COMPETITION FOCUSIN February 201810

China UnveiledMarket-Based Plan to CurbGlobal WarmingChina previewed a scaled-downversion of its national carbonemissions plan on December 19,2017. The plan drew high praise fromthe Washington-based EnvironmentalDefense Fund, which said it has beenworking with Chinese authorities formore than two decades on plans forcurbing pollution.

More Factsl The plan is expected to dramatically

reduce pollution while creating theworld's largest emissions tradingsystem.

l More than 1700 power companiesare expected to "trade" 3.5 billiontonnes of carbon dioxide annuallythrough a Shanghai-basedmarketplace.

l The "cap-and-trade rule" will allowpolluters to buy "credits" from lesserpolluters.

l The bigger polluters can save moneyby curbing emissions while thelesser polluters can make money bydoing the same.

l China has stepped up its climateleadership dramatically in recentyears and is now increasingly seenas filling the leadership void left bythe US.

Sebastian Pinera Won Chile’sPresidential ElectionFormer President of Chile Sebastian Pineragot a new term in office. He vowed onDecember 17, 2017 to govern for allChileans. He replaced incumbent, MichelleBachelet. a defeated Left-winger AlejandroGuillier, who was supported by Chile’sincumbent President Michelle Bachelet. Mr.Pinera secured 54.57% vote while hisopponent Mr. Guillier got only 45.43% vote.

About Mr. PineraMr. Pinera, a 68-year-old billionaire havebeen both preceded and succeeded by Ms.Bachelet. He moved to the right politically ashe campaigned for a second term in thisdeeply polarised nation. Earlier, he governedChile from 2010 to 2014.

Mr. Pinera promised to halt the same-sexmarriage bill, which Ms. Bachelet introducedin August, 2017. He said he would improvethe conditions of military officers servingsentences for crimes against humanity.

Situation in South AmericaChile’s presidential election is the first in aseries that may alter the political trajectoryof Latin America. Voters in Mexico, Brazil,Colombia and Paraguay will elect presidentsin 2018.

A decade ago, many South Americancountries including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia,Chile, Ecuador, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua,Venezuela and Uruguay were all governed byleft-wing leaders.

International Scenario

This trend seems to bereversing as in recent yearsconservatives have come topower in Brazil, Argentina andParaguay.

Until recently, Chile waslargely governed by leftistleaders. Now Mr Pinera rose topower promising to buildmore egalitarian societies.

Norway BecameFirst Country to EndSupport for FM Radioin National BroadcastsNorway has officially becomethe first country to cease theuse of FM radio for its nationalbroadcasts, as on December16, 2017 and switch over todigital radio.

The switch over began inJanuary 2017in order toprovide bettersound qualityand reduce thecostsassociatedwith radiobroadcasts.

More Factsl Norway introduced its first

digital radio station in 1995,and has 31 national radiostations on the DAB.

l The technology, as a whole,is popular in Europe, with atleast 40 other countries(such as the UK) making useof the technology to someextent.

l Despite the benefits ofmoving to DAB, the switchhas been met with somecriticism due to technicalproblems and complaintsthat there isn’t enough DABcoverage across the country.

l Consumers have also raisedconcerns about the cost ofbuying new receivers, whichusually run between $120and $235.

l Digitalradio Norge, a part ofNorway’s public andcommercial radio, noted thatonly 49 percent ofcommuters are able to listento DAB in their cars.

COMPETITION FOCUSIN February 201844

International

INAUGURATION OF

CHABAHAR PORT

The Shahid Beheshti port on the energy-rich nation’s southern coast is easily

accessible from India’s western coast and is increasingly seen as a counter to

Pakistan’s Gwadar Port.

A Symbol of Tripartite Relationship

The first phase of the Chabahar port onthe Gulf of Oman was inaugurated onDecember 3, 2017 by Iranian PresidentHassan Rouhani. It opened a newstrategic route connecting Iran, India andAfghanistan by passing Pakistan, andreflecting growing convergence ofinterests among the three countries.

The Chabahar port is being considered agateway to golden opportunities for tradeby India, Iran and Afghanistan withcentral Asian countries besides rampingup trade among the three countries. Indiawas represented at the inaugurationceremony by the Minister of State forShipping, Pon Radhakrishnan.

During the event, the 2nd meeting of theIndia-Iran-Afghanistan Ministerial leveltrilateral meeting on Chabahar port alsotook place. The three sides reviewed andpositively assersed the progress in thedevelopment of Chabahar port andreiterated their commitment to completeand operationalise the port at the earliest.The three sides also commended therecent joint efforts which led to thetransit of first tranche of 11000 tonnes ofwheat from India to Afghanistan throughthe Chabahar port.

Strategic LocationThe port of Chabahar is located on theMakran coast of Sistan and Baluchistanprovince, next to the Gulf of Omanand at the mouth of strait of Hormuz.It is the only Iranian port with directaccess to the Indian Ocean. Beingclose to Afghanistan and the centralAsian countries of Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan etc. it has been termed the‘Golden Gate’ to these land-locked

countries.

India-Iran Agreement onChabahar PortIndia-Iran cooperation in the field ofdevelopment of infrastructure andregional connectivity including thedevelopment of Chabahar port is in linewith the Tehran Declaration (2001) andthe New Delhi Declaration (2003). Acommercial contract for thedevelopment and operations ofChabahar port was signed betweenIndian Joint Venture India Port GlobalPrivate Limited (a consortium ofJawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and KandlaPort Trust) and Iran’s Arya Banader on

May 23, 2016 in Tehran during thevisit of the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. As per the contractl Indian Joint Venture (JV)

company to lease two fullyconstructed berths in Chahbaharport’s phase-I project for a period

of 10 years. India to construct two

terminals (five berths) at

Chabahar port.l The MoU envisaged

construction of a multipurposecargo terminal (600 m length)and a container terminal (640 mlength) for which JV companywas to invest $ 85.21 million.

l The Indian and Iranian sidescould enter into subsequentnegotiations for participation inthe construction, equipping andoperating of terminals inphase-II on BoT basis, subject tothe Indian side’s satisfactoryperformance in phase-I.

l The investment supplementedwith a $ 150 million credit lineto Iran through the Exim Bankof India.

l India also offered to supply$ 400 million worth of stelltowards the construction of arail link between Chabahar andZahedan.

l India to develop variousindustries, including aluminiumand urea production plants, inthe Chabahar economic zoneattached to the port.

Importance ofChabaha DealThe Chabahar deal is an extremelyimportant strategic decision forIndia due to following seasonsl India can bypass Pakistan in

transporting goods toAfghanistan.

l It will boost India’s access toIran, the key gateway to theInternational North-Southtransport corridor that has sea,rail and road routes betweenIndia, Russia, Iran, Europe andCentral Asia.

l It will be beneficial to India incountering Chinese presence inthe Arabian sea which China totrying to ensure by helpingPakistan develop the Gwadarport.

l Chabahar could be used in thecase China decides to show offits navy power by stationingships is Gwadar port to beupper hand in the Indian Ocean,Persian Gulf and Middle East.

COMPETITION FOCUSIN February 201850

Geography

ENDOGENIC FORCES

OF EARTH

Endogenous processes have been responsible for shaping the Earth’s relief and

the formation of the most important mineral resources.

Evolution of Landforms

The Earth’s crust is dynamic andmoves vertically and horizontally.It moved a bit faster in the pastthan the rate at, which it is movingnow. The differences in theinternal forces operating fromwithin the Earth which built up thecrust have been responsible for thevariations in the outer surface ofthe crust.

The Earth’s surface is beingcontinuously subjected to externalforces induced basically by energy(sunlight). Of course, the internalforces are still active though withdifferent intensities. That means,the Earth’s surface is beingcontinuously subjected to byexternal forces originating withinthe Earth’s atmosphere and byinternal forces from within theEarth.

The external forces are known asExogenic Forces and the InternalForces are known as EndogenicForces. The actions of exogenicforces result in wearing down(degradation) of relief/elevationsand filling up (aggradations) ofbasins/depressions, on the Earth’ssurface. The endogenic forcescontinuously elevate or build upparts of the Earth’s surface andhence the exogenic processes failto even out the relief variations ofthe surface of the Earth.

Differences between Exogenic andEndogenic Processes

Exogenic Force Endogenic Force

These are interconnected withthe atmosphere, hydrosphereand biosphere and it includesthe processes of weathering,erosion transportation anddeposition.

These are theprocesses of internalorigin. It takes placeinside the globe andare started by theforces of the Earth.

This means that anything thathappens outside the Earth’score such as force of gravity,energy from the Sun, heatingof things, and more.

Earthquakes andvolcanic activities areexamples ofEndogenic processes.

Endogenic ForceEndogenic forces are forces resulting fromdynamic processes operating beneath thecrust of the Earth.

The endogenic forces are classified into twomajor categories. They are

Sudden Forces andMovementsThese are caused by suddenendogenic forces coming fromdeep within the Earth, causesudden and rapid events at andbelow Earth’s surface.Geologically, these sudden forcesare termed as destructive forcesbecause these create certain relieffeatures on the Earth’s surface.For example, volcanic eruptionsresults in the formation ofmountain and earthquakes createfaults, fractures lakes, etc.

Volcanoes and Earthquake Avolcano is a vent (opening) in theEarth’s crust through whichmolten material erupts suddenly.It includes the movement ofmolten rock (magma) onto ortoward the Earth’s surface andalso formation of many intrusiveand extrusive volcanic forms.Volcanoes are generally foundwhere tectonic plates are pulledapart or come together.

A mid-oceanic ridge, for example

the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, hasexamples of volcanoes caused by‘divergent tectonic plates’ pullingapart. The Pacific Ring of Fire hasexamples of volcanoes caused by‘convergent tectonic plates’coming together.

Similarly, when the Lithosphericplates move, the surface of theEarth vibrates. The vibrations cantravel all round the Earth. Thesevibrations are called earthquakes.The place in the crust where themovement starts is called thefocus.

The place on the surface abovethe focus is called the epicentre.Vibrations travel outwards fromthe epicentre as waves. Greatestdamage is usually closest to theepicentre and the strength of theearthquake decreases away fromthe centre.

Endogenic Process

Slow Movement(Diastrophism)

Sudden Movement

Volcanism Earthquake

Vertical(Epeirogenic/

Continental Building)

Horizontal(Orogenic/

Mountain Building)

Forces ofCompression

Forces of TensionUpward Downward

Lava

Ash

Side Vent

Magma

COMPETITION FOCUSIN February 2018

Directions (Q.Nos. 1-10) Which of thefollowing phrases given below the sentencecan replace the words/phrase given in bold

in the sentence grammatically andmeaningfully? If none of the phrases is/arecan replace the word/phrase given in bold inthe sentence, select ‘None’ as the answer.

1. Bigger livestock in larger numbers

in more regions has led to methane in

the air climbing faster than predicted.

A. more than ever

B. more rapidly than expected

C. accelerated pretty fasta. A and B b. Only B c. Only A

d. None e. B and C

3 (a) For the bold part, the two choicesgiven in A and B are suitable. We can use‘more than ever’ and ‘more rapidly thanexpected’ to make the improvement.

2. e-Commerce companies could see a

cash burn of up to $ 500 million during

this year’s festive sales, compared to

about $ 300-350 million last year.

A. affects B. reflects

C. got noticea. Only C b. None c. A and C

d. Only A e. Only B

3 (b)

3. Symptoms of the ‘Group think’

process include the suppression of

negative point of view for the sake of

group unity.

A. group activity carried withoutdisruption

B. to maintain cohesion within thegroup

C. for the sake of harmony within thegroup

a. A and B b. Only B c. Only C

d. None e. B and C

3 (e) For the bold part, it is obvious thatcohesion and harmony both are needed.

4. As more banks are moving to real

time payments, the annoying wait for a

payment to transfer to or from your

account will soon be a thing of the

past.

A. be time gone out.

B. be done away with

C. become historya. Only B b. Only A

c. B and C d. None of these

e. A and C

3 (c) ‘Be a thing of past’ means-to be doneaway with, and ‘to become history’. Hence,both are the suitable choices.

5. A supply chain will function only

when active parties are sufficiently

compensated for the work completed.

A. adequately paid

B. satisfactorily taken care off

C. reimburse pleasantlya. A and B b. B and C

c. None d. All of these

e. Only A

3 (e) Statements B and C are syntacticallywrong. In statement A, ‘adequately paid’ issuitable usage.

6. Chronic hunger is not famine, it is

similar to under nourishment and is

related to poverty.

A. is the same as

B. is alike

C. is akin asa. A and C b. None c. A and B

d. Only A e. Only B

3 (b)

7. If exercise were a pill, it would be

the biggest blockbuster in the

history of medicine.

A. be the most significant discoveryin

B. create an affect in

C. quite a huge thinga. Only A b. A and C c. Only B

d. Only C e. None

3 (a) The suitable phrase in this sentencewill be ‘be the most significant discovery in’.

8. Many companies make the

assumption that cash incentives can

fetch the results that they want

from their workforce.

A. obtained the outcome

B. increases productivity of

C. might give them the outputa. Only C b. None c. Only A

d. A and B e. All of these

3 (a) Statements in A and B are wrong asper the syntax. But, statement C is correct.‘Might give them the output’ is the correctchoice here.

72

Part English Language1

October 15, 2017

This exam comprised of 100 objective type multiple choice questions with maximum marks of

100. The exam duration was 60 minutes.

(Pre.) EXAM 2017

IBPS PO