The question given below consists of a statement, followed by three arguments I, II and III. You have to decide which of the arguments is/are ‘strong’ arguments is/are ‘weak’ arguments and accordingly choose your answer from the alternatives given below each question. Statement: India's burgeoning shadow finance sector is likely to face a shake-up after defaults at one major lender battered the nation's financial markets in the past week and reinforced worries about credit risk. Industry officials and experts say they expect Indian regulators to cancel the licences of as many as 1,500 smaller non-banking finance companies because they don't have adequate capital, and to also make it more difficult for new applicants to get approval. Which of the following argument(s) stated support(s) the given fact? Arguments: I. Better capitalised and more conservatively run finance firms are likely to swallow up an increasing number of smaller rivals. That could make it difficult for many small borrowers to get loans, especially in the countryside where two-thirds of India's 1.3 billion people live and put the brakes on a surge in private consumption with a knock-on effect on growth. II. The shadow banking sector now comprises more than 11,400 firms with a combined balance-sheet worth 22.1 trillion rupees ($304 billion) and is less strictly regulated than banks. It has been attracting new investors, particularly as the nation's banks have had to slow their lending as they seek to work through $150 billion of stressed assets. III. Nearly 11,000 of India's NBFCs are small and medium-sized businesses with an asset base of less than 5 billion rupees. But the top 400, many of which are backed by banks and finance companies, control about 90 percent of the assets under management.
The question given below consists of a statement, followed by three arguments I, II and III. You have to decide which of the arguments is/are ‘strong’ arguments is/are ‘weak’ arguments and accordingly choose your answer from the alternatives given below each question. Statement: India's burgeoning shadow finance sector is likely to face a shake-up after defaults at one major lender battered the nation's financial markets in the past week and reinforced worries about credit risk. Industry officials and experts say they expect Indian regulators to cancel the licences of as many as 1,500 smaller non-banking finance companies because they don't have adequate capital, and to also make it more difficult for new applicants to get approval. Which of the following argument(s) stated support(s) the given fact? Arguments: I. Better capitalised and more conservatively run finance firms are likely to swallow up an increasing number of smaller rivals. That could make it difficult for many small borrowers to get loans, especially in the countryside where two-thirds of India's 1.3 billion people live and put the brakes on a surge in private consumption with a knock-on effect on growth. II. The shadow banking sector now comprises more than 11,400 firms with a combined balance-sheet worth 22.1 trillion rupees ($304 billion) and is less strictly regulated than banks. It has been attracting new investors, particularly as the nation's banks have had to slow their lending as they seek to work through $150 billion of stressed assets. III. Nearly 11,000 of India's NBFCs are small and medium-sized businesses with an asset base of less than 5 billion rupees. But the top 400, many of which are backed by banks and finance companies, control about 90 percent of the assets under management. Correct Answer Only I 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.
The given question deals with the context of the license of small firms being cancelled because they don't have adequate capital and neither does the new applicants get approved regarding the same. Thus, we must look for an argument(s) that is also in the same direction.
Argument (I) perfectly supports the given idea that better established firms will take down the small firms and this could make it difficult for many small borrowers to get loans.
Argument (II) is too general in the context of shadow banking firms and does not deal with the specific issue of the license of small finance firms being cancelled which is asked in the question. Thus, the argument (II) can also be rejected.
Argument (III) is a general statement stating facts and does not bring out the reason for the said statement.
Hence, the rest of the options can be rejected.