IIFT 2016 VARC | Previous Year IIFT Paper
Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions given at the end of each passage.
In a study of 150 emerging nations looking back fifty years, it was found that the single most powerful driver of economic booms was sustained growth in exports especially of manufactured products. Exporting simple manufactured goods not only increases income and consumption at home, it generates foreign revenues that allow the country to import the machinery and materials needed to improve its factories without running up huge foreign bills and debts. In short, in the case of manufacturing, one good investment leads to another. Once an economy starts down the manufacturing path, its momentum can carry it in the right direction for some time. When the ratio of investment to GDP surpasses 30 percent, it tends to stick at the level for almost nine years (on an average). The reason being that many of these nations seemed to show a strong leadership commitment to investment, particularly to investment in manufacturing. Today various international authorities have estimated that the emerging world need many trillions of dollars in investment on these kinds of transport and communication networks. The modern outlier is India where investment as a share of the economy exceeded 30 percent of GDP over the course of the 2000s, but little of that money went into factories. Indian manufacturing had been stagnant for decades at around 15 percent of GDP. The stagnation stems from the failures of the state to build functioning ports and power plants and to create an environment in which the rules governing labour, land and capital are designed and enforced in a way that encourages entrepreneurs to invest, particularly in factories. India has disappointed on both counts creating labour friendly rules and workable land acquisition norms. Between 1989 and 2010 India generated about ten million new jobs in manufacturing, but nearly all those jobs were created in enterprises that are small and informal and thus better suited to dodge India’s bureaucracy and its extremely restrictive rules regarding firing workers It is commonly said in India that the labour laws are so onerous that it is practically impossible to comply with even half of them without violating the other half. Informal shops, many of them one man operations, now account for 39 percent of India’s manufacturing workforce, up from 19 percent in 1989 and they are simply too small to compete in global markets. Harvard economist Dani Rodrik calls manufacturing the “automatic escalator” of development, because once a country finds a niche in global manufacturing, productivity often seems to start rising automatically. During its boom years India was growing in large part on the strength of investment in technology service industries, not manufacturing. This was put forward as a development strategy. Instead of growing richer by exporting even more advanced manufactured products, India could grow rich by exporting the services demanded in this new information age. These arguments began to gain traction early in the 2010s. In new research on the “service escalators”, a 2014 working paper from the World Bank made the case that the old growth escalator in manufacturing was already giving way to a new one in service industries. The report argued that while manufacturing is in retreat as a share of the global economy and is producing fewer jobs, services are still growing, contributing more to growth in output and jobs for nations rich and poor. However, one basic problem with the idea of service escalator is that in the emerging world most of the new service jobs are still in very traditional ventures. A decade on, India’s tech sector is still providing relatively simple IT services mainly in the same back office operations it started with and the number of new jobs it is creating is relatively small. In India, only about two million people work in IT services, or less than 1 percent of the workforce. So far the rise of these service industries has not been big enough to drive the mass modernisation of rural farm economies. People can move quickly from working in the fields to working on an assembly line, because both rely for the most part on manual labour. The leap from the farm to the modern service sector is much tougher since those jobs often require advanced skills. Workers who have moved into IT service jobs have generally come from a pool of relatively better educated members of the urban middle class, who speak English and have atleast some facility with computers. Finding jobs for the underemployed middle class is important but there are limits to how deeply it can transform the economy, because it is a relatively small part of the population. For now, the rule is still factories first, not service first.
According to the information in the above passage, manufacturing in India has been stagnant because there is
- A.
Lack of availability of skilled and educated manpower particularly in rural areas
- B.
Lack of investment in required infrastructure, labour friendly rules and land acquisition norms
- C.
Lack of investment in primary and higher education and women empowerment
- D.
Lack of investment in technology, telecommunication and IT, and service sector in general
Solution
Discuss
ReportIn India, nearly all jobs created were primarily in the small informal sector because
- A.
They are more innovative and can produce better products suited for export markets
- B.
They are able to hire less number of workers and have to pay less taxes
- C.
They are better suited to handle the bureaucratic procedures followed in India and the difficult labour laws with regard to dismissal of workers
- D.
They do not require good infrastructure and are able to manage better in the Indian conditions
According to the opinion expressed in the above excerpt, growth in services is not as impactful on the economy as manufacturing because
- A.
Companies in service sector focus only on technology and not on overall infrastructure such as power and ports
- B.
Service sector can create jobs only for a small percent of the population who are English speaking and have access to better education
- C.
Manufacturing leads to increase in export led income which benefits the whole economy
- D.
Manufacturing leads to creation of better infrastructure, health facilities and educational institution
In the passage, sustained growth in exports of manufactured products has been identified as the most powerful driver of economic boom because
- A.
It leads to an increase in building of functioning ports and power plants and also improvement in mining and shipping sectors
- B.
It leads to an increase in foreign investment, domestic income generation and consumption
- C.
It leads to an increase in transportation and communication network and also leads to increase in education
- D.
It leads to modernisation of rural farm economies and also improvement of the Agriculture sector
Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions given at the end of each passage.
The company will tackle this problem much more readily if reverse innovation is part of its repertoire. And yet until recently PepsiCo took a glocalisation approach. The company developed products for US and then sold and distributed substantially similar products throughout the world. As a result, PepsiCo’s growth particularly in emerging markets hit a wall. The company’s brands bumped up against local needs, tastes and habits that could not be satisfied but lowest-common-denominator global products. Under the glocalisation scenario, what first appears to be promising momentum hits a wall – often sooner than later. The renown of even the most potent global brands wear thin when the offered product is neither designed expressly for local markets nor priced for local means. These days PepsiCo is finding ways to address sharp differences across borders by designing products with local tastes and consumer needs in mind and is capturing a greater share of the opportunity in emerging economies. But that’s not all. PepsiCo is finding that its innovations in emerging markets have the potential to have impact and deliver performance with purpose all over the world. For example, PepsiCo is finding that some long popular ingredients in emerging economies such as lentils in India have healthy profiles that suggest new dimensions for snacking across geographies. The company’s approach to reverse innovation combines local product development efforts, strong support from global resources, plus efforts to ensure that the raw material of PepsiCo’s innovation - ideas, flavours, ingredients, marketing expertise, packaging materials, manufacturing methods and so on can flow in any direction within the organisation. Concerns about childhood and adult obesity are on the rise. It’s not news that snack foods are not commonly associated with health and wellness. Nonetheless, PepsiCo saw that there was enormous opportunity for impact in creating options for healthier snacking. “Consumers interact with our products on three levels; the neurological level, the gut level and the metabolic level.” Traditionally food and beverage companies have focussed only on the first. The neurological level is where brands, marketing and sensory payloads operate. Looking at the problems of emerging markets it is important to also understand what PepsiCo’s products do to the person’s gut? What do they do to their body chemistry? If those effects are ignored then it is indulgence without any balance. As PepsiCo geared up for its efforts to develop Aliva, it wondered whether there were any examples in which PepsiCo had already practised successful reverse innovation. There was one such example in India. It was a lentil and rice based snack called Kurkure. Introduced more than a decade ago, it had grown to be Frito Lay India’s top selling product. PepsiCo had learnt a lot from the Kurkure experience. Once emerging nations aspired to have access to rich world products. But these days they want rich world quality baked into products with local origins. It exemplified the idea that innovations shouldn’t simply be handed down from on high.
According to the above excerpt, most MNCs face problems in emerging countries because they interpret the concept of ‘glocalisation’ as
- A.
Offering global products with minimal changes leading to a mismatch between the requirements of the local markets with regard to its usage as well as the pricing
- B.
Offering global products with minimal changes that are useful for local markets but not priced appropriately
- C.
Offering global products with minimal changes that are not useful for local markets but are priced appropriately
- D.
Offering global products with minimal changes leading to a match between the requirements of the local markets with regard to its utility as well as the pricing
According to the author, snack food companies traditionally focus on the
- A.
Sensory level
- B.
Gut level
- C.
Neurological level
- D.
Digestive level
The passage suggests that MNC’s should replace glocalisation with
- A.
Market Research
- B.
Reverse Engineering
- C.
Glocalisation
- D.
Reverse Innovation
What is the learning for PepsiCo from Indian experience
- A.
Innovation should be governed from the top and use global quality
- B.
Snack food is driven by indulgence only
- C.
Snack food should use global quality and healthy local ingredients
- D.
Snack food should be priced cheaply as per local affordability
Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions given at the end of each passage.
Typically women participate in the labour force at a very high rate in poor rural countries. The participation rate then falls as countries industrialise and move into the middle income class. Finally, if the country grows richer still, more families have the resources for higher education for women and from there they often enter the labour force in large numbers. Usually, economic growth goes hand in hand with emancipation of women. Among rich countries according to a 2015 study, female labour force participation ranges from nearly 80 percent in Switzerland to 70 percent in Germany and less than 60 Percent in the United States and Japan. Only 68 Percent of Canadian omen participated in the workforce in 1990; two decades later that increased to
74 Percent largely due to reforms including tax cuts for second earners and new childcare services. In Netherlands the female labour participation rate doubled since 1980 to 74 Percent as a result of expanded parental leave policies and the spread of flexible, part time working arrangements. In a 2014 survey of 143 emerging countries, the World Bank found that 90 Percent have at least one law that limits the economic opportunities available to women. These laws include bans or limitations on women owning property, opening a bank account, signing a contract, entering a courtroom, travelling alone, driving or controlling family finances. Such restrictions are particularly prevalent in the Middle East and South Asia with the world’s lowest female labour force participation, 26 and 35 percent respectively. According to date available with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), between 2004 and 2011, when the Indian economy grew at a healthy average of about 7 percent, there was a decline in female participation in the country’s labour force from over 35 percent to 25 percent. India also posted the lowest rate of female participation in the workforce among BRIC countries. India’s performance in female workforce participation stood at 27 percent, significantly behind China (64 percent), Brazil (59 percent), Russian Federation (57 percent), and South Africa (45 percent). The number of working women in India had climbed between 2000 and 2005, increasing from 34 percent to 37 percent, but since then the rate of women in the workforce has to fallen to 27 percent as of 2014, said the report citing data from the World Bank. The gap between male and female workforce participation in urban areas in 2011 stood at 40 percent, compared to rural areas where the gap was about 30 percent. However, in certain sectors like financial services, Indian women lead the charge. While only one in 10 Indian companies are led by women, more than half of them are in the financial sector. Today, women head both the top public and private banks in India. Another example is India’s aviation sector, 11.7 percent of India’s 5,100 pilots are women, versus 3 percent worldwide. But these successes only represent a small section of women in the country. India does poorly in comparison to its neighbours despite a more robust economic growth. In comparison to India, women in Bangladesh have increased their participation in the labour market, which is due to the growth of the ready- made garment sector and a push to rural female employment. In 2015, women comprised of
43 percent of the labour force in Bangladesh. The rate has also increased in Pakistan, albeit from a very low starting point, while participation has remained relatively stable in Sri Lanka. Myanmar with 79 percent and Malaysia with 49 percent are also way ahead of India. Lack of access to higher education, fewer job opportunities, the lack of flexibility in working conditions, as well as domestic duties are cited as factors behind the low rates. Marriage significantly reduced the probability of women working by about 8 percent in rural areas and more than twice as much in urban areas, said an Assocham report. ILO attributes this to three factors: increasing educational enrolment, improvement in earning of male workers that discourage women’s economic participation, and lack of employment opportunities at certain levels of skills and qualifications discouraging women to seek work. The hurdles to working women often involve a combination of written laws and cultural norms. Cultures don’t change overnight but laws can. The IMF says that even a small step such as countries granting women the right to open a bank account can lead to substantial increase in female labour force participation over the next seven years. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), even a 10 percent increase in women participating in the workforce can boost gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.3 percent. The OECD recently estimated that eliminating the gender gap would lead to an overall increase in GDP of 12 percent in its member nations between 2015 and 2030. The GDP gains would peak close to 20 percent in both Japan and South Korea and more than 20 percent in Italy. A similar analysis by Booz and Company showed that closing gender gap in emerging countries could yield even larger gains in GDP by 2020, ranging from a 34 percent gain in Egypt to 27 percent in India and 9 percent in Brazil.
According to the above passage, though there are many reasons for low female labour force participation, the most important focus of the passage is on
- A.
Women do not like to work after marriage
- B.
Laws and cultural norms limiting economic opportunities available to women
- C.
Lack of access to higher education resulting in lack of skills and qualification
- D.
Preference for child rearing and household work amongst women
Identify the sentence that most accurately summarizes the message of the above excerpt
- A.
Compared to other countries India has the lowest female labour force participation
- B.
Richer the nation, higher the female labour force participation, therefore nations have to become rich to increase the female labour force participation
- C.
Emerging countries are lagging behind developed countries with regard to the female labour force participation
- D.
Increasing the female labour force participation can have a positive impact on not just the social indicators but also economic growth
According to the IMF what small step can lead to larger impact on increasing female labour force participation
- A.
Providing access to higher education
- B.
Improving childcare services
- C.
Allowing women to open bank accounts
- D.
Providing a safe work environment
According to the information in the above passage between 2004 to 2011, when the Indian economy grew at a healthy average of about 7 percent
- A.
There was a steady increase in female participation in the country’s labour force from over 25 percent to 35 percent
- B.
There was no change in female participation in the country’s labour force and remained at 35 percent
- C.
There was decline in female participation in the country’s labour force from 35 percent to 25 percent
- D.
There was a similar increase in female participation in the country’s labour force from 7 percent to 15 percent
Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions given at the end of each passage.
The Cyclopses according to mythology were a race of bad tempered and rather stupid one eyed giants. Not perhaps a great portend for a new generation of robots. But Andrew Davison a computer scientist at Imperial College, London, thinks one eye is enough for a robot, provided its brain can think fast enough. For a robot to work autonomously it has to understand its environment. Stereoscopic vision, integrating the images from two eyes looking at the same thing from different angles is one approach to achieve this, but it involves a lot of complicated computer processing. The preferred method these days therefore is Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) which uses sensors such as laser based range finders that see by bouncing beams of light off their surroundings and timing the return. Dr. Davison however wants to replace the range finders which are expensive and fiddly with a digital camera, which is small, cheap, and well understood. With this in mind he is developing ways to use a single moving video camera to create continually updated 3D maps that can guide even the most hyperactive robots on its explorations. His technique involves collecting and integrating images taken from different angles as the camera goes on its travels. The trick is to manage to do this in real time, at frame rates of 100-1,000 per second. The shape of the world pops out easily from laser data because it represents a direct contour map of the surrounding area. A camera captures this geometry indirectly and so needs more (and smarter) computation if it is to generate something good enough for a self – directing robot. The answer is a form of triangulation, tracking features such as points and edges from one frame to the next. With enough measurements of the same set of features from different viewpoints, it is possible if you have a fast enough computer program to estimate their positions and thus by inference the location of the moving camera. However, developing such a program is no mean feat. In the milliseconds between successive frames, relevant information from each fresh image must be extracted and fused with the current map to produce an updated version. The higher the frame rate, the less time there is to do this work.
What is the main message of the above passage?
- A.
To explain the technique of SLAM
- B.
To discuss techniques for increasing efficiency of self-guided robots
- C.
To advocate the use of digital cameras
- D.
To highlight the work of the scientist in the area of robotics
What message is the author conveying by drawing attention to a mythical figure and a one eyed robot?
- A.
A robot is uglier than the mythical figure and also less efficient
- B.
Unlike the robot, the mythical figure is uglier but more efficient than the robot because it is one eyed
- C.
Unlike the mythical figure, having one eye does not affect the performance of the robot
- D.
Having both eyes will make the mythical figure less uglier and stupid than the robot
Laser based range finders are more effective than digital cameras because (select the right option)?
i. Laser based range finders directly capture the contour map of the surroundings which enable faster processing
ii. Digital cameras are expensive
iii. Laser based range finders are easier to use
iv. Digital cameras are easy to use but require more computation
- A.
i & ii
- B.
ii & iii
- C.
i & iv
- D.
ii & iv
It is possible to improve the performance of digital camera
- A.
by using images from laser based range finders along with images from digital cameras
- B.
by collecting images from different viewpoints and a computer program for faster processing
- C.
by combining the methodology of SLAM along with images from digital camera
- D.
by calculating the measurements of different contour points and measuring the distance
Use the words in the table below to solve the questions.
Complete the crossword using the words from the above table. There are more words than required
Hint:
1 – Across: native to or confined to a certain region; 1 – Down: balance of forces or interests; 2: inclined to lay down principles as undeniably true; 3: attempting to avoid confrontation or anger, calming or conciliatory; 4: a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly
- A.
1 – Across – ix); 1 – Down – i); 2 – xvi); 3 – xi); 4 – vi)
- B.
1 – Across – iv); 1 – Down – v); 2 – xiv); 3 – xi); 4 – xvii)
- C.
1 – Across – xv); 1 – Down – i); 2 – vi); 3 – iii); 4 – xvii)
- D.
1 – Across – xii); 1 – Down – xiv); 2 – v); 3 - ii); 4 – xi)
The question has explained the meaning of two words from the above table. Identify the correct matching words from the table
a) A formal expression of praise
b) Take up the cause, support
- A.
a)-ii); b)-xvi)
- B.
a)-xvii); b)-ix)
- C.
a)-ii); b)-viii)
- D.
a)-iii); b)-vii)
The question has explained the meaning of two words from the above table. Identify the correct matching words from the table.
a) Devoid of cheer or comfort, dreary
b) Stubbornly preserving, doggedness
- A.
(1) a) vii); b)-xiv)
- B.
a)- vi); b)-xiv)
- C.
a)-x); b)-iv)
- D.
None of the above
The question has explained the meaning of two words from the above table. Identify the correct matching words from the table.
a) Having a softening or soothing effect
b) Verbal abuse, defamation
- A.
a)-xii); b)-ii)
- B.
a)-xvii); b)-iv)
- C.
a)-iii); b)-xviii)
- D.
a)-iii); b)-ix)
Match the words in Column A with their Antonyms in column B
63
- A.
iv)-j; vii)-b; viii)-e; x)-a
- B.
i)-d; iii)-h; viii)-e; v)-f
- C.
vi)-i; iv)-g; iii)-b; ix)-e
- D.
x)-g; iii)-j; ii)-h; vii)-b
64
- A.
vii)-b; x)-a; iii)-j; ii)-h;
- B.
iv)-j; i)-d; iii)-h; ix)-b
- C.
vi)-i; v)-c; ix)-f; iii)-h
- D.
viii)-e; iv)-j; vii)-b; x)-g
Etymological description of the ‘word’ is given in each question. Identify the origin /source of the ‘word’
Debutante (noun)
The origin of the word dates back to early Nineteenth Century. The word is used to describe a female stage actor making her first public performance.
- A.
Portuguese
- B.
Italian
- C.
Greek
- D.
French
Etymological description of the ‘word’ is given in each question. Identify the origin /source of the ‘word’
Obvious (adjective)
It means “frequently met with”. The origin of the word comes from obvius “that is in the way, presenting itself readily, open, exposed, commonplace,” also from obviam (adv.) “in the way”, from ob “against” + viam, accusative of via “way”, meaning “plain to see, evident” is first recorded in 1630.
- A.
Latin
- B.
German
- C.
Hebrew
- D.
Italian
Etymological description of the ‘word’ is given in each question. Identify the origin /source of the ‘word’
Soccer (noun)
The origin of the word dates back to 1889 (socca), later 1891 (socker), 1895 (soccer); originally university slang from a shortened from of Assoc., abbreviation of Association in Football Association.
- A.
French
- B.
English
- C.
Arabic
- D.
Italian
Four words are given in each question, out of which one word is correctly spelt. Find the correctly spelt word.
- A.
Danseus
- B.
Dansueses
- C.
Densuace
- D.
Danseuse
Four words are given in each question, out of which one word is correctly spelt. Find the correctly spelt word.
- A.
Norcoctic
- B.
Permentant
- C.
Pesimist
- D.
Acoustic
In the following passage, fill in the blank spaces with the most appropriate word from the options provided.
Come October and you are burnt by the mid-day Sun. The storm and the sizzle is particularly __70__ as it comes after the relatively cool monsoon months. Though it is hot and muggy, that does not prevent people from coming out on the streets to __71__ the traditional festivals. And it must be shopping time also, colourfully decorated showrooms are __72__ the passerby to let his hair down, splurge and take a __73__ of gifts home for family. After all, the New Year is just around.
- A.
traumatic
- B.
pleasant
- C.
sultry
- D.
fantastic
In the following passage, fill in the blank spaces with the most appropriate word from the options provided.
Come October and you are burnt by the mid-day Sun. The storm and the sizzle is particularly __70__ as it comes after the relatively cool monsoon months. Though it is hot and muggy, that does not prevent people from coming out on the streets to __71__ the traditional festivals. And it must be shopping time also, colourfully decorated showrooms are __72__ the passerby to let his hair down, splurge and take a __73__ of gifts home for family. After all, the New Year is just around.
- A.
herald
- B.
moot
- C.
invite
- D.
boycott
In the following passage, fill in the blank spaces with the most appropriate word from the options provided.
Come October and you are burnt by the mid-day Sun. The storm and the sizzle is particularly __70__ as it comes after the relatively cool monsoon months. Though it is hot and muggy, that does not prevent people from coming out on the streets to __71__ the traditional festivals. And it must be shopping time also, colourfully decorated showrooms are __72__ the passerby to let his hair down, splurge and take a __73__ of gifts home for family. After all, the New Year is just around.
- A.
drawing
- B.
exhorting
- C.
fascinating
- D.
pursuing
In the following passage, fill in the blank spaces with the most appropriate word from the options provided.
Come October and you are burnt by the mid-day Sun. The storm and the sizzle is particularly __70__ as it comes after the relatively cool monsoon months. Though it is hot and muggy, that does not prevent people from coming out on the streets to __71__ the traditional festivals. And it must be shopping time also, colourfully decorated showrooms are __72__ the passerby to let his hair down, splurge and take a __73__ of gifts home for family. After all, the New Year is just around.
- A.
token
- B.
list
- C.
bagful
- D.
placement
In the following questions some parts of the sentence have been jumbled up. Re-arrange these parts which are labelled as (a), (b), (c) and (d) to produce the correct sequence in completing the sentence.
Nelson Mandela modern country in a modern way(a)/ and could run a new(b)/ shifted the beliefs of the people(c)/ so they could heal the racial conflict(d)
- A.
(c), (b), (d), (a)
- B.
(c), (d), (b), (a)
- C.
(b), (a), (c), (d)
- D.
(b), (c), (a), (d)
In the following questions some parts of the sentence have been jumbled up. Re-arrange these parts which are labelled as (a), (b), (c) and (d) to produce the correct sequence in completing the sentence.
The difference and development on the other affects(a)/ in the relationship between death and birth-rates on the one hand(b) but the age structure of the population(c)/ not just the rate of the population growth(d)
- A.
(d), (c), (b), (a)
- B.
(b), (d), (a), (c)
- C.
(b), (a), (d), (c)
- D.
(d), (a), (b), (c)
Fill up the blanks with appropriate word (idiom/colloquial) given in the options.
Mark is always eager to argue about how this business should be run. He seems to have a real _________ on his shoulder about it.
- A.
Head
- B.
Score
- C.
Chip
- D.
Bluebird
Fill up the blanks with appropriate word (idiom/colloquial) given in the options.
Vishnu thought the last problem on the test was a real __________. It was much harder and more complex than any of the previous problems.
- A.
Doozy
- B.
Whooper
- C.
Carp
- D.
Snafu