ……… of new candidates has ……… poor response with only ten thousand applications being received till date.
(A) entrusting - seen
(B) registration - evoked
(C) entrance - made
(D) admission - visited
(E) experimenting – generated
Ans : (B)

Directions—(Q. 21–25) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (E). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.)

21. Initially, shop owners tried to (A) / offer some resistance to the demolition but (B) / seeing the heavy presence of the police force, (C) / their resistance faded off. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (E)

22. Cleanliness drives will be (A) / conducted in various localities (B) / to opening the drains blocked (C) / with polythene bags. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

23. The results of the study showed that (A) / if the partners were willing to talk to each other (B) / and arrive at a mutually agreeable decision,` (C) / the joint decisions were more better than any one person’s judgment. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

24. A year after the global financial crisis saw (A) / students from the best B-schools across the world struggling for a job, (B) / a survey on management education this year thrown (C) / up some rather interesting findings. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

25. The district authorities are making (A) / a last-ditch attempt to provide (B) / alternative solutions to farmers but (C) / the options is clearly inadequate. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

Directions—(Q. 26–30) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

At the time when the unfortunate incident of the ‘accidental’ exposure to radiation that affected workers and waste collectors in Delhi as they handled radioactive material, took place, the issue of waste disposal, particularly hazardous waste, made the headlines. The lives of those who live off collecting and sorting waste came into out line of vision. But then the issue disappeared.

Long term policies that ensure that the safety and health of those who do such an essential job – “a community of silent environmentalists” someone called them – are not such a high priority any more. One reason is that the people affected are virtually invisible.

Waste collectors around India work silently, often late into the night, sorting out mountains of waste, foraging for anything that can be sold. If you walk down some streets of Central Mumbai after 11 at night, you will see an army of waste collectors. Men, women, children are all hard at work. They work through the night and finally manage to get some sleep on the doorsteps of the shops on those streets. By daylight they become invisible, having stowed their belongings in boxes behind the signs of the shops on whose doorsteps they sleep. These are the people of the night, not noticed by those who inhabit the areas in the day.

What is often not entirely appreciated is that a substantial percentage of waste collectors is women. According to a study, 85 per cent of waste collectors in the city are women, five per cent are children and 10 per cent are men. The majority of them are poor and landless people who came to the city because of drought in their villages. The age group ranges from 7 to 70 years and 98 per cent of them are illiterate. A survey of 60,000 waste collectors found a similar proportion : 60 per cent women, 20 per cent men and 20 per cent children. Studies have revealed that 90 per cent of the women waste pickers are primary bread-winners, often widowed or deserted. It is interesting how the gender division of labour plays out even in the business of waste. While women, and children, do the more hazardous job of sorting and separating the waste, the men deal with the dry garbage, which they transport to wholesalers and factories. As a result, it is the women who are exposed to hazardous waste – none of them wear any kind of protective gear – and also face the physical problems of constantly bending and carrying head loads of the waste. Look at any group of waste collectors and you will spot the bent old women who have been performing this function for decades.

In the slum-city of Mumbai, waste collectors experience the most acute degree of homelessness. While poor people in other kinds of jobs somehow manage to find some shelter in a slum, irrespective of whether it is legal or illegal, waste collectors sleep next to the garbage they have sorted. This is their “wealth”, something they have to protect after they have collected and sorted it until they can monetize it. Hence, near many garbage dumps, even in the better off localities of cities like Mumbai, you see families of waste pickers asleep in the morning. And most often you see only women and children.

Why bring up waste collectors at a time when the main environmental issues being debated are the larger issues of global warming, or environmental disasters such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico ? This is because one cannot speak of the environment without considering its impact on the lives of people. We have hundreds of small-scale and continuing environmental disasters taking place all around us. But we overlook them so long as they do not impact our lives or our lifestyles. Millions of waste pickers in India, who play a crucial role in dealing with the perennial environmental crisis of waste, risk their lives and their health every single day. This is an on-going environmental issue that requires as much attention from ordinary people, the media and policy makers as the larger macro issues.

26. Why are long term policies favouring waste collectors not high priority ?
(A) The Government is currently contemplating over the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and does not have time for other issues.
(B) The plight of these people is not evident as they work late into the night and are not seen much during the day.
(C) The Government is unable to see these people at all and thus is not aware of their existence.
(D) These waste collectors themselves are not in favour of being brought into the organized sector because of the numerous complications involved.
(E) As previous such favourable policies failed to improve the conditions of these waste collectors as they were not implemented effectively.
Ans : (B)

27. Which of the following is true about waste collectors as given in the passage ?
1. Majority of waste collectors are people who have migrated from their village because of some natural calamity.
2. Waste collectors prefer to sleep next to the garbage they have sorted.
3. Most waste collectors are not literate.
(A) Only (2)
(B) Only (1) and (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) Only (2) and (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3) are true.
Ans : (E)

28. Why are women waste collectors at a disadvantage as compared to the men waste collectors as mentioned in the passage ?
(A) The men sell the waste collected by the women to wholesalers and keep all the money to themselves without sharing it with the women.
(B) The women do the more dangerous and physical work of sorting through the garbage whereas men mostly transport dry garbage.
(C) Men wear protective gear while sorting through the garbage thereby shielding themselves from the ill effects of being exposed to the waste.
(D) The men force their wives and children to work for them whereas the women do not have this luxury.
(E) The men are not as affected by the waste as the women waste collectors because of the difference in their physical constitution.
Ans : (B)

29. Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage ?
(A) The General Public’s Apathetic ways
(B) The Unorganized Sector
(C) The Invisible Waste
(D) Waste Collectors – The World Over
(E) Recognizing the ‘Work’ in ‘Dirty Work’
Ans : (B)

30. Why, according to the author, is the issue of waste collectors as important as the issue of global warming ?
1. As most waste collectors in big cities are children who are ultimately the future of our nation.
2. As without the waste collectors sorting waste the phenomenon of global warming would increase exponentially.
3. As waste collectors deal with wastage which impacts the people’s everyday lives and is also environmentally significant.
(A) Only (2) and (3)
(B) Only (1)
(C) Only (1) and (2)
(D) Only (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)
Ans : (D)

Directions—(Q. 31–33) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

31. INHABIT
(A) Reside in
(B) Encompass
(C) Infest
(D) Submerge
(E) Are used to
Ans : (A)

32. FORAGING
(A) Penetrating
(B) Incising
(C) Probing
(D) Begging
(E) Searching
Ans : (E)

33. MONETIZE
(A) Currency
(B) Buy
(C) Encash
(D) Regulate
(E) Pay
Ans : (C)

Directions—(Q. 34–35) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

34. CONSIDERING
(A) Untying
(B) Remembering
(C) Understanding
(D) Disregarding
(E) Condemning
Ans : (D)

35. HAZARDOUS
(A) Pleasant
(B) Efficient
(C) Important
(D) Risky
(E) Harmless
Ans : (E)

Punjab National Bank Agriculture Officers Exam. 2009 Solved Paper

Punjab National Bank Agriculture Officers Exam. 2009 Solved Paper

Punjab National Bank Agriculture Officers Exam., 2009
Professional Knowledge (Economics)
 (Held on 16-8-2009)

1. Say’s Law of Markets states that—
(A) Demand creates its own supply
(B) Supply creates its own demand
(C) Demand creates its own demand
(D) Supply creates its own supply
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

2. Malthusian theory of population is based on—
(A) Harmonic progression of population
(B) Geometric progression of food production
(C) Arithmetic progression of population
(D) Geometric progression of population
(E) All of the above
Ans : (D)

3. Gresham’s Law states that—
(A) Good money drives bad money out of circulation
(B) Bad money drives good money out of circulation
(C) Both good money and bad money may co-exist
(D) Neither bad money nor good money may be long in circulation
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

4. The on-going melt down had its origin in—
(A) The real sector
(B) The financial sector
(C) The service sector
(D) The textile sector
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

5. A competitive firm maximizes its profit when—
(A) MR = AR
(B) MR = MC
(C) MC = AC
(D) MC = AR
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)


6. ‘Supernormal’ profit may exist in a market due to—
(A) Asymmetry of information
(B) Restriction of information
(C) Quantity restriction
(D) Price restriction
(E) All the above
Ans : (A)

7. Profit is caused by—
(A) Dynamic element in the economy
(B) Innovation
(C) Windfall
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

8. Interest is paid—
(A) To compensate for inflation
(B) Due to superiority of present over future goods
(C) Because demand for money outstrips its supply
(D) To ensure the growth of the real sector
(E) All the above
Ans : (B)

9. Investment is defined as a—
(A) Deployment of a sum in business operations
(B) Purchasing an interest bearing bond
(C) Change in the stock of capital
(D) All the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

10. The unproductive expenditure of the rich is—
(A) Necessary to the employment of the poor
(B) An impediment to the growth of an economy
(C) Having no bearing on the economy
(D) Having bearing only on the economy of the rich
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

11. Heckscher-Ohlin theory explains—
(A) Pattern of trade in terms of relative factor endowments of countries
(B) Why a country may import products which use extensively the country’s scarce factor
(C) The law of comparative cost
(D) The concept of reciprocal demand
(E) All the above
Ans : (A)

12. ‘Quasi-rents’—
(A) Are in the nature of free gifts
(B) May be applicable to all factors of production
(C) Comprise of all the returns to the firm in excess of the returns of the marginal firm
(D) All the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

13. The indifference curve technique is essentially—
(A) A cardinal approach
(B) An ordinal approach
(C) A quasi-ordinal approach
(D) All the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

14. The slope of an indifference curve expresses—
(A) The marginal rate of substitution of two goods
(B) A ratio of marginal utility of one good to another
(C) Both (A) and (B)
(D) A ratio of total utility of one good to another
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

15. ‘Pass through’ effect in international trade theory refers to—
(A) The proportion of an exchange rate change that is reflected in export and import price change
(B) Exports and imports not facing any tariff barrier
(C) Exports and imports not facing any technical barrier
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

16. Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations—
(A) Started in 1986 and completed at the end of 1993
(B) Aimed at reversing the rising trend of non-tariff trade barriers
(C) Replaced the GATT with WTO
(D) Brought services and agriculture into WTO
(E) All of the above
Ans : (E)

17. Product Cycle Model in international trade theory (Vernon, 1966)—
(A) Is an extension of technological gap model
(B) Is an extension of Heckscher-Ohlin model
(C) Explains dynamic comparative advantage of new products and new processes of production
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

18. Hedging and speculation in forex markets—
(A) Are opposite activities
(B) Parallel activities
(C) Same activities
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

19. A currency swap refer to—
(A) A spot sale of currency combined with a forward repurchase of the same currency—as part of single transaction
(B) A forward sale of currency combined with a forward repurchase of the same currency—as part of a single transaction
(C) A forward sale of currency combined with a forward repurchase of the same currency—in two different transactions
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

20. Public-Private Partnership projects in India are mostly related to—
(A) Airports
(B) Ports
(C) Railways
(D) Roads
(E) Urban development
Ans : (D)

21. The largest share in the short term money market of India in recent times belonged to the segment—
(A) Collaterised Borrowing and Lending Obligation (CBLO)
(B) Traditional repo
(C) Clearcorp Repo Over Matching System (CROMS)
(D) Call
(E) Others
Ans : (D)

22. As per the revised estimate of CSO, the GDP in India at factor cost during 2008-09 was—
(A) Rs. 28,71,120 crore
(B) Rs. 31,29,717 crore
(C) Rs. 33, 39,375 crore
(D) Rs. 44,82,436 crore
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

23. Mid Day Meal Scheme—
(A) Is a centrally funded and largest school meal scheme in the world
(B) Provides each child in government and government aided school a minimum of 300 calories and 8–12 gm of protein each day of school for a minimum of 200 days
(C) Provides lunch to about 120 million children
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

24. Insurance penetration is defined as the—
(A) Ratio of premium underwritten in a year to GDP
(B) Ratio of premium underwritten in a year to total population
(C) Ratio of insurance subscribers in a year to total population
(D) Ratio of total number of policy holders in a year to total population
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

25. Insurance density is defined as the—
(A) Ratio of premium underwritten in a year to GDP
(B) Ratio of premium underwritten in a year to total population
(C) Ratio of insurance subscribers in a year to total population
(D) Ratio of total number of policy holders in a year to total population
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

26. Minimum Support Prices of crops are recommended by—
(A) Planning Commission of India
(B) Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)
(C) Finance Commission of India
(D) Farmers’ Commission of India
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

27. The Electricity (Amendment) Act 2007—
(A) Dispensed with licence requirement for sale from captive units
(B) Provided for joint effort by the Central and State governments for providing access to all areas including villages and markets
(C) Expanded the definition of theft to cover the use of tampered meters
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

28. In times of slowdown of the economy, the fiscal policy influences aggregate demand through—
(A) Discretionary element
(B) Non-discretionary element
(C) Lowering of tax rates
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

29. Thirteenth Finance Commission is headed by—
(A) Dr. Rangarajan
(B) Dr. Vijay L. Kelkar
(C) Dr. Suresh Tendulkar
(D) Dr. C. H. Hanumantha Rao
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

30. A constitutionally recognized body is—
(A) Planning Commission
(B) Finance Commission
(C) Forward Commission
(D) Farmers Commission
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

31. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana was launched by GOI in August 2007 with the objective(s) of—
(A) To incentivise the states to increase public investment in agriculture and allied sectors
(B) To ensure that local needs/crops/priorities are better reflected
(C) To achieve the goal of reducing the yield gaps in important crops
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

32. The Buffer Stock of foodgrains at the beginning of February 2009 stood at—
(A) 16•2 million tonnes
(B) 20•0 million tonnes
(C) 37•4 million tonnes
(D) 36•2 million tonnes
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

33. Public Private Partnership came to be introduced in India to—
(A) Mitigate the financial burden of the governments
(B) Respond to the technological change that allow unbundling of infrastructure
(C) Alter the character of goods and services from pure public to private ones
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

34. Heteroscedasticity in econometric analysis means—
(A) The variance for each disturbance term (Vi) is the same for all i’s
(B) The variance for each disturbance term (Vi) is not the same for all i’s
(C) The co-variance for each pair of disturbance term is the same
(D) The co-variance for each pair of disturbance term is not the same
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

35. Autocorrelation in econometric analysis refers to—
(A) The correlation between the values of different variables
(B) The correlation between the values of alternative variables
(C) The correlation between successive values of the same variable
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

36. Durbin-Watson Test is applied in econometric models to test—
(A) Presence of heteroscedasticity in a model
(B) For autocorrelated errors in the sample data
(C) For multicorrelinearity
(D) For autoregressive disturbances
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

37. A weakly stationary stochastic process is so called, if—
(A) Its mean and variance are constant over time
(B) The value of covariance between two time periods depends only on lag between two time periods
(C) The value of covariance does not depend on the actual time at which the covariance is computed
(D) All the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

38. Dummy variables are used in regression models—
(A) To represent important variables that are not qualitatively measurable
(B) To capture the effect of specific attributes
(C) As binary variables
(D) To distinguish between two groups of population
(E) All of the above
Ans : (C)

39. Principal components in econometric analysis—
(A) Are linear combinations
(B) Help to increase the degrees of freedom
(C) Help to reduce high degree of multicorrelinearity
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

40. If world population grows at 2•6 per cent, then it will double in—
(A) 44•34 years
(B) 36•92 years
(C) 29•32 years
(D) 26•66 years
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

Punjab National Bank Clerk Exam., 2010 Solved Paper

Punjab National Bank Clerk Exam., 2010
Marketing and Computer Knowledge : Solved Paper

 (Exam Held on: 4-4-2010)

1. Four of the following five are alike in a certain way and so form a group. Which is the one that does not belong to the group ?
1. Marketing function includes—
(A) Designing new products
(B) Advertisements
(C) Publicity
(D) After sales service
(E) All of these
Ans : (E)

2. Lead generation can be resorted to by browsing—
(A) Telephone directories
(B) Yellow pages
(C) Internet sites
(D) List of existing customers
(E) All of these
Ans : (E)

3. Effective selling skills depend on—
(A) Effective lead generation
(B) Sales Call Planning
(C) Territory Allocation
(D) Effective communication skills
(E) All of these
Ans : (E)

4. Market Information means—
(A) Knowledge level of marketing staff
(B) Information about marketing staff
(C) Information regarding Share market
(D) Knowledge of related markets
(E) All of these
Ans : (D)

5. Marketing channels mean—
(A) Delivery period
(B) Delivery time
(C) Delivery outlets
(D) Delivery place
(E) All of these
Ans : (E)


6. ‘Buyer Resistance’ means—
(A) Buyer’s interest in the product being sold
(B) Buyer fighting with the seller
(C) Buyer’s hesitation in buying the product
(D) Buyer becoming a seller
(E) Buyer buying the product
Ans : (C)

7. Marketing is the function of—
(A) Sales persons
(B) Production Department
(C) Planning Department
(D) Team leaders
(E) A collective function of all staff
Ans : (E)

8. A DSA means—
(A) Direct Service Agency
(B) Direct Selling Agent
(C) Double Selling Agent
(D) Distribution Agency
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

9. Service Marketing is resorted to in—
(A) All manufacturing companies
(B) All production houses
(C) Export units
(D) Insurance companies and banks
(E) All of these
Ans : (D)

10. Marketing is—
(A) A skilled person’s job
(B) A one day function
(C) A one time act
(D) Required only when a new product is launched
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

11. Market share refers to—
(A) Share market prices
(B) Price fluctuation in the market
(C) Share issue floated by the company
(D) Share of wallet
(E) Share of business of the company as compared to peers
Ans : (E)

12. Service Marketing is the same as—
(A) Internet marketing
(B) Telemarketing
(C) Internal Marketing
(D) Relationship Marketing
(E) All of these
Ans : (D)

13. Current Accounts can be freely opened by ………… Find the incorrect answer.
(A) All NRIs
(B) All businessmen
(C) Government departments
(D) Firms and Companies
(E) HUFs
Ans : (E)

14. Buyer Resistance can be overcome by—
(A) Cordial relation between buyer and seller
(B) Good negotiation
(C) Persuasive communication
(D) Good after sales service
(E) All of these
Ans : (A)

15. Cross-selling is useful for canvassing—
(A) Current Accounts
(B) Fixed Deposit Accounts
(C) Student loans
(D) Car loans
(E) All of these
Ans : (E)

16. Market segmentation helps to determine—
(A) Target groups
(B) Sale price
(C) Profit levels
(D) Product life cycle
(E) All of these
Ans : (A)

17. The target group for Car loans is—
(A) Auto manufacturing companies
(B) Car dealers
(C) Taxi drivers
(D) Car purchasers
(E) All of these
Ans : (E)

18. The best promotional tool in any marketing is—
(A) e-promotion
(B) Public Relations
(C) Viral marketing
(D) Word of mouth publicity
(E) Advertisements
Ans : (E)

19. Customisation results in—
(A) Customer exodus
(B) Customer retention
(C) Customer complaints
(D) All of these
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

20. The target group for Education Loans is—
(A) All parents
(B) All Professors
(C) All Research Scholars
(D) All Tutorial Colleges
(E) All College Students
Ans : (E)

21. Find the correct sentence.
(A) Higher the price, higher are the sales
(B) More sales persons lead to more sales
(C) Mission statement is part of a Market Plan
(D) Better sales incentives means better performance
(E) All customers are profitable customers
Ans : (C)

22. Good marketing strategy envisages good and proper—
(A) Product development
(B) Promotion and Distribution
(C) Pricing
(D) Relationship management
(E) All of these
Ans : (E)

23. Savings Accounts can be opened by—
(A) All individuals fulfilling KYC norms
(B) All individuals earning more than Rs. 1,00,000 per annum
(C) All individuals above the age of 18
(D) All salaried persons only
(E) All students below the age of 18
Ans : (C)

24. Situation Analysis is useful for—
(A) SWOT Analysis
(B) Analysis of Sales person’s performances
(C) Analysis of capital markets
(D) All of these
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

25. Information that comes from an external source and fed into computer software is called—
(A) Input
(B) Output
(C) Throughput
(D) Reports
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

26. With a CD you can—
(A) Read
(B) Write
(C) Neither Read nor Write
(D) Both Read and Write
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

27. Errors in a computer program are referred to as—
(A) bugs
(B) mistakes
(C) item overlooked
(D) blunders
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

28. Which of the following are computers that can be carried around easily ?
(A) Laptops
(B) Supercomputers
(C) PCs
(D) Minicomputers
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

29. What menu is selected to change font and style ?
(A) Tools
(B) File
(C) Format
(D) Edit
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

30. Where is the disk put in a computer ?
(A) In the hard drive
(B) In the disk drive
(C) Into the CPU
(D) In the modem
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

31. A computer’s hard disk is—
(A) an arithmetic and logical unit
(B) computer software
(C) operating system
(D) computer hardware
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

32. A compiler is used to translate a program written in—
(A) a low level language
(B) a high level language
(C) assembly language
(D) machine language
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

33. In programming, you use the following keys—
(A) Arrow keys
(B) Function keys
(C) Alpha keys
(D) page up and Page Down keys
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

34. Which keys enable the input of numbers quickly ?
(A) Function keys
(B) The numeric keypad
(C) Ctrl, shift and alt
(D) Arrow keys
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

35. Files are organized by storing them in—
(A) tables
(B) databases
(C) folders
(D) graphs
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

36. The secret code that restricts entry to some programs—
(A) entry-code
(B) passport
(C) password
(D) access-code
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

37. Advertisements are not required in—
(A) Public Sector banks
(B) Private Sector banks
(C) Government concerns
(D) Profit making companies
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

38. The most common method of entering text and numerical data into a computer system is through the use of a—
(A) plotter
(B) scanner
(C) printer
(D) keyboard
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

39. Computer programs are also known as—
(A) operating systems
(B) documents
(C) peripherals
(D) applications
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

40. A collection of unprocessed items is ………
(A) information
(B) data
(C) memory
(D) reports
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

41. ……… is when the more powerhungry components, such as the monitor and the hard drive, are put in idle.
(A) Hibernation
(B) Power down
(C) Standby mode
(D) The shutdown procedure
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

42. ……… is the process of dividing the disk into tracks and sectors.
(A) Tracking
(B) Formatting
(C) Crashing
(D) Allotting
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

43. A saved document is referred to as a ………
(A) file
(B) word
(C) folder
(D) project
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

44. Which of the following is the largest unit of storage ?
(A) GB
(B) KB
(C) MB
(D) TB
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

45. The operating system is the most common type of ……… software.
(A) communication
(B) application
(C) system
(D) word-processing
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

46. A ……… is approximately one billion bytes.
(A) kilobyte
(B) bit
(C) gigabyte
(D) megabyte
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

47. A scanner scans—
(A) Pictures
(B) Text
(C) Both Pictures and Text
(D) Neither Pictures nor Text
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

48. Dumb terminals have terminals and—
(A) Mouse
(B) Speakers
(C) Keyboard
(D) Mouse or Speakers
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

49. The portion of the CPU that coordinates the activities of all the other computer components is the—
(A) motherboard
(B) coordination board
(C) control unit
(D) arithmetic logic unit
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

50. A repair for a known software bug, usually available at no charge on the Internet, is called a(n)—
(A) version
(B) patch
(C) tutorial
(D) FAQ
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

Punjab National Bank Clerk Exam., 2010

Punjab National Bank Clerk Exam., 2010
English Language : Solved Paper(Held on 4-4-2010)

Directions—(Q. 1–15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once upon a time, there lived an old lion. The lion, the king of the forest had grown old. He became frail and due to this, he could not hunt for food. With each passing day he became more and more weak. He realized that he would not live for long if it continued like that. He thought how could he arrange for his food ? After pondering over it for quite some time, he decided that he should have an assistant.

The lion thought that a fox would be the best person to handle this position as he was intelligent and clever. He summoned the fox and said, “Dear friend, I have always liked you because you are smart. I want to appoint you as my minister and advise me on all the affairs of the forest”. The old lion also asked the fox, that since he was the king of the forest, he should not have to hunt for his food. With respect to this, the fox’s first duty as minister was to bring him an animal to eat every day. The fox could not refuse the king and accepted the offer.

After the conversation, the fox went out to find an animal for the lion. On the way, he met a fat donkey. He said “My friend, I have got good news for you. You are very lucky. Our king, the lion has chosen you to be his chief minister. He asked me to meet you and inform you about his decision.” The donkey was scared of the lion and said, “I am afraid of the lion. He might kill me and eat me up. Why has he chosen me as his chief minsiter ? I am not even fit enough to be a minster as I am not as intelligent as other animals.” The clever fox laughed and, said, “Dear, you don’t know your great qualities. Our king is dying to meet you. He has chosen you because you are wise, gentle, and hard working. By serving the king, you will be the second most powerful animal of our forest. Imagine, all the other animals will respect you and seek favours from you.” “You must not lose your greatest chance in life.” So, the poor donkey was convinced and got ready to go along with the fox.

In this way, the fox managed to attract the donkey to the lion’s den. When the fox and the donkey approached, the lion was hungrier than ever. But he kept a smiling face and said, “Welcome, my dear friend. Come near me. You are my chief minister.” As the donkey came closer, the lion pounced on him and killed him instantly. The lion thanked the clever fox and was happy to get the food. As the lion sat down to take his meal, the fox said, “Your Majesty, I know you are very hungry but a king must take a bath before his meal”. The lion thought it was a good idea and told the fox to keep a watch on the carcass of the donkey”. The fox silently sat down to keep a watch of the donkey and thought to himslef, “I took all the trouble of getting the donkey here. It is I who deserve the best portion of the meal”. Thus, the fox cut open the head of the donkey and ate up the whole brain. When the lion returned he shouted, “What happened to the donkey’s brain ? I wanted to eat the brain first.” The fox smilingly replied, “Your majesty,
donkeys have no brains. If he had any, he would not have come near a lion at all”.

1. Why did the lion decide to have an assistant for him ?
(A) He was too lazy to hunt for himself
(B) He was old and weak and could not hunt any more
(C) He wanted someone to help him kill the fat donkey
(D) He could not handle the affairs of the forest alone
(E) None of these

2. Why did the lion select the fox as his assistant ?
(A) He had heard that the fox had good hunting skills
(B) He wanted the fox to take over as the king of the forest
(C) The fox had offered to let the lion have his leftovers
(D) He had planned to eat the fox after luring him to become his assistant
(E) None of these

3. Why did the fox say ‘our king is dying to meet you’ to the donkey ?
(A) The king would have died of hunger if the donkey did not meet him
(B) The king desperately wanted the donkey to be his chief minister as he was gentle and hard working
(C) The fox wanted to convince the donkey to come with him to the lion so that the lion could eat him
(D) The king wanted to meet the doneky since all other animals respected the donkey more than the king
(E) None of these

4. Which of the following best describes the donkey ?
(A) Honest
(B) Wicked
(C) Clever
(D) Opportunist
(E) Foolish

5. Which one of the phrases given below the following statement should be placed in the blank space provided so as to make a meaningfully correct sentence in the context of the passage ?
When the lion did not see any brain in the donkey’s head ……….
(A) he spared his life and let him go
(B) he got upset with the fox for having selected such a donkey
(C) he took his decision to make him the chief minister back
(D) the fox explained to him that donekys do not have any brains
(E) None of these


6. What, according to the lion, was the fox’s primary duty as a minister ?
(A) To force all animals to respect their king and seek favours from him
(B) To convince the donkey to become his chief minister
(C) To take over as the king of the forest since the lion had grown too old
(D) To bring him an animal to eat every day
(E) None of these

7. What did the fox do when the lion went to take a bath before having his meal ?
(A) He secretly told the donkey to run away as the lion had planned to kill him
(B) He ate up the donkey’s brain as he had done all the hard work of bringing him to the lion’s den
(C) He held himself responsible for the death of the poor donkey and did not let the lion eat the donkey
(D) He killed the lion with the help of the donkey and became the king of the forest
(E) None of these

8. Which of the following is TRUE in context of the passage ?
(A) Finally, the fox got the best part of the meal
(B) The donkey was appointed as chief minister to the king
(C) The donkey which the fox had brought for the king did not have any brain in his head
(D) The donkey was very intelligent and clever
(E) None is true

9. What did the lion do when he saw the donkey in his den ?
(A) He was impressed by the donkey and made him his chief minister
(B) He ordered the fox to kill him and eat his brain
(C) He went to take a bath before meeting the donkey
(D) He immediately noticed that the donkey did not have any brain
(E) None of these

10. Which of the following is the moral of the story ?
(A) An idle brain is the devil’s workshop
(B) Fools are deaf to wise words
(C) Never believe an enemy’s sweet talks
(D) Morality can be best tested while one has power
(E) One can only lead a horse to water, but not make him drink it

Directions—(Q. 11–13) Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

11. POUNCED
(A) Climbed
(B) Grew
(C) Attacked
(D) Plunged
(E) Roared

12. FIT
(A) Healthy
(B) Deserving
(C) Strong
(D) Valuable
(E) Important

13. LOSE
(A) Misplace
(B) Suffer
(C) Dispose
(D) Defeat
(E) Miss

Directions—(Q. 14–15) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

14. HANDLE
(A) Mismanage
(B) Drop
(C) Confront
(D) Decline
(E) Uncover

15. FRAIL
(A) Unhealthy
(B) Massive
(C) Rich
(D) Robust
(E) Civilised

Directions—(Q. 16–25) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is ‘No error’, the answer is (E). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.)

16. When I called him yesterday, (A) / he offered to donate (B) / a handsome sum to (C) / the flood relief fund. (D) No error (E)

17. The student which (A) / you had thought (B) / so highly of has (C) / failed to pass the examination. (D) No error (E)

18. Government took strict action (A) / against the doctors on strike (B) / but they refused to (C) / resume to work. (D) No error (E)

19. If a person has been given (A) / diplomatic immunity then he (B) / cannot be arrested on a (C) / foreign land under any circumstance. (D) No error (E)

20. A group of birds (A) / migrate from southern part (B) / of the country to the (C) / Northern part during summer. (D) No error (E)

21. The constable said that (A) / the prisoner seize a (B) / fully loaded gun from a policeman (C) / and shot the prosecutor. (D) No error (E)

22. It will not be possible for you (A) / to catch the train on time (B) / because the nearest railway station (C) / is at ten kilometres away. (D) No error (E)

23. Each of the survivors of the Tsunami (A) (B) / have been offered free (C) / psychological consultation to ease their trauma, / by some of the top consultants. (D) No error (E)

24. Considering about her good credentials, (A) / the manager offered her a job (B) / in his organization (C) / despite the lack of experience. (D) No error (E)

25. Although he has been (A) / winning the elections (B) / all years, this year his popularity (C) / has substantially reduced. (D) No error (E)

Directions—(Q. 26–30) Rearrange the following six sentences (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.
(a) To their surprise, however, the reward went to a beggar who had contributed only a Rupee instead of a wealthy donor.
(b) He received funds from many people as rich and poor donated generously to his trust.
(c) The man explained that the one Rupee given by the beggar was worth millions of Rupees as that was all the money he possessed and that he had made a much greater sacrifice than others.
(d) During the function everyone waited with bated breath to hear who had made the maximum contribution.
(e) A man went from town to town to collect money for his charitable trust.
(f) On returning he decided to hold a function and reward the person whose contribution had been maximum.

26. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) b
(B) c
(C) d
(D) e
(E) f

27. Which of the following should be the LAST (SIXTH) sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) a
(B) c
(C) d
(D) e
(E) f

28. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) b
(B) c
(C) d
(D) e
(E) f

29. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) a
(B) b
(C) c
(D) e
(E) f

30. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) a
(B) b
(C) d
(D) e
(E) f

Directions—(Q. 31–35) In each of the following questions six words are given which are denoted by (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f). By using all the six words, each only once, you have to frame a meaningful and grammatically correct sentence. The correct order of words is the answer. Choose from the five alternatives, the one having the correct order of words and mark it as your answer on the answer-sheet.

31. (a) OTHERS
(b) HER
(c) SHE
(d) MISTAKES
(e) FOR
(f) BLAMES
(A) cfaebd
(B) acfebd
(C) bdacfe
(D) cfdabe
(E) bdafce

32. (a) FINALISE
(b) WE
(c) DETAILS
(d) LATER
(e) THE
(f) WILL
(A) BFEACD
(B) BDCFEA
(C) BDCAEF
(D) ECFDBA
(E) BFAECD

33. (a) UV-RAYS
(b) ABSORBS
(c) THE
(d) LAYER
(e) HARMFUL
(f) OZONE
(A) ACBEFD
(B) CFDBEA
(C) ACBFED
(D) CFBDAE
(E) CBEAFD

34. (a) PRACTISING
(b) SPEECH
(c) SPENT
(d) HIS
(e) HE
(f) HOURS
(A) DBCFEA
(B) DBFCAE
(C) EBCDAF
(D) FACBED
(E) ECFADB

35. (a) TO
(b) AROUND
(c) SEE
(d) THEY
(e) HIM
(f) HATED
(A) DFAECB
(B) DBFAEC
(C) DFCAEB
(D) DFACEB
(E) CEBFAD

Directions—(Q. 36–40) In each question below a sentence with four words printed in bold type is given. These are lettered as (A), (B), (C) and (D). One of these four words printed in bold may be either wrongly spelt or inappropriate in the context of the sentence. Find out the word, if any, which is wrongly spelt or inappropriate. The letter of that word is your answer. If all the words printed in bold are correctly spelt and also appropriate in the context of the sentence, mark (E), i.e., ‘All correct’ as your answer.

36. A large number of celebrities (A) have joined an NGO involved (B) in the movement for protection (C) of animal writes. (D) All correct (E)

37. The teacher liked the poem (A) so much that she requested (B) Saba to read it allowed (C) to the whole (D) class. All correct (E)

38. Breathe (A) deeply and inhale the sents (B) of Roses and Daisies in the landscaped gardens (C) surrounding (D) my house. All correct (E)

39. As the wind blue (A) harder every minute, (B) people got a fairly (C) good idea that a storm was approaching (D) the town. All correct (E)

40. The family had to bear (A) a leaky sealing (B) throughout the rainy season (C) as they could not afford (D) to get it repaired. All correct (E)

Directions—(Q. 41–50) In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

Once upon a time, there lived a sparrow on a banyan tree. She laid her eggs in the nest. One afternoon, a wild elephant came under the tree and in a fit of rage, broke a branch of the tree on which the nest was …(41)…. Unfortunately, all the eggs of the sparrow …(42)… after falling down though the sparrow was saved. The sparrow was full of grief and began weeping for her eggs.

A woodpecker, a close friend of the sparrow, heard her crying and asked her, “Why are you crying, my friend ?” The sparrow said, “The …(43)… elephant has killed my offspring. If you are a true friend of mine, suggest a way-to kill him”. The woodpecker …(44)… her and told her that he knew a fly and she would definitely help them kill the elephant.

Both of them went to seek the help of the fly. The woodpecker said, “A wild elephant has crushed my friend’s eggs. We need your help in killing him.” the fly replied, “One of my friends is a frog. Let us go to him and take his help too”. They went to the frog and …(45)… the whole incident. The frog said, “What can an elephant do before a united crowd like us ? Do what I tell you. Dear Fly, you go to the elephant and hum a sweet tune into his ears. When he closes his eyes in delight, the woodpecker will poke his eyes. This way, he will become …(46)…. When he gets thirsty, he will …(47)… for water. I will go to a marshy land and begin croaking there. …(48)… that there is water, the elephant will come there. He will sink into the marshy area and …(49)….

The next day in the noon, all of them played out the plan and the elephant was killed, as he drowned into a marshy area after being blinded by the woodpecker, when he closed his eyes in response to the music. Thus, the smartness of all the animals enabled the sparrow in taking her …(50)… on the elephant.

41. (A) Born
(B) Built
(C) Grown
(D) Broken
(E) Found

42. (A) Fell
(B) Escaped
(C) Damaged
(D) Survived
(E) Broke

43. (A) Defective
(B) Attacking
(C) Wicked
(D) Poor
(E) Harmless

44. (A) Ignored
(B) Protected
(C) Scolded
(D) Consoled
(E) Defended

45. (A) Said
(B) Informed
(C) Revived
(D) Mention
(E) Narrated

46. (A) Blind
(B) Unseen
(C) Regretful
(D) Sorry
(E) Dead

47. (A) Need
(B) Want
(C) Search
(D) Drink
(E) Demands

48. (A) Recalling
(B) Informed
(C) Sure
(D) Assuming
(E) Accepting

49. (A) Hurt
(B) Die
(C) Fall
(D) Kill
(E) Realise

50. (A) Help
(B) Revenge
(C) Anger
(D) Insult
(E) Fight

Answers :1. (B) 2. (E) 3. (A) 4. (E) 5. (D) 6. (D) 7. (B) 8. (A) 9. (E) 10. (C)
11. (C) 12. (B) 13. (E) 14. (A) 15. (D) 16. (C) 17. (A) 18. (D) 19. (D) 20. (B)
21. (B) 22. (D) 23. (B) 24. (D) 25. (B) 26. (A) 27. (B) 28. (C) 29. (E) 30. (D)
31. (A) 32. (E) 33. (B) 34. (E) 35. (D) 36. (D) 37. (C) 38. (B) 39. (A) 40. (B)
41. (B) 42. (E) 43. (C) 44. (D) 45. (E) 46. (A) 47. (C) 48. (D) 49. (B) 50. (B)

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK CLERK EXAM 2009 JANUARY

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK CLERK EXAM 2009 JANUARY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Directions—(Q. 1–15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

We should recognise the indebtedness of the country to its farm families who toil to safeguard national food security. Loan waiver is the price we have to pay for the neglect of rural India over the past several decades. There has been a gradual decline in investment in key sectors related to agriculture such as infrastructure, marketing, post harvest technology etc. The four crore farmers whose debt is to be relieved will be eligible for institutional credit for their cultivation expenses during Kharif 2008. The challenge is to prevent them from getting into the debt trap again. For this purpose the Central and various State governments should set up an Indebted Farmers’ Support Consortium, comprising scientists, panchayat raj officials and others relevant to assisting farmers to improve the profitability and productivity of their farms in an environmentally sustainable manner. The smaller the farm, the greater is the need for marketable surplus to reduce indebtedness.

The Indebted Farmers’ Support Consortium should aim to get all the four crore farmers all the benefits of the government schemes such as the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, Irrigation Benefit Programme and others. If this is done, every farm family released from the debt trap should be able to produce at least an additional half tonne per hectare of foodgrains. This should help increase food production by about 20 million tonnes by 2008-10. At a time when global and national food stocks are dwindling and prices are rising, this will be atimely gain for our national food security. We need to ensure that the outcome of the debt waiver is enhanced farmers’ income and production. The prevailing gap between potential and actual yields in the crops of rainfed areas such as pulses and oilseeds is over 200 per cent even with the necessary technologies on the shelf. We are now importing without duty large quantities of pulses and oilseeds. If helped, farmers can produce these at a lower cost.

Opportunities for assured and remunerative marketing are essential if loan waiver is not to become a recurring event leading to the destruction of the credit system. This is why the Minimum Support Price is necessary for all, not just for a few crops which is the case at present. This is the single most effective step to make loan waivers history. There is another urgent step which needs to be taken. The loan waiver does not cover those who borrow from moneylenders. It will not be possible for the government to scrutinise the veracity of such private deals but steps can be taken such as giving them Smart Cards which will entitle them to essential inputs like seeds and fertilizers. The gram sabha can be entrusted with the task of identifying these farmers so that there is transparency in the process and elimination of the chances for falsification and corruption. Fear of occasional misuse should not come in the way of enabling millions of poor farmers who have borrowed from informal sources if we are to achieve the goal of four per cent growth in agriculture.

1. What is the likely impact of ensuring farmers’ benefit from government schemes ?
1. They can use the credit from these schemes to repay moneylenders.
2. The government can control the price rise.
3. Increased agricultural production.
(A) Both 1 and 2
(B) All 1, 2 and 3
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 2 and 3
(E) None of these

2. Why does the author feel that rural India has been overlooked in the past ?
1. Institutional credit was only made available for Kharif crops.
2. Drop in investment in central areas related to agriculture.
3. Records of those eligible for loan waivers have not been maintained over time.
(A) Only 2
(B) Both 1 and 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

3. How can small farmers avoid debt ?
(A) They need to acquire additional land holdings
(B) They need to take advantage of both government schemes as well as credit from moneylenders
(C) They have to ensure a sufficient amount of their farm produce is sold
(D) The Government should provide periodic loan waivers
(E) None of these

4. What is the objective of the Indebted Farmers’ Support Consortium ?
(A) It is a support group for the families of indebted farmers
(B) It has to devise new government schemes for farmers
(C) It has to track farmers eligible for government schemes
(D) It has to evaluate government schemes and weed out the inefficient ones
(E) None of these

5. What does the author mean by the phrase “indebtedness of the country to its farm families” ?
(A) If farmers are in debt it impacts the entire country
(B) Citizens should be grateful to farmers and their families for the hardships borne by them to cultivate crops
(C) India’s food production has fallen causing it to be in debt since it has to import food
(D) The number of farmers’ descendants taking up agriculture has fallen.
(E) None of these

6. What is the author’s opinion of recurring loan waivers ?
(A) They are beneficial to farmers
(B) They are detrimental to the system of lending.
(C) They will reduce the need for a Minimum Support Price for agricultural products
(D) Farmers will no longer be in debt to moneylenders
(E) None of these

7. Which of the following is TRUE in the context of the passage ?
(A) The Minimum Support Price for agricultural products is yet to be implemented
(B) Loan waiver is a permanent solution to indebtedness of farmers
(C) Current agricultural growth is below four per cent
(D) India’s food production has increased in 2008
(E) Moneylenders benefit from loan waivers

8. Why does the loan waiver not cover credit taken from moneylenders ?
1. It is difficult to verify these contracts between farmers and moneylenders.
2. It will increase the deficit in the budget.
3. There is a risk that the funds may be misappropriated.
(A) Both 1 and 3
(B) All 1, 2 and 3
(C) Only 2
(D) Both 1 and 2
(E) None of these

9. Why is there a vast gap in actual and potential yields of crops in rainfed areas ?
(A) The government prefers to import these crops at a lower rate
(B) No technological advances have been made to improve the growth of crops in these areas
(C) There is no Minimum Support Price available for these crops
(D) Farmers are forced to sell these crops at a low rate
(E) None of these

10. How does the government intend to ensure transparency in the Smart card issuance process ?
(A) Screening private players involved in the scheme
(B) Granting access to those farmers who register with their local moneylenders
(C) Providing cards which cannot be forged
(D) Regularly rotating members of the gram sabha so there is no corruption
(E) None of these

Directions—(Q. 11–13) Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
11. assured
(A) insured
(B) definite
(C) doubted
(D) confident
(E) reliance

12. relieved
(A) exempted
(B) backed
(C) supported
(D) calmed
(E) substituted

13. gap
(A) hole
(B) break
(C) pause
(D) difference
(E) interruption

Directions—(Q. 14–15) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

14. timely
(A) young
(B) lately
(C) overdue
(D) aged
(E) slowly

15. elimination
(A) authority
(B) forgiveness
(C) attack
(D) provision
(E) protection

Directions—(Q. 16–20) Which of the phrases (A), (B), (C) and (D) given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence to make the sentence grammatically meaningful and correct. If the sentence is correct as it is and no correcton is required, mark (E) as the answer.

16. In order to control rising prices the government has restricted the export of certain commodities.
(A) For control of raised
(B) In control of raised
(C) To control the rise
(D) By controlling rising
(E) No correction required

17. Over two crores will be required to renovate the building being damaged during the cyclone.
(A) that was damage
(B) which was damaged
(C) has been damaged
(D) been damaged
(E) No correction required

18. Small investors often suffer because of delays in getting its grievance redressed.
(A) their grievances redressed
(B) the grievances redress
(C) to redress grievance
(D) this grievances redressed
(E) No correction required

19. With the failure of the investment bank, the public’s confidence in the banking sector has been how badly shaken.
(A) so badly shaken
(B) that much shaky
(C) badly shaken
(D) too badly shaky
(E) No correction required

20. A consultant is been appointed to advise us on the viability of the project.
(A) appointed
(B) has been appointing
(C) will be appointed
(D) to be appointed
(E) No correction required

Directions—(Q. 21–25) Rearrange the following six sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.
(1) Expansion of retail banking especially has a lot of scope, since retail assets are just 22 per cent of the total banking assets.
(2) Where they do not find it viable to open branches they may open satellite offices in these areas.
(3) There is tremendous scope for the expansion of banking in India.
(4) Banks can also diversify beyond cities to semi-urban and rural areas.
(5) In these ways a transition from class banking to mass banking can take place.
(6) They can also collaborate with local stakeholders in order to extend microcredit services to those living there.

21. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 4
(D) 5
(E) 6

22. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5

23. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 4
(D) 5
(E) 6

24. Which of the following should be the SIXTH (LAST) sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5

25. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5

Directions—(Q. 26–35) In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

Decades ago, China …(26)… the concept of ‘barefoot doctors’. They were community healthcare workers who successfully …(27)… the health of China’s villages. Following this example, many African, Asian and Latin American countries have started …(28)… programmes. The largest of such community health efforts is India’s National Rural Health Mission. In …(29)… over three years, the programme has mobilized over fifty thousand new community health workers, each …(30)… as ‘Asha’. This is short for ‘Accredited Social Health Activist’ and translated into Hindi is the word …(31)… hope.

Today technology companies and foundations are also joining the …(32)… to support community health workers. Mobile phone companies are …(33)… these workers with phones and support systems to obtain up to date medical information, call ambulances etc. In the …(34)… years, community health workers can thus help…(35)… the spread of many devastating but curable diseases.

26. (A) gives
(B) researches
(C) introduced
(D) originates
(E) enlightened

27. (A) improved
(B) entrusted
(C) fought
(D) cured
(E) dealt

28. (A) thousands
(B) alike
(C) imitated
(D) similar
(E) naming

29. (A) course
(B) less
(C) approximate
(D) period
(E) just

30. (A) referred
(B) known
(C) perceived
(D) regarded
(E) called

31. (A) denotes
(B) describes
(C) for
(D) explains
(E) means

32. (A) business
(B) membership
(C) scope
(D) effort
(E) purpose

33. (A) provided
(B) buying
(C) equipped
(D) supplied
(E) empowering

34. (A) coming
(B) next
(C) past
(D) few
(E) previous

35. (A) overlook
(B) curb
(C) protect
(D) enrich
(E) neglect



Answers :
1. (B) 2. (A) 3. (E) 4. (A) 5. (B) 6. (B) 7. (C) 8. (A) 9. (C) 10. (E) 11. (B) 12. (A) 13. (D) 14. (B) 15. (E) 16 (E) 17. (B) 18. (A) 19. (C) 20. (C) 21. (C) 22. (C) 23. (E) 24. (E) 25. (A) 26. (C) 27. (A) 28. (D) 29. (E) 30. (C)
31. (C) 32. (D) 33. (E) 34. (A) 35. (B)

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK AO EXAM 2009

Punjab National Bank Agriculture Officers Exam 2009
English Language : Solved Paper
(Held on 16-8-2009)


Directions—(Q. 1–15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Despite the global slowdown, the online shopping in India has increased. The growing pace of online buying is because of the attractive discounted prices offered and the ability of the customers to research and compare the prices across several outlets.

The average frequency of online purchases in India grew up to 2•9 in the fourth quarter of 2008 from 2•6 during the same quarter in 2007, as reported by the survey of Master Card Worldwide.

“The economic meltdown has not affected our business”, said the CEO of an e-commerce portal which specializes in personalized gifting and merchandise space in India. He said, “Our business has increased up to five times this year despite the economic recession. Currently, we possess a database of 25,000 designs posted by a thousand designers so that the users can create their own merchandise by selecting the designs sitting at home”.

The CEO also said that with the rise in bandwidth penetration in India and the increasing awareness of internet among people, the online shoppers sense the convenience to click on the products they want to purchase.

Holding onto a similar conviction, the CEO of another company said, “With the convenience of online buying, customers can save their time and money to move across multiple outlets for a product.”

The online shoppers also plan their shopping in advance and conduct research on their planned purchases. It becomes easier for the customers to decide the price at which they want the products. Sharing views on this point, the Manager of the e-commerce portal says, “Through the online shopping, customers can attain the objective of value for money during these tough times.”

Today, India is the only country where the 18 to 29 years age group has the highest average spend on online shopping. In India, the popular online purchases include the home appliances and the electronic gadgets like cell phones, camera, laptops and so on. According to the survey, the epurchasing of electronic products has gone up by 51 per cent.

So to drive these online shoppers, e-commerce portals are adopting a networking culture by incorporating ‘social networking feature’ in their websites, so that people can discuss with their friends and relatives before buying the particular product. There are more startups, who are innovating their products to combat slowdown.

1. What does the phrase ‘value of money’ as used in the passage mean ?
(A) Get the best at optimum price
(B) Buy the cheapest possible product
(C) Pay a lot for the best product
(D) Get a lot of money in return for the purchase
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

2. Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage ?
(A) Purchases online have increased as the people buying these products are rich
(B) Online buying has increased because customers are getting a lot of discounts
(C) Customers have access to a number of outlets online thus online buying is more popular
(D) Online purchases have increased because the customers are able to compare prices easily
(E) All of the above are not true
Ans : (E)

3. What according to the CEO of ecommerce portal is the reason for increase in the number of online shoppers ?
1. Greater bandwidth is now available in India.
2. Internet is available at a cheap cost.
3. More people are aware of the internet.
(A) Only (1) and (2)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) Only (2) and (3)
(E) Only (1) and (3)
Ans : (E)

4. Which of the following statements is True in the context of the passage ?
(A) Cameras, laptops and mobile phones are popular online shopping products
(B) Customers find online shopping more convenient
(C) More people in the age group of 18 to 29 spend on online shopping
(D) Home appliances are a popular online product
(E) All the above are true
Ans : (E)

5. How can customers plan their purchases online in advance ?
(A) By looking at the product in a store and then searching for it online
(B) By waiting for discounts being offered by companies
(C) By creating their own websites and socially interacting
(D) By conducting research and then deciding the price at which they want to buy
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

6. What can possibly be the most appropriate title to the passage ?
(A) Innovation-the art of survival
(B) Online shopping-unaffected by recession
(C) Recession and its impact
(D) Customer is king
(E) Sale of Electronic Goods
Ans : (B)

7. Which of the following statements is true in the context of the passage ?
(1) People make purchases only through e-commerce portals.
(2) Online buying of electronic gadgets has increased by 51 per cent.
(3) E-commerce portals are finding it difficult to sell their products.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (1) and (3)
(D) Only (2) and (3)
(E) All the three (1), (2) and (3)
Ans : (B)

8. How are e-commerce portals luring customers ?
(A) By innovating their products
(B) By offering free products with other products bought
(C) By creating an awareness about social networking
(D) By enabling customers through their website to interact with friends and relatives before buying a product
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

Directions—(Q. 9–12) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

9. Pace
(A) Walk
(B) Length
(C) Rate
(D) Tread
(E) Variety
Ans : (C)

10. Conviction
(A) Sense
(B) Culture
(C) Belief
(D) Value
(E) Worry
Ans : (A)

11. Drive
(A) Coax
(B) Show
(C) Dishearten
(D) Ride
(E) Implement
Ans : (A)

12. Innovating
(A) Researching
(B) Improvising
(C) Selling
(D) Measuring
(E) Deleting
Ans : (B)

Directions—(Q. 13–15) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

13. Attractive
(A) Dark
(B) Ugly
(C) Slim
(D) Insignificant
(E) Striking
Ans : (D)

14. Rise
(A) Finish
(B) Improve
(C) Reduction
(D) Heighten
(E) Stop
Ans : (C)

15. Tough
(A) Soft
(B) Delicate
(C) Comfortable
(D) Difficult
(E) Simple
Ans : (C)

Directions—(Q. 16–20) Which of the phrases (A), (B), (C) and (D) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct ? If the sentence is correct as it is given and ‘No correction is required’, mark (E) as the answer.

16. The traders’ community is up to in arms against the police on their failure for not ensuring the arrest of wanted criminals.
(A) Up in arming
(B) Up arm
(C) Up in arms
(D) Up to arms
(E) No correction required
Ans : (C)

17. Chief Justice announced that a total of 30 evening courts will be started in all the five district courts of the city by the end of December.
(A) Will be start
(B) Is started
(C) Will starting
(D) Is being started
(E) No correction required
Ans : (E)

18. If you are planning on getting admission forms to enroll your child in school, you might as well forgetting about it.
(A) Forgets with it
(B) Forget in it
(C) Forgetting it
(D) Forget about it
(E) No correction required
Ans : (D)

19. Police said that basis on secret information, a trap was laid and the criminal was arrested near the station.
(A) As basis of
(B) That based on
(C) As base on
(D) That base in
(E) No correction required
Ans : (B)

20. With order to help outstation candidates planning to move to the city, a few colleges load their application forms online.
(A) In order to
(B) As order in
(C) Alongwith order to
(D) In ordering to
(E) No correction required
Ans : (A)

Directions—(Q. 21–25) Each question below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank which best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

21. The petitioner had ……… an immediate stay from the court on allotment of the flats till ……… of investigation into the alleged irregularities.
(A) asked, process
(B) sought, completion
(C) propagated, finish
(D) demanded, course
(E) granted, end
Ans : (B)

22. Modern music doesn’t lend ……… to longevity; sometimes it is hard even to remember what the biggest hit from a ……… of years ago was.
(A) itself, couple
(B) much, few
(C) money, some
(D) matter, spatter
(E) substance, variety
Ans : (A)

23. Opportunities ……… when they are seized and ……… when they are not.
(A) gather, evade
(B) needed, reflect
(C) create, disperse
(D) shout, calm
(E) multiply, die
Ans : (E)

24. At the sound of the bell we are ……… to pause, relax our body and become gently ……… of our in-breath and out-breath.
(A) asked, thoughtless
(B) requested, wishful
(C) invited, aware
(D) forced, meaningful
(E) braced, calm
Ans : (C)

25. ………… to listen to the sounds of nature, we find that we can afterwards carry on with whatever we were doing in a more ……… and loving way.
(A) feeling, helpful
(B) waiting, rough
(C) dreaming, dramatic
(D) pausing, attentive
(E) hurting, creative
Ans : (A)

Directions—(Q. 26–35) In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

Since …26… times, people have …27… that human activity could affect the environment. The discovery of past ice ages shows that Earth’s climate is in constant …28… and that …29… history, scientists have …30… for the cause of these changes. Though scientists discovered the greenhouse effect in the late 19th century, the theory of global warming wasn’t …31… as a scientifically proven fact until 1992 when the United Nations held a Conference on Environment and Development. Today, global warming is a …32… accepted reality and …33… about its effects ranges from the hysteria to the acceptance. Newspapers chronicle the slowly changing climate and the actions that have …34… that change. From developing nations to industrial countries, global climate affects …35…

26. (A) Long
(B) Great
(C) Urgent
(D) Ancient
(E) Stone-age
Ans : (D)

27. (A) Believed
(B) Succeeded
(C) Wished
(D) Lost
(E) Wanted
Ans : (A)

28. (A) Hot
(B) Flux
(C) Fight
(D) Changes
(E) Reality
Ans : (B)

29. (A) With
(B) For
(C) To
(D) Throughout
(E) As
Ans : (D)

30. (A) Contribute
(B) Talked
(C) Resigned
(D) Visited
(E) Searched
Ans : (E)

31. (A) Accepted
(B) False
(C) Real
(D) Greeted
(E) Expected
Ans : (A)

32. (A) Rarely
(B) Widely
(C) Wrongly
(D) Leisurely
(E) Faithfully
Ans : (B)

33. (A) Principles
(B) Various
(C) Measurement
(D) Idea
(E) Speculation
Ans : (E)

34. (A) Meaning
(B) Worked
(C) Affected
(D) Cause
(E) Witness
Ans : (C)

35. (A) One
(B) Much
(C) Everyone
(D) More
(E) Singular
Ans : (C)

Punjab National Bank Agriculture Officers Exam., 2009
Professional Knowledge (Economics) : Solved Paper
(Held on 16-8-2009)


1. Say’s Law of Markets states that—
(A) Demand creates its own supply
(B) Supply creates its own demand
(C) Demand creates its own demand
(D) Supply creates its own supply
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

2. Malthusian theory of population is based on—
(A) Harmonic progression of population
(B) Geometric progression of food production
(C) Arithmetic progression of population
(D) Geometric progression of population
(E) All of the above
Ans : (D)

3. Gresham’s Law states that—
(A) Good money drives bad money out of circulation
(B) Bad money drives good money out of circulation
(C) Both good money and bad money may co-exist
(D) Neither bad money nor good money may be long in circulation
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

4. The on-going melt down had its origin in—
(A) The real sector
(B) The financial sector
(C) The service sector
(D) The textile sector
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

5. A competitive firm maximizes its profit when—
(A) MR = AR
(B) MR = MC
(C) MC = AC
(D) MC = AR
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

6. ‘Supernormal’ profit may exist in a market due to—
(A) Asymmetry of information
(B) Restriction of information
(C) Quantity restriction
(D) Price restriction
(E) All the above
Ans : (A)

7. Profit is caused by—
(A) Dynamic element in the economy
(B) Innovation
(C) Windfall
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

8. Interest is paid—
(A) To compensate for inflation
(B) Due to superiority of present over future goods
(C) Because demand for money outstrips its supply
(D) To ensure the growth of the real sector
(E) All the above
Ans : (B)

9. Investment is defined as a—
(A) Deployment of a sum in business operations
(B) Purchasing an interest bearing bond
(C) Change in the stock of capital
(D) All the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

10. The unproductive expenditure of the rich is—
(A) Necessary to the employment of the poor
(B) An impediment to the growth of an economy
(C) Having no bearing on the economy
(D) Having bearing only on the economy of the rich
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

11. Heckscher-Ohlin theory explains—
(A) Pattern of trade in terms of relative factor endowments of countries
(B) Why a country may import products which use extensively the country’s scarce factor
(C) The law of comparative cost
(D) The concept of reciprocal demand
(E) All the above
Ans : (A)

12. ‘Quasi-rents’—
(A) Are in the nature of free gifts
(B) May be applicable to all factors of production
(C) Comprise of all the returns to the firm in excess of the returns of the marginal firm
(D) All the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

13. The indifference curve technique is essentially—
(A) A cardinal approach
(B) An ordinal approach
(C) A quasi-ordinal approach
(D) All the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

14. The slope of an indifference curve expresses—
(A) The marginal rate of substitution of two goods
(B) A ratio of marginal utility of one good to another
(C) Both (A) and (B)
(D) A ratio of total utility of one good to another
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

15. ‘Pass through’ effect in international trade theory refers to—
(A) The proportion of an exchange rate change that is reflected in export and import price change
(B) Exports and imports not facing any tariff barrier
(C) Exports and imports not facing any technical barrier
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

16. Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations—
(A) Started in 1986 and completed at the end of 1993
(B) Aimed at reversing the rising trend of non-tariff trade barriers
(C) Replaced the GATT with WTO
(D) Brought services and agriculture into WTO
(E) All of the above
Ans : (E)

17. Product Cycle Model in international trade theory (Vernon, 1966)—
(A) Is an extension of technological gap model
(B) Is an extension of Heckscher-Ohlin model
(C) Explains dynamic comparative advantage of new products and new processes of production
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

18. Hedging and speculation in forex markets—
(A) Are opposite activities
(B) Parallel activities
(C) Same activities
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

19. A currency swap refer to—
(A) A spot sale of currency combined with a forward repurchase of the same currency—as part of single transaction
(B) A forward sale of currency combined with a forward repurchase of the same currency—as part of a single transaction
(C) A forward sale of currency combined with a forward repurchase of the same currency—in two different transactions
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

20. Public-Private Partnership projects in India are mostly related to—
(A) Airports
(B) Ports
(C) Railways
(D) Roads
(E) Urban development
Ans : (D)

21. The largest share in the short term money market of India in recent times belonged to the segment—
(A) Collaterised Borrowing and Lending Obligation (CBLO)
(B) Traditional repo
(C) Clearcorp Repo Over Matching System (CROMS)
(D) Call
(E) Others
Ans : (D)

22. As per the revised estimate of CSO, the GDP in India at factor cost during 2008-09 was—
(A) Rs. 28,71,120 crore
(B) Rs. 31,29,717 crore
(C) Rs. 33, 39,375 crore
(D) Rs. 44,82,436 crore
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

23. Mid Day Meal Scheme—
(A) Is a centrally funded and largest school meal scheme in the world
(B) Provides each child in government and government aided school a minimum of 300 calories and 8–12 gm of protein each day of school for a minimum of 200 days
(C) Provides lunch to about 120 million children
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

24. Insurance penetration is defined as the—
(A) Ratio of premium underwritten in a year to GDP
(B) Ratio of premium underwritten in a year to total population
(C) Ratio of insurance subscribers in a year to total population
(D) Ratio of total number of policy holders in a year to total population
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

25. Insurance density is defined as the—
(A) Ratio of premium underwritten in a year to GDP
(B) Ratio of premium underwritten in a year to total population
(C) Ratio of insurance subscribers in a year to total population
(D) Ratio of total number of policy holders in a year to total population
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

26. Minimum Support Prices of crops are recommended by—
(A) Planning Commission of India
(B) Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)
(C) Finance Commission of India
(D) Farmers’ Commission of India
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

27. The Electricity (Amendment) Act 2007—
(A) Dispensed with licence requirement for sale from captive units
(B) Provided for joint effort by the Central and State governments for providing access to all areas including villages and markets
(C) Expanded the definition of theft to cover the use of tampered meters
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

28. In times of slowdown of the economy, the fiscal policy influences aggregate demand through—
(A) Discretionary element
(B) Non-discretionary element
(C) Lowering of tax rates
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

29. Thirteenth Finance Commission is headed by—
(A) Dr. Rangarajan
(B) Dr. Vijay L. Kelkar
(C) Dr. Suresh Tendulkar
(D) Dr. C. H. Hanumantha Rao
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

30. A constitutionally recognized body is—
(A) Planning Commission
(B) Finance Commission
(C) Forward Commission
(D) Farmers Commission
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

31. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana was launched by GOI in August 2007 with the objective(s) of—
(A) To incentivise the states to increase public investment in agriculture and allied sectors
(B) To ensure that local needs/crops/priorities are better reflected
(C) To achieve the goal of reducing the yield gaps in important crops
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

32. The Buffer Stock of foodgrains at the beginning of February 2009 stood at—
(A) 16•2 million tonnes
(B) 20•0 million tonnes
(C) 37•4 million tonnes
(D) 36•2 million tonnes
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

33. Public Private Partnership came to be introduced in India to—
(A) Mitigate the financial burden of the governments
(B) Respond to the technological change that allow unbundling of infrastructure
(C) Alter the character of goods and services from pure public to private ones
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

34. Heteroscedasticity in econometric analysis means—
(A) The variance for each disturbance term (Vi) is the same for all i’s
(B) The variance for each disturbance term (Vi) is not the same for all i’s
(C) The co-variance for each pair of disturbance term is the same
(D) The co-variance for each pair of disturbance term is not the same
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

35. Autocorrelation in econometric analysis refers to—
(A) The correlation between the values of different variables
(B) The correlation between the values of alternative variables
(C) The correlation between successive values of the same variable
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

36. Durbin-Watson Test is applied in econometric models to test—
(A) Presence of heteroscedasticity in a model
(B) For autocorrelated errors in the sample data
(C) For multicorrelinearity
(D) For autoregressive disturbances
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

37. A weakly stationary stochastic process is so called, if—
(A) Its mean and variance are constant over time
(B) The value of covariance between two time periods depends only on lag between two time periods
(C) The value of covariance does not depend on the actual time at which the covariance is computed
(D) All the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

38. Dummy variables are used in regression models—
(A) To represent important variables that are not qualitatively measurable
(B) To capture the effect of specific attributes
(C) As binary variables
(D) To distinguish between two groups of population
(E) All of the above
Ans : (C)

39. Principal components in econometric analysis—
(A) Are linear combinations
(B) Help to increase the degrees of freedom
(C) Help to reduce high degree of multicorrelinearity
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

40. If world population grows at 2•6 per cent, then it will double in—
(A) 44•34 years
(B) 36•92 years
(C) 29•32 years
(D) 26•66 years
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)