IBPS PO Prelims Full Mock Test 09

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given after it. Over the past decade, millions of Indians have found work through digital platforms that connect them with customers for a single task at a time. A delivery rider in Bengaluru, a cab driver in Lucknow and a beautician who travels to clients' homes in Kolkata may never meet, yet they share a common condition: each is paid by the job, and none of them is an employee in the traditional sense. Supporters of this model argue that it has absorbed young people who would otherwise have remained idle, and that the freedom to log in and out at will suits students and homemakers who cannot commit to fixed shifts. Critics see a darker side. Because platform workers are classified as independent partners, they usually do not receive paid leave, health cover or a pension. Their earnings swing with demand, with fuel prices and with the incentive schemes that companies redesign without warning. A rider who falls ill for a week loses not only his income but sometimes his rating, which in turn affects the number of orders he is offered once he returns. The challenge for policymakers is to protect these workers without destroying the flexibility that drew them to the platforms in the first place. Treating every gig worker as a full-time employee could raise costs so sharply that companies cut jobs or pass the burden on to customers. Doing nothing, however, leaves a growing section of the workforce exposed to every illness, accident and downturn. A middle path is gradually emerging: small contributions collected on each transaction and pooled into a welfare fund, portable benefits that follow the worker from one platform to another, and transparent rules on how ratings and incentives are calculated. Whether such measures succeed will depend less on the elegance of the law than on its enforcement. A welfare fund is meaningful only if workers know how to claim from it, and a grievance mechanism is useful only if it answers complaints before a worker has been pushed off the platform.

   Q1.What is the common condition shared by the workers mentioned in the first paragraph?

   • A.They all work for the same company in different cities
   • B.They are employed by the government on short contracts
   • C.They receive a fixed monthly salary from the platforms
   • D.They are all students looking for part-time income
   • E.They are paid for each task and are not employees in the traditional sense

2. Q2.According to supporters of the platform model, which group particularly benefits from the freedom to log in and out?

   • A.Owners of large delivery companies
   • B.Customers living in small towns
   • C.Workers who want a pension
   • D.Retired government employees
   • E.Students and homemakers who cannot commit to fixed shifts

3. Q3.Why, according to the passage, can a week of illness hurt a rider even after he recovers?

   • A.His vehicle licence is automatically cancelled
   • B.His rating may fall, reducing the orders he is offered later
   • C.He has to pay a penalty to the platform
   • D.He must undergo fresh training before returning
   • E.His welfare fund contribution is doubled

Start the test to answer these. Correct answers and explanations are shown after you submit.