In the following passage ten blanks are left out labeled with letters A, B, C…
2025
In the following passage ten blanks are left out labeled with letters A, B, C and so on. You have to choose a set of words that is correct grammatically and contextually in order to fill the blank.
The Union Cabinet has approved a series of changes in foreign direct investment norms as the government prepares to enter the last lap of its economic policy-setting phase ahead of the 2019 election. Key among these was the decision to _____ 1 _____ up to 49% overseas ownership, including by a foreign airline, in Air India. This comes just a little more than six months after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod for a strategic _____ 2 _____ of the airline. The relaxation in ownership norms clears the decks for possible bidders such as the Singapore Airlines-Tata combine and Jet Airways — with its overseas equity and route partners — to make a more detailed commercial _____ 3 _____ of the investment opportunity the state-owned flag carrier presents. For the fiscally constrained government, the _____ 4 _____ couldn't have come sooner. With the Union Budget due soon and the government _____ 5 _____ short of its budgeted strategic disinvestment goal for the current financial year — as of end-November, only 28% of the targeted ₹15,000 crore had been realised — the hope must be for an _____ 6 _____ timetable for the stake sale. Still, the fulfillment of a necessary condition for a strategic sale doesn't automatically become sufficient grounds for a successful privatisation. Given the carrier's accumulated debt of about ₹50,000 crore and the fact that the interest of potential investors is likely to be focused on Air India's _____ 7 _____ long-haul international routes and its fleet of more than 40 wide-bodied aircraft, disinvestment will be neither easy nor guaranteed. At the very least, the government needs to set a distinct, _____ 8 _____ road map for the sale process. The other reform cleared by the Cabinet was the _____ 9 _____ decision to put 100% FDI in Single Brand Retail Trading under the 'automatic' route, accompanied by the long-sought relaxation of mandatory local sourcing norms. This had been a major issue with potential investors including Apple, which had repeatedly urged the government to take a more _____ 10 _____ view given the level of technological advancement incorporated in its products and the difficulty in finding local sources of supply at the requisite scale.
Choose a set of words that is correct grammatically and contextually in order to fill the blank 5
(question no 1 till 10 are linked together)
- A.
woefully, extremely
- B.
sure, certain
- C.
fair, definitely
- D.
merely, slightly
Attempted by 3 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
In this kind of vocabulary cloze blank, the missing word must satisfy two independent tests together: it must belong to the grammatical category the sentence structure demands (here, an adverb that can sit directly before the phrase 'short of', not an adjective), and its meaning must match the degree and tone the surrounding facts establish (a large shortfall calls for a word signalling severity, not a small one calling for mildness).
The passage states that only 28% of the targeted ₹15,000 crore disinvestment goal had been realised by end-November — a shortfall of roughly three-quarters of the target, which is severe, not marginal. The word before 'short of' must therefore be an adverb of high degree carrying a negative, severe sense.
woefully, extremely — both function as adverbs of high degree and carry a strongly negative sense, matching a shortfall this large.
sure, certain — both are adjectives of certainty; neither can modify 'short of' grammatically, and neither conveys any sense of magnitude.
fair, definitely — 'fair' functions as an adjective here and cannot modify 'short of'; 'definitely' expresses certainty about a fact, not the scale of a shortfall.
merely, slightly — both are grammatically valid adverbs, but both signal only a minor, negligible shortfall, the opposite of the severe gap the passage's own figures describe.
Since roughly 72% of the target remained unmet, only a pair of high-degree, negative-sense adverbs fits both the grammar and the scale described — which is exactly what 'woefully, extremely' supplies.