Quiz: Reading Comprehension

No laundry list of new trains to be started. No announcement of new lines to be laid with ambitious targets. No pet projects to be set up in core constituencies of the ruling party. Make no mistake, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s maiden budget is not a typical politician’s budget; it shows the deft touches of a professional who knows what it takes to turn around aleviathan’s fortunes that have been on a downhill ride in the last few years. Whether it is the focus on existing high-density corridors where increasing capacity is cheaper and quicker or the new talk of improving “customer experience” or for that matter, the realisation that Railway finances have to be made self-sustainable, Mr. Prabhu has ticked all the right checkboxes. The budget speech reads more like a vision statement than a report on the Railways’ financial and operational performance. The only connection with past budgets is the decision to not increase passenger fares but tinker withfreight rates. Mr. Prabhu’s challenge, though, will be in implementing his ambitious agenda, specifically in finding resources, financial and technical, to achieve targets. For example, the Rs.8.56 lakh crore investment plan for the next five years sounds impressive no doubt, but how is the Railways going to fund such a mammoth sum? With operating expenses consuming nine out of every 10 rupees earned by the Railways, there just isn’t enough surplus toplough back into investment.

This is where the Railways needs to think out-of-the-box. Mr. Prabhu has acknowledged the problem and has listed out several options to raise finances, including borrowing from multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and pension funds whose investment horizon would match the long-term plans of the Railways. Clearly, Mr. Prabhu will have to draw heavily on his finance background and expertise to make these work. The Railway Minister’s ambitious agenda comes through in his plans for the coming fiscal too. For instance, electrification of 6,608 route kilometres in 2015-16 compared to 462 km sanctioned in 2014-15, or for that matter, the plan to spend Rs.96,182 crore in doubling/tripling/quadrupling and electrifying 9,400 km of tracks, sound impressive — but execution will be the key. We have seen such ambitious plans in the past falter at the execution stage. The projected improvement in operating ratio, a measure of efficiency, from 91.8 per cent this year to 88.5 per cent in the coming one sounds impressive, but the fine print on expenditure needs to be watched because this ratio is easy to massage. Overall, Mr. Prabhu’s budget is a break from the past in taking a long-term view of the Railways’ future by making it financially independent and operationally efficient. He has five years to reach this destination.

Sources - The Hindu

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the question given below it. Some words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions

Ques 1. What is the agenda of Railway Budget?

(a) New Train

(b) New lines

(c) New projects

(d) New infrastructure

(e) None of the above

Ques 2. What is the "out of the box" strategy of Mr. Prabhu? 

(a) He announced new trains, lines and projects.

(b) He want to electrify 6,608 routes km by spending Rs.96.182 crore

(c) He want to focus on existing high-density corridors where increasing capacity is cheaper and quicker

(d) Mr. Prabhu want to raise finances by borrowing from World Bank and pension funds.

(e) All of the above

Ques 3. According to Mr. Prabhu. what exactly is the problem is Indian Railway?

(a) Electrification

(b) Investment

(c) Customer Satisfaction

(d) Less trains

(e) All of the above

Ques. 4 The 3.5% increase in the operating ratio can be achieved by following which of the key point -

(a) Expenditure

(b) Customer Experience

(c) A vision

(d) Electrification

(e) High freight rates

Ques. 5 By not setting up new projects in the constituency of ruling party, what exactly Mr. Prabhu want to convey to the general public?

(a) Mr. Prabhu is an honest politician

(b) Under the leadership of Narendra Modi. he want to set an example

(c) Railway budget is untouched by politics

(d) Mr. Prabhu is not at all concerned about his constituency and want to bring a change on large scale

(e) None of the above

Ques. 6 Explain the phrase "World Bank and pension funds whose investment horizon would match the long-term plans of the Railways".(in your words)

Ques 7 Explain the phrase "De-politicization of railways". (in your words)

Directions:  Which of the following words is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage?

Ques. 8 Leviathan

(a) goliath

(b) titan

(c) behemoth

(d) minute

(e) cyclops

Ques. 9 Tinker

(a) muck with

(b) play with

(c) undisrupt

(d) mess

(e) dabble

Ques. 10 Freight

(a) cargo

(b) haulage

(c) carriage

(d) transport

Directions: Which of the following words is the same in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage:

Ques. 11 Mammoth

(a) tiny

(b) petite

(c) humungus

(d) common

(e) ordinary

Ques. 12 Plough

(a) neglect

(b) turn over

(c) reap

(d) relax

(e) harvest

Ques. 13 Falter

(a) cold

(b) hesitate

(c) stay

(d) endure

(e) steady

ANSWERS
1. e
2. c
3. b
4. a
5. c
6. Borrowing money from the World Bank and Pension Funds will be a gain point for both the parties. Railways will receive the money for their future endeavors and World Bank and pension finds will get a huge return. So, its a win-win for both of them

7. De - politicization of railways - Non-inclusion of pet projects in the core constituencies of the ruling party infers that the railway is untouched by the hypocrisy and politics.

8. d
9. c
10. a
11. c
12. b
13. b