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Unemployment is the problem of every modern nation. Even industrialized nations are not able to ensure a job for everyone. Following the conventional strategy of creating employment, governments of many developing countries try to attract employers (business houses/industrialists) by offering tax rebates and many other facilities so that they locate their upcoming plants on their soil and thereby create industrial employment. But there is a limit to what industry can bring. Also, industrial plants often create toxic waste which results in air and water pollution and environmental problems which can outweigh whatever employment benefit industrial employment brings. In addition, they don’t bring as substantial relief to the dwindling economy of the host country as they seem to promise, as the profits of such foreign investments are carried back to the parent company and foreign shareholders abroad.

Self-employment has none of these drawbacks. The problem is that self-employment is not as obviously glamorous as a shiny new factory. But profits from self-employment remain in the country where they are produced. It is too small to create environmental hazards. It also puts the poor person in charge of his or her own working hours and conditions. The hours are flexible and can adapt to fit any family situation. It allows people to choose between running a business full time, or part-time when they face a crisis, or to put their business on hold and work full-time for a salary. Self-employment is tailor-made for anyone who is street-smart and has any acquired and inherited traditional skills, rather than learning acquired from books and technical schools. This means the illiterate and the poor can exploit their strengths, rather than be held back by their weaknesses. It allows a person to turn their hobbies into gainful employment. It allows individuals who cannot work well in a rigid hierarchy to run their own show.

Financing the poor to start their own little ventures elevates their sense of pride and self-respect. It offers a way out of welfare dependency, not just to become wage slaves, but to open a store or start a manufacturing business. It can help those who have found a job and are still nonetheless poor. It gives the victims of prejudice who would not be hired because of their colour or national origin, a chance to earn a living. The average cost of creating self-employment is ten, twenty or hundred times lesser than creating industry-based employment. It helps isolated poor people gain self-confidence, step by step.

Which of the following words can meaningfully replace the highlighted word given in the passage?

Unemployment is the problem of every modern nation. Even industrialized nations are not able to ensure a job for everyone. Following the conventional strategy of creating employment, governments of many developing countries try to attract employers (business houses/industrialists) by offering tax rebates and many other facilities so that they locate their upcoming plants on their soil and thereby create industrial employment. But there is a limit to what industry can bring. Also, industrial plants often create toxic waste which results in air and water pollution and environmental problems which can outweigh whatever employment benefit industrial employment brings. In addition, they don’t bring as substantial relief to the dwindling economy of the host country as they seem to promise, as the profits of such foreign investments are carried back to the parent company and foreign shareholders abroad.

Self-employment has none of these drawbacks. The problem is that self-employment is not as obviously glamorous as a shiny new factory. But profits from self-employment remain in the country where they are produced. It is too small to create environmental hazards. It also puts the poor person in charge of his or her own working hours and conditions. The hours are flexible and can adapt to fit any family situation. It allows people to choose between running a business full time, or part-time when they face a crisis, or to put their business on hold and work full-time for a salary. Self-employment is tailor-made for anyone who is street-smart and has any acquired and inherited traditional skills, rather than learning acquired from books and technical schools. This means the illiterate and the poor can exploit their strengths, rather than be held back by their weaknesses. It allows a person to turn their hobbies into gainful employment. It allows individuals who cannot work well in a rigid hierarchy to run their own show.

Financing the poor to start their own little ventures elevates their sense of pride and self-respect. It offers a way out of welfare dependency, not just to become wage slaves, but to open a store or start a manufacturing business. It can help those who have found a job and are still nonetheless poor. It gives the victims of prejudice who would not be hired because of their colour or national origin, a chance to earn a living. The average cost of creating self-employment is ten, twenty or hundred times lesser than creating industry-based employment. It helps isolated poor people gain self-confidence, step by step.

Which one of the following comes closest in meaning to the author’s understanding of industry-based employment?

Unemployment is the problem of every modern nation. Even industrialized nations are not able to ensure a job for everyone. Following the conventional strategy of creating employment, governments of many developing countries try to attract employers (business houses/industrialists) by offering tax rebates and many other facilities so that they locate their upcoming plants on their soil and thereby create industrial employment. But there is a limit to what industry can bring. Also, industrial plants often create toxic waste which results in air and water pollution and environmental problems which can outweigh whatever employment benefit industrial employment brings. In addition, they don’t bring as substantial relief to the dwindling economy of the host country as they seem to promise, as the profits of such foreign investments are carried back to the parent company and foreign shareholders abroad.

Self-employment has none of these drawbacks. The problem is that self-employment is not as obviously glamorous as a shiny new factory. But profits from self-employment remain in the country where they are produced. It is too small to create environmental hazards. It also puts the poor person in charge of his or her own working hours and conditions. The hours are flexible and can adapt to fit any family situation. It allows people to choose between running a business full time, or part-time when they face a crisis, or to put their business on hold and work full-time for a salary. Self-employment is tailor-made for anyone who is street-smart and has any acquired and inherited traditional skills, rather than learning acquired from books and technical schools. This means the illiterate and the poor can exploit their strengths, rather than be held back by their weaknesses. It allows a person to turn their hobbies into gainful employment. It allows individuals who cannot work well in a rigid hierarchy to run their own show.

Financing the poor to start their own little ventures elevates their sense of pride and self-respect. It offers a way out of welfare dependency, not just to become wage slaves, but to open a store or start a manufacturing business. It can help those who have found a job and are still nonetheless poor. It gives the victims of prejudice who would not be hired because of their colour or national origin, a chance to earn a living. The average cost of creating self-employment is ten, twenty or hundred times lesser than creating industry-based employment. It helps isolated poor people gain self-confidence, step by step.

In the last paragraph, the author uses the example of “colour or national origin” to illustrate the