Tuesday, April 24, 2012

GENERAL AWARENESS FOR BANK EXAMS

1. Paying for facilities like issuance of demand drafts, cheque books, credit or debit cards and ATM interchange may soon become pass as public sector lender ____ waived all service charges on current and savings accounts (CASA), the first by any bank. The move is aimed at increasing the bank’s below-industry average CASA deposits and the bank expects to double its retail account to 1 crore in the next 12 months.
a) SBI
b) PNB
c) Canara Bank
d) IDBI Bank
e) None of these

2. At present, how many families are categorized as BPL?
a) 5.10 cr
b) 6.52 cr
c) 7.81 cr
d) 10.40 cr
e) None of these

3. DTC stands for
a) Direct Tax Code
b) Disinvestment Tax Code
c) Derivative Trade Code
d) Distinct Tax Code
e) Delhi Tax Code

4. In a surprise move and to the disappointment of taxpayers, the government on Aug 30 deferred the implementation of the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) by a year to ___, 2012 and sough to waive the preferential treatment to woman in tax payment in the name of gender equity.
a) Jan 1
b) Mar 31
c) Apr 1
d) Dec 31
e) None of these

5. Which of the following statement is/are true about Direct Taxes Code (DTC)?
A) Under the Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010 – tabled in the Lok Sabha by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and referred to the Select Committee of Parliament for scrutiny – the government has sought to raise the income tax exemption limit from Rs.1.6 Lakh to Rs.2 Lakh while retaining a host of incentives for individuals.
B) While senior citizens (above 65 years) will enjoy a higher exemption of Rs.2.5 Lakh, woman taxpayers will have no additional relief as they have not been categorized separately.
C) As for corporate taxes, the levy will be at a flat rate of 30 per cent with no surcharges or cesses. The minimum alternate tax (MAT)will be levied on book profits at 20 per cent.
a) Only A
b) Only A& B
c) Only B&C
d) All the above
e) None of these

6. Name the country with India has signed a protocol to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement that would the wealth illegally stashed away in banks.
a) Britain
b) US
c) Switzerland
d) France
e) None of these

7. In a major step to alleviate delays in wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which state govt has launched an “e-Shakti Financial Inclusion” scheme, the first of its kind in the country?
a) UP
b) MP
c) Bihar
d) Maharashtra
e) None of these

8. Name the bank whose chairman Stephan K Green will be appointed as the minister of state for trade and investment.
a) HSBC Holdings
b) Standard Chartered Bank
c) Barclays Bank
d) Royal Bank of Scotland
e) None of these

9. In a big boost to the disinvestment programme of the UPA-II Government, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry gave its green signal to the sale of government’s stake in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), a move aimed at raising around __________ this fiscal.
a) Rs. 14,000 cr
b) Rs.18,000 cr
c) Rs.24,000 cr
d) Rs. 30,000 cr
e) None of these

10. With a net worth of US$62 billion, Mukesh Ambani would be the richest man of earth in ___________, going past the current claimant, Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, according to a forecast by Forbes.
a) 2012
b) 2014
c) 2016
d) 2018
e) None of these

11. In one of his speeches Pranab Mukherjee said that the Govt had no plans to dilute the roles of market regulators. This means the role of which of the following will not be diluted?
a) Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)
b) Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
c) Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
d) Bureau of Indian Standards
e) Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

12. What is the full form of “ULIP’, the term which was in the news recently?
a) Universal Life & Investment Plan
b) Unit Loan & Insurance Plan
c) Universal Loan & Investment Plan
d) Uniformly Loaded Investment Plan
e) Unit Linked Insurance Plan

13. As per the news published in some major financial news papers, the Maharashtra Govt is planning to introduce “Green Tax” on Vehicles. What is the Purpose of Green Tax?
a) It has been introduced with the aim of discouraging high consumption of petroleum products.
b) It is a tax levied by the Govt in place of VAT as VAT is not very profitable for State Govts.
c) It is just like a toll tax which will be charges from all the vehicles whenever they enter green areas of a city like hospitals, schools, and old-age homes.
d) This is a tax levied on big commercial vehicles only with the aim of prohibiting them from entering residential areas and non-commercial areas.
e) None of these

14. Very often we read in newspapers about 3 G Third Generation Technology. This is a set of standards used by which of the following?
a) To Combat climatic changes
b) Production of nuclear energy
c) Film production
d) Mobile telecommunications
e) All of these

15. Which of the following companies is NOT in the field of insurance business?
a) ICICI Prudential
b) Bajaj Allianz
c) Tata AIG
d) Aegon Religare
e) Royal Orchild

16. Many times we read that a corporate entity is in the process of raising its capital base. Why is a company required to raise money to strengthen its capital base?
A) To finance its diversification Plans
B) To finance its diversification plans
C) To repay its loans and borrowings
a) Only A
b) Only B
c) Only C
d) Only A & B
e) All A, B&C

17. Many times we read in newspapers that a company is planning to bring a public issue. What does it mean?
A) Shares of the company will be issued only through public sector organizations like banks/Central financial institutions etc.
B) Shares of the company will be issued to general public only through primary market.
C) This means some stakeholders/ promoters are willing to leave the company. Hence they wish to sell their stock to the general public.
a) Only A
b) Only B
c) Only C
d) All A,B&C
e) None of these

18. Whenever some people wish to enter into the business world, it is a must for them to approach a bank. What services do banks provide them in this regard?
A) Banks act as payment agents by operating current accounts, paying cheques and receiving payments for them.
B) Maintaining account books for them for their day-to- day activities so that they are not required to appoint account/finance personnel on a regular basis.
C) Lending money by way of overdraft, installment loan, credit or advance for business activities
a) Only A
b) Only B
c) Only C
d) Only A&C
e) All of these

19. As we all have noticed, banks these days are giving more emphasis on “Branchless Banking”. What does this really mean?
A) Banks will not have many branches as used to be in the good old days. Instead, the number of branches will be restricted and will conduct only a specified core business.
B) Banks will launch/operate many delivery channels like ATMs, Mobile Banking/ Internet Banking etc sot that people are not required to visit a branch for their usual banking needs.
C) This means banks will issue only debit or credit cards for all types of day-to-day financial transactions. Cheques/cash payments will not be allowed.
a) Only A
b) Only B
c) Only A&B
d) Only B&C
e) All A, B&C

20. Which of the following is NOT a function of a bank?
a) Providing project finance
b) Selling Mutual Funds
c) Deciding policy rates like CRR, Repo Rate / SLR etc
d) Settlement of payments of behalf of the customers
e) All of these are functions of a bank

21. Which of the following is a form of “savings Bank” popular among the poor or children?
a) Core Banking
b) Credit Banking
c) Debit Card
d) Merchant Banking
e) Piggy Banking

22. Dr. Amartya Sen is a famous
a) Physicist
b) Chemical Engineer
c) Psychologist
e) Economist
e) None of these

23. Which of the following nations is considered the originator of the concept of Micro Finance?
a) India
b) Bangladesh
c) South Africa
d) USA
e) None of these

24. Govt normally does not announce the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of
a) Wheat
b) Paddy
c) Sugarcane
d) Jute
e) All of these

25. At present Dr.D Subbarao is the
a) Governor of Orissa
b) Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
c) Chairman of the FICCI
d) India’s Representative in IMF
e) None of these

26. Banks borrow money from the RBI on which of the following rates?
a) Bank rate
b) CRR
c) SLR
d) Reverse Repo Rate
e) Repo Rate

27. Which of the following is NOT a part of India’s Money Market?
a) Bill Market
b) Call Money Market
c) Banks
d) Mutual Funds
e) Indian Gold Council

28. Which of the following is/are NOT the feature(s) of India’s Foreign Trade Policy (2004 to 2009)?
A) To double India’s percent age share of global trade from present 0.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent by 2009
B) Simplifying the procedures and bringing down the cost
C) Make SAARC countries India’s most preferred foreign trade partners by 2009
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Only III
d) All I, II and III
e) Only I and III

29. Which of the following is /are the measure(s) taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ease the liquidity crunch in the country?
A) Cut in Cash Reserve Ratio and Statutory Liquidity Ratio.
B) Increase the flow of foreign direct investment
C) Supply of additional currency notes in the market.
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Only III
d) All I, II and III
e) None of these

30. Which of the following services is NOT provided by the post offices of India?
a) Savings Bank Scheme
b) Retailing of Mutual Funds
c) Sale of Stamp Papers (Judicial)
d) Issuance of Demand Drafts
e) Life Insurance Cover

31. Which of the following is true of New Lending Rate System in Banks?
a) For existing loans, the base rate would be applicable once they matured.
b) For new loans, the base rate would be levied immediately.
c) Banks can not charge customers any fee for such switch-over.
d) All of these
e) None of these

32. According to recently released RBI data on the Balance of Payment, net portfolio investments into country during April- December amounted to
a) $ 23.6 billion
b) $ 30.4 billion
c) $ 32.8 billion
d) $ 36.6 billion
e) $ 40.4 billion

33. Which of the following is NOT a Government sponsored organization?
a) Small Industries Development Bank of India
b) NABARD
c) National Housing Bank
d) ICICI Bank
e) All are government sponsored

34. The Reserve Bank has constituted a working group to review the current operating procedure of monetary policy, as transmission of the policy to the rest of the system remains imperfect. The group, to be headed by RBI executive director ___________, will also review the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), through which the central bank manages money supply in the system on a day-to-day basis.
a) Usha Thorat
b) Deepak Mohanty
c) Rakesh Mohan
d) Naresh Chandra
e) None of these

35. SEBI was established in
a) 1993
b) 1992
c) 1988
d) 1990
e) None of these

36. The working of SEBI includes:
a) To regulate the dealings of share market
b) To check the foul dealings in share market
c) To control the inside trading of shares
d) All of these
e) None of these

37. The ‘Ad hoc Treasury Bill a system’ of meeting budget deficit in India was replaced by a system which came into force on
a) March 31,1997
b) April 1,1996
c) April 1,1997
d) March 31, 1996
e) None of these

38. The recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission has become/will be operational during the period
a) 2009-14
b) 2010 – 15
c) 2011 – 16
d) 2012 – 2017
e) None of these

39. Rural Woman can avail the benefit of Mahila Samriddhi Yojana if they open their account in
a) Rural Pot Offices
b) Commercial Banks
c) Rural Development Bank
d) Any of the above
e) None of these

40. The rate at which banks lend to RBI is known as
a) Bank Rate
b) Repo Rate
c) Reverse Repo Rate
d) Interest Rate
e) None of these

41. The cause of deflation is
a) Lack of goods and services as compared to money supply
b) Lack of imports as compared to exports
c) Lack of money supply as compared to supply of goods and services
d) Lack of money supply and goods
e) None of these

42. Which bank in India performs the duties of the central bank?
a) Central Bank of India
b) State Bank of India
c) Reserve Bank of India
d) Bank of India
e) None of these

43. Mixed Economy means
a) Co-existence of small and large industries
b) Promoting both Agriculture and Industries in the economy
c) Co-existence of public and private sectors
d) Co-existence of the rich and the poor
e) None of these

44. ‘Pure Banking, Northing Else’ is a slogan raised by
a) ICICI Bank
b) HDFC Bank
c) SBI
d) UTI Bank
e) None of these

45. Which of the following is true about Swavalamban Scheme?
A) Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will launch the Swavalamban scheme in Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
B) As per the scheme, the Centre will contribute Rs.1,000 a year to each New Pension Scheme (NPS) account opened in the current year.
C) The contribution will be made till 2013 – 14
D) To be eligible, a person will have to make a minimum contribution of Rs.1,000 and maximum contribution of Rs.12,000 per annum.
a) Only A,B & C
b) Only A, C & D
c) Only A & D
d) All the above
e) None of these

46. The axe finally fell on Asia’s first cooperative bank, ___________, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled its licence and asked it not to continue any banking – related transactions until further directions.
a) Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd
b) Cosmos Co-operative Bank Ltd
c) Nadar Co-operative Bank Ltd
d) Anyonya Cooperative Bank Ltd
e) None of these

47. 13th Finance Commission was constituted under the Chairmanship of
a) YSP Thorat
b) Vijai L Kelkar
c) TS Vijayan
d) Laxmi Narayan
e) None of these

48. SEBI is a
a) Statutory body
b) Advisory body
c) Constitutional body
d) Non-statutory body
e) None of these

49. Bank Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) was withdrawn with effect from
a) January 1, 2009
b) March 1, 2009
c) March 31, 2009
d) April 1, 2009
e) None of these

50. Which committee recommended abolition of tax rebates under Section 88?
a) Chelliah Committee
b) Kelkar Committee
c) Shome Committee
d) Naresh Chandra Committee
e) None of these


ANSWERS :

1.D 2.B 3.A 4.C 5.D 6.C 7.C 8.A 9.C 10.B

11.E 12.E 13.E 14.D 15.E 16.A 17.B 18.D 19.E 20.C

21.E 22.D 23.B 24.D 25.E 26.E 27.E 28.D 29.A 30.E

31.D 32.C 33.D 34.B 35.C 36.D 37.C 38.B 39.A 40.C

41.C 42.C 43.C 44.C 45.D 46.D 47.B 48.A 49.D 50.B