General Awareness PYQs

The correct answer is November.

• The Union Cabinet has approved the allocation of additional foodgrain under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (Phase IV) – for another period of 5 months i.e. July to November 2021.
• 5 kg per person per month will be given free of cost to a maximum of 81.35 crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• As the Government of India is bearing the entire expenditure towards this Scheme without any contribution by States/UTs, an additional expenditure of about Rs.3,234.85 crore would be required to be met towards transportation and handling and FPS dealers' margins etc. by the Government of India.

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key Points

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today released the Annual Report of the “Ombudsman Schemes of the Reserve Bank for the year 2019-20”.
• The Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS) was first notified by the Reserve Bank in 1995 under Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• It is administered by the Reserve Bank through 22 Offices of Banking Ombudsman (OBOs) covering all states and union territories.
• The Annual Report covers the activities under the
• Banking Ombudsman Scheme (BOS)
• Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (OSNBFC)
• Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions (OSDT)

Some of the important point under this are

• The Banking Ombudsmen received major complaints regarding ATM & Debit Cards, Mobile & Electronic Banking.
• NBFC’s Ombudsman received most complaints about non-observance of regulatory guidelines, lack of transparency in contract/ loan agreement, and levy of charges without notice.
• Digital Transactions Ombudsmen received most complaints about fund transfer. RBI has taken various measures for creating awareness among various stakeholders to minimise the grievances.
• As announced in the Monetary Policy Statement, the three Ombudsman Schemes are being merged and integrated into a single scheme which will be rolled out starting from June 2021.

Important Points

• There was an increase of 64.97 percent in the receipt of complaints under the three Ombudsman Schemes, from 2,00,362 complaints in 2018-19 to 3,30,543 complaints in 2019-20. Of these, 86.19 percent were received electronically i.e. through the CMS online portal and email.
• The disposal rate of more than 92 percent was achieved.
• 72.27 percent of the maintainable complaints were resolved through mediation and conciliation.

Option 2 is correct:

• RBI may soon decide to sync its accounting year with government's fiscal year.
• As of now, the RBI’s accounting year runs from July to June while the government follows the April-March fiscal year.
• The Bimal Jalan panel set up to review the economic capital framework of the central bank had recommended both accounting years should be in sync beginning 2020-21.
• The RBI has followed a July-June financial year since 1940 when it moved away from a January-December year.
• RBI will start following April-March financial year after a nine-month year ending March 31, 2021.
• RBI Founded on 1 April 1935, in Kolkata.
• RBI 25^th Governor- Shaktikant Das
• Headquarters- Mumbai
• Current Chief Economic Advisor is Krishnamurthy V Subramanian.

The correct answer is 49.

• India’s tally of 49 designated wetlands spread over 10,936 sq km in 18 states and two Union Territories is the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia.
• Of the 49 sites, 10 are in UP, 6 in Punjab, 4 each in Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, 3 each in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, 2 each in Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Ladakh, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

In News

• As of July 2022:
• Five new wetlands of International importance have been designated in India.
• With this, the total number of Ramsar sites in the country has increased from 49 to 54 Ramsar sites.
• Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav said, “Delighted to inform that 5 more Indian wetlands have got Ramsar recognition as wetlands of international importance.”
• The five newly designated wetlands are:
• Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
• Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest, Tamil Nadu
• Pichavaram Mangrove, Tamil Nadu
• Pala wetland, Mizoram
• Sakhya Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.
• India now has 75 Ramsar sites after the addition of 11 new sites in August 2022.

Additional Information

About Ramsar Convention:

• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
• It came into force for India on February 1, 1982.
• Those wetlands which are of international importance are declared as Ramsar sites.

• The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced collateral-free loans worth ₹3 lakh crore for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
• MSME units with ₹100 crore turnover or with an outstanding loan of ₹25 crore will stand to benefit.
• Tenor of these loans will be four years, valid upto 31 October, 2020.
• Collateral free loan to be provided to SMEs with 12 month moratorium.
• The government will provide 100% credit guarantee cover to banks and NBFCs on principal and interest.
• The move is expected to benefit 45 lakh MSME units.
• FM also announced a ₹50,000 cr equity infusion through MSME Fund of Funds, which will provide support to the growth of potential MSMEs.
• Definition of MSMEs has been revised, investment limit to be revised upwards, additional criteria of turnover also being introduced.

Existing and Revised Definition of MSMEs

The correct answer is Rs. 17.

• The RBI has allowed an increase in the interchange fee structure for ATM transactions after almost 9 years.
• It has hiked the interchange fee per transaction from Rs 15 to Rs. 17 for financial transactions and from Rs. 5 to Rs 6 for non-financial transactions in all centres, effective August 1, 2021.
• Currently, the card-issuing bank pays an interchange fee of Rs. 15 for each cash transaction.

The correct answer is Bhuvan.

Key Points

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and MapmyIndia have launched an indigenous geospatial portal Bhuvan.

Additional Information

• Geospatial Portal Bhuvan
• It will be used to find and access geographic information and associated geographic services via the Internet.
• MapmyIndia’s database will be connected with ISRO’s high-end satellite catalog and earth observation data (gathered from satellites)
• The portal will show true maps i.e. the maps as per the information available from the Government of India.
• It will help protect privacy as they are indigenous apps and not foreign-built.
• The maps will be ad-free, unlike others.
• MapmyIndia
• It is an Indian tech company that builds digital map data, telematics services, Global Information System, and Artificial Intelligence services.
• It was founded in 1992 by Rakesh and Rashmi Verma
• Headquarters- New Delhi
• MD and Chairman- Rakesh Verma
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 
• It is the premier space agency of the government of India.
• Its vision is to harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.
• The space research activities were initiated in India under Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of the Indian space program, during the 1960s.
• Chairman- K. Shivan
• Headquarters- Bengaluru

The correct answer is 3 only.

Key Points

• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
• Ministry/Department:  Ministry of Finance
• Provides: Life Insurance
• Eligibility: Available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 and having a bank account. Hence, Statement 1 is incorrect.
• People who join the scheme before completing 50 years can, however, continue to have the risk of life cover up to the age of 55 years subject to payment of premium.
• Premium:  Rs. 330 per annum.  It will be auto-debited in one installment. Hence, Statement 2 is incorrect.
• Payment Mode: The payment of premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscriber's account.
• Risk Coverage: Rs. 2 Lakh in case of death for any reason.
• Terms of Risk Coverage: A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a long-term option of continuing, in which case his account will be auto-debited every year by the bank.
• The scheme will be offered by Life Insurance Corporation and all other life insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose.

The correct answer is New Delhi.

Key Points

• The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) established in memory of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964.
• It is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture.
• It is located in the majestic Teen Murti House, the official residence of the first Prime Minister of India.
• It has four major constituents, namely, a Memorial Museum, a library on modern India, a Centre for Contemporary Studies, and the Nehru Planetarium.
• The current Director of NMML is Shri Raghvendra Singh.

Additional Information

• Important Libraries
• Kolkata - The National Library of India, established in 1836 and is the largest library in India.
• Prayagraj - Allahabad Public Library.
• Mumbai - Asiatic Library, David Sassoon Library, British Council Library etc.

The correct answer is 2 i.e. Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna.

Explanation:

• Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India the launched Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in June 2011. The scheme is a restructured version of Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY).
• The objective of the scheme is to create efficient and effective institutional platforms for the rural poor population. Also, to enable them to increase household income by various means like sustainable livelihood enhancements and also improve their access to financial services.
• The target of the scheme is to cover 7 Crore rural poor households, across 600 districts, 6000 blocks, 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats in a period of 8-10 years.

The correct answer is 500 crore rupees.

• On 18^th August 2020, the Reserve Bank of India has unveiled the framework for setting up of pan-India Umbrella Entity for Retail Payments.
• As per the framework, the companies with a net worth of over 500 crore rupees will be eligible to set up an umbrella entity.
• These entities will be permitted to set up, manage, and operate new payment systems in the retail space comprising ATMs, White Label PoS, Aadhaar-based payments, and remittance services.
• It will manage clearing and settlement systems for participating banks and non-banks, and also monitor developments in the retail payment system and related issues, both in India and abroad.
• The entity will reduce the monopoly of NPCI.

Eligibility, terms, and other requirements for setting up the entity:

• The company must have a minimum paid-up capital of ₹500 crores and strive for interoperability with NPCI systems.
• Applicants must also have at least three years of experience in the payments ecosystem.
• The entity formed shall be a company incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 2013, and maybe a ‘for-profit’ or a Section 8 Company.
• No single promoter or promoter group should have more than 40% investment in the capital of this entity.
• Initially, the promoter should have a minimum of Rs 50 crore at the time of submitting the application.
• The promoter/promoter group shareholding may be diluted to a minimum of 25% after 5 years of commencement of business of the umbrella entity, and a minimum net worth of Rs 300 crore be maintained at all times.

About NPCI:

• NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) was incorporated as a not-for-profit company under the provisions of the Companies Act to provide infrastructure to the entire banking system in India.
• The 10 core promoter banks are SBI, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank, and HSBC.
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 2008

The correct answer is 5 lakhs.

Key Points

• Public sector banks (PSBs) will provide unsecured personal loans to individuals from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5 lakhs for salaried, non-salaried, and pensioners for meeting their expenses of Covid treatment.
• The PSBs will be providing this loan under Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS).
• The decision was jointly announced by the State Bank of India and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA).

• Bharatmala Pariyojana is a new umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through effective interventions like development of Economic Corridors, Inter Corridors and Feeder Routes, National Corridor Efficiency Improvement, Border and International connectivity roads, Coastal and Port connectivity roads and Green-field expressways.
• The announcement of the mammoth scheme was done by Shri Nitin Gadkari, in the presence of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The implementation of a pan-nation scheme to improve the road network was the idea of the PM. All key aspects of the scheme will be managed by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry of the country.
• Highlights of Bharatmala Pariyojana
• Improvement in efficiency of existing corridors through development of Multimodal Logistics Parks and elimination of choke point
• Enhance focus on improving connectivity in North East and leveraging synergies with Inland Waterways
• Emphasis on use of technology & scientific planning for Project Preparation and Asset Monitoring
• Delegation of powers to expedite project delivery - Phase I to complete by 2022
• Improving connectivity in the North East

The correct answer is option 2.

• They are as follow:

1. Au Small Finance Bank Ltd.
2. Capital Small Finance Bank Ltd
3. Fincare Small Finance Bank Ltd.
4. Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd
5. ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd.
6. Suryoday Small Finance Bank Ltd.
7. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd.
8. Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Ltd.
9. North East Small finance Bank Ltd
10. Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd
11. Shivalik Small Finance Bank Ltd
12. Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd

Additional Information

• The objectives of setting up of small finance banks will be to further financial inclusion by (a) provision of savings vehicles, and (ii) supply of credit to small business units; small and marginal farmers; micro and small industries; and other unorganised sector entities, through high technology-low cost operations.
• The small finance bank shall be registered as a public limited company under the Companies Act, 2013.
• It will be licensed under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
• Resident individuals/professionals with 10 years of experience in banking and finance; and companies and societies owned and controlled by residents will be eligible to set up small finance banks.
• The minimum paid-up equity capital for small finance banks shall be Rs. 300 crore.
• The promoter's minimum initial contribution to the paid-up equity capital of such small finance bank shall at least be 40 per cent and gradually brought down to 26 per cent within 12 years from the date of commencement of business of the bank.
• The foreign shareholding in the small finance bank would be as per the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for private sector banks as amended from time to time.
• As per the current FDI policy, the aggregate foreign investment in a private sector bank from all sources will be allowed upto a maximum of 74 per cent of the paid-up capital of the bank

The correct answer is Narendra Modi.

Key Points

• PM Narendra Modi will launch Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U) and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 on 1^st October 2021 in New Delhi.

Important Points

• SBM-U 2.0 envisions to make all cities ‘garbage free’ and ensure grey and black water management in all cities.
• The Mission will focus on source segregation of solid waste, utilizing the principles of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), scientific processing of all types of municipal solid waste and remediation of legacy dumpsites for effective solid waste management.
• The outlay of SBM-U 2.0 is around ₹1.41 lakh crore.
• AMRUT 2.0 aims to provide 100% coverage of water supply to all households in around 4,700 urban local bodies.
• AMRUT 2.0 will adopt the principles of circular economy and promote conservation and rejuvenation of surface and groundwater bodies.
• ‘Pey Jal Survekshan’ will be conducted to promote progressive competition among cities.
• The outlay of AMRUT 2.0 is around ₹2.87 lakh crore.

The correct answer is National Payments Corporation of India.

• In News:
• ​Taking the first step towards having a digital currency in the country, PM Modi will launch an electronic voucher-based digital payment system “e-RUPI”.
• The platform, which has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Health Authority, will be a person-specific and purpose-specific payments system

Key Points

• e-RUPI:
• e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless digital payments medium, which will be delivered to mobile phones of beneficiaries in form of an SMS string or a QR code.
• This will essentially be like a prepaid gift voucher that will be redeemable at specific accepting centres without any credit or debit card, a mobile app or internet banking.
• e-RUPI will connect the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface.
• significance of e-RUPI
• The government is already working on developing a central bank digital currency and the launch of e-RUPI could potentially highlight the gaps in digital payments infrastructure that will be necessary for the success of the future digital currency.
• In effect, e-RUPI is still backed by the existing Indian rupee as the underlying asset and the specificity of its purpose makes it different to a virtual currency and puts it closer to a voucher-based payment system.
• Also, the ubiquitousness of e-RUPI in the future will depend on the end-use cases.
• On the other hand, central bank digital currency or CBDC — digital currencies issued by a central bank that generally take on a digital form of the nation’s existing fiat currency

The correct answer is Children under 6 years of age.

Key Points

Integrated Child Development Services

• ICDS is a government programme in India which provides food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up, and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
• The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.
• The tenth five-year plan also linked ICDS to Anganwadi centers established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers.
• In addition to fighting malnutrition and ill health, the programme is also intended to combat gender inequality by providing girls the same resources as boys.
• During the 2018–19 fiscal year, the Indian central government allocated ₹16,335 crores to the programme.
• For nutritional purposes, ICDS provides 500 kilocalories(with 12–15 grams of protein) every day to every child from 6 months to 6 years of age.
• For adolescent girls in the age group of 10 to 19, 6 kilograms of food grain is given every month.
• The cost of ICDS programme averages Rs. 700-1500 per child a year

The correct answer is Whatsapp.

Key Points

• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and WhatsApp have announced an alliance to launch the Digital Skill Champions Program.
• It aims to train India's youth on digital skills, to make them ready for employment.
• Through this program, school and university students would be coached to imbibe digital and online skills.
• The course is based on a module format of imparting knowledge about important aspects of the online ecosystem, equipping students with technology-based learning on campuses.
• It will be implemented across tier 3 and 4 towns and cities throughout the country.
• The partnership identifies two broad areas of collaboration - WhatsApp Digital Skills Academy and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) and
• WhatsApp Business App Training sessions.
• Young adults from tier 3 and 4 cities will be trained on critical aspects of digital safety and online privacy.
• The initiative will kick off with a pilot across 50 campuses in five states, namely Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
• The program will be imparted through WhatsApp's project implementation partner- InfiSpark.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Bangladesh.

Key Points

• The New Development Bank (NDB) established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries in 2015 has approved Bangladesh as its new member.
• The NDB Board of Governors initiated the negotiation to expand its membership in 2020.
• It has now approved the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and Bangladesh as its first new member countries.

Important Points

• Since the beginning of its operations, NDB has approved about 80 projects totaling a portfolio of USD 30 billion.
• Projects in areas such as transport, water and sanitation, clean energy, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure and urban development are within the scope of the Bank.

Additional Information

• ​BRICS is an acronym for the powerful grouping of the world’s leading emerging market economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
• The BRICS mechanism aims to promote peace, security, development, and cooperation.
• It also aims at contributing significantly to the development of humanity and establishing a more equitable and fair world.
• Bangladesh: 
• Capital - Dhaka.
• Currency - Bangladeshi Taka.

The correct answer is Lebanon.

Key Points

• A new government has been announced in Lebanon.
• Najib Mikati - Lebanon's richest man - has become the Prime Minister, a position he has held twice before.
• Lebanon had been without a proper functioning government since then-Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned days after a massive blast on 4^th of August 2021 destroyed Beirut port and the surrounding area.

Additional Information

• Lebanon: 
• Capital - Beirut.
• Currency - Lebanese pound.