IBPS PO 2024 · Question 220 of 260

Directions (113-120): Read the following passage and answer the given questions. Germany, long regarded as Europe's economic engine, is confronting a demographic reality that threatens the very foundation of its industrial strength: a rapidly aging population. By the early 2030s, official projections suggest that more than a fifth of the country's inhabitants will be aged sixty-five or above, while the pool of working-age citizens continues to contract year after year. This imbalance between retirees drawing pensions and a shrinking base of contributors has pushed policymakers to treat labour scarcity not as a cyclical inconvenience but as a structural emergency. In response, Berlin has overhauled its immigration framework, easing visa requirements for skilled professionals from outside the European Union and streamlining the once-notoriously slow process of recognising foreign qualifications. The Skilled Immigration Act, expanded in recent years, now allows workers with vocational training - not merely university degrees - to qualify for long-term residency, reflecting an acknowledgment that the country's shortage spans hospitals, construction sites and machine shops alike. This openness is not entirely new. Germany's post-war economic boom was itself sustained by the influx of so- called guest workers, recruited from Turkey, Italy and the former Yugoslavia during the 1960s to staff factories that could not find enough domestic labour. Many of these arrangements were designed as temporary, yet a substantial share of guest workers settled permanently, laying the demographic and cultural groundwork for the diverse workforce Germany now depends on. Despite this precedent, integration remains uneven. Newly arrived professionals frequently describe bureaucratic attrition - months-long waits for document verification, inconsistent language requirements across federal states, and employers reluctant to hire candidates whose credentials were earned abroad. Officials counter that credential recognition has improved considerably, with dedicated agencies now processing applications within weeks rather than the year-long delays common a decade ago. The economic stakes are considerable. Nursing homes, engineering firms and software companies alike report thousands of unfilled positions, and some economists warn that unaddressed workforce gaps could shave a full percentage point off annual growth within the decade. Regional governments have begun offering relocation subsidies and language-training stipends to make smaller towns, not just Berlin or Munich, attractive to newcomers. Because Germany's predicament mirrors trends unfolding across South Korea, Italy and parts of Eastern Europe, its experiment in reconciling openness with integration is being closely watched abroad. Whether its reforms ultimately ease the labour crunch or merely soften its edges, Germany's approach offers a working case study for any economy where the retiring generation is not being replaced quickly enough by the one behind it. If the trend of unfilled positions in nursing, engineering and software firms continues unchecked, what might be inferred about Germany's economic outlook?

Reading comprehension

1. AAnnual economic growth could weaken further, consistent with economists' warning of a potential percentage-point loss in growth.Correct
2. BThe pension system would immediately be abolished to compensate for lost tax revenue.
3. CGermany would stop offering relocation subsidies to newcomers entirely.
4. DThe Skilled Immigration Act would be repealed within the decade.
5. ESmaller towns would become more attractive than Berlin or Munich regardless of labour shortages.