Countdown Mock - 13 (CLAT) 2022

English Language
Directions for questions 1 to 30: Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage. Please
answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. In some instances,
more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most
accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 1

With a convincing majority of 141 of 193 countries, the UN General Assembly voted on Wednesday for a resolution
that deplored in the "strongest terms" Russia's attack on Ukraine and demanded an immediate withdrawal of
Russian troops. The resolution, which was discussed in a rare special emergency session and under the rubric of
the "Uniting for Peace" resolution invoked after decades, came as a result of an aborted resolution at the UN
Security Council, which Russia, as a permanent member, had vetoed. While the UNGA resolution carries little
teeth, it does represent a common stand taken by the international public commons, with 96 countries signing up
as co-sponsors of the resolution. Russia rejected the outcome as a political vote that came of severe "pressure"
from the U.S. and European countries that were the drivers of the resolution, but it seemed clear that it was
isolated on the global stage. Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea, and Syria voted against the motion, and 35, including
India, abstained. While the resolution also decried the Russian decision to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as
independent states, representatives of member states made it clear that it was the relentless bombing of Ukrainian
cities that they could not turn a blind eye to.

India's abstention, not a surprise, disappointed many western countries that have been lobbying for a shift in the
Indian position. In the past week, India has abstained from three votes (including two procedural ones) at the
UNSC where it is an elected member, one at the UN Human Rights Council, and another at the IAEA on
resolutions critical of Russia. In an explanation of vote (EOV), India's UN representative said that India is calling for
dialogue, while officials say that India's abstention has given it room to play a role in diplomacy with Russia and
Ukraine. In a sign of some discomfort with Russian actions, the EOV also dropped the earlier references to the
"legitimate security interests", and included language on respecting the "territorial sovereignty" of members. India
has also sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine although its vote of abstention indicates the Modi government still has
many reasons not to vote against Russia, a strategic and defence partner that has stood by India. As the conflict
continues, and the global community expresses its disapproval, however, India's desire to remain an "abstentionist"
power is being called into question. The Government has also said that it needs to remain on good terms with both
sides as its primary focus remains the safe exit of Indians from the conflict zone. While evacuating Indians is an
important priority, it cannot be India's only focus in this crisis, given its aspirations for global leadership and the oft
quoted motto of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam". It may become necessary for India to engage more deeply with the
conflict in Europe, which is now a global concern.
Q 1. 11774317 Which of the following is untrue as per the passage?

a) India chose to abstain from voting in the resolution passed against Russia in UNGA.

b)
Evacuating Indians is the most important priority on which India should focus in this ongoing
crisis.
c) India's desire to remain an "abstentionist" power is being called into question.

d) India's UN representative said that India is calling for dialogue.

Q 2. 11774317 Which of the following is the apt meaning of the word 'abstention' as per the passage?

a) To refrain from voting. b) To analyze a given circumstance.

c) To be hyper-productive d)
To deem something unethical and immoral.

Q 3. 11774317 Which of the following best describes the tone of the passage?

a) Satirical b) Indignant. c) Acerbic d) Maudlin

Q 4. 11774317 Why did Russia reject the UNGA resolution which was passed by a majority?

a)
Russia has the veto power to reject any of the UN resolutions which are even passed by the
majority.
b)
Russia knows that it is at fault and if they don't reject the resolutions, the repercussions
would be severe.
c)
Russia rejected the resolution deeming it as a political vote that came of severe "pressure"
from the U.S. and European countries.
d)
Russia rejected the resolution because it decried the Russian decision to recognize Donetsk
and Luhansk as independent states.

Q 5. 11774317 What was the key intent to table a resolution against Russia as per the passage?

a) To teach it a lesson for going against the united western sentiment.

b)
To make sure that Russia refrains from sending more troops, withdraws already sent troops
to the border, and stops the war.
c)
To impose sanctions against Russia and impose huge monetary compensation for the
damage Russia had done.
d) Both (b) and (c).

Directions for questions 1 to 30: Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage. Please
answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. In some instances,
more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most
accurately and comprehensively answers the question.
Passage – 2

Numbers can often be hustled to tell many tales; but it is the story that is picked on the basis of the desire to do
what is morally right that sets the course for meaningful action. The recent Lancet estimates of COVID-19-
associated orphanhood, which put the number at over 19 lakh children orphaned as a result of COVID-19, has
raised India's hackles. The Lancet study generated numbers based on modelling, and therefore only estimates and
not actual numbers are available. Globally, it estimated that 52 lakh children had been rendered orphans by the
pandemic. The study, in its original period, March 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021 was revised, with updates based on
excess mortality and fertility data used to model increases in estimates of COVID-19- associated orphanhood
between May 1 and October 31, 2021 for 21 countries. Orphanhood was defined as the death of one or both
parents; or the death of one or both custodial grandparents. The authors claimed their findings showed that
numbers of children orphaned by COVID-19 had almost doubled in six months compared with the data after the
first 14 months of the pandemic. India has objected strongly to the estimate of 19 lakh, terming it as "sophisticated
trickery intended to create panic among citizens". As per data collected by the National Commission for Protection
of Child Rights and collated on the Bal Swaraj portal, the number of children orphaned during COVID-19 in India
was far lower, at 1.53 lakh.

While the study does include revised estimates for all the nations, the message that it seeks to convey is the
absolute urgency with which governments must incorporate childcare into any COVID-19 management
programme. The state should proactively draw such children into the umbrella of care to save them from numerous
adversities - poverty, violence, destitution, and lack of access to education and health care. The Indian
government, to its credit, announced a grand plan of support for children forced into orphanhood by COVID-19.
Many States announced rehabilitation plans, including provisions for adoption, foster care, education and health
care; some admittedly more progressive than others, but the momentum was certainly built up in the country. It is
time to update the status of such programmes, and information on the number of cases where intervention has
occurred, and where it is pending, must be put out in the public realm. Well begun is half done, but the Centre and
the States must expand efforts. The Government would do well to allow interventions for children to be informed by
a 'whole-life" care paradigm, and fresh data from time to time, especially in a pandemic that is not only rapidly
evolving, but by all accounts, is nowhere near ending.
Q 6. 11774317 What is the major flaw of the Lancet study which has given such a high number of children who are
orphaned?

a) It has not taken into account the data which the government releases from time to time.

b) It has only made a projection based on modelling and there are no actual numbers.

c) It has only taken into account the deaths caused only by Covid-19.

d)
Because India has objected strongly to the estimate of 19 lakh, terming it as "sophisticated
trickery intended to create panic among citizens".

Q 7. 11774317 Which of the following describes the meaning of the word 'destitution' as per the passage?

a) Lack of resources to provide for oneself b) Severe unemployment

c) Class divide d) Extreme poverty

Q 8. 11774317 With what tone does the author is trying to present his opinion?
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a) Narrative. b) Explanatory. c) Argumentative. d) Analytical.

Q 9. 11774317 Which of the following is not associated with collecting data on children orphaned during the covid-
19 pandemic?

a) NCPCR b) Bal Swaraj portal c) d) None of the above

Respective State
governments

Q 10. 11774317 Why is it high time that the programs run by the respective state governments and the central
government should be updated?

a) To allow interventions for children to be informed by a 'whole-life" care paradigm.

b)
Some programs are admittedly more progressive than others and they need to come at the
same pedestal.
c) Both (a) and (b)

d) Neither (a) nor (b)

Directions for questions 1 to 30: Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage. Please
answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. In some instances,
more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most
accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 3

Madhabi Puri Buch yesterday took charge as the ninth chairperson of the capital market regulator Sebi after it got
statutory status. What makes her unique is her rich financial market experience. So far, Sebi has been led largely
by bureaucrats. On the cusp of its fourth decade, Sebi needs to reorient its priorities to a world that is very different
from the one in which it got statutory status in 1992. The phase of building market infrastructure, taming brokers
and setting up systems is over. The priority now is to make sure that all the regulated entities play by the rules.

Financial markets are complex and rapidly evolving on the heels of advances in communications technology. The
criticality of data made market intermediaries among the early adopters of artificial intelligence. In this backdrop,
one of the challenges Buch will have to deal with is upgrading the skills of Sebi staffers to meet the needs of a
changing environment. Many of Sebi's brighter and younger recruits don't stay long enough. The regulator should
consider lateral entry from finance firms, like many Western regulators do. One area that could do with sharper
focus is Sebi's investigation skills. The regulator is often pulled up by the Securities Appellate Tribunal for shoddy
work or worse. For example, in December the regulator was rapped for sending a show cause notice 12 years after
an alleged incident.

Sebi's effort in dealing with NSE's co-location problem made finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman remark that GoI
is examining if the regulator took necessary punitive action. Separately, a tardy pace of investigations against
prominent companies makes for poor optics. Buch was a whole-time member of Sebi between April 2017 and
October 2021. The experience with both the regulator and financial market puts her in a position to look at ways in
which Sebi can sharpen its focus both on technical and investigative skills.
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Q 11. 11774317 Which of the following is in consonance with the passage?

a) Madhabi Puri Buch is the only chairperson of SEBI with a rich financial experience.

b) None of the regulated entities is playing by the rules.

c)
Technological advancement has resulted in the whirlwind unrolling of the financial market.
d) Market intermediaries are the first ones to adopt artificial intelligence.

Q 12. 11774317 Why did the passage make a specific mention about SEBI's establishment year in the first
passage?

a) To show how SEBI was established amidst all the scandals.'

b) To show how SEBI has incorporated the technological advancements.

c) To show how SEBI has been inefficient in regulating the market since its inception.

d)
To show why SEBI needs to revamp the regulations, in order to accommodate the evolving
needs.

Q 13. 11774317 Which of the following words describes the author's mindset towards the appointment of Buch?

a) Optimistic b) Acerbic c) Ambivalent d) Apathetic

Q 14. 11774317 Which of the following will not represent the correct meaning of 'rapped'?

a) Thwack b) Residuum c) Smite d) Wallop

Q 15. 11774317 Which of the following is the main area, where the author wishes Buch to work up on?

a) b) Investigative skills c) d) None of these

Technical Infrastructural
advancement development

Directions for questions 1 to 30: Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage. Please
answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. In some instances,
more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most
accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 4

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian nationalist. Even his critics will grant him that. Therefore, it's ironic that in
a space of ten days his decisions have brought Russia to the brink of an abyss. Not even in the most chaotic phase
of Boris Yeltsin, his predecessor as president, had the country's future looked so bleak. Even if Russia achieves its
immediate military objectives in Ukraine, the victory will be pyrrhic. It's economically severely damaged and its
invasion of Ukraine provides Nato with a new lease of life.

Russia's strategic aims were to be undergirded by its 'fortress balance sheet' - around $640 billion in foreign
exchange reserves and gold. A break-up of this balance sheet by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) showed
that it was based on one key assumption. Russia's response to US sanctions after its annexation of Crimea in 2014
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has been to partially switch its holdings of US dollars to gold and renminbi. The weakness in this assumption is that
any Russian action that invited a forceful combined response of the US, EU, UK and Japan put almost 70% of this
balance sheet at risk.

The worst case scenario unfolded on February 28, when additional sanctions by the US and its allies immobilised a
large part of the Bank of Russia's assets. The Western response is working through the Russian central bank's
balance sheet to destabilise the financial system. A hobbled central bank more than doubled its policy rate to 20%
to make deposits attractive and prevent a run on banks. Simultaneously, the collapse of the ruble required it to
compel Russian enterprises to sell 80% of their export revenues. Russia's economy has to now largely rely on
domestic savings raised at abnormal interest rates as households hold 21% of their deposits in currently
inaccessible foreign currency. The high interest rate scenario and a collapse of confidence will severely undermine
the economy.There's a carve-out for energy industries from severe sanctions to help Europe. It may not last long
and Russia's hydrocarbon fields will be deprived of critical investment.

Fighting in Kharkiv has tragically claimed the life of a trapped Indian student. GoI will rightly prioritise evacuating
Indian nationals from Ukraine. However, long-run issues are the risks of depending on arms, civil nuclear assets
and space technology from a country that's facing sanctions. This is, as these columns and others have noted, a
wake-up call for India to wean itself off the Russia dependency.
Q 16. 11774317 What is the purpose of writing the first few lines in the passage?

a) b)
To show how Putin has been a key in To show how Putin's actions have affected
Russia's development. Russia.
c) d)
To show how Putin has not been a good To show how Putin's actions have led to
leader for Russia. Russia's growth.

Q 17. 11774317 Which of the following is true as per the passage?

a) Russia cannot achieve its military objectives against Ukraine.

b) Russia would achieve its military objective against Ukraine.

c) Russia might achieve its military objective against Ukraine.

d) Russia would require help from other countries to win against Ukraine.

Q 18. 11774317 Which of the following would be closest in meaning, with the word 'hobble'?

a) Lurch b) Stride c) March d) Tread

Q 19. 11774317 Which of the following countries is not mentioned in the passage?

a) UK b) US c) Ukraine d) EU

Q 20. 11774317 Suppose this author intends to write a book. Which of the following might be the best area, as per
his/her interest?

a) Public policy b) Econometrics c) d) Indian tax law

International
economics
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Directions for questions 1 to 30: Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage. Please
answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. In some instances,
more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most
accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 5

It is always about privacy-first for Apple, which the company has highlighted with the recent changes to AirTags,
which was launched last year to help locate personal belongings. Then came reports of AirTags being used to track
people without knowledge. What happened and what has changed?

AirTags are usually attached to items like car keys and bags. In case you don't find those items at any given point,
visit the Find My app on the phone, select an item and hit 'Find'. The app will connect with the AirTag and the
ultrawide chip will direct you to the tag. On the phone's screen an arrow will appear to point you in the direction of
the AirTag (older iPhones can find AirTags using Bluetooth). As you approach, you will be able to hear the tracker
beep.

It can also help find items that you may have accidentally dropped in, say, the park. AirTags work on the Find My
network by emitting Bluetooth identifiers. And these identifiers are not reused, meaning when you travel with an
AirTag from place to place, you are not re-identified. Further, Find My network is encrypted. The signals from the
AirTag are carried forward but only your device can decode it. The network leverages the entire Apple base, so it
offers a scale of almost a billion devices. All the information is end-to-end encrypted and not even Apple can see it.

There have been reports of the device being used to track people by hiding it behind number plate of cars or inside
the dashboard. To take care the issue, Apple has announced some advancements coming to AirTag and the Find
My network.

New privacy warnings during AirTag set-up: With an upcoming software update, every user setting up their AirTag
for the first time will see a message that clearly states that AirTag is meant to track their own belongings, that using
AirTag to track people without consent is a crime in many regions around the world.

Addressing alert issues for AirPods: Users have reported receiving an "Unknown Accessory Detected" alert. This
alert will not display if an AirTag is detected near you - only AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, or
a third-party Find My network accessory. In the same software update, there is an update in the alert users receive
to indicate that AirPods have been travelling with them instead of an "Unknown Accessory".
Q 21. 11774317 What is the purpose of air tags?

a) To identify car stealers. b) To locate private items.

c) To track other Bluetooth devices. d) To connect to Apple Care.

Q 22. 11774317 Which of the following should not be done with Air Tags?

a) Track other people or their belongings without permission.

b) Connect to other people's phones to view their files and folders.

c) To hide it behind one's own car's number plate.

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d) To divulge important information as air tags can be used for spying.

Q 23. 11774317 Which of the following is the correct antonym of 'consent'?

a) Concurrence b) Accord c) Dissent d) Assent

Q 24. 11774317 Which of the following portray the correct working method of Apple Air Tags?

a)
Air tags are attached to personal belongings and then we have to search them through the
Apple app.
b)
Air tags are tagged on belongings and the search can be made through bluetooth devices
attached to the belongings.
c) Air tags are attached to belongings, if they are lost can be tracked by Find my app.

d) One should open the Find My app on the Apple phone and search for the lost devices.

Q 25. 11774317 Under what section of a newspaper this passage might fall under?

a) Opinion b) Culture c) Entertainment d)

Science and
Technology

Directions for questions 1 to 30: Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage. Please
answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. In some instances,
more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most
accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 6

The website of the Union ministry of health and family welfare puts active Covid cases in the country at less than
0.5 per cent and alerts about a new, severe variant of the virus. Yet, there is a visible lowering of guard.

The overwhelming impact of this changed scenario, especially with the reopening of educational institutions in
West Bengal this month, is being felt by students. For almost two years, through an uncertain path of no lessons
followed by a prolonged phase of online classes, the teaching-learning mechanism underwent an unprecedented
metamorphosis.

A young colleague, whose son had enrolled in nursery at a reputed Calcutta school on the eve of the lockdown,
said the child has taken her presence for granted during online classes. Each time he darts away to clamber up the
window, or decides to lie down, she yanks him up and ensures that he listens attentively to the teacher.

But not all parents are such disciplinarians. "I could see grandmothers on screen frequently cajoling the child with
food. There were parents prompting answers, often wrong ones, instead of allowing a child to think," she said,
adding that she was grappling with major teething troubles as her child was now refusing to go to school without
her.
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Another woman, however, said her five-year-old was raring to get his first taste of school after the prolonged online
phase. "He is looking forward to playing with his friends and I have explained that I will not be present there, only
his teacher," she said.

Teenaged students, quite adept at hoodwinking teachers by switching off their laptop cameras, citing "network
issues", now have to sit through the entire class. "We can no longer log out after giving attendance," rued a
firstyear pupil. In online mode, those who were absent could fall back on recorded versions of classes (till Google
stopped the facility this month) because that is no longer an option.

The transition has had an impact on teachers too. While most had struggled with online teaching, some had been
able to utilize the time saved on commutes over the past two years to upgrade skills and multi-task better.

Niranjan Goswami, a professor at Chandernagore College, said: "The online-to-offline mode is a welcome
transition. A general disinterest had set in among students in online classes. Turning into alphabets, they remained
inscrutable and absent in many ways. We realised the importance of facial, gestural communication and the
inadequacy of the merely verbal."
Q 26. 11774317 Which of the following is not true according to the argument stated in the passage?

a) The students are struggling to get accustomed to the offline from online mode.

b) The teachers are comfortable with this transition.

c) Few students are also happy to meet their friends once the schools reopen.

d) None of the above.

Q 27. 11774317 "..the teaching-learning mechanism underwent an unprecedented metamorphosis." Which of the
following options explain this correctly?

a)
The students and the teachers after 2years of online classes, are facing difficulty to again
adjust to something new.
b)
Overwhelming response from the teachers regarding opening of schools again was not seen
earlier.
c)
Online methods and offline methods are different from each other and it will take time to
shift, so one has to be patient.
d) All of the above.

Q 28. 11774317 Which of the following is a synonym of 'metamorphosis'?

a) Deceleration b) Stagnation c) Transfiguration d) Quiescence

Q 29. 11774317 Which of the following can be inferred from the last paragraph of the passage?

a)
Verbal communication through online classes wasn't enough for student-teacher
communication.
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b) Students lost interest in online classes.

c) Both (a) and (b)

d) Neither (a) nor (b).

Q 30. 11774317 What type of a passage is this?

a) Historical b) Editorial c) Entertainment d) Cultural

Current Affairs Including General Knowledge

Passage – 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated at a virtual summit of Quad leaders, along with US President Joe Biden,
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The meeting reviewed the progress on Quad initiatives since the September 2021 Quad Summit. The leaders
agreed on accelerating cooperation, with an objective to achieve concrete outcomes by the summit in Japan later
this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective of promoting
peace, stability and prosperity in the [1] region. He called for concrete and practical forms of cooperation within the
Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, supply chains, clean energy, connectivity,
and capacity-building.

Developments in Ukraine were discussed in the meeting, including its humanitarian implications. The Prime
Minister emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy.

The leaders also discussed other topical issues, including the situation in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region
and the Pacific Islands. Prime Minister reiterated the importance of adhering to the UN Charter, international law
and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. The leaders agreed to stay in touch and to work towards an
ambitious agenda for the forthcoming Leaders' Summit in Japan.
Q 31. 11774317 Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective
of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the [1] region. Which of the following has been redacted with [1] in
the passage above?

a) Indo-Asia b) Indo-Pacific c) Indo-Atlantic d) Indo-US-Pacific

Q 32. 11774317 The Quad group was established in which of the following years?

a) 2000 b) 2004 c) 2007 d) 2010

Q 33. 11774317 Which of the following countries hosted the first-ever summit of the Quad leaders in a virtual
format?

a) India b) USA c) Japan d) Australia

Q 34. 11774317 Which of the following statements is Not correct regarding the Principles of Quad?
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a)
The motive behind the Quad is to keep the strategic sea routes in the [1] free of any military
or political influence.
b) It is basically seen as a strategic grouping to reduce Russian domination.

c)
The core objective of the Quad is to secure a rules-based global order, freedom of
navigation and a liberal trading system.
d) The coalition also aims to offer alternative debt financing for nations in the [1] region.

Q 35. 11774317 Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the significance of Quad for India?

a) It is believed that the forum strategically counters China's economic and military rise.

b)
If Chinese hostilities rise on the borders, India can take the support of the other Quad
nations to counter the communist nation.
c)
In addition, India can even take the help of its naval front and conduct strategic explorations
in the Indo- Pacific region.
d) All of the above

Passage – 2

The Andhra Pradesh high court ruled that [1] shall be the only capital city of the state which will be developed
within six months, scrapping chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's ambitious "three-capital" plan on the ground of
legislative incompetence, abuse of power and arbitrariness.

A three-judge bench, headed by chief justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, declared that the Reddy-led YSRCP
government's proposal for multiple capitals for the state was bereft of any legal authority and smacked of
"malafides", depriving 30,000 unsuspecting farmers of their livelihood and the right to live a dignified life after they
voluntarily surrendered their land for development of the capital city.

The bench, which also included justices M Satyanarayana Murthy and DVSS Somayajulu, held that the state
government's failure to discharge its duties and obligations, stoppage of development work and the failure to
complete the land pooling scheme process in [1] despite a statutory contract with the farmers is a "fraud on power".

Through a 2020 law, the Jagan government proposed [1] as the legislative capital, Visakhapatnam as the executive
capital and Kurnool as the judicial capital. This law was withdrawn in 2021 when the matter reached the high court,
but with a rider that the government would re-legislate on establishing multiple capitals after further deliberation.

Extinguishing any possibility of a future legislation on multiple capitals for the south eastern coastal state, the high
court ruled: "The state legislature has no legislative competence to pass any resolution or law for change of capital
or bifurcating or trifurcating the capital city."

"It is for the state to implement the project for which the land is acquired and (it) cannot use the land for any other
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purpose. The state cannot shift its capital when the large parcels of land already pooled for sole purpose of
construction of capital city," underlined the court.

The bench directed the state government to hand over developed plots to the land owners within three months
while asking it to not alienate or create any third-party interest on the land pooled for [1], except for the construction
of capital city or development of capital region. It also ordered the development of infrastructure in [1], roads,
drinking water, drainage and electricity within one month.
Q 36. 11774317 Which of the following places has been redacted with [1] in the passage above?

a) Vijayawada b) Amaravati c) Ongole d) Guntur

Q 37. 11774317 Andhra Pradesh was reorganised in ___________to form a separate Telangana state.

a) June 2010 b) June 2012 c) June 2013 d) June 2014

Q 38. 11774317 Andhra State was the first state to be formed on a linguistic basis in India on 1 October 1953. On
1 November 1956, Andhra State was merged with the Telugu-speaking areas of the ____________ State to form
Andhra Pradesh.

a) Hyderabad b) Kadapa c) Warangal d) Kurnool

Q 39. 11774317 Which of the following states does not have different capitals for summer and winter sessions of
assembly?

a) Himachal Pradesh b) Maharashtra c) Uttarakhand d) Odisha

Q 40. 11774317 Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a)
Parliament of India alone is competent to deal with the setting up of legislature, executive
and judicial organs of the state.
b)
Article 1 of the Constitution of India declares that laws made for establishment of new states
are not to be considered as amendments of the Constitution under Article 368.
c) Both (a) and (b) are correct

d) Neither (a) nor (b) are correct

Passage – 3

The US and European Union (EU) have decided to partially exercise the nuclear-weapon option as far as economic
sanctions are concerned: cutting off a number of Russian banks from the main international payment gateway,
SWIFT. The assets of Russia's central bank are also expected to be frozen, constraining Moscow's ability to access
its overseas reserves. The intention of the moves is to "further isolate Russia from the international financial
system", a joint statement stated.

These joint sanctions are the harshest measures against Moscow since its forces went into Ukraine and are
expected to badly hit a country that is heavily reliant on the SWIFT platform for its key natural resources trade,
especially the payments for its oil and gas exports. Cutting off a country from SWIFT in the financial world is
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equivalent to restricting Internet access of a nation.

Prior to this, only one country had been cut off from SWIFT - [1]. It resulted in it losing a third of its foreign trade.
The move against Russia is only partly implemented for now, with only some Russian banks being covered. The
option of expanding it further to a pan-country ban is something that the US and its allies are holding back as a
further escalatory move.

Excluding Russian banks from the SWIFT platform is expected to hit the country's economy hard - and in the words
of the White House, it will make the country rely on "the telephone or a fax machine" to make payments.
Q 41. 11774317 What is the full form of SWIFT mentioned in the passage above?

a) States for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

b) Sovereign for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

c) Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

d) System for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

Q 42. 11774317 Which of the following countries has been redacted with [1] in the passage above?

a) Iraq b) Iran c) Syria d) North Korea

Q 43. 11774317 The SWIFT was established in _______ and based in___________.

a) 1983 and USA b) c) 1973 and Belgium d) 1993 and Belarus

1993 and Germany

Q 44. 11774317 India's financial system has access to the SWIFT. Prior to SWIFT, the only reliable means of
message confirmation for international funds transfer was ____________.

a) Telex b) Letters of Credit c) d) Consignment

Open Account Terms

Q 45. 11774317 Russia has worked on alternatives, including the SPFS an equivalent of the SWIFT financial
transfer system developed by the Central Bank of Russia. What is the full form of SPFS?

a) Soviet for Transfer of Financial Messages b)

Society for Transfer of Financial Messages
c) d) Stalin for Transfer of Financial Messages
System for Transfer of Financial Messages

Passage – 4

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted a $ [1] billion dollar-rupee swap auction as part of its liquidity
management initiative, leading to infusion of dollars and sucking out of the rupee from the financial system. The
central bank's move will reduce the pressure on inflation and strengthen the rupee.

The RBI's planned forex swap auction went through smoothly. The central bank said it received bids worth $13.56
billion for the sell/buy auction. It accepted 86 of these bids for $5.135 billion. The cut-off premium was set at 656
paise. The first leg of the settlement will be March 10, 2022 and the second leg will be March 11, 2024.
:
The RBI sold $5.135 billion to banks on March 8 and simultaneously agreed to buy back the dollars at the end of
the swap settlement period. When the central bank sells dollars, it sucks out an equivalent amount in rupees, thus
reducing the rupee liquidity in the system. Dollar inflow into the market will strengthen the rupee which has already
hit the 77 level against the US dollar.

The swap auction can be done in the reverse way also when there is shortage of liquidity in the system. The RBI
then buys dollars from the market and releases an equivalent amount in the rupees.

With the rupee under pressure and inflation posing a big risk to the economy, the central bank is expected to come
out with more such measures to rein in inflation and prevent a big slide in the rupee. The market is also gearing up
for more RBI actions in the near future. "The key to effective liquidity management is the 'timing' and having a
nuanced and nimble footed approach that responds swiftly to the manner in which liquidity tilts," the RBI said in the
policy review on February 10.
Q 46. 11774317 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted a $ [1] billion dollar-rupee swap auction as part of its
liquidity management initiative, leading to infusion of dollars and sucking out of the rupee from the financial system.
Which of the following has been redacted with [1] in the passage above?

a) $ 2 billion b) $ 3 billion c) $ 5 billion d) $ 10 billion

Q 47. 11774317 Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Dollar-Rupee Swap auction?

a)
It is a forex tool whereby the central bank uses its currency to buy another currency or vice
versa.
b)
In a Dollar-Rupee buy/sell swap, the central bank buys dollars (US dollars or USD) from
banks in exchange for Indian Rupees (INR) and immediately gets into an opposite deal with
banks promising to sell dollars at a later date.
c) Both (a) and (b) are correct

d) Neither (a) nor (b) are correct

Q 48. 11774317 Why do Central Banks engage in Dollar-Rupee Swap auction?

a) Forex swaps help in liquidity management.

b) It also, in a limited way, helps in keeping the currency rates in check.

c)
A dollar-rupee buy/sell swap injects INR into the banking system while sucking out the
dollars and the reverse happens in a sell/buy swap.
d) All of the above

Q 49. 11774317 Which of the following is/are the impacts of Dollar-Rupee Swap auction?

a)
Forex swaps are intended for liquidity management, therefore, their impact on currency is
only incidental.
:
b)
The RBI resorting to selling USD in two tranches will keep a check on Rupee's volatility and
help curb its depreciation to some extent.
c) For the bond market, the exercise may have a pronounced impact.

d) All of the above

Q 50. 11774317 Which of the following is used by the RBI to conduct exercises like auctioning of government
securities?

a) YONO b) E-kuber c) d) E-Meta

Oracle FLEXCUBE

Passage – 5

Meghalaya has withdrawn consent to the CBI to investigate cases in the state, becoming the ninth state in the
country to have taken this step. Meghalaya is ruled by Conrad Sangma's National People's Party (NPP) which is
part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

In November last year, the Supreme Court had expressed concern over a submission by the CBI that since 2018,
around 150 requests for sanction to investigate had been pending with the eight state governments who had
withdrawn general consent until then.

The CBI is governed by The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, and it must mandatorily obtain
the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.

Section [1] of The DSPE Act ("Consent of State Government to exercise of powers and jurisdiction") says: "Nothing
contained in section 5 (titled "Extension of powers and jurisdiction of special police establishment to other areas")
shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and
jurisdiction in any area in a State, not being a Union territory or railway area, without the consent of the
Government of that State."

The CBI's position is in this respect different from that of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is
governed by The NIA Act, 2008, and has jurisdiction across the country.

The consent of the state government to CBI can be either case-specific or general. General consent is normally
given by states to help the CBI in seamless investigation of cases of corruption against central government
employees in their states. This is consent by default, in the absence of which the CBI would have to apply to the
state government in every case, and before taking even small actions.
Q 51. 11774317 The CBI was established as the Special Police Establishment in 1941, to investigate cases of
corruption in the procurement during the______________.

a) First World War b) c) British War d) Cold War

Second World War

Q 52. 11774317 Which of the following statements is Not true regarding the CBI?

a) It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home affairs, Government of India.
:
b) CBI is not a statutory body.

c) CBI is not a constitutional body.

d) CBI is India's officially designated single point of contact for liaison with the Interpol.

Q 53. 11774317 Who is the currently serving as the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)?

a) b) Praveen Sinha c) d) Alok Verma

Subodh Kumar Rishi Kumar Shukla
Jaiswal

Q 54. 11774317 Which of the following statements is Not true regarding the problems associated with CBI?

a)
The agency is dependent on the home ministry for staffing since many of its investigators
come from the Indian Police Service.
b)
The CBI run by IPS officers on deputation, is also vulnerable to the government's ability to
manipulate the senior officers.
c)
Since police is a Concurrent subject under the Constitution and CBI acts as per the
procedure prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the CBI needs the consent
of the State government in question before it can make its presence in that State.
d) All of the above

Q 55. 11774317 Which of the following sections of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946 has
been redacted with [1] in the passage above?

a) Section 1 b) Section 2 c) Section 4 d) Section 6

Passage – 6

Oil prices rose following a sharp drop in the previous session as the market contemplated whether major producers
would boost supply to help plug the gap in output from Russia due to sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.

Brent crude futures were up $3.10, or 2.8%, at $114.24 a barrel at 0419 GMT after trading in a more than $5 range.
The benchmark contract slumped 13% in the previous session in its biggest one-day drop in nearly two years.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.58, or 1.5%, at $110.28 a barrel, after trading in a
more than $4 range. The contract had tumbled 12.5% in the previous session in the biggest daily decline since
November.

Uncertainty over where and when supply will come from to replace crude from the world's second largest exporter
Russia in a tight market has led to wide ranging forecasts for oil prices between $100 and $200 a barrel.

Comments from the United Arab Emirates energy minister and the country's ambassador to Washington sent
conflicting signals. UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Twitter his country is committed to the existing
:
agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, together
called OPEC+, to ramp up oil supply by 400,000 barrels per day monthly following sharp cuts in 2020.

The comments from UAE officials came as the market also took into account moves by the United States to ease
sanctions on Venezuelan oil and efforts to seal a nuclear deal with Tehran, which could lead to more oil supply
coming from Iran later this year.
Q 56. 11774317 Which of the following countries is Not a founding member of Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC)?

a) Iran b) Saudi Arabia c) Venezuela d) Russia

Q 57. 11774317 Which of the following statements is true regarding the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC)?

a) It is a permanent, non-governmental organization.

b) The Organization has a total of 10 Member Countries at present.

c) It is headquartered Tehran, Iran.

d)
OPEC membership is open to any country that is a substantial exporter of oil and which
shares the ideals of the organization.

Q 58. 11774317 Which of the following countries is Not a member in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC+) plus?

a) Kazakhstan b) Malaysia c) Mexico d) Egypt

Q 59. 11774317 Which of the following statements is true regarding the International Energy Agency (IEA)?

a)
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a United Nations special agency which works to
ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy.
b)
It was established in the wake of 2003 oil crisis after the OPEC cartel had shocked the world
with a steep increase in oil prices.
c)
India officially became the International Energy Agency's 30th member country in February
2018, and its first member in Asia.
d) It is best known for the publication of its annual World Energy Outlook.

Q 60. 11774317 The increase in commodity prices will have a direct impact on the economy as India imports 85
per cent of its oil requirements. Which of the following challenges is/are having direct impact on Indian Economy?

a)
The targeted fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP might be difficult to manage, even if
nothing changes in terms of government expenditure.
b)
:
Inflation which is already out of the RBI's comfort zone could be driven even higher not just
by crude oil prices but also by edible oils.
c)
The central bank and the economy could face the double whammy of stalling growth and
high inflation.
d) All of the above

Passage – 7

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of National Payments Corporation of India said
that [1] has now become the first country outside of India to adopt real-time Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
payments.

NIPL has joined hands with payment system operator Gateway Payments Service and Manam Infotech to deploy
UPI in [1] in a bid to bolster interoperable real-time Person to Person (P2P) and merchant payment transactions
(P2M) in the country.

Before this, NIPL has also forged partnerships in Singapore and Bhutan for accepting UPI QR-based payments.
The partnership with Singapore's PayNow also allows cross-border payments. NIPL had also tied up with UAE's
Mashreq Bank to enable Indian travelers to pay for their purchases using UPI.

Whereas, the [1] partnership will enable the creation of UPI real-time-based payment system in [1]. [1] will have
their own UPI, own apps, with their own banks like India.

Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL said, "We are delighted to join hands with GPS and Manam Infotech to facilitate the
deployment of NPCI's flagship Unified Payments Interface in [1]. This partnership will enable consumers within [1]
to transact swiftly using the UPI platform."

In 2021, UPI enabled 39 billion financial transactions amounting to commerce worth $940 billion, which is
equivalent to approximately 31 percent of India's GDP. According to a Jefferies report, UPI is estimated to cross $1
trillion in overall volumes for FY22, making up 50 percent of India's retail digital payments in the current financial
year. NPCI International Payments was incorporated on April 3, 2020, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI with
an aim to internationalise products like RuPay and UPI.
Q 61. 11774317 Which of the following countries has become the first country outside of India to adopt real-time
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments which has been redacted with [1] in the passage above?

a) Russia b) Bangladesh c) Nepal d) Sri Lanka

Q 62. 11774317 Which of the following has launched new UPI services for feature phones called UPI123Pay for
non-internet users to make digital payments, also launched a 24x7 helpline for digital payments called 'Digisaathi'?

a) b) NITI Aayog c) d) SBI

Reserve Bank of Ministry of Finance
India

Q 63. 11774317 Which of the following statements is Not correct regarding the UPI 123 Pay?
:
a) UPI 123 Pay will work on simple phones that do not have an internet connection.

b)
The UPI service for feature phones will leverage the RBI's regulatory Sandbox on Retail
Payments.
c)
The UPI service will enable digital transactions through a mechanism of 'on-device' wallet in
UPI applications."
d)
The users will be able to undertake a host of transactions based on two technology
alternatives.

Q 64. 11774317 UPI is currently the biggest among the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) operated
systems which does not include which of the following?

a) Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) b)

Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS)
c) RuPay d) RipplePay

Q 65. 11774317 The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an initiative taken by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) and ____________to operate the retail payments and settlement systems in India.

a) Indian Bank's Association (IBA) b) SBI

c) SIDBI d) Ministry of Finance

Legal Aptitude
Directions for questions 66 to 105: You have been given some passages followed by questions based on each
passage. You are required to choose the most appropriate option which follows from the passage. Only the
information given in the passage should be used for choosing the answer and no external knowledge of law
howsoever prominent is to be applied.

Passage – 1

The Arbitral Tribunal is a private forum chosen by the parties to the dispute to get their civil or commercial disputes
adjudicated. Every civil and commercial dispute is capable of being adjudicated by arbitration unless the jurisdiction
of Arbitral Tribunal is barred. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended) ("the Act") do not specifically
exclude category of civil or commercial disputes from arbitrability.

Section 8 of the Act mandates that where an action is brought before a Judicial Authority in a matter, which is the
subject of an arbitration agreement, the parties shall be referred by it to arbitration subject to exception given in
Section 8 of the Act. Section 8 of the Act casts obligation on the Judicial Authority to refer to arbitration in terms of
Arbitration Agreement. Evidently, the Act does not exclude the category of disputes which are to be treated as
nonarbitrable. However, the courts in certain category of disputes refuse to refer the parties to arbitration under
Section 8 of the Act. Some of the category of disputes which are reserved exclusively to be tried by Public fora
:
(Courts and Tribunals) constituted under the law and which are generally considered as non-arbitrable disputes are
as follows:-
• disputes relating to rights and liabilities which give rise to or arise out of criminal offences;
• matrimonial disputes relating to divorce, judicial separation, restitution of conjugal rights, child custody;
• guardianship matters;
• insolvency and winding-up matters;
• matters related to grant of probate, letters of administration and succession certificate;
• matters related to eviction of tenants where tenant enjoys statutory protection against eviction by special statutes;
• patent, trade-marks and copyright;
• anti-trust/competition laws;
• fraud

The issue of arbitrability of fraud has arisen for consideration by the Courts in India on several occasions. There
exists conflicting decisions on this issue. The Supreme Court in the case titled "N. Radhakrishnan v. Maestro
Engineers & Ors." held that an issue of fraud is not arbitrable. The Supreme Court in the case titled "Meguin GmbH
v. Nandan Petrochem Ltd." appointed an arbitrator even though issues of fraud were involved. However, the
Supreme Court in the case titled "Swiss Timings Ltd. vs. Commonwealth Games 2010 Organizing Committee" held
that judgment in N. Radhakrishnan case (supra) is per incuriam and is not good law.

The courts have made distinctions between a serious issue of fraud and a mere allegation of fraud while deciding
the categories of disputes as non-arbitrable. A serious issue of fraud has been held to be nonarbitrable. The
allegations of fraud should be such that not only these allegations are serious but in normal course the allegations
may have constituted criminal offences and are so complex in nature that the decision on these issues warrants
detailed and elaborate evidence for which only Civil Courts would be proper and appropriate fora than the Arbitral
Tribunals.
Q 66. 11774317 A and B were married on 7.02.2012, after working together in the same company for six years.
After getting married, they started their individual ventures in two different sectors. A started a tech-based start-up,
while B started a shipping company. One fine day, they thought of entering into an agreement for a particular
consignment. During the middle of this work, a dispute arose between the two companies over the dues from A's
end. Now, A and B wish to refer this matter for arbitration. Decide.

a)
This matter shall be non-arbitrable, because the dispute arose between a married couple.
b) This matter is arbitrable, since it falls outside the purview of exceptions listed.

c)
This matter shall be referred to the consumer courts, since it is about the pending payments.
d) This matter is arbitrable, since it is not related to fraud in any ways.

Q 67. 11774317 Mr. X was the owner of a construction company named ABC, which was recently set up. Mr. Y,
who was a businessman, wanted to set up a shopping complex in the city of Delhi. For this, he invited tenders and
eventually, Mr. X's proposal got approved. In the course of this contract, ABC and Mr. Y got involved in a dispute
regarding the quality of substance being used for the construction. Both of them had a different interpretation of the
contractual terms. Meanwhile, Mr. Y also discovered the fact Mr. X has a criminal record, which he was never told
about. Now, decide if the matter is arbitrable or not.

a) The matter can be referred for arbitration, since it is a commercial dispute.

:
b)
The matter cannot be referred for arbitration, since it falls under the purview of criminal
case.
c)
The matter can be referred for arbitration, since Y did not commit a fraud by hiding his
criminal record.
d) The matter cannot be referred for arbitration, since it falls within the exceptions.

Q 68. 11774317 Presume Arun is Tarun's father. He has been living with Tarun and his wife right after Tarun's
marriage. Everything was running smoothly, and all of them were busy with their respective lives. However, Tarun
and his wife lost their jobs in an IT layover. Now, all of their income sources were exhausted, and the only option
left was selling off the ancestral property. Arun, who has sentimental values attached to it, is opposed to this move.
However, Tarun didn't listen to him and went ahead to sell his share. However, he sold off some part of Arun's
share as well, by an error. Now, Arun wants to refer this to arbitration, while Mr. C (who purchased the property)
claims that this falls under the header of guardianship issues. Pick the most suitable option.

a) The dispute falls under guardianship's header as it involves a father and his son.

b) The dispute doesn't involve an aspect of guardianship in it.

c)
The matter cannot be referred for arbitration, since it is supposed to be resolved by family
courts.
d)
The matter can be referred for arbitration, since the parties directly involved in it have
consented for the same.

Q 69. 11774317 X was the CEO of a construction company named Razda Co., who was looking for a contractor to
assist in the ongoing projects. Mazda Co., which was famous for its previous projects, approached X for the said
requirement. They entered into a contractual arrangement by an agreement dated 07.11.2019. However, a dispute
arose between them, with respect to the pending payments for the raw material. Further, one of the employees of
Mazda Co. also filed a sexual harassment complaint against X. Decide upon the dispute between the companies.

a) The dispute can be referred for arbitration, since it qualifies for the same.

b)
The dispute cannot be referred for arbitration, since there is a criminal complaint against X.
c)
The sexual harassment complaint needs to be dealt by the internal committee first, and then
the matter becomes eligible for arbitration.
d)
Both the matters are ineligible for arbitration, considering the aspect of criminal laws in
them.

Q 70. 11774317 AS and BS were neighbours, who have been living beside each other from quite some time now.
However, they were not on good terms with each other. They use to argue over smallest of issues, and badmouth
about each other. One day during a similar argument, AS lost his cool and threw a big stone on BS. BS was
severely injured, and now wished to proceed to the court against AS. AS, who was very concerned about his
:
reputation, offered an out-of-court settlement (through mediation and reconciliation). Decide upon AS's choice of
dispute resolution.

a)
The matter can be referred for the said way of settlement, since both the parties have
consented towards it.
b)
The matter cannot be referred for arbitration, since it falls under the purview of criminal laws.
c)
The matter cannot be referred for the said way of settlement, since the issue needs to be
dealt by incourt litigation.
d) None of these.

Directions for questions 66 to 105: You have been given some passages followed by questions based on each
passage. You are required to choose the most appropriate option which follows from the passage. Only the
information given in the passage should be used for choosing the answer and no external knowledge of law
howsoever prominent is to be applied.

Passage – 2

Indian Law on the validity of Trade and Employment Restraints The Indian contract law stipulates that an
agreement, which restrains anyone from carrying on a lawful profession, trade or business, is void. As per Section
27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 ("the Act"), agreements that places restraint of trade or business are unfair, as
they impose an undue restriction on the personal freedom of the contracting party. Thus, the Act invalidates all
restraints of trade, whether general or partial restraint unless it falls within the exception of this section.

However, there are two exceptions to this provision (i) provided by the statute, and (ii) arising from judicial
interpretation of Section 27 of the Act.

As per the statutory exceptions, an agreement for one who sells the goodwill of the Company has to specify the
local limits of the restraints. The seller can be restrained within certain territorial or geographical limits and the limits
must be reasonable.

Though Section 27 of the Act clearly stipulates that any non-compete agreement is void and not binding on the
contracting parties, there are several decisions which say that a negative clause in an agreement which is intended
for advancement of trade would not be regarded as being in restraint of trade.

The judiciary while determining whether a negative covenant is in restraint of trade, business or employment or not,
the courts have taken a stricter view with regard to employer-employee contracts than in other contracts, such as
partnership contracts, collaboration contracts, franchise contracts, agency/distributorship contracts, commercial
contracts. Negative stipulation during the period of employment has been held to be is valid and is not in restraint
of trade. However, the judiciary has refused to enforce post termination non-compete clauses in employment
contracts as "restraint of trade" and it is impermissible under section 27 of the Act. Such agreements of restraint
are held void because of being unfair and depriving an individual of his or her fundamental right to earn a living.
:
Therefore, in order to validate negative covenants in employment agreements or contracts the following reasonable
restrictions may be imposed:
• Restricted territorial limit: If the restriction is within certain territorial or geographical limits;
• Restricted time limit: If the time frame is within a specified limit;
• Trade Secrets: If the information shared is exclusive and shared with confidence that the employee shall use such
information only for the benefit of the employer; or
• The restriction falls within Exception 1 to Article 27 of the Act: restraint of trade on the sale of goodwill.

Hence, the law manages to protect the rights of both the parties without jeopardising fundamental rights.
Q 71. 11774317 Ajay and Rajeev have been working in the same company for quite some time now. They have
been on considerably good terms and hence decided to start their own venture. For this, Ajay and Rajeev started
brainstorming. One fine day, Ajay shared a fantastic idea with Rajeev, and both of them decided to move ahead
with the same. However, Rajeev was tempted by this idea, and started having dishonest intentions. To reap all the
benefits alone, he immediately launched a venture on almost lines without informing Ajay. Now, Ajay wants the
courts to issue a restriction against this move of Rajeev. In defense, Rajeev says that this will amount to
infringement of his right to free trade as mentioned under section 27 of ICA.

a)
Rajeev will succeed with his defence, since there the case doesn't satisfy any given criteria.
b) Ajay will succeed in his claim, since Rajeev's act amount to breach of trust.

c) Ajay will not succeed in his claim, since Rajeev did not copy the idea altogether.

d)
Rajeev will not succeed with his defence, since the information used was exclusive and
amount to a trade secret.

Q 72. 11774317 A wanted to enter into the business of ragi oil in the city of Jaisalmer. In order to have a seamless
production, he got in touch with B, who was the sole dealer of Ragi in that area. A offered a very lucrative deal to B,
with the condition that he won't sell ragi to any other person in his entire lifetime. Attracted by the huge amount of
money, B didn't think much about this clause and entered the deal. One fine day, C approached B for the supply of
Ragi on a monthly basis. B agreed to the same and started sending the consignment to C. When A came to know
about this, he held B liable for breach of contract. To this, B stated that this shall amount to restraint of trade under
Section 27. Decide.

a)
The said term would amount to a restraint of trade, since he restricted B from supplying Ragi
to anyone else.
b)
The said term would not amount to a restrain of trade, since A merely did this in good faith.
c)
The said term would not amount to a restraint under Section 27, since A did this for a
specific time limit.
d)
The said term would amount to a restrain under Section 27, since it did not fall in any of the
exceptions listed.
:
Q 73. 11774317 Coca Cola has been a leader in the market of soft drinks. Its taste has been unmatchable, and the
recipe is a secret: which is known only by the higher management (board of directors), who were supposed to
preserve it and not use it anywhere else. Coca cola has a unique supply chain, where none of the workers are fully
aware of the entire recipe. Mr. Ramesh was one of the directors of Coca Cola. He was fed up with serving as an
employee, and wanted to start off his own venture. For this, he resigned from his post and launched his own soft
drink named 'Cool Star'. Cool star tasted very similar to Coca Cola. Knowing this, the management of Coca Cola
claimed that Mr. Ramesh has breached the agreement, that he will not use any method which was indigenous to
Coca Cola. Pick the most suitable option.

a)
Mr. Ramesh shall not be restricted from continuing his venture, as it would amount to a
restraint of trade under Section 27.
b)
Stopping Mr. Ramesh will not be a restraint of trade, since it falls under the purview of
'protecting trade secret'.
c) Stopping Mr. Ramesh will be a restraint of trade, since it will be extremely unreasonable.

d)
Mr. Ramesh shall be restricted from carrying out since it was almost similar to Coca Cola.

Q 74. 11774317 Which of the following options would amount to restraint of trade, as per the passage?

a) A father not allowing his child to sell his gold chain.

b)
A Non-disclosure agreement restricting an employee in using the created IP after
resignation.
c)
A construction company restricting all of its ex-employees from working in this sector
throughout their lifetime.
d)
A person selling his business of cabs in a city, and agreeing that he won't start any venture
in that area.

Q 75. 11774317 X was an influential cotton businessman in the city of Mumbai and Pune. However, he has been
looking out to exploit Kolhapur's market as well. Therefore, he approached Y, who owned the biggest cotton factory
in the town. Y agreed to sell his factory and goodwill to X. This agreement had a clause that Y will not enter into the
same business again, within the confines of Kolhapur. Agreeing to this, Y sold his property in Kolhapur and shifted
to another city. After a couple of years, Y wanted to settle down in Kolhapur, to enjoy some time with his family. For
this, he took the land for rent and started a bread factory. When X came to know about it, he approached the court
to hold Y liable for breach of contract. Decide.

a) X will succeed in his claim, since Y cannot operate within the confines of Kolhapur.

b) X will not succeed in his claim, since Y has the freedom to act in any way he deems fit.

c) X will succeed in his claim, since Y has breached the terms of contract.

d) X will not succeed in his claim, since the goodwill was sold for that particular business.
:
Directions for questions 66 to 105: You have been given some passages followed by questions based on each
passage. You are required to choose the most appropriate option which follows from the passage. Only the
information given in the passage should be used for choosing the answer and no external knowledge of law
howsoever prominent is to be applied.

Passage – 3

The question of balance between the right to reputation and the right to freedom of speech and expression has
grown with the increased number of platforms to express one's opinions and ideologies. One has multiple ways to
express his or her opinion on varied platforms. The clash surfaces when there is a comparison between freedom of
speech and expression and right to reputation. Often, when the right to freedom of speech and expression is
exercised beyond the prescribed limits, it becomes an infringement of the right to reputation. The right to reputation
includes the protection of dignity and preservation of individual respect in society. Commercially, the right to
reputation has a different connotation. A product creates its own goodwill in the market through various
management methods and such products are generally trademark protected. However, the question remains, are
these products immune from dangers such as the harm to reputation? This danger is known as Product
Disparagement in legal terms. Matters relating to such issues have frequently come up in courts and different
guidelines have been given effect to in pursuance.

Recently, the Bombay High Court was faced with a similar issue related to the extent of freedom of speech and
expression through online platforms. Social media content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
involve 'Social Media Influencer's' review on various products. In the case of Marico Ltd. v Abhijeet Bhansali, this
question has been addressed in meticulous detail.

For a liability to exist, the defendant must satisfy all the ingredients to constitute disparagement, slander of goods
and malicious falsehood. The constituents of slander of goods/ product disparagement/ malicious falsehood
include:
• The impugned statements must be false;
• There must be a clear intent of causing harm;
• There must be damage caused by such impugned statements.

The court held that the freedom of speech and expression needs to be put on a higher pedestal than that of right to
reputation. The reason being, the presence of the Social Contract Theory. The theory propounded that the public
surrendered their freedom in return of certain liberties and rights. One of the most important rights among them
was the freedom of speech and expression. The freedom of speech and expression has only certain restrictions
which include, inter alia, Defamation, Sedition, Morality.
However, in the present case, the impugned video contains only opinion regarding the product. There has been no
infringement of right to reputation. In the first place, there is no presence of any false information as the review is
only an opinion by one person. The court suggested that the 'social media influencers' ought to have a check on
the objectionability of the content. They must ensure that their content does not harm the reputation of any product
which may result in loss of market share.
Q 76. 11774317 Marco was the market leader in the business of noodles in India. It was hailed for its exceptional
taste and cost-effective nature. However, the food security board once visited the factories of Marco as a surprise
quality check visit. It was found that Marco was using a chemical that was not healthy for consumption. This report
was published, and it gathered alot of attention from media and general masses. This led to a sharp fall in the sale
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of Marco's products, nearly by 35%. Aggrieved by this, Marco decided to move to the court against the food
security board. They claimed that the report led to an immense loss of reputation, and that the surprise check
showcases clear intention for the same. Decide.

a)
Marco will succeed in its suit, since the surprise check has led to immense loss of
reputation.
b)
Marco will not succeed in its claim, since the food security board merely wanted to check the
quality of the goods being produced.
c)
Marco will succeed in its claim, since the report was made public to destroy its public image.
d)
Marco will not succeed in its claim, since there was no malicious intention at the end of food
security board.

Q 77. 11774317 ABC was a new entrant in the business of manufacturing coffee. It looked very promising, and
hence attracted a lot of prominent investors. What made this company unique was the special power charge
coffee: which claimed to be 35% more effective in removing sleepiness than its competitors. This claim, although
scientifically backed, led to a decrease in the sale of prominent brands like FC, GH, and RT. They claimed that the
claim of being 35% attacked the competitors directly and led to a loss of damage. Pick the most suitable option.

a) ABC will not be liable for product disparagement.

b) ABC will be liable for product disparagement, since the sales of other brands went down.

c)
ABC will not be liable for product disparagement, since this is a common practice in the
commercial world.
d)
ABC will be liable for product disparagement, since it made a direct attack on its
competitors.

Q 78. 11774317 Azar was one of the biggest textile companies in India. It had a huge market share across the
country and was all set to become the top company in its line. On the other hand, Nazar was a new entrant in the
textile industry. The company was still in its early stage, and its reach was limited to the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Through some confidential source, the directors of Nazar came to know about Azar's unfair practices of tampering
with textile quality. In order to protect the consumers, Nazar's management took this to the quality control division.
The information was verified and soon it was all around the news headlines. Which of these options are you most
likely to agree upon?

a)
Nazar will be liable for product disparagement, since it intentionally informed the quality
control division.
b)
Nazar will not be held liable slander of goods, since its act did not fulfil the requisites of the
same.
:
c)
Nazar will be liable for slander of goods, since all the conditions are satisfied for the same.
d)
Nazar will not be liable for slander of goods, since its act did not directly lead to the loss of
reputation.

Q 79. 11774317 A company named Nisaar steels was looking to enter Mumbai's market, which was mainly a
monopoly of Sochiya steels. In order to spread the word about its quality, the marketing team of Nisaar steels came
up with the tag line: 'Quality, Soch se bhi jyada' (a quality which is beyond your imagination). Now, the
management of Sochiya steels thought that 'Soch' (Hindi word for imagination) is a direct attack on the company's
reputation. However, Nisaar steels denied these allegations by claiming this as an incorrect interpretation. Decide
upon this issue.

a)
Nisaar steels will not be held liable for product disparagement, since it never intended to do
so.
b)
Nisaar steels will be held liable for product disparagement, since the slogan was an indirect
attack at Sochiya steels.
c)
Nisaar steels will not be held liable for product disparagement, since the attack was indirect.
d) Nisaar steels will be held liable, since the intention is clear from its act.

Q 80. 11774317 Which of the following is not true as per the passage?

a)
Social contract forms the base where free speech overrides the aspect of reputation in most
cases.
b) A false opinion also constitutes disparagement and slander of goods.

c)
The benefit of the doubt is not awarded to the claimant while discussing the intent of the
defendant.
d)
Damage is an integral part of any claim, without which the claim cannot exist in the first
place.

Directions for questions 66 to 105: You have been given some passages followed by questions based on each
passage. You are required to choose the most appropriate option which follows from the passage. Only the
information given in the passage should be used for choosing the answer and no external knowledge of law
howsoever prominent is to be applied.

Passage – 4

A specific provision requiring disclosure by the arbitrator regarding his impartiality was added to Section 12 of the
Act in 2015. As per the provision, any person who is approached for his possible appointment as an arbitrator must
:
disclose in writing any direct or indirect, past or present relationship with the parties, counsel, subject-matter and
outcome of arbitration, whether financial, professional, business or any other kind, which is likely to give rise to
justifiable doubt as to the independence & impartiality or which would affect his ability to devote sufficient time to
the arbitration and his ability to complete the entire arbitration within the period of twelve months. The disclosure is
required to be made by such a person as per the form prescribed under the Sixth Schedule. Hence, the onus is
upon the arbitrator to make true and correct disclosure. On the basis of such disclosure it shall be determined
whether any such circumstances exist or whether it falls under any of the grounds enshrined in Fifth Schedule or
Seventh Schedule. Courts vide following judgments have also strengthened the Act for its effective implementation
to ensure impartial and neutral arbitrator. In a recent judgment by the hon'ble Supreme Court in, HRD Corporation
vs. GAIL (India) Limited [MANU/SC/1066/2017], it was observed that if the person falls under Schedule Seven, the
ineligibility goes to the root of the appointment, Section 12(5) read with the Seventh Schedule makes it clear that if
the arbitrator falls in any one of the categories specified in the Seventh Schedule, he becomes "ineligible" to act as
arbitrator. Once he becomes ineligible, it is clear that, under Section 14(1)(a), he then becomes De Jure unable to
perform his functions in as much as, in law, he is regarded as "ineligible" and in that case there will be no need to
follow the challenge procedure as prescribed under section 13 under the Act. Then the mandate of arbitrator shall
be terminated, and he shall then be substituted by another arbitrator under section 14(1) of the Act. On the
contrary, if the disclosure falls within the grounds stated in the Fifth Schedule which gives rise to justifiable doubts
as to the arbitrator's independence or impartiality, the appointment of such arbitrator may be challenged before the
Arbitral Tribunal under section 13. If a challenge is not successful, the Tribunal must then continue the arbitral
proceedings under section 13(4) and make an award and the same can be challenged only under section 34 of the
Act.

The three-judge bench of Supreme Court in TRF Limited vs Energo Engineering Projects Limited [(2017) 8 SCC
377] has strengthened the statutory mandate of independent, impartial & neutral arbitrator. The apex court has held
that if an arbitrator becomes ineligible by operation of law, he cannot nominate another as an arbitrator. The hon'ble
court even went ahead and stated, "once the infrastructure collapses, the superstructure is bound to collapse.
Q 81. 11774317 Anish was a retired supreme court judge, who now used to work as an arbitrator for high-value
commercial disputes. One day, he was approached by the lead counsel of Nazara Constructions, which entered
into a dispute with Rizasha Towers. The dispute arose over the extreme delay on Nazara's end in finishing the
work. Both the parties and their counsels agreed on appointing Anish as the arbitrator. The dispute was settled and
this arbitration was closed, where Rizasha was supposed to compensate Nazara in installments for the next two
years. After a gap of almost one and a half years, the CEO of Rizasha Towers came to know that Anish's son was
appointed as the chief engineer of Nazara Constructions. Now, Rizasha's CEO wants to invalidate the arbitral
award on the ground that the arbitrator was not impartial. Decide.

a) The arbitral award shall be invalidated, since the Anish was partial.

b) Anish cannot be termed as partial, since the appointment happened at a future date.

c) Anish was partial, since his son got appointed as the chief engineer at one of the parties.

d)
The arbitration proceedings cannot be questioned since the award has been delivered and
partly executed.

Q 82. 11774317 X was a renowned arbitrator, who used to deal with complex cases in India. A week ago, he was
approached by the counsel of a shipping company (SHIP) for a high-end commercial dispute with a famous e-
commerce company. Right after knowing that the dispute is with ABC (e-commerce company), he clearly informed
:
SHIP's counsel that his son is on the managerial board of ABC: which might cast some doubts on his impartiality.
However, SHIP's counsel didn't pay much attention back then, since there was immense pressure. During the
arbitral proceedings, SHIP's team objected by stating the possibility of X being partial. In his defence, X stated that
he has made this very clear in the beginning itself. Decide.

a) X is at fault, since he did not make the disclosure in the prescribed manner.

b)
X is not at fault, since he communicated his limitations at the very beginning of the
proceedings.
c) The challenge cannot be made, since the arbitrator is appointed mutually.

d)
X is not at fault, since there is no specific way of communicating the circumstances which
might make him partial towards one party.

Q 83. 11774317 Tirata and Mirata were two renowned companies in the field of new technologies. After a couple
of years, there came a dispute between them, which was later referred for arbitration. They appointed an arbitrator,
Mr. A. However, Tirata came to know about some information which would cast doubt upon Mr. A's impartiality and
ability to decide upon the case in a proper manner. Hence, they challenged the arbitrator on one of the grounds
stated in the Fifth Schedule of Arbitration and Reconciliation Act, 1996. Pick the most suitable option.

a) Mr. A is now ineligible to conduct the arbitral proceedings further.

b) Mr. A should have disclosed these circumstances in writing beforehand.

c) Tirata should have challenged the award under Section 34 of the act.

d) Mr. A shall continue the proceedings if the challenge is not successful.

Q 84. 11774317 Which of the following is an incorrect deduction based on this passage?

a) Onus is on the arbitrator to make correct disclosure.

b) An arbitrator cannot nominate another arbitrator after becoming ineligible under the act.

c) The arbitrator becomes ineligible, once a challenge has been filed against him.

d)
Once the challenge fails against an arbitrator, the proceedings can be taken forward in the
initial manner.

Q 85. 11774317 Mario was one of the leading transportation companies which used to deliver the consignments of
Zenei, which happened to be a famous automobile company. One day, both of them entered into a dispute over
some damaged cars. As per Mario, it was due to some unavoidable circumstances. On the other hand, Zenei
wanted compensation from Mario's end. This matter was referred to Arbitration. Mr. D, who was a retired supreme
court judge. He agreed on acting as the arbitrator for this case. However, he failed to disclose that he is also one of
the investors for this proceeding, where Mario has sought help under litigation financing. Based upon this
information, pick the most suitable option.

a) Mr. D should have disclosed the information in writing to both the parties.

b) Mr. D becomes ineligible by the mere existence of such a fact.

c)
:
Zenei cannot challenge the proceedings, since it failed to ask the arbitrator about his
impartiality/ independence.
d)
Zenei can only challenge this arbitration under Section 34 of the act, and not any time
before.

Directions for questions 66 to 105: You have been given some passages followed by questions based on each
passage. You are required to choose the most appropriate option which follows from the passage. Only the
information given in the passage should be used for choosing the answer and no external knowledge of law
howsoever prominent is to be applied.

Passage – 5

Cyber Stalking is an extension of the physical form of stalking, committed over the internet, through e-mail or other
electronic communication devices and can take different forms including slander, defamation and threats. Cyber
stalking includes, inter alia, the following: Sending threatening or obscene messages, posts or emails; Stealing a
person's identity online and circulating false information with the intent to humiliate or harass; Tracing the location
of a person through illegal means; Uploading obscene pictures; Posting derogatory remarks online with the intent
to harass. The Press release on 'Digital Exploitation of Children', by the Ministry of Women and Child Development
states that the sections 354A and 354D of the IPC provides punishment for cyber bullying and cyber stalking
against women. Cyber-stalking of women was recognised as an offence, subsequent to the insertion of section
354D in the IPC through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.

Section 354D of IPC defines stalking as following:

'Any man who
1) follows a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal interaction repeatedly
despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman; or
2) monitors the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication, commits the
offence of stalking: (emphasis supplied)

Provided that such conduct shall not amount to stalking if the man who pursued it proves that i) it was pursued for
the purpose of preventing or detecting crime and the man accused of stalking had been entrusted with the
responsibility of prevention and detection of crime by the state
ii) it was pursued under any law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any
law
iii) in particular circumstances such conduct was reasonable and justified.'

The language of Section 354D of IPC makes it clear that the section penalises both the offence of offline and online
stalking, without discriminating on the basis of presence or absence of the 'cyber' component. However, subsection
(2) fails to clarify the manner in which the victim can be said to be 'monitored' or 'watched' or what constitutes such
acts.

In the case of State of West Bengal v. Animesh Boxi5 , the accused took possession of some private and obscene
photographs of the victim by hacking into her phone, blackmailed her by threatening to upload the stolen pictures
and videos on the internet and subsequently uploaded her private pictures and intimate videos onto an obscene
:
website.

The District Court of West Bengal convicted the accused under sections 354A, 354C, 354D, 509 of IPC and
sections 66C and 66E of the IT Act. The court held that the offence u/s 354D of the IPC is proved as the victim was
not only stalked online but also suffered from 'virtual rape' every time a user of the openly accessible global website
viewed the video. The court commented that deterrence was one of the prime considerations for convicting the
accused and an inadequate sentence would do more harm than justice, as it would undermine public confidence in
the seriousness of the issue.
Q 86. 11774317 Ram fell in love with one of his classmates, Rita. Now before ensuring whether she should
approach her or not, Ram decided to stalk Rita's Facebook account. Ram while stalking, presses the like button on
all the photos of Rita, which for obvious reasons made Rita aware that Ram is stalking him. Next day Rita met Ram
and asked him to stop stalking her in Facebook; so, Ram started stalking her in Instagram. When Rita came to
know about this, she filed a complaint against Ram. Determine his liability as per the passage.

a) Ram is liable because he had the intention to stalk Rita.

b) Ram is liable because he satisfies all the ingredients of stalking.

c) Ram is not liable because he was obedient enough to stop stalking Rita in Facebook.

d) Ram is not liable because he does not satisfy all the ingredients of stalking.

Q 87. 11774317 X was stalking Y since a very long time despite Y requesting him multiple times that she has no
interest whatsoever in him. Nevertheless, X found an Instagram account with the name of Y and started sending
text messages to that account to which he got requests to stop texting but he did not. Little did X know that he was
sending messages to the wrong account, hence after 15 days, the owner of that account filed a case against X.
determine his liability.

a) X is liable because he kept on sending messages despite the warning.

b) X is not liable because he did not have the intention to send messages to that account.

c)
X is liable because no matter he texted the right account or not, he is the menace to the
society.
d)
X is not liable because what he did was reasonable and he can claim defence under section
354D.

Q 88. 11774317 W and Z were college batchmates. W always had a gut feeling that Z is upto something wrong,
and he even poised some questions to him, to which Z always hesitated to answer. So, W started stalking Z, but he
found nothing but unfortunately Z caught him and filed a complaint against him. Determine his liability.

a) W is not liable because he had a valid defence to stalk Z.

b) W is liable because he satisfies all the ingredients of section 354D.

c) W is not liable because he does not satisfy the ingredients of section 354D.

d) W is liable because he breached the right to privacy of W.

Q 89. 11774317 P and Q were married couples. One day P shot an intimate video of Q and uploaded it to the
internet without the consent of Q. when Q came to know about this, she filed a complaint against P; determine his
:
liability as per the passage.

a) P is not liable because the ingredients of section 354D are not satisfied.

b) P is liable because the ingredients of section 354D are satisfied.

c)
P is not liable because he is the husband of Q and husbands can't be made liable for
stalking their wife.
d)
P is liable because a similar conviction has been made in the case of State of West Bengal
v. Animesh Boxi.

Q 90. 11774317 Kumar was married to Anita. From the time they got married Kumar always doubted Anita for
infidelity, so he installed a hidden camera in their bedroom. One day when Anita was cleaning the room and Kumar
was in office, she found the camera. She confronted Kumar about this and when he accepted, she filed a complaint
against him. Determine Kumar's liability as per the passage.

a)
Kumar is not liable because Anita never objected to the stalking hence 354D(1) is not
satisfied.
b) Kumar is liable because he satisfied the required ingredients under section 354D.

c)
Kumar is not liable because he did not satisfy the required ingredients under section 354D.
d) Kumar is liable because he has breached the privacy of his wife.

Directions for questions 66 to 105: You have been given some passages followed by questions based on each
passage. You are required to choose the most appropriate option which follows from the passage. Only the
information given in the passage should be used for choosing the answer and no external knowledge of law
howsoever prominent is to be applied.

Passage – 6

"Force Majeure" or "Act of God" - this standard clause present in most contracts, which is not commonly invoked, is
in the minds of most corporates and commercial lawyers, as economic activities and commercial transactions world
over have come to a standstill in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

In simple terms, 'Force Majeure' clause is a provision in a contract that exempts a party from performing his
contractual obligations which have become impossible or impracticable due to an event or effect which the parties
could not have foreseen or controlled. This clause is usually couched in general, inclusive terms to cover
unforeseeable incidents such as natural calamities, war, sudden change of government policies etc.

It will be interesting to note that the Indian Contract Act, 1872 - the 148-year-old law governing contracts in India -
does not expressly refer to 'Force Majeure'. However, there are two Sections which can become relevant in such
situations - Section 32 and Section 56. Section 32 deals with "contingent contracts", in which the performance of
the contractual obligations is contingent on the happening or non-happening of an event. If the event becomes
"impossible", the contract becomes "void" under this Section. As far as general contracts are concerned, Section
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56 is relevant. This provision embodies the "doctrine of frustration". It says :An agreement to do an act impossible
in itself is void; A contract to do an act which, after the contract is made, becomes impossible, or by reason of some
event which the promisor could not prevent, unlawful, becomes void when the act becomes impossible or unlawful.

Few principles stated by the Court in the decision are :The word "impossible" in Section 56 does not mean physical
or literal impossibility; Contract can be held to be frustrated if its performance is "impracticable" and "useless" from
the point of view of the object and purpose of the parties, though the performance is not literally impossible; If the
untoward event totally upsets the very foundation upon which the parties entered their agreement, the contract can
be held to be frustrated.
Q 91. 11774317 X was fond of bikes and he recently ordered a new Harley Davidson from Brazil, but due to
sudden covid outbreak resulting in lockdown everywhere, the bike was not able to be shipped to X. The dealer
promised that he will send the bike once the covid cases all around the world is reduced to 0. Deduce the type of
contract as per the facts.

a) Void contract, because there is no possibility of cases being reduced to 0.

b) Voidable contract, because X has the option to declare the contract void.

c)
Contingent contract, because the completion of contract depends on the possibility of covid
cases being reduced to 0.
d) Impossible contract, because the essence of the contract is impractical.

Q 92. 11774317 P contracted with Q to supply 80 tons of steel, required by Q for construction of his son's house
within 90 days. P kept supplying the steel for 45 days but then Q met with an accident and died. Determine the
future of the contract.

a) The contract is now void because Q has died.

b) The contract is now voidable at the option of Q's son.

c)
The contract has now become contingent on the fact whether Q's son will continue the
contract.
d) The contract has now become impossible due to death of one of the parties.

Q 93. 11774317 T wanted to purchase a horse. He went to U to buy his horse but U makes it clear that an offer to
him about his horse has already been made by V; but he can enter into a contract with T that if U gets murdered
somehow and is not able to purchase the horse, he will sell it to T. T agrees to this and they both sign the
agreement. Determine the enforceability of the contract.

a) The contract cannot be enforced because it is an unlawful contract.

b) The contract will be enforced because it is a contingent contract.

c) The contract cannot be enforced because it is a void contract.

d) The contract will be enforced because it is a valid contract.

Q 94. 11774317 M wanted to purchase a horse. He went to N to buy his horse but N makes it clear that an offer to
him about his horse has already been made by O; but he can enter into a contract with M that if O denies to
purchase the horse in his lifetime, he will sell it to T. T agrees to this and they both sign the agreement. Soon O
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dies before purchasing the horse but N refuses to sell the horse to M. Determine the enforceability of the contract.

a) The contract cannot be enforced because the object of the contract is illegal.

b)
The contract cannot be enforced because the contract is dependant on the death of a
certain individual.
c)
The contract will be enforced because the contingency clause will be invoked and N will
have to sell the horse to M.
d)
The contract will be enforced because the doctrine of promissory estoppel has been
established in the given case.

Q 95. 11774317 Ram entered into a contract with Shyam and ordered 50kgs of a specific wheat flour from a shop
2km away from his home for a family function at his home. Shyam was supposed to deliver the flour bag in his
scooter, but it was raining heavily; nevertheless, he drove anyway but unfortunately, he fell in a pool of water and
the flour was completely destroyed. In the light of the facts and the passage, choose the best option.

a) The contract is void due to force majeure

b)
The contract has now become impossible since the object of the contract has been
destroyed.
c) The contract stands valid and Shyam should provide Ram with a fresh bag of wheat.

d)
The contract is now contingent on the fact that what is the opinion of Ram, whether he
wants compensation or a fresh bag of flour.

Directions for questions 66 to 105: You have been given some passages followed by questions based on each
passage. You are required to choose the most appropriate option which follows from the passage. Only the
information given in the passage should be used for choosing the answer and no external knowledge of law
howsoever prominent is to be applied.

Passage – 7

The Supreme Court has observed that an offender who had not used any deadly weapon at the time of committing
robbery/dacoity cannot be convicted under Section 397 of the Indian Penal Code. The use of deadly weapon by
one offender at the time of committing robbery/dacoity cannot attract Section 397 IPC for the imposition of
minimum punishment on another offender who has not used any deadly weapon,

In this case, the appellants -accused were convicted under Section 397 IPC which reads thus: If, at the time of
committing robbery or dacoity, the offender uses any deadly weapon, or causes grievous hurt to any person, or
attempts to cause death or grievous hurt to any person, the imprisonment with which such offender shall be
punished shall not be less than seven years. Before the Apex Court, it was contended that the allegation of use of
any weapon was against the other accused only and thus in absence of any allegations of use of any deadly
weapon by the appellants, Section 397 IPC is not attracted.
:
Taking note of this, the bench observed that the 'dacoity' can be said to be an exaggerated version of robbery; On
conjoint reading of the aforesaid provisions, commission of 'robbery' is sine qua non. As per Section 390 IPC, for
'robbery' there is either theft or extortion. When in the committing of the theft, or in committing the extortion, or in
carrying away or attempting to carry away property obtained by the theft, the offender, voluntarily causes or
attempts to cause to any person death or hurt or wrongful restraint or fear of instant death or of instant hurt, or of
instant wrongful restraint the theft can be said to be 'robbery'.. As per explanation to Section 390 IPC the offender
is said to be present if he is sufficiently near to put the other person in fear of instant death, of instant hurt, or of
instant wrongful restraint. restraint. The 'dacoity' can be said to be an exaggerated version of robbery. If five or
more persons conjointly commit or attempt to commit robbery it can be said to be committing the 'dacoity'.
Therefore, the only difference between the 'robbery' and the 'dacoity' would be the number of persons involved in
conjointly committing or attempt to commit a 'robbery'. The punishment for 'dacoity' and 'robbery' would be the
same except that in the case of 'dacoity' the punishment can be with imprisonment for life. However, in the case of
'dacoity with murder' the punishment can be with death also. However, in a case where the offender uses any
deadly weapon or causes grievous hurt to any person, or attempts to cause death or grievous hurt to any person
the imprisonment with which such offender shall be punished shall not be less than seven years. Thus, as per the
law laid down by this Court in the aforesaid two decisions the term 'offender' under Section 397 IPC is confined to
the 'offender' who uses any deadly weapon and use of deadly weapon by one offender at the time of committing
robbery cannot attract Section 397 IPC for the imposition of minimum punishment on another offender who has not
used any deadly weapon. Even there is distinction and difference between Section 397 and Section 398 IPC. The
word used in Section 397 IPC is 'uses' any deadly weapon and the word used in Section 398 IPC is 'offender is
armed with any deadly weapon'. Therefore, for the purpose of attracting Section 397 IPC the 'offender' who 'uses'
any deadly weapon Section 397 IPC shall be attracted.
Q 96. 11774317 Ram, Kumar, Shyam, Manoj and Ramesh decided to loot the bank. They made all the
arrangements beforehand but at the day they had planned to loot the bank, Ram met with an accident and broke
his leg; nevertheless, the rest of the them went to the bank but unfortunately got caught. Determine their liability as
per the passage.

a) They are liable for robbery. b) They are liable for dacoity.

c) They are not liable for anything. d) They are liable under section 397 of IPC.

Q 97. 11774317 P, Q, R, S and T used to reside in the same building and they all were thieves. P and Q were best
friends and always worked together, whereas R, S and T were friends and always worked together. One night,
coincidentally they ended up looting the same shop, since they were all known to each other they decided to divide
all the loot equally, but before they could go home, they were caught. Determine their liability as per the passage.

a) Both the groups are individually liable for robbery.

b) They are together liable for dacoity.

c) They are not liable for anything since they couldn't take the loot back to their home.

d) They are not liable for anything because they did not plan anything together beforehand.

Q 98. 11774317 X was travelling in a bus; halfway through the journey few men came, with toy rifles which no one
noticed. Everyone including X got afraid and handed them all their money. Soon those men were caught on the
complaint of the driver. Determine their liability as per the passage.

a) They are liable for robbery. b) They are liable for extortion.
:
c) They are liable for dacoity. d) They are not liable for anything.

Q 99. 11774317 Z was financially broke and hence he decided to loot people on the streets. He did not even had
money to buy a pistol or a knife to threaten someone, but anyway with utmost confidence he went towards a man
standing in the street and threatened him that he has a knife in his pocket, so if he doesn't hand him, his wallet he
will be killed; as soon as the man heard Z, he ran away as fast as he could. Determine the liability of Z.

a)
Z is liable for extortion because he attempted to acquire the man's property by inducing fear
of death.
b)
Z is liable under section 397 IPC because, apparently, he used a deadly weapon to commit
robbery.
c)
Z is liable for robbery because he attempted to acquire the man's property by inducing fear
of death.
d) Z is not liable for anything.

Q 100. 11774317 Piyush was very frustrated when we went, he came out of the casino because he had just lost all
his wealth. He signed all the documents at the counter and started walking in the road, he did not even had money
to buy food. Suddenly he saw the man to whom he lost all his bet, he rushed to him and demanded his money to
which the man refused and in the heat of the moment he took out his pen and stabbed him in the neck, thereby
killing him. Determine Piyush's liability.

a) He is liable for robbery and murder. b) He is liable under section 397 of IPC.

c) He is liable under section 398 of IPC. d)

He is not liable under any of the given
provisions.

Directions for questions 66 to 105: You have been given some passages followed by questions based on each
passage. You are required to choose the most appropriate option which follows from the passage. Only the
information given in the passage should be used for choosing the answer and no external knowledge of law
howsoever prominent is to be applied.

Passage – 8

Several social activists and journalists have fallen prey for demanding the government to be answerable. While the
Constitution does not approve of sedition as a limitation on freedom of speech and expression, it still remained in
the penal law. The section was first brought up for consideration after independence in the landmark case of
Romesh Thapar v. State of Madras the Apex Court held that unless the freedom of speech and expression threaten
the 'security of or tend to overthrow the State', any law imposing restriction upon the same would not fall within the
purview of Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution. Later in Tara Singh Gopi Chand case the Punjab High Court
ruled that the 124A was unconstitutional because it expressly violated Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Since the SC earlier held that freedom of speech and expression could be restricted on the grounds of threat to
national security and for serious aggravated forms of public disorder that endanger national security, two additional
:
restrictions were added to Article 19(2) in 1951 by the 1st amendment to the Constitution, namely, "friendly
relations with foreign states" and "public order." The insertion of the words 'in the interest of' before public order
provided a wide amplitude of powers to the State for the curtailment of free speech. "While the State may impose
reasonable restrictions on the exercise of right to freedom of speech and expression by law in the interest of public
order, it is submitted that disturbance of "public order" connotes an element of violence and conducting routine
examinations cannot constitute "public order" grounds justifying restriction of exercise of freedom of speech
through mobile internet by any measure of one's imagination", the plea averred. Furthermore, Section 124A of the
IPC punishes those who attempt to cause hatred, contempt, or disaffection towards the "Government established
by law in India". The Supreme Court clarified the scope of the offence so that it would fit within the parameters of
Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which sets out the reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech.

The judges clarified that for speech and expression to become seditious, it needed to incite "public disorder by acts
of violence". They reiterated this several times, making it clear that without a connection to some form of violent
public disorder, the offence of sedition would not be attracted.
Q 101. 11774317 X was fond on writing blog and he was actually good at it, he had huge fan following and many
of his readers were from US. One day he wrote a blog on the growing India-US relations and how it is impediment
for India's relation with China, he in his blogs revealed certain facts which led to violent protests in US. Determine
the liability of X as per the passage.

a) X is not liable because nothing has happened in India.

b)
X is liable because his blog has the calibre to destroy the friendly relations of India and US.
c) X is liable because his blog has the calibre to destroy the public peace in India as well.

d) X is not liable because he had the defence of freedom of speech and expression.

Q 102. 11774317 Amit was a politician, while he was campaigning for the upcoming elections, he said a lot of
things for the current government that how they are thieves and have looted the public money for a long time. these
statements hurt the sentiments of the ardent followers of the current party and they caused violent protests all over
the country. Determine the liability of Amit as per the passage.

a) Amit is liable because he incited hatred against the government established by law.

b) Amit is liable because it is him who broke the public order of the country.

c) Amit is not liable because he can the defence of freedom of speech and expression.

d) Amit is not liable because he can take the defence of truth.

Q 103. 11774317 Y appeared for civil services examination, but he was unfortunately failed in the interview rounds
which made him very furious. He published a paper elaborating all the scams of the government which he had
studied in during his preparation; in his paper he also mentioned that why it is pertinent to remove the current
government and choose a good one in the next election. When people read his paper, they started protesting
against the government which also turned violent later on. Determine the liability of Y.

a) Y is not liable because he had the defence of freedom of speech and expression.

b)
Y is not liable because he has the defence of truth because whatever he wrote, it genuinely
happened.
:
c) Y is liable because his paper led to the disturbance of public order.

d)
Y is liable because his paper induced hatred against the government established under law.

Q 104. 11774317 P wrote a seditious article, wherein he explicitly mentioned how desperately he wants to
overthrow the government, but he never published this article anywhere, he kept this for his own perusal. One day
some cyber criminals attacked his laptop and uploaded all the sensitive data from his laptop in the internet
including that article. That article caused huge turbulence and people got inspired so much so that they become
hell bent in overthrowing the government. Determine P's liability.

a) P is not liable because he did not publish the article, it was leaked.

b) P is not liable because he has the defence of freedom of speech and expression.

c) P is liable because he has incited hatred against a government established by law.

d) P is liable because he has caused disturbance of public order.

Q 105. 11774317 Raju was a student of class 10. When he won the inter school essay competition on 'declining
democracy', he thought he might also get it published in the city magazine. He spiced up his essay, targeting the
government and writing various seditious statements with the clear intention to induce people to turn against the
government. Determine his liability as per the passage.

a) He is liable because he has written a seditious text.

b) He is not liable because he is a minor.

c) He is liable because he tried to induce people to turn against the government.

d) He is not liable because he has the freedom to speech and expression.

Logical Reasoning
Directions for questions 106 to 135: Each set of questions in this section is based on the reasoning and
arguments set out in the preceding passage. Please answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the corresponding passage. Do not rely on any information or facts other than the ones supplied to you. In some
instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that
most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 1

Twelve years ago, in St Petersburg, 13 countries with wild tiger populations came together to sign a summit
declaration to double the number of tigers in the wild before the next 'Year of the Tiger'. There were about 3,200
tigers in the wild then, of which 1,706 were in India. Meanwhile, tiger numbers have increased to about 3,900 after
decades of constant decline.

In India, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, there are about 2,967 tigers in the wild. Before the
launch of Project Tiger in 1973, there were about 1,827 wild tigers in India. The turnaround is the result of
governments, local communities and conservationists working together ceaselessly, and of sustained political and
:
financial support. Tiger numbers are revealed by the All India Tiger Estimation (tiger census) conducted every four
years since 2006, a collaborative effort by the NTCA, the Wildlife Institute of India, state forest departments and
NGOs. In 2018-19, the last census, over 44,000 field staff of 20 state forest departments covered 5,22,996
kilometres on foot, sampling 3,17,958 plots and placing camera traps at 26,838 locations. The Sunderbans were
late to join the camera trapping exercise because of the unusual mangrove tiger habitat and the unique challenges
it presents. The first study was initiated in early 2012, outside the Sundarban Tiger Reserve over an area of 928
square kilometres. It took over 1,080 workdays and resulted in the identification of more than 20 tigers. This was
made possible because of the state forest department's frontline staff and some foolhardy conservationists taking
on the daunting task of walking inside the mangrove forest. Fortunately, all that could go wrong, did not, and the
study was subsequently extended to STR. What could have gone wrong? Failure of the study to establish tiger
numbers outside STR at best, and loss of lives amongst the inexperienced at worst.

According to the International Ranger Federation, from 2012 to 2017, India lost 162 frontline staff, accounting for
31 per cent of ranger deaths globally. The staff operating under impossible working conditions are generally
underequipped, underpaid, and often over stretched. Yet they are able to pull off conservation successes like
Project Tiger, the 29 per cent spike in the Asiatic Lion population in Gir since 2015, and the revival of the one-
horned rhino population in Kaziranga.
Q 106. 11774317 Out of the following options, which one appropriately captures the central idea of the given
passage?

a) The role of National Tiger Conservation Authority in tiger conservation

b) Tiger conservation and India

c) The challenges of tiger conservation

d) Celebrating the unsung heroes

Q 107. 11774317 In the light of the passage, it can be inferred that:

a) NGOs have been involved in tiger censuses only in the recent past.

b) A tiger census usually involves the forest department only.

c) A tiger census usually involves a lot of stakeholders.

d) NGOs are involved in training the staff of the forest department.

Q 108. 11774317 The author of the passage would most likely agree with which of the following statements:

a) The topography of the Sunderbans is unique.

b) There are other reserve forests in India that resemble the Sunderbans.

c) Part of the Sunderbans is in Bangladesh.

d) A lot of crocodiles are also found in the Sunderbans.

Q 109. 11774317 From the given passage, it is evident that:

a) b)
A tiger census usually takes place in the A tiger census is usually a humongous
monsoons. exercise.
c) d)
:
A tiger census usually involves foreign funds. Camera trapping is the most reliable way to
count tigers.

Q 110. 11774317 The author of the passage suggests that:

a) Conservation efforts in India have been lagging because of paucity of funds.

b)
Conservation efforts in India have witnessed the maximum success in the past one decade.
c) Conservation efforts in India have been successful in every Indian state.

d) Conservation efforts have been successful in a number of Indian states.

Directions for questions 106 to 135: Each set of questions in this section is based on the reasoning and
arguments set out in the preceding passage. Please answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the corresponding passage. Do not rely on any information or facts other than the ones supplied to you. In some
instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that
most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 2

For two years, Shiva Uparkar, a young man belonging to the category of other backward classes in a run-down
Nagpur locality, has been trying his hands at different jobs to make a decent living. He put up a stall selling onions,
potatoes, vegetables and fruits. He planned to start a paan kiosk; even tried for a 10-to-5 job at a local factory.
Nothing worked to his satisfaction. He had been a school-van driver for over a decade, steadily building a small
business. Then, Covid-19 happened. Schools went online. Shiva lost his nascent business. A year back, his
creditor, a small finance bank, went to his home and seized his four stranded school-vans.

Today, he has no heart to borrow money and restart his business as policy uncertainties prevail on his mind and he
is unsure if schools will run off-line again. He's shaken by a loss of confidence. Shiva is not exactly depressed. But
he's not joyous either. He is part of the bottom half of what can now be termed "languishing" masses. Languishing
not in the sense of the word, but as a mental state prevailing among a vast majority of the masses.

The American sociologist and psychologist, Corey Keyes, floated this concept to explain the state of being that falls
between depression and positive feelings, a socio-economic phenomenon that goes on to metamorphose into a
psychological abyss in society. It's a socio-economic continuum that sucks people into an utter sense of
despondency that is not yet leading to clinical depression. But if unaddressed could lead to mental health crisis.

The opposite of that mental state is "flourishing", a sense of positivity that alters one's productivity, creativity and
the way one thinks and conducts oneself. So much so that languishing or flourishingactually becomes coterminous
with low or high productivity, prevailing pessimism or optimism.

The top 10 per cent that controls nearly 73 per cent of our wealth and whose incomes are multiplying manifold
every year in India, have never felt so good. They represent that flourishing country that has never had such a
party in the preceding 100 years. Conversely, the economic recession for the languishing half persists. It has
worsened over the last two decades and certainly through the pandemic.
Q 111. 11774317 The author of the passage would most likely agree with which of the following statements:
:
a) The pandemic has proved to be a bane for everyone.

b) The wealth gap between the rich and poor has widened during the pandemic.

c) The wealth gap between the rich and the poor has actually narrowed in recent years.

d) The pandemic has actually proved to be a bane for people living in rural areas.

Q 112. 11774317 In the light of the passage, it can be inferred that:

a) b) Productivity is an ambiguous concept.

There is no relation between mental state c)
and productivity. Not much research has been done on
productivity.
d) Mental state affects productivity.

Q 113. 11774317 The author of the passage suggests that:

a) A socio-economic event may affect the psychological state of the society.

b) Doctors usually ignore the collective psychological state of the society.

c) People living in the West are usually psychologically sounder.

d) The effect of Corona in India has taken a toll on farmers.

Q 114. 11774317 Corey Keyes seems to suggest that:

a) Corey Keyes is the leading psychologist of the present-day era.

b)
The theory of Corey Keyes has been widely accepted by academicians from across the
world.
c) Despondency can lead to a mental health catastrophe.

d) A psychologically deranged person can be a threat to society.

Q 115. 11774317 The crux of the passage appears to highlight:

a) how the Corona pandemic has made everyone insane.

b) how the Corona pandemic might have far-reaching consequences.

c) how the Corona pandemic has highlighted a host of opportunities for everyone.

d) how the Corona pandemic has destroyed the livelihood of every Indian.

Directions for questions 106 to 135: Each set of questions in this section is based on the reasoning and
arguments set out in the preceding passage. Please answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the corresponding passage. Do not rely on any information or facts other than the ones supplied to you. In some
instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that
most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 3
:
Calcutta's mayor, Firhad Hakim, announced that reducing the city's pollution would be a priority. A significant
volume of Calcutta's pollution emanates from the transportation sector. With India setting its net-zero emission
target for 2070, Calcutta's transportation needs to be geared towards that goal. Calcutta ranks sixth among 14
cities when it comes to overall emissions, according to the Centre for Science and Environment, but emerges as
the least energy-guzzling and GHG-emitting megacity. Calcutta, which has the most diverse public transport
system for urban commuting, does better than even Pune and Ahmedabad.

Of late, the West Bengal Transport Corporation has been electrifying its public transport network. It procured 80
battery-operated electric buses and selected bus depots and bus terminals to support fleet operations. There are
plans to increase the share of battery-operated electric buses. As a result of these efforts, Calcutta received the
C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Award in the 'Green Mobility' category in Copenhagen for the 'Low Carbon
Commute Transition' project. It was the only South Asian city to receive this global award.

The award notwithstanding, Calcutta is making a mistake by adopting battery-operated electric buses for public
transportation. These, undoubtedly, are to be preferred over vehicles running on diesel/biofuel/CNG. But they pose
some challenges. For example, battery-operated electric vehicles cost more than standard buses. Since modern
batteries do not power a bus for the same number of trips as those that run on fossil fuels, the WBTC has to
maintain nearly twice the number of electric buses. Battery life is limited: therefore, the cost of maintaining a
battery-operated EV fleet will be significantly higher than one that runs on CNG/diesel. Furthermore, the disposal of
used batteries - a hazardous material - is an issue and not much attention has been paid to this aspect while
pushing for battery-operated EVs.
Q 116. 11774317 What is the central idea in the passage as conveyed by the author?

a) Calcutta is making difficult for India to become emission free by being cost inefficient.

b) Calcutta is taking the cost ineffective way of reducing pollution.

c) Calcutta is unsure of the way ahead to reduce pollution in a cost effective.

d) Calcutta is failing to maintain its cost of emission free vehicles.

Q 117. 11774317 As per the passage, which of the following is a negative aspect of electric vehicles other than the
cost side?

a) It requires more storage than traditional vehicles.

b) Electric vehicles maybe cost effective but they are time consuming.

c)
Since electric buses are bigger, they will require more space on road and create
congestions.
d) Electric vehicles may pollute due to issues of battery disposability.

Q 118. 11774317 Which of the following notion of successful vehicular pollution management do you think the
author will agree upon?

a)
The vehicles must maintain zero emission, without creating time and monetary constraints.
b) The vehicles must not take up more time to commute than traditional ones.

c) The vehicles must not create unnecessary logistical issues for the operators.
:
d)
The vehicles must be zero emission and ensure that their battery lives are better than what
is currently available.

Q 119. 11774317 Which of the following is a valid conclusion drawn from the last line of the passage?

a) Electric vehicles are as polluting as the traditional ones.

b) In the race to become free of emission we may end up with other pollutants.

c)
Pollution has become to straight jacketed as most people understand it in terms of emission.
d)
Urban areas must diversify their transport systems to maintain a healthy pollution free
environment.

Q 120. 11774317 Which of the following if true will weaken the statement, 'Since modern batteries do not power a
bus for the same number of trips as those that run on fossil fuels, the WBTC has to maintain nearly twice the
number of electric buses.'

a) Calcutta has a diverse transport system and is not dependant on only buses.

b) People could opt for private transports to get over their dependency on public transport.

c) Fossil fuel buses are slower than their electric counterparts.

d) Buses which run on fossil fuels can be converted into electric ones.

Directions for questions 106 to 135: Each set of questions in this section is based on the reasoning and
arguments set out in the preceding passage. Please answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the corresponding passage. Do not rely on any information or facts other than the ones supplied to you. In some
instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that
most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 4

In Jonathan Santlofer'sThe Last Mona Lisa, the protagonist, Luke Perrone, an art professor, remarks how many of
his students prefer seeing a facsimile of paintings on their laptops rather than visiting museums that are often
crowded and noisy. To truly realize the significance of the Mona Lisa, one of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpieces
housed at the Louvre in Paris, one must see the painting in person. Framed in a glass case and always surrounded
by adoring crowds with smartphone cameras, the painting is much smaller than one would expect. The experience
is both overwhelming and underwhelming. While the painting itself has little impact on you, the sheer enthusiasm
around it forces you to reconsider your perception.

It is thus fitting that the Mona Lisa, one of the most recognizable paintings in the world, forms the subject of
Santlofer's thrilling world of fake paintings and greedy art collectors who would go to any length to lay their hands
on prized art. Premised on the theft of the painting by Vincenzo Peruggia in 1911, the book builds a fictional
narrative around his great-grandson, Luke Perrone, who is obsessed with his great-grandfather's history and with
clearing his family's name. He is also intrigued by the continuing controversy about multiple copies of the Mona
Lisa and the possibility that the one at the Louvre is a fake. After receiving information about his great-grandfather's
:
lost journal, Luke travels to Florence to uncover the truth.
Q 121. 11774317 Which of the following is true in reference to the phrase, 'To truly realize the significance of the
Mona Lisa, one of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpieces housed at the Louvre in Paris, one must see the painting in
person.'

a) It will teach viewers to temper expectations.

b) It teaches the viewers to navigate crowds.

c) It teaches the viewers to be patient.

d) It teaches the viewers to integrate modern technology in a gallery.

Q 122. 11774317 Which of the following weakens the author's argument?

a) The mention of Mona Lisa will evoke a lot of emotions in the prospective reader.

b) Mona Lisa has become a commonplace object of popular culture.

c) Mona Lisa is one of the most copied artworks.

d) The popularity of Mona Lisa is mostly a Western phenomenon.

Q 123. 11774317 Which of the following Inferences are true/false?

I. The real Mona Lisa is not available for public viewing.
II. Mona Lisa is not artistically valuable.

a) I is true b) II is true c) Both are true d) Both are false

Q 124. 11774317 Which of the following can be inferred from the author's argument "It is thus fitting that the Mona
Lisa, one of the most recognizable paintings in the world, forms the subject of Santlofer's thrilling world of fake
paintings and greedy art collectors who would go to any length to lay their hands on prized art"?

a) The enthusiasm surrounding Mona Lisa can be used for creating other artworks.

b) Mona Lisa is more popular in the digital world than it is in the real world.

c) The greedy art collectors are to blame for the onslaught of fake Mona Lisa paintings.

d)
Mona Lisa has the potential to give rise to other artworks since it can change a viewers
perception.

Q 125. 11774317 Which of the following is the central idea of the passage?

a) Mona Lisa is the key to writing a good novel based on paintings.

b) Mona Lisa's fame can help readers relate to thrillers dealing with forged paintings.

c) Mona Lisa is an overhyped artwork kept alive thanks to innumerable books written on it.

d)
Mona Lisa is a means to an end where other artists use its recognisability to come up with
new artworks.

Directions for questions 106 to 135: Each set of questions in this section is based on the reasoning and
arguments set out in the preceding passage. Please answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the corresponding passage. Do not rely on any information or facts other than the ones supplied to you. In some
:
instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that
most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 5

Crimes against women continue to be a major concern in India. According to the report, Prison Statistics India:
2020, among close to 90,000 prisoners serving time for committing offences, about 14.2 per cent were convicted of
rape. Around 18,615 people were convicted of offences against women, with 67.9 per cent accounting for rape,
while 24.5 per cent were found guilty of dowry deaths. Uttar Pradesh ranked the highest in such offences, followed
by Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. It must be pointed out that each of these states has been known to perform
poorly in such social indices as education, awareness, poverty and women's empowerment. There is thus a case
for greater investment in these areas on the part of the State.

A comparison with data from the previous year shows that although there has been an increase in the percentage
of inmates guilty of rape, the actual number of convicts were lower. But a decrease in absolute numbers may not
reveal the true picture. According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau report, crimes against women in
India dipped by over 8 per cent in comparison to 2019. However, the report conceded that the decrease can be
attributed to the Covid-19 induced lockdown which not only limited people's movement in public spaces but also
worsened women's access to the police and courts, leading to a gross under-reporting of crimes.

Prison Statistics India reveals other challenges. The conviction rate has not improved, pointing to high pendency
rates, slowing the wheels of justice. Prisoners' rights remain under-debated. Indian prisons remain overcrowded
and some of these 'reformatories' have abysmal amenities by way of food, sanitation and medicines. Although
many prisons offer vocational training and educational programmes to inmates, few actually run such initiatives
successfully. The reformation of Indian prisons, including living conditions and the well-being - physical and mental
- of prisoners must be prioritized. Otherwise, the modern idea of prisons being sites of humane reformation would
be defeated.
Q 126. 11774317 Which of the following is true according to the author's argument?

a) Uttar Pradesh is the least safe state in India for woman.

b) Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand are working towards betterment of woman safety.

c) Only 14.2 percent people of 90000 are convicted of rape.

d) Dowry deaths have down in the recent times.

Q 127. 11774317 What is the purpose of the given passage?

a)
To understand the life of the convicts suffering because of abysmal conditions inside
prisons.
b)
To understand the state of condition of woman safety in India and the condition of inmates in
Indian prisons.
c)
To clarify that conviction rate of people committing crime against women has gone down
rapidly after 2019, of which Covid 19 can be seen as a reason.
:
d) None of the above.

Q 128. 11774317 With which of the conclusions, author will not agree?
I. Sanitisation of the prisoners should improve to keep the prisons clean.
II. The states which have the greatest number of crimes against women are the ones to perform poorly on issues
like women empowerment.

a) Both I and II b) Only II c) Only I d) None of them.

Q 129. 11774317 Which of the following can be inferred from the last paragraph?

a) Indian prisons remain overcrowded because of the ever-increasing conviction rate.

b) The rate of people attaining justice has decreased.

c) Vocational and educational programs should run successfully in all the prisons.

d) All of them.

Q 130. 11774317 What type of a passage is this?

a) Fictional b) Cultural c) Informative d) Opinionated

Directions for questions 106 to 135: Each set of questions in this section is based on the reasoning and
arguments set out in the preceding passage. Please answer each question on the basis of what is stated or implied
in the corresponding passage. Do not rely on any information or facts other than the ones supplied to you. In some
instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that
most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.

Passage – 6

Few transport networks from history kindle the kind of romanticism that the old Silk Route evokes. Yet it is cold
pragmatism that is driving the revival of a relationship vital for New Delhi's strategic interests. Last week, the prime
minister, Narendra Modi, hosted the presidents of the five Central Asian republics - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyz Republic - in a first-of-its-kind summit. The leaders were originally slated to
visit New Delhi as chief guests on Republic Day but the omicron wave and public protests in Kazakhstan ensured
the meeting was virtual. Their meeting was built on two important conclaves that Mr Modi's government has
recently hosted: one with the national security advisors of the Central Asian republics in November, and the second
with their foreign ministers in December. The NSAs of Russia and Iran also participated in the first of those
meetings. This heightened engagement with the region is no coincidence. It is closely tied to an unease that New
Delhi shares with the governments of the Central Asian nations over the Taliban's stunning power grab in
Afghanistan last August.

Like India, these countries have long been wary of the rise of radical Islam and the emergence of Afghanistan as a
launch pad for transnational terrorism. In the 1990s, India worked closely with Tajikistan in supporting the Northern
Alliance of Ahmad Shah Massoud against the Taliban, even setting up a military base in that country. But turning
shared interests into meaningful cooperation on the ground won't be easy. The Central Asian republics are all
landlocked, and dependent on Russia and China - their two large neighbours - for trade. India's bilateral trade with
the region amounts to just $2 billion. By contrast, China's trade with Central Asia is worth $100 billion. Mr. Modi has
promised to develop the Chabahar Port in Iran, which India manages, to build a transport corridor with Central
:
Asia. India's track record on such overseas infrastructure projects is spotty, but now would be a good time to
change that legacy. Russia, the United States of America and Iran - traditionally India's friends - have all built ties
with the Taliban, leaving New Delhi on the margins in shaping the region's future. India needs to build on the talk
from Modi's meeting with Central Asian leaders.
Q 131. 11774317 Out of the following options, which one can be inferred from the passage?

a) China has been traditionally dealing with Central Asia since the Middle Ages.

b) China's business network with Central Asia is more robust compared to India.

c)
China's trade relation with the Central Asian countries is more than any other country in the
world.
d) India has not been able to establish any trade relation with Central Asia.

Q 132. 11774317 The author of the passage is most likely to agree with which of the following statements:

a)
India has been developing overseas infrastructure projects to stall the progress of the
Taliban.
b) India has been building infrastructure projects to help the country's military forces.

c) India has been consistent with its infrastructure projects.

d) India has not been consistent with its infrastructure projects

Q 133. 11774317 In the light of the last paragraph, it is evident that:

a)
US has been the most proactive when it comes to establishing diplomatic relation with the
Taliban regime.
b) The US government has been reluctant to support the Taliban rulers.

c) India's foreign policy vis-a-vis Afghanistan has not been satisfactory.

d) India's foreign policy vis-a-vis Afghanistan has been satisfactory.

Q 134. 11774317 Out of the following options, which one appropriately sums up the passage?

a) b) India's relations with the Taliban

India's foreign policy centring around Central c) India's international relations
Asia
d)
Central Asia's support of the Taliban regime.

Q 135. 11774317 From the passage, it can be understood that:

a)
Central Asian countries have the maximum amount of trade volume with China and Russia.
b) Central Asian countries do not have trade relations with the outside world.

c) Some Central Asian countries use Chinese ports in lieu of money.

d) Some Central Asian countries use Chinese ports for their trade and commerce.
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 Quantitative Techniques
Directions for questions 136 to 140: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below.

The first pie chart given below shows the land area (in square km) and the second pie chart shows the population
(in lakh) of seven states in the country.

Q 136. 11774317 Among the given states, for how many states was the area of the state more than 18% of the
total area of all states taken together?

a) One b) Three c) Two d) Four

Q 137. 11774317 Approximately what percentage of the total population does the state with the maximum land
area have?

a) 22% b) 34% c) 10% d) 17%

Q 138. 11774317 If population density is defined as the number of persons per square kilometer, then which of the
following groups of three states have the same population density?

a) A, E, G b) B, C, G c) D, E, F d) C, E, F

Q 139. 11774317 If population density is defined as the number of persons per square kilometer, then
approximately how much more is the density of population of state F in comparison to that of state D?

a) 2500 b) 1800 c) 1300 d) 1500

Q 140. 11774317 What is the ratio of the area of state B to the areas of state C and D together?

a) 21 : 37 b) 17 : 25 c) 17 : 52 d) 11 : 45

Directions for questions 141 to 145: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below.

The table below shows the total distance traveled by eight persons on a particular day. Each person travels partly
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by car and partly by train. The table also shows the percentage of total distance covered by car and the time taken
to cover the remaining distance by train.

Q 141. 11774317 Find the speed of F by car, if the time taken by both modes of transport are equal.

a) 55 km/hr b) 45 km/hr c) 30 km/hr d) 20 km/hr

Q 142. 11774317 If the speed of C by car is 35 km/hr, then what is his average speed for the full journey?

a) 32.12 km/hr b) 47.7 km/hr c) 44.44 km/hr d) 53.2 km/hr

Q 143. 11774317 If H travels by car for half an hour, then what is the ratio of the speed of H by car and by train
respectively?

a) 16 : 15 b) 8 : 7 c) 17 : 19 d) 18 : 17

Q 144. 11774317 If A and B started traveling together by the same train and B deboarded before A, then for what
percentage of his journey by train did A have the company of B?

a) 75% b) 80% c) 90% d) 88%

Q 145. 11774317 If D takes 5 hours and E takes 3.5 hours to cover the total distance in their respective journeys,
then which of the following statements is true?
I. The speed of D is the same for both modes of transport.
II. The speed of D by car is equal to the speed of E by car.
III. E covers 7 km more than D by car.

a) Only I b) Only III c) Both II and III d) Both I and II

Directions for questions 146 to 150: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below.

A contractor hires five workers M, N, O, P and Q to complete some work which they do from Monday to Friday of a
particular week.The work allotted on each day is the same. Each worker requires different number of hours to
complete the work while working alone. M takes 60 hours to complete it alone and he works only on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. Q works only on Friday and he can complete the work alone in 75 hours. P works on
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday whereas O works on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The time taken by O
and P together to complete the work is 22.5 hours and the time taken by O alone is one-third of the time taken by P
alone. N takes half the time taken by P to complete the work alone and he works only on Tuesday and Thursday.
Q 146. 11774317 If on Monday the workers spend 6 hours on site, then what portion of the work remains undone
at the end of the day?
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a) 1/5 b) 5/6 c) 4/5 d) 3/4

Q 147. 11774317 How many hours of work is required by the workers on Tuesday to complete half the work?

a) 7.5 hours b) 8 hours c) 6.5 hours d) 8.5 hours

Q 148. 11774317 If the workers who are on site on Friday have to complete the same amount of work that was
done by the workers together in 6 hours on Wednesday, then how many hours do they need to work?

a) 8 hours b) 9 hours c) 10 hours d) 7.5 hours

Q 149. 11774317 On a particular day there is some urgent requirement, so M, N, O and P work together for 11
hours and leave. How much more time will Q require to complete the remaining work?

a) 7 hours b) 5.5 hours c) 6.25 hours d) 4.75 hours

Q 150. 11774317 If the entire job is completed on Tuesday and Thursday only, then what is the ratio of wages of
N, O and P respectively for the job done?

a) 3 : 2 : 2 b) 2 : 3 : 1 c) 1 : 1 : 2 d) 3 : 3 : 1
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