Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out, each of which is indicated by a letter. Find the suitable word from the options given against each letter and fill up the blanks with appropriate words to make the paragraph meaningful.
Agriculture in States like Punjab is typically a ___ A ___ of wheat and paddy. When input costs associated with fertilizers, crop-protection chemicals and seeds rose, along with fixed costs associated with agricultural equipment such as tractors and submersible pumps, agriculture became economically ___ B ___. Prices have risen — of Arhar seeds and staple crops like paddy and sugarcane, of fertilizers and plain barley. The old days of farmers handing seeds as family ___ C ___ to their sons are long gone. Hiring labourers and animals is expensive. With an increase in application of crop-protection chemicals, Soya bean has seen a massive jump in ___ D ___ cost. Given a jump in input costs, cultivation costs have gone up in multiples. The total cost of cultivation for wheat rose three times from 2004-05 to 2012-13.
While traditionally the blame is cast on the ___ E ___ local moneylender, NCRB data highlight that 2,474 of the 3,000 farmers who were reported to have committed suicide in 2015 had loans from local banks, while those who had loans from moneylenders were just 9.8 per cent of the total. Maharashtra reported 1,293 such suicides for ___ F ___, while Karnataka had 946. Meanwhile, farmers in Punjab are ___ G ___ to have an outstanding debt of ?69,355 crore. Somehow, the traditional moneylender is seemingly more “___ H ___” than local banks.
Explanation:
In this question again, two words – “traditions” and “convention” which are synonymous to each other are given as options and hence they both can be eliminated.
Usage of either of the words “values” and “vendetta” would just bring absurdity to the context of the paragraph and hence will not be a suitable choice either.
In the given context of the paragraph, the word “heirlooms” would be the most appropriate one to fill in the gap.
Heirloom (Noun):
A valuable object that has belonged to a family for several generations.
Ex. "the violin was a family heirloom"
Clearly, option B is the correct answer.