At India’s economic momentum (a)…………….. is now beyond doubt. Advance GDP estimates and gross value added (GVA) for the current fiscal year from the Central Statistics Office clearly (b)…………… the extent of the slowdown. While GDP growth is now (c)…………….. at 7.1 per cent, compared with a 7.6 per cent pace in 2015-16, GVA is (d)………………. to expand at 7 per cent this year, easing from the 7.2 per cent posted 12 months earlier. And as the Chief Statistician emphasised, these projections were based solely on data from the first seven months (e)………………… October and do not factor in the impact from the withdrawal of high-value banknotes and the consequent cash crunch. A closer look at the sectoral GVA projections throws into relief the areas of concern: Mining and quarrying is estimated to (f)………………. 1.8 per cent this year after expanding 7.4 per cent a year earlier, while electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services — collectively an indicator of broader economic activity — is slowing to 6.5 per cent from 6.6 per cent. (g)…………… worryingly, the seven-month numbers establish that two key engines of the economy, manufacturing and services, are losing momentum faster than (h)………………, and this could spell trouble for the coming quarters. This is especially so when seen in the backdrop of demonetisation and what the Reserve Bank of India referred to as the “short-run disruptions in economic activity in cash-intensive sectors such as retail trade, hotels & restaurants and transportation, and in the unorganised sector” and “aggregate demand compression associated (i)…………….. adverse wealth (j)………………….”.
1)
a) slow down
b)have slowed down
c)has slowed down
d)slowed down
2)
a)represent
b)reveal
c)distinct
d)show
3)
a)peg
b)increase
c)pegged
d)decrease
4)
a)forecast
b)estimate
c)ideally
d)think
5)
a)in
b)at
c)through
d)of
6)
a)shrink
b)increase
c)decrease
d)expand
7)
a)More
b)Much
c)Mostly
d)Most
8)
a)anticipate
b)were anticipated
c)was anticipated
d)has anticipated
9)
a)to
b)with
c)by
d)of
10)
a)affect
b)upshot
c)lapse
d)effect