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Prime Minister Rural Development Fellowship

Model Paper for AICAT


The Prime Minister Rural Development Fellows Scheme is an initiative of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India (GoI) in collaboration with State Governments. The Fellowship has the twin objective of engaging young professionals to work with District Collectors in improving the development programmes as well as to build them as a cadre of development facilitators, who will be available as a ready resource for rural development activities over a long term. PMRD Fellows Scheme to invites talented young professionals with a desire to participate and initiate a larger change. The selection process is based on Written test (All India Competency Assessment Test-Online) and Personal Interview. Here we are adding AICAT Model Paper. This Paper consists 5 Sections, viz Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Inference, General Awareness, Logical reasoning and Knowledge about National Programmes and Schemes. All candidates are requested to go through this to aware of the test.

Written Test on: 28.12.2013 For more details, visit http://rural.nic.in/pmrdfs/.

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Reading Comprehension
(Question Number 1 to 5): In India (as in much of Asia and Africa) a wide variety of essential items are gathered by rural households from the village commons and forest for everyday personal use and sale such as food, fuel, fodder, fibre, small timber, manure, bamboo, medicinal herbs , oils, materials for house building and handicrafts, resin, gum, honey, and spices. Although all rural households use the village commons in some degree, for the poor they are of critical significance given the skewedness of privatized land distribution in the subcontinent. Data for the early 1980s from twelve semiarid districts in seven Indian states indicate that for poor rural households (the landless and those with less than two hectares dry land equivalent) village commons account for at least 9 percent of total income. And in most cases 20 percent or more, but contribute only 1 to 4 percent of the incomes of the non-poor (table 1). The dependence of the poor is especially high for fuel and fodder: village commons supply more than 91 percent of firewood and more than 69 percent of their gazing needs, compared with the relative self sufficiency of the larger landed households. Access to village commons reduces income inequalities in the village between poor and non-poor household. Also there is a close link between the viability of small farmers private property resources and their access to the commons for gazing draft as well as milch animals. Similarly, forest have always been significant sources of livelihoods, especially for tribal populations, and have provided the basis of swidden cultivation hunting,, and the gathering of non-timber forest produce. In Indian, an estimate 30 million or more people in the country depend wholly on substantially on such forest produce for livelihoods. These sources are especially critical during lean agriculture seasons and during drought and famine. However, focusing on the class significance of communal resources provides only a partial picture-there is also a critical gender dimension, for women and female children are the ones most adversely affected by environmental degradation. First, there is a pre-existing gender division of labour. It is women in poor peasant and tribal households who do much of the gathering and fetching from the
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forests, village commons, rivers, and wells. In addition, women of such households are burdened with a significant responsibility for family subsistence and they are often the primary, and in many female-headed households the sole, economic providers. Second, there are systematic gender differences in the distribution of subsistence resources (including food and health care) within rural households, as revealed by a range of indicators: anthropometric indices, morbidity and mortality rates, hospital admissions data, and the sex ratio (which is 93 females per 100 males for all-India). These differences, especially in health care, are widespread in India (and indeed in south Asia). 1) Which groups of people are village commons benefitting? a) b) c) d) a) b) c) d) Rural rich Rural poor Tribal population b and c Gender differences Age All of the above Class differences

2) The disparities in access to resources within rural households are based on

3) How does the gendered division of labour get manifested? a) Women need to be economic providers b) Women need to be care providers while men are economic providers c) Women are economic as well as household care givers d) All of the above 4) Dependence on village commons for resources is created by a) Imbalanced privatization of land b) Skewed sex ratio c) Cultural beliefs d) Caste hierarchies
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5) Which of these is an indicator of systematic gender differences? a) Skewed sex ratio b) Healthcare access c) Environmental degradation d) All of the above (Question Number 6 to 10): Andean environments have long been described as harsh, unproductive, multistress and marginal in themselves a source of vulnerability Yet this same marginal environment had provided ample resources for earlier Andean peoples and cultures, but operating in a different historical context with a different set of economic and social relations. Historically, Andean cultures dealt with environmental extremes by exploiting vertical eco-zones with different production systems (e.g. herding and farming), and by exploiting microenvironmental differences within the same zone (Murra 1984, Thomas 1973). Communities accessed lands at different altitudes and eco-systems, and redistributed products through systems of exchange. Andean societies and cultures were also well known for formalized systems of labour exchange (Alberti and Mayer 1974), through which labour could be organized and distributed among varied production activities and households. Following the conquest, the Spanish systematically dismantled these social and economic structures, and reorganised indigenous relations that structured access to land and labour according to colonial needs to extract resources and labour tributes (Alberti 1981). Hence, much of the marginality of local environments and population was historical and political-economic in nature. We began our research cognizant of the problems posed by the physical environment, as contributing to vulnerability, but not as a determinative force of nutrition and health. Rather, social relations of production and relative degrees of poverty and unequal access to means of production were given priority in explaining local-level realities. Poverty, by almost any definition or measure, is critical to defining vulnerability, and the vast majority of households in this region are impoverished we
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identified different sorts and sources of poverty and saw differing levels of vulnerability for those who were land poor, labour poor and/or cash poor. Access to land and labour was essential and we found that land tenure arrangements (e.g. privately owned, usufruct/communal rights, share cropping and rents) were particularly important because they provided the farmer with different levels of control and predictability in the production process. Family labour was important not only for meeting production tasks but also for many households (e.g. with usufruct/communal rights or share cropping) labour rents were means to access land on which to produce. Extra-family labour was frequently needed to carry out production tasks in a timely manner, requiring either money to hire labour or networks of kin or interpersonal social relations through which one entered into systems of labour exchange. These aspects of access and control were psychological, cultural as well as material and economic. Having land to farm, especially land privately owned or obtained as a community entitlement, and engaging in reciprocal exchanges of labour, was central to Andean cultural identity. They also provided a sense of social connectedness, as well as some degree of individual and household security. (Passage taken from - Leatherman, T. 2005. A Space of Vulnerability in Poverty and Health: Political Ecology and Biocultural Analysis. In Ethos, Vol.33 (1): 46-70) 6) Poverty among communities in the Andean region is a consequence of: a) Harsh Environment b) Inability to utilize productive resources c) Reluctance to work d) Historical and political-economic reasons 7) Colonial rule by the Spanish contributed to conditions of vulnerability through a) Systematic deforestation b) Enslavement of the local community members c) Setting up polluting industries d) Dismantling social and economic structures of production and exchange
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8) Andean communities dealt with the natural environment through a) Creating social divisions and hierarchies b) Systematic exploitation of resources c) Production, exchange and redistribution across different eco-zones d) Endemic warfare and conflict 9) Farming Land had a special meaning for Andean communities because a) They have traditionally been landless b) Due to the presence of vast timber and mineral wealth c) As a source of cultural identity and household security d) Of potential cash incomes through rainforest tourism 10) Family Labour was especially significant to Andean communities because a) Family members could migrate to earn cash incomes b) They could engage in reciprocal exchange of labour c) They could save on scarce cash d) They disliked employing outsiders (Question Number 11 to 15): Power and possession have been central pursuits of modern civilization for a long time. They blocked out or distorted other features of the Western Renaissance (revival) which promised so much for humanity. What people have been and are still being taught to prize are money, success, control over the lives of others, acquisition of more and more objects. Modern social, political and economic systems, whether capitalists, fascist or communist, reject in their working the basic principle that the free and creative unfoldment of every man, woman and child is the true measure of the worth of any society. Such unfoldment requires understanding and imagination, integrity and compassion, co-operation among people, and harmony between the human species and the rest of nature. Acquisitiveness and the pursuit of power have made the modern man an aggressor against everything that is non-human, an exploiter and oppressor of
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those who are poor, meek and unorganized, a pathological type which hates and distrusts the world and suffers from both acute loneliness and false pride. The need for a new renaissance is deeply felt by those sensitive and conscientious men and women who not only perceive the dimensions of the crisis of our age but who also realize that only through conscious and co-operative human effort may this crisis be met and probably even overcome. 11) According to the passage, why has modern man turned out to be an enemy of everything that is nonhuman? a) He has been dominated by drives of acquisitiveness and power b) He hates and distrusts other human beings c) He consciously practices spirit of cooperation d) Non-humans have refused cooperation to human beings e) None of these 12) Which of the following is one of the requirements to bring out the best in man? a) Money b) Success c) Understanding d) Power e) Acquisitiveness 13) The real attainment of any society can be adjudged by which of the following? a) The degree of freedom for pursuing more and more power b) The encouragement for acquisitive tendencies c) Strict adherence to authoritarian structure d) Total victimization of conscientious persons e) None of these
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14) The modern value systems encourage the importance of which one of the following? a) Spiritual development of all individuals b) Recognition of freedom and equality c) Craving for power and possession d) Spirit of inquiry and knowledge e) Basic respect for all individuals 15) The western renaissance could not make total impact on todays humanity because________ a) it was conceptually weak b) it was against basic principle c) conscientious men opposed it d) old civilization was based on acquisitiveness and control over others e) none of these

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Data Interpretation & Inference


(Question Number 1 to 5): Hamlet A Hamlet B 5 200 75% 9 150 500 4 300 80% 10 240 640 Ratio of population to number of households Number of households Percentage of persons who are not below 15 years old Number of females per 10 males for persons who are not below 15 years old Number of employed females who are at least 15 years old Number of employed persons who are at least 15 years old

1) Population of Hamlet B is _______% higher than that of Hamlet A. a) 10% b) 18% c) 22% d) 20% 2) Number of persons who are not below 15 years old in Hamlet B is ___. a) 900 b) 860 c) 960 d) 1000 3) If we define 15 years as legal age to participate in employment, employed male who are not below 15 years as a percentage total number of male in the same age group in Hamlet B is ____________. a) 80% b) 75% c) 91% d) 88%
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4) If we define 15 years as legal age to participate in employment, employed male who are not below 15 years as a percentage total number of female in the same age group in Hamlet A is __________. a) 42% b) 33% c) 38% d) 46% 5) If we define 15 years as legal age to participate in employment, employed male who are not below 15 years as a percentage total number of female in the same age group in Hamlet A and B is_________. a) 42% b) 39% c) 47% d) 54% (Question Number 6 to 9): 2010 Number of members in Household Annual Household Income (In Indian Rupees) Value of annual consummation by household (In Indian Rupees) Expenditure on food as a percentage of value of consumption (In Indian Rupees) 5 150000 160000 50 2011 5 158000 162000 48

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6) Value of per capita monthly consumption increases by ________ during 20102011. a) 1.25% b) 9% c) 3.5% d) 0.1% 7) Annual household income increases by ___________ during 2010-2011. a) 4.2% b) 6.8% c) 5.3% d) 3% 8) Annual household expenditure on goods other than food increases by ___________ during 2010-2011. a) 2% b) 3.3% c) 5.4% d) 6% 9) Excess of Annual household expenditure over Annual income food drops by ___________ during 2010-2011. a) 60% b) 33% c) 55% d) 46%

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General Awareness
1) Who wrote the famous novel The Grapes of Wrath published in 1939? a) Vikram Seth b) Norman Maoiler c) John Steinbeck d) None of the above 2) Who was the head of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission? a) Salman Kurshid b) Verappa Moily c) P.Chidambaram d) Kamal Nath 3) Who is the first Indian woman to win the Bronze Medal at the World Badminton Championship? a) P.V.Sindhu b) Saina Nehwal c) Sania Mirza d) Jwala Gutta 4) Fiscal deficit in the Union Budget means a) The sum of monetized deficit and budgetary deficit b) The difference between current expenditure and current revenue c) Net increase in Union Governments borrowings from the Reserve Bank of India d) The sum of budgetary deficit and net increase in internal and external barrowings
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5) Sharad Joshi Samman is awarded for a) Social Service b) Cartoon c) Satire and essay d) Trade Union Activity 6) Prabhat is an early short duration variety of a) Red Gram b) Black Gram c) Gram d) Green Gram 7) Recently who received the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation a) Angela Merkel of Germany b) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia c) Azim Premji of India d) Brigalia Bam of South Africa 8) ONIDA is a brand owned by a) Telware b) Mirc Electronics c) Onida Vision d) Elecrama 9) Chinnaswamy stadium is located in the state of a) Kerala b) Karnataka c) Andhra Pradesh d) Tamil Nadu
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10) Calico, the new Company of Google will focus on a) Textile and designing b) Health and wellbeing c) Interactive Maps d) Online Books 11) The 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in which of the following countries from 15 to 17 November 2013? a) Australia b) England c) India d) Sri Lanka 12) Satyagraha, a Hindi film is directed by? a) Siddarth Roy Kapur b) Sujay Ghosh c) Farhan Akhtar d) Prakash Jha 13) Who was the first Indian scientist to become the Member of Parliament? a) C.V. Raman b) S. Chandrasekhar c) Meghnad Saha d) APJ Abdul Kalam 14) Sachin Tendulkar has been named the brand ambassador for South Asia by which of the following organizations to promote hygiene and sanitation in the region?
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a) UNESCO b) UNICEF c) UNEP d) World Health Organization 15) Which mobile operating system today has the largest share in global Smartphone market? a) Blackberry OS b) Apple iOS c) Symbian OS d) Android OS

Logical reasoning
1) In the following series, what number should fill the blank? 648, 324, 332, 166, ___, 87, 95 a) 170 b) 218 c) 174 d) 216 2) A Guarantee is a promise or assurance that attests to the quality of a product that is either given in writing by the manufacturer or given verbally by the person selling the product. Which situation below is the best example of a Guarantee? a) Maria purchases a DVD player with the highest consumer rating in its category b) The salesperson advises Ramesh to be sure that he buys an air conditioner with a guarantee. c) He local auto body shop specializes in refurbishing and selling used cars.
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d) Nitin buys a used digital camera from her coworker who says that she will refund Nitins\s money if the camera\s performance is not of the highest quality 3) Fill up the blank in the following series: SCD, TEF, UGH, ____, WKL a) CMN b) UJI c) VIJ d) IJT 4) Draw correct conclusions from these premises: If human behavior is lawbound, then human behavior is predictable. But human behavior is not predictable. Therefore.. a) Human beings purposely defy the laws b) Some other unknown factor influences human behavior c) The laws of human behavior are very complex d) Human behavior is not law-bond 5) Is the Given reasoning is valid? All reformers are ideologically committed. Some college youths are ideologically committed. Therefore some college youths are reformers. a) Valid b) Invalid c) Undetermined (neither valid nor invalid) d) Could be valid or invalid

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Directions (6-10): In a certain code 'a friend of mine 'is written as 'mine lots of metal' is written as 'a piece of metal 'is written as 6) What is the code for 'piece '? a) 3 b) 2 c) 1 d) 7 7) What does '9' stands for? a) Of b) Mine c) Friend d) Lots

'4 9 1 6 ' '3 1 0 9 ' and '7 1 6 3 '?

8) Which of the following may represent 'a pleasure of mine'? a) 6 3 0 9 b) 5 2 1 6 c) 9 2 1 6 d) 3 6 9 4 9) What does '0' stands for? a) Mine b) Metal c) Of d) Lots 10) '873' would mean? a) A metal piece b) Metal for friend c) Piece of advice d) Large metal piece
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(Direction 11-12) In each of the question below are given three statements followed by two conclusions numbered I and II. You have to take the three given statements to be true even if they seem to be at variance from commonly known facts. Read all conclusions and then decide which of the given conclusions logically follows from the three statements disregarding commonly known facts. Give answer (a): if only conclusion I follows Give answer (b): if only conclusion II follows Give answer (c): if either conclusion I or conclusion II follows Give answer (d): if both conclusion I and conclusion II follows 11) Statements: All jugs are plates. All plates are cups. All cups are bottles. Conclusions: I. Some bottles are jugs. II. All plates are bottles. 12) Statements: All pigeons are trees. Some trees are channels. All channels are baskets. Conclusions: I. Some baskets are trees. II. Some channels are baskets 13) Five friends Lokesh, Manoj, Gopal, Raveesh and Rohit have agreed to work together on a part-time job offered by a local restaurant. The restaurant opens 5 days a week and this group have following schedules when they can work. Neeraj and Raveesh can work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Raveesh and Rohit can work on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday Rohit and Lokesh can work on Monday, Friday and Thursday
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Lokesh and Manoj can work on Friday, Tuesday and Thursday. Neeraj and Manoj can work on Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Based on the above passage, answer the following question. Which one of the five friends cannot work on Thursday? a) Neeraj b) Raveesh c) Rohit d) Lokesh e) Manoj 14) "Tetanus" is related to "Bacteria" in the same way as "Rabies" is related to? a) Algae b) Fungus c) Virus d) Protozoa 15) Pointing to a boy in a photograph Sudhir said "He is the son of my maternal grandfather's only child". How is the boy related to Sudhir? a) Self b) Brother c) Cousin d) Data inadequate

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Knowledge about National Programmes and Schemes


1) On whose name the houses are allotted in Indira Aawas Yojna ? a) Head of the household b) Female Member of the household c) Any one from the household whom the family chooses d) The elder most person in the household 2) When was the Swaranjayanti Gram Swaraj Yojna launched? a) 06/1999 b) 04/1999 c) 03/1996 d) 03/1998 3) Who is the sole authority to make annual action plan for Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojna? a) District administration b) Block administration c) Panchayat d) NGOs and CBOs in the area 4) What is the general funding structure in National Schemes and programme between Centre and State Government? a) The ratio of 50 to 50 b) The ratio of 40 to 60 c) The ratio of 60 to 40 d) The ratio of 75 to 25
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5) Who are the beneficiaries for Aam Admi Bima Yojna? a) Rural landless households b) Urban and Rural individuals above 40 who also belong to BPL category c) Rural Youth d) Urban and Rural household which fall in BPL list 6) In which year the Government of India has launched Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) to improve the slow growth of Agriculture and allied sectors? a) 2004 b) 2005 c) 2006 d) 2007 7) 6th National Seed Congress, 2013 is being organised from 12th -14th September, 2013 at _________? a) Ranchi b) Bhopal c) Lucknow d) Assam 8) Livestock Insurance Scheme is implemented in all states except ______ through the State Livestock Development Boards of respective states? a) Bengaluru b) Chennai c) Goa d) Maharashtra
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9) The state and central governments will subsidise the premium 50:50, to Poppy Insurance scheme aims to provide protection against loss or damage to the insured Poppy crop occasioned by natural calamities under the supervision of ______________? a) Central Bureau of agriculture b) Central Bureau of fisheries c) Central Bureau of livestock d) Central Bureau of Narcotics 10) Ministry of ___________ is the nodal agency and The Cotton Corporation of India Ltd. (CCI) was the implementing agency for Mini Missions III & IV of cotton? a) Agriculture b) Fertilizers c) Textiles d) Industry 11) Which Programme aims to prevent increase of livestock diseases, to provide export certificate for livestock and livestock products, monitoring the quality of vaccines and biological and strengthening Central/ Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratories? a) National Programmers for Prevention of Animal Diseases b) Biogas Development Programmes c) Poultry Improvement Programme d) National Project for Cattle and Buffalo Breeding

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12) The Jute Technology Mission has been launched during _______ jointly by the Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Agriculture? a) 2006 b) 2007 c) 2009 d) 2010 13) Who has recommended the establishment of Farm Schools in the fields of farmer-achievers? a) b) c) d) National Commission for Labour National Commission for Farmers National Commission for Workers National Commission for Tenants

14) The rapid growth of agriculture is essential for? a) b) c) d) meeting the food and nutritional security of the people bring about equitable distribution of income and wealth in rural areas to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life all the above

15) Which of the following are the objectives of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)? a) b) c) d) To incentivise the states as so as to increase public investment in Agriculture and allied sectors. To provides flexibility and autonomy to states in the process of To ensure the preparation of agriculture plans for the districts and the states based on agro-climatic conditions, availability of technology and natural resources.
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