Paragraph Completion Exercise - IX

In each of the following questions a short passage is given with one of the lines in the passage missing and represented by a blank. Select the best answer choices given, to make the passage complete.

Paragraph 1.
Demonetisation and GST have definitely added transparency to the tax system and resulted in more taxpayers. _________________________. Otherwise there is no explanation for lower GDP growth in FY17 and FY18 as monsoons have been good, inflation low, crude oil price benign, CAD low, fiscal balances under control, rupee stronger, foreign flows higher and interest rates lower.

(A) The Government should set realistic and credible fiscal targets for FY19 rather than target a low number which cannot be achieved.
(B) GDP growth in FY16 was 8 per cent which came down to 7.1 per cent in FY17 and could go up to 6.75 per cent in FY18 and say, 7.5 per cent in FY19.
(C) But the disruption caused to small businesses and agriculture has been significant.
(D) Major reforms undertaken by the Government have cleansed the system for sure and made it more efficient.
Answers :
Correct Option: C
The statement before the blank talks positively about Demonetisation and GST. However, the one after the blank is negative in tone and tries to justify the lower GDP numbers. We need to find a statement that ‘bridges’ the gap between the two perspectives.

Paragraph 2.
The Doklam plateau has become the unlikely scene of the latest India-China imbroglio. _________________. The Chumbi valley is vital for India, and any change is fraught with dangerous possibilities. The incident stems from differences between Bhutan and India on the one hand and China on the other as to the exact location of the tri-junction between the three countries. In 2007, India and Bhutan had negotiated a Friendship Treaty to replace an earlier one. China’s current claims over the Doklam plateau should be seen as yet another instance of cartographic aggression, which China often engages in. It is, however, China’s action of building an all-weather road on Bhutan’s territory, one capable of sustaining heavy vehicles, that has prompted Bhutan and India to coordinate their actions in their joint national interests._________________.

(A) The Doklam plateau has indirectly figured in the several rounds of border talks that have been held between China and Bhutan./ Reliable reports suggest that China is not unwilling to make generous concessions to Bhutan in return for a mutually acceptable border settlement.
(B) China has long eyed this area and it has been keen to establish its physical presence in a region that it claims belongs to China according to the 1890 Convention. / With China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) gaining momentum, and completion of infrastructure programmes such as the Lhasa-Shigatse Railway, China appears to have turned its attention to the Doklam plateau.
(C) The region falls within Bhutanese territory, but this is now questioned by China./ Many of the points involved in the current stand-off are disputed or disputable and the Sikkim (India)-China border was the only settled segment of the nearly 4,000-km-long India-China border.
(D) Both A and C
Answers :
Correct Option: C
The second filler is preceded by a discussion of Bhutan's territory. So the sentence must take the point forward. Only option C provides a suitable choice in this case.

Paragraph 3.
On the surface, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer appears to have made an ironclad case against China in his report. _________________. It has quickly been accepted as foundational evidence in support of the tariffs and other punitive trade measures that President Donald Trump’s administration has initiated against China in recent months. It is powerful ammunition in a potential trade war. But don’t be fooled. The report is wide off the mark in several key areas. First, it accuses China of “forced technology transfer,” arguing that US companies must turn over the blueprints of proprietary technologies and operating systems in order to do business in China. _________________.

(A) The USTR’s indictment of China on charges of unfair trading practices regarding technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation seems both urgent and compelling./ This transfer is alleged to take place within the structure of joint-venture arrangements with domestic counterparts in China.
(B) Portraying US companies as innocent victims of Chinese pressure is certainly at odds with the predatory practices of the US corporate world. /Significantly, US and other multinational corporations willingly enter into legally-negotiated arrangements for commercially sound reasons.
(C) For the USTR to claim that China alone relies on industrial policy as a means towards achieving competitive edge is the height of hypocrisy/ Like the rest of the world, the Chinese are tough competitors, and they do not always play by the rules.
(D) None of the above
Answers :
Correct Option: A
The first filler is preceded by the mention of a report. The sentence should elaborate on the contents of the report. Only statement A fits in here. Option C appears to be disjointed and does not fit in.

Paragraph 4.
As Frederick Nietzsche said, there are no facts, only interpretations. This would just about be the case when one reads the Economic Survey for FY18. _________________________ Hence, the so-called facts are available to all but the conclusions drawn change after reading the report.

(A) The Survey is a detailed update on all aspects of the economy and does not work with data which is not known.
(B) The Survey takes the unconventional route of interpreting inflation on an average basis and arguing that CPI of 3.3 per cent for the first 9 months is lower than the 4 per cent target.
(C) It does turn around several views which were held before the report came out.
(D) None of the above
Answers :
Correct Option: A
The passage begins by stating that there can be different explanations for the same event and then connects this with the Economic Survey. The line after the blank talks about how different conclusions may be drawn from the same facts.