Directions (1-10): Read the following passage and attempt the questions as directed.
Start-ups troubled by the so-called angel tax may soon receive some concession from the government. On Monday, the Centre set up a five-member working committee to look into revising the norms of the angel tax (A)............. on start-ups. The tax, which was first introduced in 2012 (B)........................................ of private unlisted companies at bloated prices, has caused a lot of anguish among start-up investors in the country. (C) Start-up owners have complained that income tax officials have asked many start-ups to cough on money when they try to attract capital into their entities by issuing new shares. (D) For its part, the IT department launder that start-ups may be used as convenient tools to fears illegally acquired money, so a tax on investments beyond a certain threshold is necessary to deter such shady operations. But while the intent of such an angel tax may be justifiable, the arbitrary nature of it means the cost of unintended consequences could be larger than the supposed benefits. In trying to curb money-laundering, Section 56(2)(viib) of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961 gives income tax officials a free hand to harass even genuine start-ups looking to (E) raise investments for their growth. Under the Act, the IT department is free to arbitrarily (F)........... the fair value of a company’s share and tax start-ups if the price at which their new shares are sold to investors is higher than the fair value of these shares. The broad-brush tax on all investments means an unnecessary cost is imposed on the wider start-up community simply because of the lack of better means at the government’s disposal (G)...........................
(H) The committee set up by the government will, among other things, consider raising the threshold beyond which new investments into start-ups will be taxed. (I) It is expected that start-ups with aggregate paid-up share capital and share premium of less than Rs. 25 crore, against the previous threshold of only Rs. 10 crore, will not be taxed while attracting new investment. This would definitely make life easier to a certain extent for angel investors and start-ups. But it will not (J) address the real problem with the angel tax, which has to do with the unbridled power that it vests in the hands of the income tax authorities. Investors, foreign or domestic, may become wary of investing in new ideas when they are taxed while risking money on untested ventures. So the government should look to withdraw the angel tax and focus instead on building the capability to better identify and rein in illegal wealth. Otherwise it risks killing the nascent start-up ecosystem in the country.
Q1. Which of the following words given in the options should come at the place marked as (A) in the above paragraph to make it grammatically correct and meaningful. Also, the word should fill in the blanks given in the two sentences given below to make them contextually correct and meaningful.
(I) The king ………………. a fine upon them, and the wife of Pheroras Herod's brother paid it on their behalf.
(II) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said it has ……………………. a total penalty of Rs. 2.2 crore on private sector lender Axis Bank in two separate cases.
imposed
validity
produce
urges
applying
Solution:
'Impose' means force (an unwelcome decision or ruling) on someone. Hence, it perfectly fits in all the blanks.
Q2. Which of the following phrases should fill the blank in (B) to make it contextually correct and meaningful?
to curbing money-laundering through the sale of shares
to curb money-laundering through the sale of shares
to curb money-launder through the sale of shares
to curb money-laundering of the sale of shares
to curb money-laundering within the sale of shares
Solution:
"to curb money-laundering through the sale of shares" is grammatically and contextualy correct.
Q3. In the passage given, a sentence (C) is given in BOLD. There may or may not be an error in one part of the sentence. Choose the part which has an error in it as your answer. If there in no error then choose option (E) as your answer.
Start-up owners have complained that income tax
officials have asked many start-ups to cough on
money when they try to attract capital
into their entities by issuing new shares.
No Error
Solution:
Error is in option b. Cough something up (or cough up) means give something reluctantly, especially money or information that is due or required.
Q4. The sentence given in (D) has four words given in BOLD. Amongst the given BOLD words which of the following must replace each other to make the sentence contextually correct and meaningful
launder-acquired
fears-launder
deter-fears
acquired-deter
No change required
Solution:
"fears-launder" should replace each other to form a meaningful sentence.
Q5. A word is given in bold in (E). Choose the word which should replace the word given in bold to make the sentence correct and meaningful. If no change is required, choose option (E) as your answer.
invest
changes
managed
prevent
No change required
Solution:
No change required
Q6. Which of the following words given in the options should come at the place marked as (F) in the above paragraph to make it grammatically correct and meaningful. Also, the word should fill in the blanks given in the two sentences given below to make them contextually correct and meaningful.
(I) A pass mark is used to ……………… whether students are eligible for a grammar school education.
(II) The rulers of the city met to ……………………… what should be done with the corn.
involved
prejudice
amaze
decide
engulf
Solution:
'Decide' fits in all the blanks correctly.
Q7. Which of the following phrases should fill the blank in (G) to make it contextually correct and meaningful?
to tackle black money.
to tackles black money.
to tackling black money.
to tackled black money.
for tackle black money.
Solution:
"to tackle black money" is both grammatically and contextually correct.
Q8. In the passage given, a sentence (H) is given in BOLD. There may or may not be an error in one part of the sentence. Choose the part which has an error in it as your answer. If there is no error then choose option (E) as your answer.
The committee set up by the government will,
among other things, consider raising
the threshold beyond which new investments
into start-ups will be taxed.
No Error
Solution:
No Error
Q9. The sentence given in (I) has four words given in BOLD. Amongst the given BOLD words which of the following must replace each other to make the sentence contextually correct and meaningful
aggregate-attracting
share-against
against-attracting
share-attracting
No change required
Solution:
No change required
Q10. A word is given in bold in (J). Choose the word which should replace the word given in bold without changing the meaning of the sentence. If no change is required, choose option (E) as your answer.
overtake
indulge
endorsed
mingle
undertake
Solution:
Address: think about and begin to deal with (an issue or problem).
Undertake: commit oneself to and begin (an enterprise or responsibility); take on.
Directions (11-15): Read the following passage and attempt the questions as directed.
Renaming places has been a notable passion of the National Democratic Alliance government. Roads have been renamed after national heroes and cities sought to be returned to names from the (A)........... past. Indeed, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s last executive orders of 2018 was to rename three islands of Andaman and Nicobar, one of them, Ross Island, after independence icon Subhash Chandra Bose. The Andamans are infamous for their British Raj penal colonies, collectively dubbed Kala Pani (black waters) in Hindi (B)................................. no return—the kind of place no one would visit willingly. That word is still in use in India, 70 years after independence, but mainly among government officials, to describe job transfers to the more remote parts of India. (C) Job transfers are a huge matter for governments and their employees, a source of constant worried for employees and apparent satisfaction for governments. (D) One obvious reason is the uneven development of this massive country, which means that you can be living in a bungalow in the centre of a metropolis one day, with your children going to fine schools and find yourself in the boondocks tomorrow with crumbling accommodation, failing schools and no shopping malls. The other, less obvious, reason is that governments tend to wield the matter of transfers cynically, as a tool for punishment, injecting an element of unpredictability into an official’s career. And this, in turn, means that a government official—duty-bound to accept a posting—can spend their entire career (E) fretting about one question alone: where the hell next?
Q11. Which of the following words given in the options should come at the place marked as (A) in the above paragraph to make it grammatically correct and meaningful. Also, the word should fill in the blanks given in the two sentences given below to make them contextually correct and meaningful.
(I) She had missed the ………………….. blooms of the Mediterranean spring.
(II) Kara stared up at the …………………….. sunset, amazed by how beautiful the setting sun looked over the mountains.
glorious
horrid
miserable
magnificence
None of the Above
Solution:
Glorious: having a striking beauty or splendour.
Q12. Which of the following phrases should fill the blank in (B) to make it contextually correct and meaningful?
to evokes a sense of a hellish place of
to evoke a sensational of a hellish place of
to evoke a sense a hellish place of
to evoke a sense of a hellish place of
to evoke a sense in a hellish place of
Solution:
"to evoke a sense of a hellish place of" is both grammatically and contextually correct.
Q13. In the passage given, a sentence (C) is given in BOLD. There may or may not be an error in one part of the sentence. Choose the part which has an error in it as your answer. If there in no error then choose option (E) as your answer.
Job transfers are a huge matter for
governments and their employees, a source of
constant worried for employees and
apparent satisfaction for governments.
No Error
Solution:
Use 'worry' and not 'worried'.
Q14. The sentence given in (D) has four words given in BOLD. Amongst the given BOLD words which of the following must replace each other to make the sentence contextually correct and meaningful
reason-massive
massive-crumbling
living-massive
reason-living
No change required
Solution:
No change required
Q15. A word is given in bold in (E). Choose the word which should replace the word given in bold without changing the meaning of the sentence. If no change is required, choose option (E) as your answer.
comforting
worrying
disturb
concern
Both (a) and (b)
Solution:
Fret: be constantly or visibly anxious.