The government's move to outlaw billions of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denominated notes overnight has led to a chaotic scramble for usable cash. In theory, it was to flush out unaccounted money and push India towards a cashless economy. In reality, it's led to a reorganisation of cash for small time tax evaders and bewilderment for the marginalised. For real change to happen, India needs to focus on an incentivised digital transaction system with strict data protection laws to encourage usage. That transition is no small task. For the bulk of the unbanked, India's villages and urban poor, cashless transactions are a chimera. The typical villager has transaction sizes so small that it's uneconomical to service each with a brickand-mortar bank. India's central bank knows this too well and its greatest success has been the use of banking correspondents. India's biggest bet, however, as pointed out by its former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, may be in pushing out the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) aggressively. Under UPI, anyone with a smart phone can transfer money between two accounts. It has a unique advantage in that the mobile phone kiosk or vendor is ubiquitous in villages, as are cheap handphones. Of course, it requires significant investment in training users to do transactions correctly, but it's small pric e to pay to promote a cashless culture. The government's bigger resistance to conversion is likely to come from billions of small traders and service providers from the plumber to the tailor. Few of these folks pay taxes at all. Which explains why only 1% of the country's population shows up on the tax payer list. To tackle this, the government will have to find ways to promote the use of cashless transactions through a slew of incentives, to make it far more attractive to pay for goods and services digitally. The safety pin in all of this will, of course, be data security. A September data theft in which fraudsters swiped data off millions of debit card holders is a reminder of the challenges that lie ahead. Fraudsters stole data from cards that were swiped at the ATM of a certain bank. Yet, no bank claimed responsibility or elaborated on how the malware got into the ATMs of the bank involved. Indian banks treated the problem poorly at all levels. The banks mostly kept mum for several weeks, though they notified customers to change passwords. They cowered, showing very little of the transparency they demand from customers. Banks must understand that in a cashless society, clarity is everything. When a data breach happens, banks must disclose details as soon as possible, and not as little and as late as can be. As India moves towards its Digital India programme, and more goods and services migrate online, data sitting with e-commerce sites, transport aggregators, public services, Aadhar and retailers will be under threat. We will need a data breach disclosure law. And tough data protection laws. It's widely accepted that data theft is a common menace world wide. Even high-profile companies with tight cyber security, from Tesco to Yahoo, have had customer money and data stolen. No one is immune. Ever. India's regulators, be they overseeing transactions, personal data or biometric information, must know that in an increasingly digital society, user information can be misused for redirecting public funds to bogus recipients, to blackmail or outright theft. In India, the land of jugaad, if it can happen, it will. Users who have to be coaxed into going cashless will want assurances on a few things, pretty unequivocally. They will want timely and full compensation for losses arising from data theft, know systems are as safe as can be, and data hacks will be reported as soon as they are discovered. Without all of this in place, India's cashless future will be leaky. Its dirty money will continue to find its way into gold, overseas accounts and benami real estate. And the government will be chasing ghosts, in the hope of a clean-up.
1. What are banks supposed to do in a cashless society?
1) In a cashless society banks are supposed to make everything clear to the persons concerned.
2) In the event of a data breach, banks must disclose details as soon as possible.
3) The delayed action by the banks in the event of data breach discourage the fraudsters, hence
banks should take action as little and as late as possible.
4) Only 1) and 2)
5) All 1), 2) and 3)
2. What measure(s) has / have been suggested by the author to protect online services and shoping?
A) The government should set up a regulatory body to regulate the functioning of online service providers.
B) There should be a data breach disclosure law in place.
C) Tough data protection laws should be enacted by the government.
1) Only A) and B)
2) Only (B)
3) Only (C)
4) Only (B) and (C)
5) All (A), B) and (C)
3. How did the government's move to demonetise high-denomination currency impact the different people of society? Answer in the context of the passage.
A) The move came as a bewilderment for the marginalised section of society.
B) The move proved to be a windfall for the bank employees.
C) The move led to a reorganisation of cash for small time tax evaders.
1) Only (A) and (B)
2) Only (B) and (C)
3) Only (A) and (C)
4) Only (C)
5) All A), (B) and (C)
4. How, according to the author, can India move towards a cashless economy? Answer in the context of the passage.
(A) India should focus on an incentivised digital transaction system.
(B) To encourage digital transaction there should be strict data protection laws.
(C) The usage of retail point of sale (POS) system should be made mandatory for retailers.
1) All (A), (B) and C)
2) Only (A) 3) Only (C)
4) Only (A) and (B)
5) Only (A) and (C)
5. Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage?
1) Under UPI, anyone with a smart phone can transfer money between two accounts.
2) The biggest hurdle in the way of conversion to cashless society are billions of small traders and service providers.
3) The September data theft was committed by fraudsters from cards that were swiped at the ATMs of YES Bank
4) Indian banks treated the issue of date theft poorly at all levels.
5) None of the above.
6. What, according to the author, may be the aspirations of the persons going cashless? Answer in the context of the passage.
1) They will want timely and full compensation for losses arising from data theft.
2) They may expect data hacks to be reported as soon as they are discovered.
3) They may expect a freebie for using plastic money.
4) Only (1) and (2)
5) All (1), (2) and (3)
7. What are the meanings of 'chimera' and 'coaxed' respectively as used in the passage?
1) Dream, Dissuaded
2) Reality, Persuaded
3) Fool's paradise, Cajoled
4) Certainty, Turned off
5) Fantasy, Discouraged
Directions (Q.No 08 - 10): Choose the word which is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word printed in bold.
8. Inveigle
1) Dissuade
2) Cajole
3) Bully
4) Swagger
5) Prevent
9. Cessation
1) Persistence
2) Introduction
3) Relief
4) End
5) Let up
10. Holocaust
1) Shadow
2) Announcement
3) Carnage
4) Influence
5) Radiance
Directions (Q.No 11 - 13): Choose the word which is MOST OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in bold.
11. Mollify
1) Placate
2) Ameliorate
3) Pacify
4) Compose
5) Incite
12. Renegade
1) Dissident
2) Rebel
3) Obedient
4) Traitor
5) Insurgent
13. Torment
1) Relief
2) Agony
3) Scourge
4) Nuisance
5) Tease
Directions (Q.No 14 - 15): Five words are given in each question out of which only one word is correctly spelt. Find the correctly spelt word and indicate it in the Answer Sheet
14. 1) Sufferage 2) Suferage 3) Suffrage 4) Sufferaze 5) Sufferase
15. 1) Sphinxe 2) Sphinx 3) Sphincs 4) Sfinxe 5) Spheinks
Directions (Q.No 16 - 20): The sentence has a blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the word that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
16. No-frills airports are those which have only ___ infrastructure to handle aircraft.
1) No
2) Construct
3) Any
4) Basic
5) Extravagant
17. She was careful with money and would keep ___ account of the petty cash in a diary.
1) Its
2) Minute
3) Exactly
4) No
5) Properly
18. India intends to import skills training to 402 million people over the next five years and ___ them in sectors like construction and retail.
1) Employs
2) Deploy
3) Hired
4) Pay
5) Occupied
19. The philanthropist donated a well on the ____ that everyone would draw water from it and that it would belong to the whole village.
1) Chance
2) Condition
3) Term
4) Credit
5) Law
20. _________ I had systematically planned my weekend trip, I was at a loss when he asked me to work on the weekend instead.
1) Though
2) Despite
3) Until
4) Still
5) As
