Comprehension Questions and Answers

Direction for [ Question No: 31 To 34 ] :

Read the passage given below, and answer the questions based on your understanding of the passage.

With the realization across the world that the global economy is going to be increasingly knowledge-based, science and technology have become the subject of discussion not just in classical ministries but also in ministries as diverse as commerce, industry and finance, and in case of United States, even in the State Department. In India, the Prime Minister has made frequent statements about the need to step up scientific research in the country. Several large companies, including multinationals are outsourcing R & D programmes to India. This is partly because scientists are cheaper in India dollar for dollar, but also because India has a large pool of trained scientists. Industry data shows that R & D is now the third-largest segment in India's export of Information Technology (IT) services. Foreign companies have invested over $ 1 billion in research operations in India from 1998 to 2003 and another estimated $ 5 billion are in the pipeline. The United States is the biggest investor followed by Germany, France, Denmark and UK. Japan and China have also begun to invest in research programmes in India. Most foreign investment is being directed to research in computer sciences, pharmaceuticals, molecular chemistry, drug discovery, engineering and automotive design and biotechnology, including plant breeding. Whereas, flow of foreign investments has enthused research institutions that are targeted for collaboration, there is also cause for concern. Although, India now attracts considerable foreign investment in R & D, it has no system in place for assessing how this investment is affecting the country's technological development. Nor is there any mechanism to monitor the impact of such investment on aspects such as skill development, sectoral capacity building etc. Do such foreign - funded research programmes benefit only the scientists and technicians in the form of better salaries and perks or do they also produce benefits for the country as a whole ?

Direction for [ Question No: 35 To 39 ] :

Direction : Read the passage below and answer the question based on your understanding of the passage. The

functions of local learners in extension programmes vary from place to place and in accordance with the nature and scope of the job to be performed. In a country like India, where a majority of the population is not educated, the local leader has to function as a medium of education for others. The overall function of local leaders is to lead in different ways under a variety of situations. The functions of local leaders are varied, and depend upon specific group functions and the personal abilities they possess. Their role and functions are highly related to each other, and are sometimes mixed so much together that it becomes difficult to differentiate between the two. The major functions of local leaders are to set an example for others to follow. Local leaders are those who show special interest and initiative in a local programme. They are the people who catch new ideas first. They serve the community without a profit motive. The satisfaction they get from their own action is their only reward and incentive. They do have other motives for taking initiative, but those are part of the psychological aspect of motivation. Groups are dependent on leaders and without them they are helpless; leadership is associated with responsibility, what the leader does or fails to do directly affects the welfare of the group. The action of the group also affects the leader. The group usually helps him by according him respect and power. Mutual confidence permits the leader to have wide discretion and broad powers. What a local leader can easily do may require considerable time and effort for another.

Direction for [ Question No: 40 To 40 ] :

Read the passage below and answer the questions, that follow based on your understanding of the passage :

According to the view of the committee for Review of NPE 1986, almost half of the children in the age group of 6-14 either do not enter the school at all or drop-out at an early stage, since they find school either boring, irrelevant, or threatening. Almost another 40 to 45% of them have to stay away from school due to strong economic compulsions and the demands of home and family life.

By non-formalising the school system, the rigidities of the formal school system may be removed, even when the quality of education in the school has thus improved, segments of child population may still remain outside the school system on account of economic compulsions or their special social situations. To cater their requirements non-formal education will have to be in operation.

The Non-formal Education (NFE) Programme, as an alternative and supportive system for formal education, was developed and introduced in 1979 - 80 as a centrally assisted scheme in ten educationally backward States. Its main goal is to bring the unenrolled and drop-out children of age group 6 - 14 into the fold of primary education in order to achieve the universalisation of elementary education. Eventhough this programme is being implemented throughout India the demand remains unfulfilled.