Instructions: –
1. Attempt all the questions.
2. Once you have completed all the questions of a particular section click on the submit button for scores and explanations then move to the next sections.
3. For each correct answer, you receive 1 mark. For this mock, there is no negative marking.
English Language
Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage. Please answer each question based on what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. In some instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.
Surajendu Kumar’s study on the effect of the modernization of a Government Printing Press on Press maintenance work and workers is a solid contribution to a debate that encompasses two lively issues in the history and sociology of technology: technological determinism and social constructivism. Kumar makes the point that the characteristics of a technology have a decisive influence on job skills and work organization. Put more strongly, technology can be a primary determinant of social and managerial organization. Kumar believes this possibility has been obscured by the recent sociological fashion, exemplified by Cravman’s analysis, that emphasizes the way machinery reflects social choices. For Cravman, the shape of a technological system is subordinate to the manager’s desire to wrest control of the labour process from the workers.
Technological change is construed as the outcome of negotiations among interested parties who seek to incorporate their own interests into the design and configuration of the machinery. This position represents the new mainstream called the social constructivism. The constructivists gain acceptance by misrepresenting technological determinism: technological determinists are supposed to believe, for example, that machinery imposes appropriate forms of order on society. The alternative to constructivism, in other words, is to view technology as existing outside society, capable of directly influencing skills and work organization. Kumar refutes the extremes of the constructivists by both theoretical and empirical arguments. Theoretically, he defines “technology” in terms of relationship between social and technical variables. Attempts to reduce the meaning of technology to cold, hard metal are bound to fail, for machinery is just scrap unless it is organized functionally and supported by appropriate systems of operation and maintenance.
At the empirical level, Kumar shows how a change at the Printing Press from maintenance-intensive electromechanical devices to semi-electronic devices altered work tasks, skills, training opportunities, administration, and organization of workers. Some changes Kumar attributes to the particular way management and labour unions negotiated the introduction of the technology, whereas others are seen as arising from the capabilities and nature of the technology itself. Thus, Kumar helps answer the question: “When is social choice decisive and when are concrete characteristics of technology more important?”
Quantitative Techniques
Three countries Country-A, Country-B and Country-C sent athletes in three different Olympic events Event-X, Event-Y and Event-Z. In Event-X, Country-A sent 20% more athletes than Event-Y. The ratio of the number of athletes sent by Country-B in Event-Y to that sent by Country-C in Event-Z was 8 : 5. The total number of athletes sent by Country-A in three Olympic events together was 2,270. Country-B sent 350 more athletes than Country-C in Event-Y. In Event-Y, Country-A sent 3/4 of the number of athletes sent by Country-B in the same Olympic event. There was a decrease in 20% of athletes sent from Event-Y to Event-Z by Country-B. The total number of athletes sent in Event-Z by the three countries together was 2,090. The total number of athletes sent by Country-C in the three Olympic events together was 1,250. Country-B sent 540 athletes in Event-X.
Logical Reasoning
Read the following information carefully and answer the questions given below. Shopper’s Stop offers exactly 10 types of perfumes – both domestic and export varieties of Woods, Proposal, Rose, Neesh and Hydra. Shopper’s Stop is having a sale on some of these types of perfumes. The following conditions must apply:
I. Export Rose is on sale; domestic Proposal is not.
II. If both types of Rose are on sale, then all Hydra is.
III. If both types of Woods are on sale, then no Neesh is.
IV. If neither type of Woods is on sale, then domestic Rose is.
V. If either type of Neesh is on sale, then no Hydra is.
Legal Reasoning
A misrepresentation is an untrue statement of a material fact made by one party which affects the other party’s decision in corresponding to a contract. If the misrepresentation is identified, the contract can be declared voidable and seek damages. The party who made the misrepresentation becomes the defendant and the aggrieved party is the plaintiff. As per Section 18 of the Indian Contract Act, misrepresentation is a form of a statement made preceding to the contract being completed. Misrepresentation is about giving an inaccurate information by one party (or their agent) to the other before the contract is made which induces them to make the contract. Section 17 describes fraud and lists the acts that amount to fraud, which include false claim, active concealment, promise without the intention of carrying it out, any other deceptive act, or any act declared fraudulent. Mere silence as to facts likely to affect the willingness of a person to enter into a contract is not fraud, unless the circumstance of the case is such that, regard being had to them, it is the duty of the person keeping silence to speak, or unless his silence, in itself is, equivalent to speech. The main difference between fraud and misrepresentation is that in the first case the person making the suggestion does not believe it is true and in the other case he believes it is true, although in both cases it is a misrepresentation of fact that misleads the promisee. Fraud will not only render the contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent is so obtained but will also give rise to an action for damages in respect of deceit. Positive knowledge of falsehood is not a criterion. In order to constitute fraud, it is necessary that the statement was made by the person concerned with knowledge of its falsehood, or without belief in its truth. There is no general duty to disclose facts that are or might be equally within the means of knowledge of both parties. If the party alleging fraud had the facts before it or had the means to know them, it could not be said to have been defrauded, even if a false statement has been made.
Current Affairs & General Knowledge
This is through a transformative $200 million in urban development working in partnership with the Asian Development Bank, focused on upgrading infrastructure and enhancing services in the state of Uttarakhand. This strategic financial agreement underlines the emphasis by the Indian government on resilient urban growth in a state where rapid urbanization meets the challenges posed by Himalayan terrain. This initiative, known as the Uttarakhand Livability Improvement Project, addresses not only the opportunity of taking urban living to new heights but also anchors climate resilience into the very core of important urban systems. It is in consonance with the high ambition of India’s urban renewal and the national agenda on sustainable development through climate-conscious infrastructure. The project approach is multifaceted involving an expansion of infrastructure together with climate-sensitive design. It would, for example, construct a climate-resilient road network in Haldwani, designed to defy heavy monsoon rain and lower the risks of landslide events. There, in addition, it will make available intelligent traffic management combined with compressed natural gas and electric buses that will reduce emissions and optimize urban mobility. The program will construct environment-friendly public buildings like a bus terminal and an administrative complex that will serve as a benchmark for environmental sustainability in public infrastructure.
Improvement in Water Management: The program incorporates essential water management infrastructure building in strategic cities. Together, over 1,024 kilometers of resilient pipelines will be constructed to ensure a reliable supply of water to the towns of Champawat, Kichha, Kotdwar, and Vikasnagar during extreme weather conditions. The project is designed to have advanced water treatment facilities with a 3.5 million litres-per-day capacity with the support of new reservoirs and 26 tubewells to ensure safe access by the consumers. Moreover, it will introduce smart water meters that would motivate the residents to wisely consume water, thus helping attain long-term goals of the state in water saving.
Sanitation enhancements are valued equally. In Vikasnagar, high-class sewage treatment plants will be constructed that would cater to around 2,000 families for the wellness of communities and the integrity of the environment. Among the standout features of this project is its focus on being more gender-inclusive. Women from local village communities will undergo training programs on driving buses, ticketing, and urban water management, which will empower them economically and uplift participation of women in typically male-dominated fields.
European Investment Bank (EIB) chipped in with a $191 million co-financing package into this ambitious project. With such support that EIB is offering, it is likely that the implementation of the interventions planned will be accelerated so that the cities of Uttarakhand are well prepared and face whatever challenges lie ahead. This project is both a groundbreaking milestone in the development of cities in Uttarakhand and part of a watershed moment in the evolution of India and international institutions, thus being consistent with mutual commitments towards sustainable, resilient, and inclusive growth.
