D.71-80): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.
Has the hard-hustling nature of the tech start-up created a culture that leaves women vulnerable? Tech start-ups operate in an increasingly competitive environment. It’s a risky business for the entrepreneurs and the team that chooses to hitch their wagons to them. What drives the segment are energy, ideas, seamless communication and adrenalin. But when an incident like the one that took place at TVF, with founder and Internet sensation Arunabh Kumar, accused of sexual harassment becomes news, the introspection begins. Episodes like this are often blamed on the incompatible culture in the tech space that cultivates a male-centric mentality. Combine this with the lack of structure in early-stage start-ups run by young, enthusiastic entrepreneurs, and the tech start-up suddenly seems to be not-so-friendly space for women. “Money is tight and there is little to fall back on” — no established brand name, no their own and real money power,. Start-ups are still testing their ideas, so that is their core focus. The result: when a tricky situation, such as sexual harassment, emerges, young leaders, who often have little life and work experience, may fumble,” says Ritu Dubey, who has worked in the space for over seven years. This isn’t restricted to tech-driven start-ups. “Other start-up spaces with a low number of women are equally vulnerable,” says Dubey. However, the vertical is particularly vulnerable, considering that the women are few in number, the working spaces small and shared and the hours long. Culture matters – Manisha Gupta, whose organisation Start Up! incubates social entrepreneurs, says that “companies led by young entrepreneurs rarely focus on building vibrant cultures of respect for employees. In fact, entrepreneurs don’t particularly like to hear the words ‘policy,’ ‘processes’ and ‘systems’ – as they believe these kill creativity and productivity.” Ashwini Asokan, founder of Mad Street Den, an AI start-up based in Chennai, believes that company culture is founder-driven. “Men hire more men like them, and it propagates that hang out, speak, smoke and eat a certain way. Culture is set very early on.” Asokan herself has carefully built a technology company across geographies that comprise 50% women, and it’s been a task. “You can’t just wake up one morning and hit the diversity quota,” she explains, of the journey toward a diverse and inclusive company culture. Designing safety – The silver lining, if there is one, is that this may be the beginning of change, in terms of sexual harassment in the workplace: the fact that women are coming forward, speaking up — against their bosses, sectoral prejudices. The system explains Salma Prabhu, a clinical psychologist who consults with corporate HR departments, “Tests such as the 16PF, Myers-Briggs and Thomas PPA can throw up potential areas of concern early on.” These are safeguards in larger companies, but start-ups may not have the finances to invest in experienced HR people who come with the knowledge of such assessments. However, “the good part about this sector is that even as a very junior employee, you can ask questions about the work culture, meet the team and see the office space, at the interviewing stage,” says Ritu. There are also advisory board members that employees are usually aware about, so that in the absence of action, a problem can be escalated. Prabhu helps HR departments sensitise and train their organisations about sexual harassment policies and gender issues. Even smaller workshops, she feels, are essential, if there’s no policy in place yet. People, men and women, need to be sensitised to what may be construed as sexism or extend to harassment. Legal course – Today, companies must report such incidents under law [The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013]. Rina Goyal, Senior Associate, AZB & Partners, a law firm in Mumbai, believes that the 2013 law is well-drafted, even if it is primarily for the protection of women. Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) has some powers of a civil court in terms of making complainant and respondent attend, and discovery of documents. An office with over 10 employees is required by law to have an ICC to deal with sexual harassment complaints. It must comprise one female senior employee, a minimum of two other employees and a person with relevant knowledge of women’s rights. Apart from the chairperson, at least 50% of the committee must be women. Many companies may not have these, since the law, while being strict, is poorly implemented and its awareness as well as execution are still on a learning curve, says Pankaj Jain, the Founder and Principal at Impact Law Ventures, who works in the space. However, it helps to have senior members on the team who are women, as they may deal with formal or informal complaints on the lines of the formal process, even if there is no set procedure in place. International or larger funders mandate HR policies be in place before they support a young start-up. Such start-ups will begin to look at better governance, not just because it is a part of the compliance mechanism, but also because they may realise it’s necessary, says Jain. Gupta agrees, saying, “No matter how young a company, building safe work environments for teams is as critical as customer acquisition. You have to start up and scale in a process-focussed way. Up ahead – Ultimately, the usual suspects of power and consequent entitlement play key roles in the way women are viewed in the workplace. Prabhu believes that change comes slowly, but it does come eventually, and the media has a part to play — by reporting on issues rather than exclusively on incidents of harassment and assault, she believes we can evolve gender sensitivity in our culture over time.
Q.71)
“Awareness and execution are still on a learning curve”- The sentence means that:
a) Awareness and execution are not learnt by somebody.
b) Awareness and execution level is excruciating.
c) Awareness and execution level is abysmally low.
d) Awareness and execution level is extraordinary.
e) Learning about Awareness and execution is a lengthy process.
Q.72)
The author recommends which of the following roles for the media?
a) They should report exclusively on incidents of harassment and assault on women so that remedial action is taken.
b) They should highlight the relevant issues connected with the safety and security of women employees so that awareness is created.
c) They should provide the necessary financial support for the cause under consideration.
d) They should work in such a way that their rating is not in peril.
e) None of the above.
Q.73)
The tone and tenor of the sentence “You can’t just wake up one morning and hit the diversity quota” can be assessed as:
a) One of Realism.
b) One of Pessimism.
c) One of fiction.
d) One of Accusation.
e) One of Pragmatism.
Q.74)
Internal Complaints Committee is akin to which of the following?
a) A Magistrate Court.
b) A Tribunal.
c) A civil Court.
d) Powers of all the above.
e) Not identified from the passage.
Q.75)
Companies led by young entrepreneurs are expected to concentrate on which of the following?
a) On building vibrant cultures of respect for employees.
b) On building the customer base.
c) On ensuring profit.
d) On drastic reduction is staff strength.
e) None of the above.
Q.76)
According to the passage which obliterates creativity in the opinion of some entrepreneurs?
a) Principles.
b) Policy.
c) Processes.
d) Both (a) and (b).
e) Both (b) and (c).
Q.77)
Which of the following associated with Ms. Ashwini Asokan in the light of the context?
a) Has carefully built a technology company across geographies that comprise 50% women.
b) The silver lining is that this may be the beginning of change.
c) “You can’t just wake up one morning and hit the diversity quota.”
d) Company culture is founder-driven.
e) Only (a), (c) and (d).
Q.78)
The term ‘The silver lining’ refers to which of the following?
a) The brightest point in any concept or situation.
b) The ray of hope in a somewhat tricky or miserable situation.
c) The obviously visible portion of an endeavour.
d) The idea which helps in understanding a complex problem.
e) None of the above.
Q.79)
Which of the following can be considered as the best title to the passage?
a) The intricacies of safety of working women.
b) The narrowness of safety of working women.
c) The highlight of safety of working women.
d) The security hazards of women.
e) How safe are women in India?
Q.80)
Which is described as the hard-hustling nature of a tech start-up?
a) Earning money is their prime focus.
b) Building vibrant cultures of respect for employees.
c) A fondness for processes.
d) Only (a) and (c).
e) Only (a) and (b).
D.81-85) Read the following sentences carefully and select the correct option. There are four parts (a), (b), (c) and (d) in each question. Select the part which is grammatically wrong. If every part in the sentence is grammatically correct then, choose ‘No error’ (e) as the answer.
Q.81)
Talking to The Hindu, Special Commissioner of Police (Women Safety, Airport and Modernisation) (a)/ Sanjay said such an app was needed to ensure that women (b)/ felt safe throughout their commute and that vehicles(c)/ enabling last mile connectivity were part of the app.(d)/ No error.(e)
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
Q.82)
As a filmmaker, he feels empathetic for all those (a)/who are being affected by the conflict which Israel and Palestine (b)/ are facing and he endeavours that only peaceful talks along (c)/ the leaders can bring peace to the region.(d)/ No error.(e)
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
Q.83)
Noting that the constitution of the Sahitya Akademi (a)/ had been no provision to take back the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award once given, (b)/ the Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed (c)/ in the wake of several awardees returning the honour in protest against “intolerance” or communal incidents.(d)/ No error.(e)
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
Q.84)
The clean development mechanism project has been registered (a)/ with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on the ‘small scale category’ (b)/ for facilities with an installed solar capacity (c)/ of less than 15 MW, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said on Monday. d)/ No error. (e)
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
Q.85)
Women from all walk of life, including an engineering (a)/ graduate, a psychology post-graduate, a consultant anaesthesiologist, (b)/ an IT professional, a lawyer and an entrepreneur, from (c)/ across the country took part in the rally with family and friends.(d)/ No error.(e)
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
D.86-90) Rearrange the following six sentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph and then answer the questions given below.
(A) To test particle flow under Titan-like conditions, the researchers built a small experiment in a modified pressure vessel in their Georgia Tech lab.
(B) The particles that cover the surface of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, are “electrically charged”, show results of an experiment.
(C) “These electrostatic forces increase frictional thresholds,” said the lead author of the study, Josh Mendez Harper from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in the US.
(D) The findings, published in the journal Nature Geosciences, may help explain an odd phenomenon — prevailing winds on Titan blow from east to west across the moon’s surface, but sandy dunes nearly 300 feet tall seem to form in the opposite direction.
(E) They inserted grains of naphthalene and biphenyl — two toxic, carbon and hydrogen bearing compounds believed to exist on Titan’s surface — into a small cylinder.
(F) “This makes the grains so sticky and cohesive that only heavy winds can move them. The prevailing winds aren’t strong enough to shape the dunes,” Mendez Harper said.
Q.86)
Which of the following would be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement?
a) D
b) B
c) F
d) A
e) C
Q.87)
Which of the following would be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?
a) A
b) B
c) E
d) D
e) F
Q.88)
Which of the following would be the LAST (SIXTH) sentence after rearrangement?
a) A
b) F
c) E
d) B
e) C
Q.89)
Which of the following would be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement?
a) F
b) E
c) B
d) A
e) D
Q.90)
Which of the following would be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement?
a) F
b) D
c) B
d) C
e) E
D.91- 95): In each of the following sentences there are two blank spaces. Below each sentences there are five pairs of words denoted by numbers (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e). Find out which pair of words can be filled up in the blanks in the sentences in the same sequence to make the sentence meaningfully complete.
Q.91)
___________ this with the lack of structure in early stage start-ups run by young, ___________ entrepreneurs, and the tech start-up suddenly seems to be a not-so-friendly space for women.
a) Castigating, fervent
b) Reprobating, excited
c) Denouncing, passionate
d) Slamming, aflame
e) Combine, enthusiastic
Q.92)
But, there will be times when characters are __________ strong emotions and their faces all go weird, with textures ___________ in.
a) depicturing, praising
b) conveying, popping
c) rupturing, yawning
d) structuring, hamming
e) puncturing, damming
Q.93)
Since Italian food is in continuous ____________, I have created some ____________ dishes that cater to the tastes of everyone.
a) revolution ,cumulated
b) fruition ,clinked
c) evolution, sophisticated
d) reduction, middle-class
e) abolition ,tumbled
Q.94)
Probe revealed the developer illegally felled the trees in __________ with Forest Department guard Praveen, who agreed to turn a blind eye for Rs 4 lakh, said the ____________.
a) connivance, complaint
b) agitation, constable
c) contented, reporter
d) collusion, commissioner
e) defiance, police
Q.95)
While releasing the book at the India International Centre (IIC) here, Mr. Gopichand ____________ the need to look at sports not only from the ___________ of winning or losing but as part of life.
a) demeaning, observation
b) adulating, myth
c) denigrating, sensitivity
d) emphasised, perspective
e) embellish, fallacy
D.96-100) In the following passage there are words highlighted, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage gives its meaning and against each five words are suggested, one of which is similar to the highlighted words. Find out the appropriate word in each case.
The legitimacy of the election process is a key component of any democracy. When Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati and Aam Aadmi Party convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (96) deny that the manipulation of electronic voting machines helped the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine in Punjab, they were casting doubts about the legitimacy of the results. While the BSP, through its leader’s statements and submissions to the Election Commission, was (97) clear in its complaints, the AAP leader was more specific, suggesting that 20-25% of his party’s votes were “transferred” to the Akali Dal due to the EVMs. Complaints about the security of EVMs have been raised over a decade in courts, and the EC has repeatedly (98) demonstrated how the security of the machines cannot be compromised. Indian EVMs, unlike online voting machines that were discontinued in some western countries, are stand-alone, independent electronic units. They record and lock votes only after being trigger-enabled by presiding officers through a control unit. The EC has sought to assure (99) believe that the security of the machine is enabled through both technological and procedural means. The wiring-in of software in a one-time programmable chip disallows external manipulation, time stamping of every key pressed allows for monitoring, production testing is done for quality control, and so on. Checks of EVMs along with representatives of political parties, (100) formal allocation and sealing make the machines tamper-proof before and after votes are cast.
Q.96)
a) alleged
b) fussing
c) mendicant
d) indigent
e) No correction required.
Q.97)
a) hinder
b) vague
c) hasten
d) procrastinate
e) No correction required.
Q.98)
a) elicited
b) placated
c) tranquilize
d) propitiated
e) No correction required.
Q.99)
a) ascetic
b) suspicious
c) sceptics
d) incisive
e) No correction required.
Q.100)
a) perspective
b) verbose
c) effusive
d) randomised
e) No correction required.