In making decision about important questions, it is desirable to able to distinguish between ‘’strong’’ arguments and ‘’weak’’ arguments. ‘’Strong’’ arguments must be both important and directly related to the question. ‘’Weak’’ arguments may not be directly related to the question and may be of minor importance or may be related to the trivial aspects of the question.
Each question below in followed by two arguments numbered I and II. You have to decide which of the argument is a ‘’strong’’ argument and which one is ‘‘weak’’ argument.
Should graduation be made minimum educational qualification for entry level jobs in any public sector organization ?
Arguments I. Yes, graduates always perform better than the non-graduates by virtue of their higher level of education.
II. No, there are quite a few people who cannot afford to remain unemployed till the completion of graduation and are capable of performing equally well as the graduate candidates.
Should the examination bodies for all university examinations permit the use of calculators ?
Argument I. No, it is necessary for the students to know the methods of manual calculation to make their concepts clear.
II. Yes, manual calculations are no more required with extensive use to computers in all field.
Should the knowledge of Hindi language be made compulsory for all the employees of public sector organizations ?
Arguments I. Yes, it is necessary for dealing with people from the educationally backward strata of the society.
II. No, it is not necessary for every employee to have the knowledge of Hindi language.
Should it made compulsory for all the private sector organizations to reserve quota for socially backward classes ?
Argument I. No, the private sector should not be governed by the Government rules.
II. Yes, private sector organizations should also contribute in upliftment of socially backward classes.
Should the women be advised not to travel alone at night in view of the increasing incidence of rape and sexual abuse ?
Argument I. No, instead the Government take measures to control such incidences.
II. Yes, it is difficult even for the police department to control such cases.
Below is given a passage followed by several possible inferences which can be draw from the facts stated in the passage. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.
The immediate challenge is on the food front. Shortfalls in production have been allowed to affect supplies and hence prices. The government is planning to focus on investment in irrigation and strategy. It appears that the Green Revolution instruments to encourage farmers to invest are no longer effective. The Green Revolution strategy was based on the state taking out the risk of collapse in prices. Farmers were offered remunerative prices and a guaranteed procurement of their produce in case the open market could not absorb it. Farmers could them borrow from banks, acquire the Green Revolution Technology and produce as much as they could. The pressure on the food subsidy was manageable as long as there was a food shortage. Prices in the open market then tended to be above the procurement prices. But with the food surpluses the situation has changed. The situation was unsustainable not merely because of the magnitude of this subsidy. It was also inefficient. It meant farmers were being led to produce crops based just on the pieces Government fixed and not in relation to any legal demand. In these circumstances, the Government was reluctant to keep increasing procurement prices at the pace that used to be the norm in earlier years.
As the open market prices are lower, all the burden of procurement of crops in on the Government.
The farmers tend to produce the crops as their convenience and not constant with the demand.
