Sample Question Paper for Policy Aptitude Test (PAT) PDF

Sample Question Paper for Policy Aptitude Test (PAT) All candidates seeking admission to the programme shall appear for the PAT. The PAT will have a single question paper with two parts. Part A will comprise of 100 multiple choice questions with negative marks for wrong answers...

Sample Question Paper for Policy Aptitude Test (PAT) All candidates seeking admission to the programme shall appear for the PAT. The PAT will have a single question paper with two parts. Part A will comprise of 100 multiple choice questions with negative marks for wrong answers (each question carries one mark; 0.25 marks shall be deducted for every wrong answer). Part B of exam will be to write an essay on a contemporary topic. Only those candidates who obtain 50% of marks in Part A of the test shall have their Part B responses evaluated. Total duration of PAT shall be 150 minutes. PAT will be held in centres across the country. List of centres are available in the application portal. Multiple Choice Questions for 100 marks will consist of five types of questions that assess 1) Numerical skills, 2) English Language 3) Logical Reasoning, 4) General Knowledge and 5) Policy Aptitude. Answers for these will need to be entered in Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet provided to you. Few sample questions from previous years question papers are provided below. 1. Health Expenditure of the Government of India in the past 10 years as per cent of GDP is: a) Less than 3 per cent b) Above 5 per cent but below 7 per cent c) Above 10 per cent but d) Above 12 per cent below 12 per cent 2. The period of World War II was: a) 1909-1912 b) 1917-1922 b) 1930-1934 d) 1939-1945 3. Which of the following is the subject of ‘state list’ as per the schedule of Indian Constitution? a) Education b) Land and Water c) Money and Banking d) Roads 1  Study the following table and answer the questions 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8. Expenditures of a Company (in Lakh Rupees) per Annum Over the given Years. Item of Expenditure Year Salary Fuel and Transport Bonus Interest on Loans Taxes 1998 288 98 3.00 23.4 83 1999 342 112 2.52 32.5 108 2000 324 101 3.84 41.6 74 2001 336 133 3.68 36.4 88 2002 420 142 3.96 49.4 98 4. What is the average amount of interest per year which the company had to pay during this period? a) Rs. 32.43 lakhs b) Rs. 33.72 lakhs c) Rs. 34.18 lakhs d) Rs. 36.66 lakhs 5. What is the average amount of fuel and transport per year which the company had to pay during this period? a) Rs. 50.75 lakhs b) Rs. 120.52 lakhs c) Rs. 117.20 lakhs d) Rs. 100.7 lakhs 6. Total expenditure on all these items in 1998 was approximately what percent of the total expenditure in 2002? a) 62% b) 66% c) 69% d) 71% 2 7. The total expenditure of the company over these items during the year 2000 is? a) Rs. 544.44 lakhs b) Rs. 501.11 lakhs c) Rs. 446.46 lakhs d) Rs. 478.87 lakhs 8. The ratio between the total expenditure on Taxes for all the years and the total expenditure on Fuel and Transport for all the years respectively is approximately? a) 4:7 b) 10:13 c) 15:18 d) 5:8 9. Which one from below is not a trade union: a) INTUC b) AITUC c) BMS d) AASU 10. Fiscal Policy is the prerogative and responsibility of a) Finance b) Reserve Bank of India Commission c) Union Government d) All the above 11. What is popularly known as ‘brexit’ refers to: a) Air that exits b) United Kingdom’s decision through the through referendum to boundary of a solid substance leave the European Union c) British exiting the d) None of the above colonial countries 12. SAARC does not include the following country: a) Maldives b) Bhutan c) Pakistan d) Myanmar 13. Find the two missing numbers in the following sequence 20 3 18 6 ? 9 14 ? a) 2, 5 b) 8, 9 c) 10, 30 d) 16, 12 3 14. Find the numbers that should be in the squares with the question marks. 3 7 11 9 ? 17 15 19 ? a) 2, 4 b) 4, 8 c) 8, 12 d) 13,23 15. Choose the best alternative which is grammatically correct to replace the underlined part of the below sentence In this particular job we have discovered that to be diligent is more important than being bright. a) by being diligent is b) being diligent is more important than important than being being bright bright c) diligence is more d) for one to be diligent is important than more important than being brightness bright 16. Antonym for ‘Disputatious’ is ________ a) Agreeable b) Contextual c) Peace d) Harmony 17. Humidity refers to: a) Atmospheric b) Biosphere temperature moisture c) Atmospheric d) Biosphere spatiality vacuum 18. Complete the Weather report: "It's seven o'clock in Frankfurt and ______________ a) there is snow b) it`s snowing c) it snows d) it snowed Read the following passage and answer the questions 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 The classical realist theory of international relations has long dominated both 4 academic institutions and the American government. Even at the birth of the nation, early political thinkers, such as Alexander Hamilton, promoted a realist view of international relations and sought to influence the actions of the government based on this perspective. While the classical realist school of international relations is not entirely homogeneous in nature, there are certain premises that all classical realists share. The primary principle underlying classical realism is a concern with issues of war and peace. Specifically, classical realists ask, what are the causes of war and what are the conditions of peace? The members of the classical realist school mainly attribute war and conflict to what is termed the security dilemma. In the absence of any prevailing global authority, each nation is required to address its own security needs. However, each nation’s quest for security—through military buildups, alliances, or territorial defenses— necessarily unsettles other nations. These nations react to feelings of insecurity by engaging in their own aggressive actions, which leads other nations to react similarly, perpetuating the cycle. It is important to note that for realists, unlike idealists or liberal internationalists, international conflict is a necessary consequence of the structural anarchy that nations find themselves in. Whereas other schools may see international conflict as the result of evil dictators, historical chance, flawed sociopolitical systems, or ignorance of world affairs, classical realists see war as the logical result of a system that by its nature lacks a true central authority. Hand in hand with this view of conflict as an inevitable condition of the global power structure is the realists’ view of the nation as a unitary actor. Because classical realists see international relations as a continuing struggle for dominance, the nation cannot be viewed as a collection of individuals with disparate wants, goals, and ideologies. The realist view requires the formulation of a national interest, which in its simplest terms refers to the nation’s ability to survive, maintain its security, and achieve some level of power relative to its competitors. Realism is not without its critics, many of whom challenge the premise that war is the natural condition of international relations or that there can be a truly national interest. However, the realist school of international relations continues to 5  shape foreign policy because of the successes it has had in describing real world interactions between nations. 19. The formation of a national interest serves what function in the classical realist theory of war and peace, based on the passage? a) It is a convenience used by theorists to describe national interests where none exist b) It provides the necessary justification for the classical realist view of a continuous global power struggle c) It is less important to the theory than is the idea of the nation as a unitary actor d) It is the part of the theory that receives the most criticism from opponents 20. Depending on the description provided in the passage, which of the following, if true, would best support the classical realist theory of international conflict? a) Some countries ruled by dictators maintain peaceful relations with their neighbours. b) Despite the presence of a world superpower, many countries continue to fight wars with their neighbours. c) War has existed from the beginning of recorded history. d) After the nations of the world form an authoritative world court, wars decrease dramatically. 21. The author most likely regards the classical realist theory of international relations with a) General lack of b) Unconvinced dismissal interest c) Indirect disapproval d) Experienced acceptance 22. According to the passage, what is the underlying principle of classic realism? a) International b) Removal of dictatorship Economic Conflicts from world c) Issues of War and d) Humanitarian aid to 6  Peace economically depressed nations 23. Pollination refers to: a) Fertilization b) The process of polling the mechanism among votes during general the plants elections c) Fermentation of d) The process of raw mango milk into curd turning into yellow 24. Which from below is not a measurement of length: a) Centimeter b) Liter c) Feet d) Furlong PART II (50 marks) Descriptive Question (Answer in no more than two sides of a sheet; write legibly providing sufficient space between lines) The reliance on urban centric growth carries with it the challenges of garbage disposal, access to drinking water and urban transportation. What according to you is a sustainable solution to these three challenges. 7