Daily GK Update 12th October 2017

1. Important Cabinet Approvals- 11th October 2017

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given the following set of approvals. The full list of Cabinet Approvals is given as follows.

ii. The Cabinet has approved-

1. Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on the "Technical Intern Training Program (TITP)"

2. Signing of the MoC between India and Japan on establishing a Liquid, Flexible and Global LNG Market

3. MoU between SEBI and Financial Services Commission (FSC), Gibraltar.

4. MoU between India and Belarus for Cooperation in the field of Vocational Education and Training- This is for the first time MoU for cooperation in area of vocational education, training and skill development has been signed with the Eurasian country.

5. Signing of MoU between Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Kuwait.

6. International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA)  to change its status from Non-Governmental Organization to Inter-Governmental Organization.

7. MoU between India and Morocco on cooperation in the field of water resources- The domains of bilateral cooperation under this MoU include-

• conception, realization, and maintenance of the hydraulic infrastructure,
• integrated water resources management,
• flood and drought management;
• sustainable development and management of groundwater resources,
• harvesting and valuation of rainfall water and resilience.

8. Revised pay scales of teachers and equivalent academic staff in Universities/Colleges & centrally funded technical institutions. 

9. SANKALP & STRIVE Schemes to boost Skill India Mission-  The Cabinet has approved two new World Bank supported schemes of Rs. 6,655 crore - Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) and Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE). SANKALP is Rs 4,455 crore Centrally sponsored scheme including Rs. 3,300 crore loan support from World Bank whereas STRIVE is a Rs. 2,200 crore - central sector scheme, with half of the scheme outlay as World bank loan assistance.

2. Digital Payments to Grow at 26% CAGR: World Payment Report

i. A new World Payment Report stated that the initiatives of the government and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will help non-cash transactions grow at a compound annual growth rate of 26.2 percent during 2016 to 2020.

ii. The World Payment Report 2017 was jointly commissioned by Capgemini and BNP Paribas. The report is about digital payments and transactions all around the world and their progress.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Shri B. Sambamurthy is the Interim Chairman of NPCI.

3. JDI Signed Between Indian Railways and Germany

i. German Railways will assist Indian Railways to make country's existing rail corridors semi-high speed. The semi high-speed trains will run at 200 km per hour.

ii. A Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) was signed between Ministry of Railways and Germany in Rail Bhavan regarding carrying out of feasibility study on existing 643 km Chennai-Kazipet corridor of Indian Railways by German Railways for increasing the speed of passenger trains to 200 kmph on 50.50 percent cost-sharing basis.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Piyush Goyal is the Minister of Railways of India.
• Angela Merkel is the Chancellor of Germany.

4. PM Modi’s Economic Advisory Council Holds its First Meeting

i. The recently constituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) held its first meeting in New Delhi to deliberate upon and lay out a roadmap to give a leg up to the Indian economy in the short term after GDP growth for the first quarter fell to a three-year low of 5.7%. The EAC-PM is chaired by Dr. Bibey Debroy. 

ii. Key issues for the discussion include ways to boost consumer demand, attract private investments and measures to incentivize job creation in the country, people familiar with the agenda said.

5. SBI to Set Up Country's Largest Innovation Centre at Mumbai

i. The nation's largest lender State Bank of India is creating a 15,000-sqft innovation center in Navi Mumbai investing around Rs 100 crore. The

ii. The center, to be built at its Global IT Centre in Belapur in Navi Mumbai, will be the largest innovation center by any financial services company in the country. The innovation center is part of a Rs 200-crore allocation that the bank has earmarked for innovation 2016.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• SBI headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• It was established on 1 July 1955.
• Rajnish Kumar is the present Chairman of SBI.

6. HSBC Launches App to Track Trade Transactions

i. HSBC (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) announced the launch of a mobile app - Trade Transaction Tracker - to help customers track the status of their trade transactions on a real-time basis.

ii. It will provide a global view of import and export documentary credit and collections transactions, across markets in one single app.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• HSBC Headquarters in London, United Kingdom.
• HSBC was established in 1865 to finance trade between Europe and Asia.

7. India is Second Largest Market for Pharma: LinkedIn Report

i. With 13.7 percent contribution to the global pharmaceuticals and biotechnology workforce, India has emerged as the second largest market for the industry, a report by professional networking giant LinkedIn has revealed.

ii. The report, detailed in the newly released e-book "The Indian Pharma and Biotech Industry", showed that while New Delhi, Kolkata, and Chandigarh are thriving grounds for talent in this sector in India, talent migration is highest to the US.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Jeff Weiner is the CEO of LinkedIn.

8. National Award for Boxing Coach Sandhu & Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak

i. President Ram Nath Kovind gave away the National award for senior citizens to Indian boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu and Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for 2017 to Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak.

ii. Gurbax Singh Sandhu has been coaching both the men and women boxers. Sandhu was India’s longest-serving men’s national coach, for two decades. Dr.Bindeshwar Pathak is the founder of Sulabh International.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• President Ram Nath Kovind is the 14th President of India.

9. LG India Ties up with Bajaj Finserv

i. Consumer Electronics major LG Electronics India announced the launch of an exclusive OEM co-branded card in partnership with Bajaj Finserv.

ii. As per the company, the co-branded card will enable customers to buy all LG products at no-cost EMI option across all LG formats. It will be available to customers buying LG products on a minimum invoice amount of Rs 7,000 and maximum of up to Rs 2 lakh.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Kim Ki Wan is the MD of LG Electronics India.
• LG Electronics is a South Korean Company.

10. Bihar Cabinet Approves Reservation for ‘Divyangs’ in Govt Jobs

i. The Bihar Cabinet has approved reservations for persons with disabilities in government jobs and educational institutions. The cabinet gave its approval during a meeting presided by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

ii. The provision has been brought in accordance with the Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016. The cabinet also approved the establishment of a state advisory board for the empowerment of ‘Divyangjan’ as envisaged in the Act.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Satya Pal Malik is the present Governor of Bihar.

11. HSBC Names Retail Head John Flint as Next Chief Executive

i. HSBC has appointed John Flint as its next chief executive. Flint currently runs HSBC's retail and wealth management business. He will start in his new role on February 21, 2018 He will take over from current chief executive Stuart Gulliver, who is retiring after seven years in the job.

ii. The appointment marks the first major decision taken by the bank's new chairman, former AIA Group chief Mark Tucker, who joined HSBC on October 1 as its first-ever externally-appointed chairman.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• HSBC Headquarters in London, United Kingdom.
• HSBC was established in 1865 to finance trade between Europe and Asia.

12. Indian Pacer Ashish Nehra has Announced Retirement

i. Indian pacer Ashish Nehra has confirmed his retirement from International Cricket. He will play his last match against New Zealand on November 1, 2017.

ii. The 38-year-old has represented India for 18 years. He has played 17 Tests, 120 ODIs and 26 T20Is for India, taking 235 international wickets.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Australian Pacer John Hastings has recently retired from test and ODI Cricket.
• Ashish Nehra has picked up 235 wickets across all three international formats so far.

13. Gurusaidutt Wins Bulgarian International Tournament

i. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt clinched the men's singles title at the Bulgarian International Future Series tournament.

ii. Gurusaidutt has defeated Muhammed Ali Kurt (Turkey) in a 35- minute match. Gurusaidutt will also participate in Senior Nationals Championship in November 2017.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• The Capital of Bulgaria is Sofia.

THANK YOU

Daily GK Update 11th October 2017

1. Anupam Kher Succeeds Gajendra Chauhan as FTII Chairman

i. Actor Anupam Kher has been appointed the new chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), located in Pune. He succeeds former television actor Gajendra Chauhan.

ii. Mr Kher has appeared in over 500 films and has been part of the theatre circles. He has previously held the post of chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification and the National School of Drama.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Mr Kher is a recipient of the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016.

2. 'Sex With Minor Wife is to be Considered Rape': Supreme Court

i. In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court of India ruled that sex with a wife who is under 18 years of age is rape and therefore a crime. The top court did not rule on 'marital rape', which is sexual intercourse forced upon a spouse no matter what their age.

ii. Before SC ruling, there was an exception in Section 375 rape law provisions that protected a man who had sexual relations with his wife even if she was under 18, which is the age of consent. Exception 2 in Section 375 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) granting protection to husband is violation of the constitution and fundamental rights of minor bride, according to the Supreme Court.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• The top court's verdict upholds the rights of 2.3 crore child brides in the country. 
• A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta read down exception 2 to Section 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.

3. Himachal Pradesh Implements Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme

i. Himachal Pradesh government implemented the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) to provide easy access to curative geriatric health care services by way of additional cover.

ii. The scheme would provide top-up coverage of Rs 30,000 per senior citizen to all existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) smart card holders. This would be in addition to the basic coverage of Rs 30,000 in Trust and Society mode.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh is Virbhadra Singh.
• Acharya Dev Vrat is the Governor of Himachal Pradesh.  

4. Govt Okays Rs 2,000 crore to Set up Aadhaar Units in Post Offices

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Rs 2,000 crore specifically for setting up Aadhaar centres in post offices, a move that will see private contractors phased out from the data collection process. 

ii. The centres will have machines approved by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and trained personnel who will be responsible for the operations. Aadhaar enrolment and updation facilities will be available in around 15,000 post offices by March 31, 2018.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Unique Identification Authority of India has its Headquarters in New Delhi.
• The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UIDAI is Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey.
• Shri Ananta Narayan Nanda Secretary is the Director General Postal Services.

5. IMF Trims India growth Forecast for Current Financial Year to 6.7 %

i. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has trimmed India’s growth forecast for Financial Year 2017-18. In its latest World Economic Outlook released, the IMF lowered India’s growth forecast for 2017 to 6.7% from its earlier estimate of 7.2 percent.

ii. As per IMF, India is expected to regain the fastest growing major economy tag next year when it is forecast to grow 7.4 percent, slower than earlier estimate of 7.7 percent but higher than China’s 6.5 percent.

Important Takeaways from above News-

• Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries
• IMF is Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
• Managing Director of IMF is Christine Lagarde.

6. International Day of the Girl Child: 11 October

i. Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl Child. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.

ii. This year’s theme is “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030.”

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child.

7. Nisha Desai Biswal Appointed as President of USIBC

i. Nisha Desai Biswal, former Indian-American assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia has been appointed as the new president of US India Business Council (USIBC).
ii. As Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs in the US Department of State from 2013 to 2017, Biswal oversaw the US-India strategic partnership during a period of unprecedented cooperation, including launching the US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• The Council aims to create an inclusive bilateral trade environment between India and the United States by serving as the voice of the industry, linking governments to businesses, and supporting long-term commercial partnerships.

8. ICICI Bank Aid to Armed Forces

i. ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, committed financial assistance of Rs. 10 crore to the Indian Armed Forces.

ii. This contribution by ICICI Bank would be made in two equal tranches. This fund will be used for two programs. The first will support post-graduation education of the widows of the soldiers and education for their wards. The second program will provide financial assistance for marriages of the daughters of ex-servicemen.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Chanda Kochhar is the MD & CEO of ICICI Bank.
• Current Defence Minister of India is Nirmala Sitharaman.

9. Visa, Andhra Pradesh Ties up for Digital Dhan Sankalp Project

i. Visa has tied up with the Andhra Pradesh government for Digital Dhan Sankalp project. It is an initiative to develop Visakhapatnam into India’s first ‘less cash’ city.

ii. The e-transformation of large state-owned service providers of the state into digital payments mode under the Vizag Digital Dhan Sankalp (VDDS) project is now accessible to over 90 percent of the city’s two million-strong population.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Nara Chandrababu Naidu is the CM of Andhra Pradesh.
• E.S Lakshmi Narasimhan is the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.

10. V M Kwatra Appointed Ambassador to Principality of Monaco

i. Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Principality of Monaco, with residence in Paris.

ii. Mr Kwatra is presently Ambassador of India to France.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Sushma Swaraj is the present External Affairs Minister of India.

11. NABARD Buys Additional 7% stake in SIDBI from IDBI Bank

i. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has bought an additional 7% stake in Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for Rs 900 crore from public sector lender IDBI Bank Ltd.

ii. This is the largest investment made by the apex rural financial institution so far and raises its total shareholding in Sidbi to 10%.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Harsh Kumar Bhanwala is the present Chairman of NABARD. 
• Mohammad Mustafa is SIDBI's CMD. 
• Mahesh Kumar Jain is the Managing Director & CEO of IDBI Bank.

12. Iceland, Smallest Country to Qualify for Football World Cup 2018

i. Iceland created history by qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. This is the first time that Iceland qualified for the World Cup.

ii. Iceland became the smallest country to clinch a position at the 21st FIFA World Cup. The previous smallest country to have reached the World Cup was Trinidad & Tobago.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• 21st FIFA World Cup will be held in 2018 in Russia.
• This is the first time when Iceland and Panama will be participants.

13. Maharashtra Launched Web Portal with Information on New Government Schemes

i. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis launched ‘MahaLabharthi‘ web portal that will help people get information about all the government schemes that they are eligible for.

ii. The web portal, https://www.mahalabharthi.in, works on the basis of personal, educational and professional information provided by a person while registering on it. 

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Devendra Fadnavis is the present CM of Maharashtra.
• Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao is the present Governor of Maharashtra.

14. Axis Bank Appoints Sangram Singh as Freecharge CEO

i. Axis Bank Ltd has recently completed the acquisition of mobile wallet firm Freecharge and appointed Sangram Singh as its CEO.  He has replaced Jason Kothari.

ii. Freecharge presently has a revenue of about Rs80 crore. Snapdeal had bought Freecharge in April 2015 for an estimated $400 million or over Rs2,500 crore at current rates.

15. Indian Pair Win Gold at World Archery Youth Championship 2017

i. The mixed pair of Jemson Ningthoujam and Ankita Bhakat clinched the gold medal as India returned with three medals from the World Archery Youth Championship in Rosario, Argentina.

ii. This is India’s first world title at the youth championships since Deepika Kumari’s victories in 2009 and 2011. India also bagged one silver and one bronze in a promising show by the youngsters.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Buenos Aires is the Capital of Argentina.
• Argentine Peso is the Currency of Argentina.

16. FIFA Suspends Pakistan Football Federation

i. FIFA has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council on account of undue third-party interference.

ii. The national and club teams will not be allowed to take part in international competitions till the suspension is lifted. FIFA suspended PFF since its accounts were in control of a court-appointed administrator, which is against FIFA rules. The suspension will be lifted when the body becomes independent.

Quantitative Aptitude

Directions (1-6): What should come in place of question mark(?) in the questions given below?(you are not expected to get exact values).

Solutions (1-6):

Q7. A vessel contains 100 litres mixture of milk and water in the respective ratio of 22: 3. 40 litres of the mixture is taken out from the vessel and 4.8 litres of pure milk and pure water each is added to the mixture. By what percent quantity of water is less than the quantity of milk?

Q8. In a vessel, there is a mixture of apple, orange and mango juices in the ratio of 3: 5: 4 respectively. A quantity of 12 litres from the mixture is replaced by 8 litres of apple juice. Thereafter the quantities of apple and orange juices in the resultant mixture become same. Find out the initial quantity of mixture in the vessel. 

(a) 76 litres

(b) 65 litres

(c) 60 litres

(d) 80 litres

(e) None of these

Q9. A 20 litres mixture contains milk and water in the respective ratio of 3: 2. Then 10 litres of the mixture is removed and replaced with pure milk and the operation is repeated once more. At the end of the two removals and replacements, what is the ratio of milk and water in the resultant mixture respectively?

(a) 17 : 3

(b) 9: 1

(c) 4: 17 

(d) 5 : 3

(e) 3: 14

Q10. A jar has 60 litres of milk. From the jar, 12 litres of milk was taken out and replaced by an equal amount of water. If 12 litres of the newly formed mixture is taken out of the jar, what is the final quantity of milk left in the jar?

(a) 38.4 litres

(b) 40 litres

(c) 36 litres

(d) 28.6 litres

(e) 36.5 litres

Directions (11-15): Study the following graph carefully to answer the questions that follow: 

Q11. The number of girls from Biology department is approximately what percent of the total number of girls from all the departments together?

(a) 32

(b) 21

(c) 37

(d) 43

(e) 27

Q12. What is the difference between the total number of boys and the total number of girls from the departments together?

(a) 440

(b)  520

(c) 580

(d) 460

(e) None of these

Q13. What is the average number of boys from all the departments together?

(a) 122

(b) 126

(c) 130

(d) 134

(e) None of these

Q14. The number of boys from Anthropology department is approximately what percent of the total number of boys from all the departments together?

(a) 15

(b) 23

(c) 31

(d) 44

(e) 56

Q15. What is the respective ratio of the number of girls from Philosophy department to the number of girls from Psychology department?

(a) 1: 2

(b) 7: 12

(c) 5: 12

(d) 3: 4

(e) None of these

Solutions (11-15):

Banking Awareness

Q1. HDFC Life Insurance Company has launched ____________ a servicing bot for Twitter that uses artificial intelligence for customer service.

(a) Ping

(b) Seog

(c) Neo

(d) Jong

(e) Meen

S1. Ans.(c)

Sol. HDFC Life Insurance Company has launched 'Neo', a servicing bot for Twitter that uses artificial intelligence for customer service. This is the second bot put in operation by HDFC Life, after the launch of SPOK, which was an email bot to answer customer queries.

Q2. The Reserve Bank of India opened a branch in which city to make transactions of the Uttarakhand State government more convenient?

(a) Mussoorie

(b) Rishikesh

(c) Nainital

(d) Haridwar

(e) Dehradun

S2. Ans.(e)
Sol. The Reserve Bank of India opened a branch in the Dehradun city to make transactions of the Uttarakhand State government more convenient. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the RBI's Branch. Earlier, the state government had to do financial transactions through the Kanpur branch of the RBI.

Q3. Private insurer Tata AIA Life announced the launch of ‘Eazy Connect’, that will extend online customer service to social media platforms. Tata AIA Life) is a joint venture company, formed by-

(a) Tata Sons Limited

(b) AIA Group Limited

(c) Bajaj Allianz

(d) Both (a) and (b)

(e) Both (b) and (c)

S3. Ans.(d)
Sol. Private insurer Tata AIA Life announced the launch of ‘Eazy Connect’, that will extend online customer service to social media platforms. Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA Life) is a joint venture company, formed by Tata Sons Limited and AIA Group Limited (AIA).

Q4. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has downgraded India’s growth projection to __________ for the current fiscal (2017-18) while lowering its forecast for the next financial year as well.

(a) 7.00 percent

(b) 7.10 percent

(c) 7.30 percent

(d) 7.90 percent

(e) 7.60 percent

S4. Ans.(a)
Sol. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has downgraded India’s growth projection to 7 percent for the current fiscal while lowering its forecast for the next financial year as well. India’s GDP growth is downgraded to 7 percent in the financial year 2017-18, a 0.4 percentage point drop from the April forecast. In the financial year 2018-19, the forecast is adjusted down to 7.4 percent, from 7.6 percent, according to the Asian Development Outlook 2017 update.

Q5. The Asian Development Bank will increase its annual lending to India to a maximum of how much billion between 2018 and 2022 to help fasten inclusive economic transformation towards upper middle-income status.

(a) $6 billion 

(b) $4 billion

(c) $10 billion 

(d) $15 billion 

(e) $1 billion 

S5. Ans.(b)
Sol. The Asian Development Bank will increase its annual lending to India to a maximum of $4 billion between 2018 and 2022 to help fasten inclusive economic transformation towards upper middle-income status.

Q6. Who is the present Managing Director (MD) of HDFC Bank?

(a) Rajnish Kumar

(b) Uday Kotak

(c) Shikha Sharma

(d) Chanda Kochhar

(e) Aditya Puri

S6. Ans.(e)
Sol. Aditya Puri is the present Managing Director (MD) of HDFC Bank.

Q7. Which among the following insurance company and Apollo Munich Health has come together to launch ‘Click2Protect Health plan’, which provides both life and health cover under a single plan?

(a) Aviva Insurance Company

(b) MetLife insurance company

(c) Sun Life Financial

(d) HDFC Life Insurance

(e) ING Group

S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. HDFC Life Insurance and Apollo Munich Health have come together to launch ‘Click2Protect Health plan’, which provides both life and health cover under a single plan. This plan combines the benefits of HDFC Life’s ‘Click2Protect 3D Plus (term) protection plan’ and Apollo Munich’s ‘Optima Restore health indemnity plan’.

Q8. Where is the headquarters of Asian Development Bank (ADB)? 

(a) New Delhi, India

(b) Beijing, China

(c) Manila, Philippines

(d) Tokyo, Japan

(e) Nairobi, Kenya

S8. Ans.(c)
Sol. The headquarters of ADB is in Manila, Philippines.

Q9. The government has kept unchanged the interest rates on small savings schemes like PPF, Kisan Vikas Patra and Sukanya Samriddhi for October-December quarter. Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened up to the age of _______ years only from the date of birth.

(a) 5 years

(b) 10 years

(c) 15 years

(d) 20 years

(e) 25 years

S9. Ans.(b)
Sol. The government has kept unchanged the interest rates on small savings schemes like PPF, Kisan Vikas Patra and Sukanya Samriddhi for October-December quarter. Investments in the Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will fetch annual rate of 7.8 percent while Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) investments will yield 7.5 percent and mature in 115 months. Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened up to age of 10 years only from the date of birth. For initial operations of Scheme, one year grace has been given.

Q10. Which Bank has entered into an MoU with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for enabling all HPCL retail outlets with BHIM/UPI merchant solutions?

(a) Vijaya Bank

(b) Corporation Bank

(c) Bank of India

(d) State Bank of India

(e) Bank of Baroda

S10. Ans.(a)
Sol. Vijaya Bank has entered into an MoU with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for enabling all HPCL retail outlets with BHIM/UPI merchant solutions. This rollout will empower all petrol pump attendants and LPG delivery personnel to accept digital payments.

Q11. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to launch a financial literacy drive in 80 blocks in nine states on the pilot basis to educate people on e-transactions, formal sector borrowings and insurance purchases. What is the aim of this drive? 

(a) To inculcate the habit of making a household budget and recording financial transactions

(b) Encourage transactions in savings accounts

(c) Active saving by depositing in banks through fixed deposits and recurring deposits

(d) All of the above is the aim of this drive

(e) Refers to the efficient and effective management of money (funds) in such a manner as to accomplish the objectives

S11. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to launch a financial literacy drive in 80 blocks in nine states on the pilot basis to educate people on e-transactions, formal sector borrowings and insurance purchases. The pilot project, according to RBI will be commissioned in the 9 states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by the 6 NGOs in collaboration with the sponsor Banks. The aim of this drive is to inculcate the habit of making a household budget and recording financial transactions, encourage transactions in savings accounts, and active saving by depositing in banks through fixed deposits and recurring deposits.

Q12. Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) Account is an individual of the Age of ________ or more may open the account.

(a) 60 years

(b) 55 years 

(c) 70 years 

(d) 50 years 

(e) 65 years 

S12. Ans.(a)
Sol. Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) Account- An individual of the Age of 60 years or more may open the account.

Q13. In the Fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2017-18, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at-? 

(a) 5.50 percent

(b) 5.75 percent

(c) 6.25 percent

(d) 6.50 percent

(e) 6.00 percent

S13. Ans.(e)
Sol. On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.0 percent in the Fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2017-18.

Q14. RBI has notified that P2P lending platforms need to be regulated and treated on par with Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs). P2P stands for-

(a) Product-to-Product

(b) Peer-to-Peer

(c) Person-to-Person

(d) Primary-to-Primary

(e) Priority-to-Priority

S14. Ans.(b)
Sol. After a year or more of due-diligence, the RBI has notified that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms need to be regulated and treated on par with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). The final regulatory framework for P2P lenders is still awaited. Few important P2P lending platforms in India are LenDen Club, Faircent, Qbera, Lendbox, Rupaiya Exchange and Monexo.

Q15. Which among the following organisation has allowed Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to raise capital by issuing debt securities?

(a) SIDBI

(b) IRDAI

(c) SEBI

(d) NABARD

(e) RBI

S15. Ans.(c)
Sol. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to raise capital by issuing debt securities. The move will help attract investors to the capital-starved property sector. In addition to allowing bond issuances, SEBI also introduced the concept of strategic investor for REITs, similar to InvITs.