Drona PDF 149

Directions (1-5): Read the following passage and answer the questions following
it. Several alphabets are given to help you assist in answering those questions.
Mr. Mariwala came from a rich family that had built an empire dealing with agriculture
commodities for over a 100 years. The company was called Bombay Oil Industries but
their expertise however was in the _______(A)______ pepper trade which
coincidentally also earned them the name “Mariwala” (mari means pepper in Gujarati).
But after working for the family run empire for a couple decades, Harsh could clearly
see that his ambitions were largely ______(B)______ by the bureaucracy within the
family which by now was overseen by multiple scions of the Mariwala family. (C) It was
perhaps (1)disheartening to see that the (2)consumer business he headed was by far
the most lucrative division and yet, for all its potential, he could do very little to it without
the (3) subsidiaries and the funds needed to grow the business and so, when Bombay
Oil was finally carved into multiple (4) consensus Harsh had with him for the first time
the autonomy to finally realize his vision. With reserves of about a couple Crores and
two legacy brands, in Saffola and Parachute, Marico was born on April 2, 1991.
Parachute as we’ve already noted was originally conceived in the family run business of
the Mariwala’s at Bombay Oil Industries.(D) But during the late 70’s traders in Bombay
were already experimenting with different packs and sizes. Some of the more
adventurous folks had begun to sell Parachute in smaller packs, more consumer
friendly and were receiving considerable interest from buyers as well. When Harsh
Mariwala got whiff of this, he immediately ______(E)______ a plan to introduce
Parachute in cheaper and more consumer friendly plastic bottles as well.
However retailers were wary of stocking parachute in plastic bottles. They were worried
about the rats because rats liked nothing more than a good dose of coconut oil and the
soft plastic bottles were no match for the rats as they could easily _____(F)_______ on
them and break into the bottles. Harsh and his team had to find a solution and it was at
this time________________(G)__________. The earlier variants of plastic bottles came
in box shaped containers and rats could easily latch on to them and bite into the bottles.
(H) The management’s simple (1) instant was to make rounded (2)containers with
harder variants of plastic, and this small (3)innovation was an (4) solution hit with
retailers and consumers alike.

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Today, Parachute Coconut oil forms roughly 40% of the company’s sales portfolio in
India and its performance is vital to Marico’s share price. The company commands a (I)
experimenting
60% market share in the coconut oil market and any impact on Parachute’s sales could
have a detrimental impact on the overall financial performance. This is where copra
enters the picture. Copra is a key raw material used to produce parachute coconut oil.
When copra prices increase disproportionately, the company’s input costs rise (J) in
tandem. It becomes more expensive to manufacture coconut oil and in turn affects the
company’s profit margins. Although the company does hike prices, a sustained increase
could mean losing market share and the company takes great care to avoid such a
scenario.

Q1. Which of the following word given in the options should come at the place marked
as (A) in the above passage to make it grammatically correct and meaningful? Also, the
word should fill in the two sentences given below to make them contextually correct and
meaningful.
(I) Thousands of Russians are now studying in America and Europe, and have acquired
marketable skills, enabling them to land __________ jobs.
(II) The transfer of surveillance technology from first to third world is now a __________
sideline for the arms industry.
(A) ingenuous
(B) lucrative
(C) gregarious
(D) innocuous
(E) prodigal

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Q2. Which of the following words should fill the blank given in (B) to make it contextually
correct and meaningful?
(A) castigated
(B) belied
(C) Squander
(D) curtailed
(E) rankled

Q3. The sentence given in (C) has four words given in bold. Amongst the given bold
words which of the followings must interchange to make the sentence grammatically
and contextually correct and meaningful?
(A) 1-2
(B) 2-4
(C) 1-4
(D) 2-3
(E) 3-4

Q4. Two sentences are given in italics on both sides of D. Which of the following
statements can come in between the two sentences in place of D and maintain the
continuity of the paragraph?
(A) Mariwala’s two children do not play a role in the day to day working of the company.
(B) But an over reliance on one channel poses its own set of risks.
(C) They were sold in huge tin cans of 15 liters each, mostly through wholesalers.

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 Drona PDF 149

(D) Almost 7% of Marico’s India business could be directly attributed to purchases from
the CSD.
(E) But CSD also happens to be Marico’s biggest customer .

Q5. Which of the following words should fill the blank given in (E) to make it contextually
correct and meaningful?
(A) charted
(B) perpetuated
(C) augmented
(D) hamstrung
(E) assailed

Answer

1. B
Solution: Among the given options, the option (b) ‘lucrative’ which means ‘producing
a great deal of profit.’ is the most appropriate word to fill the blank. Hence, the option (b)
is the correct answer.
Ingenuous: to be naïve and innocent
Gregarious: to be likely to socialize with others
Innocuous: harmless and doesn’t produce any ill effects
Prodigal: rashly or wastefully extravagant

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 Drona PDF 149

2. D
Solution: Among the given options, the option (d) ‘curtailed’ which means ‘reduce in
extent or quantity; impose a restriction on’ is the most appropriate word to fill the blank.
Hence, the option
(d) is the correct answer.
Castigated: to reprimand harshly
Belied: (of an appearance) fail to give a true impression of (something)
Rankled: gnaw into; make resentful or angry

3. E
Solution: In the highlighted statement, positions of words marked (1) and (2) seem to
be correct. On interchanging (3) and (4) we will get a grammatically correct and
contextually meaningful statement. The phrase “carved into multiple consensus” is
grammatically incorrect therefore hints towards the interchange. Hence, option (e) is the
most suitable answer choice.

4. C
Solution: Among the given statements, option (c) perfectly connects the italicised
statements.

5. A
Solution: Among the given options, the option (a) ‘charted’ which means ‘record the
progress or development of’ is the most appropriate word to fill the blank. Hence, the
option (a) is the correct answer.

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 Drona PDF 149

Perpetuated: cause to continue

Augmented: enlarge or increase; improve
Hamstrung: cripple (a person or animal) by cutting their hamstrings
Assailed: attack in speech or writing

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