SNAP ANSWER KEY 2009 (SET K )
SECTION I ( GK )
Q.NO Answer
1 A
2 D
3 A
4 A
5 D
6 A
7 A
8 C
9 D
10 B
11 C
12 B
13 B
14 C
15 B
16 D
17 B
18 B
19 A
20 B
21 D
22 D
23 A
24 d
25 A
26 C
27 C
28 D
29 C
30 A
31 A/D
32 C
33 A
34 C
35 C
36 D
37 C
38 B
39 B
40 D
SECTION II (QA + DI)
Q.NO Answer
41 B
42 Wrong Ans (10)
43 A
44 d
45 A
46 C
47 D
48 B
49 B
50 D
51 C
52 D
53 C
54 C
55 D
56 A
57 C
58 C
59 B
60 A
61 A
62 Wrong
63 B
64 D
65 B
66 C
67 C
68 D
69 C
70 c
71 A
72 B
73 B
74 A
75 D
76 D
77 B
78 B
79 D
80 D
SECTION III (Reasoning )
Q.NO Answer
81 B
82 B
83 A
84 B
85 B
86 B
87 D
88 None of the options
89 B
90 A
91 B
92 A
93 B
94 D
95 B
96 B
97 A
98 D
99 C
100 C
101 A
102 B
103 A
104 D
105 D
106 C
107 A
108 B
109 D
110 D
SECTION IV (ENGLISH)
Q.NO Answer
111 D
112 D
113 C
114 A
115 D
116 D
117 B
118 B
119 D
120 A
121 C
122 D
123 C
124 B
125 D
126 C
127 B
128 C
129 A
130 A
131 D
132 C
133 A
134 B
135 C
136 B
137 C
138 D
139 B
140 B
141 D
142 B
143 D
144 B
145 A
146 B
147 A
148 A
149 C
150 B
SNAP ANSWER KEY
SNAP 2009 Analysis & Cut-offs
SNAP 2009 which was conducted just an hour before retained its earlier format of 2005 and 2006 SNAP in terms of difficulty level. The total number of questions also increased back to 150 from 135 questions. The Analytical and Logical Reasoning section had 30 questions
of 2 marks each, just like SNAP 2008. However the other 3 sections, viz. General English,
General Awareness and Quantitative and Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency, each had 40
questions of 1 mark each.
SNAP 2009 - An Overview
Section 1 – General English
This section comprised questions on verbal ability as well as reading comprehension. Broadly
speaking, the questions were almost below par with the types and the level of difficulty of questions
that have been appearing for the last two years. This was a comparatively easy section. The questions based on grammar were mostly doable. There were many questions asked on topics like synonyms, plurals, spellings and usage. There were 1 RC, one with 3 questions.
A good attempt would have been 23 to 25 questions with a possible score of 20 + marks.
Section 2 - Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency
The Quantitative part required basic knowledge of mathematical concepts. However, there was a
slight emphasis on analysis and concepts such as Alligation, Profit and loss, permutations and combinations and probability. A few of the questions required simple calculations.
The questions ranged from easy to moderately difficult ones. In geometry 2 questions involved option-based solving. The DI questions were very easy.
A good attempt in this section would be around 20 to 23 questions with a possible score of 18 to 20 marks.
Section 3 – General Awareness
This section contained less questions on current affairs. Apart from these questions on sports,
Economics, diet and nutrition, Geography. To be very frank this section seemed more like a Business quiz based on static GK.
A good attempt in this section would be 15 to 19 questions with a possible score of 8 to
12 marks.
Section 4 – Analytical & Logical Reasoning
This section, which had 30 questions of 2 marks each, was less time consuming. There were also 2 questions on Magic Squares wherein the empty boxes in the square had to be filled.
A sound attempt would have been around 18 to 22 questions with a score of about 30 to 32
marks.
IRMA Analysis
IRMA Analysis 2009
EXECUTIVE Summary:
This year's IRMA paper is an exact replica of the last year (2008) with respect to the pattern and level of difficulty of the questions. In fact, the pattern has been more or less like this for the last several years. The two-hour long paper comprised 200 questions distributed over four sections. Wrong answers carried negative marks equivalent to one-fourth of the marks allotted to the question.
The following is a synopsis on how this paper could be attempted and the desired score to
receive a call from IRMA:
Note: The weightage of the marks obtained in the written test in the final selection of the candidates, i.e. after GD and PI will be 50%. An overall score of 100-105 would be considered very good but 80 would be sufficient to earn a GD/PI call provided a candidate is clearing all the sectional cut offs. ENGLISH mprehension (40 Questions):
RC :
The passage talked about 'organic' and 'inorganic farming' with reference to the 'green
revolution' of 1960s. There were 15 Qs out of which 9 questions were fact based. There was
1 question, which talked about the main theme of the passage.
Out of the remaining 5 questions (all based on the passage), 3 questions were based on Synonyms, which had words like 'fuel', 'practiced', and ‘impact’.
The other 2 questions were on antonyms. The words were 'thrived' and 'drastically'.
The overall level of the passage was easy to moderate.
Sentence Completion – There were 5 questions on sentence completion on the basis of reasoning which were easy to solve.
Para Jumbles- There were 5 questions on parajumbles with 4 sentences each. These questions were of easy to moderate level of difficulty.
FIB(Double Blanks) – The answer options had words such as 'dependent', 'learnt', 'discovery', 'turning', 'destroying' which were of easy level.
Memory based question:
Deep freezing _________ the growth of micro-organisms thus aiding in the storage of ________ food material for a long time.
accelerates, spoilable (2)prevents, decayed (3) inhibits, perishable (4)cancels, eatable
Verbal Reasoning (30 Questions)
Eligibility Criteria – There were 10 questions on eligibility criteria for the selection of 'Rural Marketing Officer'. The questions were based on the rules provided and were of easy to medium level of difficulty.
Courses Of Action – There were 5 questions on 'Courses Of Action’, which were of medium
level of difficulty.
Statement-Assumptions- There were 5 questions which were of easy level of difficulty. Cause -Effect- There were 5 questions on 'Cause-Effects' which were of easy to moderate level of difficulty.
Probably True -False Questions – Here a paragraph was given on 'saving the resources of nature by the effective use of solar energy'. The paragraph was simple and precise and there were 5 questions, which were of easy to moderate level of difficulty.
As far as the Analytical Reasoning is concerned, students could attempt 25 questions out of 50 in 35 minutes.A score of 30 would be considered very good in this section.
Issues of Social Concern:
The questions based on memory on Issues of social concern are as follows:
1. The organization, which launched World Ahead program in Meghalaya, was…
2. Doha deadlock is a phrase linked with which organization?
3. Critical gaps in agricultural development are addressed by which scheme?
4.Annual growth rate target for Agriculture has been pegged at
5.what percentage of population is employed in agriculture and allied sector?
6. National Farmer Commission is chaired by..
7. Which scheme was launched to cater to universal education for all?
8. HIghest milk producing country in the world?
9. Who won the Ramon Magsaysay award this year from India?
10. No . of gram panchayts in India?
11.'Carbon credit', is a term associated with ...
12.What does SHG expand to
13.Which of the following is is NOT considered as a parameter in judging Human development in HDI Index?
14. Which of the folowing terms is NOT associated with Agriculture?
15.The amount of recently given relief package to the farmers was ...
16.A question based on the Public Distribution System, like which of the following is TRUE about PDS?
17 Another question based on PDS was there and this time they asked the name of the newly launched PDS in 1997?
18.Which of the following was the purpose of Destructive Insects and Pests Act?
19. The largest Jute producing state of India
20. Bill Gates, Winner of which award in 2009
21 Who is the author of the book Development as Freedom?
22. Which of the following terms is NOT related with agriculture?
23. What are the reasons for poor health system in rural India?
24. Which sector of the Indian economy is the single largest private employer?
25. Which of the folowing is a Non Conventional source of energy?
26. Which states government gave rice at Rs. 2 per kg in the month of June 2006?
27. Where are the headquarters of WTO?
28. Name of the famous economist and Nobel Prize winner from India.
29. Which of the following groups /organizations is associated with Health Sector?
30. Which of the following organizations is relocated to health ministry?
31. Government gives subsidy on which of the following (seeds,fertilizers,power)?
32. Which of the following crops were affected by the deficient monsoons in the month of June to September 2009
33. Which of the following is the source of funds to the Panchayati Raj Institutions?
34. Panchayati Raj Institutions came into existence through which of the constitutional amendments?
35. The year in which APEDA was established?
36. What were the reasons for converting the crop loans given to the farmers into long term payable loans?
37. Which of the following exchanges will be doing commodities trading?
38. Presently the expenditure on health as a percent of GDP is 0.9 % , as per National Rural Health Mission the target is to increase it to...
39. In which of the following areas villages are comparatively free?
40. Which form of practice can provide water for a sustained period of time?
41. The government has planned to do model social audit of the national programme and schemes launched for the public welfare, it was done for the first time for which state?
42. Many people are engaged in which of the following trades in West Bengal?
43. What part of the Indian one rupee is provided as a subsidy by the government of India to the public?
44. Which body manages the Watershed Development Fund?
45. Which body manages the rain fed farming related projects?
46. Which agriculture produce's support price is not announced by the government generally?
47. In order to address the queries of the farmers directly which of the following works /handles the concerns?
48. Which of the following scheme is NOT a part of the schemes launched by ministry of rural affairs?
49. Which country was formally inducted into WTO some years ago?
50. Which of the following is NOT a green house gas?
51.What is the target of increasing the irrigation area as per the Bharat Nirman Scheme?
52. The cooperative movement in the production of milk was highly successful in which state of India?
53. Which commodity was a part of successful cooperative movement in Maharashtra?
54. 12 lakh km of optic fiber will be laid down under which of the following schemes of the government of India?
55. Wheat will be provided to workers at Rs. 3 per Kg as part of which scheme?
ANALYSIS : The Issues of social concern as usual had 60 questions and were exactly on the lines of the past years papers. The questions were from Indian Economy, Indian agriculture, rural development and general current affairs. Rather, this year the level of difficulty of questions under "Issues of social concern" was low as compared to the last year.About 15 to 20 questions could be easily cracked by the application of Commonsense and average general knowledge, like the term not associated with agriculture(cryogenics),which of the following is not a greenhouse gas(oxygen) etc.
Majority of the questions were of easy to moderate level of difficulty barring a few googlies and bumpers (that are always there!). A score of 20 out of 60 marks in this section should help the student in getting a call for GD & PI In IRMA.
MEMORY Based Questions in QA:
1.A train having length 350 m crosses a platform in 10 minutes. What is the speed of the train?
2.8 men complete a certain amount of work in 10 days. 16 women complete the work in 10 days. 20 children complete the same work in 10 days. What time (in days) 12 men, 8 women and 4 children complete the same amount of work?
3. What least natural numbers should be added to 840 to make it a perfect square? Ans. 1
4.Circumference of a circle is 88. Find the area of the circle. Ans. 616
Directions for next three Questions
A box having 3 red, 5 Green and 2 Blue balls.
5. Two balls are chosen at random from the box. Find the probability of having both red –
Ans. 1/15
6. Two balls are chosen at random from the box. Find the probability of having one red and one green.
Ans. 1/3
7. Three balls are chosen at random from the box. Find the probability of having either all red or all green. Ans. 11/120
8. Ratio of present ages of Ajay and Sareen is 3:2. Five years from now, their ages would be in the ratio of 10:7. Ans. 45
9. No. of words by using all the letters of the word ‘PRESS’? Ans. 60
10. Sameer sold a cow for Rs.25800 and earned 20% profit. Find the cost price of the cow. Ans 21500
11. A person put Rs.24000 in Gramin Bank for three years @ 6.5% p.a simple interest. Find the amount he will get after this period.
Five questions were based on the following information
540 Villagers were involved in watching movies, learning folk dance and learning singing.
The ratio of men, women and children among these villagers was 5:3:1. 27% of men watched movies and two third of these men were women who watched movies. Total 185 villagers were learning folk dance and only one third of women in the village were learning folk dance. The ratio of men, women and children who were learning singing, were in the ratio 9:10:1 and total 100 villagers were learning singing. Only 15% of children were watching movies. Villagers, who were not involved in above three activities, will not do any
other activity.
Disclaimer: All information on analysis, answer key, solutions and scores are based on
independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher. We do not take
responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.
Seven new IIMs in India by 2011
B K Upmanyu
Fri, Aug 28, 2009 17:21:14 IST
THE COUNTRY’S three youngest states - Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, along with four others, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan, will get their branches of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) during the period 2009-2011.
The Cabinet has approved a proposal for setting up 7 new IIMs, taking the total number of the premier management school to 14. India already has seven functional IIMs in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode and Shillong.
In yet another development that would benefit five lakh students belonging to economically weaker sections with an annual income limit of Rs 4.5 lakh, the Cabinet on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a scheme to provide full interest subsidy during the period of moratorium on loans taken by them for pursuing approved technical and professional courses.
While the scheme will be applicable from the current academic year 2009-2010 itself, the Government will bear the interest payable by the student during his/her entire course period, plus one year or six months after he/she gets a job (moratorium period), whichever is earlier. Once the moratorium period is over, the student will have to pay the interest on the outstanding loan amount. The number of loans, as on March 31, 2009, was 16 lakhs and the total outstanding amount Rs 24,000 crore.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said both the establishment of seven IIMs and the interest subsidy scheme were part of his 100-day agenda and that he kept the promises he made.
In the first phase, four IIMs at Tiruchirappalli, Ranchi, Raipur and Rohtak will be set up in 2009-10, to become functional from the 2010-11 academic session. The remaining three in J&K, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, where the locations are yet to be decided, will be set up in the second phase in 2010-11. Though postgraduate programme in management will be the flagship programme, several executive programmes focusing on civic and municipal services will be started in the first year.
In all, an amount of Rs 1,057 crore would be required for the establishment of the seven new IIMs during the XI Plan and wherein admissions will be through the Common Admission Test (CAT). Phase-I will have an intake of 140 students in the PGP course and which will reach 560 students by the end of phase-II.
Return of good times? Top business schools start receiving PPOs
Major companies like Hindustan Unilever, Aditya Birla Group, L&T, Godrej & Boyce, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu extend pre-placement offers
The last MBA placement season at business schools in India was eclipsed by the global downturn, but the sun is smiling bright now with PPOs pouring in at top business schools! After IIMs, XLRI, and We School reported excellent PPOs (pre-placement offers) from major corporate houses, students have heaved a sigh of relief.
“Until now, majority of the PPOs have come from the consulting sector along with a few from Banking and FMCG sectors,” Professor Jose, Chairperson- Placement at IIM Bangalore said, while talking to MBAUniverse.com. Other than IIM Bangalore, IIM Indore and IIM Calcutta students also received good PPO offers. Speaking to MBAUniverse.com, IIM Calcutta said, “Although the exact number of PPOs is not available, we can confirm that until now we have got PPOs from most sectors like Investment Banking, Marketing and Consulting. IIM Calcutta had the best summer placements across all IIMs and is hoping to maintain the same.”
XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, too, reported excellent PPOs and pre-placement interviews this year. Almost 10% of the batch of 2008-10 has already been placed. The prominent organizations offering PPOs to XLRI students include FMCG major Hindustan Unilever and General Management companies like TAS and Aditya Birla Group, L&T, Times Group and WNS among others. Fr. E Abraham, S.J., XLRI Director said, “We are expecting more offers from Financial and Consulting sectors in addition to the ones offered during the months of August and September ’09 as most hiring decisions are finalized during the second quarter.”
Mumbai-based We School has received a number of PPOs too. We School said, “This year seven We School students have received PPO offers until now and more offers are expected.” According to We School, their students have received PPOs from companies like Networth Stock Broking Ltd., Godrej & Boyce and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
And, this is just the beginning! PPOs generally start pouring in at top business schools from September, which is usually two-three months after the completion of summer project. PPOs keep coming in until the beginning of the final placement season. At IIMs, however, there is no fixed time frame. IIM Bangalore said, “The declaration of the PPO results can happen anytime from the end of the Summer Internship (June) till the starting of the Final Placements (March of following year). Different companies have different work calendars. From our past experience we have seen that most companies come out with their results in September-October.”
Directors at top business schools in India feel PPOs are a sign of the good times ahead. XLRI Director said, “With improved signs of recovery in the economy, students are hopeful of better placements and internships.” On the prospective of final placements, Prof. Jose said, “While we would not like to speculate about anything at this moment in time we continue to be optimistic in our outlook given the positive trends being observed in the economy of late.”
We School said, “The economic scenario has not changed drastically, although we can see the markets recovering gradually. Hence we believe companies will continue being selective about campuses and students and look for that extra bit the student can bring into the organization.” While packages may still not go back to what they were a year ago, 2010 will definitely see a better placement season.
MBAUniverse.com News Bureau Aug 18, 2009.
A Tool to understand Graphs
I found these mathopenref tools extremely helpful in understanding graphs:
1. Linear Equations: http://www.mathopenref.com/linearexplorer.html
2. Quadratic Equations: http://www.mathopenref.com/quadraticexplorer.html
3. Cubic Equations: http://www.mathopenref.com/cubicexplorer.html
Things to do: Change the variable values with the help of the sliders and see the change in the shape of the curve.
For instance, in a quadratic equation y=ax^2+bx+c:
- changing c moves it up and down
- changing b changes the slope
- changing a alters the curvature of the parabolic element
Enjoy!
Good times are back: Job offers flood IIMs
Good times are back: Job offers flood IIMs
BANGALORE: The green shoots are springing up and they're becoming visible at the Indian Institutes of Management, bringing some hope that the economy is looking up.
Pre-placement offers (job offers which come to students before the final placements) have begun to pour in for the graduating class of 2010. The IIMs are seeing a positive response from all sectors.
At IIM-Bangalore, consulting firms, which participated in the summer placement last year have announced their PPO results and all students received PPOs. "IIM-Bangalore is the only IIM with a 100% success rate till now. While this speak highly about the institution as a brand, credit must be given to students and their calibre too. The success rate is actually better than last year's," Vineet Sharma, placement representative, IIM-B, told TOI.
Last year, 12 consulting firms participated in these process. Some of the firms were McKinsey & Co, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Co. Also, consulting majors Alvarez & Marsal and Result recruited students for the first time.
This year, the positions offered vary a fair bit. "But, it's on a par with an entry-level MBA position across the world," Sharma said. Last year, 120 companies confirmed their participation for the 270 students.
During last year's summer placements at IIMB, overall 24% of the batch accepted a position in a consulting career, known for its demand for multi-functional skills and cutting across finance, strategy and marketing. Other sectors which saw a significant number of offers included finance (21%), investment banking (20%), marketing (13%) and general management (13%). Consulting firms like McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Co. recruited the highest number of interns from IIM-B. Interestingly, students have also bagged 2-3 international offers.
IIM-Calcutta students too are happy as they've got offers from across sectors, including FMCGs. Though IIM-C refused to give the number of offers made, it said the offers are a positive sign for students, especially during this recession. Students here bagged offers from the finance sectors and international ones.
The IIM-C didn't rule out the possibility of more than 10 overseas offers. Paul Savio, external relations secretary, IIM-C told TOI that some banks have put off the PPOs till September. "Earlier, we'd get the offers during May-June from some firms. One reason could be that banks want to see if the markets are doing better and hire people, if required. However, we're only some of the few lucky IIMs to get offers from the finance sector," he added.
Indian Institute of Management-Indore (IIM-I) started to receive PPOs from mid-June. With 240 students in the 2008-10 class, PPOs are more from for the marketing and finance sectors. "We're constantly in touch with firms and received a positive response," sources at placement committee, IIM-I said. He said PPOs would pick up later this year. "However, it's better compared to last year's," he added.
Shruthi Balakrishna, TNN 17 July 2009, 04:46am IST
Source: The Times Of India.
IIFT Exam Notification
IIFT Exam Notification:
Here are some of the important dates
Last Date for Sale of Prospectus by post for IIFT MBA 2010 - 2012: 20th August 2009
Last date for Sale of Prospectus across the counter at IIFT : 3rd September 2009
Last Date for Receipt of completed Applications for IIFT MBA 2010 - 2012: 3rd September 2009
Written Test for IIFT MBA 2010 - 2012 : 22nd November 2009 (10 a.m - 12 noon)
A Classic River Crossing Game...
    |
Common Errors (Contd)
Well, this blog is dedicated to my my PRO batch at Aundh. This is my first blog ever since their batch started and I would request them to accept this as an apology for not putting up any relevant stuff for a long time now.
So here it goes for all of you...Sentence correction tips and some common confusables....
1)BORROW OFF/BORROW FROM:
Although in some dialects you can borrow money off a friend, but in standard English you borrow money from a friend.
2)AFFLUENCE/EFFLUENCE:
Wealth brings AFFLUENCE and...wait for it....EFFLUENCE is sewage!!!
3)PARAMOUNT/TANTAMOUNT:
“Paramount” means “best,” “most important.” “Tantamount” means “equivalent.”
“The committee’s paramount concern is to get at the truth; your continued insistence that you don’t remember any of the meetings you attended is tantamount to a confession of incompetence.”
4)PERPETRATE/PERPETUATE:
Perpetrate is to commit or execute or present in a poor tasteless manner. Generally criminals perpetrate or a person can perpetrate a practical joke.
However, Perpetuate is to cause to continue indefinitely or to prolong the existence of something.
5)WANGLE/WRANGLE:
To wrangle means to get into an argument, but to wangle means to obtain by unfair or underhand methods.
Wrangle of course has the other meaning of herding and rounding up cattle and a wrangler means a cowboy (WRANGLER Denimwear etc...rings a bell???)
6)All that Susan wants this semester is a wink and a smile from the cute guy who sits next to her in algebra class.
In the above statement the subject is "All" and that refers to "a wink and a smile". Hence, the corrected version would be "All that Susan wants this semester ARE a wink and a smile from the cute guy who sits next to her in algebra class"
7)Aditya believed that he wrote the best essay of the semester, but when Mrs. Sharma returned the paper, the slashes of red ink and caustic comments immediately changed his opinion of the work.
Now the above sentence has an obvious tense error. The latest action is Mrs Sharma returning the paper and Aditya had finished writing the paper before the second action(So verb is the past participle form). Therefore the correct sentence would be :
"Aditya believed that he HAD WRITTEN the best essay of the semester, but when Mrs. Sharma returned the paper, the slashes of red ink and caustic comments immediately changed his opinion of the work."
8)Alisha will welcome whoever/whomever Rounak picks to join the study group, even if he chooses another beautiful woman.
Notice that all of the verbs already have subjects! The verb "will welcome" has Alisha as its subject; the verb "picks" has Rounak as its subject; and the verb "chooses" has he as its subject. Thus, you need WHOMEVER, the object form!!!
9)At the end of the semester, Mr. Kansal will leave piles of old books outside his office. He gives these outdated editions to whoever/whomever wanders down the hallway and wants a free text.
In this sentence the verbs "wanders" and "wants" are missing a subject, so you need WHOEVER, the subject form!!!
10)An illustrous lineage plays a factor in getting admission into this University.
In this case, there has been the mixture of two often misconstrued idioms...it can either be "is a factor in getting admission." or "plays a role in getting admission."
Well, so that's it from my end for the moment. Will be back in about a couple of days with some idiomatic usage errors. Till then, hit the test gyms and solve as many online tests as possible.
Go break a leg!!!
The Future of Email/ IM?
Just couldn't resist the temptation of putting the All New Google Wave preview video...
Its a longish one....an hour long. But what the heck...Enjoy!
ANGREZI? MARO GOLI!
Jug Suraiya never fails to delight me. This is exactly what happened when I was planning an activity for my class today. It was a class of Vocabulary and Reading. I randomly picked up an article from today's Times Of India and man it was mind blowing, not only did i enjoy the article but i am sure my students did too. You guys know by now that I tend to do a little more than just the worksheet, just to break the monotony and to develop an interest in reading. Well the delights of reading are many ,however amusement and learning at the same time...that is guaranteed in Jug Sauraiya's articles. That is just what i've done here. So, guys go ahead give it a read and be armed with newer words,whose meanings I 've shared at the end of this amazing piece of write up...ENJOY...
Angrezi? Maro goli!
20 May 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Jug Suraiya
During China's Cultural Revolution a commissar toured the country to ascertain if peasants had carried out the diktat of reading aloud Mao's thoughts while sowing seeds, so as to ensure a bumper crop. A farmer, who said he'd read out the Chairman's thoughts while planting, was asked by the commissar if he'd had a good harvest. Oh, yes, said the farmer. My radishes reach from here to Heaven. You fool, said the commissar. Don't you know there's no Heaven? I do, replied the farmer. And there are no radishes, either.
The story aptly sums up the current debate about whether English should or shouldn't be scrapped in India. Like Heaven, or the Chinese farmer's radishes, we're talking about a non-existing entity. When Harold Laski visited India he expressed approval that the welcoming speech made by a local trade union leader was in the vernacular. There was an awkward silence. The union leader's speech had, in fact, been made in what all present (except Laski) believed to be chaste English. That's why they say the British finally left India: they couldn't bear it anymore to hear their language being so mangled every day.
It's not just the pronunciations. Forget the Gujarati 'snakes' (snacks) and 'takes' (tax). Or the Bengali 'brij' (breeze) and 'shit of paper' (sheet of paper). Or the south Indian spelling of banana: bee-yay-yen-yay-yen-yay. Or the Punjabi celebration of 'birdays' (birthdays), especially if they fall on 'Sacherdays' (Saturdays) and the person concerned is of good 'krakter' (character). Punjab is also famous for its 'loins' (lions) and its 'laiyers' (lawyers).
Our orthography is even more inventive. 'Child bear, sold hare' (Chilled beer, sold here) might be an exaggeration, just about. But lots of shops sell 'milk and cureds' (curds). And restaurants serve 'Chinees, Muglai and Conti' (continental) food. Many a political speech is made from a 'dias' (dais) which may or may not be 'miniscule' (minuscule).
Advertisements always proclaim 'Offer open till stocks last', never 'while stocks last'. 'Till' denotes termination (We will love each other till we die); 'while' denotes duration (We will love each other while we live). While, till? Termination, duration? KFP. Ki farak pehenda? (What difference does it make?)
It doesn't. Like the use of the apostrophe 's', which indicates a shortened or contracted form: 'it's' for 'it is'. Technically, in the other use of 'its', as a pronoun (Its price makes the Nano a great buy), the 's' shouldn't take an apostrophe. But who cares a flying fig for technicalities. We apostrophise at will. As in our wont. Or should that be 'won't'?
Fewer and fewer of us can tell the difference between 'fewer' and 'lesser'. What's that you say? 'Fewer' should be used when we are talking in numeric, or countable, terms: Fewer people (not 'lesser' people) attended today's rally. 'Lesser' should be used in describing non-numeric quantity or magnitude: children of a lesser god; theft is a lesser crime than murder. But all of us including the TOI swap our lessers and our fewers with abandon.
We like to 'er', and generously add 'er' to words that don't need it as a suffix. So neighbour becomes a 'neighbourer', preferably a 'next-door neighbourer', to distinguish him from the neighbourer living 50 doors down the road. And forger, as in someone who forges currency notes, becomes a 'forgerer'.
We also tend to be nervous 'the'-ists: we are never quite sure when to use 'the' and when not to. For example, all of us tend to talk on phone (not 'the phone'). On the other hand, when we fly, we prefer to travel by 'the plane', rather than 'by plane', which may or may not be made by 'the Boeing'.
In all, Mulayam and the others of the 'Angrezi-hatao' brigade are only asking for the removal of a long-dead corpse, massacred by us in our daily usage. It's high time we gave English a decent cremation. Harry bol, bolo Harry!
Meanings of the highlighted words:
1. commissar- i)the head of any of the major governmental divisions of the U.S.S.R.: called minister since 1946.the head of any of the major governmental divisions of the U.S.S.R.: called minister since 1946.
ii)an official in any communist government whose duties include political indoctrination, detection of political deviation, etc.
2. ascertain:to make certain
3.diktat : any decree or authoritative statement
4.chaste:pure in style
5. mangled:to injure severely, disfigure, or mutilate by cutting, slashing, or crushing
6. orthography:the art of writing words with the proper letters, according to accepted usage; correct spelling.
7.minuscule: very small.
8.magnitude:extent
9. massacred: mass killing.
A contribution.....
Who says that only CL Pune mentors have the right to create blogs? Definitely not!There is something that I ardently believe in...' I can be a teacher only when I learn from my students.' Something like this happened during a class of mine with a certain batch of CAT-09 aspirants at the Bund Garden center. By now we know that there is a compulsory essay to be written in the XAT exams so we had some time dedicated to this activity during the course of an English class.
'Oh no!, Can we do it as homework?, We haven't written an essay for years together...' were few reactions right after the announcement of this activity. When the students realized there was no way out, they delved into it with a lot of sincerity and the outcome??? well this is for you to see... I am sharing with you an essay on " Development in India is merely a sham" written by Aditi Nagpal, one of our very promising students. I haven't done any editing. I wanted to share the original piece with you guys ...so read along!!!!!
DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA IS MERELY A SHAM!
With recession hitting the world badly and India still standing strong, is the scene as clean as it is projected or is the Indian economy practically in tatters? Kudos to Ratan Tata for launching a 1 lakh car and standing by his promise but probably Indians do not have many things to be happy about. With Ramalinga Raju proving a dent in the industry with the Satyam Fiasco, examples of forgery galore. While female empowerment is the mantra for practically every NGO and every government that comes and goes, there are zones where the BURQA system still prevails and regions where women cannot simply come out of the confines of the house to assert independence. There are cases of female foeticide on the rise in the areas close to Rajasthan and Gujarat. With farmer suicides on a horrendous high last year, the subsidies rolled out by the government does not reach the agricultural segment. Instead it is gulped away by the middle hierarchy. Same holds true for minimum support price launch scheme.A lot of difference creeps in between what is declared and what is implemented. This plight is shared with development welfare programmes regarding provision of civic amenities, sanitation and infrastructure.
Even if we state that corruption can be taken care of by voting honest people and the next generation i.e. Rahul Gandhi and Sachin Pilot can carry the onus of responsibility, Varun Gandhi’s speech of bigotry says it all. The segmentation of the regions, the politics of communalism and riotous tendencies of the Jehadis amongst us expedite the collapse of development before it merely happens. The very attack on the TAJ popularly known as 26/11 shook the very roots of the economy with such a big business organization shaken till the root and government still struggling to bring Kasab to book.
I can comment about this topic merely from the view of a spectator but I expect to change opinion as soon as I start contributing with all my heart to my nation!
Aditi Nagpal
I did quite enjoy her piece and I hope you do it too...I will sign off for now..will be back soon..
Some interesting facts from IIMB new batch profile...
I came across this interesting page on the IIMB results site. You can access the full document here.
A few observations about the IIMB batch profile:
1. 67 females made it as compared to 321 males. That's less than 18%. I guess things are a lot better than having 1 girl in my batch of 42 at IIMK in 1997-99!
2. Engineers made a killing at IIMB with 92% seats, up from 89% last year. Out of these Engineers, an astonishing 31% are from IITs, and 22% are from NITs! As I keep saying to any non-Engineer, there are still 30 seats which went to non-Engineers. And you only need one of them!
3. A total of 117 freshers reached the institute this year. This counters one of the most disputed myths about IIMs only taking Work-Ex junta!
4. Another way of putting the above is that fact that there were 328 out of 388 people who are below 25 years of age. The range is 19-35 years! I am sure the 19 year olds will feel a generation difference;)
5. Now, this one is my favourite: The lowest Graduation Percentage in the current batch is 66.20% in the general category, and 54% in the SC category! That does away the myth of only Toppers getting into the IIMs all the time...for the record, I had 52% in my Graduation, and I was not the lowest marks in my IIMK batch :)
Hope this will be taken in the right spirit! I will try to get other IIM data as well, and see what do they throw up.
CAT has finally changed its colours!
Dear Student,
The CAT is out of the bag। The IIMs have finally come public with their decision on conducting the CAT online from 2009. Click here for the formal communication from IIM-Bangalore.
It is now time to act. At the outset, we assure you that there is nothing to “fear” about this online CAT. We, at CL, are well prepared to take it head on and ensure that you have the requisite skills.
We have anticipated this and have been silently working at the backend to create requisite Computer Based Tests to make you comfortable with this format. We have been doing this for a long time now. CL started its first CBTs under the name “Web Sprints” way back in 2000 itself. In 2002, XLRI proposed conducting the test online and as CL we came up with a series of tests which were considered the best in this Industry. Let me try to analyze the impact of this decision on your preparations. I shall address this in a question and answer format.
Q: I am not very comfortable working on the computer? Will this affect my performance in the exam?
A: Absolutely, if you continue to keep yourself off from taking computer based tests. There are two stages of getting used to this. One, getting used to working on the computer. Two, getting used to reading and comprehending from the computers.
The first is still a smaller problem to tackle. I am not aware of any student taking GRE/GMAT who has had a problem getting used to the interface of the test. You just need to know how to click on the correct answer, submit the answer or skip the answer by clicking on the relevant radio buttons on the screen.
The second is a slightly long drawn process. Reading from the computer and comprehending is slightly different from doing the same from a sheet of paper. That is because we have been used to the “paper formats” for such a long time that our eye – mind coordination has got used to it. So you need to practice quite a bit to make yourself as efficient through a computer screen. Practice is the key factor.
Q: Where can I practice tests from ?
A: Are you aware that there are batteries of tests that are being updated every week on your SIS. I am aware of a large number of students who are already taking tests regularly on the SIS. If you have still not done it, you better get cracking fast. Please visit your SIS today. Better late than never.
Q: If CAT is conducted on different dates, would the students get different papers?
A: Absolutely. The plan is to conduct it on 10 different days. You may be asked to book your time slots and take the tests at some designated center which has the “Computer Infrastructure” to conduct the tests. You may be aware that BITSAT is computer-based test conducted for admissions into the Engineering programmes for BITS - Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses. About 1.8 lakh students are taking this test this year.
So each of you, in different time slots, could get a different paper. But care would be taken to ensure that all the papers are of “similar” levels of difficulty. I believe you should not be worried about this aspect much.
Q: Would the paper pattern change?
A: Not much. Do not think that the paper would be a lot easier. It may be marginally. The length of RC passages is likely to reduce, so also would be the amount of data in DI. Prepare the way you are preparing now. We will take care of these in our online tests.
Q: What should we do now?
A: I think there are a few things that you must immediately do:
a) Start taking tests on the SIS immediately. Make sure that you have sufficient practice of taking computer-based tests especially in RC and DI.
b) Read e-newspapers, e-books.
c) Make sure that every test that is made available to you by CL is completed. I can assure you that it would be more than sufficient for you to get cracking in CAT.
Q: What is CL planning for me?
A: We have anticipated this for some time now. We have planned it out completely. The ‘appetisers” have been put on the SIS now. There are broadly 2 things that you would see happening:
a) More tests on the web – Many more sectional tests will be uploaded onto the SIS across sections.
b) Mocks in the CBT formats – We will conduct the mocks both in the CBT formats as well as in the paper based formats. We shall ensure that you get comfortable with all the possible formats that CAT can try out.
Q: What should be my preparation strategy?
A: There are three stages for your preparation:
a) Learn: You learn as you are doing now. Just because CAT has gone online the conceptual learning is not going to change. Just stick to your Fundabooks and move onto the online tests for practice.
b) Practice: Part of this must be offline and part of it online. We would upload many more tests online in the next few weeks to enable you to get as much practice as possible online.Note that practice on SIS is essentially to get you used to taking a test on the computer.
c) Testing: Testing for a significant part must be online. This is because your strategies would significantly change since it is no longer a paper based format. You need to experience enough Full Length Tests on the computer to make yourself aware of what is working for you and what is not.
Q: Anything else I need to know?
A: Normally CBTs are of different formats:
a) A computer based test that lets you scroll all the questions. So you can access any question randomly.
b) A computer based test that throws question one at a time. You can access questions randomly. This is the most likely format for CAT 2009.
c) A computer based test that is adaptive. This means the test adapts to how you are attempting the paper. The questions thrown at you are based on whether you have got the earlier questions right or wrong. We expect this pattern from 2010 or 2011.
If you have any queries please mail us at pune.cl@careerlauncher.com.
All the best!
Common Errors(Contd)
Hello Everyone,
I have been fishing for more and more common errors in the general English that we write and speak and trust me, I feel this can go on forever. I mean, inspite of training for CAT for quite some time now, I still find so many peculiar grammar rules that do not have a reason...it's just the accepted norm or rule. Here are some examples to prove my consternation...COMMON ERRORS-Dose-II....
1)Emphasize on/Emphasis:
You can place emphasis on something, or you can emphasize it; but you can’t emphasize on it or stress on it, though you can place stress on it.
2)Espouse/Expound/Expand:
The meaning of “espouse” is “marry.” When you espouse an idea or cause in public you are proclaiming that you are promoting it as yours.
When you expound an idea you are explaining it. Theoretically you could expound an idea that you don’t personally espouse.
Most of the time in such contexts it would be more appropriate to use “expand on,” which means “to speak at length about.” “Expand” in this sense lacks the systematic analytical connotations of “expound.”
You never “espouse on” an idea; you just espouse it.
3)Lay/Lie:
You lay down the book you’ve been reading, but you lie down when you go to bed. In the present tense, if the subject is acting on some other object, it’s “lay.” If the subject is lying down, then it’s “lie.” This distinction is often not made in informal speech, partly because in the past tense the words sound much more alike: “He lay down for a nap,” but “He laid down the law.” If the subject is already at rest, you might “let it lie.” If a helping verb is involved, you need the past participle forms. “Lie” becomes “lain” and “lay” becomes “laid”: “He had just lain down for a nap,” and “His daughter had laid the gerbil on his nose.”
4)Majority is/Majority are:
“Majority” is one of those words that can be either singular or plural. If you mean the word to describe a collection of individuals, then the word should be treated as plural: “The majority of e-mail users are upset about the increase in spam.” If the word is used to describe a collective group, then consider it singular: “A 90% majority is opposed to scheduling the next meeting at 6:00 A.M.”
5)Ascribe/Subscribe
If you agree with a theory or belief, you subscribe to it, just as you subscribe to a magazine.
However, if you ascribe a belief to someone, you are attributing the belief to that person, perhaps wrongly.
6)Lighted/Lit
Don’t fret over the difference between these two words; they’re interchangeable.
7)Under the guise that/of
My Uncle tried to rob my jewellery under the guise of securing my possessions. There are many other alternatives to this phrase like "excuse that", "under the pretext that", but "under the disguise" requires the preposition "of" , usually followed by a gerund.
8)Within / Among
“Within” means literally “inside of,” but when you want to compare similarities or differences between things you may need “among” instead. It’s not “There are some entertaining movies within the current releases,” but “among the current releases.” But you can use “within” by rewriting the sentence to lump the movies together into a single entity: “There are some entertaining movies within the current batch of releases.” A batch is a single thing, and the individual films that make it up are within it.
9)Sergeant at arms/sergeant of arms
A Serjeant at Arms (also spelled Sergeant at Arms) is an officer appointed by a deliberative body usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word serjeant is derived from the Latin "serviens", which means "servant".
10)Substitute for/ with
You can substitute almonds for the berries in a brownie recipe, but many people mistakenly say “substitute with” instead, perhaps influenced by the related expression “replace with.” It’s always “substitute for.”
Phew...these sessions really leave me a little amazed at the end of it. Will keep all of you posted on more such errors but next time I shall be back with some dope on "phrasal verbs"!!!! Till then, please keep solving as many sentence correction questions as possible, since with CAT going online, this area needs serious attention.
Au Revoir!!!
अलंकृत: In Honour of Our Successful Students
We held an event called "Alankrit" to honour the 28 IIM converts as well as the other institutes and invited all our students to be also present. The Pune weather doesn't give too much scope to do much before 6 pm, but later on it becomes quite pleasant. Though the crowd was thinner than expected, probably due the IPL, we were able to engage them with some quizzes and contests. The Successful students spoke at length about their preparation, and the contribution CL family had made to their lives.
It was quite emotional when we gave away certificates (attached here) as well as books as gifts. The best, of course, was towards the end when our younger brigade from the BBA/ LST Prep batches forced all of us to the dancing floor. You can view the snaps below and on our blog clpune.blogspot.com.
Thanks to everyone for making it a great success!
Concept Of Factors
Concept of Factors:
N = P^a * Q^b * R^c (Where P,Q and R are prime numbers and a, b and c are natural numbers)
Then
1. Total no of factors of N = (a+1)*(b+1)*(c+1)
2. Total no of perfect square factors of N= (a+1)/2 * (b/2+1) *(c+1)/2 [If a and c is an odd no, b is an even no]
3. Total no of odd factors of N= (1 * (b+1)*(c+1)) [If P=2]
4. Total no of odd factors of N= (a+1)*(b+1)*(c+1) [If 2 is not the factor of N]
5. Total no of even factors of N= (a * (b+1)*(c+1)) [If P=2]
6. Total no of even factors of N= 0 [If 2 is not the factor of N]
7. Total no of non ordered pairs of (x,y) such that (x * y = N) = [(a+1)*(b+1)*(c+1)]/2 note : If total no of factors is an even no.
8. Total no of non ordered pairs of (x,y) such that (x * y = N) = [(a+1)*(b+1)*(c+1)+ 1]/2 note : If total no of factors is an odd no.
9. Total no of co-prime pairs using all the factors of N = a+b+c+2 (ab+bc+ca) + 4abc
10. Sum of all the factors of N = [(P^(a+1) – 1)/(p – 1)] * [(Q^(b+1) – 1)/(Q – 1)] * [(R^(c+1) – 1)/(R – 1)]
Common Errors
Hello People,
I am back to discuss certain inadvertant mistakes that we tend to commit while solving sentence correction questions. I chanced upon few of these on the internet and consider it worth to share with all of you. Fine nuances of grammar, here it goes...
Aspect Vs Respect:
These two words are widely used when talking about different perspectives of an idea but we have to keep in mind that they are NOT interchangeable, like we can say "in all/some/this RESPECT" but we cannot say "in all/some/this ASPECT". But we look at all ASPECTS of an issue and not RESPECTS of an issue.
As less as possible:
Now many of us are going to be surprised to know this...the expression is "as little as possible" and NOT "as less as possible".
As time progressed/passed:
Time as such can never progress...events progress...time passes.So the correct expression should be "as time passed".
Everyone/Every one:
“Everyone” means “everybody” and is used when you want to refer to all the people in a group: “Everyone in my family is an engineer.”
But while referring to the individuals who make up a group, then the phrase is “every one.” like “We wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas” (every single one of you).
New lease of/on life:
Reinvigorated people are said to have been granted with a "new lease on life" and not "new lease of life."
For sale/On sale:
When you sell something it is "for sale" and when you lower the price it is "on sale".
Maybe/May be:
Maybe is an adverb meaning "perhaps", like "Maybe he is coming for the party" and this sentenece MAY BE rephrased by "Perhaps he is coming for the party"(Now you get the difference?)
Worse comes to worse/Worst comes to worst:
The traditional phrase was "worst comes to worst", however with the passage of time a more logical form has been adopted i.e. "worse comes to worst". The phrase "worse comes to worse" is simply incorrect.
Possessed of/by/with:
When you own any object or thing the you are "possessed of it"; You are "possessed by" a spirit; When you have a strong desire to win, you are "possessed with" passion for vistory and success.
AND
If Vs Whether:
While discussing two possibilities it is always advisable to use WHETHER and in case of conditional clauses, the use of IF is preferred. "I do not know whether you want to go for the movie" and "You must go for the film IF you want to meet him"
Phew...that was quite an exhaustive fact finding tour, wasn't it?? I shall surely keep all of you updated with many more errors of this kind. Till then let's continue our efforts of conquering the world of grammar!!!
Let’s start the preparation for CAT DI section:
Drill 1 :Become Comfortable with calculations:
You should have a good command on tables and Squares (up to 30).
Now we will check how to do approximate calculations
For example Dividing 283 by 1983 and finding that value as a percentage.
283/1983: whenever denominator is greater than numerator try to approximate denominator. Hence you could take 1983 as 2000.
So now our question looks like 283/2000 which is noting but 0.1415 or 14.15%. Here we change our denominator by 17 which is approximately 1% 0f 1983(19.83).
So in our answer also approximately 1% error is there. 1% of 14.15% is nothing but 0.14%. So our final answer has to be 14.15% + 0.14% = 14.29%.
Now we will check what to do if numerator is greater than denominator, for example Dividing 1132 by 1069.
1132/1069: Here we can write 1132 as 1069 + 63 which will leads to 1 + 63/1069.
So now if we do approximation, it is on very small part. 63/1069≈0.06 and our final answer is 1.06 or 106%.
I hope now the concept of approximation is clear. Just try to solve few questions:
412/6950 a) 5.9% b) 4.7% c) 5.2% d) 6.2% e) 5.72%
511/1680 a) 31.5% b) 29.3% c) 30.1% d) 32.2% e) 30.4%
6.4/6.12 a) 1.045 b) 1.053 c) 1.035 d) 1.023 e) 1.031.
MH-CET results out!
Check out your MH-CET results at dte.org.in/result.
Do keep posting your scores and category for any suggestions...Highest heard till now- 148 (equivalent to 99.92%ile). Will keep updating the highest scores...
All the best!
Stop and Think
Just came across this video a few days ago. It has definitely touched me and I wanted to share it with you. Hope it makes a small difference at least, and compels us to act differently. Well the video is called “value of 500 rs.”
Check the link out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0XTPSYdP08
Challenger Logic Puzzle
Saturday, Kelly and four of her friends, lured by advertisements of the "biggest sale of the year," went Christmas shopping at Tracy's. Each of the five found the sales pitch to be true, finding a gift for her dad--one buying a sweater--at a great price. Given the clues below, can you solve this Challenger Logic Puzzle by determining the item each purchased, its original price, and its price on sale Saturday?
1 The original prices ranged from a low of $30 to a high of $120, totaling $310 for the five gifts.
2 The girls ended up spending $134 total on their five gifts, from a low of $21 to a high of $36,
3 The price of Jada's gift was reduced 20% more than the price of the tie, but Jada still paid $4 more for her item than the girl who bought the tie for her dad paid.
4 The original price of Lynne's gift was $50 more than the original price of the gloves another girl bought her dad, but after Tracy's reductions Lynne spent only $8 more than the gloves purchaser did.
5 Maria saved $7 more than the girl who bought the belt did.
6 The sale price of the dress shirt was $4 more than the sale price of the item Nicole purchased.
7 The biggest discount on any of the five items was 70% and the smallest discount was 30%.
GRAMMAR QUANDARY!!!!!
After quite a long hiatus I am back to mete out a few ways to deal with one of the most dubious sections of CAT grammar- MODIFIERS.
I call this area dubious because there are hardly any rules per se but then, here is where our reading habits come to the rescue. If we are well read, we generally tend to understand the nuances better for the simple fact being our comfort with the flow of a language(any language) always helps us to identify the slightest error in the construction.
So let's take some typical modifier questions (from OG for GMAT) and analyse them.
"The automotive conveyor belt system, which Henry Ford modeled after an assembly line technique introduced by Ransom Olds, reduced from a day and a half to 93 minutes the required time of assembling a Model T."
Now as we know a modifier is that part of the sentence that gives some extra information or adds to the meaning. We also know that it is preferred to keep the modifier and the modified together. Now in the above example, our modifying phrase, naturally is "from a day and a half to 93 minutes". Let's delve further into it. the word "reduced" is followed by "from a day...", which leads to the ambiguity about what is being reduced. Therefore to make the sentence unambiguous and crisp, it can be reframed as, "reduced the time required to assemble a Model T from one and a half day to 93 minutes."
Now let's take a look at another one
"As a result of medical advances, many people that might at one time have died as children of such infections as diphtheria,pneumonia or rheumatic fever now live well into old age."
Now in this case, following the pronoun rule we know "people" calls for "who" instead of "that". Secondly, "at one time" can be transformed into "once"(adjective). In the given statement, it seems that the people had died as children of diseases like diphtheria etc but that is not what the statement wants to convey . In case of compound verbs like, "may have", "could have" etc, it is advisable to insert the modifier between the verbs. Hence, the corrected sentence could be, "who might once have died in childhood of such" which shall remove ambiguity of any kind from the statement.
Do not panic if you find Modifiers to take some time as this area needs a lot of reading and practice. I will keep you posted on some more typical modifier based questions. Till then, keep reading newspapers like Wall street Journal or our very own HINDU or Economic Times to get used to the flow of the structure.
Understanding Currency...A Great Read!
A highly recommended read from today's DNA, Pune (click here for original article):
Printing notes is no way out of trouble |
Debasement of currency will only bring on a bigger financial crisis, a la Zimbabwe |
-Vivek Kaul. Mumbai |
|
Hey, I miss discussing the financial crisis with you. Tried calling, but couldn't get through. So this email.
The US government had given $133 billion to AIG in the past, but that doesn't seem to have helped. So, AIG is getting another $30 billion. General Motors (GM), which reported losses of $31 billion on sales of $149 billion, has seen sales fall to a 27 year low.
Citigroup isn't in good shape either. So are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and all those big financial institutions, which have had to be rescued by the government. This is not the case with the US alone. Various countries in Europe have gone around rescuing their once hallowed financial institutions, too. But neither in the US nor in Europe has any of these rescue efforts borne fruit so far. The losses keep piling up, questioning the very basis of bailing out the financial institutions in the first place. Should the market be allowed to work, and these institutions allowed to fade away? I wish I had an answer to that. And I need not tell you where all this money is coming from. Various governments are printing all the money they need. Okay, I can see you raising an eyebrow. How do I know this? Oh, it's rather simple. When a government wants to borrow, it has to issue bonds. Investors like banks and other financial institutions invest in those bonds and thus the government gets the money. Basically, the money the government borrows comes from the money supply already available. In the recent past, the US government has injected nearly $300 billion into the financial system, without there being a similar increase in the bonds issued by it. Basically, therefore, all this money is being created out of thin air — it is being printed. And the US isn't alone. European countries such as the United Kingdom are also doing this. The money being printed is used to keep the weak financial institutions, which would otherwise have gone bust, up and running. It is also being used by governments to spend on what are being referred to as "shovel ready projects." The idea, as I have explained in the past, is to get the banks to start lending again so people borrow and spend it. This will lead to the moribund economy growing again. The "shovel ready projects" are expected to put people who have lost employment back on job and earning again. Earning is likely to lead to spending and hopefully, this will revive the economy. But all that is theory. Will it practically work out the way, as politicians and economists have been saying it would? Highly unlikely, if history is anything to go by. Money printing only leads to more money printing. Okay, don't you raise that eyebrow again. I'll explain. When a spate of money suddenly hits any economy and people go out and spend, it leads to increased prices. The supply of goods and services they want to buy cannot suddenly expand to keep up with all the newly created "paper" wealth. So suddenly, there is a shortage of goods and services, and this leads to increased prices or inflation, as they call it. When an item is available in abundance, its value tends to go down and vice versa. All this printing of currencies will lead to a situation wherein the purchasing power of currencies will continue to decline. This would mean even more currency will have to be printed, which could lead to hyperinflation — a situation where prices go totally out of control, as the currency rapidly loses value. Take the case of Zimbabwe, which has been printing Zimbabwean dollars for sometime now. Economists estimate that the rate of inflation is currently at 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (five sextillion) per cent. The country recently even printed a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note, which was just about good enough to buy a loaf of bread. Basically then, the Zimbabwean dollar as a currency has totally collapsed. And this phenomenon gets repeated time and again. As Puru Saxena, a Hong Kong-based wealth manager writes, "In fact, a remarkable study confirms that only 23% of paper currencies ever issued have survived the test of time." And why isn't all the money being printed in the US and Europe not showing up in inflation? It is primarily because the banks are not ready to lend now, as they don't have enough confidence in the ability of borrowers to repay in such an economic environment. But you need to remember that gradually most banks are being nationalised. Take the case of Citigroup, up to 36% of it is owned by the US government. A lot of banks in Europe have been nationalised or are in the process of being nationalised. Once the government takes over, it will ensure that the banks actually go out in the market and lend all that money that has been printed up. If that happens, inflation is going to go through the roof. By printing all this money, the US can hope to inflate away all its debt. The US currently has a total debt of $54 trillion, which it cannot repay in the normal scheme of things. "In other words, either the US will default (highly unlikely in my view) or it will print and inflate so that this huge mountain of debt feels much smaller in the future due to the loss of its purchasing power," writes Saxena. And who loses out in such a situation? Countries like China, Japan and the oil producing nations who have a lot of their foreign exchange reserves invested in bonds issued by the American government. If all this printing continues, economies are likely to see hyperinflation in the day to come and their currencies will be in trouble. "As the jokers in Washington continue to 'save' the US economy (i.e. bail out their rich friends on Wall Street), the US dollar will eventually become worthless or it may be replaced by another currency." Hope I haven't scared you too much. Such are the times. Take care.
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Suffering from the epidemic of limited vocabulary? Read on!!!
It has been quite long since I have penned down something useful for you guys. Well, honestly there is always a ready excuse, deep with work till neck; trying to stay afloat...blah blah.... but the muse doesn’t take over often here. I was trying to expose myself to a lot of information and assuming some or the other miracle will happen. Anyway people, needless to say, after a long sabbatical, here I come with the gyan :)
The CAT-09 season has already begun and therefore first things first, vocabulary plays a very important role in contributing to good scores, when it comes to Verbal Ability section of CAT. I know not many of you excel in this forte and I also agree to the fact that taming this section could be a daunting task but it’s almost like “now and never” and so on a regular basis I have resolved to expose you to new words in this site. It’s how one says, ‘vitamins, work best when imposed rather than selected.’
For starters let us take a look at a few easy ways, if followed diligently would ensure enhancement of our vocabulary.
(1)Read, read and read: I am aware of the fact that reading is not everyone’s favourite. But with a little motivation and the want to be an eloquent speaker, take reading as little doses of medicine :) To truly begin, you could pick up anything and start reading. Newspapers, magazines even the very favourite ‘Pune Times’ along with its regular masala can teach quite a few new words. Here the occurrence of foreign words is frequent so ‘time to be fancy’:)
(2)Listen to English channels: Time for some entertainment guys! If news channels like BBC, CNN appear like humongous tasks, you have lots to choose from. For example if you are one of the movie buffs you could watch some great ones in HBO, Star movies, Sony Pix , Zee-studio and the list is endless. I particularly could always vouch for this method of picking up new words like ‘weaned, nemesis, sabotage, condescend’ to name a few. You also have some ‘on the edge of the seat entertainment serials. My personal favourites would be ‘prison break, how I met your mother, heroes, friends’ Although 'Friends and How I met your mother' couldn't be included in the 'adventure' genre.
(3) Conversing in English: Try conversing in English with few/ at least one of your friends or colleagues. This helps you to remain in the groove.
(4) Try thinking in English: Although English will always be a second language for most of us, we need to quit the translation which takes place in our little heads. The day we can overcome this impediment we will definitely be fluent.
So you could follow these few easy steps to be the one (read conversant in English) :) All the best. Signing off now and will be back with more.
Symbiosis Scores Revised
According to an article in Sakaal Times, the SNAP Test scores have been revised. So, if you expected a higher score, please make sure that you check your scores again on http://oams.blueshift.com/snapscorecard/Login.aspx.
All the best!
Last opportunity for an IIM Boot Camp!
After two great weekends of IIM-specific Bootcamps, CL Pune is glad to offer the last in the series on the 8th Feb. Since the IIM Interviews start off after the weekend, this is practically the last chance to get yourself polished further for those crucial calls.
The 8th Feb bootcamp will be a whole day affair in Pune itself. But before you come into the bootcamp, you will have to complete some basic introductory sessions available on the computers at the centres.
To know more, just sms PDP to 9850897035.
PDP Boot Camp Series
The first in the series of Residential PDP Boot Camps was held last weekend (17-18th Jan) at a serene location near Thane. It saw more than 85 students with IIM Calls getting a trailer to what the IIM life would be. After arriving at the venue past midnight from Pune, the students were asked to get ready for an assignment.
The session on Saturday started at 9 am with some hectic GD drills. The participants got the best of expert comments from the panel drawn from the IIMs and currently working in the industry. It was followed by gyan session on GK and current economic situation. With some relief in the form of a "movie assignment", the interviews for some students went off till late in the next day, 4:30 am to be precise.
The last day, Sunday, saw a flurry of interviews lined up for the whole day. The panel size was now extended with another 10 more experienced people joining from the IIMs and other prestigious institutions.
Some of the quotes from the participants tell you most of the story:
“…the co-learning was excellent”
“It met my expectations, and more, in many ways. The case study and its analysis opened up a whole new world for me. Stupendous effort by Career Launcher”
“It was really stressful, but at the end of it, I’m going back better equipped to face the interviews”
“The interview part revealed glaring loopholes in my profile. The feedback has given me the way to move ahead in the remaining few weeks”
“It’s been long since I had a night out and had to complete tasks. I really enjoyed this part of the Bootcamp”
“….The panelists and the officials were excellent. And yes, even the food was good”
“Innovative, creative, inspiring and eye opening”
“Keep it up. The effectiveness of these two days can never be over-stated”
“…it allowed me to stitch my story together…”
“Interview panel was excellent. I owe you guys”
“thank God I attended it”
“Thank you. I loved it”
“Although I loved the Bootcamp, I hope I won’t have to attend it again next year”
“The mix of students was brilliant”
If there is any IIM call-getter keen on attending the next Bootcamp on 24-25th Jan, just send an email to pune.cl@careerlauncher.com NOW!
For more details, please click here.
GMAT-It's never too early!
Let the CET MOCKS Mock conventions!!!
For all MBA aspirants, MH-CET shall be the last option of getting into one of the much coveted B-Schools in India. Beyond February 15th, there shall only be MAT in May that might be of any help, however that excludes the Top 20 management programs in the country. Considering all the colleges in Maharashtra , the total number of seats is 6500+, however one has to keep in mind that a lot of these seats are reserved under various quotas.
MH-CET is a 200 marks, 150 min test with 200 objective type questions testing the applicant's aptitude in Math, English and Reasoning. Although a sound knowledge of Math and English is essential, a sharp aptitude for solving reasoning based questions is critically important to crack CET. A minimum score of 100+ is desirable to make it to the best schools accepting the CET score. From a bird's eye view, the paper has a considerable number of questions pertaining to vocabulary, grammar, number system, data interpretation and visual reasoning, with algebra and geometry taking a backseat, however the importance of them cannot be ignored.
Assuming that most of the test takers are already through with their basics of Math and English, it is now mandatory for every aspirant to start testing his competency in the various sections by taking the Mock Tests. The mocks are very effective tools to help the student gage his performance. One has to make sure that one is getting tested across various Math, English as well as Reasoning based questions of varying difficulty levels. Apart from giving the students a variety of questions in a stipulated amount of time, the Mocks also help them evaluate their performance against 3000- 4000 test takers from the State. At this point of time every applicant should be ideally writing 2 tests in a week that would prepare them not only for the actual test but also make them aware of their weak areas, if any, so that they can start working on them. The test taker should also make it a point that one of the 2 tests should be compulsorily taken in a simulated environment so that he can get the feel and tension of the actual test day. Apart from merely writing the tests, the most crucial thing is a thorough analysis of the paper once it is over. An effective analysis of 200 questions should not take less than 120 min , and every test taker should devote that time after every Mock so that the mistakes in concepts and strategies are not repeated in the remaining of the papers. Every student should make sure to discuss the paper with his peers or with a mentor so that better ways to solve a problem can be devised and learnt. A poor performance in any of the Mocks should not dishearten one, rather one should take the learning out of it and be careful not to repeat any of those mistakes in future. A student can however safely rely on the Mock scores and therefore should take every test very seriously.
Especially at Career Launcher, a very comprehensive and detailed web analysis of every mock is provided which is very helpful for a student since it points out critical areas of concern and improvement and also gives the student a ranking and percentile across a considerably large chunk of test takers. In fact apart from the Mocks, the Full length simulated tests' scores can also be uploaded on the web to get the analyses of the same. With 26 days and only 3 Sundays left to the actual test, every test taker can comfortably take 15 Mocks which shall arm them with all the necessary competencies. Mock CETs are indeed a very effective way to prepare yourself for the real challenge.
Rest a lot depends on your ability to deal with a nerve wrecking situation...keep a check on the clock and I am sure nothing can stop you from getting a good score.
All the best and go break a leg!