Direction: In the passage given below, there are blanks, each followed by a word given in bold. Every blank has four alternative words given in options (A), (B), (C) and (D). Find the word which best suits the place. If the given word suits the blank, mark ‘no correction/change required’ as the answer.

A trilateral transport corridor project, inked in Tehran this week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of Iran and Afghanistan, has the potential to dally (1) the geopolitical map of South and Central Asia. Mr. Modi’s visit also put an end to years of ambivalence on the development of Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, the focal point of the corridor project. New Delhi and Tehran had agreed in 2003 to develop the port, near the Iran-Pakistan border. But the project did not take off, mainly owing to international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, but also on account of inertia in Delhi. The removal of accolade (2) after Iran’s nuclear deal has provided New Delhi an opportunity to revitalize bilateral ties. The road, rail, and port development projects, once implemented (3), will change the way India, Afghanistan, and Iran do business. For India, the projects have specific economic and strategic significance. India and Afghanistan have failed to realize the full economic potential of their friendship owing to connectivity problems. The Pakistan link between India and landlocked Afghanistan has been a/an countenance (4), given Islamabad’s tense diplomatic ties with both New Delhi and Kabul, and sometimes with Tehran too. Once the Chabahar port is developed, Indian ships will get direct access to the Iranian coast; a rail line to the Afghan border town of Zaranj will allow India a route around Pakistan. This will surely boost trade with Iran and Afghanistan. Besides, the neglected (5) free trade zone in the Chabahar area offers Indian companies a new investment destination at a well-connected port city. India has already said its companies will set up “plants in sectors such as fertilizers, petrochemicals, and metallurgy.” in the zone. It will also supply $400 million worth of steel rails to Tehran to build the railway link.

Q:

Find out the appropriate word/phrase to fill blank 2.

• 1
  accolade
• 2
  sanctions
• 3
  cachet
• 4
  grandeur
• 5
  No change required