IBPS SO AFO

Reading Comprehension
Practice
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Read the following passage and answer the questions based

on it.
For a nation that has had a significant demographic dividend — the working age population is much
larger than the non-working age sections — finding productive employment for its youth was to be
an imperative for India. Yet, in the last few years, unemployment has remained a major concern —
the leaked Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in 2018 revealed that India’s unemployment rate
was the highest (6.07%) in four decades.

The latest PLFS suggests that the numbers now are not so drastic, with the overall unemployment
rate at 4.2% in 2020-21 compared to 4.8% in 2019-20 and the labour force participation rate (LFPR)
increasing to 41.6%, up from 40.1% in 2019-20.

In terms of the more widely used statistic internationally, the current weekly status of
unemployment, the figure of 7.5% for all persons in 2020-21 is still worrying. But, the PLFS data
will not bring much cheer to the Government despite a decrease in unemployment, according to
official data. This is because the decrease, says the PLFS, has also coincided with the transfer of
employment into lower productive and unpaid jobs away from salaried employment. Worryingly,
industrial jobs have decreased with more employment in agricultural and farm-related jobs — a
trend that accelerated following the lockdown and has not reversed since then. Unemployment
rates among the educated (above secondary education — 9.1%) and the youth (age between 15-
29 — 12.9%) have only declined marginally.

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 Wage rates have continued to remain lower for those employed in either salaried jobs or self-
employed compared to the pre-pandemic period, with the increases being marginal in the year
following lockdown-driven days of the pandemic.

It is clear that the Government must tackle unemployment and, concomitantly, the quality of
employment issue, on a war footing. In this regard, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement
that the Government will be recruiting 10 lakh personnel within the next 18 months (vacancies in
the Railways, the armed forces and GST departments among others) should be seen as a step in
the right direction. The latest data showed that there were 8.86 lakh vacant jobs among all central
government civilian posts as of March 2020.

Mr. Modi’s announcement was not about the creation of a large chunk of new jobs; the bulk of the
promised employment is to fill up vacancies. But even this measure would be ameliorative in the
real economy that continues to remain distressed, a consequence of the BJP-led government’s
mismanagement and the effects of the pandemic in the last few years.

The country cannot afford to squander more years in its race to reap the benefits of its
demographic dividend, and the push to provide jobs for those seeking to enter the labour force,
even if belated, will help ease matters for the medium term.

1. Why is it said in the passage that India has a significant demographic dividend?
(i) India is a young nation with many of its citizens as youth
(ii) India’s majority of the population is employable
(iii) India has more citizens in the working age bracket as opposed to the non-working age bracket
1) Both (i) and (ii)
2) Both (ii) and (iii)
3) All (i), (ii) and (iii)
4) Only (iii)
5) Both (i) and (iii)

2. What can be inferred about the unemployment rate scenario over the years in India?
1) The unemployment rate has reduced drastically after 2016
2) The unemployment rate was at the highest in the recent year
3) The unemployment rate was highest in the past four decades
4) The unemployment rate has seen a decline in the past four years
5) The unemployment rate is changing as per demographic dividend

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 3. How should the change in the unemployment rate, be taken by the government?
1) The decrease in the unemployment rate should not be taken by the government with cheer as
the fall is not as much as expected
2) The decrease in the unemployment rate should be taken by the government with a light heart
and government shouldn’t get complacent by these achievements
3) The increase in the unemployment rate should be treated by the government with caution and
quick remedies should be acted upon
4) The decrease in the unemployment rate should not be taken with joy as a shift to lower-level
jobs was observed
5) The change in the unemployment rate is volatile and can indicate low incomes among the
employed

4. Which of the following statements is/are true regarding unemployment according to the
passage?
1) post pandemic, there has been a significant decrease in the employment among the educated
2) unemployment rate has seen a drastic increase since past few years
3) filling of vacancies is more important than creating new jobs
4) employment in agriculture field is still on rise
5) All are true

5. "The author believes that the incomes of the people in jobs are better than pre-pandemic
times." This statement is:
1) Definitely true
2) Definitely false
3) Probably true
4) Probably false
5) Cannot be determined

6. Which two issues does the author suggest the government should handle
simultaneously?

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 1) Demographic dividend and unemployment
2) Quality and quantity of jobs
3) Employment and less transfer to agricultural jobs
4) Unemployment rate and filling of industries by labour force
5) Jobs for educated and youth employment

7. What is the author trying to insinuate while mentioning the Prime Minister's
announcement about 10 lakh recruitments?
1) PM's announcement for 10 lakh recruitments may be fake as before
2) PM is trying to conceal the facts from the public
3) PM's announcement is only to fill the old positions
4) PM's announcement should not be interpreted as creation of 10 lakh new jobs
5) The announcement was made to hide the ruling party's mismanagement

8. Which of the following statements cannot be inferred from the passage?

1) it is important to make maximum use of the demographic dividend
2) Pandemic has had an effect on salaries
3) It is not necessary for the government posts to fill up in the first round of recruitments
4) jobs in industries are considered better than those in agriculture
5) all can be inferred from the passage

9. Which of the following sentences mean the same as the sentence given in bold in the
passage?
The country cannot afford to squander more years in its race to reap the benefits of its
demographic dividend
1) The country will not be able to gain benefits of its demographic dividend even if it toils for some
more years
2) Obtaining the advantages provided by demographic dividend is a dream that can be achieved if
the country puts effort for some more years
3) The country has already lost many years trying to win over the benefits of its demographic
dividend and it has almost reached its limits

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 4) The benefits of demographic dividend are something that cannot be achieved even if any
country puts in more efforts
5) Fighting for the benefits of demographic is insignificant now because the country has not tried
to achieve this all these years

10. What does the phrase ‘on a war footing’ mean?

1) to be as peaceful as possible
2) to be prepared and be as quick as possible.
3) to maintain a decorum while doing important things
4) to back off from fighting in a war
5) to make sure that everyone has enough to survive during an emergency.

11. Which of the following is the theme of the passage?

1) How India tries to tackle the issue of job creation post pandemic
2) Addressing the issue of unemployment could increase the GDP of India tremendously
3) Falling unemployment rate- a huge long-term relief for India
4) India’s continuous struggle with low- salaried jobs and under employability
5) Government’s recruitment decision might help reap the benefits of India's demographic
dividend

12. Which of the following is the tone of the passage?

1) Belligerent
2) Euphemistic
3) Introspective
4) Sarcastic
5) Speculative

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 Solutions:
1. Ans: 4
1. Many doesn’t mean, MOST, if majority had been youth, then also this statement would have
been true, but currently, it is not.
2. Employability is not decided by age alone, there are other factors as well (like education, etc.)
to determine it while demographic divided is solely depended on age.
3. This is correct.

2. Ans: 4
1, Nothing about 2016 has been mentioned, this is not correct.
2, In the latest year mentioned, unemployment rate is given at 4.2%, which is lesser than the
values of other years, hence this statement is false.
3 has not been said in the passage.
4 is true.
5 is not true, as nothing about this has been said.

3. Ans: 4
"But, the PLFS data will not bring much cheer to the Government despite a decrease in
unemployment, according to official data. This is because the decrease, says the PLFS, has also
coincided with the transfer of employment into lower productive and unpaid jobs away from
salaried employment."

4. Ans: 4
1 is not true as it has been said that there has been a marginal decline in employment rates of the
educated and the youth.
Unemployment rate has seen a decline in the past four years, hence 2 is false
Nothing regarding the importance of these two has been said in the passage, hence this
statement is incorrect.
4 is true "Worryingly, industrial jobs have decreased with more employment in agricultural and
farm-related jobs — a trend that accelerated following the lockdown and has not reversed since
then"

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 5. Ans: 2
Wage rates have continued to remain lower for those employed in either salaried jobs or self-
employed compared to the pre-pandemic period, with the increases being marginal in the year
following lockdown-driven days of the pandemic.
In the passage, the author has said that the salaries are lower as compared to pre pandemic period.

6. Ans: 2
It is clear that the Government must tackle unemployment and, concomitantly, the quality of
employment issue, on a war footing.
Demographic dividend doesn't require tackling, hence 1 is incorrect, employment isn't an issue,
unemployment is, hence 3 is incorrect. Nothing as mentioned in 4&5 has been said in the passage.

7. Ans: 4
1 is not true, as the announcement is not fake, recruitment may or may not fill up the vacancies, but
nothing about the announcement being fake has been said.
Which facts, is not specified here, hence 2 is incorrect
10 lakh new recruitments announcement and around 8.86 lakh are old vacancies, rest shoube new,
hence use of ONLY makes 3 incorrect
Mismanagement has led to bad economy, according to the passage, not linked to the
announcement. Hence 5 incorrect

8. Ans: 5
4 is true because the author has used the word worryingly.

9. Answer: 3
The sentence says that the country cannot spend more years to reap the benefits of its
demographic dividend and it cannot spend any more time on this.

10. Answer: 2
The phrase ‘be on a war footing’ means ‘to be ready or preparing to fight a war’.

11. Answer: 5

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 The central theme is the Government’s recruitment decision helping utilize India’s demographic
dividend.

12. Answer: 5
Speculation is when we try to forecast or predict future events. Such passage often contains
expectations on the basis of calculations.

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