The (1) in
Chinese growth, and the consequent global slowdown, have led domestic producers
to claim dumping from abroad and demand additional tariff protection. This
rising protectionist clamour really makes no sense. There are solid direct and
indirect gains to be had from trade, and simply clamping down on imports is (2). It would jack up costs, lead to
questionable value addition behind high tariff walls and create a high cost
economy. The government must (3)
that for every producer crying for protection for his goods, there are multiple
users of that goods as an input, who will cry foul if costs are raised via
import tariffs.
There could be (4)
like steel, where Chinese capacity of over 800 million tonnes finds few
domestic takers. But even here, the safeguard action needs to be temporary and
time-bound, so that domestic producers take steps to meet the threat of
imports, and not wallow in protectionism. But exceptions cannot be the rule.
There are long-term gains from cross-border trade in the form of consumer and
producer surplus. Lower tariffs and greater opening up of the economy bring
down not just transaction costs but also incentivise desirable structural
changes. Domestic producers need to go the extra mile to shore up their
competitive advantage. They need efficiency improvement and productivity gains.
To tamely lobby for increased import duties and greater protection would mean
losing out in multiple ways. Notice that in sectors like plastics and
petrochemicals, tariff increases seem to have come about surreptitiously of
late. The extra duties and higher tariff barriers need to be (5) down sooner than later. India
cannot raise high tariff walls and yet hope to make in India globally competitive
products. For exceptional circumstances, there is the instrument of optimal
tariffs and safeguard action. But the perennial case for dumping needs to be
dumped.
Q.1. Choose the correct option for (1).
01. acceleration
02. tradition
03. deceleration
04. change
05. appreciation
Q-2 Choose the
correct option for (2).
01. excusable
02. fair
03. optional
04. mandatory
05. unwarranted
Q-3 Choose the
correct option for (3).
01. remember
02. justify
03. scorn
04. exemplify
05. enshroud
Q-4 Choose the
correct option for (4).
01. assumptions
02. inclusion
03. exceptions
04. regulation
05. reason
Q-5 Choose the
correct option for (5).
01. revised
02. brought
03. hiked
04. shown
05. value
Q.6-9. Rearrange the following sentences (A), (B), (C), (D),
(E), (F) and (G) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph, then
answer the questions given below them.
(A) Credit bureaus,
such as Credit Information Bureau Of India (CIBIL), issue these scores based on
various parameters such as current debt, credit type mix,
(B) The score
assigned by CIBIL ranges between 300 and 900.
(C) A good credit
score not only determines whether a person qualifies for the loan or not, but
also increases the chances of availing of the loans faster.
(D) Availing of a
credit means that one is borrowing money with a promise to pay within a
specified period of time, with interest.
(E) A score closer to
900 depicts the confidence in the ability of a person to repay the loan
(F) credit
utilization, recent behavior, time length, credit history and frequency of
applications for new credit and of course, repayment capability.
(G) Credit score is a statistical method to compute the
possibility of a person paying back the money he has borrowed.
Q.6. Which of the following would be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement?
01. F
02. B
03. C
04. G
05. D
Q.7. Which of the following would be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?
01. B
02. E
03. F
04. A
05. G
Q.8. Which of the following would be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?
01. D
02. C
03. E
04. B
05. F
Q.9. Which of the following would be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement?
01. A
02. G
03. D
04. C
05. F
ANSWERS
1. 3
2. 5
3. 1
4. 3
5. 2
6. 2
7. 4
8. 1
9. 5
