Banking Awareness PYQs

The correct answer is All of the above.

​In News:

• ​Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) has recently modified the FAME II scheme.
• The union government has announced a decision to extend the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicle (FAME) scheme by two years to March 31, 2024.
• The FAME II scheme, started in 2019 for promoting sales of electric vehicles, was supposed to end by 2022.
• The Fame scheme was announced in 2019 with an outlay of ₹10,000 crores.

Key Points

• Changes:
• Introduction of a demand incentive of Rs. 15,000 per kWh for electric two-wheelers with a maximum cap at 40% of the vehicles’ cost.
• Launch of aggregate demand for 300,000 electric three-wheelers by Energy Efficiency Services Limited.
• FAME scheme:
• FAME India is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan.
• The main thrust of FAME is to encourage electric vehicles by providing subsidies.
• The FAME India Scheme is aimed at incentivising all vehicle segments.
• Two phases of the scheme:
• Phase I: started in 2015 and was completed on 31^st March 2019
• Phase II: started from April 2019, will be completed by 31^st March 2022
• The scheme covers Hybrid & Electric technologies like Mild Hybrid, Strong Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid & Battery Electric Vehicles.
• Monitoring Authority: Department of Heavy Industries, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
• Fame India Scheme has four focus Areas:
• Technology development
• Demand Creation
• Pilot Projects
• Charging Infrastructure
• Objectives of FAME Scheme:
• Encourage faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles by way of offering upfront Incentive on the purchase of Electric vehicles.
• Establish a necessary charging Infrastructure for electric vehicles.
• To address the issue of environmental pollution and fuel security.

The correct answer is Seville.

Key Points

• Due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the 22^nd Laureus World Sports Awards will be held in a virtual ceremony in Seville, Spain.
• The awards show, which will include presentations and related news reports, will be broadcast live on Laureus social media sites and will be open to the world's media.
• A jury of 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy chooses the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards. The most recent was in Barcelona in 2007, which was quite some time ago.
• Among the many big names who have had a year to remember and who will be in contention for the awards are Lewis Hamilton, Rafael Nadal, LeBron James, Naomi Osaka, Federica Brignone (Sportswoman) and Robert Lewandowski (Sportsman).

Important Points

• Spain: 
• Capital and largest city: Madrid
• King: Felipe VI
• Prime Minister (President of the Government): Pedro Sánchez(as of March 2021)
• President of the Senate: Pilar Llop(as of March 2021)
• President of the Congress of Deputies: Meritxell Batet(as of March 2021)
• Currency: Euro

The correct answer is  23° 30'N.

• 23° 30'N latitude divides India into two equal halves.

Key Points

• The Equator is located at zero degrees latitude.
• Tropic of Cancer divides India into almost two equal parts.
• The Equator divides Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, it is the Prime Meridian.
• Greenwich is considered the Prime Meridian.
• Tropic of Cancer is the northerly circle of the latitude on the Earth at an angle of 23.43 degrees north of the equator.
• At which the Sun appears to be directly overhead at its culmination.
• It is also called the Northern Tropic.
• The tropic of cancer and Tropic of Capricorn each lie at 23.5 degrees latitude.

Important Points

• Important facts about the Tropic of cancer:
• It is present above the Equator.
• 23.5-degree latitude is known as the Tropic of Cancer.
• It is also referred to as the Northern Tropic.
• At this place, the midday sun rays are vertical on 21 June.
• Tropic of Cancer passes through 16 countries.
• Mahi river is the only river in India that cuts the tropic of Cancer twice.
• Tropic of Cancer passes through eight Indian states including (west-east):
• (i) Gujarat (ii) Rajasthan (iii) Madhya Pradesh (iv) Chhattisgarh (v) Jharkhand (vi) West Bengal (vii) Tripura (viii) Mizoram.

Additional Information

​The correct answer is Maruti Suzuki India.

• Maruti Suzuki India has partnered with Savitribai Phule Pune University, Maharashtra, to train the youth in automobile retail.
• A customized three-year 'Bachelor of Vocational Studies in Retail Management' course will be offered to students by the university with support from the company.
• The curriculum will comprise one-year classroom training followed by two-year on-the-job training.

The correct answer is Jamaica.

Key Points

• After 33 years, Florence Griffith Joyner's 100 meters Olympic record has finally fallen. Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah ran the women's 100 meters final in 10.61 seconds, securing the gold medal and breaking Griffith Joyner's Olympic record of 10.62 seconds —  a record that dates back to 1988 Seoul Games.
• Fraser-Pryce won gold in 2008 and 2012, while Thompson-Herah took home gold in 2016.
• Jamaica is known for having some of the best track athletes to ever run in the Olympics, with Usain Bolt still holding the title of fastest man in the world.

​

Additional Information

The correct answer is Rs. 290.

Cabinet approves an increase in Fair and Remunerative Price on sugarcane to Rs. 290 per quantal

• The Union Cabinet approved an increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) on sugarcane to Rs. 290 per quintal based on a 10 per cent recovery.
• When the recovery increases beyond 10 per cent, then on every point 1 per cent rise, additional Rs. 2.90 is paid per quintal. Even if a farmer has less than 9.5 per cent recovery, their Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) will be Rs. 275 per quintal."
• The Centre had in August 2020 increased the FRP by Rs. 10, bringing the amount to Rs. 285 per quintal. In 2019-2020, the government had fixed Sugarcane FRP at Rs. 275 per quintal.
• Many farmers across the country have increased their recovery by using modern technology, implementing new practices on a large scale.
• "Also last year, export was also at a record high. Our country has entered contracts of exporting 70 lakh tonnes of sugarcane, out of which 55 lakh tonnes has already been exported and the remaining 15 lakh tonnes is in the pipeline,"
• In order to ensure that higher sugar recoveries are adequately rewarded and considering variations amongst sugar mills, the FRP is linked to a basic recovery rate of sugar, with a premium payable to farmers for higher recoveries of sugar from sugarcane.

Correct Answer-Option 1-Narinder Dhruv Batra

• The International Hockey Federation has extended the terms of its president and Executive Board.
• President-Narinder Dhruv Batra
• Executive Board Members-Tayyab Ikram,Danae Andrada,Hazel Kennedy and Erik Cornelissen.
• The 47^th International Hockey Federation Congress was scheduled to take place in October 2020. However, the congress has been postponed to May 2021.
• This decision made is based on the Article 12.1 of the FIH Statutes that covers cases of force majeure.
• FIH HQ-Lausanne, Switzerland
• CEO-Thierry Weil

India’s indigenous payment network RuPay has cornered a significant market share in the domestic card market since its launch. As of November 30, 2020, RuPay’s market share has increased to more than 60 per cent of total cards issued, from merely 17-per cent market share in 2017, revealed the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its booklet on Payment Systems in India (2010-20).

As of November 2020, around 603.6-million RuPay cards have been issued by nearly 1,158 banks. But a majority of these are debit cards and only 970,000 are credit cards.

• Vistara is a joint venture of Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA), wherein Tata Sons holds 51% stake in partnership and Singapore Airlines owns 49% stake. The company is registered as TATA SIA Airlines Limited.
• In 2013, two legendary brands, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, decided to fulfil a long-cherished shared dream to bring forth a distinguished flying experience to air travellers in India. With its strong historical ties with aviation, the Tata group had long wished to re-enter the aviation sector, after Tata Airlines was renamed Air India and eventually, nationalised.
• The brand name ‘Vistara’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Vistaar’ that means ‘a limitless expanse’. The name Vistara draws inspiration from the world that Vistara inhabits, viz. the ‘limitless’ sky. The brand also draws stimulus from the image that passengers most associate with a smooth and enjoyable flight – the endless, blue horizon they see through the windows of an aircraft. As it aims to transform the flying experience of travellers in India, Vistara christens its brand tagline as ‘fly the new feeling’.

The correct answer is Bangladesh:

• Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus will receive the Olympic Laurel award at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
• He will be given the award at the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony on July 23, 2021..
• The 81-year-old economist turned globe-trotting celebrity speaker won the Nobel in 2006 for "creating economic and social development from below"
• He will become the second recipient of the Olympic Laurel award.
• The Olympic Laurel was created in 2016 to recognise endeavours in culture, education, peace and development through sport.
• It was given for the first time at the 2016 Rio Games to Kenyan former Olympian Kip Keino, who opened a children’s home, a school and an athletes’ training centre in his home country.

The correct answer is 18-40 years

APY is applicable to all citizen of India aged between 18-40 years

• On 09-05-2015, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched to establish a universal system of social security for all Indians, especially the aged, the underprivileged, and poor workers.
• This scheme basically focuses on the workers of the unorganized sector
• A minimum monthly pension for subscribers ranging between Rs. 1000 and Rs. 5000 per month is guaranteed under the APY.
• On attaining the age of 60 years beneficiaries get a 100% pension amount.
• It is administered by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

The correct answer is International Olympic Committee:

• Thomas Bach was re-elected as president of the International Olympic Committee on 10 March 2021.
• His second term as IOC President will start immediately after, and will conclude in 2025.
• The 67-year-old German received 93 yes and 1 no votes from the 94 valid votes.
• Bach was chosen as the IOC President for the first time on an eight-year term in 2013.
• He served as IOC Vice-President from 2000 to 2004, 2006 to 2010 and from 2010 until his election as IOC President in September 2013.

• The government on Thursday permitted 100 per cent foreign investment under the automatic route in oil and gas PSUs which have received in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment.
• The move would facilitate privatisation of India's second biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL).
• The government is privatising BPCL and selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company.
• According to a press note of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), a new clause has been added to the FDI policy for oil and natural gas sector.
• "Foreign investment up to 100 per cent under the automatic route is allowed in case an 'in-principle' approval for strategic disinvestment of a PSU has been granted by the government," it said.
• The decision regarding this was taken by the Union Cabinet last week.
• Two out of the three companies that have put in an initial expression of interest (EoI) for buying out the government's entire 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL are foreign entities.
• The FDI limit in PSU-promoted oil refineries will continue at 49 per cent -- a limit that was set in March 2008.
• As of now, the government is selling the stake in only BPCL. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest, is the only other oil refining and marketing company under direct government control.
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is now a subsidiary of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
• The government had in March 2008 raised the FDI limit in oil refineries promoted by public sector companies from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.
• The firm acquiring the government's 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL will also have to make an open offer to buy an additional 26 per cent stake from other stakeholders at the same price, as per the takeover rules.

The global United Nations University system is coordinated by UNU Headquarters (also called UNU Centre) in Tokyo, Japan.

The UNU Headquarters Building in Tokyo houses the Office of the Rector as well as global administrative, academic services, and technical services units.

The UNU Centre administrative services unit also has an adjunct office in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

One vice-rectorate (the UNU Vice-Rectorate in Europe) is located in Bonn, Germany.

The correct answer is Assam.

Key Points

• Assam continued to top the Indian production of tea with 642.18 million kg with an increase of 2%.
• West Bengal stood second with 357.47 million kg with an increase of 10%.
• Darjeeling, the famous place for the production of tea posted a decline of 7%.
• In 2016, India has recorded the highest production of tea with 1239.15 million kg which marked the growth of 2.45% against 2015.
• Assam
• Capital: Dispur
• Chief Minister: Sri Himanta Biswa Sarma
• Governor: Gulab Chand Kataria
• National Park: Kaziranga National Park
• State Animal: Gor
• State Bird: Deo haah
• State Tree: Hollong
• State Flower: Kopou phul​

Additional Information

• The correct answer is Option 4 i.e Amartya Sen.
• The book generally deals with the importance of public debate in Indian traditions.
• Amartya Sen is a Nobel Prize-winning Indian economist.

Canada had the largest renewable water resources per capita worldwide as of 2017, at roughly 79,000 cubic meters per inhabitant. This was considerably higher than the renewable water resources available per capita in the United States, which was 9,441 cubic meters.

The correct answer is Telecom.

Key Points

• The Union Cabinet approved a Rs 12,195-crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for domestic manufacturing of telecom and networking products such as switches, routers, radio access networks, wireless equipment, and another internet of things (IoT) access devices.
• The Production Linked Incentive scheme aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units.
• Currently, India imports over 80 percent of its telecom and wireless networking equipment.
• With the inclusion of telecom equipment manufacturing under the ambit of PLI schemes, the total number of sectors under such programs stands at 13.
• In November, the PLI scheme was expanded to include 12 more sectors such as automobile and automobile components, pharmaceutical drugs, textile products, food products, high efficiency solar photovoltaic modules, white goods such as air conditioners and LED bulbs, and specialty steel products.
• The Union Finance Minister-Nirmala Sitharaman informed in the Budget for 2021-22 that the total outlay on PLI schemes in these 13 sectors over the next five years would be Rs 1.97 lakh crore.

Additional Information

• Eligible Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will get an incentive of 7 percent for the first and the second year, followed by an incentive of 6, 5, and 4 percent in the third, fourth and fifth year, respectively.
• Other companies, which do not fall under the MSME category but are eligible, will receive an incentive of 6 percent for the first two years, 5 percent for the next two years, and 4 percent in the fifth and final year.

The correct answer is East Sikkim.

• The first edition of the North Eastern Region District SDG Index Report and Dashboard 2021-22 was released in New Delhi on 26 August 2021.
• It is a collaborative effort by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region DoNER with technical support from UNDP.
• NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Dr Rajiv Kumar, Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region G.Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region B L Verma launched the report.
• The Index measures the performance of districts from all the eight States of NER – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
• East Sikkim, with a score of 75.87, ranks first in the region followed by districts Gomati and North Tripura (score 75.73)) in the second position.​
• Nagaland's Kiphire was featured at the bottom with a score of 53.
• Out of the 103 districts considered for ranking, 64 districts belonged to the Front Runner category while 39 districts were in the Performer category in the composite score and ranking of districts.
• All districts in Sikkim and Tripura fall in the Front Runner category and there are no districts in the Aspirant or Achiever categories.

The correct answer is Gandhinagar:

• Gift-City regulator IFSCA has set up an expert committee to recommend an approach towards development of the Longevity Finance Hub in the Gift-City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The expert committee is being co-chaired by Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head (India), Bank of America, and Gopalan Srinivasan, Ex-CMD, New India Assurance Company Limited.
• The committee members comprise of leaders from the entire longevity finance ecosystem including from areas such as banking, insurance, wealth management, FinTech, legal, compliance and management consultancy.
• Global estimates suggest that there are one billion people aged 60 years and above with a combined spending power of 15 trillion dollars and the size is ever expanding.
• Development in medicinal science and technology will support extending the lifespan and longevity of the silver generation.
• It is estimated that by 2040, there will be more members of the silver generation than people under 20.
• This demographic change will throw open new challenges and opportunities especially in the areas of wealth management, health, insurance, and other investment products.
• This has prompted the International Financial Services Centre Authority to set up an expert committee.
• The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) was established on April 27, 2020 under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
• It is headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar in Gujarat.