Reading Comprehension – Test 119

Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the questions out of five alternatives. <br><br> Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will soon present her first budget in unusual circumstances. There hasn't been an occasion in recent memory when so little is known about the actual state of the economy. Former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian joined the growing crowd of sceptics who believe India's official GDP exaggerates economic health. In recent research work, he concluded that India's GDP growth has been overestimated by about 2.5 percentage points per year in five years since 2011-12. When this is juxtaposed with an ongoing slowdown in the official GDP estimate, a high level of unemployment and a demand slump, the unmistakable signal is of an economy in trouble. <br><br> We are not in the midst of a cyclical downswing. India's growth potential has clearly fallen as the benefits of the 1990s economic reforms are behind us. What's needed now is a new generation of economic reforms which will unleash productive forces. A measure of its success will be its ability to absorb much larger numbers from agriculture into more productive sectors such as manufacturing and services. Unlike in the past, unleashing a new wave of reforms is politically doable now as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received an overwhelming mandate to transform India. <br><br> The next wave of reforms must of course include markets for factors of production such as land and labour. Beyond that, Modi must use his unmatched political capital to move India away from a beloved shibboleth that small is ideal. Manufacturing in India is seldom globally competitive as economies of scale are insufficient - even Ganesh idols must be procured from China. It partly stems from an unwarranted level of protection lent to small scale firms which makes it difficult for them to compete on either cost or quality.

Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the questions out of five alternatives. <br><br> Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will soon present her first budget in unusual circumstances. There hasn't been an occasion in recent memory when so little is known about the actual state of the economy. Former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian joined the growing crowd of sceptics who believe India's official GDP exaggerates economic health. In recent research work, he concluded that India's GDP growth has been overestimated by about 2.5 percentage points per year in five years since 2011-12. When this is juxtaposed with an ongoing slowdown in the official GDP estimate, a high level of unemployment and a demand slump, the unmistakable signal is of an economy in trouble. <br><br> We are not in the midst of a cyclical downswing. India's growth potential has clearly fallen as the benefits of the 1990s economic reforms are behind us. What's needed now is a new generation of economic reforms which will unleash productive forces. A measure of its success will be its ability to absorb much larger numbers from agriculture into more productive sectors such as manufacturing and services. Unlike in the past, unleashing a new wave of reforms is politically doable now as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received an overwhelming mandate to transform India. <br><br> The next wave of reforms must of course include markets for factors of production such as land and labour. Beyond that, Modi must use his unmatched political capital to move India away from a beloved shibboleth that small is ideal. Manufacturing in India is seldom globally competitive as economies of scale are insufficient - even Ganesh idols must be procured from China. It partly stems from an unwarranted level of protection lent to small scale firms which makes it difficult for them to compete on either cost or quality.

What estimation has Arvind Subramanian given about the growth rate of India?

Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the questions out of five alternatives. <br><br> Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will soon present her first budget in unusual circumstances. There hasn't been an occasion in recent memory when so little is known about the actual state of the economy. Former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian joined the growing crowd of sceptics who believe India's official GDP exaggerates economic health. In recent research work, he concluded that India's GDP growth has been overestimated by about 2.5 percentage points per year in five years since 2011-12. When this is juxtaposed with an ongoing slowdown in the official GDP estimate, a high level of unemployment and a demand slump, the unmistakable signal is of an economy in trouble. <br><br> We are not in the midst of a cyclical downswing. India's growth potential has clearly fallen as the benefits of the 1990s economic reforms are behind us. What's needed now is a new generation of economic reforms which will unleash productive forces. A measure of its success will be its ability to absorb much larger numbers from agriculture into more productive sectors such as manufacturing and services. Unlike in the past, unleashing a new wave of reforms is politically doable now as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received an overwhelming mandate to transform India. <br><br> The next wave of reforms must of course include markets for factors of production such as land and labour. Beyond that, Modi must use his unmatched political capital to move India away from a beloved shibboleth that small is ideal. Manufacturing in India is seldom globally competitive as economies of scale are insufficient - even Ganesh idols must be procured from China. It partly stems from an unwarranted level of protection lent to small scale firms which makes it difficult for them to compete on either cost or quality.

What is needed to unleash productive forces?