The question given below consists of a statement, followed by three arguments numbered I, II and III. You have to decide which of the arguments is/are ‘strong’ arguments and which is/are ‘weak’ arguments and accordingly choose your answer from the alternatives given below each question. Statement: A shortage of bank branches and ATMs across India’s hinterland is holding back Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial inclusion efforts and risks angering rural voters ahead of elections next year. After taking office in 2014, Modi set an ambitious target to open a bank account for every household to ensure welfare funds flow directly to India’s poor, while improving access to credit and insurance programs. He pushed policies that helped bring 310 million people into the formal banking system in just four years, according to the World Bank. Based on the arguments stated below and he information stated above, which of the following arguments state the reason for the problem, ‘But many of India’s villages still lack bank branches or ATMs to help service new customers, while the pace of building new financial infrastructure has actually slowed’.  Arguments: I. Because Modi’s government effectively forced poor citizens into the banking system by linking some welfare benefits to bank accounts, villagers have ended up stuck in long queues and struggling with ATMs that often run out of cash or break down.  II. With an election due next year, the mismatch between the government’s policies and the rural banking system is generating frustration among a key slice of India’s electorate. III. The banking system struggled to keep up, while some gains proved temporary. Nearly half of Indian bank accounts were inactive in 2017, meaning they weren’t used at all in the previous 12 months

The question given below consists of a statement, followed by three arguments numbered I, II and III. You have to decide which of the arguments is/are ‘strong’ arguments and which is/are ‘weak’ arguments and accordingly choose your answer from the alternatives given below each question. Statement: A shortage of bank branches and ATMs across India’s hinterland is holding back Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial inclusion efforts and risks angering rural voters ahead of elections next year. After taking office in 2014, Modi set an ambitious target to open a bank account for every household to ensure welfare funds flow directly to India’s poor, while improving access to credit and insurance programs. He pushed policies that helped bring 310 million people into the formal banking system in just four years, according to the World Bank. Based on the arguments stated below and he information stated above, which of the following arguments state the reason for the problem, ‘But many of India’s villages still lack bank branches or ATMs to help service new customers, while the pace of building new financial infrastructure has actually slowed’.  Arguments: I. Because Modi’s government effectively forced poor citizens into the banking system by linking some welfare benefits to bank accounts, villagers have ended up stuck in long queues and struggling with ATMs that often run out of cash or break down.  II. With an election due next year, the mismatch between the government’s policies and the rural banking system is generating frustration among a key slice of India’s electorate. III. The banking system struggled to keep up, while some gains proved temporary. Nearly half of Indian bank accounts were inactive in 2017, meaning they weren’t used at all in the previous 12 months Correct Answer None is strong.

The correct answer is option 1, i.e. None is strong.

We first make sure to read the statement carefully and then see what immediate inferences can be drawn based on our first reading. The next step is to look at the arguments given in the options, analyze them and see if they seem relevant with respect to the information/data provided to us. Finally, it is very important to study the question closely.

Following the aforementioned steps we must analyze the given statement and the corresponding question closely.

Argument (I) captures the essence of the failure of the policies but does not provide answer to the question stated. It states people stood in queues outside the banks, whereas in the question we are asking the reason for the lack of bank branches’. As, it is not relevant with the question asked, it can be rejected.

Argument (II) states the fact about ‘key slice of India’s electorate’ which is nowhere mentioned or can be derived from the given statement. Thus, it can be rejected.

Argument (III) is also inappropriate as it is opposite of the question asked. In the question we are focused on the reason for the shortage of bank branches and services, it states that the accounts are inactive and many of the branches have not been used since a long time. Thus, diverting the question asked, it can also be rejected as an answer choice.

Thus, the correct answer is option 1.

Related Questions

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