Banking Awareness PYQs

The correct answer is Canara.

Key Points

• The National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) has received a license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), enabling it to start operations as a so-called bad bank, an entity formed to take over and dispose of the identified stressed assets worth Rs 2 lakh crore of commercial banks.
• NARCL a government entity, has been incorporated on 7^th July 2021 with majority stake held by Public Sector Banks and balance by private banks with Canara Bank being the sponsor bank. It is registered with the Reserve Bank of India as an Asset Reconstruction Company under Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002.

Additional Information

• NARCL started with total capital of Rs 6,000 crore; it was incorporated in Mumbai in July 2021.
• SBI, Union Bank of India and Indian Bank have picked up a 13.27 percent stake each in NARCL. Punjab National Bank has acquired a 12 percent stake.
• IDRCL is a service company/operational entity established to manage stressed assets and engage with market professionals including turnaround experts.
• Public sector banks and state-owned financial institutions will own a 49 per cent stake in the entity and the rest by private sector lenders.
• The government-promoted bad bank National Asset Reconstruction Company of India Ltd (NARCL) offered to acquire five distressed loan accounts, including those of Future Retail and GTL Ltd in August 2022.

The correct answer is Mumbai.

Key Points

• The National Stock Exchange’s subsidiary NSE Indices has announced to launch of one more index under the Nifty Bharat Bond Index series in December 2022.
• The Bharat Bond Index series follows a target maturity date structure wherein each index in the series measures.
• The performance of a portfolio of AAA-rated bonds issued by government-owned entities maturing in a specific year.
• NSE Headquarters: Mumbai

Additional Information

• National Stock Exchange of India Limited is the leading stock exchange under the ownership of various groups of domestic and global financial institutions, public and privately owned entities, and individuals.
• Founded: 1992
• Chairperson: Girish Chandra Chaturvedi
• MD & CEO: Ashishkumar Chauhan
• Indices: NIFTY 50, NIFTY Next 50, NIFTY 500

The correct answer is Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

Key Points

• Saraswati Samman is instituted by KK Birla Foundation.
• It was instituted in 1991.
• Harivansh Rai Bachchan was the first recipient of this award in 1991.
• It is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 22 languages of India listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India.
• The award carries a cash award of 15 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque
• Eminent Sindhi writer Vasdev Mohi was conferred with 29^th Saraswati Samman.
• He was selected for this prestigious literary award for his short stories collection - Chequebook.
• It is a collection of short stories that talks about the agonies and sufferings of marginalized sections of the society.

The correct answer is 1,2, and 5.

Key Points

• The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been jointly awarded to Carolyn Bertozzi, Morton Meldal & Barry Sharpless for their work on snipping molecules together, known as 'click chemistry'.
• Their work is used to explore cells & track biological processes and can be applied in cancer treatment drugs.
• Barry Sharpless also won a Nobel Prize in 2001 for his work on chirally catalysed oxidation reactions.

Additional Information

• Nobel Prize is a prestigious prize awarded separately in six different fields “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”.
• Originally, the prize was awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
• Later in 1968, a sixth prize was added in the field of economic sciences.
• The Prize is officially not a Nobel Prize but it is called as "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel".
• It was established by Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank).
• Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist most famously known for the invention of dynamite.
• The first Nobel Prize was given on 10 December 1901.

• Through the RCAP, the Committee seeks to ensure full, timely and consistent implementation of the Basel III framework, and thus to contribute to global financial stability.
• The RCAP monitors adoption of Basel III standards by member jurisdictions (timeliness), assesses implementation across member jurisdictions (consistency) and assesses implementation across banks (outcomes).
• The RCAP also supports the Financial Stability Board's (FSB) monitoring of the implementation of the agreed G20 financial reforms.

The correct answer is 35.

Key Points

• Ready Forward Contracts (Repos) are mechanisms under which the Reserve Bank lends on a short-term basis to banks on the security of the government bonds (Repo).
• Banks undertake to repurchase the security at a later date overnight or a few days.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the Monetary Policy Statement, 2022-23 Resolution of the MPC.
• RBI’s MPC also hiked the repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) or 0.35% to 6.25%  from 5.9% with immediate effect.
• The dispensation of enhanced Held to Maturity limit (23%) of deposits wrt the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) securities was extended by the MPC up to March 31, 2024.

The correct answer is All of the above. 

Key Points

• The goal of the National Logistics Policy is to lower the cost of logistics from its current 14% of GDP to less than 10% by 2022 despite the highly fragmented nature of India’s logistics industry.
• The policy aims to make Indian goods more competitive while also promoting economic growth and expanding job possibilities.
• The Policy establishes a broad, multi-jurisdictional, cross-sectoral framework for the growth of the entire logistics ecosystem in an effort to address concerns of high cost and inefficiency.
• These sectors is considered while designing the logistic policy:
• Roads
• Railways
• Airways

Additional Information

• ​The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low and middle-income countries.
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C
• President: David Malpass
• Founded: July 1944
• Motto: Working for a World Free of Poverty
• Subsidiaries: International Finance Corporation, MORE
• Parent organization: United Nations
• Founders: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White

The correct answer is 'Hyderabad'.

Key Points

• Goldsikka ATM is India's first Gold ATM and World's first real-time gold ATM allow people to withdraw gold coins just like cash from this gold ATM using their debit or credit cards.
• The gold ATM was recently launched in Begumpet, Hyderabad.
• Goldsikka Pvt Ltd a gold distributor company, installed its first gold ATM on December 3 in collaboration with OpenCube Technologies Pvt Ltd-a Hyderabad-based startup for technology support.
• The gold ATM enables customers to buy gold without going to a physical jewellery store. It is available 24x7 and allows customers to buy gold within budget.
• It has a capacity of storing 5kgs and offers eight options for the quantity of gold starting from 0.5 grams to 100 grams.

Additional Information

• All of the gold currency found at Gold ATMs is 24-carat gold, which is regarded as the purest type of gold.
• Additionally, it displays the current gold price to keep clients informed of changes in the market.
• No one may purchase less than 0.5 gms or more than 100 gms.

The correct answer is ​Ukraine.

Important Points 

• About North Atlantic Treaty Organization:
• It is an intergovernmental military alliance.
• Established by the Washington treaty.
• Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.
• Headquarters of Allied Command Operations — Mons, Belgium.
• Composition:
• Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 30.
• The most recent member state to be added to NATO was North Macedonia on 27 March 2020.
• NATO membership is open to “any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.”

The correct answer is Only 1.

Key Points

• Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) is implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) functioning as the nodal agency at the national level.
• The maximum cost of the project/unit admissible in the manufacturing sector is ₹ 25 lakhs and in the business/service sector, it is ₹ 10 lakhs.

Additional Information

• At the state level, the scheme is implemented through State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs), District Industries Centres (DICs) and banks.
• Categories of Beneficiary’s Rate of subsidy under PMEGP (of project cost) -

Area (location of project/unit) General category 15%(Urban), 25%(Rural), Special 25%(Urban), 35%(Rural)

(including SC/ ST/ OBC/ Minorities/Women, Ex-servicemen, Physically handicapped, NER, Hill and Border areas, etc.)

• The balance amount of the total project cost will be provided by the banks in the form of term loans and working capital.

The correct answer is 'INS Sindhudhvaj'.

Key Points

• INS Sindhudhvaj bid adieu to the Navy on Saturday after serving for 35 years. Vice-Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, was the chief guest at the ceremony. The decommissioning was attended by 15 of the former commanding officers, including Commodore SP Singh (Retd), the commissioning CO and 26 commissioning crew veterans.
• Sindhudhvaj, as the name suggests, was the flag-bearer of indigenisation and Navy’s efforts towards achieving ‘Atmanirbharta’ in the Russian-built Sindhughosh class submarines throughout her journey in the Navy.
• She had many a first to her credit, including operationalisation of the indigenised sonar USHUS, indigenised satellite communication systems Rukmani and inertial navigation system and indigenised torpedo fire control system.
• She also successfully undertook personnel transfer with deep submergence rescue vessel and was only submarine to be awarded CNS Rolling trophy for Innovation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The traditional ceremony was conducted at sunset, with an overcast sky adding to the solemnity of the occasion when the Decommissioning Pennant was lowered and the submarine was paid off after a glorious patrol of 35 years.

Additional Information 

• INS Sindhudhvaj (S56) was a Sindhughosh-class submarine of the Indian Navy in service from 1987.
• Sindhughosh-class submarines are Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines in active service with the Indian Navy.
• The Sindhughosh submarines, designated 877EKM, were designed as part of Project 877, and built under a contract between Rosvooruzhenieand the Ministry of Defence (India).

The correct answer is 50000.

Key Points

• The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) has been extended up to March 2023 and its guarantee cover has been expanded by Rs. 50,000 crores.
• The total cover will now be Rs. 5 lakh crore.
• This was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2022-23.
• The raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) program will also be rolled out.

Important Points

• The Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) Scheme will be revamped with the required infusion of funds.
• This will facilitate additional credit of Rs. 2 lakh crore for Micro and Small Enterprises and expand employment opportunities.
• The Finance Minister also announced the rolling out of Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) program with outlay of Rs. 6,000 crore over 5 years.
• This will help the MSME sector become more resilient, competitive, and efficient.
• The Udyam, e-Shram, NCS, and ASEEM portals will be interlinked.
• Their scope will be widened.

The correct answer is Assam.

Key Points

• The Assam government has announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park will be known as the Orang National Park.
• It is the oldest reserve in the state, located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra.
• It is located in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam.
• The development comes weeks after the Centre dropped former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s name from the Khel Ratna award.
• The park is known for the one-horned rhino, tigers, elephants, etc.

Additional Information

• It is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ owing to the similarities in topography, and a rich population of the one-horned rhino.
• Orang was notified as a game reserve by the British in 1915, making it the oldest such reserve in the state.
• it was upgraded to a National Park in 1999.
• The other existing national parks in Assam are Kaziranga, Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa, Nameri, Dehing Patkai and Raimona.

The correct answer is August 2022.

In News

• The Delhi High Court on January 25 directed the Reserve Bank of India and the Centre to ensure the implementation of the central bank’s framework on regulation of digital lending platforms.

Key Points

• A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad in its January 25 decision observed that the RBI had issued a framework on August 10, 2022, on the regulation of digital lending platforms, including online lending platforms and mobile applications, based on the recommendations of its working committee, and hence no further orders were required.
• The High court bench said that the Government of India will take immediate steps at an early date in accordance with law.
• The RBI said online lending platforms are deployed by banks/NBFCs for the grant of loans that can either be owned by them or availed by them under the outsourcing arrangement.
• The RBI said lending activities by such other entities over a digital platform are outside the “direct regulatory purview” of the relevant laws under which it derives power to regulate and supervise such entities.
• The RBI also submitted before the high court that it had constituted a working committee to look into digital lending, including lending through online platforms and mobile apps, and to look into the granular aspects of financial technology and its implications and to review and reorient the regulatory framework.

Additional Information

• The high court was hearing a public interest litigation seeking a direction to the Centre to regulate and control the working of online digital lenders engaged in lending money through mobile applications or any other platform, and restrain them from charging exorbitant interest on the loan from borrowers, harassing the borrowers and to save the borrowers from recovery agents and to fix the maximum interest of rate chargeable by online digital lenders.
• The plea sought the setting up of a grievance redressal mechanism for borrowers in every state/Union of India.

The Correct Answer is Both 1 and 3.

Key Points

• The sugar marketing year runs from October to September.
• India is the world's second-largest sugar producer after Brazil.
• Sugar production in Uttar Pradesh, the country's top sugar-producing state, remained lower at 6.86 million tonnes during the October-February period of this marketing year, as against 7.42 million tonnes in the year-ago period.
• However, sugar production in Maharashtra, the country's second-largest producing state, rose to 9.71 million tonnes from 8.48 million tonnes; while that in Karnataka, the country's third-largest producing state, rose to 5.08 million tonnes from 4.08 million tonnes.

Additional Information

• India's sugar exports are estimated to increase 15.38 percent year-on-year to 7.5 million tonnes (MT) in the current marketing year 2021-22, on a likely rise in demand for the Indian sweetener amid the possibility of a global deficit.
• The country has physically exported 4.2 MT of sugar till February of the current marketing year, against the export contracts already undertaken for shipment of six million tonnes.

The correct answer is Nikhil Kamath.

Key Points

• Nikhil Kamath, the cofounder of Zerodha, has topped the 'IIFL Wealth Hurun India 40 & Under Self-Made Rich List 2022' with a net worth of Rs 17,500 crore.
• Bhavish Aggarwal, the founder of Ola, came in second place (Rs 11,700 crore).
• The list, released on 28 Sept 2022, includes self-made Indian entrepreneurs aged 40 & under with a fortune of Rs 1,000 crore.

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 National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.
• The ratio of breadth to the length of the Indian national flag is 2 : 3.
• It is a horizontal tricolor of deep saffron (Kesari) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion.
• It became the official flag of the Dominion of India on 15 August 1947.
• The Prime Minister hoists the national flag at the Red Fort on Independence Day.
• Pingali Venkayya is the designer of the Indian National Flag.
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NOTE:

The correct answer is Only c.

Key Points

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the initiative of the Reserve Bank of India “RBI Retail Direct Scheme” on 12 November 2021.
• “Retail Direct Scheme” is a one-stop solution under which individual retail investors can open a Gilt Securities Account – “Retail Direct Gilt (RDG)” account with RBI. Using this account, retail investors can buy and sell government securities through the online portal.
• Opening an RDG account will allow individuals to buy Government securities directly in the primary market (auctions) as well as buy/sell in the secondary market.
• Individuals and Retail Investors can buy and sell:
• Government of India Treasury Bills (T-Bills)
• Government of India dated securities (dated G-Sec)
• State Development Loans (SDLs)
• Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB)

Important Points

• The minimum amount for investment through the Retail Direct platform:

• The maximum amount for investment in Government securities:

The correct answer is December 2022.

Key Points

• The Union Cabinet has approved the extension for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase VII) for a further period of 3 months i.e. October to December 2022.

 Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana

• PMGKAY is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) to help the poor fight the battle against Covid-19.
• Its nodal Ministry is the Ministry of Finance.
• It was initially announced for a three-month period (April, May and June 2020), covering 80 crore ration cardholders. Later it was extended till November 2020.
• Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme were operational from April to June 2020 and July to November 2020 respectively.
• Phase III of the scheme was operational from May to June 2021.
• Phase IV of the scheme is currently operational for July-November 2021 months.
• The scheme aimed at providing each person who is covered under the NFSA (National Food Security Act 2013) with an additional 5 kg grains (wheat or rice) for free, in addition to the 5 kg of subsidized food grain already provided through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

The much awaited second novel of Arundhati Roy "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness" has been launched. Like its predecessor the Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a complex and a nonlinear narrative. The book is published in India by Penguin Random House. Arundhati Roy was the first Indian woman to win the prestigious Booker Prize with her 1997 work.