Banking Awareness PYQs

The correct answer is IIT-Madras.

Key Points

• The Raftar Formula Racing Team belongs to the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras).
• They unveiled their first electric racing car, the RF23, in November 2022.
• The RF23 is a single-seater, open-wheeled race car that is powered by an electric motor.
• The car is designed to compete in Formula Student Electric, a competition for electric race cars.

The correct answer is 25.90%.

Key Points

• The Gross collection of Direct Taxes has registered a growth of 25.90% which stood at Rs 13,63,649 cr in the financial year 2022-23.
• The Gross collection in the corresponding period stood at Rs 10,83,150 cr.
• The Net Direct tax collection for FY 2022-23 stood at 11,35,754 crore rupees, registering a growth of 19.81%.
• For the corresponding period, it was recorded at Rs 9,47,959 cr.

Important Points

• Meanwhile, Advance Tax collections for FY 2022-23 were recorded at 5,21,302 crore rupees, which showed a growth of 12.83 per cent.
• There has been a remarkable increase in the speed of processing of income tax returns filed during the current fiscal, which is almost 96.5 per cent.
• This has resulted in the fast issuing of refunds with almost a 109 per cent increase, amounting to 2,27,896 crore rupees for FY 2022-23.

The correct answer is Jewellery.

Key Points

• Hallmarked jewelery is of international standard.
• Hallmark marks have a common arrangement to identify the quality of jewelery made of platinum, gold, silver, diamond etc.
• This is guaranteed by the Government of India.

Additional Information

• ​Hallmark -
• It is an official mark or seal put on precious metals like platinum, gold, silver etc.
• Which is applied to certify its quality.
• This is a system of hallmarking to prevent adulteration in jewellery.
• Hallmarking has been in force on gold jewelery in India since 2000 and silver jewelery since 2005.

The correct answer is Generative Pre-trained Transformer.

In News

• Recently, OpenAI has introduced a new chatbot called ChatGPT, which is a ‘conversational’ AI and will answer just like a human would.

Key Points

• ChatGPT was launched on November 30, 2022, by USA's San Francisco-based OpenAI.
• It is based on the company’s GPT 3.5 series of language learning models (LLM).
• GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer.
• GPT is a kind of computer language model that relies on deep learning techniques to produce human-like text.
• Samuel Altman is founder and CEO of OpenAI.
• ChatGPT can answer “follow-up questions”.
• It can also “admit its mistakes" and "reject inappropriate requests".

Additional Information

• Some famous chatbots:
• The Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has powered voice-enabled ASKDISHA Chatbot to converse with customers in the Hindi language.
• Virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa is also a chatbot.

The correct answer is Funskool.

Key Points

• Funskool acquired the licence from Green Gold Licensing & Merchandising India Pvt. Ltd. to manufacture and distribute action figures of Chhota Bheem.
• Funskool is a leading Indian toy manufacturer that was established in 1987 as a joint venture between MRF Ltd. and Hasbro, Inc.
• Funskool has three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Ranipet, near Chennai, Goa, and Mumbai.
• Funskool's products are sold in over 4,500 retail stores across India and form a significant part of the toy portfolio of all major e-commerce and modern trade brands in India.
• Funskool has a wide range of toys for children of all ages, including action figures, dolls, puzzles, games, and educational toys.
• Funskool is committed to providing high-quality and safe toys for children, and all of its products are certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

​The correct answer is R K Singh.

Key Points

• India and France have been re-elected as President and Co-President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
• Union Power & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh has been re-elected as the President of International Solar Alliance while France Minister of State for Development Chrysoula Zacharopoulou has been re-elected as Co-President.
• ISA's 5^th Assembly began in New Delhi on 17^th Oct 2022.

Additional Information

• The International Solar Alliance strives to develop and deploy cost-effective and transformational energy solutions powered by the sun to help member countries develop low-carbon growth trajectories.
• It particularly focus on delivering impact in countries categorized as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
• Currently, the ISA has 9 comprehensive programmes, each focusing on a distinct application.
• The ISA was conceived as a joint effort by India and France to mobilize efforts against climate change through deployment of solar energy solutions.
• It was conceptualized on the sidelines of the 21^st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris in 2015.
• With the amendment of its Framework Agreement in 2020, all member states of the United Nations are now eligible to join the ISA.
• ISA HQ: Gurugram

The correct answer is Piyush Goyal.

Key Points

• Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal addressed the 21^st World Congress of Accountants in Mumbai on November 20 2022.
• For the first time in the 118 years of its history, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) hosted the world congress of accountants (WCOA).
• The WCOA is held once in four years.
• The first meeting was held in the US city of St Louis in 1904.

Important Points

• The focus area of WCOA is centred around Sustainability and ICAI is making all efforts to make it a Carbon-Neutral event.
• With around 8,000 tonnes of carbon credits, WCOA 2022 aims to build a carbon neutral conference.
• There was also be a great deal of tech innovation at the conference with 3 robots deployed to welcome guests, coordinate sessions and much more.

The correct answer is 'NTPC Ltd'.

Key Points

• NTPC Ltd and GE Gas Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for feasibility to demonstrate of hydrogen (H2) co-firing blended with natural gas in GE’s 9E gas turbines installed at NTPC’s Kawas combined-cycle gas power plant in Gujarat.
• Under this significant collaboration, the two companies will jointly explore the pathways to reduce CO2 emissions from the Kawas gas power plant and further implementation at scale across NTPC’s installed units in India.
• NTPC’s Kawas gas power plant is powered by four GE 9E gas turbines operating in a combined-cycle mode and has an installed capacity of 645 megawatts (MW).
• Further, GE’s advanced E- Class gas turbine portfolio currently can burn up to 100% by volume of hydrogen when blended with natural gas. This capability varies depending on the type of combustion system used.
• In this first-of-its-kind MoU with NTPC in India, GE Gas Power will evaluate the possible modifications in the gas turbine unit and auxiliaries required for blending H2 with natural gas.
• Thereafter, a pilot project for 5% Co-firing of hydrogen may be implemented at the Kawas gas power plant in a safe environment based on the feasibility report. NTPC shall provide H2 required for the project.

Additional Information

• NTPC Limited was founded by Government of India in 1975, which now holds 51.1% of its equity shares.
• In May 2010, NTPC was conferred Maharatna status by the Union Government of India.

The correct answer is option 1.

• 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. 200 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
• RBI also granted banking license to Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd and it commenced operations as a small finance bank with effect from November 1, 2021

The correct answer is 'SHAKTI'.

Key Points

• Ministry of Power has launched a scheme for procurement of aggregate power of 4500 MW for five years under SHAKTI Policy.
• The Ministry said that the scheme will help states that are facing power shortage and help generation plants to increase their capacities.
• PFC Consulting Limited has been designated as the nodal agency. It has invited bids for the supply of 4,500 MW electricity.
• The supply will commence from April next year.
• The utilities that have shown interest for the scheme are Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd, New Delhi Municipal Corporation and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd.
• It is for the first time that bidding is being carried out under SHAKTI scheme.

Additional Information

• SHAKTI, or Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India, was launched in 2018 to provide coal to stressed power units which lack coal supply.
• The main objectives of this policy are to make coal available to all the Thermal Power Plants of the country in a transparent and objective manner and at the same time ensure that the benefits of linkage coal are transferred to the end consumers.
• It thus bodes well not just for the infrastructure sector but also for the public sector banks which have crores of rupees lying unpaid in loans given to the power companies.

The correct answer is 2019.

Key Points

• RBI on 30 December 2022 launched the 2^nd phase of the RBI’s medium-term strategy for strengthening regulatory and supervisory mechanisms called Utkarsh 2.0.
• The 1^st strategy framework (Utkarsh 2022) covering the period 2019-2022 was launched in 2019.
• Utkarsh has 6 Vision statements as well as Core Purpose, Values & Mission statements. Collectively, they create a strategic guiding path.

Important Points

• The Vision in Utkarsh 2.0 that will guide the Reserve Bank of India over the period 2023-25 are:
• Excellence in performance of its functions;
• Strengthened trust of citizens and Institutions in the RBI;
• Enhanced relevance and significance in national and global roles;
• Transparent, accountable and ethics-driven internal governance;
• Best-in-class and environment-friendly digital and physical infrastructure; and
• Innovative, dynamic and skilled human resources.
• The desired outputs are proposed to be realised in terms of strategies calibrated through milestones.

The correct answer is ‘Rs 40 lakh & Rs 20 lakh’

Key Points

• Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has chaired the 47^th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council.
• The decision to allow firms below the GST threshold to engage in e-commerce is a major decision.
• This will help small businesses get benefitted from the fast-growing online sector.
• Now, such suppliers will not have to obtain GST registration, if their turnover is lower than Rs 40 lakh and Rs 20 lakh for goods and services, respectively.
• This will come into effect from January 1, 2023.
• The decision will be a game-changer for the success of the government's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.
• It will bring the small retailers into the e-commerce ecosystem, adding handicraft, handloom, textiles and small retailers will be the major gainers.
• The GST Council has decided to ease the process for intra-state supplies made through e-commerce portals.

The correct answer is 12%.

Key Points

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has increased the investment limit of mutual funds (MFs) in debt instruments issued by a single issuer to 12% of the Net Asset Value (NAV) from 10% w.e.f. November 29, 2022, on all new schemes.
• Existing schemes will be exempt until the maturity of the underlying debt and money market securities.
• This circular by SEBI is issued in the exercise of its powers conferred under Section 11 (1) of the SEBI  Act, 1992, read with the provisions of Regulation 77 of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996,  to protect the interests of investors and to promote the development of the securities market.

Additional Information

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India is an autonomous organization that works under the Union Finance Ministry and is answerable to the Parliament.
• Firstly, it was first established as a non-statutory body in 1988.
• It got statutory powers in 1992 in accordance with the SEBI Act 1992.
• Founded: 12 April 1988
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Chairperson: Madhabi Puri Buch

The correct answer is Manika Batra and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan.

Key Points

• Table tennis players Manika Batra and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan created history by becoming the first Indian mixed doubles pair to enter the top five of the ITTF Table Tennis World Rankings on 8 Nov'22.
• The duo climbed up in the rankings after making it to the final of the WTT Contender event in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, where they lost to South Korea’s Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin 3-0 in the final.

Additional Information

• The International Table Tennis Federation is the governing body for all national table tennis associations.
• The role of the ITTF includes overseeing rules and regulations and seeking technological improvement for the sport of table tennis.
• ITTF:
• Founded: 1926
• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
• CEO: Steve Dainton (Jul 2017–)
• Founders: Ivor Montagu, William Henry Lawes

The correct answer is Gandhinagar.

In News

• The inaugural ceremony of the B20 inception meeting will be held on January 23 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Key Points

• The meet will be attended by Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw, state Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, India's Sherpa to G20 Amitabh Kant and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran and a host of national and international business leaders.
• The Centre has appointed N Chandrasekaran as the chair of B20 India to lead the business agenda during India's G20 Presidency.
• The B20 inception meeting will deliberate on various global issues ranging from climate change, innovation, global digital cooperation and resilient global value chains.
• It will take place under the theme of 'RAISE' which stands for Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable and Equitable Businesses.
• Nearly 600 delegates including the 200 international delegates are taking part in the B20 India meet.

Additional Information

• The Business 20 (B20) is the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community.
• Established in 2010, B20 is among the most prominent Engagement Groups in G20, with companies and business organizations as participants.
• The B20 leads the process of galvanizing global business leaders for their views on issues of global economic and trade governance and speaks in a single voice for the entire G20 business community.
• Each year, the G20 Presidency appoints a B20 Chair (an eminent business leader from the G20 host country), who is supported by a B20 Sherpa and the B20 secretariat.

• The RBI placed in the public domain a draft scheme of reconstruction for Yes Bank on 6 March 2020, a day after it superseded the board of Yes Bank with immediate effect.
• SBI has expressed its willingness to make an investment in Yes Bank and participate in its reconstruction scheme.
• Currently, Yes Bank's largest investor is the State Bank of India (SBI) with over 27.97 lakh shareholders. As of March 31, 2023, SBI holds 26.14% of Yes Bank.

The correct answer is 'Manika Batra'.

Key Points

• Ace Indian paddler Manika Batra on November 18 became the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the Asian Cup Table Tennis tournament, in Bangkok.
• She registered a hard-fought win over world No.23, Chen Szu Yu from Chinese Taipei.
• The recent results will do a world of good for Batra, who didn't have a great time in 2022 due to some off-the-field issues and her performance on the court as well.
• Earlier this month, Manika won the mixed doubles silver medal alongside partner G Sathiyan at the WTT Contender Nova Gorica in Slovenia which took them to the highest-ever world No. 5 spot in the mixed doubles charts.

Additional Information

• The ITTF–ATTU Asian Cup is an annual table tennis competition held by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU).
• The first edition was held in 1983.
• The competition features men's and women's singles events, with 16 players qualifying to take part in each event, subject to a maximum of two players per association.
• Starting from 2013, the Asian Cup serves as a qualification event for the World Cup.

The correct answer is RBI.

Key Points

• Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to introduce a “Digital Rupee”, using blockchain and other technologies, to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23.
• RBI will introduce “Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)” to give a big boost to the digital economy.
• “Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system”.

Important Points

• A CBDC is a legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form. It is the same as a fiat currency and is exchangeable one-to-one with the fiat currency.

Only its form is different.

• “Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)” and "Cryptocurrency" are not the same thing. The digital rupee will be the digital version of physical cash issued by the RBI and will, be sovereign-backed. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies are not backed by a government or central bank and are traded online. Any income from the transfer of any "Virtual Digital  Asset" will now be taxed under a 30% slab rate.
• The official bill to regulate the digital currency- “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021” was introduced in the Parliament during the winter session that starts on November 29, 2021.

Additional Information

• Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to set up** **75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) in 75 districts of the country by Scheduled Commercial Banks.

The correct answer is 'Yoginder K Alagh'.

Key Points

• Noted economist and former Union minister Yoginder K Alagh passed away on December 6 after a prolonged illness.
• The 83-year-old emeritus professor at the Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research (SPIESR) was not keeping well for some time.
• Mr. Alagh was born in Chakwal in present-day Pakistan in 1939 and studied at the University of Rajasthan. He had a doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
• The noted economist was also a former vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and taught economics at the University of Rajasthan, IIM Calcutta, the University of Jodhpur, and the University of Pennsylvania.
• He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in 1996 and was a member of the house till 2000. He also served as the chairman of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) from 2006 to 2012.

Additional Information

• Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) is an autonomous institution and premier business school located in Anand Gujarat, India with the mandate of contributing to the professional management of rural organizations.
• IRMA was founded with the belief, borne out by Verghese Kurien’s work in the dairy co-operatives which revolutionized the dairy industry in the country (Operation Flood), that the key to effective rural development is professional management.
• It is considered as the best business school in the Rural and Agricultural Business Management Sector of India.

The correct answer is 'Sharath Kamal'.

Key Points 

• India’s star Table Tennis player Sharath Kamal Achantha for winning Gold Medal in Men's Singles Table Tennis at Birmingham CWG 2022.
• In what turned out to be the final game of the title clash, Sharath led 6-1 before Pitchford reduced the deficit to 5-6 by winning the best rally of the match. Sharath absorbed the pressure to make it 10-6 after time out.

Additional Information 

• Sharath Kamal has scripted a unique record of winning more gold medals than 56 countries at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
• The 40-year-old notably claimed two gold medals on the final day of the coveted quadrennial event on August 8 and took India’s overall tally across 61 medals.
• India earned a whopping total of 22 gold medals, 16 silver medals, and 23 bronze medals, finishing 4^th in the medal standings behind Australia, England, and Canada.