IBPS PO English questions with solutions

Q1. What is the main objective of the government in presenting the Union Budget?

1. It should meet the requirements of the society.
2. It should be under some fiscal constraints.
3. It should be growth oriented.
4. It should meet the requirements of a developed country.

Answer: It should be growth oriented.

The passage clearly states that the budget would be growth-oriented and would maintain the momentum of growth. Fiscal constraints are mentioned as a limitation, not the main objective. Hence, the primary objective is growth orientation.

Q2. Where is the government expected to invest to stimulate growth?

1. On infrastructure
2. On government plans
3. On fiscal management
4. On the manufacturing sector

Answer: On infrastructure

The passage says the government should increase its allocation for public investment on infrastructure to stimulate growth. This directly matches the correct option.

Q3. What does it mean that India will continue to be a “haven of stability”?

1. That the new budget will make India stable forever.
2. The four pillars of the budget will lead to stability.
3. India will continue towards stability even in a disturbed economic environment.
4. The budget will remain unchanged even in a turbulent and choppy economic environment.

Answer: India will continue towards stability even in a disturbed economic environment.

The phrase suggests that despite a turbulent global environment, India will remain stable and continue growing. It does not mean stability forever or an unchanged budget. The best interpretation is continued stability amid disturbance.

Q4. Why is the government providing tax incentives to companies in the manufacturing sector?

1. For better infrastructure.
2. For tax deductions on emoluments paid to new employees.
3. To create new job opportunities and to initiate the project ‘Make in India’.
4. To create new job opportunities and to initiate the project ‘Standup India’.
5. To encourage firms to step up hiring new skilled employees.

Answer: To create new job opportunities and to initiate the project ‘Make in India’.

The passage states that tax incentives are being considered to encourage firms to step up hiring and create jobs under the Make in India initiative. This directly matches the option about job creation and Make in India.

Q5. Which one of the following is NOT a suggestion considered by the government?

1. To expand the scope of tax deduction to companies that add at least 10% to their workforce in a year.
2. To upgrade and improve employment exchanges.
3. To provide incentive to employees who earn less than Rs. 6 lakh a year.
4. Subsidies to train employees with job skills.
5. Tax penalty for high-income people.

Answer: Tax penalty for high-income people.

The passage lists tax incentives, subsidies for skill development, and upgrading employment exchanges as suggestions. It does not mention any tax penalty for high-income people. Therefore, that is the incorrect option.

Q6. What is the main concern of the author behind saying that “the alarm bells should start ringing anytime now”?

1. The current economic growth is slowing down due to regular failure of monsoon.
2. Due to power shortage, industrial growth could not touch the target.
3. Household savings are sinking and they require to be revamped.
4. Due to a sharp decline in real interest rates, people have lost their enthusiasm to invest in government schemes.
5. All the above

Answer: Household savings are sinking and they require to be revamped.

The passage warns that household savings are moving away from financial instruments into physical assets like gold and land, which are locked in and not available for investment. This creates concern for future infrastructure funding and economic growth. Hence, the author’s alarm is about weakening household savings for productive use.

Q7. What are the primary reasons behind the current economic slowdown?

1. Only (A)
2. Both (A) and (B)
3. Either (A) or (C)
4. Both (B) and (C)
5. All (A), (B) and (C)

Answer: All (A), (B) and (C)

The passage attributes the slowdown to slow capital expansion, tardy investment in infrastructure and plant and machinery, and also mentions corruption and reduced FDI. Since all three are included, the correct answer is the option covering all of them.

Q8. How is household savings related to overall economic growth in the context of the passage?

1. Only (C)
2. Only (B)
3. Only (A)
4. Either (A) or (B)
5. Either (A) or (C)

Answer: Only (A)

The passage implies that domestic savings are needed for infrastructure investment, which supports economic growth. Therefore, household savings and overall economic growth are directly related. The correct choice is Only (A).

Q9. What were the reasons for the drop in savings in financial instruments after 2009?

1. Only (a) and (c)
2. Decrease in real interest rates on savings in financial instruments
3. Investment in physical assets, particularly land
4. Only (b) and (c)

Answer: Only (b) and (c)

The drop in savings in financial instruments is explained by lower real returns and a movement of funds into physical assets such as land. A rise in gold prices may affect investment preferences, but the stated reasons here are the decrease in real interest rates and investment in physical assets.

Q10. Which of the following is a reason for a drag on household savings in India over the last few years?

1. Increasing consumerism
2. Entrenchment of urban lifestyle
3. Easier availability of credit
4. Improvement in overall macroeconomic conditions

Answer: Improvement in overall macroeconomic conditions

The first three options can weaken household savings by encouraging spending or borrowing. Improvement in overall macroeconomic conditions generally supports better saving behavior, so it is not a drag on savings.

Q11. Prodigy

1. Pauper
2. Despondent
3. Demure
4. Wanton

Answer: Pauper

A prodigy is a person with exceptional talent or ability, especially at a young age. The provided answer key maps it to the given option set as Pauper, though semantically this appears inconsistent; the output follows the source answer.

Q12. Nondescript

1. Conducive
2. Discern
3. Tantamount
4. Defined

Answer: Defined

Nondescript means lacking distinctive or interesting features. Among the given options, Defined is the closest match in the source key, though it is not a strict synonym in standard usage.

Q13. SAVANT

1. Glutton
2. Postulant
3. Shrink
4. Pluck

Answer: Postulant

A savant is a learned or highly knowledgeable person. The source answer key selects Postulant from the given options, so that is the expected answer here.

Q14. CORPULENT

1. Lean
2. Gaunt
3. Emaciated
4. Obese

Answer: Obese

Corpulent means fat or overweight. Obese is the closest synonym among the options.

Q15. EMBEZZLE

1. Misappropriate
2. Balance
3. Remunerate
4. Clear

Answer: Misappropriate

Embezzle means to steal or misappropriate money placed in one's trust. Misappropriate is the correct synonym.

Q16. According to author Dishant Gautam, a novel is difficult to write when compared to a play, like going for an election where one has to appeal to a thousand people at a time, whereas in a book one appeals to only one person.

1. simpler, running in
2. faster, voting through
3. easier, running for
4. fool proof, voting on

Answer: easier, running for

The comparison should use 'easier' rather than 'difficult' in the given structure, and the idiomatic phrase is 'running for an election.' The corrected sentence reads naturally with 'easier, running for.'

Q17. We have in America a collection of speech that is neither American, Oxford English, nor colloquial English, but a mixture of all three.

1. motley, an enhancement
2. hybrid, a combination
3. nasal, a blend
4. mangled, a medley
5. No correction required

Answer: mangled, a medley

The sentence needs words that convey a mixed and distorted form of speech. "Mangled" fits the idea of speech that is not pure or standard, and "medley" means a mixture of different elements. The other options are either too positive or do not fit the context well.

Q18. Alice Walker’s *The Temple of My Familiar*, far from being a tight, focused narrative, is instead a circuitous novel that roams freely and imaginatively over a half-million...

1. traditional, a chronological
2. provocative, an insensitive
3. forceful, a concise
4. focused, an expansive
5. circuitous, a discursive

Answer: circuitous, a discursive

The sentence contrasts a tight, focused narrative with one that roams freely and imaginatively. "Circuitous" means roundabout or indirect, and "discursive" means rambling or wide-ranging, which fits the context best. The other options do not match the intended contrast.

Q19. Jayashree was habitually so accommodating and erratic that her friends could not understand her sudden hostile outburst against her employers.

1. accommodating...outburst against
2. erratic...envy of
3. truculent...virulence toward
4. hasty...annoyance toward
5. apologetic...hostile

Answer: accommodating...outburst against

The sentence needs a word meaning cooperative or easy-going for the first blank, and a phrase that correctly describes a sudden hostile reaction for the second. "Accommodating" fits Jayashree’s usual nature, and "outburst against" is grammatically and semantically correct. The other options do not fit the context or grammar.

Q20. The village headman was unlettered, but he was no fool; he could see through the sophistry of the businessman’s proposition and promptly turned him down.

1. deception, forced
2. naivete, turned
3. potential, forced
4. sophistry, turned
5. No correction required

Answer: sophistry, turned

"Sophistry" means clever but misleading reasoning, which fits the businessman’s proposition. "Turned him down" is the correct idiomatic expression for rejecting someone. The original sentence had awkward wording, and this option corrects it best.

Q21. Directions (Q121–125): In each of the following questions, a short passage is given with one of the lines missing and represented by a blank. Select the best of the five answer choices given to make the passage complete and coherent. The Time Traveler (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) was expounding a recondite matter to us. His grey eyes shone and twinkled, and his usually pale face was flushed and animated. The fire burned brightly, and the soft radiance of the incandescent lights in the lilies of silver caught the bubbles that flashed and passed in our glasses. Our chairs, being his patents, embraced and caressed us rather than submitted to be sat upon, and there was that luxurious after-dinner atmosphere when thought roams gracefully free of the trammels of precision. (__________)

1. And slowly and steadily, the atmosphere grew stale and lost all the vibrancy it had
2. And he put it to us in this way—marking the points with a lean forefinger—as we sat and lazily admired his earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it) and his fecundity
3. We sat like toddlers do in a nursery, eagerly anticipating the show the Time Traveler would put on for us
4. We sat benumbed by the proceedings, for the radiance of the Time Traveler was unimaginable and unbearable
5. I caught Filby’s eye over the shoulder of the Medical Man, and he winked at me solemnly

Answer: And he put it to us in this way—marking the points with a lean forefinger—as we sat and lazily admired his earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it) and his fecundity

The passage builds an atmosphere and then needs a line that smoothly introduces the Time Traveler’s explanation. The correct option continues the narration by showing him presenting his points clearly and earnestly. It fits the tone and flow of the original passage from *The Time Machine*.

Q22. Let us understand the definition of metaphysics, a purely speculative science, which occupies a completely isolated position and is entirely independent of the teachings of experience. It deals with mere conceptions—not, like mathematics, with conceptions applied to intuition—and in it, reason is the pupil of itself alone. It is the oldest of the sciences. (__________)

1. And it would struggle to survive without the architecture of mathematical support that it draws its strength from
2. Yet it continued to baffle mankind because of its abstractions
3. But it has never had and never will have the good fortune to attain to the sure scientific method
4. And it would still survive, even if all the rest were swallowed up in the abyss of an all-destroying barbarism
5. This critical science is not opposed to the dogmatic procedure of reason in pure cognition; for pure cognition must always be dogmatic

Answer: But it has never had and never will have the good fortune to attain to the sure scientific method

The passage defines metaphysics as a speculative science independent of experience. The missing sentence should logically conclude that, despite being ancient, it has not achieved the certainty of a true scientific method. Option 3 fits this idea exactly and maintains the formal tone of the passage.

Q23. Aggregation of risks is somewhat new to banks in India. While some banks have started thinking in that direction by trying to put in place integrated limit frameworks and integrated risk policies, as well as using CBS solutions for technological integration, the effort required is beyond such requirements. Risk aggregation would mean aggregating the individual risk measures to decide the most appropriate asset class that would contain the risk to the desired level dictated by the risk appetite. Capital allocation (about how much) would be based on such strategies...........

1. Most banks are yet to conceptualize the same in their processes
2. Most banks have already integrated it in their functioning; it is working over the years satisfactorily.
3. Which would in long run prove to be the growth impeding
4. Of risk aggregation which is really a new concept to Indian banks
5. On expected lines of the regulation conditions laid down in the manual of the bank

Answer: Most banks are yet to conceptualize the same in their processes

The passage says risk aggregation is new to Indian banks and that the effort required is still beyond what many banks are doing. The missing line should reinforce that most banks have not yet fully developed this in their systems. Option 1 fits the context and grammar best.

Q24. After two years, high inflation moderated in the later part of 2011–12 in response to past monetary tightening and growth deceleration. High inflation had adverse consequences on welfare and on saving and investment, particularly household saving in financial assets. The most serious consequence of inflation is __________. As growth slowed down, in part due to high inflation, it further reduced the welfare of the common man through adverse impact on employment and incomes.

1. its destructive allocation impact on the industries that were lately coming up.
2. its negative impact on the rich and high-profile people.
3. its adverse distributional impact on the poor, people without social security and pensioners.
4. its wayward consequences on the public distribution system meant for the poor.
5. its unfavourable bearing on day to day commodities that are used by the common man.

Answer: its adverse distributional impact on the poor, people without social security and pensioners.

The passage discusses inflation’s effect on welfare, saving, investment, employment, and incomes. The most serious consequence is not just higher prices, but the unequal burden it places on vulnerable groups. Option 3 correctly identifies the poor, those without social security, and pensioners as the most affected.

Q25. RBI is concerned about the risk of investing in mutual funds. RBI is likely to ask banks to reduce their investments in mutual funds.

1. At the risk of investing........
2. To reduce investments........
3. Concern for the risk........
4. Only (A) and (B)

Answer: To reduce investments........

The second sentence states RBI’s likely action, so the connector must lead naturally into that action. Option (B) best combines the idea by showing the purpose or result of RBI’s concern.

Q26. The government has decided to install renewable energy devices at prominent sites. Citizens will be more aware of their benefits.

1. The government’s decision..........
2. Deciding to install..........
3. By making citizens..........
4. Only (A)

Answer: The government’s decision..........

Option (A) correctly nominalizes the first sentence into a subject phrase and allows the second idea to follow naturally. The other options do not combine the two statements as smoothly or correctly.

Q27. The company’s sales were low at the beginning of the year. Its sales have picked up in the past few months.

1. Though the company’s sales were low..........
2. Despite low sales at..........
3. However the company’s sales have picked..........
4. Only (B) and (C)

Answer: Though the company’s sales were low..........

Option (A) correctly introduces contrast between low sales earlier and improvement later. Options (B) and (C) are not as grammatically suitable for combining the two statements in the given form.

Q28. Five statements are given below, labelled a, b, c, d and e. Among these, four statements are in logical order and form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the option that does not fit into the theme of the passage. (a) The reference was to China, a country that has been courting Pakistan for several years through a number of means including assistance in its nuclear programme. (b) After the Uri attacks, Pakistan’s special Kashmir envoy Mushahid Hussain Syed declared that the US was a waning power, suggesting that Pakistan was seeking out other allies. (c) The most important concern relates to the possible conflict in Pakistan between votaries of economic development and supporters of militancy. (d) This corridor—which includes road, rail and port infrastructure—is expected to allow China to avoid the vulnerable Indian Ocean route currently used to transport oil from the Gulf. (e) Of late, there has been much talk of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that stretches from the autonomous region of Xinjiang to the Gwadar port.

1. (a)
2. (b)
3. (c)
4. (d)

Answer: (b)

The passage is mainly about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and its implications. Sentence (b) introduces a separate point about the Uri attacks and Pakistan’s view of the US, so it does not fit the theme.

Q29. (a) Corporate Social Responsibility has entered India’s legal corridors. (b) Given the need for proper legal help for a diverse section of society, even the PM, in his address at the Bar Council's centenary celebrations earlier this year, urged lawyers to take on more pro bono cases. (c) Top law firms and lawyers are doing pro bono so that they can give back to society. (d) In India, traditionally, pro bono legal work was carried out by lawyers who had dedicated themselves to helping society. (e) There are a number of socially aware and generous souls who are increasingly lending their expertise for pro bono work.

1. (a)
2. (b)
3. (c)
4. (d)

Answer: (d)

The set mainly discusses the current rise and encouragement of pro bono legal work in India. Sentence (d) is a historical statement about traditional pro bono work and is less aligned with the present-focused theme, making it the odd one out.

Q30. A look at the historical data on forecasts made by the IMF in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) reports seems to suggest that optimism bias may be the bigger culprit.

1. The large negative forecast errors in the recession years skewed the historical averages.
2. Over the past few years, the forecasts made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have displayed one consistent pattern.
3. The forecasts are rosy at the start of the year, then revised downwards towards the end of the year, and the actual estimates of real growth turn out to be even lower.
4. Is predicting the fate of the global economy become more difficult in a volatile post-crisis world, or does the IMF suffer from an inherent optimism bias?

Answer: The forecasts are rosy at the start of the year, then revised downwards towards the end of the year, and the actual estimates of real growth turn out to be even lower.

The given sentence says historical data suggests optimism bias is the main issue. Option (C) directly explains this by describing forecasts that start optimistic, are revised downward, and still end up too high. This matches the idea of optimism bias best.