A Brief Look At Indian Economy Reading Answers

Feb 8, 2023

A Brief Look At Indian Economy Reading Answers contains a write up about theIndian economy. A Brief Look At Indian Economy Reading Answers contains a total of 8 paragraphs. Related to the paragraphs are 13 questions. Candidates in this IELTS Section will be shown various question types with clear instructions. The paragraphs contain information about the Indian economy of the earlier times. Allso, what factors contributed to the rise of the Indian economy have also been mentioned.

A Brief Look At Indian Economy Reading Answers is an IELTS Reading passage which comprises two types of questions:complete the sentence and Associate the paragraph with headings. Candidates are required to read each paragraph attentively and thoroughly. The interpretation of each paragraph is must. An overall theme of the paragraph is required to answer the questions. The important information must be remembered. Each paragraph must be interpreted and understood. To gain proficiency, candidates can practice from IELTS reading practice test.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

A Brief Look At Indian Economy Reading Answers

Only a few years ago, the Indian economy was not that bright as it is today. There was skepticism about it even at the start of the current century. It was then that a renowned daily wrote in general about it: while we all remain preoccupied with politics and state - level troubles, certain extremely disturbing portends on the economic front have gone altogether unnoticed. The establishment naturally dislikes the negative side to be highlighted. The business magnates feel embarrassed to see their own pet projects go haywire. Instead, the emphasis is on applying a still higher dose of the same medicine. Thus, the truth about the state of the economy gets buried under layers of unreal projections and misleading interpretations. Contrary to the public perception, things have begun really turning topsy-turvy. Every economic indicator tells stories of stagnation or downward trend.
Things have drastically changed now, even though it would be grossly wrong to be complacent or over optimistic. We should not summarily dismiss the warning, albeit now it may seem unnecessary: some years back Turkey was forced into a similar crisis after it had allowed unrestricted imports following its joining the European Union. The imports grew at 30 per cent a year whereas the export growth was only 10 per cent. Though as a price the EU brought some foreign direct investment, this did not make up for the subsequent destruction of its domestic industry and massive unemployment with all its social and criminal consequences. We cannot forget that even the worst happened in Mexico, and economies like Thailand which had shown a greatly rising trend at one time seemed to slip down suddenly.
However, even earlier an expert said: economic reforms in India will continue irrespective of which party comes to power in the coming general elections: Liberalization and globalization are today dictated by the 'zeitgeist' - (the spirit of the times), which were long overdue and which were more powerful than policies of any government. The economic transformation had come after 40 years of India's history as a republic when "the so- called leaders suffocated the people by state ownership and state control. But ever since the new industrial policy of 1991 was enunciated, a metamorphosis began ending the period of collective insanity.
Three main reasons are attributed to Indian's inability to make tremendous progress in the export sector: First, Indian industry is constantly subjected to the compelling pull of a large domestic market which makes exports a much less attractive proposition. Unlike small countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, India need not have an export-led growth. Second, India was an over-protected economy for a long time and it was only in 1991 that things began to change. The result is that India's mollycoddled manufacturing sector has become inefficient, producing sub- standard goods which sell high profit in a captive market. Third, India's rotten infrastructure is not at all equipped for a high export growth rate. The cost of transport by road and rail is high compared to our competitors. Turning around our ship in Indian ports varies from four to seven days, whereas it is hardly twelve hours in Sri Lanka and four to five hours in South Korea and Singapore. The container facility is not available in time. Loading and unloading of air cargo is too slow to meet international delivery schedules. And the whole system is reeking of corruption, with exporters having to pay "speed money" at every step.
We must remember that now many of the bottlenecks in the streamline are being removed and efforts are being made to streamline the exports. A new culture of producing high quality goods for exports is being created. There is still the sad aspect that corruption in the system, as in almost all fields of society, is not being satisfactorily controlled. In spite of certain negative points being still prevalent while some innovations have also been taken, the Indian exports have for quite some time past been showing great signs of recovery, as is clear from the newspaper reports which occasionally depict the situation.
As for the present it has become a fashion to boast of India's economic growth, and the political leaders both at the center and in the states are reaping rich dividends in one or the other form by orchestrating this mantra, and in this, now even Left parties that previously frowned at reforms, are not lagging behind. However, the learned reviewer of a book on India's economy has thus expressed his views: the economic boom, which our leaders and media luminaries never tire of celebrating, appears an entirely remote abstraction to many lay people. The magic of soaring Sensex figures, which put stars in the eyes of the dreamers of Dalal Street, hardly seems related to any material progress in living standards even for the majority of the middle class, let alone the masses.
While dwelling on the NDA government's "India Shining" theme a leading economist said that the false presentation of this aspect which was not all-inclusive became a cause for the government's defeat. He says: the previous government went into the collection under the slogan "Indian Shining" suggesting that its economic policies had produced results which justified its re- election. The electorate clearly thought otherwise. Such growth that occurred was also seen as benefiting only a few; the software and business process outsourcing sectors were clearly "shining" but performance in critical areas such as agriculture was unforgivably poor. Another economist looking with equal eyes at India's and China's "dramatic" rise explains: Indian and Chinese elites borrow no less eagerly than their western counterparts from the discourse of neo-orientalism as they attribute India and China's recent economic growth to the free markets they embraced in the 1980s and 1990s. But even a casual glance at their claims will reveal them to be caricatures of a complex political and economic reality.
Nobody can deny that now India is progressing rapidly, the growth rate hovering around 9 percent. But it needs to be further accelerated. According to an expert, growth will be possible by public and private investment and technological intervention. Food and agriculture will continue to be the growth drivers of the North. What is needed is innovation in product mix and cutting- edge technologies. He was talking about the possibilities of economic progress through export of food items. He further said: we found that a number of agencies (over 30) were involved in allowing export of agri- commodities and the exporters have to fill innumerable documents. The committee has now recommended that a single export document be introduced for exporters which will be electronically filed. When the documents will be electronically filed, various government agencies can pick up the information they require. It has also been recommended to set up a nodal agency to deal with these agri-exports which will have simplified documentation and procedure. We must, however, remember that any slacking in agricultural growth can be suicidal for India: India's domestic market is very large and any shortage of food items can cause widespread unrest, especially among the lower classes of society. Fortunately the past year has witnessed an unprecedented agricultural growth, being 3.5 per cent, which is close to the targeted 4 per cent.
One bane of the economic reforms is said to be the creation of vast inequalities of income. An expert says: Since the economic reforms began, the top 20 per cent have also benefited from tax reforms which has meant lower and lower taxes. The politicians in power have favored the corporate sector and today the top echelons of society comprise top bureaucrats, politicians, business magnets and executives. India's corporation sector has been flourishing in recent years and Indian corporate executives, according to the economist, London, are the highest paid in the world because of high/monetary compensation and a lower cost of living. But there are only a few thousand in number and are busy with jobs- hopping for higher and higher pay.
However, Swraj Paul has a different option. He spells out the mantra for growth, Poverty alleviation and increasing employment avenues. According to him, the right action is that which benefits over one million people of India. What we really need is efficiency which will come with competition. It means the more the people can afford the more the products. The government should not allow abuse by allowing monopolies, that's why competition is necessary. There is not too much difference between private and public monopolies. Reforms do not create unemployment. They will lead to more employment, bring costs down and create our bigger market.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 28-40

The reading passage "A Brief Look at the Indian Economy" on the following pages has nine paragraphs (A-1).

Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B-H from the list of headings below:

Write the appropriate numbers (i-xii) in boxes 28-34 on your answer sheet.

NB: There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.

List of headings

Layman's Distance from 'India Shining' myth.
China-a role model for India.
Hindrances in India's Export Efforts.
Need for efficiency through competition
Warming Lessons from Turkey, Mexico & Thailand.
Corporate executives and economic reforms.
Skepticism about the Indian economy.
And of the Period of Collective Insanity.
India's inability to beat even small countries.
Signs of recovery in Exports.
Possibility of economic progress in export of food items.&
Corruption- the root cause of stagnation in the Indian economy.

Example:

Answer

Paragraph A
(vii)

Paragraph I
(iv)

Paragraph B

Answer: v
Supporting Statement: We should not summarily dismiss the warning, albeit now it may seem unnecessary: some years back Turkey was forced into a similar crisis after it had allowed unrestricted imports following its joining the European Union. We cannot forget that even the worst happened in Mexico, and economies like Thailand which had shown a greatly rising trend at one time seemed to slip down suddenly.&
Keywords: Turkey, Mexico and Thailand&
Keyword Location: Paragraph B
Explanation: As per paragraph B, it has been clearly mentioned that even while it might seem needless at this point, we shouldn't dismiss the warning out of hand: Turkey was driven into a similar problem a few years ago after allowing unfettered imports as a result of entering the EU. We must remember that even the worst may happen in Mexico, and that economies like Thailand, which had once shown a strong upward trend, suddenly appeared to be falling. So, the correct answer is v as per the explanation provided.&

Paragraph C

Answer: viii
Supporting Statement: The economic transformation had come after 40 years of India's history as a republic when "the so- called leaders suffocated the people by state ownership and state control. But ever since the new industrial policy of 1991 was enunciated, a metamorphosis began ending the period of collective insanity.
Keywords: Economic transformation, collective industry
Keyword Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: As per paragraph C, it has been mentioned that after 40 years of India's republican history, "the so-called leaders smothered the people by state ownership and state control," the economic change had occurred. But after the 1991 announcement of the new industrial policy, a transformation that ended the time of widespread collective insanity. So, the correct answer is viii as per the explanation provided.&

Paragraph D

Answer: iii
Supporting Statement: Three main reasons are attributed to Indian's inability to make tremendous progress in the export sector: First, Indian industry is constantly subjected to the compelling pull of a large domestic market which makes exports a much less attractive proposition. Second, India was an over-protected economy for a long time and it was only in 1991 that things began to change.Third, India's rotten infrastructure is not at all equipped for a high export growth rate.&
Keywords: Indian’s inability, export sector
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: As per paragraph D, it has been mentioned that India's failure to make significant strides in the export sector is linked to three primary factors: First, a sizable domestic market constantly exerts a powerful pull on Indian business, making exports a far less appealing option. Second, India's economy was overly sheltered for a very long time; it wasn't until 1991 that things started to alter. Third, India's shoddy infrastructure is utterly unprepared for a rapid expansion in exports. So, the correct answer is iii as per the explanation provided.&

Paragraph E

Answer: x
Supporting Statement: now many of the bottlenecks in the streamline are being removed and efforts are being made to streamline the exports. A new culture of producing high quality goods for exports is being created. There is still the sad aspect that corruption in the system, as in almost all fields of society, is not being satisfactorily controlled.
Keywords: Bottlenecks, exports
Keyword Location: Paragraph E
Explanation: As per paragraph E, it has been mentioned that the exports, various bottlenecks in the streamline are now being eliminated. It is becoming more popular to produce high-quality goods for export. The unfortunate reality is that corruption in the system, as well as in practically all spheres of society, is still not being adequately regulated. So, the correct answer is x as per the explanation provided.&

Paragraph F

Answer: i
Supporting Statement: He says: the previous government went into the collection under the slogan "Indian Shining" suggesting that its economic policies had produced results which justified its re- election.
Keywords: Indian shining
Keyword Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: As per paragraph F, it has been mentioned that a renowned economist claimed, in reference to the NDA government's "India Shining" theme, that the misleading representation of this component, which was not inclusive, became a reason for the government's defeat. The previous administration entered the race with the slogan "Indian Shining," which implied that its economic policies had yielded results that justified its re-election. So, the correct answer is i as per the explanation provided.&

Paragraph G

Answer: xi
Supporting Statement: Nobody can deny that now India is progressing rapidly, the growth rate hovering around 9 percent. But it needs to be further accelerated. According to an expert, growth will be possible by public and private investment and technological intervention. Food and agriculture will continue to be the growth drivers of the North.
Keywords: Growth rate
Keyword Location: Paragraph G
Explanation: As per paragraph G, it has been mentioned that there is no denying that India is currently progressing quickly, with a growth rate of about 9%. But it needs to be expedited much further. Growth will be made feasible, in the opinion of the expert, by both governmental and private investment, as well as technology involvement. The North's economic engine will continue to be food and agriculture. So, the correct answer is xi as per the explanation provided.&

Paragraph H

Answer: vi
Supporting Statement: India's corporation sector has been flourishing in recent years and Indian corporate executives, according to the economist, London, are the highest paid in the world because of high/monetary compensation and a lower cost of living. But there are only a few thousand in number and are busy with jobs- hopping for higher and higher pay.
Keywords: India’s corporate sector
Keyword Location: Paragraph H
Explanation: As per paragraph H, it has been mentioned that due to their high monetary pay and reduced cost of living, Indian corporate leaders are reportedly the highest paid in the world. India's corporate sector has been thriving in recent years. However, there are just a few thousand of them, and they are all working multiple jobs for progressively better income. So, the correct answer is vi as per the paragraph H and explanation provided above.&

Question 35 to 40

Using the information in the passage, complete the chart below:

Write your answer in the boxes 35 - 40 on your answer sheet.

Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer

Example

The skeptical view of Indian economy is that the

The interpretations are

ANSWER - misleading

There were 35.............. that played havoc with the Turkish economy.

Answer: Unrestricted imports&
Supporting Statement: We should not summarily dismiss the warning, albeit now it may seem unnecessary: some years back Turkey was forced into a similar crisis after it had allowed unrestricted imports following its joining the European Union. The imports grew at 30 per cent a year whereas the export growth was only 10 per cent.
Keywords: Turkey, imports
Keyword Location: Paragraph B
Explanation: As per paragraph B, it has been mentioned that while it might seem needless at this point, we shouldn't dismiss the warning out of hand: Turkey was driven into a similar problem a few years ago after allowing unfettered imports as a result of entering the EU. While export growth was barely 10%, import growth was 30% annually. So, the correct answer is unrestricted imports as per the explanation provided.&

It is the zeitgeist which is now dictating 36...............

Answer: Liberalization and globalization&
Supporting Statement: economic reforms in India will continue irrespective of which party comes to power in the coming general elections: Liberalization and globalization are today dictated by the 'zeitgeist' - (the spirit of the times), which were long overdue and which were more powerful than policies of any government.
Keywords: Zeitgeist, economic reforms
Keyword Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: As per paragraph C, it has been mentioned that no matter whatever party wins the upcoming general elections, India's economic reforms will continue: The "zeitgeist" (the spirit of the times), which was long overdue and was more potent than any government's policy, is what drives liberalization and globalization today. So, the correct answer is liberalization and globalization as per the explanation provided.

The new industrial policy was started in India in 37.......

Answer: 1991
Supporting Statement: The economic transformation had come after 40 years of India's history as a republic when "the so- called leaders suffocated the people by state ownership and state control. But ever since the new industrial policy of 1991 was enunciated, a metamorphosis began ending the period of collective insanity.
Keywords: Economic transformations&
Keyword Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: As per paragraph C, it has been mentioned that the country of India had been a republic for 40 years before the economic change, during which time "the so-called leaders strangled the people through state ownership and state control." However, a transformation that ended the time of widespread madness started as soon as the new industrial policy of 1991 was announced. So, the correct answer is 1991 as per the explanation provided.&

India's export proportion loses luster because of its having a 38……………&

Answer: Large domestic market&
Supporting Statement: Indian industry is constantly subjected to the compelling pull of a large domestic market which makes exports a much less attractive proposition. Unlike small countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, India need not have an export-led growth.
Keywords: Indian industry, domestic market
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: As per paragraph D, it has been mentioned that exports are far less appealing since the powerful pull of a sizable home market is continuously exerting pressure on Indian industry. Contrary to smaller nations like South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, India does not necessarily need to have export-led growth. So, the correct answer is the large domestic market as per the explanation provided.&

India's and China's "dramatic"rise only present 39............... of a particular type of economy.

Answer: Caricatures&
Supporting Statement: India's and China's "dramatic" rise explains: Indian and Chinese elites borrow no less eagerly than their western counterparts from the discourse of neo-orientalism as they attribute India and China's recent economic growth to the free markets they embraced in the 1980s and 1990s. But even a casual glance at their claims will reveal them to be caricatures of a complex political and economic reality.
Keywords: India and China
Keyword Location: Paragraph G
Explanation: As per paragraph G, it has been mentioned that the "dramatic" ascent of India and China explains: Indian and Chinese elites take from the ideology of neo-orientalism no less avidly than their western counterparts, attributing India as well as China's latest economic growth to the market economics they embraced in the the 1980s and 1990s. However, a cursory examination of their statements will show that they are caricatures of a nuanced political and economic reality. So, the correct answer is caricatures as per the explanation provided.&

The job of most highly paid Indian corporate executives seems only to be 40....................... nothing more.

Answer: Job hopping
Supporting Statement: India's corporation sector has been flourishing in recent years and Indian corporate executives, according to the economist, London, are the highest paid in the world because of high/monetary
compensation and a lower cost of living. But there are only a few thousand in number and are busy with jobs- hopping for higher and higher pay.
Keywords: India;s corporation sector
Keyword Location: Paragraph H
Explanation: As per paragraph H, it has been mentioned that due to their high monetary pay and reduced cost of living, Indian corporate leaders are reportedly the highest paid in the world. India's corporate sector has been thriving in recent years. However, there are just a few thousand of them, and they are all working multiple jobs for progressively better income. So, the correct answer is job hopping as per the explanation provided.&

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