General Awareness PYQs

The correct answer is Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

Key Points

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on October 2, 2022, approved the merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd with Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd. and Bangla Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, both part of the Sony Group Corp.
• 53% of the merged entity would be owned by Sony India shareholders and the rest by Zee’s holders.
• The merged entity will remain a publicly listed entity in India with Goenka as MD & CEO, while NP Singh, MD & CEO of SPN, is likely to be on the board of the company.
• The combined entity will own 75 TV channels, 2 video streaming services (ZEE5 and Sony LIV), two film studios (Zee Studios and Sony Pictures Films India), and a digital content studio (Studio NXT), making it the largest entertainment network in India, bigger than Star & Disney India.
• The merger will also have over Rs 13,600 crore in revenues and an employee count of over 4,000.
• On October 28^th, Sony and Zee media groups voluntarily agreed to sell their three Hindi Channels- Big Magic, Zee Action, and Zee Classic to address possible anti-competition concerns arising from the merger deal.

Additional Information Competition Commission of India 

The correct answer is B only.

Key Points

• Social Stock Exchange SSE is a novel concept in India and such a course is meant to serve the private and non-profit sectors by channeling greater capital to them.
• The idea of SSE was first floated by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech for the financial year 2019-20.
• The Listed NPO will have to submit a statement of the utilization of funds to SSE, as mandated under Sebi's rules within 45 days from the end of the quarter.
• Sebi has asked social enterprises raising funds using SSE to disclose the Annual Impact Report (AIR) within 90 days from the end of the financial year, capturing the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the social impact generated by the entity and where applicable, the impact that is generated by the project or solution for which funds have been raised on SSE.
• In addition, NPOs need to make disclosure of financial statements for the last three financial years, details of past social impact and risks that they see to its work, and how it proposes to mitigate these.
• The social enterprises will have to engage in a social activity out of 16 broad activities listed by the regulator.
• ​The eligible activities include eradicating hunger, poverty, malnutrition, and inequality; promoting healthcare, supporting education, employability, and livelihoods; gender equality empowerment of women and LGBTQIA+ communities; and supporting incubators of social enterprise.

The correct answer is 2030.

Key Points

• Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the National Logistics Policy in New Delhi on 17^th September. India had taken yet another important step towards becoming a developed nation with the National Logistics Policy.
• The policy aspires to reduce the cost of logistics in India to be comparable to global benchmarks by 2030, endeavor to be among the top 25 countries by 2030 in the Logistics Performance Index ranking, and create a data-driven decision support mechanism for an efficient logistics ecosystem.
• The implementation of the National Logistics Policy would bring down logistics costs, give a boost to international trade, help in making India ‘atmanirbhar’ or self-reliant, usher in prosperity in the nation, and present new opportunities to our startups.
• The policy would be highly beneficial to the farmers of the country, helping them to take their produce to the markets at a faster pace and reduce wastage and delay.  This would bring down prices in the economy - said Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry.
• The Policy will be implemented through a Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan (CLAP).

The interventions proposed under the CLAP are divided into eight key action areas:(i) Integrated Digital Logistics Systems (ii) Standardization of physical assets and benchmarking service quality standards (iii) Logistics Human Resources Development and Capacity Building (iv) State Engagement (v) EXIM (Export-Import) Logistics (vi) Service Improvement framework (vii) Sectoral Plan for Efficient Logistics (viii) Facilitation of Development of Logistics Parks.

The correct answer is Rs. 5 lakh.

Key Points

• Commercial paper, also called CP, is a short-term debt instrument issued by companies to raise funds generally for a time period of up to one year.

• They can be issued in denominations of Rs 5 lakh or multiples thereof.

• It is an unsecured money market instrument issued in the form of a promissory note and was introduced in India for the first time in 1990.

• Companies that enjoy high ratings from rating agencies often use CPs to diversify their sources of short-term borrowings. This gives investors an additional instrument.

• CPs have a minimum maturity of seven days and a maximum of up to one year from the date of issue.

• Since such instruments are not backed by collateral, only firms with high ratings from a recognized credit rating agency can sell such commercial papers at a reasonable price.

• CPs are usually sold at a discount to their face value, and carry higher interest rates than bonds.

The correct answer is Mustard.

Key Points

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) which functions under the Union Environment Ministry, yet again cleared the proposal for the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard.
• Though the GEAC had cleared the proposal in 2017, the Ministry vetoed it and suggested that the GEAC hold more studies on the GM crop.
• A GEAC meeting held on October 18 allowed the environmental release of two varieties of genetically engineered mustard so that it can be used for developing new parental lines and hybrids under the supervision of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR).
• The approval is for a limited period of four years and is renewable for two years at a time based on the compliance report.
• Commercial use of DMH-11 will be subject to the Seed Act and related rules and regulations.

Additional Information Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) functions in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• As per Rules, 1989, it is responsible for the appraisal of activities involving large-scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
• The committee is also responsible for the appraisal of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.

The correct answer is 10 sectors.

Key Points

Union Budget 2022-2023:

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in 14 sectors for achieving the vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat has received an excellent response, with the potential to create 60 lakh new jobs, and an additional production of  Rs. 30 lakh crore during next 5 years.
• The PLI Scheme for electronics manufacturing, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 11 November 2020, has introduced the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in 10 key sectors.
• In Union Budget 2022-23 Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) sectors have increased to 14 sectors.
• The objective is to make domestic manufacturing globally competitive and to create global Champions in manufacturing.

Important Points

• In the Union Budget 2021-22, presented on 1^st February 2021, the Union Finance Minister announced an outlay of INR 1.97 Lakh Crores for the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes for 13 key sectors.
• This means that **minimum production in India as a result of PLI Schemes is expected to be over US$ 500 billion in 5 years.**$

The correct answer is 'a, b, and c

Key Points

• As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), growth in Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) deposits moderated to 10 percent year-on-year in March 2022, compared to an increase of 11.9 percent a year ago.
• During 2021-2022, current, savings and term deposits rose by 10.9 percent, 13.3 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively.
• However, the data showed that consistent with the monetary and liquidity conditions, interest rates on term deposits moderated further during fiscal 2021-22.
• The share of term deposits bearing over 6 percent interest rate came down to 14.4 percent in March 2022 (31 percent a year ago; 78.7 percent two years ago).
• The share of Current Account and Savings Account (CASA) deposits in total deposits has been increasing over the years and stood at 44.8 percent in March 2022 as compared with 41.7 percent three years ago.
• Large size deposits (i.e., Rs 1 crore and above) nearly accounted for 40 per cent share in total term deposits.
• According to the data, seven states -- Maharashtra, National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Gujarat -- together accounted for 63.3 percent of bank deposits in fiscal 2021-22.

The correct answer is Bimal Julka.

Key Points

• Bimal Julka succeeded Sudhir Bhargava as Chief Information Commissioner in March 2020.
• He was selected by the high-powered selection committee headed by Narendra Modi.

In News

• Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha has been recently appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). (as of JUly 2022)
• The post of CIC was held by Bimal Julka, Prior to the appointment of Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha.

Additional Information

• The first Chief Information Commissioner of India was Wajahat Habibullah.
• The first woman Chief Information Commissioner was Deepak Sandhu.
• The Chief Information Commissioner and an information commissioner holds office for three years or until they attain the age of 65 years.
• They are not eligible for re-appointment.
• The Central Information Commission has been constituted with effect from 12-10-2005 under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
• The jurisdiction of the Commission extends over all Central Public Authorities.

The correct answer is Punjab & Sind Bank.

Key Points

• Punjab & Sind Bank has entered into an agreement to buy a 2 percent stake in asset reconstruction company NARCL for Rs 55 crore.
• The equity investment would be done in tranches, with the first investment of Rs 28.18 crore expected to be completed by March 31, 2022.
• The financial investment is being done to ensure prompt resolution, including recovery of NPA (non-performing assets) accounts.

Additional Information

• Punjab & Sind Bank is an Indian nationalised bank.
• It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India with its head office located in New Delhi.
• Punjab & Sind Bank​:
• ​Headquarters: New Delhi, India
• Founder: Vir Singh
• Founded: 24 June 1908

The correct answer is 'a and c'.

Key Points

• The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, tabled the Union Budget 2022–23.
• India’s economic growth estimated at 9.2% to be the highest among all large economies. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• 60 lakh new jobs to be created under the productivity linked incentive scheme in 14 sectors.
• 1400 crore outlay for implementation of the Ken – Betwa link project. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• Udyam, e-shram, NCS and ASEEM portals to be interlinked. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• **Finance Minister of India **Smt Nirmala Sitharaman. Budget is presented  every year on the very first day of February.

The correct answer is Central, Currency.

Key Points

• Digital rupee (e₹), also known as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), is a digital form of currency notes issued by the central bank, Reserve Bank of India.
• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier announced that the RBI will launch a CBDC in 2022-23, which is the first official statement from the Union government on the much-anticipated digital currency's launch.
• CBDC:
• Central bank digital currencies are digital tokens, similar to cryptocurrency, issued by a central bank.
• They are pegged to the value of that country’s fiat currency.
• Many countries are developing CBDCs, and some have even implemented them.
• Because so many countries are researching ways to transition to digital currencies, it’s important to understand what they are and what they mean for society.

The correct answer is 'Skyroot Aerospace'.

Key Points 

• Indian rocket startup Skyroot Aerospace has raised $51 million in a funding round led by Singapore sovereign investor GIC.
• The startup plans to use it to begin commercial satellite launches by the middle of next year.
• The funding follows the Indian government's push to get the country's private sector to complement its state-run space programme known for its affordable launches and missions.
• Skyroot is making India's first privately developed space launch vehicles - built with an all-carbon fibre structure that can launch up to 800 kg (1,760 pounds) of payloads to low-Earth orbit.
• It already has an agreement with the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for sharing facilities and expertise.
• The company aims to have its first commercial launch in mid-2023.
• GIC's India managing director, Mayank Rawat, will join Skyroot's board after the funding.
• In the past few years, however, more than a dozen Indian firms developing satellites, rockets and related support systems have come up.

Additional Information 

• Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited is an Indian private aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch service provider headquartered in Hyderabad.
• The company was founded by former engineers and scientists from ISRO in 2018.
• It aims to develop and launch its own series of small lift launch vehicles especially crafted for the small satellite market$.

The correct answer is **'**Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry'.

Key Points

• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) are jointly organising FIBAC – our annual banking conference on 2^nd and 3^rd November at Hotel Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai.
• The proposed theme for FIBAC 2022 is 'Helping India step change its growth: How tech enabled banking can contribute to realization of $5tn economy goal’.
• The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is the Knowledge Partner for the conference.
• This annual flagship conference has become the marquee event in the calendar of members of entire banking and financial sector fraternity in the country and even draws participation from different parts of the world.
• Over the years, the conference has truly positioned itself as one of its kind in terms of knowledge dissemination and relationship building. This conference of industry stalwarts and global thought leaders will highlight some of the key emerging issues related to the banking industry.
• Key success strategies will be discussed and a roadmap for the future of the Indian banking industry will be laid out.

Additional Information

• While adressing FIBAC 2022, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the e-rupee launch is a landmark moment in the history of currency in the country as it will transform the way business is done and transactions are conducted.
• Mr. Das said that the RBI wants to solve all aspects of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) before launch.
• He added that the central bank hopes to launch digitized Kisan Credit Card loans in a full-fledged manner by the calendar year 2023$.

The correct answer is PM Narendra Modi.

Key Points

• PM Modi on 19^th Oct 2022 launched the ‘Mission Schools of Excellence’ project in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The Mission has been conceived with a total outlay of Rs10,000 Crores & it is partially funded by the World Bank.
• It will help strengthen the education infrastructure in Gujarat by setting up new & smart classrooms, computer labs and overall upgradation of the infrastructure of schools.

Additional Information

• Gujarat is a state along the western coast of India.
• Its coastline of about 1,600 km is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula.
• Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area and the ninth-most populous state.
• Gujarat:
• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• Chief Minister: Bhupendrabhai Patel
• Population: 6.27 crores (2013)

The correct answer is SVC.

Key Points

• SVC Co-operative Bank Ltd and Small Industries Development Bank in India (SIDBI) have partnered for the first time to empower MSMEs.
• As per the agreement, SIDBI will extend refinance facility to SVC Bank to facilitate an improved flow of credit to MSMEs.
• The agreement was signed by Ashish Singhal, MD, SVC Bank and Sanjeev Gupta, GM, SIDBI in Mumbai on July 28 2022.
• This is the first such agreement executed with a UCB. SIDBI will sign more such Agreements with other UCBs and RRBs across various states.

Additional Information

• SIDBI is the Principal Financial Institution for Promotion, Financing and Development of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector as well as for coordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities.
• It has recently decided to extend refinance assistance to eligible scheduled Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
• SIDBI Headquarters- Lucknow

CMD- Sivasubramanian Ramann

The correct answer is ‘$3.3 billion’

Key Points

• India will issue at least 240 billion rupees ($3.3 billion) in sovereign green bonds as the country marks a shift towards a low-carbon economy.
• The debut sale will take place in the first half of the fiscal year that starts on April 1, and a decision to sell more green debt will depend on the response to the initial issuance.
• The South Asian country’s maiden foray into the green bond space comes as it plans to fund renewable energy projects that will help meet its goal of net-zero emissions by 2070.
• The government is expecting lower yields on green bonds, as otherwise, it sees little purpose in issuing them.
• The yield on the 10-year sovereign bond closed at 6.85% on March 14, 2022.
• The planned issuance comes amid a global boom in sustainable investments.
• India is the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and plans to more than quadruple its renewable power generation capacity by 2030.
• Indian renewable energy companies raised debt worth 17.6 billion rupees in February, the most in nearly a year.

• The Reserve Bank of India allowed large modern currency chests to increase the service charges on cash deposited by non-chest bank branches from the existing rate of ₹5 per packet of 100 pieces to a higher rate subject to a maximum of ₹8 per packet.
• For this, only a currency chest (CC) that fulfils the minimum standards will be eligible to be classified as a large modern CC.

The correct answer is ‘IndusInd Bank’

Key Points

• IndusInd Bank has been awarded the global 'Celent Model Bank' award for building a best-in-class Enterprise Payments Hub (EPH).
• It has won the award in the 'Payments System Transformation' category.
• The award acknowledges the Bank's outstanding journey in creating a cloud-based central payments hub that is capable of seamlessly processing high transaction loads originating across all forms of payment instructions, and across all originating client touchpoints.
• The 'Celent Model Bank' is awarded for best practices of technology usage in different areas that are critical to success in banking.
• It is the main award that a financial institution can receive from Celent – a leading research and advisory firm focused on technology for financial institutions, globally.
• With this, IndusInd Bank has joined ranks with a few other banks globally, who have been conferred with this award.

Additional Information 

• Under the Enterprise Payments Hub (EPH) initiative, IndusInd Bank has successfully designed a solution that will cut down on transaction costs, minimize system outages, and improve operation as well as customer experience, across all transaction points.
• It is developed on a micro services stack with each payment having its pod-based architecture. This allows payments to auto-scale independently depending on the transaction peak.
• It also features capabilities like warehousing of transactions including replay, centralised limit management and reconciliation controls.

The correct answer is Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).

Key Points

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 24 June 2022 imposed a monetary penalty of ₹57.50 lakh on Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) for non-compliance with certain directions.
• The penalty was related to the directions issued by RBI on Frauds – Classification and Reporting by commercial banks and select financial institutions.

Additional Information

• RBI on May 27, 2022, imposed a penalty of Rs 45 lakh on Japan-based MUFG Bank for non-compliance with the directions on 'time-bound implementation and strengthening of SWIFT-related operational controls'.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved HSBC’s acquisition of L&T Investment Management Ltd., the investment manager for L&T Mutual Fund.
• The $425 million deal involves HSBC buying the entity from its parent L&T Finance Holdings Ltd. (LTFH).
• The acquisition is being executed through HSBC Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd.
• RBI 25^th Governor: Shaktikanta Das
• RBI Headquarters: Mumbai
• RBI Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata$.

The correct answer is The Laxmi Co-operative Bank Ltd.

Key Points

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 22 Sept 2022 cancelled the licence of The Laxmi Co-operative Bank Ltd in Maharashtra citing inadequate capital & earning prospects.
• After this, depositors will be entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount up to a monetary ceiling of Rs 5 lakh.
• On 10 Aug 2022, RBI had also cancelled the licence of Pune-based Rupee Co-operative Bank Ltd.

Additional Information

• RBI released the 'Quarterly Statistics on Deposits and Credit of SCBs for June 2022'.
• RBI imposed certain restrictions on Kerala-based Thodupuzha Urban Co-operative Bank for a period of six months due to its deteriorating financial condition.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved HSBC’s acquisition of L&T Investment Management Ltd., the investment manager for L&T Mutual Fund.
• The $425 million deal involves HSBC buying the entity from its parent L&T Finance Holdings Ltd. (LTFH).
• RBI:
• RBI 25^th Governor: Shaktikanta Das
• RBI Headquarters: Mumbai
• RBI Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata$