BANKING &
GENERAL
AWARENESS
IBPS
CWE 2012
A
complete Guide to prepare Banking Awareness
Index:
1.
Indian Banking
Industry: Emerging Trends 1
2.
Financial
Literacy in India
3.
Economic Survey
to have special chapter on financing of climate change
4.
Bankrolling the
banks
5.
BANK EXAMS
GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS
6.
RBI releases Mid
Quarter Monetary Policy Review
7.
BANK EXAMS
GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs
8.
Crisis management
group for financial markets on cards
9.
IBPS CLERKS EXAM
GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER
10. IBPS CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER
11. Equip ATMs to accept cash directly, suggests panel
12. IRDA launched Two Online Initiatives to Safeguard the Interest
of Insurance-seekers
13. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE PRACTICE MCQs
14. Market Capitalization of all 24 Listed Public Sector Banks
below that of 15 Listed Private Banks
15. Corp Bank scheme for Kerala Govt. employees
16. BANKING AWARENESS MCQs
17. IBPS CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER
18. NABARD signed MoU with All Cooperative Banks in Punjab
to Launch Core Banking Solution
19. Indian Bank launched e-banking Lounge & Inter-bank
Mobile Payment Services
20. K. S. Sreenivasan appointed non-official director on board
of Oriental Bank of Commerce
21. Fresh Capital to be infused in SBI to help it achieve Compliance
with Capital Adequacy Ratio Norms
22. Ratings Firm Moody's downgraded Indian Banking System's
Rating outlook from Stable to Negative
23. IBPS CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL SOLVED PAPER
24. IBPS CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL SOLVED PAPER
25. IBPS CLERKS GENREAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER
26. IBPS BANKING AWARENESS PRACTICE MODEL PAPER
27. IBPS BANKING AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS
28. SBI Associate Banks Probationary Officers Exam., 2011
29. GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL QUESTIONS
30. Women use their debit cards less frequently, reveals RBI
survey
31. Customer service slips in public sector banks
32. Regional rural banks see healthy growth in saving bank
deposits
33. SBI, ICICI Bank lead peers in global branch network
34. GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs FOR BANK EXAMS
35. IBPS GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs
36. IBPS GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MODEL QUESTIONS
37. Moody’s cuts outlook on Indian banking system to negative
38. Taxation system in India
39. Overview of Indian Financial System
40. Financial System in India
41. STOCK EXCHANGE, COMMODITY EXCHANGE RELATED TERMS
42. IBPS CLERKS EXAM GENERAL STUDIES PRACTICE QUESTIONS
43. Human Development Report 2011
44. GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs FOR BANK EXAMS
45. IBPS GENERAL AWARENESS SOLVED QUESTIONS
46. IBPS GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS
47. IBPS GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs
48. BANKING & FINANCIAL TERMS
49. BANKING TERMINOLOGY
50. FINANCIAL & BANKING AWARENESS MCQs
Indian
Banking Industry: Emerging Trends
Fierce competition,
innovative strategies and competitive spirit have satiated banks with palpating
activities. Banks
are adopting
different strategies in an environment of increased competitive pressure.
Active strategies with focus on new fields of business and defensive strategy
concentrating on cost cutting are embraced together. Flawless service delivery
is the target with diffused liabilities and multiple choices available to
customers. Technology has completely changed the nature and pace of delivery of
banking services world over. The speed has considerably improved along with the
quality of the services. Various delivery channels are available with banks for
customers. Broadly, the levels of banking services offered through internet can
be categorized in to three types namely—Basic Level Service, Simple
Transactional Websites and Fully Transactional Websites.
Indian banking was
provided an opportunity by the liberalization in 1990s to extend its working
para-meters beyond geographical borders. The banking reform has indeed helped
to restore semblance of efficiency and stability. Our banking industry enjoys greater
autonomy, operational flexibility and liberalized norms
allowing it to be
more com-petitive.
Technology
Driven Indian Banking System
The growing
universalisation and internationalization of banking operations have altered
the face of banks from one of mere inter-mediator to one of provider of quick,
efficient and consumer centric ser-vices. There has been massive use of
technology across many areas of banking business in India, both from the asset
and the liability side of a bank’s balance sheet. Banks pass through phases
namely the inception phase, where the technology behind the application is in
its infancy and a substantial amount of investment is required so as to make
the application widely available commercially; the growth phase, where the
application is increasingly available to the custo-mers and the technology
behind the application is widely available; and the maturity phase, wherein the
application is in widespread use and institutions not offering such applications
are likely to be at a competitive disadvantage.
The introduction of
MICR based cheque processing—a first for the region, during the years 1986-88
was one of the earliest steps in Indian banking on the march of technology.
1.
Technological Changes in Indian Banking System
Core
Banking Systems —The introduction of Core Banking Systems (CBS) which was at its
nascent stages has become full blown and all banks are at varying stages of
implementation of Core Banking Systems in their branches. There are 5
ingredients that form part of the Core Banking system viz. General Ledger Customer,
Information System, Deposit System, Loan System and Management Information
System.
INFINET—INFINET
(Indian Financial Network), is used by a large number of banks for funds and
non-funds-based message transfers, and is made available by the Institute for
Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad. INFINET is
perhaps among the few networks in the world which uses the
latest in technology
and security called Public Key Infrastructure—PKI, which is not only
state-of-the-art and robust but also well within the legal requirements of the
Information Technology Act, 2000.
National
Electronic Funds Transfer System— RBI introduced an electronic
funds transfer system to facilitate an efficient, secure, economical, reliable
and expeditious system of funds transfer and clearing in the banking sector
throughout India, and to relieve the stress on the existing paper-based funds
transfer and clearing
system called
National Electronic Funds Transfer System (NEFT System). The parties to a funds
transfer under this NEFT System are the sending bank, the sending Service
Centre, the NEFT Clearing Centre, the receiving Service Centre and the
beneficiary branch. The EFT scheme enables transfer of funds within and across
cities and between branches of a bank and across banks.
National
Electronic Clearing Services —The objective of National
Electronic Clearing Services (NECS) is to facilitate centralized processing for
repetitive and bulk payment instructions. Sponsor banks shall submit NECS data
at a single centre viz. at Mumbai. While NECS (Credit) shall facilitate multiple
credits to beneficiary accounts at destination branch against a single debit of
the account of a User with the sponsor bank, the NECS (Debit) shall facilitate
multiple debits to destination account holders against single credit to user
account.
Centralized
Funds Management System —The Centralized Funds Management System
(CFMS), is a system to enable operations on current accounts maintained at
various offices of the Bank, through standard message formats in a secure
manner. It is set up, operated and maintained by the Reserve Bank of India.
Mobile
Banking Services —Mobile payments is defined as information exchange between a bank
and its customers for financial transactions through the use of mobile phones.
Mobile payment involves debit/credit to a customer’s account’s on the basis of
funds transfer instruction received over the mobile phones. Only Indian
Rupee-based dome-stick services shall be provided. Use of mobile banking
services for cross border inward and outward
transfers is strictly
prohibited. Only banks which have implemented core banking solutions would be
permitted to
provide mobile
banking services. Banks shall file Suspicious Trans-action Report (STR) to
Financial Intelligence Unit–India (FIU-IND) for mobile banking transactions as
in the case of normal banking transactions. To ensure inter-operability between
banks, and between their mobile banking service providers, banks shall adopt
the message formats like ISO 8583, with suitable modification to address
specific needs. Hence, banks offering mobile banking
should notify the
customers the timeframe and the circumstances in which any stop-payment
instructions could be accepted.
2.
Current Position of Technological Banking Services
Drift
Towards Innovative Banking
1.
Presence of Women on Boards
Banking in the West
has tradi-tionally been a male bastion and continues to be so. Study titled
“Women on Corporate Boards in India 2010” ranked the companies listed in the
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE-100) in terms of the gender diversity of their boards,
with those with the highest percentage of women on their boards appearing at
the top. The BSE-100 comprises 26 industry classifications with the banking
industry making up the largest group of companies. Indian banks, with better
gender equality on board than their western counterparts, scraped though the
economic slowdown unscathed. Kalpana Morparia heads the Indian arm of global
financial leviathan J. P. Morgan Chase & Co; Meera Sanyal is the country executive
for Royal Bank of Scotland and; Manisha Girotra is
the managing director
of Union Bank of Switzer-land’s India operations. K. J. Udeshi is the Chairman
of Governing Council of BCSBI.
2.
Mobile Branches
Domestic scheduled
commercial banks (other than RRBs) were granted general permission by RBI, to
opera-tionalise Mobile branches in Tier 3 to Tier 6 centers (with population up
to 49,999 as per Census 2001) and in rural, semi urban and urban centers in the
North Eastern States and Sikkim, subject to reporting. The mobile branch should
be stationed in each village/location for a reasonable time on specified days
and specified hours, so that its services could be utilized properly by
customers. The business transacted at the mobile branch shall be recorded in
the books of the base branch/data centre. The bank may give wide publicity
about the mobile branch in the village, including details of ‘specified days
and working hours’ at various locations so as to avoid any confusion to local
customers; and any change in this regard should also be publicized.
3.
Social Responsibility, Sustain-able Development and
Non-Financial
Reporting
Government infused
into banking sector the ‘socialist’ constituent through nationalization of
major banks.
CSR
entails the integration of social and environmental concerns by companies in
their business operations as also in interactions with their stakeholders. SD
essentially refers to the process of maintenance of the quality of
environmental and social systems in the pursuit of economic development. NFR is
basically a system of reporting by organizations on their activities in this
context, especially as regards the triple bottom line, that is, the environmental,
social and economic accounting. RBI circular (dated December 20, 2007) on Role
of Banks in
Corporate Social
Responsibility, Sustain-able Development and Non-Financial Reporting is
appreciable. Stressing the need for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), RBI
pointed out that these initiatives by the banks are vital for sustainable
development. Banks have been directed to start; non-financial reporting will
help to audit their initiatives towards the corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Such a reporting will cover the work done by the banks towards the social, economic
and environmental betterment of society.
4.
Universal Banking
Universal Banking
refers to those services offered by banks beyond traditional banking service
such as saving accounts and loans and includes Pension Funds Management,
undertaking equipment leasing, hire purchase business and factoring services,
Primary Dealer-ship (PD) business, insurance business and mutual fund business.
The issue of
universal banking came to limelight in 2000, when ICICI gave a presentation to
RBI to discuss the time frame and possible options for transforming itself into
an universal bank. Later on RBI asked financial institutions which are
interested to convert them into a universal bank, to submit their plans for transition
to a universal bank for consideration and further discussions. FIs need to formulate
a road map for the transition
path and strategy for
smooth con-version into an universal bank over a specified time frame. The plan
should specifically provide for full compliance with prudential norms as
applicable to banks over the pro-posed period. Though the DFIs would continue
to have a special role in the Indian financial System, until the debt market
demonstrates substantial improvements in terms of liquidity and depth, any DFI,
which wishes to do so, should have the option to transform into bank (which it
can exercise), provided the prudential norms as applicable to banks are fully
satisfied. To this end, a DFI would need to prepare a transition path in order
to fully comply with the regulatory requirement of a bank. The DFI concerned
may consult RBI for such transition arrangements.
Reserve Bank will
consider such requests on a case by case basis. Thus, Indian financial
structure is slowly evolving towards a continuum of institutions rather than
discrete specialization.
Conclusion
The applicability of
various existing laws and banking practices to e-banking is not tested and is
still evolving, both in India and abroad. With rapid changes in technology and
innovation in the field of e-banking, there is a need for constant review of
different laws relating to banking and commerce. A re-orientation of strategy is
required in order to accommodate the changes and challenges of the present
globalised scenario. Technological developments may become threat but still
enable banks to access the global market through the electronic networks. IT
usage by banks would continue to exist in substantial scales. Indian Banking is
trying to embrace latest technology upgrading its
services. Clientele
are reveling sophisticated services specific needs,
preferences and conveniences by the banks.
Financial
Literacy in India
The
Essence of Money
We all acknowledge
the fact that money is essential for sheer existence and survival yet tend to
escape from learning how to manage money. Managing money means the ability to judiciously
save and multiply the money earned, through an informed understanding of the
financial pro-ducts and services available. It is also the question of avoiding
risks and being protected from falling prey to unscrupulous elements. In my
opinion the single most
critical factor in
effective money management is to stay away from greed. Greed for making quick
money often restricts the power to think and take appropriate decisions. Greed
and lust for easy money overpowers application of mind and the capacity to
think sanely. We ignore the fact that money invested legally and ethically can
hardly ever give returns which are disproportionate with respect to prevailing
market conditions. Yet regularly we hear of people losing their hard earned
money by succumbing to fraudulent schemes which promise attractive returns or
trusting someone who tempts them with windfall gains. We must always remember
that money does not grow on trees and investments/savings can fetch only normal
returns which are in conformity with market norms. Our indulgence in fancy
schemes and faith in promoters whose credentials are not verified arises due to
lack of adequate knowledge and the ability to think rationally. Money lost is
difficult to retrieve; though checks and balances are
there it is only the
well informed who can pursue his case by approaching the respective authorities
for redressal. We need to respect money for its value and its significance for
sheer survival. Financial literacy is therefore crucial for the well being of
an individual from any section of society.
What
is Financial Literacy ?
It is not logical to
assume that all educated individuals are financially literate and the less
educated are weak. In fact the converse could be true. What then is financial
literacy? Simply expressed it is the ability to manage one’s personal finance
judiciously by making best/optimum use of one’s resources. There are different financial
products and ser-vices available which cater to different needs and
requirements. Under-standing these products and services and choosing according
to the wants is what constitutes the right approach. These wants differ from
individual to individual and even during the life span of a person the wants
keep changing. The requirements are linked to the risk taking capacity as the element
of safety is crucial in an individual’s life. Be it savings through bank/post
office schemes, investing in stock markets or mutual funds, buying life cover
and general insurance, raising loans or use of credit cards it is essential to
know the products thoroughly to make a well thought out decision. A prudent
man generally relies
on his personal judgment rather than dubious relationship managers/un-solicited
help as trust and integrity in financial matters are an absolute necessity. It
is better to stay away from complex products and services if the knowledge levels
are low as safeguarding of money is more important than taking unwanted risks.
With the spread of technology and opening of the economy it has become even more
important to select the
appropriate product
after due diligence. Though technology has made ser-vices swifter and efficient
it has also introduced many hazards. A thorough understanding of the
safe-guards in the technology process is all the more essential to avoid being
a victim of fraudulent transactions. To appreciate the significance and
relevance of financial literacy for sound money management it may be worthwhile
to capture a few illustrations.
(1) Taking the simple
example of payment of interest on savings bank accounts not many still know
that interest is now paid on the daily balance in the account. Rather than
withdrawing money which may not be immediately required for a week at least it
would be profitable if the same amount remains with the bank as it would continue
to earn interest for the account holder. Better still the surplus funds in a
savings account could be transferred to a fixed
deposit account which
would give higher interest.
(2) Those seeking
loans from banks often do not read the terms and conditions of the bank and
blindly sign the documents thereby agreeing to the terms of the document. At
times these papers are
signed in blank
without even bothering to understand the significance of the loan contract.
Loan means having to fulfill many obligations by the borrower till it is
cleared and pleading ignorance later does not help. In case of default the
assets can be seized by the lender and the borrower has no scope to protect the
asset without clearing the dues.
(3) Most loan documents
require one or more guarantors to sign along with the borrower. This
strengthens the lender in case the borrower defaults. How many really know that
the guarantor is liable to pay if the borrower does not repay the dues. There
are many instances where the guarantors regretted signing the documents
and protested when
they were asked to clear the loan. Such 11 protests citing ignorance or lack of
knowledge are of no use later.
(4) Most credit card
holders do not realize that interest on roll over dues are charged abnormally
high interest rates and interest gets com-pounded every month if the balance
remains unpaid. Moreover service tax is also levied on the interest amount.
Higher the interest amount higher the service tax becomes payable.
(5) Non-banking
finance companies and corporate invite deposits from the public with offer of
higher interest rates than most banks. It is quite logical for certain persons
to be tempted to invest their funds in these schemes for the additional
interest amount. What is of prime importance is to study thoroughly the
back-ground and strength of the company before investing as the repayment of
the deposit on maturity is not guaranteed. There are so many examples where the
companies have not returned the money on maturity for various reasons. Some
have even disappeared from the market after mobilizing substantial money. Imagine
the poor person of meager means having to suffer the loss of money as he deposited
in good faith but without full knowledge.
(6) RBI regularly releases
reports of forged or counterfeit currency notes in circulation and the need to
be cautious. How many of us really bother to understand the security features
of currency notes to identify forged notes and take preventive action. The
desired know how can stop the fraudulent use of illegal money and prevent undesirable
con-sequences. RBI’s campaign ‘Paisa
Bolta Hai’ is an excellent audiovisual presentation on the measures to
check the
authenticity of a
currency note.
(7) For the sake of
credit and debit card holders there are regular warnings to avoid sharing their
PIN and card numbers with any third person. Despite the constant education it
is often seen that card users are asking total strangers at ATM centers and
elsewhere how to operate their cards. The fact that they are inviting trouble
is
overlooked for the
sake of momentary help. Little do we realize that knowledge can prevent many
untoward happenings ?
(8) Insurance
policies are purchased as tax savings schemes rather than the main objective of
insuring life. The type of policy is also not properly understood as to the
type of risk cover it is providing. Unfortunately the insurance agent is at
times not fully educated himself or avoids suggesting the right policy for
making higher commission payouts.
(9) Insurance
policies carry a 15 days or in some cases one month free look period during
which time the buyer can reconsider his decision to purchase the life cover.
This enables the buyer to study carefully the features of the policy and
compare it with his actual need. Very few really know about this facility which
again demonstrates the need to be aware and vigilant.
(10) Retail investors
enter the stock market hoping to make quick gains. Very few make their own
independent studies but merely rely on hearsay. The results are obvious as a
few lucky ones may make some money without adequate knowledge but the large
majority suffer loses. There is also the ‘ASBA’ facility for subscribing to new
issues without
blocking one’s funds but very few take advantage of it. SEBI has tried to
popularize this facility in many ways through advertisement campaigns and it is
for the investor to gain from it. Once again the informed person only benefits.
(11) Investing in
mutual funds has also become fashionable because of the coverage the sector
gets. Yet it is a matter of debate as to how many can differentiate between
equity or debt funds or even hybrid varieties. The investment is not linked to
the risk taking capacity of the investor and his financial priorities. Often
the investor
is not aware whether
his holdings in the fund belong to the growth or dividend option. The above
examples relate to very basic transactions but convey the significance of
possessing sound knowledge for prudent decision making. Absence of financial
literacy can truly damage substantially the interests of the persons concerned.
It is difficult to
escape for any age
group as money is needed by all.
The
Spread of Financial Literacy
It is better to start
early with the process of financial education as discipline in money matters is
an important characteristic of an individual. Children should be taught the
benefits of saving and introducing the age old concepts of having a piggy bank
can be a welcome start. Schools need to inculcate these habits in students
and gradually
introduce them to the basics of personal finance. A beginning has already been
made by introducing subjects on basic finance in the school curriculum at
certain centers. Reserve Bank of India is promoting this early education of
children by adopting a friendly and entertaining way through the medium of
comics. They are also encouraging the young to participate in contests, the winners
of which are awarded scholarships. It is the vulnerable
sections of society
like women, senior citizens, the rural and urban poor who need to be adequately
educated and equipped. The Financial Literacy programmed of RBI is tackling all
these issues through different means. Their website is a store house of knowledge
provided there is an urge to learn. The individual has to be proactive and be
eager to grasp the necessary knowledge to safeguard himself and thereby his
money. RBI is making extra efforts to be as trans-parent as possible in the
larger interest of the common citizen by reaching out to them through their outreach
programmes. These programmes which were held during the 75th year of
RBI in 2010 in far corners of the country were primarily to educate the masses
about the activities of RBI and how to utilize the available banking services
for their betterment. Most banks also have their financial literacy departments
and credit counseling centers where personal problems are addressed. How much
of these centre’s are successes is debatable because a very
small percentage of
people know about these facilities and even if they know there is an inherent
hesitation to seek their help. The websites of banks and financial institutions
also have all the details about their products and services. In case of doubts
it is advisable to refer to these portals to avoid making any wrong or improper
decision. The concern
is that incomplete or half baked knowledge is not used to take decisions which
are repented later. BCSBI or Banking Codes and Standards Board of India has
been set up by RBI as an apex body to improve the working of banks and introduce
systemic changes wherever necessary for better treatment of customers. While
their primary focus remains on customer service they are also participating in
disseminating information on different aspects of banking. For an effective
literacy campaign it is important that information asymmetry between
service provider and
customer is reduced. In this connection banks have unilaterally under-taken to
comply with a Code of Commitment to Customers detailing the nature of services
provided by banks, the normal time taken for rendering these services and the
various obligations of banks who have signed these codes. Only when there
is awareness can the
customers use the code to their benefit. It is for the individual to take
advantage of the provisions provided there is willingness to learn. BCSBI also
publishes a quarterly newsletter which is both informative and educative. The
importance of promoting financial literacy and the enormity of the task is
being gradually under-stood. This has made many organizations enter this field
to make their presence felt. Innovative
ways have been
adopted to keep the literacy efforts simple and user friendly for maximum
benefit. Websites, print media and audio visual communications relating to
financial education are easily accessible for the average individual to improve
his under-standing of the financial market, its products and services. National
dailies, banks, financial institutions, private organizations are individually
contributing through easy to understand pamphlets,
comic strips,
newsletters etc. to reach the consumer covering fundamental issues. Seminars,
conferences, inter-active sessions are often arranged to address issues of
common concern and dissemination of information.
Spreading of
information and awareness is critical for an emerging economy like India. If
the vast population of deprived people is brought into the mainstream it would
be of immense benefit both as a social necessity as well as an economic push.
The call for financial inclusion in the country has therefore become an immediate
priority and is engaging the attention of policy makers for effective
execution. It would reap dividends only when the targeted people are financial
literate. Only then would they be able to make the most appropriate choice of
the pro-ducts and services which would improve their position. The vast
majority of our people are extremely vulnerable as they depend upon informal
sources of finance for meeting their needs. Only by empowering them with the adequate
knowledge can we hope to improve their lot and that of the economy as a whole.
The penetration of banking and insurance services is extremely poor in India
and if the coverage is extended by simultaneous spreading of financial literacy
it would be a huge progress for overall growth. The formal channels of money transmission
has to be introduced for all round benefit as for far too long the poor,
gullible people have suffered at the hands of the
money lender and his
brethren. The international body Organization for Economic Development OECD is
putting its weight behind RBI in promoting financial literacy in India. There
is no running away from this hard fact for which the financial service
providers are also being trained to encourage the dissemination of information
in as comprehensive a way as possible. However it is the individual as the
consumer who needs to grasp and absorb the knowledge for his betterment and
safety. Money creation through the legitimate way is hard and painstaking
but can be lost in no
time if there is improper financial planning. Financial awareness is a critical
component in the process of protecting and enlarging the corpus of funds that
an individual may have.
Economic
Survey to have special chapter on financing of climate change
The Finance Ministry
will include a special chapter on financing of climate change in the Economic
Survey, the Chief Economic Advisor, Mr Kaushik Basu, has said. “This year we
have decided to devote a special chapter on the topic of financing of climate
change in the Economic Survey,” Mr Basu said while addressing a UNDP event.
Speaking at the
event, the Economic Affairs Secretary, Mr R. Gopalan, said that the climate
change issue is posing a challenge for the world. “The challenges are both
environmental and developmental. Addressing climate change is a challenge for
all humanity and it is in our interest that the world community address the
issue effectively,” Mr Gopalan said. He said there is a need to change the way
we use natural resources and device new technology to meet the challenges. As
per the 2010-11 Economic Survey, India’s total carbon-dioxide emissions were
about 4 per cent of the global emissions. The survey also showed that it cost
India 2.84 per cent of its GDP to adapt to climate change. Studies show that
even with 8-9 per cent GDP growth every year for the next decade, India’s
per-capita emissions will be well below developed countries average.
Bankrolling
the banks
The Reserve Bank of
India's (RBI) recently released draft guidelines on the proposed implementation
of international norms of capital adequacy (Basel–III) would require Indian
banks to mobilize huge sums of capital during the next five years. Under the
existing Basel-II norms, the Indian banking industry has to maintain total
capital — drawn from
a combination of equity and preference shares plus long-term debt, both
accorded lower priority to monies belonging to depositors — amounting to 9 per
cent of their assets calibrated suitably for riskiness (‘risk-weighted assets'
or RWA). While the overall ratio has been retained under the proposed new norms,
a minor reshuffle has been attempted between equity/preference stock holders
and long-term bond holders in the event of a bank failure, with the former
having to contribute an additional one percentage point capital to their
existing 6 per cent of the total 9 per cent. Further, equity/preference share
holders have to come up with an additional 2.5 percentage points in capital as
a buffer for any unforeseen contingencies. That takes the aggregate capital
adequacy ratio (CAR) to 11.5 per cent, of which common equity alone would make
up 8 per cent. The emphasis is clearly not
just on meeting a
broadly defined overall CAR of 8 per cent (as it was two decades ago), but also
on improving the transparency and quality of the capital base. The
implementation period for all these is from January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2017. The
rationale behind fashioning a tighter capital (especially core equity)
regulatory regime for banks stems largely from the banking crises that followed
the global recession of 2008 and also the ongoing European sovereign debt
troubles. These have created renewed concerns over the banking sector's ability
to withstand financial shocks and minimize risks of spill-over to the real economy.
But implementation will be a huge challenge, with the estimates of fresh
capital needed to be raised by all Indian banks ranging anywhere from Rs 1.4
lakh to Rs 3 lakh crore. Given the dominance of public sector banks, it would
necessitate large government infusion of funds. Where this money is going to
come from, if the Centre would not even be prepared to dilute its stake
below 51 per cent, is
a huge question mark. This issue came to the fore not too long back, when
Moody's downgraded the State Bank of India's credit rating, after its Tier-1
CAR fell below the Government's own 8 per cent prescription. Related to this is
the more immediate problem of rising non-performing assets (NPA) on account of
loans to a host of troubled sectors from telecom and airlines to power. As
these mount – under pressure from high interest rates and the general economic slowdown
– banks would have to find resources to maintain even
existing capital
adequacy levels. The RBI, under the circumstances, cannot be totally oblivious
to concerns over the proposed implementation schedule for Basel-III, which is
seen to be rather frontloaded.
BANK
EXAMS GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1.Which country's
lower house of Parliament is called Wolesi Jirga?
1) Russia
2) Afghanistan
3) Japan
4) Pakistan
5) Bangladesh
2.Which of the
following statements is/are correct?
1)The
UNESCO-Madanjeet Si-ngh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence
is a prize awarded very two years by UNESCO.
2)This award has been
instituted in memory of Mahatma Gandhi.
3)This prize of US $
1, 00,000 was made possible by the donation of the Indian diplomat Madanjeet
Singh who is also the Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO.
4) The 2011 awardees
are Afghanistan's women's rights campaigner Anarkali Honaryar and Palestinian
peace activist Khaled Abu Awwad.
5) All the above
statements are correct.
3.Who among the
following was chosen for the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of
Tolerance
and Non-Violence in
2002, but was allowed to accept the prize only in November 2011?
1) Taslima Nasreen
(Bangladesh)
2) Aung San Suu Kyi
(Myanmar)
3) Francois Houtart
(Belgium)
4) Abdul Sattar Edhi
(Pakistan)
5) None of these
4.Which of the
following days is observed as the International Day for Tolerance?
1) October 2
2) November 16
3) October 24
4) October 16
5) November 14
5.Scientists have
found the best evidence yet for water just beneath the surface of Europe. Europe
is the icy moon of which of the following planets?
1) Mars
2) Saturn
3) Jupiter
4) Venus
5) Uranus
6.Which of the
following countries is not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)?
1) USA
2) Australia
3) Canada
4) India
5) France
7.Metro Cash&
Carry is planning to invest Rs. 2400 crore in India on new stores in the next
four years. To which country does this retailing giant belong?
1) Germany
2) Indonesia
3) Singapore
4) Malaysia
5) USA
8.The renovated
Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) of Vijaynagar, a completely air-maintained and
strategically located human settlement, was inaugurated recently. In which
state is this Vijaynagar airfield located?
1) Assam
2) Nagaland
3) Karnataka
4) Arunachal Pradesh
5) None
9.A delegation from
the Unites States Nuclear Regulatory Com-mission (USNRC) visited the nuclear
facilities at Kalpakkam. In which state is Kalpakkam situated?
1) Karnataka
2) Kerala
3) Tamil Nadu
4) Maharashtra
5) None of these
10.The United Nations
General Assembly has re-elected who among the following as a member of the
International Law Commission (ILC) for a five- year term?
1) Mota Singh
2) Narinder Singh
3) Swaraj Paul
4) P.Venkat Ram Reddy
5) None
11.What is the
disinvestment target for the current financial year i.e. 2011-12?
1) Rs.25, 000 crore
2) Rs.30, 000 crore
3) Rs.40, 000crore
4) Rs.50, 000 crore
5) None
12.Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo was arrested for electoral fraud recently. She was the President of
which of the following countries from 2001 to 2010?
1) Singapore
2) Philippines
3) Venezuela
4) Honduras
5) Vietnam
13.Sarath Fonseka was
sentenced to spend three more years in prison in November 2011. He is the
former army chief of which of the following countries?
1) Nepal
2) Mauritius
3) Sri Lanka
4) Pakistan
5) Myanmar
14.Which of the
following badminton tournaments was won by Saina Nehwal in the year 2011?
1) Singapore Super
Series
2) Indonesia Super
Series
3) Hong Kong Super
Series
4) All England
Badminton Championship
5) None
15.Guru Saidutt
excelled in which of the following sports?
1) Table Tennis
2) Badminton
3) Lawn Tennis
4) Volleyball
5) Basketball
16.Which of the
following trains covers the largest rail route in the country 4,286 km?
1) Vivek Express
(Dibrugarh to Kanya Kumari)
2) Himsagar Express
(Jammu Tawi to Kanya Kumari)
3) Dibrugarh-Chennai
Express
4) Howrah-Amritsar
Express
5) None of these
17.Sukh Ram was
sentenced to five years' imprisonment by a special CBI Court in November 2011.
He was a Minister of State for Communications in which of the following
governments?
1) A.B.Vajpayee
2) P.V.Narasimha Rao
3) Rajiv Gandhi
4) Indira Gandhi
5) None
18.Eurasian Union is
an economic body designed to reintegrate the former Soviet economies. Which of
the following countries is not a member of this new group?
1) Russia
2) Kazakhstan
3) Belarus
4) Georgia
5) All the above
mentioned countries are members
19.Basil D' Oliveira,
the South Africa-born English player passed away recently. He was a renowned
player in which of the following sports?
1) Football
2) Cricket
3) Rugby
4) Basketball
5) Boxing
20.Which Indian
leader was honored by Singapore as a "Friend to our Shores" and a
"Visionary" in November 2011?
1) Jawaharlal Nehru
2) Mahatma Gandhi
3) Sardar Vallabhbai
Patel
4) Indira Gandhi
5) A.B.Vajpayee
21.Which of the
following groups/ organizations has funded a sports centre in Ramallah,
Palestine?
1) BRICS
2) BASIC
3) IBSA
4) SAARC
5) APEC
22.Which was the
first non-Arab state to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
in 1975?
1) India
2) Israel
3) China
4) USA
5) France
23.The Bar Council of
India (BCI) was formed in 1961 as a regulatory body for the legal profession
governed by the Indian Advocates Act. It is celebrating its golden jubilee. Who
is its present Chairman?
1) Satish Abarao
Deshmukh
2) Ashok K. Parija
3) S.Prabakaran
4) T.S.Ajith
5) None of theses
24.Tipaimukh Dam is a
proposed dam on the river Barak in which state of India? (This project has led
to a controversy between India and Bangladesh)
1) Assam
2) Nagaland
3) Manipur
4) Tripura
5) Arunachal Pradesh
25.Which team was
crowned overall champions at the 65th Senior National Aquatic Championships in
Ranchi in November 2011?
1) Karnataka
2) Maharashtra
3) Railways
4) Kerala
5) Gujarat
26.Which woman
swimmer won 5 gold medals in the 65th Senior National Aquatic Championships
held in Ranchi in November 2011?
1) Pooja Alva
2) Richa Mishra
3) Bhoomi Motwani
4) Talasha Prabhu
5) Surabhi Tipre
27.Who won the Men's
singles title at the Hong Kong Open badminton championships in November 2011?
1) Lin Dan
2) Chen Jin
3)Cai Yun
4)Fu Haifeng
5)None
28.Which of the
following teams won the Presidents Cup golf tournament in November 2011?
1) Internationals
2) USA
3) Europe
4) Australia
5) None
29.Which of the
following teams has won both the men's and women's Kabaddi world cup that was held
in Ludhiana in November 2011?
1) Canada
2) Pakistan
3) USA
4) India
5) Australia
30.Who has been
selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development
2011, an award instituted by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust?
1) Sheikh Hasina
2) Ela Bhatt
3) Angela Merkel
4) Hillary Clinton
5) Medha Patkar
31.Which city will
host the 2018 Commonwealth Games?
1) Hambantota (Sri
Lanka)
2) Glasgow (Scotland)
3) Gold Coast
(Australia)
4) Wellington (New
Zealand)
5) London (United
Kingdom)
32.Mohammad Zillur
Rahman is the President of which of the following countries?
1) Pakistan
2) Bangladesh
3) Iran
4) Afghanistan
5) Syria
33.Which of the
following institut-ions decides the Bank rate?
1) SEBI
2) SBI
3) IRDA
4) NABARD
5) RBI
34.Which scientist
was conferred with the Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize for 2011 in November
2011? (This prize was instituted by the Academy of Sciences of the Developing
World. It carries a cash component of 1,00,000 dollars. It seeks to honor distinguished
scientists from developing countries.)
1) Tessy Thomas
2) V.K.Saraswat
3) C.N.R Rao
4) Venkatraman
Ramakrishnan
5) None of these
35.National Income
Accounting, Conduct of Annual Survey of Industries, Economic Census and its
follow up surveys, compilation of index of industrial production, etc. are some
of the activities of which of the following institutions/organizations?
1) Reserve Bank of
India
2) Planning
Commission
3) Central Statistics
Office
4)National
Development Council
5)Unique
Identification Authority of India
36.The distribution
of Teesta river water is a bone of contention between India and which of the
following countries?
1) Pakistan
2) Nepal
3)China
4)Bangladesh
5)Bhutan
37.Which of the
following organizations/ agencies was set up to boost overall rural development
in India?
1) RBI
2) SIDBI
3) NABARD
4) SEBI
5) None of these
38.BR Act controls
banking activities in India. What does the letter 'R' denote?
1) Reformation
2) Regulation
3) Reporting
4) Ranking
5) None of these
39.Who is the ex-officio
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha?
1) Meira Kumar
2) Mohammad Hamid
Ansari
3) Karia Munda
4) K.Rahman Khan
5) Manmohan Singh
ANSWERS:
1. (2) 2. (5) 3. (2)
4. (2) 5. (3) 6. (4) 7. (1) 8. (4) 9. (3) 10. (2)
11. (3) 12. (2) 13.
(3) 14. (5) 15. (2) 16. (1) 17. (2) 18. (4) 19. (2) 20.
(1)
21. (3) 22. (1) 23.
(2) 24. (3) 25. (1) 26. (2) 27. (1) 28. (2) 29. (4) 30.
(2)
31. (3) 32. (2) 33.
(5) 34. (3) 35. (3) 36. (4) 37. (3) 38. (2) 39. (2)
RBI
releases Mid Quarter Monetary Policy Review Monetary Measures
On the basis of the
current macroeconomic assessment, it has been decided to:
• keep the cash
reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged at 6 per cent; and
• keep the policy
repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 8.5 per
cent.
Consequently, the
reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain unchanged at 7.5 per cent and the
marginal standing facility (MSF) rate at 9.5 per cent.
Introduction
Since the Reserve
Bank’s Second Quarter Review (SQR) of October 25, 2011, the global economic
outlook has worsened significantly. The recent European Union (EU) summit
agreement did not assuage negative market sentiments, thereby increasing the likelihood
of persistent financial turbulence as well as a recession in Europe. Both
factors pose threats to emerging market economies (EMEs), including India.
Significantly, despite these developments, crude oil prices remain elevated. On
the domestic front, growth is clearly decelerating. This reflects
the combined impact
of several factors: the uncertain global environment, the cumulative impact of
past monetary policy tightening and domestic policy uncertainties. Both
inflation and inflation expectations are currently above the comfort level of
the Reserve Bank. However, reassuringly, inflationary pressures are expected to
abate in the coming months despite high crude oil prices and rupee
depreciation. The growth deceleration is contributing to a decline in inflation
momentum, which is also being helped by softening food inflation.
Global
Economy
The global economic
situation continues to be fragile with no credible solution as yet to the
immediate euro area sovereign debt problem. At the EU summit on December 8-9,
the European leaders agreed on a new fiscal compact, involving stronger
coordination of economic policies to strengthen fiscal discipline. While the agreement
is necessary for medium and long-term sustainability of the euro area, its
ability to resolve short-term funding pressures was questioned by markets. Q3
euro area growth, at 0.8 per cent, was anemic and 2012 growth is now expected
to be weaker than earlier projected. Reflecting these projections, the European
Central Bank (ECB) cut its policy rate twice in the last two months, and also
implemented some non-standard measures. By contrast, growth in the US in Q3 of
2011 was better than in Q2, although still substantially below trend. Growth in
EMEs is also moderating on account of sluggish growth in advanced economies and
the impact of monetary tightening to
contain inflation. In
view of the slowing down of their economies, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel and
Thailand cut their policy rates, while China cut its reserve requirements. EME
currencies have also come under varying degrees of downward pressure as a
result of global risk aversion and financial stress emanating from the euro
area.
Domestic
economy
Growth
GDP growth moderated
to 6.9 per cent in Q2 of 2011-12 from 7.7 per cent in Q1 and 8.8 per cent in
the corresponding quarter a year ago. The deceleration in economic activity in
Q2 was mainly on account of a sharp moderation in industrial growth. On the expenditure
side, investment showed a significant slowdown.
Overall, during the
first half (April-September) of 2011-12, GDP growth slowed down to 7.3 per cent
from 8.6 per cent last year. Industrial performance has further deteriorated as
reflected in the decline of the index of industrial production (IIP) by 5.1 per
cent, y-o-y, in October 2011. This was mainly due to contraction in manufacturing
and mining activities. The contraction was particularly sharp in capital goods
with a y-o-y decline of 25.5 per
cent, reinforcing the
investment decline story emerging from the GDP numbers. Other indicators also
suggest a similar tendency, though by no means as dramatic as the IIP. The HSBC
purchasing managers' index (PMI) for manufacturing suggested further moderation
in growth in November 2011. However, PMI-services index recovered
in November from
contractionary levels in the preceding two months. Corporate margins in Q2 of
2011-12 moderated significantly as compared with their levels in Q1. The
decline in margins was largely on account of higher input and interest costs. Pricing
power is evidently declining. On the food front, the progress of sowing under
major rabi crops so far has been satisfactory, with area sown under food grains
and pulses so far being broadly comparable with that of last year.
Inflation
On a y-o-y basis,
headline WPI inflation moderated to 9.1 per cent in November from 9.7 per cent
in October, driven largely by decline in primary food articles inflation. Fuel
group inflation went up marginally. Notably, non-food manufactured products
inflation remains elevated, actually increasing to 7.9 per cent in November
from 7.6 per cent in
October, reflecting rising input costs. The new combined (rural and urban)
consumer price index (base: 2010=100) rose further to 114.2 in October from
113.1 in September. Inflation in terms of other consumer price indices was in
the range of 9.4 to 9.7 per cent in October 2011. Reassuringly, headline
momentum
indicators, such as
the seasonally adjusted month-on-month and 3-month moving average rolling
quarterly inflation rate, show continuing signs of moderation.
External
sector
Merchandise exports
growth decelerated sharply to an average of 13.6 per cent y-o-y in
October-November from an average of 40.6 per cent in the first half of 2011-12.
However, as imports moderated less than exports, the trade deficit widened,
putting pressure on the current account. This, combined with rebalancing of
global portfolios
by foreign
institutional investors and the tendency of exporters to defer repatriating
their export earnings, has led to significant pressure on the rupee. As on
December 15, 2011, the rupee had depreciated by about 17
per cent against the
US dollar over its level on August 5, 2011, the day on which the US debt
downgrade happened. In the face of this, several measures were taken to attract
inflows. Limits on investment in government and corporate debt instruments by foreign
investors were increased. The ceilings on interest rates payable on nonresident
deposits were raised. The allsinscost ceiling for external commercial
borrowings was increased. Further, a series of administrative measures that
discourage speculative behavior were also initiated. The Reserve Bank is
closely monitoring the developments in the external sector and it will respond
to the evolving situation as appropriate.
Fiscal
Situation
The central
government’s key deficit indicators worsened during 2011-12 (April-October),
primarily on account of a decline in revenue receipts and increase in
expenditure, particularly subsidies. The fiscal deficit at 74.4 per cent of the
budgeted estimate in the first seven months of 2011-12 was significantly higher
than 42.6 per cent in the corresponding period last year (about 61.2 per cent
if adjusted for more than budgeted spectrum proceeds received last year). The
likely slippage in this year’s fiscal deficit has inflationary implications.
Money,
Credit and Liquidity Conditions
The y-o-y money
supply (M3) growth moderated from 17.2 per cent at the beginning of the
financial year to 16.3 per cent on December 2, 2011, although still higher than
the projected trajectory of 15.5 per cent for the year. Y-o-y non-food credit
growth at 17.5 per cent on December 02, 2011, however, was below the indicative
projection of 18 per cent. Consistent with the stance of monetary policy,
liquidity conditions have remained in deficit during this fiscal year. However,
the deficit increased significantly beginning the second week of November 2011.
The average borrowings under the daily LAF increased to around ` 89,000 crore
during November-December (up to December 15, 2011) from around `49,000 crore
during April-October 2011. The Reserve Bank conducted open market
operations (OMOs) on
three occasions in November-December 2011 for an amount aggregating about `
24,000 crore to ease liquidity conditions. There are currently no significant
signs of stress in the money market. The overnight call money rate is stable
around the policy repo rate and liquidity facilities such as marginal standing
facility (MSF) remain unutilized. However, in view of the fact that borrowings
from the LAF are persistently above the Reserve Bank's comfort zone, further
OMOs will be conducted as and when seen to be appropriate.
Outlook
Global growth for
2011 and 2012 is now expected to be lower than earlier anticipated. Increased
strains in financial markets on the back of growing concerns over euro area
sovereign debt, limited monetary and fiscal policy maneuverability, high
unemployment rates, weak housing markets and elevated oil prices are all contributory
factors. These factors have also contributed to moderating growth in the EMEs.
As a consequence of all-round
slower growth,
inflation has also started declining, both in advanced countries and EMEs. On
the domestic front, agricultural prospects look promising on the back of
expected record kharif output and satisfactory progress on
rabi sowing. However,
industrial activity is moderating, driven by deceleration in investment, which
is a matter of serious concern. Overall, the growth momentum in the economy is
clearly moderating. Further, considering the global and domestic macroeconomic
situation, the downside risks to the Reserve Bank’s growth projection, as set
out in the SQR, have increased significantly. Between the First Quarter Review
(FQR) and the SQR, while
non-oil commodity
prices had declined significantly, the rupee too had depreciated sharply.
Consequently, the headline inflation projection at 7 per cent for March 2012,
as set out in the FQR, was retained in the SQR. With moderation in food
inflation in November 2011 and expected moderation in aggregate demand and
hence in
non-food manufactured
products inflation, the inflation projection for March 2012 is retained at 7
per cent.
The Reserve Bank will
make a formal numerical assessment of its growth and inflation projections for
2011-12 in the third quarter review of January 2012.
Guidance
While inflation
remains on its projected trajectory, downside risks to growth have clearly
increased. The guidance given in the SQR was that, based on the projected
inflation trajectory, further rate hikes might not be warranted. In view of the
moderating growth momentum and higher downside risks to growth, this guidance
is being reiterated. From this point on, monetary policy actions are likely to
reverse the cycle, responding to the risks to growth.
However, it must be emphasized
that inflation risks remain high and inflation could quickly recur as a result
of both supply and demand forces. Also, the rupee remains under stress. The
timing and magnitude of further actions will depend on a continuing assessment
of how these factors shape up in the months ahead.
BANK
EXAMS GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs
1. Sushil Kumar, the
winner of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', was appointed as the brand ambassador for
which of the following programmes?
1) JNNURM
2) IAY
3) Bharat Nirman
4) MGNREGA
5) None of these
2. Mario Monti became
the new Prime Minister of which of the following countries in November 2011?
(He succeeded Silvio Berlusconi)
1) France
2) Greece
3) Italy
4) Russia
5) Poland
3. Which of the
following statements about the International Children's Film Festival is/are
correct?
1) The 17th
International Children's Film Festival was titled 'The Golden Elephant'.
2) The film festival
was organized by the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI). Nandita Das is
the chairperson of CFSI.
3) In the Indian
competition section, 'Chillar Party' won the Best Feature Film.
4) Alafzar(Meadow),
an Iranian film, was adjudged the Best Feature Film in the Competition
International section.
5) All the above are
correct.
4. Which of the
following countries was suspended from the Arab League in November 2011?
1) Qatar
2) Syria
3) Jordan
4) Libya
5) Saudi Arabia
5. Which is the first
Indian comp-any to be listed in NASDAQ?
1) TCS
2) Reliance
3) Infosys
4) Wipro
5) None of these
6. With which game is
Vijay Hazare Trophy associated?
1) Hockey
2) Football
3) Tennis
4) Table Tennis
5) Cricket
7. Which of the
following countries is not a member of ASEAN?
1) Pakistan
2) Indonesia
3) Singapore
4) Malaysia
5) Thailand
8. Renowned cricket
writer Peter Roebuck committed suicide recently. He was the captain of which of
the following English county teams in the 1980s?
1) Oxford shire
2) Somerset
3) Kent
4) Essex
5) Sussex
9. Which city hosted
the 17th International Children's Film Festival in November 2011?
1) Mumbai
2) Bangalore
3) Hyderabad
4) New Delhi
5) None of these
10. Who was named the
Male World Athlete of the Year for 2011 by athletics' governing body, the
International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF)?
1) Yohan Blake
(Jamaica)
2) Kirani James
(Grenada)
3) Usain Bolt
(Jamaica)
4) LaShawn Merritt (USA)
5) None of these
11. Sally Pearson,
the world 100m hurdles champion, was named the Female World Athlete of the year
for 2011 by the IAAF. To which country does she belong?
1) Australia
2) New Zealand
3) U.K.
4) U.S.A.
5) Denmark
12. Which of the following
awards/ prizes is given for science?
1) Templeton Prize
2) Jnanpith Award
3) Phalke Ratna
4) Shanti Swarup
Bhatnagar Award
5) None of these
13. Who is the author
of the book 'The Exile', which is based on the life of Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja
of Lahore?
1) Chetan Bhagat
2) Navtej Sarna
3) Mulk Raj Anand
4) Khushwant Singh
5) None of these
14. Which of the
following is not a plantation crop?
1) Rubber
2) Arecanut
3) Cocoa
4) Potato
5) Coconut
15. The term Bull's
eye is associated with which of the following sports?
1) Badminton
2) Boxing.
3) Shooting
4) Cricket
5) Hockey
16. Which of the
following is/are considered as allied agricultural activity?
1) Poultry
2) Fisheries
3) Dairy
4) Sheep rearing
5) All the above
17. Which of the
following programmes was launched by the government to develop rural
infrastructure in India?
1) SHGs
2) Bharat Nirman
3) JNNURM
4) IAY
5) None of these
18. Which of the
following is not the name of a foreign bank?
1) BNP Paribas
2) Deutsche Bank
3) Barclays
4) Cathay Pacific
5) RBS
19. Which of the
following schemes has been successful in attracting children to come to school
and get educated?
1) MGNREGA
2) Food for Work
3) Mid Day Meal
4) NRLM
5) None of these
20. Guru Tegh Bahadur
Gold Cup tournament is associated with which of the following sports?
1) Hockey
2) Badminton
3) Cricket
4) Soccer
5) None of these
21. Where is the
National Commo- dity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) located?
1) Hyderabad
2) Mumbai
3) Kolkata
4) Bangalore
5) New Delhi
22. Which former
Chief Election Commissioner is the author of the book 'The Miracle of Democracy:
India's Amazing
Journey'?
1) T.N.Seshan
2) M.S.Gill
3) B.B.Tandon
4) T.S.Krishnamurthy
5) Navin Chawla
23. What is the full
form of 'POS'?
1) Permission of Sale
2) Point of Sale
3) Point of Support
4) Potential of
Service
5) None
24. Which of the
following is not a banking term?
1) Overdraft
2) CBS
3) Equator
4) Account payee
5) SME Finance
25. The Doing
Business Report (DBR) is released every year by which of the following
institutions?
1) IMF
2) World Bank
3) WTO
4) ADB
5) UNCTAD
26. Which of the
following banking terms is used to describe bad loans?
1) CBS
2) NPA
3) RTGS
4) Prime Loans
5) Prime Assets
27. Which country's
currency is called Yen?
1) China
2) North Korea
3) South Korea
4) Japan
5) Thailand
28. Which of the
following approves the draft of the Five Year Plans?
1) Planning
Commission
2) National
Innovation Council
3) National
Development Council
4) Finance Commission
5) None of these
29. Which of the
following is an extra-constitutional and non-statutory body?
1) Election
Commission
2) Finance Commission
3) Planning
Commission
4) Union Public
Service Commission
5) None of these
30. Which of the
following gives Crystal Award?
1) WTO
2) WEF
3) APEC
4) IBRD
5) ADB
31. Which of the
following decides the distribution of tax incomes between the central and state
governments?
1) Law Commission
2) Pay Commission
3) Planning
Commission
4) Finance Commission
5) Administrative
Reforms Commission
32. Who is the author
of the book 'Termites in the Trading System'?
1) Jagdish Bhagwathi
2) Amartya Sen
3) M.S.Swaminathan
4) Paul Krugman
5) None of these
33. Which of the
following is not a football club?
1) Chelsea
2) Arsenal
3) Manchester United
4) Monte Carlo
5) Liverpool
34. Putrajaya is the
administrative capital of which of the following countries?
1) Malaysia
2) Indonesia
3) Sri Lanka
4) Nepal
5) None of these
35. Which of the
following South American countries is a member of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC)?
1) Peru
2) Ecuador
3) Chile
4) Brazil
5) Argentina
ANSWERS:
1) 4 2) 3 3) 5 4) 2
5) 3
6) 5 7) 1 8) 2 9) 3
10) 3
11) 1 12) 4 13) 2 14)
4 15) 3
16) 5 17) 2 18) 4 19)
3 20) 1
21) 2 22) 4 23) 2 24)
3 25) 2
26) 2 27) 4 28) 3 29)
3 30) 2
31) 4 32) 1 33) 4 34)
1 35) 2
Crisis
management group for financial markets on cards
With high volatility
in the equity and currency markets, the Government aims to set up an empowered
‘Crisis Management Group' for the financial markets. This group is likely to
take shape on December 8, when the sub-committee of the Financial Stability and
Development Council (FSDC) will meet. It is proposed to nominate a Deputy
Governor of the Reserve Bank of India as the Chairman, along with senior
officials from market regulator SEBI, insurance regulator IRDA, pension
regulator PFRDA and the Ministry of Finance as members. A senior Government
official familiar with the development says, “The effort is to bring
sufficiently high level of representation, so that prompt decisions could be
taken for effective crisis management.” He said that though every segment of
the financial sector has crisis prevention systems in place, an integrated
system was needed to
avoid sudden shocks
which can quickly spread across market segments and institutions. The genesis
of the crisis may be different from time to time, but the manifestation is
similar. Timely management of the crisis requires early detection of fault lines
based on information on diverse institutions and markets, he added. The
official explained the whole concept with the impact of Euro zone crisis on the
Indian capital and financial systems. The benchmark BSE Sensex is down by over
18 per cent from January. Analysts say it is because foreign institutional
investment in equity markets has turned negative by $187 million (January
3-December 2, 2011).
This and several
other factors have impacted the rupee, which depreciated by over 15 per cent. On
the other hand, a sudden fall in the market price of equity or debt instruments
might trigger redemption pressure on mutual funds.
Liquid
funds
Among mutual funds,
as on October 31, 2011, income funds had the largest share of assets at 45 per
cent, followed by liquid or money market funds with 24 per cent and equity
funds with 23 per cent. Here the most happening segment is liquid fund. As on
September 30, the investor profile of liquid funds was dominated by corporate
with 75 per cent share and banks/financial institutions with 20 per cent. Now,
when corporate, banks or any other financial institutions face liquidity
shortfall, they start withdrawing from liquid funds. At the same time, fresh
investment falls, leading to liquidity pressure on entities like non-banking
financial companies, which receive
investments from
liquid funds.
IBPS
CLERKS EXAM GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER
1. Who among the
following served as the first chairman of the governing body of IBPS?
1) Dr. Manmohan Singh
2) Sir Smith
3) P. C. Mahalanobis
4) Dr. J.C. Chakraborthy
5) Dr. A.K.Qureshi
2. 'Saranda Action
Plan', has been recently launched by Rural Development Ministry. It will be
implemented firstly in Naxalhit Saranda district of which among the following
states?
1) Chhattisgarh
2) Jharkhand
3) Odisha
4) Punjab
5) Haryana
3. How many key
infrastructure sectors are known as Core sector in India Economy used for Index
of Industrial Production (IIP) data?
1) six
2) seven
3) eight
4) ten
5) three
4. The Ennahda Party
has emerged as largest political party in the first elections after the Arab
Spring in which among the following countries?
1) Tunisia
2) Syria
3) Libya
4) Algeria
5) Sudan
5. Indian Ocean Rim
Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) was initiated by which among the
following countries?
1) India
2) Sri Lanka
3) Maldives
4) Mauritius
5) Nepal
6. Nabam Tuki has
been sworn in as Chief Minister of which among the following states recently?
1) Nagaland
2) Mizoram
3) Arunachal Pradesh
4) Meghalaya
5) Sikkim
7. Who among the
following has recently topped the Fortune India's 50 Most Powerful Women in
Business list?
1) Kiran Mazumdar
Shaw
2) Chanda Kochar
3) Ekta Kapoor
4) Shikha Sharma
5) Lalitha Dutta
8. Which among the
following decides the Saving Banks Account Interest Rate in India?
1) Ministry of
Finance
2) Reserve Bank of
India
3) Indian Banks'
Association (IBA)
4) Banks themselves
5) IBPS
9. For which among
the following criminal activities related to Business, tycoon Raj Rajaratnam
was sent to jail recently?
1) Terrorist Funding
2) Insider Trading
3) Tax Evasion
4) Hawala Transaction
5) Smuggling
10. Which of the
following banks recently completed its Platinum Jubilee celebrations?
1) Central Bank of
India
2) Reserve bank of
India
3) Andhra Bank
4) Canara Bank
5) IDBI
11. Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI), which provides AADHAAR is a part of which among the
following?
1) National
Development Council
2) Planning
Commission
3) Ministry of Home
Affairs
4) Ministry of
Planning and Implementation
5) Planning and
Statistics
12. Which among the
following country is the host to 17th South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) summit in November 2011?
1) Bangladesh
2) Maldives
3) Nepal
4) Pakistan
5) India
13. Accounts are
allowed to be operated by cheques in respect of ________
1) Both saving bank
accounts and fixed deposit accounts
2) Both saving bank
accounts and current accounts
3) Both saving bank
accounts and loan accounts
4) Both saving bank
accounts and cash accounts
5) Both saving bank
account and credit accounts
14. Vasanth Sathe ,
who recently died is known for spearheading the move to bring which among the
following to India 1980s?
1) Personal Computers
2) Color TVs
3) Washing Machines
4) Motor Cycles
5) Telecom revolution
15. Recently which of
the following bank celebrated its CENTENARY Anniversary ?
1) Andhra Bank
2) Bank of India
3) Central Bank of
India
4) Vijaya Bank
5) Canara Bank
16. The students of
which among the following institutions have built the 'Jugnu' satellite which
is a remote-sensing satellite that will monitor vegetation and waterbodies?
1) IIT Kanpur
2) IIT Kharagpur
3) SRM University
4) Andhra University
5) Delhi University
17. Who among the
following is the winner of 26th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration?
1) Anil Kakodkar
2) Amjad Ali Khan
3) Mohan Dharia
4) Prof. Jagdish
Bhagwati
5) Prof.Niharika
VidyaSagar
18. On October 25,
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had deregulated the savings bank deposit rates
and asked banks to determine their own. Banks are required to offer a uniform
rate on deposits up to which among the following amounts?
1) Rs. 50,000
2) Rs. 1,00,000
3) Rs. 1,20,000
4) Rs. 1,50,000
5) Rs.2,00,000
19. What is the
requirement of the minimum capital adequacy ratio under the new Basel III guidelines
released in 2010?
1) 9%
2) 9.5%
3) 10%
4) 10.5%
5) 11%
20. Which among the
following states have topped India Human Development Report 2011?
1) Kerala
2) Tamil Nadu
3) Himachal Pradesh
4) Punjab
5) Andhra Pradesh
21. Who among the
following is India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations?
1) Arundhati Ghose
2) Hardeep Singh Puri
3) B N Rau
4) Nirupam Sen
5) Nidhi Razdan
22. P. C. Haldar was
recently making news for being appointed as interlocutor by the Government to
remove bottlenecks on the road to a dialogue in which among the following
issues in India?
1) Gorkhaland Talks
2) Assam Peace Talks
3) Jammu &
Kashmir Problem
4) Naxalite Problem
5) Delhi bomb blasts
23. Before it was
transferred to Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd, the National
Agricultural Insurance Scheme was being implemented by which among the
following companies?
1) General Insurance
Corporation of India
2) Oriental Insurance
Company Ltd.
3) New India
Assurance Company Ltd.
4) National Insurance
Company Ltd
5) Food Corporation
of India
24. As per the latest
data, which among the following is the nearest figure to the average population
of India per bank branch?
1) 8000
2) 13000
3) 18000
4) 21000
5) 25000
25. Who among the
following is the current Chief of National Security Guards?
1) AK Mitra
2) JK Dutt
3) NPS Aulakh
4) Rajan K Medhekar
5) Jagadish Patnaik
26. RBI has decided
to release Rs 5 coin to mark the 1000 years of which of the following temple
recently ?
1) Vaishno Devi
temple
2) Brihadeswara temple
3) Kashi Vishwanath
temple
4) Sabarimala Temple
5) Tirumala Dwaraka
27. Which of the
following approved $ 1 billion loan for the National Ganga River Basin project
recently ?
1) Asian Development
Bank
2) World Bank
3) UNEP
4) IMF
5) None
28. The National
Green tribunal headquartered at Delhi will have benches at all the following
places except ___
1) Bhopal
2) Pune
3) Kolkatta
4) Jaipur
5) Chennai
29. India assumed the
chairmanship of which of the following international organizations in September
2011 ?
1) G24
2) BRICS
3) G20
4) G8
5) IBSA
30. Which of the
following is a private sector bank ?
1) Corporation Bank
2) Indian Bank
3) Karur Vysya Bank
4) Oriental Bank of
Commerce
5) None of the above
31. What is the
minimum time of operation an insurance company is required to complete for
becoming eligible to launch an IPO ( Initial Public Offer )?
1) 2 years
2) 5 years
3) 7 years
4) 8 years
5) 10 years
32. SCORES is a
complaint redressal system launched by ____
1) CCI
2) RBI
3) TRAI
4) SEBI
5) SBI
33. The national
broadband plan is aimed at rolling out broadband infrastructure to every
village with more than____ people ?
1) 2000
2) 3000
3) 1000
4) 200
5) 500
34. Indian mining
companies have bid for stake in Hajigak ore mines in Afghanistan, which of the
following is the mines famous for ?
1) Iron
2) Bauxite
3) copper
4) Coal
5) Cobalt
35. From which of the
following state National Rural Livelihood Mission launched recently?
1) Andhra Pradesh
2) Punjab
3) Haryana
4) Karnataka
5) Rajasthan
36. 'Aichi Targets'
refers to which of the following?
1) Trade
2) Environment
3) S & T
4) Commerce
5) Education
37. Where in India
World Spice Organisation set up recently ?
1) Guntur
2) Bangalore
3) Chennai
4) Kochi
5) Delhi
38. ASHA is a low
priced milk food drink introduced for rural consumers by which of the following
?
1) Nestle
2) Amul
3) Heinz
4) GlaxosmithKline
5) None
39. Which of the
following is the new income tax return form for salaried employees introduced
by Finance Minister Recently ?
1) Suvida
2) Sugam
3) Sahaj
4) Saral
5) Samasya
40. Which Bank has
announced an end to its TEASER home loan scheme recently?
1) SBI
2) Andhra Bank
3) Vijaya Bank
4) ICICI
5) HDFC
41. Kimberley process
certificated are compulsory for trade in which of the following ?
1) Gold
2) Trade
3) Diamonds
4) Nuclear materials
5) Radio active
materials
42. Accredited Social
Health Activists (ASHAs ) in which of the states are known as Mitanins ?
1) Punjab 2) Haryana
3) Chhattisgarh
4) Madhya Pradesh
5) Kerala
43. Which of the
foreign bank has the highest number of employees in India ?
1) HSBC
2) RBS
3) Bank of America
4) UBS
5) Standard Chartered
Bank
44. What is the FDI
limit in the insurance sector in India ?
1) 26 %
2) 25 %
3) 30%
4) 50%
5) 49 %
45. Which of the
following state has recently announced a monthly allowance to unemployed under
graduates recently ?
1) Karnataka
2) Rajasthan
3) Goa
4) Maharashtra
5) Punjab
46. Which of the
following has launched the EVERYWHERE TELLER MACHINE in India ?
1) Andhra Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) Axis Bank
4) RBS
5) SBI
47. French Auction is
a term used in which of the following sectors of financial services ?
1) Capital Markets
2) Banks
3) Insurance
4) NBFC
5) Micro Credit
48. Which state has
the second highest literacy rate as per the provisional figures of the census
2011 ?
1) Gujarat
2) Mizoram
3) Assam
4) Rajasthan
5) Punjab
49. China emerged as
the world's second largest economy in 2010 overtaking which of the following ?
1) France
2) Germany
3) Italy
4) India
5) Japan
50. The new head of
IMF is ?
1) Montek Singh
Ahluwalia
2) Christine Lagarde
3) John Paul
4) Liu Xiabaou
5) Robert Zoellick
ANSWERS:
1)1 2)2 3)3 4)1 5)4
6)3 7)2 8)4 9)2 10)2 11)2 12)2 13)2 14)2 15)3
16)1
17)3 18)2 19)4 20)1
21)2 22)2 23)1 24)2 25)4 26)2 27)2 28)4 29)2
30)4 31)5 32)4
33)5 34)1 35)5 36)2
37)4 38)4 39)3 40)1 41)3 42)3 43)5 44)1 45)3
46)3 47)1 48)2
49)5 50)2
IBPS
CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER
1. Lucas Papadesmos
became the new Prime Minister of which of the following countries in November
2011?
1) Spain
2) Italy
3) Greece
4) Belgium
5) None of these
2. Which Indian city
hosted the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Indian Economic Summit in November
2011?
1) Mumbai
2) New Delhi
3) Chennai
4) Bangalore
5) Hyderabad
3. Moshe Katsav has
been sentenced to seven years in prison on the charges of sexual harassment and
obstruction of justice. He was the 8th President of whi-ch of the following
countries?
1) Iran
2) Israel
3) Syria
4) Sudan
5) Germany
4. Which former
Australian cricketer's autobiography is titled 'Fierce Focus'?
1) Allan Border
2) Shane Warne
3) Steve Waugh
4) Greg Chappell
5) Adam Gilchrist
5. Which of the
following teams lifted the Beighton Cup hockey tournament in November 2011?
1) IOC
2) ONGC
3) Air India
4) Railways
5) None of these
6. Who became the
first batsman in Test cricket history to score four centuries in successful
fourth innings run chases in November
2011?
1) Hashim Amla
2) Graeme Smith
3) Ricky Ponting
4) Rahul Dravid
5) Sachin Tendulkar
7. Who was reelected
as the Presid-ent of Liberia in November 2011?
1) Joseph Boakai
2) Gyude Bryant
3) William Tolbert
4) Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf
5) None of these
8. Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the People's Majlis recently. It is the Parliament
of which of the following
countries?
1) Iraq
2) Maldives
3) Lebanon
4) UAE
5) Saudi Arabia
9. Which country
lifted the inaugural Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament in November 2011?
1) Malaysia
2) Australia
3) India
4) South Korea
5) None of these
10. Which country
test fired Jericho, a ballistic missile, in November 2011?
1) Pakistan
2) Israel
3) Iran
4) Iraq
5) None of these
11. Who is the winner
of the National Premier Women's chess championship that was held in Chennai in
November 2011?
1) Mary Ann Gomes
2) Eesha Karavade
3) Tania Sachdev
4) Nisha Mohota
5) Padmini Rout
12. Who is the first
player to take 500 catches in Test cricket? 1) Rahul Dravid
2) Adam Gilchrist
3) Mark Boucher
4) Kumar Sangakkara
5) None of these
13. Joe Frazier died
of liver cancer. In which of the following sports did he excel?
1) Golf
2) Boxing
3) Squash
4) Snooker
5) Weightlifting
14. Which city hosted
the 23rd annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in
November 2011?
1) Canberra
2) Singapore
3) Seoul
4) Bangkok
5) Honolulu
15. Which of the
following statements about the South Asian Association for Regional
Coope-ration (SAARC) is/are true?
1) SAARC was started
in 1985 with headquarters in Kathmandu.
2) It is dedicated to
economic, technological, social and cultural development emphasizing collective
self reliance.
3) Mohamed Nasheed is
the present chairman of SAARC.
4) The 17th SAARC
Summit was held in Addu city, Maldives in November 2011.
5) All the above are
correct.
16. ONGC Videsh Ltd
(OVL), the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has signed an
agreement to take a 25 per cent stake in Satpayev oil block. In which country
is Satpayev block located?
1) Russia
2) Mongolia
3) Ukraine
4) Kazakhstan
5) Kyrgyzstan
17. Which state
became the first in the country to achieve total financial inclusion in
September 2011? (Each household in the state has at least one bank account)
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Kerala
3) Karnataka
4) Manipur
5) Assam
18. DVC, NHPC, PGCIL
and NTPC are the four public sector undertakings working in which of the
following sectors?
1) Coal
2) Telecom
3) Power
4) Textiles
5) None of these
19. Who is the author
of the book "India and Global Financial Crisis: Managing Money and
Finance"?
1) P. Chidambaram
2) Pranab Mukherjee
3) C.Rangarajan
4) Y.V.Reddy
5) Bimal Jalan
20. What is the full
form of NFSM?
1) National Food
Security Mechanism
2) New Food Security
Mechanism
3) National Food
Security Mission
4) National Farmers
Security Mechanism
5) None of these
21. India is not a
member of which of the following organizations?
1) BRICS
2) IBSA
3) SAARC
4) OPEC
5) The Commonwealth
22. Which of the
following is not a Kharif crop?
1) Rice
2) Wheat
3) Sorghum
4) Bajra
5) Ragi
23. What per cent of
foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed in apiculture (beekeeping) under
controlled conditions?
1) 20%
2) 26%
3) 100%
4) 49%
5) None of these
24. The FDI limit in
FM radio has been increased from the existing 20% to?
1) 26%
2) 51%
3) 49%
4) 100%
5) None of these
25. Which is the
largest producer and the consumer of tea in the world?
1) Brazil
2) India
3) Indonesia
4) Pakistan
5) Vietnam
26. Which state has
the highest number of operational special economic zones in India?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Karnataka
3) Maharashtra
4) Kerala
5) Andhra Pradesh
27. Which of the
following has become the first public sector company to introduce Employee
Stock Option Plan (ESOP) for its employees?
1) NMDC
2) IOC
3) NALCO
4) NTPC
5) ONGC
28. Which of the
following groups can be called financially excluded people?
1) Urban slum
dwellers
2) Marginal farmers
3) Landless laborers
4) Unorganized sector
employees
5) All the above
29. In which year was
the Bank of Calcutta established?
1) 1802
2) 1805
3) 1806
4) 1809
5) 1800
30. Which of the
following stock exchanges was initially known as "The Native Share &
Stock Brokers Association"?
1) Bombay
2) Madras
3) Jaipur
4) Cochin
5) Uttar Pradesh
31. Who among the
following served as the Finance Minister before becoming the President of
India?
1) N.Sanjeeva Reddy
2) Pratibha Patil
3) R.Venkatraman
4) A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
5) S.Radhakrishnan
32. Which bank has
recently launched 'Everywhere Teller Machine' service in Vijayawada, Andhra
Pradesh? (ETM allows debit card holders to withdraw upto Rs.1000 in cash per day
from a Point of Sale terminal at select merchant outlets.)
1) ICICI Bank
2) Axis Bank
3) SBI
4) SBH
5) HDFC Bank
33. The Hindustan
Copper Limited will develop an underground copper-ore mine at Malanjkhand with
an investment of Rs.1,856 crore. In which state is this mine located?
1) Rajasthan
2) Madhya Pradesh
3) Jharkhand
4) Orissa
5) Bihar
34. Alok Prasad is
the Chief Executive Officer of which of the following industry associations?
1) ASSOCHAM
2) FICCI
3) MFIN
4) NASSCOM
5) None of these
35. Who is the
chairman of the Wor-king Group on Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) appointed
by the Reserve Bank of India?
1) Deepak Mohanty
2) Bimal Jalan
3) Usha Thorat
4) R.V.Gupta
5) None of these
ANSWERS:
1. (3) 2. (1) 3. (2)
4. (4) 5. (1) 6. (2) 7. (4) 8. (2) 9. (1) 10. (2)
11. (1) 12. (3) 13.
(2) 14. (5) 15. (5) 16. (4) 17. (2) 18. (3) 19. (4) 20.
(3)
21. (4) 22. (2) 23.
(3) 24. (1) 25. (2) 26. (5) 27. (3) 28. (5) 29. (3) 30.
(1)
31. (3) 32. (2) 33.
(2) 34. (3) 35. (1)
Equip
ATMs to accept cash directly, suggests panel
A year down the line
government-owned bank ATMs in urban as well as rural areas may start accepting
cash (not in an envelope but directly), have solar powered back-up, and 24x7
surveillance. The aforementioned are some of the recommendations of a government-appointed
committee on ATMs headed by Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor, IIT-Madras. These
come at a time when the Government has directed the 21 banks in which it owns
majority stake to go in for joint procurement of ATMs.
Cash
acceptor
Besides dispensing
notes, which are soiled but can be issued, and retracting notes left behind by
customers, the ATMs to be deployed by public sector banks will come equipped
with a cash acceptor. The cash acceptor will accept teller grade currency notes
of denominations ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 1,000. The idea behind incorporating
the cash acceptance feature — intra-bank and inter-bank — in ATMs is to ensure
that customers such as small retailers, traders, and vegetable vendors can
deposit cash after the close of business hours and get immediate credit for the
same in their account. Banks could also add the currency recycle feature so
that the frequency of replenishing the ATMs comes down. Currently, bank ATMs
offer cash deposit facility in an envelope.
However, there is a
delay of a day or two in crediting the depositor's account. This is so because
the envelope has to be deposited at the designated branch, and opened and
counted by bank staff in the presence of two witnesses.
Integrated
Surveillance
To tackle incidents
such as stolen ATM cards being misused, the committee said all ATMs must have
an internal camera. It should store images in a digital format for at least two
months. The integrated ATM surveillance solution must be able to capture and
stamp the transaction information on the images and also allow for monitoring
from a central location. ATMs must be able to handle an average of 300
transactions in urban and semi-urban areas and 200 transactions in rural areas
in a day and must work for at least 16 hours a day using solar power alone.
The committee has emphasized
the importance of solar powered back-up for ATMs due to the frequent power cuts
in rural and semi-urban areas. Further, the ATMs must be able to function without
air-conditioner.
Besides cash
withdrawal and acceptance, ATMs should, among others, enable transactions such
as change in personal identification number (PIN), registration for mobile
banking, mini-statement of last 10 transactions, balance enquiry, request for cheque
books and funds transfer (intra and interbank)
IRDA
launched Two Online Initiatives to Safeguard the Interest of Insurance-seekers
The Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) announced two online initiatives to
safeguard the interest of insurance-seekers. The first of the two online
initiatives is the extensive guidelines pertainining to web aggregators and the
second one relates to the launch of a mobile application to compare unit linked
insurance policies (ULIPS) from various companies and their premium rates.
Guidelines
to web aggregators
Web aggregators are
sites like policybazaar.com, i-save.com, medimanage.com and click2insure.in
that provide information on insurance products from various companies. The
information so collated can help insurance-seekers compare premium rates for
life, health, travel and motor insurance. Most portals just generate leads and
not all offer the option to purchase a product online. However, some do
facilitate an online buying process to the extent
possible, usually by
directing the insurance-seekers to the companies’ website. However, aggregators
often sell visitors’ personal information to several insurers, resulting in
customers being bombarded with sales calls from the companies or their agents.
IRDA therefore directed the aggregators not to pass visitor’s information on to
companies on the site’s home page. To ensure that aggregators do no indulge in
promoting products, the insurance regulator has decreed that they cannot
display ratings, rankings, endorsements or bestsellers of insurance products on
their websites. Similarly, they have been barred from commenting on insurers or
their products.
In addition,
aggregators will from here on be required to highlight links to the product
comparison charts and tables for each category of products covered by them.
Items to be displayed include premiums quoted by each insurer as per age and
other personal details, policy and premium term, sum assured, default
underwriting requirements such as medical examination, diagnostics, etc, and key
features of the product chosen. The diktat also puts the onus of
safeguarding and
securing the entire process on the aggregators.
Launch
of the mobile application
The launch of the
mobile application, is intended to help insurance-seekers compare ULIPs
launched after 1 September 2010. The tool, which works on Android, I Phone,
Nokia and Blackberry platforms, has been termed a mobile application and can be
accessed even via a personal computer. Users can search products for comparison
through three options – By company, Policy type and Keywords. Up to three
products can be selected at a time for comparison, with the criteria listed
being benefits offered, premium-paying term, tenure, charges and so on.
GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE PRACTICE MCQs
1. Namrata Randhawa
Haley (Nik-ki Haley) is the first woman and non-white governor of which of the
following states of the USA?
1) Louisiana
2) South Carolina
3) Texas
4) Alaska
5) California
2. Identify the
mismatched pair
1) January 9 -Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas (NRI Day)
2) January
12-National Youth Day
3) January 15 - Army
Day
4) January 24-
National Girl Child Day
5) January
27-National Voters Day
3. Fathimath Dhiyana
Saeed is the new Secretary General of SAARC. She was the former attorney
general of which of the following countries?
1) Pakistan
2) Afghanistan
3) Maldives
4) Bangladesh
5) India
4. The Permanent
Representative of India to the United Nations is also presently the chairman of
the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. Name him/her?
1) Hardeep Singh Puri
2) Meera Shankar
3) Nirupama Rao
4) Ranjan Mathai
5) None of these
5. Who is the first
sitting head of state ever indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC)
as well as the first to be charged with genocide?
1) Zubair Mohamed
Salih
2) Ali Osman Taha
3) Omar al-Bashir
4) John Garang
5) None of these
6. Who among the
following is the winner of the Phalke Ratna Award for the year 2011?
1) Dev Anand
2) Dharmendra
3) Shammi Kapoor
4) Shashi Kapoor
5) Amitabh Bachchan
7. Which of the
following pairs is not matched correctly? AUTHOR BOOK
1) Tony Blair - A
Journey
2) George Bush -
Decision Points
3) Bill Clinton - My
Life
4) Cherie Blair-
Speaking for Myself
5) Ronald Reagan-
Going Rogue: An American Life
8. Where are the
headquarters of ASEAN located?
1) Jakarta
2) Manila
3) Singapore
4) Bangkok
5) Kuala Lumpur
9. Which of the
following organisations was officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the
Marrakech Agreement?
1) UNO
2) IMF
3) World Bank
4) ADB
5) WTO
10. Which foreign
bank has 4.8% stake in Yes Bank?
1) BNP Paribas
2) Rabobank
3) HSBC
4) RBS
5) Barclays
11. Identify the
mismatched pair COUNTRY PRESIDENT
1) Sri Lanka- Mahinda
Rajapakse
2) Iran -Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad
3) Chile - Sebastian
Pinera
4) Philippines -
Benigno Aquino
5) Zimbabwe- Goodluck
Jonathan
12. Which of the
following statements about the Youth Olympic Games is not true?
1) The Youth Olympic
Games (YOG) are held every four years and these games feature athletes between
the ages of 14 and 18.
2) Johann Rosenzopf
of Austria has developed the idea of the YOG.
3) The first summer
YOG were held in Singapore in 2010.
4) The second summer
YOG will be held in Nanjing, China in 2014.
5) The inaugural
winter YOG will be held in Sochi in 2012.
13. Identify the
mismatched pair ORGANIZATION CHIEF
1) World Bank -Robert
Zoellick
2) IMF -Christine
Lagarde
3) WTO -Pascal Lamy
4) ADB - Haruhiko
Kuroda
5) Amnesty
International-Kamalesh Sharma
14. Which of the
following books is not written by Chetan Bhagat?
1) Five Point Someone
2) One Night @ Call
Center
3) Three Mistakes of
My Life
4) Listening to
Grasshoppers
5) 2 States:The Story
of My Marriage
15. Which of the
following famous personalities is the brand ambassador of Bank of Baroda?
1) Yusuf Pathan
2) Geet Sethi
3) Amitabh Bachchan
4) Irfan Pathan
5) Rahul Dravid
16. Which city will
host the 99th Indian Science Congress in January 2012?
1) Chennai
2) Bhubaneswar
3) New Delhi
4) Hyderabad
5) Kolkata
17. Who among the
following is a Billiards/ Snooker champion?
1) Jyothi Randhawa
2) Jeev Milka Singh
3) Pankaj Advani
4) Arjun Atwal
5) Gaganjeet Bhullar
18. Which of the
following Prizes is given for mathematicians?
1) Templeton Prize
2) Nobel Prize
3) Kalinga Prize
4) Abel Prize
5) Pritzker Prize
19. Which of the
following books is not written by Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize winner from
Turkey?
1) My Name is Red
2) Snow
3) Enigma of Arrival
4) The Museum of
Innocence
5) Istanbul: Memories
and the City
20. Anil Agarwal is
the chief of which of the following companies?
1) Corus
2) Caparo
3) Arcelor Mittal
4) Vedanta Resources
5) Ashok Leyland
21. Which company
manufactures Blackberry smart phones?
1) Nokia
2) Samsung
3) Onida
4) Sony Ericsson
5) Research In Motion
22. The headquarters
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is situated in which of the
following cities?
1) London
2) Washington
3) Brussels
4) Vienna
5) Paris
23. Which of the
following countries will host both the 2014 FIFA world cup football and the
2016 Olympic Games?
1) UK
2) Brazil
3) South Africa
4) USA
5) Qatar
24. Merdeka Cup is
associated with which of the following sports?
1) Cricket
2) Football
3) Hockey
4) Chess
5) Volleyball
25. The recession
occurring two times with a short gap in between is called?
1) Double deflation
2) Double inflation
3) Double Dip
recession
4) Depression
5) None of these
26. Which of the
following terms is not used in Cricket?
1) Ashes
2) Doosra
3) Silly Point
4) Love
5) Long On
27. What is the full
form of SHGs?
1) Self Help Groups
2) Small Help Groups
3) Small Hope Groups
4) Self Hope Groups
5) Selfless Help
Groups
28. In which year
were the SBI Associate Banks nationalized?
1) 1955
2) 1949
3) 1959
4) 1969
5) 1980
29. In which year was
the IDBI established?
1) 1961
2) 1960
3) 1962
4) 1964
5) 1965
30. Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was established in 1990 with the headquarters
in?
1) Lucknow
2) New Delhi
3) Mumbai
4) Nagpur
5) Kolkata
31. In which year did
NHB start its operations?
1) 1985
2) 1988
3) 1987
4) 1990
5) 1992
32. Which city hosted
the 12th Inter-national Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards ceremony in June
2011?
1) Bangkok
2) Macau
3) Colombo
4) Toronto
5) None of these
33. Who was selected
for the prestigious G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research for his
contributions in the area of electronic communications for the year 2011?
1) Mahindra Agrawal
2) Subhasis Chaudhuri
3) Raghavan
Varadarajan
4) Santanu
Bhattacharya
5) None of these
34. The Saraswati
Samman, an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any
Indian language, was instituted in 1991 by the K.K. Birla Foundation. Who was
given this award in April 2011?
1) S.L. Bhyrappa
2) Surjit Paatar
3) Naiyer Masud
4) Jagannath Prasad
Das
5) None of these
35. The Vyas Samman,
instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation, is given to an outstanding literary
work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen during the preceding ten years. Who
was given this award for 2010 for his collection of poems 'Phir Bhi Kuch Rah
Jayega'?
1) Amar Kanth
2) Mannu Bhandari
3) Vishwanath Prasad
Tiwari
4) Kailash Vajpayee
5) None of these
36. In which field is
the Chameli Devi Jain Award given annually?
1) Social Work
2) Journalism
3) Classical Dance
4) Cinema
5) Trade and Industry
37. The K.C Kulish
International Award for Excellence in Print Media 2009 was conferred on the
team of 'The New Crusading Guide' in June 2011. It is a newspaper published in
which of the following countries?
1) South Africa
2) Sudan
3) Zimbabwe
4) Ghana
5) Egypt
Answers
1) 2 2) 5 3) 3 4) 1
5) 3 6) 2
7) 5 8) 1 9) 5 10) 2
11) 5 12) 5
13) 5 14) 4 15) 5 16)
2 17) 3 18) 4
19) 3 20) 4 21) 5 22)
3 23) 2 24) 2
25) 3 26) 4 27) 1 28)
3 29) 4 30) 1
31) 2 32) 4 33) 2 34)
1 35) 3 36) 2
37) 4
Market
Capitalization of all 24 Listed Public Sector Banks
Below
that of 15 Listed Private Banks
The combined market
capitalization of all 24 listed public sector banks, which control 73% of bank deposits,
is currently below that of the 15 listed private banks. On 15 November 2011,
the combined market capitalization of the 24 public sector banks which include
19 nationalized banks, SBI and its three associates and IDBI was Rs 311877
crore. As against this, the market capitalization of 14 private banks was Rs
321613 crore. This is a reversal of the position at the beginning of 2011. As on
1 April 2011, the total mkt-cap of government-owned banks was
Rs 439600 crore much
higher than the Rs 374218 crore for private banks. As on end-June 2011,PSU
banks accounted for 74.6% of bank deposits while private sector banks had only
18%,with the rest of the funds lying with regional rural banks and foreign
banks. In matters of credit, PSU banks account for 74.9% of bank loans in the
country while private
banks have only a 17.6% share. Two bad quarters of 2011-12 for State Bank of
India and reports of loan restructuring and NPA worries in public sector banks
hit valuations hard. HDFC Bank overtook SBI to become the most valuable bank in
the country. Incidentally, SBI the largest lender in the country has contributed
the most to the decline in value of public sector banks. PSU banks can work
around capital constraints in the short-term by consolidation or via a
relaxation in norms that require the government to hold a minimum 51% stake. There
also exists larger social burden on the public sector banks because of which
they have had to restructure large loans. Compared to them the private banks
have been selective in their lending and have had far fewer NPAs.
Corp
Bank scheme for Kerala Govt. employees
Corporation Bank has
announced special benefits for the permanent employees of the State Government.
Mr. A.M.M.G. Nair,
Zonal Manager, Corporation Bank, regional office, Kochi, said Corp Payroll
Account is available for routing the salary of permanent employees through
which they can withdraw 50 per cent of the amount as overdraft from the second
month. Instant ATM-cum-debit card, Internet banking, SMS banking, free
remittance facility,
cheque book, multi-city cheques and passbook are also available. Payment of
tax, insurance payment and NEFT can be done free of charge through Internet and
ATM. There is a concession of 1 per cent on interest rates and 50 per cent of
processing charges on housing loans and 0.25 per cent concession on interest
rates for vehicle loans. Gift cards are also available free of charge.
BANKING
AWARENESS MCQs
1.Which
of the following bodies tightened the norms for foreign exchange risk cover in
India mentioning that only companies with a net worth of Rs 200 crore can use
derivatives to hedge against risk of volatility in currency rates?
a.IMF
b.Reserve
Bank of India
c. SEBI
d.Union
Ministry of Finance
Ans:
b
2. Which
body in India finally provided tax exemption on the 9.5 per cent interest
income on PF deposits for 2010-11?
a.Reserve
Bank of India
b. Income
Tax Department
c.Employees’
Provident Fund Organisation
d.Corporate
Affairs Ministry
Ans:
b
3.(1)
The report on Customer Service in Banks by a committee chaired by M. Damodaran,
former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that was
released on 3 July 2011 recommended an increased deposit insurance cover of
Rs.5 lakh so as to encourage individuals to keep all their deposits in banks.
(2) The panel also
suggested blocking of lost ATM cards through SMS and immediate restoration of
funds in case of non-dispensation of cash at an ATM within 5 working days.
Which of the above is
not true?
a. Only
1
b. Only
2
c. Both
1 & 2
d. None
of the above
Ans:
b
4. The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a bid to tame inflationary pressure hiked the
short-term indicative policy rate (repo rate) by 50 basis points on 26 July
2011. The repo rate currently stands at what percentage?
a. 7%
b. 7.5%
c. 8%
d. 8.5%
Ans:
c
5. Which
bank posted a 99 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 21 crore for the fourth
quarter ended 31 March 2011 against Rs 1867 crore during the corresponding
period in 2010?
a. Indian
Overseas Bank
b. State
Bank of India
c. Bank
of India
d. United
Bank of India
Ans:
b
6. Who
did global payments processing company MasterCard appoint as the General
Manager, South Asia and Country President, India?
a. T.
V. Seshadri
b. Vicky
Bindra
c. Tunde
Lemo
d. Ajay
Banga
Ans:
a
7. Government
of India on 19 July 2011 appointed Usha Ananthasubramanian, former general
manager of Bank of Baroda (BoB) as executive director of which public sector
lender?
a. Central
Bank of India
b. Punjab
National Bank
c. United
Bank of India
d. Gramin
Bank
Ans:
b
8. Name
the public sector lender that selected Metlife as its partner for a proposed
foray into the life insurance segment.
a. Syndicate
Bank
b. Punjab
National Bank
c. Corporation
Bank
d. United
Bank of India
Ans:
b
9. Which
bank signed a memorandum of understanding with Dewan Housing Finance
Corporation (DHFL) under which DHFL will distribute home loans to Yes Bank's
customers?
a. Canara
Bank
b. ABN
Amro bank
c. Yes
Bank
d. HSBC
Ans:
c
10. Which
life insurance company in India launched a new non-linked health insurance
plan, Jeevan Arogya?
a. HDFC
Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd
b. Life
Insurance Corporation of India
c. IDBI
Fortis Life Insurance Company Ltd.
d. SBI
Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Ans:
b
11. Which
of the following public sector banks in November 2011 froze its lending to the
power sector?
a. State
Bank of India
b. Allahabad
Bank
c. Punjab
National Bank
d. United
Bank of India
Ans:
b
12. Which
Indian bank on 10 May 2011 raised benchmark prime lending rate 75 basis points
to 14% following raising of interest rates by RBI by basis points on 3 May
2011?
a. State
Bank of India
b. Union
Bank
c. Punjab
National Bank
d. Bank
of Baroda
Ans:
a
13. The
Reserve Bank of India on 26 April 2011 fined 19 banks, including the country's
top private and foreign banks for violating its guidelines on derivatives.
Which is the only public sector bank on the list of banks to be fined?
a. State
bank of India
b. Punjab
National Bank
c. Bank
of India
d. Indian
Bank
Ans:
a
14. The
Reserve Bank of India on 25 August 2011 released its Annual Report for 2010-11.
Which of the following was not discussed in the Annual Report the Central Board
of the RBI?
a. assessment
of the macroeconomic performance during 2010-11
b. prospects
for 2011-12
c. working
and operations of the Reserve Bank and its financial
accounts
d. role
of regulatory bodies in controlling the financial markets
Ans:
d
15. Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) panel headed by headed by Usha Thorat, Director, Centre for
Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL) on 29 August 2011 came up
with suggestion on non-banking finance company (NBFC). Which of the following related
to this statement is not true?
1. The
panel suggested the central bank to insist on a minimum
asset size of more
than Rs.25 crore for registering any new
non-banking finance
company (NBFC)
2. Transfer
of shareholding, direct or indirect, of 25 per cent and
above, change in
control, merger or acquisition of any registered
NBFC will require
prior approval of the Reserve Bank.
3. Tier-I
capital for capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR)
purposes would be
specified at 12 per cent to be achieved in three
years for all
registered deposit-taking and non-deposit-taking
NBFCs.
4. NBFCs
would be subject to regulations similar to banks while
lending to stock
brokers and merchant banks and similar to stock
brokers, as specified
by the Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI)
a. 1
& 4
b. 2
& 4
c. Only
4
d. Only
1
Ans:
d
16. Which
Indian PSU bank in tune with its plans to expand its retail division in the UK
entered the mortgage market in the country for the first time?
a. Punjab
National Bank
b. Oriental
Bank of Commerce
c. State
bank of India
d. Indian
Overseas Bank
Ans:
c
17. Which
of the following banks set up two loan processing centres for the small and
medium enterprise (SME) segment on a pilot basis in Bangalore & in New
Delhi in September 2011?
a. Corp
Bank
b. United
Bank of India
c. Syndicate
Bank
d. Bank
of Baroda
Ans:
c
18. The
government suspended M Ramadoss for alleged violations in issuing insurance
cover to an airline during his stint as head of another state-run insurer. To
which insurance group did he belong to?
a. New
India Assurance
b. LIC
c. GIC
d. ICICI
Insurance
Ans:
a
19. Which
of the following banks in early May 2011 entered into a tie-up with non-banking
finance companies such as Future Capital, Bajaj Finance, and Reliance Capital
to grow its retail portfolio?
a. Central
Bank of India
b. State
Bank of India
c. Bank
of India
d. HDFC
Bank
Ans:
a
20. Which
are the two Gujarat-based cooperative sector lenders on which Reserve bank of
India imposed a financial penalty of Rs 1 lakh each for violation of various
rules, including anti-money laundering guidelines?
1. Shree
MahalaxmiMercantile Co-operative Bank
2. Rander
People's Co-operative Bank
3. Abad
District Co Op Bank
4. Ahd
Mercantile Co-Op Bank Ltd
a. 1
& 2
b. 2
& 3
c. 1
& 4
d. 3
& 4
Ans:
(a)
IBPS
CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER
1.Which of the
following statements about new RBi policy on bank loans to non-banking finance
companies (NBFCs) is / are correct ?
I) Bank loans to
NBFCs will not come under 'priority sector' lending
II) NBFCs cannot
charge a rate of interest higher than the RBI
prescribed rate in
lending funds borrowed from banks
III) The interest
margin earned by NBFCs in lending funds borrowed
from banks cannot
exceed the ceiling prescribed by the RBI
1) I only
2) I and II only
3) II only
4) I and III only
5) None of these
2.Which of the
following has proposed the setting up of a National Knowledge Functional Hub
(NKFH) to facilitate interaction between the industry and institutions of
higher education to produce better quality manpower recently ?
1) National Knowledge
Commission
2) CII
3) ASSOCHAM
4) FICCI
5) None of these
3.The Reserve bank of
India has increased the amount of money that can be loaded on mobile phones
(mobile - wallet) to ..... from the existing limit of Rs. 5,000 recently
1) Rs. 10,000
2) Rs. 15,000
3) Rs. 25,000
4) Rs. 50,000
5) None of these
4.What are 'structural
adjustment programmes ?
1) Programmes to
increase the spread of financial services in developing countries
2) Programmes to
improve road safety in developing countries
3) Requirements to
qualify for World Bank and IMF loans
4) UN building
regulations for disaster preparedness
5) None of these
5.Nuclear plants in
India have an 'Exclusion Zone' of .... surrounding the power station, in which
no habitation is permitted.
1) 1.6 km
2) 4.2 km
3) 8.4 km
4) 11.6 km
5) None of these
6.Improving
regulation of which of the following was the subject of the Finance Ministry
appointed KP Krishnan Committee ?
1) Microfinance
institutions
2) Mutual funds
3) General insurance
companies
4) Credit rating
agencies
5) None of these
7. 'Asha' is a low -
priced milk food drink introduced for rural consumers by which of the following
?
1) Nestle
2) Cadbury
3) Heinz
4) GlaxoSmithKline
5) None of these
8.ONGC Videsh Ltd
(OVL) signed an agreeemtn to acquire 25% stake in the Satpayev oil block in
Central Asia recentlyh. Which of the following statements is / are correct ?
I) Satpayev s in Turkmenistan
II) Satpayev is in
Black Sea
III) Satpayev is
believed to hold 1.75 billion barrels of oil reserves
1) I only
2) I and II only
3) II only
4) III only
5) None of these
9.Which of the
following is the new income tax return form for salaried employees introduced
by the Finance Ministry recently ?
1) Suvidha
2) Sugam
3) Sahaj
4) Saral
5) None of these
10.The Commerce
Ministry has launched 'Buyer's Credit under the National Export Insurance
Account (NEIA)' to :
1) Facilitate foreign
direct investment in India
2) Facilitate project
exports of Indian companies
3) Facilitate
acquisitions by Indian companies overseas
4) Facilitate
employment of Indian professionals abroad
5) None of these
11.Which of the
following banks has launched 'Tiny Cards' with biometric identification to
expand the coverage of banking services in rural parts of the country ?
1) ICICI Bank
2) NABARD
3) State Bank of
India
4) Bank of India
5) None of these
12.Which of the
following statements about IRDA guidelines for distance marketing of products
issued recently is / are correct ?
I) Telemarketing of
all Unit - Linked Insurance Products (ULIPs) has
been disallowed
II) Only
telemarketers trained by institutes accredited by IRDA can
be employed
III) All
telemarketing calls will have to be recorded
1) I only
2) I and II only
3) I and III only
4) II and III only
5) None of these
13.The Bureau of
Energy Efficiency labelling is compulsory for all of the following except :
1) Laptops
2) Frost-free
refrigerators
3) Tubular
fluorescent lamps
4) Ceiling fans
5) None of these
14.What is the
investment limit in plant and machinery for classification under Small Scale
Industries ?
1) Rs. 10 lakh
2) Rs. 50 lakh
3) Rs. 1 crore
4) Rs. 10 crore
5) None of these
15.The government has
recently decided to allow FIIs investment in infrastructure bonds upto .....
annually.
1) $5 billion
2) $ 10 billion
3) $ 15 billion
4) $ 25 billion
5) None of these
16.The term ASBA
(Applications Supported by Blocked Amount) is used in which of the following
financial services ?
1) General Insurance
2) Capital markets
3) Life Insuracne
4) Micro finance
5) None of these
17.The Government has
decided to notify a provision exempting people of salary income up to ..... a
year from filing returns
1) Rs. 2 lakh
2) Rs. 2.5 lakh
3) Rs. 4 lakh
4) Rs. 5 lakh
5) None of these
18.Which of the
following is the largest mutual fund in India with assets under management
(AUM) exceeding Rs. 100,000 crore on March 31, 2011 ?
1) UTI MF
2) HDFC MF
3) Reliance MF
4) birla Sun Life
5) None of these
19.Which of the
following identifies and funds social welfare projects under its India
Development Marketplace initiative ?
1) IMF
2) USAID
3) Intel
4) World Bank
5) None of these
20.Which of the
following has been set up by the government to fund energy saving technologies
recently ?
1) National Renewable
Energy Fund
2) National Green
Energy Fund
3) National Carbon
Reduction Fund
4) National Clean
Energy Fund
5) None of these
21.Which of the
following is the new income tax return form for small businessmen and
self-employed professionals introduced by the Finance Ministry recently ?
1) Suvidha
2) Sugam
3) Sahaj
4) Saral
5) None of these
22.A Committee was
constituted to review the functioning fo the Central Economic Intelligence
Bureau (CEIB) recently. What is the objective of CEIB ?
1) TO gie suggestions
for promoting financial inclusion
2) TO compile data
for calculating GDP growth and per capita income
3) To gather data on
tax evasion and other financial crimes
4) To assist the RBI
in formulating monetary policy
5) None of these
23.Mission Document
of the National Water Mission (NWM) was approved byt he Union Cabinet recently.
Which of the following statements is / are correct ?
I) NWM is one of the
constituents of the National Action Plan for Climate Change
II) Improving share
of hydroelectricity in country's total energy production is one of the
objective of NWM
III) NWM will
adjudicate in water sharing disputes involving inter-state rivers
1) I only
2) I and II only
3) I and II only
4) II and III only
5) None of these
24.Which country's
'Zero Kero' LPG programme is being considered for use in India to encourage
customers to switch from kerosene to LPG recently ?
1) Thailand
2) Sri Lanka
3) Malaysia
4) Indonesia
5) None of these
25.Which of the following
was launched by Union Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports in association with
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) at Imphal, Manipur recently?
1) Sports
Employability SKill Project
2) Youth Skill
Development Project
3) Youth
Employability Skill Project
4) Tribal
Employability Skill Project
5) None of these
26. Government has
decided to introduce biometric ...... to weed out duplicate and fake ones
recently
1) Debit cards
2) Passports
3) Driving licenses
4) PAN cards
5) None of these
27.Which country is
the single largest source for foreign direct investment to India, accounting
for 40 percent of FDI flows in the last ten years, according to the Reserve
bank of India ?
1) USA
2) UK
3) Singapore
4) Mauritius
5) None of these
28.The government
plans to set up a Green National Accounting (GNA) system to evaluate impact of
economic growth on environment. Who has been selected as the Chairperson of the
expert group on GNA ?
1) Parthasarathi
Shome
2) Madhav Gadgil
3) Partha Dasgupta
4) B. Ulhas Karanth
5) None of these
29.Global Assessment
Report (GAR) of which of the following has complimented the Government of India
for its National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) recently ?
1) European Union
2) ILO
3) IMF
4) UN
5) None of these
30. The regulations
pertaining to mergers and amalgamations (M & A) were issued by the
Competition Commission of India (CCI) on May 12, 2011. Which of the following
statements is / are correct ?
I) Overseas
acquisitions of Indina companies with no impact on the domestic market will not
come under the ambit of CCI
II) M & A deals
that were initiated before June 1, 2011 will not come under the ambit of CCI
III) Scrutiny of all
M & A deals will be completed by the CCI within 180 calendar days
1) I only
2) I and II only
3) II and III only
4) I, II and III
5) None of these
31.Which of then
following statements about foreign investment in Limited Liability Partnership
(LLP) companies is / are correct ?
I) FDI will be
allowed in LLPs in sectors like mining, power, roads and highways,
manufacturing activities, drugs and pharmaceuticals
II) FDI will not be
allowed in LLPs engaged in agricultural and plantation activities, print media
or real estate business
III) LLPs have been
allowed to access external commercial borrowings
1) I only
2) I and II only
3) II and III only
4) III and I only
5) None of these
32.Which is the first
state to introduce e-payment system for commercial tax payers recently ?
1) Maharashtra
2) Uttarakhand
3) Karnataka
4) Madhya Pradesh
5) None of these
33.Which of the
following is not among the industries / sectors given priority in natural gas
supply in the country ?
1) Fertiliser
2) LPG
3) Steel
4) Power
5) None of these
34.Where was the
World Spice Organisation (WSO) set up recently?
1) Kannur
2) Kochi
3) Kollam
4) Kottayam
5) None of these
35.Which of the
following submitted a report titled 'Social Protection for a Changing India' -
a comprehensive review of anti-poverty schemes such as PDS, MGNREGS, RSBY and
IAY recently ?
1) World Economic
Forum
2) CMIE
3) World Bank
4) IMF
5) None of these
36.Which of the
following not one of the objectives of setting up the Warehousing Development
and Regulatory Authority ?
1) To improve farm
sector yiled
2) To enable farmers
to avail of loans against foodgrains stored
3) To reduce
post-harvest losses in foodgrain storage
4) To prevent
post-harvest distress sales by farmers
5) None of these
37.The government
approved the revival of Scooters India Limited (SIL) through induction of a
joint venture partner recently. SIL sells scooters under which trademark ?
1) Mayur
2) Bharat
3) Vijay
4) Vikram
5) None of these
38.The Petroleum
Conservation and Research Association (PCRA) has unveiled plans to set up
India's first Carbon Credit Aggregation Centre (CCA) in which state ?
1) Himachal Pradesh
2) Uttarakhand
3) Rajasthan
4) Chhattisgarh
5) None of these
39.Which sectors were
added to the list of six 'core sector infrastructure industries' recently?
I) Water supply
II) Natural gas
III) Fertilisers
1) I only
2) I and II only
3) II only
4) III and II only
5) None of these
40.Bina Refinery is a
joint venture of Bharat Petroleum and ........ Oil Company to set up a 6 MMTPA
grass root refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh.
1) Shell
2) Qatar
3) Emirates
4) Oman
5) None of these
41.A high level
committee of Bankers submitted its report on Rural Housing recently. Which of
the following statements regarding its recommendations for Below the Poverty
Line (BPL) Households is /
are correct ?
I) Allocation of
grants for construction of rural housing units for BPL Households should be
increased to Rs. 75,000 per dwelling unit
II) Repayment period
should be reduced to ten years
III) BPL households
should be provided a loand of Rs. 50,000 at 4% rate of interest
1) II only
2) I and II only
3) II only
4) III and I only
5) None of these
42.'Aichi Targets'
refers to which of the following?
1) Trade
2) Education
3) Nuclear safety
4) Environment
5) None of these
43.Scheduled
commercial banks do not require permission from the Reserve bank of India for
opening new branches in towns with population less than .........
1) 49,999
2) 99,999
3) 2,49,999
4) 4,99,999
5) None of these
44.The National Rural
Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) was launched recently. Which of the following
statements is / are correct ?
I) NRLM seeks to
bring the rural poor under the Self Help Group (SHG) network
II) Services of
Business Correspondents (BCs) will be utilized to spread the concept of NRLM
III) NLRM will
facilitate access of bank credit to those covered under the Mission
1) I only
2) I and II only
3) II and III only
4) I and III only
5) None of these
45.A committee headed
by RBI deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath has recommended a 'holding company'
structure for both banking and nonbanking financial groups recently. Which of
the following statements is / are correct ?
I) Both the holding
company as well as the subsidiaries can be listed on stock exchange
II) The subsidiaries
will own equity stake in the holding company
1) II only
2) I and II only
3) I only
4) All of these
5) None of these
46.Which Indian
corporate group has decided to enter the financial services business in a tie
up with D.E. Shaw of the US ?
1) AV Birla Group
2) Wipro Ltd
3) Mahindra &
Mahindra
4) RIL
5) None of these
47.The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) recently relaxed the eligibility norms for using credit default
swaps (CDS) on corporate bonds. What are CDS ?
1) A form of loan
that can be taken by pledging shares of a company
2) A form of credit
rating that compares companies on their cash flow
3) A form of
insurance that protects the lender in case of loand default
4) A form of loan
that can be converted into equity
5) None of these
48.Which of the
following statements is /are correct about Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) ?
1) They are issued by
Indian companies to raise funds from overseas stock markets
2) They are issued by
foreign companies to raise funds from Indian stock markets
3) They are
denominated in foreign currency
4) None of the above
5) None of these
49.Which is the first
state in the country to sign an agreement with the World Bank for securing
carbon credits for its 'Clean Development Mechanism' (CDM) recently ?
1) Sikkim
2) Uttarakhand
3) Jammu Kashmir
4) Himachal Pradesh
5) None of these
50. From which state
was the National Rural Livelihood Mission launched recently ?
1) Kerala
2) Maharashtra
3) Haryana
4) Rajasthan
5) None of these
ANSWERS:
1) 1 2) 4 3) 4 4) 3
5) 1 6) 4 7) 4 8) 4 9) 3 10)
2
11) 3 12) 4 13) 1 14)
3 15) 4 16) 2 17) 4 18) 3 19)
4 20) 4
21) 2 22) 3 23) 1 24)
4 25) 3 26) 4 27) 4 28) 3 29)
4 30) 4
31) 2 32) 3 33) 3 34)
2 35) 3 36) 1 37) 4 38) 3 39) 4
40) 4
41) 2 42) 4 43) 1 44)
4 45) 2 46) 4 47) 3 48) 2 49)4 50) 4
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