Questions

India   signed   a   historic   deal   to develop    the    strategic    port    of Chabahar  in  Iran  and  agreed  on  a three-nation    pact    to    build    a transport-and-trade corridor through   Afghanistan   that   could help  halve  the  time  and  cost  of doing  business  with  Central  Asia and     Europe.     Developing     the  Chabahar  port  was  seen  as  crucial for  India  because  it  will  not  only allow New Delhi to bypass Pakistan and access global markets but also counter    China’s    expanding influence   in   the   Indian   Ocean region. But the project’s land route through   Afghanistan   remains   a security headache

‘Brand’ refers to a particular identity or image regarded as an asset. ‘Stock’ refers to the capital raised by a company or corporation through the issue and subscription of shares. ‘Bond’ is an interest-bearing security issued by governments, companies and some other organisations. ‘Barter’ refers to exchange (goods or services) for other goods or services without using money. ‘Bankruptcy’ means the state of being bankrupt. The given blanks can either use ‘bond’ or ‘stock’ as both are similar in meaning. Bonds and stocks are both securities, but the major difference between the two is that (capital) stockholders have an equity stake in a company (that is, they are owners), whereas bondholders have a creditor stake in the company (that is, they are lenders). Being a creditor, bondholders have priority over stockholders. Thus, ‘bond’ is the best fit word for the given blanks as it is clearly stated that it is a form of loan. This makes option 3 the correct answer.

The bank rateis the rate of interest at which banks takelong term loansfrom Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by putting no collateral security. It is the rate at which RBI rediscounts the bills of exchange and government securities held by the commercial banks. For controlling the credit, inflation and money supply, RBI increases the bank rate.