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7.
Though the last twenty-five years have seen China dazzle the world with its excellent economic performance it has shied away from playing the kind of active role in international affairs that would seen commensurate with its economic weight. This is because traditionally China’s politics have been defined by the need for economic development above all else. In the past China’s authorities have tended to downplay the country’s international clout, choosing to stress instead its development country status and limited military capabilities. Such modest rhetoric was intended to allay the fears that China’s rise was causing across its immediate neighborhood. That Beijing is finally acknowledging its status as a major player in the international system is evidenced by the fact that the president has formally development a theory of international relations; the concept of harmonious world. The concept, encompassing broad notions of multilateralism, prosperity for all through common development and tolerance for diversity has left world opinion perplexed. These are commendable objectives but the theory is short on specifics regarding the means to achieve them.
China’s recent willingness to be a more active player internationally stems from complex factors. The country’s economic strength – having acquired the largest foreign exchange reserves in the world – is undeniable and reports favour it to be the largest economy in the next quarter of a century. For sustained double digit economic digit economic growth China thus has no choice but to become more active internationally. Moreover as a major proportion of the oil and other natural resources that China needs to feed its growing economy are imported Beijing has to aggressively woo the countries rich in energy resources, which also represent emerging markets for Chinese products. To ensure a stable security environment within the region and thus facilitate economic growth China played an active role in facilitating negotiations with North Korea. Destabilization of a potential flashpoint like the Korean peninsula would lead to a flood of refugees crossing the border, interrupting careful plans economic rejuvenation of China’s North – East. China’s growing influence has caused a shift in the geopolitical status quo and its influence is beginning to replace that of the United States and European powers in Africa. China‘s new diplomacy though has had its share of critics who have expressed their unease at China’s military modernization programme and its willingness to deal with regimes widely condemned as corrupt and oppressive. Despite this when the Africa was in need of aid and infrastructure or the US needed help in negotiating with Korea they turned to China. By taking a lead in a variety of international and regional forums, initiating bilateral and military exchange and dispensing aid and technical assistance in parts of the world where traditional powers are cautious to tread China has signaled that its days of sitting on the sidelines content to let other shape world affairs are emphatically over.[1] What has been the fallout of China’s increased participation in world affairs?
(1) International scrutiny of its economic policies
(2) Growth of corruption among its politicians
(3) Its influence and prestige grow substantially.
(4) Its growth rate has stabilized
(5) None of these[2] Why has China traditionally been a passive spectator in global affairs?
(1) To safeguard its oil resources
(2) To conceal its economic predicament
(3) Economic dominance of the US
(4) To maintain security in its vicinity
(5) To focus on domestic economic growth[3] Which of the following best describes China’s international status?
(1) Cause of insecurity among developing nations
(2) Largest economy in the world
(3) Largest donor of aid to developing countries
(4) Pioneer of implementing a “harmonious world” philosophy
(5) None of these[4] The main purpose behind Beijing’s intervention in North Korea is to –
(1) Ensure that the US acknowledges China’s growing military influence
(2) Prevent any hindrances to its domestic economic development programmes
(3) Protect its financial investment in neighbouring countries
(4) Provide humanitarian assistance to one of its strongest allies Korea
(5) None of these[5] Which of the following CANNOT be said about China’s international relations theory?
(1) The theory is ambiguous in nature
(2) The theory reflects China’s realization that it occupies a vital place in global affairs
(3) It promotes the concept of common development for all nations
(4) It is a theory which explains China’s sustained growth rate
(5) It emphasizes achieving prosperity through universal development.[6] Which of the following is TRUE in the context of the passage?
(1) China’s current political standing internationally is disproportionate to its financial strength
(2) China is a reluctant participant in military dialogues
(3) The harmonious world theory is the only utilitarian remedy to the current challenges facing the world
(4) The US has recognized and acknowledged China’s growing international reputation.
(5) China has stopped dealing with corrupt countries because of international pressure[7] Which of the following is an outcome of Beijing’s role in Africa?
(1) America’s influence in the region has reduced
(2) Instability in the region
(3) The amount of aid from Europe and other countries has doubled
(4) The balance of power in Africa has shifted in favour of Europe over the US
(5) None of theseasked in NMAT
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8.
Scientists seeking view new ways to repair damaged arteries and ailing hearts have coaxed stem cells from a human embryo into forming tiny blood vessels. It’s the first time human embryonic stem cells have been nurtured to the point where they will organize into blood vessels that could nourish the body, according to Robert Langer, leader of a laboratory team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But it isn’t likely to be the last, as scientists pursue research into uses for stem cells despite debate over the ethics of using the cells. The new development was reported in Tuesday’s online issue of proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. John Gearhart of the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine said research was a “nice illustration” of how stem cells can serve as a source of various types of cells, in this case for blood vessels. “I think this is terrific” said Gearhart, who was not part of the research team. “It’s another good example of the isolation of an important cell type from human embryonic stem cells.” “These are the kinds of papers we are going to see a lot of,” Gearhart added. Langer said the work showed that endothelial cells could be made from human embryonic stem cells. Endothelial cells have veins, arteries and lymph tissue. They are key to the structures that carry blood throughout the body. He said that if the technique we refined, scientists would eventually be able to make in the laboratory blood vessels that could be used to replace diseased arteries in the body: “There are thousands of operations a year now where doctors take vessels from one part of the body and transplant them to another,” said Langer. Eventually, he said, such vessels might be made outside the body from embryonic stem cells. Langer said endothelial cells also might be used to restore circulation to cells damaged by heart attacks. He said the processed stem cells may be able to reestablish blood flow to hearts failing due to blocked arteries. The research was conducted under a private grant, but Langer said the cell culture used is one of 61 worldwide that have been approved by the National Institutes of Health for federally funded research. The use of embryonic stem cells is controversial because extracting the cells kills a living human embryo. President Bush last summer decided that federal funding would be permitted only for stem cell cultures that already existed and were made from embryos that were to be discarded by fertility clinics. The aim was to prevent further killing for research purposes of other human embryos. Langer said his lab will seek federal money to continue research using the same stem cell cultures, which were obtained from the Ram Bam Medial Center in Haifa, Israel. Embryonic stem cells are the ancestral cells of every cell in the body. In a developing embryo, they transform into cells that make up the organs, bone, skin and other tissues. Researchers hope to direct the transformation of such cells to treat ailing hearts, livers, brains and other organs. Langer said his team cultured the cells in such a way that they were allowed to develop into the various types of cells that are precursors to mature tissue. From this colony, the researchers extracted cells that were following a linage that would lead to mature endothelial cells. These were further cultured and some eventually formed primitive vascular structures.
[1] Which of the following statements does not follow from the passage?
(1) Fertility clinics collect human embryos.
(2) Human embryos are destroyed is stem cell research
(3) Stem cells are being researched especially for forming blood vessels
(4) Stem cell research uses federal funding[2] Which of the following would be made redundant by the research mentioned?
(1) Sourcing embryonic cells from fertility clinics.
(2) Transplanting of blood vessels from one part to another.
(3) Cardiac operations necessitated by heart attacks.
(4) Performing open heart surgeries.[3] Stem cell research involves?
(1) cell cultures from various genetically altered embryos.
(2) Killing of a live human embryo
(3) wastage of embryo by fertility clinics
(4) genetic cloning of abilitiesasked in NMAT
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9.
In many underdeveloped countries, the state plays an important and increasingly varied role in economic development today. There are four general arguments, all of them related, for state participation in economic development. First, the entrance requirements in terms of financial and capital equipment are very large in industries, and the size of these obstacles will sere as barriers to entry on the part of private investors. One can imagine that these obstacles are imposing in industries such as steel production, automobiles, electronics, and parts of the textiles industry. In addition, there are what Myint calls “technical indivisibilities in social overhead capital.” Public utilities, transport, and communication facilities must be in place before industrial development can occur, and they do not lend themselves to small-scale improvements. A related argument centres on the demand side of the economy. This economy is seen as fragmented, disconnected, and incapable of using inputs from other parts of the economy. Consequently, economic activity in one part of the economy does not generate the dynamism in other sectors that is expected in more cohesive economies. Industrialization necessarily involves many different, sectors; economic enterprises will thrive best in an environment in which they draw on inputs from related economic sectors and, in turn, release their own goods for industrial utilization within their own economies. A third argument concerns the low-level equilibrium trap in which less developed countries find themselves. At subsistence levels, societies consume exactly what they produce. There is no remaining surplus for reinvestment. As per-capita income rises, however, the additional income will not be used for saving and investment. Instead, it will have the effect of increasing the population that will eat up the surplus and force the society to its former subsistence position. Fortunately, after a certain point, the rate of population growth will decrease; economic growth will intersect with and eventually outstrip population growth. The private sector, however, will not be able to provide the one-shot large dose of capital to push economic growth beyond those levels where population increases eat up the incremental advances. The final argument concerns the relationship between delayed development and the state. Countries wishing to industrialize today have more competitors, and these competitors occupy a more differnentiated industrial terrain than previously. This means that the available niches in the international system are more limited. For today’s industrializers, therefore, the process of industrialization cannot be a haphazard affair, not can the pace, content, and direction be left, solely to market forces. Part of the reason for strong state presence, then, relates specifically to the competitive international environment in which modern countries and firms must operate.
[1] What does the author suggest about the “technical indivisibilities in social overhead capital”?
(1) It is a barrier to private investment
(2) It enhances the development effects of private sector investment
(3) It leads to rapid technological progress
(4) It can prevent development from occurring[2] According to the passage, the “low-level equilibrium trap” in underdeveloped countries results from
(1) the inability of market forces to overcome the effects of population growth
(2) intervention of the state in economic development
(3) the tendency for societies to produce more than they can use
(4) the fragmented and disconnected nature of the demand side of the economy.[3] According to the author, a strong state presence is necessary
(1) to provide food for everyone
(2) to provide the capital needed to spur economic growth
(3) to ensure the livelihood of workers
(4) to ensure that people have more than what is necessary for subsistence[4] In the passage, the world ‘cohesive’ means
(1) containing many cohorts or groups
(2) modern and competitive
(3) naturally and logically connected
(4) containing many different sectors[5] In the passage, the word ‘imposing’ means
(1) Something huge
(2) something that strikes a pose
(3) something that obtrudes on others
(4) to act with a delusive effectasked in NMAT
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10.
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11.
Mobility of capital has given an unprecedented leverage to companies not only to seek low paid, informal wage employees across national boundaries, but the threat of capital flight can also serve to drive down wages and place large numbers of workers in insecure, irregular employment. Informalisation strategies enable employers to draw on the existing pool of labour as and when they require, without having to make a commitment to provide permanent employment or any of the employee-supporting benefits associated with permanent jobs. As far as the working class is concerned, informalisation is in fact, a double-edged sword. For not only is the employee denied the rights associated with permanent employment, but the nature of casual work essentially destroys the foundations of working class organisations. As workmen move from one employer to another, numbers are scattered, everyday interests become divergent, and individualised survival takes precedence over group or collective struggles.
Even workers who have been in sectors with a long tradition of unionisation are difficult to organise once they are removed from the arena of permanent employment. About 50,000 textile mill workers in Ahmedabad City were laid off during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The move to obtain compensation and rehabilitation for these workers floundered on the weakness of the struggle, as numbers of workers who were available for pressing their claims and taking to some kind of activism dwindled, the motivation of leaders declined and the struggle slowly frittered away. If this is the situation with workers familiar with the concept of unionisation, the task of organising vast masses of casual workers who have never been organised, is obviously much more difficult. The problem, essentially, is not only that of organising workers for struggle, but given the transitory nature of casual employment, employers are not bound to provide insurance of any kind, and frequently, there is no fixed employer against whom workers’ claims can be pressed. In this context, the formation of the National Centre for Labour (NCL) can be seen as a landmark in the history of the working class movement in India. The NCL is an apex body of independent trade unions working in the unorganised sector of labour, registered under the Indian Trade Union Act, 1926. Through its constituent members, the NCL represents the interests of workers in construction, agriculture, fisheries, forests, marble and granite manufacturing, self-employed women, contract workers, anganwadi and domestic workers, as also workers in the tiny and small-scale industries. The NCL, launched in 1995, has about 6,25,000 members spread over 10 states in India. The NCL reflects two tendencies. First, the formation of such a federation highlights that despite the problems in organising workers in the informal sector, there have in fact, been a range of organisations which have sought to address these issues. On a collective plane, their activities represent a marked departure from the traditional way of conceptualising union activities exclusively around organised or formal sector workers. Thus, the unionisation of the hitherto unorganised sector has become inserted into the political universe as a possible and legitimate activity. Second, the formation of the NCL, to an extent, overturns the pessimistic logic that the interests of the unorganised sector - given their diverse and inchoate form - cannot be articulated from a single platform. For the NCL aims precisely, do not only provide an anchoring for these diverse organisations, but more importantly, to articulate the need for institutionalised norms of welfare which can apply to the unorganised sector as a whole. It is in the context of this generalised movement that one needs to view recent efforts to bring in legislative acts which seek to create a new framework of laws and institutions addressing the needs of the unorganised sector. One of the major problems that has dogged this sector has of course been that of implementation. Thus, for example, while there is a stipulated minimum wage for most industries, this is frequently flouted by employers. A central objective of the NCL has been to advocate legislation to create agencies, which would mediate between the employer and the employee, to institutionalise certain guarantees of welfare and security to the' employee. Thus, for example, the State Assisted Scheme of Provident Fund for Unorganised Workers, 2000, proposed by the Labour Department of the Government of West Bengal, introduces the mechanism of a Fund which will be contributed to by the worker (wageearner or self-employed person), the employer, and the Government and to which the worker would be entitled at the age of 55 or above. By registering a worker to this programme and issuing an identity card, the initial hurdle to identifying a large mass of scattered workers is overcome, and a step is taken towards institutionalising their legitimate claims against the employers and from the State. The Karnataka Unorganised Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Work) Bill, 2001”, offers a more comprehensive framework for addressing the unorganised sector's needs. It envisages the formation of a Fund and a Board, in each sector. The Board, consisting of members from the Government, employers and employees, would be responsible for administering the Fund. Employers must compulsorily pay towards the Fund, a certain fixed percentage of the wages or taxes payable by them, or a certain percentage of the cost of their project, (for example, in construction projects). The concept of the Fund is designed to create the financial viability of social security for workers, and to provide a structure for employers' contribution. Thus, workers would be insured for accident and illness, old age, and .unemployment. The Board is designed to provide a mechanism to ensure the working of the Fund, and essentially, to institutionalise workers' claims against employers through an empowered agency. In the broader context of economic liberalisation, recently proposed labour reforms seek to extend the scope of contract employment and to facilitate worker lay-off. As casualisation of labour now seems an irreversible trend, the Bills outlined above would appear to be the only way to ensure workers' interest. To this extent, organisations such as the NCL, which have systematically struggled to push for such legislation, are serving an invaluable historical purpose. As the Karnataka Unorganised Workers Bill awaits endorsement during the Assembly sessions being held currently, for the protagonists of the movement, this would be a watershed, but, nevertheless only a moment in a struggle that needs to be waged at multiple points and to evolve to newer heights.[1] According to the passage the proposed labour reforms
(a) will provide a much needed thrust to liberalization
(b) will encourage the practice of hiring labourers on a contract basis.
(c) have resulted in casualisation of labour.
(d) seek to extend the scope of employment and to facilitate worker retrenchment.[2] According to the passage, textile mill workers could not obtain compensation because
(a) the number of workers available for pressing their claims was not adequate.
(b) they were not united.
(c) of the weakness of the struggle.
(d) the motivation of the leaders was very low.[3] According to the passage, the most important aspect of the NCL is that
(a) it has given a voice to the interests of workers in the unorganized sector.
(b) it is an apex body of independent trade unions.
(c) it has 6,25,000 members spread over 10 states in India.
(d) it is the only body of its kind in India.asked in MAT
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12.
After President George W. Bush signed the United States - India Nuclear Cooperation Bill, he called up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to tell him how pleased he was at this development. While welcoming this event, the Prime Minister took the opportunity to tell the President that there remained areas of concern that needed to be addressed during the negotiation of the bilateral agreement (called the 123 agreement, after the relevant clause number in the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, 1954). The U.S. has entered into some twenty five I 23 agreements with various countries, including the one concerning Tarapur. The Tarapur agreement concluded in 1963 was unique in that it guaranteed supplies of enriched uranium fuel from the U.S. for running the Tarapur reactors for their entire life. However, after 1978 the U.S. did not supply fuel saying its domestic legislation (under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act) prevented it from doing so. India argued that Tarapur was an inter-governmental agreement and hence it had to be honoured by the U.S. But to no avail. However, later, the U.S. allowed France to supply fuel to India. Subsequently, the USSR (now Russia) and even China supplied fuel for Tarapur. The lesson from the Tarapur episode is that U.S. breached with impunity even a cast-iron guarantee it had furnished. Considerable bitterness gres between the U.S. and India are extended to many other areas beyond the nuclear one. When India agreed, reluctantly, in March 2006 to put imported reactors under “safeguards in perpetuity”, the U.S. consented to the Indian insistence on assurances of fuel supply. This meant India could build up a stockpile of fuel to tide over disruption in supply and the U.S. would agree to work with other countries namely Russia, France, and Britain to arrange alternate supplies. The U.S. legislation, based on the Hyde Bill, forbids India building up a stockpile of nuclear fuel. It also obligates the U.S. administration to work with other Nuclear Supplier Group countries to get them to suspend supplies to India, if the U.S. has done so under some provision of the Hyde Bill. It is not evident how the U.S. can address the legitimate concerns of India on continued fuel supply, given the boundaries set by the Hyde Bill. With regard to future nuclear tests, the Prime Minister has said, India is only committed to a voluntary moratorium. The moratorium is only a temporary holding off of an activity, conditioned by specific circumstances that obtained at the time when such a declaration was made. It cannot be construed as a permanent ban. The Hyde Bill has sought to make the moratorium into a permanent ban. However, there is no such restraint imposed on the U.S., China, Pakistan or any other country. In bringing up this issue, I do not wish to suggest that I favour a resumption of tests by India. But India cannot prevent other countries from carrying out tests. It is, therefore, unacceptable that India forfeits its right to test for all time to come under the agreement with the U.S. Even if the 123 agreement is silent on the issue, Indian negotiators must put this issue on the table. The Hyde Bill calls for suspension of all cooperation and fuel supplies and even calls for return of all equipment and materials supplied earlier in the event of a test. It baffles one how India can return reactor installations that might have been operated a few years, were such a contingency to arise in future. The differences over the definition of “full civilian nuclear cooperation” have been discussed in the media. The Indian understanding was that reprocessing of spent fuel, enrichment of uranium, and production of heavy water also formed part of the term “full civilian nuclear cooperation.” In the congressional debate, it has been noted that these were construed by the U.S. to be in the nature of military activities and not civilian. India’s future plans for thorium utilisation for civil nuclear power depend crucially on reprocessing. Similarly, civil nuclear power units using natural uranium require heavy water as reactor coolant and moderator. Equally if India were to embark on a sizeable light water reactor programme, it may like to have control on supply of enriched uranium for economic and supply security reasons. India has technologies of its own in these areas and will develop them further in the years ahead. If the Indo-U.S. agreement moves ahead in the manner its sponsors have speculated, in a few decades from now some 90 per cent of the nuclear installations in India would be open to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections. In that scenario, how can India reconcile to the embargo from nuclear advanced countries on the export of enrichment, reprocessing, and heavy water technologies? Even if the issue were to be papered over new, it will then look from India’s point of view to have been a very bad bargain.
[1] What is the Indian understanding of the definition of “full civilian nuclear cooperation”?
(a) Enrichment of uranium
(b) Reprocessing of spent fuel
(c) Production of heavy water
(d) All the above[2] With reference to the passage, select which of the following statement(s) is/are incorrect?
A. U.S. did not supply fuel to India after 1987.
B. The Hyde Bill calls for suspension of all cooperation and fuel supplies.
C. India can prevent other countries from carrying out the test.
(a) A and B
(b) B only
(c) A and C
(d) A, B and C[3] What was the uniqueness of the Tarapur agreement that was concluded in 1963?
(a) It guaranteed supplies of enriched uranium fuel from the U.S. for running the Tarapur reactors for entire life.
(b) It prevented other countries from carrying out nuclear tests.
(c) It addresses the legitimate concerns of India on fuel supply.
(d) All the above[4] Which of the following countries supplied fuel for Tarapur?
(a) France
(b) U.S.A.
(c) USSR and France
(d) France, USSR and Chinaasked in MAT
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