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A leading Indian industrialist in a recent article on ways to strengthen…

NIFT 2017 · English Language and Comprehension · 5 questions

A leading Indian industrialist in a recent article on ways to strengthen India's economy has drawn attention to the problems of inflation and industrial sickness among other things. One of the main reasons for industrial sickness in our country has been the fact that business and industrial managers have not been able to look beyond the immediate future. They have been too preoccupied with their attempts to report favourable results for the current year - higher profits and larger dividends to the shareholders. The planning horizon has hardly ever exceeded five years. Investments have been inadequate for new plants and towards diversification and expansions. Modernisation and asset creation has seriously lagged behind. In business, growth is needed for survival, one has to grow if one does not want to be wiped out. This is particularly true today with liberalisation of imports and increasing competition. Moreover, growth and higher productivity create employment, and higher employment creates larger markets both for industrial and consumer products. It was Henry Ford who brought home the need for the creation of a larger and a more stable middle class, that is, a larger number of people who can afford more and more of goods and services. Even after seventy years of independence our industrialists have not been able to shed the petty shopkeeper's mentality and our highly educated management has tagged along merrily and without concern.

Question 1

Which of the following shortcomings of Indian industrialists has been highlighted by the author?
  1. A. They invest an unreasonably high amount on diversification and expansion.
  2. B. They are more concerned for immediate net gains than for developmental activities.
  3. C. They are reluctant to maintain the shopkeeper mentality
  4. D. They are less concerned for payment of dividends to shareholders.

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Question 2

The leading industrialist attributes industrial sickness mainly to
  1. A. lacunae in five-year plans
  2. B. preoccupations of managers with matters unrelated to business
  3. C. higher profits and larger dividends to shareholders
  4. D. lack of foresight among managers

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Question 3

Why did Henry Ford stress the need for a more stable middle class?
  1. A. They are mostly service oriented
  2. B. They do not have shopkeeper mentality
  3. C. They can afford to buy more goods and services
  4. D. They are most unstable

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Question 4

The planning horizon has hardly ever exceeded five years implies
  1. A. planning should not be for a period of less than five years
  2. B. the planning process is very time consuming
  3. C. five-year period is too short for successful implementation of plans
  4. D. planning should take care of all probable ups and downs in the next five-year period

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Question 5

In order to improve the condition of Indian industries, the industrialist should do all of the following except
  1. A. giving up the narrow mentality which very small shopkeepers generally have
  2. B. striving to earn long-term profits
  3. C. encouraging competition from industrialists within the country and from abroad
  4. D. resorting to long-term planning for industrial growth and expansion in diverse fields

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