Banking Awareness PYQs

• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved a new initiative - Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE).
• It is to boost research culture in the country.
• STRIDE will provide support to research projects that are socially relevant, locally need-based, nationally important and globally significant.

• India ranked 130^th out of 189 countries, in the 2018 Human Development Index.
• The Human Development Index ranking is released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• India climbed one spot to secure 130^th rank this year. Last year it was ranked 131^st.
• Norway secured the top position in the index.

• Russia successfully launched Soyuz-2.1 a carrier rocket with a hydrometeorological satellite and 32 small satellites.
• The satellite will provide images of clouds, the surface of the Earth, ice and snow covers in the visible, infrared and microwave ranges.
• The ride-share mission lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia.
• It can also obtain data on the temperature of the sea surface, the state of the ozone layer as well as determine the level of humidity, which will help improve the accuracy of meteorological forecasts.

The correct answer is Indusind Bank.

• National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the merger of IndusInd Bank with Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL).
• The merger will be completed within 2-4 weeks.
• Post-merger, BFIL will become a subsidiary of the Bank.
• Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited BFIL is a non-banking finance company, licensed by the Reserve Bank of India.
• The Central Government has constituted National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013) w.e.f. 01^st June 2016.
• In the first phase, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has set up eleven Benches, one Principal Bench at New Delhi, and ten Benches at New Delhi, Ahmadabad, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
• These Benches will be headed by the President and 16 Judicial Members and 09 Technicalmembers at different locations.

• Veteran director and actor G Vijaya Nirmala passed away in June 2019.
• She directed 44 films in Telugu. In 2002, she entered the Guinness Book of Records as the female director of the most number of films.
• She made her debut at the age of seven as a child artiste with a Tamil movie Machcha Rekhai (1950).

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. The city lies on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is 1,760 km (1,090 mi) north of Ho Chi Minh City and 120 km (75 mi) west of Hai Phong city.

The International Day of Charity is observed annually on 5 September. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. The prime purpose of the International Day of Charity is to raise awareness and provide a common platform for charity related activities all over the world for individuals, charitable, philanthropic, and volunteer organizations.

• High Level Advisory Group (HLAG) headed by Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla has been constituted by the Department of Commerce.
• The HLAG will look into ways for boosting India’s share and importance in global merchandise and services trade.
• The Committee has recommended 'Elephant Bonds' as a specialised security product providing funds towards Long Term Infrastructure.

Former Union Minister of Civil Aviation P Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated the country’s first Aviation Multi Skill Development Centre at Chandigarh Airport’s old terminal. The centre, which is a CSR initiative of Airports Authority of India (AAI), will initially train 2,360 students free of cost in three years. It will train about 2,400 youths in eight aviation job roles over the next three years.

• According to the Union Budget 2019-20, the direct tax for the companies with an annual turnover of up to Rs. 400 crore will be 25%.

This move will cover 99.3% of the companies and only 0.7% of companies will remain outside this rate.

• For the companies with an annual turnover of more than Rs. 400 crore, the tax rate will be 30%.
• Union Budget 2019-20 was presented by the first full-time finance minister of the country-Nirmala Sitharaman.
• Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes - Nitin Gupta (2022)
• HQ CBDT-New Delhi

• The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2019-20 before the Parliament.
• The TDS will be 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs. 1 crore in a year from a bank account as per Union Budget 2019-20.
• It is discourage the practice of making business payments in cash.
• TDS - Tax Deducted at Source.
• TDS is to collect tax from the very source of income.
• The person (deductor) who is to make payment of specified nature to other person (deductee) deducts tax at source and remit the same into the account of the Central Government.

• The full form of the abbreviation FPI is Foreign Portfolio Investment.
• FPI consists of financial assets and securities passively held by foreign investors.
• It is relatively liquid depending on the volatility of the market and does not provide the investor with direct ownership of financial assets and is relatively liquid depending on the volatility of the market.

• Odisha is all set to organise the 21^st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship at Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack from July 17 to 22, 2019.
• Odisha TT team is ranked 10^th in the country and the championship.
• It is for the seventh time that India will host the event and for the first time in Odisha.

• Kerala became the first state to tap into masala bond market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond in LSE’s International Securities Market (ISM).
• The masala bond has tenor of 5-year and a 9.723% coupon.
• The main objective of this initiative was to tap masala bond market and to rebuild the infrastructure in Kerala from the proceeds of masala bond.

World photography day is observed annually on August 19 to inspire photographers across the planet to share a single photo with the world. First World Photo Day was celebrated in 2010 with 250 images submitted reaching 20,000 people. According to Facebook data, India figures at 4^th spot among top 10 countries that post most photos on FB and 5^th spot among the same category for Messenger app.

Male is the capital and most populous city in the Republic of Maldives. Administratively, the city consists of a central island, an airport island, and two other islands governed by the Malé City Council.

• Union Ministers, DV Sadananda Gowda and Narendra Singh Tomar were assigned portfolios of the Ministries of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Minister of Rural Development; and Minister of Panchayati Raj.
• Constituency : North Bengaluru, Karnataka

Additional Information

• Mansukh Mandaviya was appointed as the new union health minister in 2021.
• Along with the crucial Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, he has also been given the charge of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in the Modi 2.0 cabinet.
• Mansukh Mandaviya succeeds Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
• Earlier he was holding the independent charge of the shipping ministry and was MoS for the chemicals and fertilizers ministry.

• In Maharashtra, the state government has decided to inter-link rivers to solve the crisis of drought.
• For Mumbai, the best option is the Damanganga–Pinjal river inter-linking project, which is seen as an ideal, long-term solution for Mumbai’s water needs.
• This will fulfil Mumbai’s water needs till 2060.

• The 19^th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held on 13-14 June in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
• PM Narendra Modi attended the summit while representing India.
• Founded in 2001, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ujbekistan are the founding members of the organisation.
• India and Pakistan were admitted to the group in 2017.

• India's first elephant rehabilitation centre will be situated in Kottoor, Kerala. It is an ecotourism village.
• It is being planned on the lines of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka.
• It will have an elephant museum, mahout training centre, super-specialty hospital, a retirement home and crematorium for the animals, will house orphaned, injured and older elephants.