Directions (Qs.1 to 4): Choose the best option to fill in the blanks.

1. The best punctuation is that of which the reader is least conscious; for when punctuation, or lack of it............ itself, it is usually because it..........
(a) conceals, recedes
(b) enjoins, fails
(c) obtrudes, offends
(d) effaces, counts

2. Their achievement in the field of literature is described as ..........; sometimes it is even called.........
(a) significant, paltry
(b) insignificant, influential
(c) magnificent, irresponsible
(d) unimportant, trivial

3. Companies that try to improve employees' performance by.......rewards encourage negative kinds of behaviour, instead of.......a genuine interest in doing the work well.
(a) conferring, discrediting
(b) bestowing, discouraging
(c) giving, seeking
(d) withholding, fostering

4. A growing number of these expert professionals ........ having to train foreigners as the students end up............ the teachers who have to then unhappily contend with no jobs at all or new jobs with drastically reduced pay packets.
(a) welcome, assisting
(b) resist, challenging
(c) resent, replacing
(D) are, supplanting

Swetha Mohanty will now be walking in her father Prasanna Kumar Mohanty's footsteps.
And, she will have husband Rajat Saini for company as well. Swetha has secured second rank in the Civil Services Examination and is delighted.

“I am really extremely happy but it will take some time for the feeling to actually sink in.” “It has been a long-cherished dream for me,” Swetha, at present an Indian Revenue Service (2007 batch) officer serving in Siliguri, West Bengal, told PTI over phone. Swetha's father P K Mohanty is a 1979-batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, currently on deputation to Central government as joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Urban Poverty Alleviation.

Once again the State is contributing a good number of people to the civil services although no clear number emerged on Wednesday night. However, one thing is clear though - the seventh rank holder Karthick Gurunathan Iyer is a city boy and is celebrating the night away. "It still has not sunk in and yes, the phone is ringing off the hook. Somewhere, I understand it is only the beginning," he said.

After completing his BSc in Physics from Fergusson College, Pune, Karthick, even as he was acquiring multiple degrees, had a single goal: to join the airforce. "In spite of topping the exams, I did not clear the medical examinations. It was only then I turned towards the Civil Services. Once I had decided this is what I want, there was a lot a of hard work," he said.

His mother is working with the BSNL while his father retired from Maharashtra State Textile Corporation. While government service is not new to the family, this IFS aspirant is planning to charter new territories.

Call it the triumph of girl power if you will. The top two ranks in the 2011 civil services examination have been secured by women. And they have diverse backgrounds. While the first one is a law graduate from a middle-class family, the second is the daughter of an IAS officer who is also married to one.

The topper's list also has engineers and doctors who shared the common passion for cracking what is arguably the toughest entrance exam in the country.

1st S. Divyadarshini

The Chennai law graduate, who took the exam after enrolling in the high court, aced it in her second attempt. "The feeling is yet to sink in.... I want to work for society and fight corruption," the daughter of a tax consultant said from her modest apartment in Chennai's Nungambakkam.

2nd Swetha Mohanty

This techie from Hyderabad has followed in her father's footsteps. Swetha, who is a BTech in Computer Sciences and Information Technology from Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology under Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, is the daughter of P.K. Mohanty, a 1979-batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. Swetha bagged the rank in her third attempt.

When he was 23, Dr RV Varun Kumar watched actor Surya take on the underworld single-handedly in Kaakha Kaakha. The 2003 Tamil movie (which is incidentally being remade with John Abraham and is titled as Force) left an indelible impression on Kumar's young mind.

Around the time, he decided that he'd get into one of the uniformed services.Four years after he first watched the film, Varun Kumar has fulfilled his dream. The 27-year-old who stood third in the Union Public Service Commission examinations has checked Indian Police Service as his most preferred option.

WEST BENGAL JUDICIAL SERVICE EXAMINATION, 2011

The list of applicants eligible to appear at the preliminary examination of West Bengal Judicial Service Examination 2011.The preliminary examination will be held on the 19th June, 2011. The list of applicants eligible to appear at the said preliminary examination is published herein below.( Names arranged alphabetically ).

1. With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following:
1. Fundamental Rights
2. Fundamental Duties
3. Directive Principles of State Policy
Which of the above provisions of the Constitution of India is/are fulfilled by the National Social Assistance Programme launched by the Government of India?

(a) 1 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

2. Consider the following statements: The Supreme Court of India tenders advice to the President of India on matters of law or fact
1. on its own initiative (on any matter of larger public interest).
2. if he seeks such an advice.
3. only if the matters relate to the Fundamental Rights of the citizens.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3
(d) 1 and 2

3. With reference to Lok Adalats, which of the following statements is correct?

(a) Lok Adalats have the jurisdiction to settle the matters at pre-litigative stage and not those matters pending before any court.
(b) Lok Adalats can deal with matters which are civil and not criminal in nature.
(c) Every Lok Adalat consists of either serving or retired judicial officers only and not any other person.
(d) None of the statements given above is correct.

4. The “Instrument of Instructions” contained in the Government of India Act 1935 have been incorporated in the Constitution of India in the year 1950 as

(a) Fundamental Rights
(b) Directive Principles of State Policy
(c) Extent of executive power of State

More than 70 candidates from Rajasthan cleared the Civil Services Exam 2010, the results for which were declared by the Union Public Service Commission on Wednesday. While it could be the maximum number of candidates from the state getting through the prestigious exam ever, experts believe that selections have increased in proportion with number of posts being declared.

It was not just 25 across the Tricity who were celebrating their success in the UPSC exam. A candidate from Haryana who in 2010 was selected in Indian Revenue Services (IRS) was not satisfied with his performance. This time, he was lucky. Amit Kahtri, 24, of Sonepat got the 11th rank across the country. He said, "I was determined to improve my score and secure a better position." Amit`s father is a manager with a private firm and Amit attributed his success to his family. "My father provided me with the best education.