IBPS PO Prelims Full Mock Test 12

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given after it. For decades, the image of Indian agriculture was that of a farmer waiting anxiously for the monsoon. That image is still true for a large part of the country, where more than half of the cultivated area depends on rain. But a quieter change has been under way. Farmers in several states have begun to treat water as a resource to be measured and budgeted rather than a gift to be prayed for. Drip and sprinkler systems, once considered expensive toys for rich growers, are now common in sugarcane fields of western India and in orchards of the south. By delivering water directly to the roots, they reduce wastage and allow the same quantity of water to irrigate a larger area. Farmers who adopted them report higher yields and lower electricity bills, since pumps run for fewer hours. The spread has not been even. Small farmers often lack the capital to install such systems, and subsidies, though generous on paper, reach them late or require paperwork that they find difficult. In some areas, cheap or free electricity for pumps has encouraged over-extraction of groundwater, so that the water table falls a little every year. A farmer who saves water on his own field may simply watch his neighbour pump it out. Experts argue that the solution lies in collective action. When villages map their aquifers, agree on crop choices and share the cost of efficient irrigation, the benefits are larger and more lasting. Technology, in other words, is necessary but not sufficient; it works best when it is matched by institutions that help people act together.

   Q1.What change in the attitude of farmers does the first paragraph describe?

   • A.Treating water as a resource to be measured and planned
   • B.Depending completely on the monsoon
   • C.Praying for more rain each year
   • D.Selling land to large companies
   • E.Abandoning agriculture for city jobs

2. Q2.Why do farmers using drip systems report lower electricity bills?

   • A.Their pumps need to run for fewer hours
   • B.The government pays their bills
   • C.Electricity is free for drip users
   • D.They stop growing sugarcane
   • E.Drip systems produce electricity

3. Q3.Which of the following is a reason given for the uneven spread of efficient irrigation?

   • A.Large farmers refuse to share technology
   • B.Groundwater is rising too fast
   • C.Drip systems do not work on orchards
   • D.The monsoon has become more regular
   • E.Small farmers lack capital and subsidies reach them late

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