Banking Awareness PYQs

The correct answer is Victoria.

Key Points

• The Australian state of Victoria will host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
• The 2026 Games will be held in four regional hubs in the towns of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland.
• The state has confirmed 16 sports for the Games so far, including aquatics, cycling, and Twenty20 cricket.
• The 2022 Commonwealth Games are due to be held in Birmingham, England, from July 28 to August 8, 2022.

Important Points

• It will be the sixth time that Australia has staged the Commonwealth Games and the second time in Victoria after Melbourne hosted the 2006 event.
• The opening ceremony will be held at Australia's largest sports stadium, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which can hold more than 100,000 spectators.
• The Games, held every four years, attract more than 4,000 athletes from the 54 nations of the Commonwealth, almost all of whom are former territories of the British Empire.

The correct answer is 8.39.

Key Points

• Dropping below the double-digit mark for the first time since March 2021, Wholesale Price-based Inflation (WPI) for October eased to 8.39% in October from 10.70% in September 2022.
• The vegetable prices segment eased to 17.61% in the reported period against 39.66% in September.
• The fuel and power segment eased to 23.17% in October from 32.61% in the preceding month.

Important Points

• WPI inflation stood at 19 month low level amid ease in the food articles segment which slipped to 8.33 per cent in October.
• The manufactured products segment also eased to 4.42 per cent in October from 6.34 per cent a month ago.
• The prices of cereals spiked to 12.03 per cent in October from 11.91 per cent in September.
• During the same period, paddy rose to 6.63 per cent from 5.79 per cent and that of wheat rose to 16.25 per cent from 16.09 per cent.
• Eggs, meat & fish rose to 3.97 per cent from 3.63 per cent a month ago.

The correct answer is Canara Bank.

• Canara Bank will be the lead sponsor of National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) or a bad bank with a 12 percent stake in the entity.
• A bad bank refers to a financial institution that takes over the bad assets of lenders and undertakes resolution.
• The bank has sought approval from the Reserve Bank of India for participating in NARCL as a sponsor contributing a 12 percent stake.

The correct answer is SIDBI.

Key Points

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has collaborated with TP Renewable Microgrid (TPRMG), a subsidiary of Tata Power, to launch 1,000 green energy enterprises across the country.
• The initiative is aimed at promoting sustainable entrepreneurship models and empowering rural entrepreneurs.
• The ‘Sustainable is Attainable’ program of Tata Power and the ‘Empowering MSMEs’ campaign of SIDBI are the driving forces behind this partnership.

Additional Information

• The entrepreneurs shortlisted under the initiative will have to complete a capacity-building activity organized by TPRMG to receive an impetus called Go REsponsive, ENterprise incentive (GREENi) from SIDBI.
• The latter will also assist rural entrepreneurs in credit linkages to facilitate loans and financing to set up or expand their businesses through its PRAYAAS scheme or partner institutions.
• TPRMG will be responsible to shortlist entrepreneurs both from their existing Microgrid network and from new areas to provide them with affordable green energy solutions and technical knowledge.
• This innovative program intends to develop skills to enable low-carbon futures for rural entrepreneurs and economies and to assist in the Ease of Doing Business in rural parts of the country.
• CEO and MD, Tata Power: Praveer Sinha.
• CMD, SIDBI: Sivasubramanian Ramann.

The correct answer is Indore.

Key Points 

Swachh Survekshan, 2022:

• Swachh Survekshan has been conducted since 2016 and is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey.
• It has been instrumental in fostering a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens and towards creating cleaner cities.
• It is conducted under the ambit of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).

Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022:

• More than 1 lakh Population: Indore, the city of lakes and palaces, walked away with the Cleanest City title, while Surat was adjudged the second cleanest city, for the second time in a row, Navi Mumbai bagged the third spot.
• Less than 1 lakh Population: Panchgani and Karad from Maharashtra bagged the first and third positions respectively, while Patan from Chhattisgarh bagged the second position.
• Best Ganga Town: Haridwar in Uttarakhand received the award for the best Ganga town in more than one lakh population cities.
• Fast Mover City Award: Shivamogga in Karnataka.
• The title of 5-star Garbage Free city was conferred to
• Surat,
• Bhopal,
• Mysuru,
• Vishakhapatnam,
• Navi Mumbai and
• Tirupati.

The correct answer is ‘Gujarat’

Key Points

• The department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) has published the ranking of states and Union territories in providing strong ecosystem for startups.
• The states' startup ranking 2021 was released by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
• Gujarat, Meghalaya, and Karnataka have emerged as the best performer states in developing a startup ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs.
• Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana were categorized as top performers.
• A total of 24 states and 7 Union territories (UTs) participated in the exercise.
• The states and Union territories (UTs) were ranked under five categories -- best performers, top performers, leaders, aspiring leaders, and emerging startup ecosystems.
• The rankings are based on the initiatives taken to develop the startup ecosystem for promoting budding entrepreneurs.

The correct answer is BSNL.

Key Points

• The Indian government has given Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a state-run telco, a sovereign guarantee of Rs 19,000 crore.
• Through this, BSNL would be able to restructure its debt along with that of MTNL's (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) debt. According to an ET Telecom report, BSNL and MTNL have a combined debt of Rs 60,000 crore.
• Over Rs 33,000 crore debt is in the books of BSNL, and the remaining is of MTNL.
• The report mentions that a similar amount will be offered to BSNL again in the next financial year.

The correct answer is Shura Kitata.

• Shura Kitata (Ethiopian) defeated World record holder Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) & won London Marathon, 2020.
• In women's, Brigid Kosgei (Kenya) defended her title.

Important Points

• London Marathon:
• It was the 40^th edition of the London Marathon.
• Distance to be covered: 26.2 miles.
• It is an annual marathon event held in London.
• It was founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981.
• Race Formats:
• 10km (6.21 miles).
• Half Marathon: 21.1km (13.1 miles).
• Marathon: 42.2km (26.2 miles).
• Ultra-Marathon:  > 42.2km.
• The Biggest 5 marathon races in the world: Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York City.
• Eluid Kipchoge: 
• In 2016, he became the fastest ever runner at the London Marathon.
• He made a record to complete the course in a track in 2:03:05 hrs time.
• He holds the world record for the event of 2:01:39 hrs time which he ran in Berlin in 2018.
• Marathon entered the Olympics in 1896.
• The marathon was instituted in commemoration of the Greek soldier Pheidippides.
• He was a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, who reported the victory.

Additional Information

• Shura Kitata (Ethiopian):
• He won the race in a time of 2:05:41.
• He won a silver medal in both New York & London marathon in 2018.
• Vincent Kipchumba (Kenya):
• He won:
• Adana Half Marathon (2019).
• Vienna City Marathon (2019).
• Amsterdam Marathon (2019).
• Runner up in London Marathon (2020) in 2:05:42.

The correct answer is Skimming.

Key Points

• Skimming is a type of fraud where a small electronic device is used to steal debit/credit card information during an authorised banking transaction.
• Skimming is an illegal practice used by identity thieves to capture credit card information from a cardholder surreptitiously.
• Fraudsters often use a device called a skimmer that can be installed at gas pumps or ATM machines to collect card data.
• Some machines act like point-of-sale technology. An acquired card is swiped, and a touchpad allows the user to enter a security code.
• Card users are warned to keep their cards in their sight at all times and to cover the pin pad when inputting security codes at ATMs.

Additional Information

• Phishing is a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information or data, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details.
• When the user is tricked into downloading a Trojan horse or other malware onto his mobile through SMS is called Smishing.
• Voice phishing or vishing is the criminal practice of using social engineering over the telephone system to gain access to private personal and financial information from the public for the purpose of financial reward.

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key Points

• The Union government appointed Ratan Tata, former Supreme Court judge K.T. Thomas, and former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Kariya Munda as trustees of the PM CARES Fund.

PM-CARES Fund

• The government has set up the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) to deal with any kind of emergency or distress situation like posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The Fund is a public charitable trust with the Prime Minister as its Chairman. Other Members include Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• The Fund enables micro-donations as a result of which a large number of people will be able to contribute with the smallest of denominations. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• It will strengthen disaster management capacities and encourage research on protecting citizens.
• Contribution to PM - CARES Fund Qualifies as CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Expenditure. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals or organisations and does not get any budgetary support.
• Donations to PM CARES Fund would qualify for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• PM CARES Fund has also got exemption under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and a separate account for receiving foreign donations has been opened.
• This is consistent with respect to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
• PMNRF has also received foreign contributions as a public trust since 2011.

Concept:

Football:

• Football or soccer is a team sport that is played between two teams of 11 players.
• The players typically kick the ball around a rectangular surface known as a pitch using their feet.

Explanation:

Indian Super League:

• The Hero Indian Super League is the official name of the Indian Super League, which is a professional men's association football league in India.
• On October 21, 2013, the competition was established with the goal of developing football in India and broadening its appeal there.
• With eight teams, the competition got underway in October 2014.
• There are 11 clubs in the league, and each season typically lasts from November to March.

Thus, in October 2014 the Indian Super League begin.

Additional Information

IPL:

• A men's T20 franchise cricket league in India is called the Indian Premier League.
• Ten teams representing seven Indian cities and three Indian states compete in it every year.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India established the league in 2007.

The correct answer is the Stock Exchange Banks.

• Scheduled banks are those which are included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• The banks in India include:
• Central Bank i.e. RBI
• Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs)
• SBI and its assosciates.
• Nationalized Banks.
• Scheduled Private Sector Banks
• Scheduled Small Finance Banks
• Scheduled Payments Banks
• Scheduled Regional Rural Banks
• Scheduled Foreign Banks in India
• Scheduled Co-operative Banks
• Scheduled State Co-operative Banks
• Scheduled Urban Co-operative Banks
• There is no bank like Stock Exchange Banks.
• Stock Exchange is a place where shares or securities of publicly listed companies are traded.
• India has 2 stock exchanges namely, the Bombay Stock Exchange (oldest in Asia) and National Stock Exchange.
• They are managed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
• SEBI was established in April 1992 to regulate the stock market.
• Madhabi Puri Buch is the current chairman of SEBI.(March 2022)

• CRA is an organisation that defines the creditworthiness of an individual, organisation or countries and these are regulated by SEBI(Securities and Exchange Board of India). Different credit rating agencie use different methods to evaluate the credit score with the highest score as AAA and lowest as C/D.
• Standard and Poors, Fitch and Moody's are the big three credit rating agencies.
• SIDBI(Small industrial Development Bank of India)-It is a developmental bank focusing on the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) segment.
• SIDBI HQ- Lucknow
• SIDBI Chairman-  Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann

The correct answer is 1, 2, and 4 only.

In News

• India’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $532.66 billion in the week through September 30, their lowest level since July 2020, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) weekly statistical supplement showed.
• The country’s reserves declined for the ninth consecutive week. They were $537.52 billion at the end of the previous week ended September 23.

Key PointsForeign Exchange Reserves

• The Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is a forex reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement the official reserves of its member countries.
• The SDR is not a currency.
• It is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members.
• As such, SDRs can provide a country with liquidity.
• India's Foreign Exchange Reserves comprise Foreign Currency Assets, Gold, SDR's and Reserve tranche position with International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Foreign currency assets include investments in US Treasury bonds, Bonds/Treasury Bills of other selected Governments, deposits with foreign central banks, foreign commercial banks etc.
• A reserve tranche is a part of the country’s forex reserve.
• A reserve tranche is a portion of the required quota of currency each member country must provide to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that can be utilized for its own purposes—without a service fee or economic reform conditions.
• NRI Deposits are not components of Forex Reserve.
• NRI Deposit accounts are maintained in Indian rupees (INR).
• This means that when you deposit the money in the NRE Account, the foreign currency is converted to Indian rupees at the prevailing foreign exchange rates. Hence, option 1 is correct.

The correct answer is Rajasthan.

Key Points

• Kumbhalgarh also known as the Great Wall of India is a Mewar fortress on the westerly range of Aravalli Hills, just about 48 km from Rajsamand city in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan.
• It is a World Heritage Site (Declared by UNESCO in 2013) and included in Hill Forts of Rajasthan.
• It was built during the 15^th century by Rana Kumbha.
• The chief architect who built this fort was Mandan, who documented his style of work in his text, Rajvallabh.
• The fort is among the largest fort complexes in the world.

 Rana Kumbha

• Kumbhakarna Singh popularly known as Maharana Kumbha was the Maharana of the Mewar kingdom in India.
• He belonged to the Sisodia clan of Rajputs.
• Rana Kumbha is known for his illustrious military career against various sultanates and patronization of art and music and architecture.

As of October 2022, there are a total of 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Rajasthan.

Additional Information 

• As of 2022, there are 40 World Heritage Sites located in India.
• Out of these**, 32 are cultural, 7 are natural,** and one the Khangchendzonga National Park is of mixed type.
• India has the sixth-largest number of sites in the world.

Madhya Pradesh

• Three sites in Madhya Pradesh have been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO:
• The Khajuraho Group of Monuments (1986)
• Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989)
• The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003)
• The city of Gwalior and Orchha(2020) ( Not included as world heritage sites, pilot cities for the Historic Urban Landscape program and survey )

Gujrat

• UNESCO World Heritage Sites in GUJARAT
• Rani ki Vav (2014)
• Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (2004)
• Old Ahmedabad (2017)
• Dholavira (updated in 2022).

Himachal Pradesh

• UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Himachal Pradesh
• The thousand-year-old Buddhist monastery of Tabo in Spiti with its fine wall paintings and stucco statues has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
• The village of Pragpur with its age-old and well-preserved architecture and cobbled streets has been declared a 'Heritage village'.

The correct answer is Falguni Nayar.

Key Points

• The list of Hurun Richest Self-Made Women In The World 2022 released by the Hurun Research Institute.
• According to the list, there are 124 Self-Made Women Billionaires in World and China contributes to two-thirds of the world’s self-made women billionaires with 78 followed by the United States with 25 and the United Kingdom with 5.
• Falguni Nayar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nykaa, is ranked 10^th with a wealth of USD 7.6 billion. She is the only Indian among the top 10.
• Radha Vembu, co-founder & product manager of Zoho is the second-richest self-made woman billionaire in India with US$ 3.9 bn & ranked 25^th in the global list. Radha Vembu is top in India, and second across the world, in the list of Biggest Risers.

Additional Information

• Hurun Report is a leading research group established in London in 1998.
• It has presence in India, China, France, the UK, the USA, Australia, Japan, Canada and Luxembourg.
• Hurun Report is the largest compiler of the rich list globally.$

The correct answer is All of the above

• RBI analyses the performance of any bank on the basis of its profitability, asset quality, and capital.
• Asset quality is the potential credit risk associated with the loan and investment.
• If the loan given by a bank is paid on time then the asset quality is in good condition.
• A non-performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.
• Banks are required to classify NPAs further into Substandard, Doubtful, and Loss assets:
• Substandard assets*:* Assets which has remained NPA for a period less than or equal to 12 months.
• Doubtful assets*:* An asset would be classified as doubtful if it has remained in the substandard category for a period of 12 months.
• Loss assets*:* As per RBI, “Loss asset is considered uncollectible and of such little value that its continuance as a bankable asset is not warranted, although there may be some salvage or recovery value.”

The correct answer is ₹2,00,000.

Key Points

• Rs. 2,00,000 is the minimum amount that can be remitted through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS).
• The acronym "RTGS" stands for Real-Time Gross Settlement, which can be described as a mechanism where fund transfers are settled continuously and in real-time, individually on a transaction basis (without netting).
• "Real-Time" means the delivery of instructions at the time of receipt; "Gross Settlement" means the settlement of instructions for the transfer of funds happens separately.
• The RTGS system is intended specifically for large-value transactions.

The correct answer is 2, 3, and 4

Key Points

• All Scheduled Commercial Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), and Payment Banks are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.

Additional Information

• A Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit business but does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods (other than securities) or providing any services and sale/purchase/construction of the immovable property
• The demarcation of the regulatory structure for NBFCs in the different layers shall be based on certain fundamental triggers such as Comprehensive Risk Perception, Size of Operations, and Activities of NBFCs. All existing types of NBFCs will be defined in terms of following layers:

Base Layer

• Non-deposit-taking NBFCs below the asset size of ₹1000 crore
• NBFCs undertaking the following activities will always remain in the Base Layer of the Regulatory Structure:
• NBFC-Peer to Peer Lending Platform (NBFC-P2P)
• NBFC-Account Aggregator (NBFC-AA)
• Non-Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC)
• NBFCs that are not availing public funds and do not have any customer interface.

Middle Layer

• All deposit-taking NBFCs (NBFC-Ds), irrespective of the asset sizeNon-deposit taking NBFCs with asset size of ₹1000 crore and above.

The correct answer is e-FAST.

Key Points

• NITI Aayog, in collaboration with World Resources Institute (WRI), India, launched the country’s first national electric freight platform – e-FAST India (Electric Freight Accelerator for Sustainable Transport – India).
• Supported by the World Economic Forum, CALSTART, and RMI India, the platform brings different stakeholders together, from across the freight ecosystem.
• It will help strengthen partnerships and identify and support innovative freight solutions.

Additional Information

• The platform also aims to raise awareness of freight electrification bolstered by on-ground demonstration pilots and evidence-based research.
• It will also support scalable pilots and inform policies aimed at accelerating freight electrification in India.
• The launch of the e-FAST India platform witnessed participation from major automobile industry players, logistics companies, development banks, and fin-tech companies.
• The launch was followed by WRI India unveiling its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) EValuator.
• The TCO Evaulator is an intuitive excel-based application.
• It analyses cost components and performance parameters of light/medium/heavy-duty freight and compares electric variants with their diesel/petrol/CNG counterparts, to identify their impact on TCO per km.