_______ your transfer request is concerned, we'll be discussing it at the next meeting.

Correct — A, As far as. The blank is followed by '...is concerned', and 'As far as X is concerned' is a fixed English frame meaning 'regarding / with respect to X'. Only 'As far as' locks into that ready-made structure to give 'As far as your transfer request is concerned'.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  To begin with — 'To begin with' introduces the first point in a sequence; it does not pair with the trailing '...is concerned'.
• (c)
  By the way — 'By the way' flags an incidental aside and cannot complete the fixed frame '____ ... is concerned'.
• (d)
  Talking about — 'Talking about your transfer request' would stand on its own without 'is concerned', so it clashes with the given sentence structure.

Some connectors are fixed frames. 'As far as ... is concerned' is one such frame, signalled by the trailing 'is concerned' after the blank.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Fill in the blank: _______ the budget is concerned, no cuts are planned.

  • (a)As far as
  • (b)By the way
  • (c)In addition
  • (d)For instance
  Answer(a) As far as — completes the fixed frame 'As far as ... is concerned'.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which opener signals 'with respect to' a specific topic?

  • (a)As regards
  • (b)Meanwhile
  • (c)As a result
  • (d)On the contrary
  Answer(a) As regards — like 'as far as ... is concerned', it means 'concerning/about'.