Read
the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain
words have been printed in bold to help you to locate them while answering some
of the questions.
Delays
of several months in Natioinal Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme wage payments
and work sites where labourers have lost all hope of being paid at all have
become the norm in many states. How are workers who exist on the margins of
subsistence supposed to feed their families? Under the scheme, workers must be
paid within 15 days, failing which they are entitled to compensation under the
Payment of Wages Act – upto Rs.3000 per aggrieved worker. In reality, compensation
is received in only a few isolated instances. It is often argued by officials
that the main reason for the delay is the inability of banks and post offices to
handle mass payments of NREGS wages. Though there is agrain of truth in this, as
a diagnosis it is misleading. The ‘jam’ in the banking system has been the
result of the hasty switch to bank payments imposed by the Central Government
against the recommendation of the Central Employment Guarantee Council which advocated
a gradual transition starting with villages relatively close to the nearest bank.
However, delays are not confined solely to the banking system.
Operational hurdles include implementing agencies taking more than fifteen days
to issue payment orders, viewing of work measurement as a cumbersome process
resulting in procrastination by the engineering staff and non maintenance of
muster rolls and job card etc. But behind these delays lies a deeper and deliberate
‘backlash’ against the NREGS. With bank payments making it much harder to
embezzle NREGS funds, the programme is seen as a headache by many government
functionaries the workload has remained without the “inducements”. Slowing down
wage payments is a convenient way of sabotaging the scheme because
workers will desert NREGS worksites.
The
common sense solution advocated by the government is to adopt the business
correspondent model. Where in bank agents will go to villages to make cash
payments and duly record them on handheld, electronic devices. This solution is
based on the wrong diagnosis that distance separating villages from banks is
the main issue. In order to accelerate payments, clear timilines for every step
of the payment process should be incorporated into the system as Programme
Officers often have no data on delays and cannot exert due pressure to remedy
the situation. Workers are both clueless and powerless with no provision for
them to air their grievances and seek redress. In drought affected areas the
system of piece rate work can be dispensed with where work measurement is not
completed withinn a week and wages may be paid on the basis of attendance.
Buffer funds can be provided to gram panchayats and post offices to avoid
bottlenecks in the flow of funds. Partial advances could also be considered
provided wage payment are meticulously tracked. But failure to recognise
problems and unwillingness to remedy them will remain major threats to the
NREGS.
1.
What impact have late wage payments had on NREGS workers?
a)
They cannot obtain employment till their dues are cleared
b)
They have benefited from the compensation awarded to them
c)
They have been unable to provide for their families
d)
None of these
2.
Which of the following factors has not been responsible for untimely payment of
NREGS wages?
a)
Communication delays between agencies implementing the scheme
b)
Improper record keeping
c)
Behind schedule release of payments by banks
d)
Drought conditions prevalent in the country
3.
What has the outcome of disbursing NREGS wages through banks been?
a)
Theft of funds by administratioin officials responsible for the scheme has reduced
b)
Increased work load for local government officials
c)
Protests by workers who have to travel long distances to the nearest bank to
claim their wages
d)
Time consuming formalities have to be completed by workers
4.
To which of the following has the author attributed the delay in wage payments?
a)
Embezzlement of funds by corrupt bank staff
b)
Lack of monitoring by the Central Employment Guarantee Council
c)
An attempt to derail the NREGS by vested interests
d)
Overworked bank staff deliberately delay payments to protest against extra work
5.
Which of the following can be considered a deficiency in the NREGS?
a)
Lack of co-ordinatioin among Programme Officers
b)
Local officials are unaware of correct operational procedures
c)
Workers have no means of obtaining redressal for untimely wage payments
d)
Disbursing wages through banks instead of readily accessible post
offices
In
the following questions, you have one brief passage with five questions. Read the
passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four
alternatives.
Although
Indians spend less money on allopathic medicines than people in most Asian
Countries, more than 40,000 drugs formulations are available here. All manufacturers
are required by law to provide information about their product either on the
packaging or in a pamphlet inside. But, in many cases, this information is very
meagre and hard to understand. Many doctors, too do not tell their patients anything
about the drugs they prescribe.
What
should we be concerned about when we take drugs? There are two areas: (1) Side
effects. Many people taking a drug will notice an undesirable reaction, usually
minor. But even the mildest drugs can do harm if taken improperly, long enough
or in excessive doses. And everyone responds to a drug differently. (2) Failyre
to follow directions. Many of us disobey prescription instructions on how much
to take and when. It is eady to fall into thinking that more of the drug will
speed up the healing. It is more common, however, for people to stop taking a
drug when they begin to feel better. This, too, can be dangerous.
What
are the steps to be taken for safety? Take a drug only as recommended on the
label or by the doctor. (2) If you feel ill after taking a drug, check it with
a doctor. (3) Do not mix drugs. (4) Check whether any food or activities are to
avoided.
6.
Which one of the following statements is true?
a)
Indians use more than 40,000 allopathic drugs
b)
Indians hate allopathic medicines
c)
Other Asian countries do not have allopathic medicines
d)
Indians cannot afford allopathic drugs
7.
How are drug users to be instructed by the manufacturers?
a)
Doctors should give a manual of instructions.
b)
The Chemist should issue an instruction manual.
c)
Information should be printed on the carton or in a pamphlet kept inside it.
d)
Patients should keep in touch with drug manufactuters.
8.
Only one of the following sentences is right identify it.
a)
All medicines produce reactions of various degrees in their users
b)
Even mild drugs are not always safe
c)
Medicines should be discontinued as soon as we feel better
d)
More than the prescribed dose brings quicker recovery
9.
Drug manufacturers _______
a)
do not give instructions
b)
give all necessary instructions
c)
give very little and unintelligible information
d)
give information only when asked
10.
Which one of the following is true?
a)
Throw away the drug that produces side effects and try another
b)
Drugs may be taken with all kinds of foods
c)
Drugs do not inhibit our normal life style
d)
Drugs should be used only according to prescription
ANSWERS:
1. Option D
2. Option D
3. Option B
4. Option C
5. Option C
6. Option A
7. Option C
8. Option B
9. Option C
10.
Option D
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