Changing Role of Banks in India

Banks in India today have become more customer - focused and service-oriented than they were before 1991. The banks in India now give a lot of importance to their rural customers.
★ The following points briefly highlight the changing role of banks in India
1. Better customer service
2. Mobile banking facility
3. Bank on wheels scheme
4. Portfolio management
5. Issue of electro-magnetic cards
6. Universal banking
7. Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
8. Internet Banking
9. Encouragement to bank amalgamation
10. Encouragement to personal loans
11. Marketing of mutual funds
12. Social banking, etc.
★ The above - mentioned points indicate the role of banks in India is changing. Now let's discuss how banking in India is getting much better day after day.
Better Customer Service:
Before 1991, the overall service of banks in India was very poor. There were very long queues to receive payment for cheques and to deposit Cash. The banks were restricted to provide the better customer service in those days. Banks in India have now become very customer and service focus. Their service has become quick, efficient and customer - friendly. This positive change is mostly due to rising competition from new private banks and initiation of Ombudsman Scheme by RBI.
Mobile Banking:
Under mobile banking service, customers can easily carry out major banking transactions by simply using their cell phones or mobiles. Using secret credentials and registered phone, customer can now comfortably and securely, find his bank balance, transfer money from his account to another, ask for a cheque book, stop payment of a cheque, etc.
★ Today, almost all banks in India provide a mobile-banking service.
Bank on Wheels:
The 'Bank on Wheels' scheme was first introduced in the North - East Region of India. Under this scheme, banking services are made accessible to people staying in the remote areas of India. This scheme is a generous attempt to serve banking needs of rural India.
★ Portfolio Management: In this portfolio management, banks do all the investments work of their clients.
★ Banks invest their clients' money in shares, debentures, fixed deposits, etc. They first enter a contract with their clients and charge them a fee for this service. Then they have the full power to invest or disinvest their clients' money. However, they have to give safety and profit to their clients. Issue of Electro - Magnetic Cards Banks in India have already started issuing Electro - Magnetic Cards to their customers. These cards help to carry out cash - less transactions, make an online purchase, avail ATM facility, book a railway ticket, do shopping online etc. Banks issue many types of electromagnetic cards like Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Charge Cards, Kisan Credit Cards etc.
Universal Banking:
In India, the concept of universal banking has gained recognition after year 2000. The customers can get all banking and non-banking services under one roof. Universal bank is like a super store. It offers a wide range of services, including banking and other financial services like insurance, merchant banking, etc.
Automated Teller Machine (ATM):
There are many advantages of ATM. As a result, many banks have opened up ATM centres to offer convenience to their customers. Now banks are operating ATM centres not only in their branches (on site ATM) but also at public places like airports, railway stations, hotels, bazaars (off site ATM). Some banks have joined together and agreed upon to set up common ATM centres all over India.
Internet Banking
Internet banking is also called as an E - banking or net banking. Customer can do banking transactions through the medium of the internet or world wide web (WWW). The customer need not visit the bank's branch. Through this facility, the customer can easily inquiry about bank balance, transfer funds, request for a cheque book, etc. Most large banks offer this service to their tech-savvy customers.
Encouragement to Bank Amalgamation:
Failure of banks is well-protected with the facility of amalgamation. So depositors need not worry about their deposits. When weaker banks are absorbed by stronger banks, it is called amalgamation of banks. Encouragement to Personal Loans:
Today, the purchasing power of Indian consumers has increased dramatically because banks give them easy personal loans. Generally, interest charged by the banks on such loans is very high. Interest is calculated on reducing balance. The documentation is less and processing is fast in these loans.
Marketing of Mutual Funds:
A mutual fund collects money from many investors and invests the money in shares, bonds, short-term money market instruments, gold assets; etc. Mutual funds earn income by interest and dividend or both from its investments. It pays a dividend to subscribers. These funds are not insured like other bank deposits. There are different types of funds such as open-ended funds, closed-ended funds, growth funds, balanced funds, income funds, etc.
Social Banking:
The government uses the banking system to alleviate poverty and unemployment. Many
social development programmes are initiated by the banks from time to time. The success of these programmes depends on financial support provided by the banks. Banks supply a lot of finance to farmers, artisans, scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) families, unemployed youth and people living below the poverty line (BPL) under social banking.

Model Questions

1. If the customer can do all transactions only in a branch and the branch has no online access, it is called .............
1) Online Banking
2) Internet Banking
3) Virtual Banking
4) Brick and Mortar Banking
5) None of these

2. As a part of financial inclusion, Bank on Wheels is a banking kiosk in a mobile van which goes to various rural villages as per the predetermined schedule to provide the banking services to the rural Indians. This Vehicle Tracking through GPRS. GPRS stands for .............
1) General Packet Radio Service
2) General Packet Running Service
3) Gross Packet Radio Service
4) Gain Packet Radio Service
5) General Packet Radio Store

3. A collection of investment tools such as stocks, shares, mutual funds, bonds, cash and so on depending on the investor's income, budget and convenient time frame. The art of selecting the right investment policy
for the individuals in terms of minimum risk and maximum return is called as .........
1) Portfolio management
2) Credit creation
3) Amortized management
4) Zero account
5) None of these

4. Which bank has launched the country's first contactless debit and credit cards on 7 January 2015?
1) HDFC
2) SBI
3) ICICI
4) Union Bank of India
5) Yes Bank

5. On 7 May 2015, RBI said with effect from September 1, 2015 all new cards issued - debit and credit, domestic and international - by banks shall be EMV chip and pin based cards. EMV stands for ................
1) Europay, Mastro and Visa.
2) Euro, Master Card and Visa.
3) Europay, Master Card and Visulas.
4) Entitlement of Master Card and Visa.
5) Europay, Master Card and Visa.

6. Which is the first bank to get ISO certificate?
1) Corporation Bank
2) UBI
3) Canara Bank
4) Syndicate Bank
5) ICICI

7. Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme introduced in .................. has emerged as an innovative credit delivery mechanism to meet the production credit requirements of the farmers in a timely and hassle - free manner.
1) 1998
2) 2000
3) 2001
4) 1991
5) 2004

8. To make KCC a Smart Card cum Debit Card, Government of India had constituted a Working Group under the Chairmanship of ..................
1) C. Ranga Rajan
2) Chanda Kocchar
3) Arundhathi Bhattacharya
4) D. Subba Rao
5) T.M. Bhasin

9. In 2014, Competition Commission of India probed the merger between regional rural banks sponsored by Punjab National Bank and ................
1) Andhra Bank
2) Union Bank of India
3) State Bank of India
4) Syndicate Bank
5) None of these

10. A personal loan is a kind of unsecured loan which can be used for any purpose that the borrower deems necessary. The loan backed only by promise to repay, and for this reason the personal loan also called...........
1) Signature loans
2) Secured loans
3) Priority sector loan
4) Transfer loan
5) None of these

11. AMFI is dedicated to developing the Indian Mutual Fund Industry on professional, healthy and ethical lines and to enhance and maintain standards in the industry. AMFI stands for ...............
1) Association of Mutual Funds in India
2) Authority of Mutual Funds in India
3) Amalgamation of Mutual Funds in India
4) Association of Mutual Finance in India
5) None of these

12. Providing Gas subsidy, government pensions, providing scholarships etc through banks called as ...............
1) Social Banking
2) Area Banking
3) Royal Banking
4) Visual Banking
5) None of these

13. Which bank bagged the Core Banking System Initiative Award for the year 2014 at the Asian Banking and Finance - Retail Banking Awards 2014?
1) SBI
2) ICICI Bank
3) Bharathiya Mahila Bank
4) Standard Bank
5) None of these

14. In the IBA Banking Technology Awards 2014, Best Financial Inclusion Initiative award among Public Sector bank conferred on ..............
1) SBI
2) Corporation Bank
3) Andhra Bank
4) Bank of Baroda
5) IOB

15. Which of the following banking does not come under Social Banking?
1) Crediting the LPG subsidy in the beneficiary bank account
2) Offering Jan Dhan Scheme accounts
3) Allowing students to credit their scholarships through No-frill accounts
4) Allowing the subsidy loan to disadvantage sections of the society
5) All of the above banking operations come under social banking

Answers:
1-4, 2-1, 3-1, 4-3, 5-5, 6-3, 7-1, 8-5, 9-4, 10-1, 11-1, 12-1, 13-3, 14-4, 15-3.

BANK EXAMS SPECIAL - GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. Surender Singh took over as the new Director General of which of the following paramilitary forces on May 1, 2015?
1) CRPF
2) BSF
3) CISF
4) NSG
5) ITBP

2. Who was conferred the RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement for excellence in journalism on April 30, 2015?
1) Arnab Goswami
2) Prannoy Roy
3) Sreenivasan Jain
4) Shekhar Gupta
5) Krishna Prasad

3. ‘Varuna’ is a joint naval exercise between India and?
1) USA
2) Singapore
3) France
4) Japan
5) UK

4. Who was appointed the Chairperson of Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI) in April 2015?
1) Sai Paranjpye
2) Nafisa Ali
3) Ekta Kapoor
 4) Mukesh Khanna
5) Pankaj Dheer

5. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania as his Special Envoy for?
1) Yemen
2) Syria
3) Iraq
4) Afghanistan
5) Pakistan

6. Who was named the honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2014?
1) N. Ramachandran
2) N. Srinivasan
3) Suresh Kalmadi
4) Randhir Singh
5) None of these

7. Donald Tusk is the current President of the European Council. He is the former Prime Minister of?
1) Czech Republic
2) Slovakia
3) Poland
4) Portugal
5) Slovenia

8. The first Regional Rural Bank in India, the Prathama Grameen Bank, was started in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh in 1975. It was sponsored by?
1) Punjab National Bank
2) State Bank of India
 3) Indian Bank
4) Syndicate Bank
5) Dena Bank

9. What does the letter ‘S’ denote in the term IFSC?
1) Subscriber
2) State
3) Station
4) Source
5) System

10. Who is the present Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)?
1) O.P. Singh
2) A.P. Maheshwari
3) D.K. Pandey
4) R.K. Prachanda
5) Ramesh P. Singh

11. The National Disaster Response Force consists of ten battalions from?
1) CRPF
2) BSF
3) CISF
4) ITBP
5) All the above

12. Who is the present Chairman of the Press Council of India (PCI)?
1) Justice P.B. Sawant
2) Justice C.K. Prasad
3) Justice R.S. Sarkaria
4) Justice A.N. Sen
5) Justice Markandey Katju

13. TVS Company Chairman Venu Srinivasan has been conferred the title of honorary citizen of Busan, the second largest city in?
1) Japan
2) China
3) South Korea
4) Thailand
5) None of these

14. Who was appointed as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in November 2014?
1) Manbir Singh
2) Amar Pratap Singh
3) D.K. Dewan
4) Deepak Gupta
5) Vinay Mittal

15. A.R. Antulay died in December 2014. He was the former Chief Minister of?
1) Karnataka
2) Goa
3) Odisha
4) Bihar
5) Maharashtra

16. The United Nations General Assembly declared which of the following days as the World Soil Day?
1) June 5
2) July 5
3) November 5
4) October 5
5) December 5

17. Jarbom Gamlin died on 2014 November 30. He was the former Chief Minister of?
1) Sikkim
2) Nagaland
3) Arunachal Pradesh
4) Tripura
5) Manipur

Answers
1) 3 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 5) 1 6) 4 7) 3 8) 4 9) 5 10) 1
11) 5 12) 2 13) 3 14) 4 15) 5 16) 5 17) 3

Primary and Secondary Functions of Commercial Banks

A commercial bank is a type of bank that provides services such as accepting deposits, making business loans, and offering basic investment products. On day to day functioning it discharge many functions broadly classified as Primary and Secondary Functions mentioned below.
I. Primary Functions
1) Accepting Deposits
2) Advancing Loans
II. Secondary Functions
1) Overdraft Facility
2) Discounting Bills of Exchange
3) Agency Functions
4) General Utility Functions

Primary Functions
1. Accepting Deposits:
It is one of the most important function of commercial banks. The commercial banks accept the deposits at lower rates and provide the loans. They accept deposits in several forms according to requirements of different sections of the society.
 The main kinds of deposits are:
i) Current Account Deposits or Demand Deposits: 
These deposits refer to those deposits which are repayable by the banks on demand.
★ Such deposits are generally maintained by businessmen with the intention of making transactions with such deposits. The business men usually deposit from their excess cash balances and withdraw when they need.
★ They can be drawn upon by a cheque without any restriction.
★ Banks do not pay any interest on these accounts. Rather, banks impose service charges for running these accounts.
ii) Fixed Deposits or Time Deposits: 
Fixed deposits refer to those deposits, in which the amount is deposited with the bank for a fixed period of time.
★ Such deposits do not enjoy cheque-able facility.
★ These deposits carry a high rate of interest.
iii) Saving Deposits: 
These deposits combine features of both current account deposits and fixed deposits.
★ The depositors are given cheque facility to withdraw money from their account. But, some restrictions are imposed on number and amount of withdrawals, in order to discourage frequent use of saving deposits.
★ They carry a rate of interest which is less than interest rate on fixed deposits. It must be noted that Current Account deposits and saving deposits are chequable deposits, whereas, fixed deposit is a non-chequable deposit.
2. Advancing of Loans:
 The deposits received by banks are not allowed to remain idle. So, after keeping certain cash reserves, the balance is given to needy borrowers and interest is charged from them, which is the main source of income for these banks.
 Different types of loans and advances made by Commercial banks are:
i) Cash Credit: The Cash credit refers to a loan given to the borrower against his current assets like shares, stocks, bonds, etc. A credit limit is sanctioned and the amount is credited in his account. The borrower may withdraw any amount within his credit limit and interest is charged on the amount actually withdrawn.
ii) Demand Loans: Demand loans refer to those loans which can be recalled on demand by the bank at any time. The entire sum of demand loan is credited to the account and interest is payable on the entire sum.
iii) Short-term Loans: They are given as personal loans against some collateral security. The money is credited to the account of borrower and the borrower can withdraw money from his account and interest is payable on the entire sum of loan granted.

Secondary Functions
1. Overdraft Facility: 
It refers to a facility in which a customer is allowed to overdraw his current account up to an agreed limit. This facility is generally given to respectable and reliable customers for a short period. Customers have to pay interest to the bank on the amount overdrawn by them.
2. Discounting Bills of Exchange: 
It refers to a facility in which holder of a bill of exchange can get the bill discounted with bank before
the maturity. After deducting the commission, bank pays the balance to the holder. On maturity, bank gets its payment from the party which had accepted the bill.
3. Agency Functions: 
Commercial banks also perform certain agency functions for their customers. For these services, banks charge some commission from their clients.
 Some of the agency functions are:
i) Transfer of Funds: 
Banks provide the facility of economical and easy remittance of funds from place-to-place with the help of instruments like demand drafts, mail transfers, etc.
ii) Collection and Payment of Various Bill Payments: 
Commercial banks collect cheques, bills, interest, dividends, subscriptions, rents and other periodical receipts on behalf of their customers and also make payments of taxes, insurance premium, etc. on standing instructions of their clients.
iii) Purchase and Sale of Foreign Exchange:
Some commercial banks are authorized by the central bank to deal in foreign exchange. They buy and sell foreign exchange on behalf of their customers and help in promoting international trade.
iv) Purchase and Sale of Securities:
Commercial banks buy and sell stocks and shares of private companies as well as government securities on behalf of their customers.
v) Income Tax Consultancy:
They also give advice to their customers on matters relating to income tax and even prepare their income
tax returns.
vi) Trustee and Executor: 
Commercial banks preserve the wills of their customers as trustees and execute them after their death as executors.
4. General Utility Functions: 
Commercial banks render some general utility services like:
i) Locker Facility: 
Commercial banks provide facility of safety vaults or lockers to keep valuable articles of customers in safe custody.
ii) Traveller's Cheques: 
Commercial banks issue traveler's cheques to their customers to avoid risk of taking cash during their journey.
iii) Letter of Credit: 
Commercial banks issue letters of credit to their customers to certify their creditworthiness.
iv) Underwriting Securities: 
Commercial banks also undertake the task of underwriting securities. As public has full faith in the creditworthiness of banks, public do not hesitate in buying the securities underwritten by banks.
v) Collection of Statistics: 
Banks collect and publish statistics relating to trade, commerce and industry. Hence, they advice customers on financial matters. Commercial banks receive deposits from the public and use these deposits to give loans. However, loans offered are many times more than the deposits received by banks. This function of banks is known as 'Money Creation'.

General Awareness Practice Questions for all bank exams

1. Which of the following function is not relating to Commercial Bank?
1) Accepting Time Deposits
2) Providing Loans
3) Doing Agriculture Activity
4) Discounting Bills of Exchange
5) Provide online technology nowadays for speed transfer of money

2. Why banks pay no rate of interest or very less rate of interest on current accounts?
1) RBI orders bank not to pay rate of interest for current accounts.
2) Banks do not pay rate of interest as the current accounts not offered by Scheduled banks.
3) Banks cannot utilise these short-term deposits for lending purposes and must keep almost cent percent reserve against them.
4) To maintain the current account is more expensive, so they do not pay rate of interest.
5) None of above

3. Which of the following statement is wrong related to Overdraft?
1) Overdraft provide by commercial banks as form of Loans.
2) Banks collect rate of interest on Overdrafts.
3) Overdraft can be issued to non-customer also.
4) Some banks levy bank charges to process the overdraft loans.
5) None of above

4. Hundi is a ........... in an Indian language, governed by customs and local usage.
1) Cheque 
2) Demand Draft
3) Bill of Exchange
4) Promissory Note 
5) None

5. Which of the following is not agency function of Commercial banks?
1) Letters of Reference
2) Tax Consultancy
3) Accepting Deposits
4) Purchase and Sale of Foreign Exchange
5) Trustee and Executor

6. Which is the first commercial bank in India initiated to have Television Banking (TVB), avail the banking information on TV screens. This enable TV viewers to access information of Bank's services and products, from the convince of their homes?
1) SBI 
2) Corporation Bank
3) ICICI 
4) Canara Bank
5) Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank Limited

7. On 13 March 2015, the Union government declared that unused priority sector lending funds of commercial banks will be used to set up the Rs.20,000 crore corpus of the proposed .......
1) Bharathiya Mahila Bank 
2) AIIB
3) PLB
4) New Development Bank
5) MUDRA Bank

8. Which bank launched the mobile app 'Chillr', which allows users to instantly transfer money to any contact in their phone book. The best part about using this money transfer mechanism is that, there is no need to add beneficiary details such as bank account number, IFSC codes etc
1) ICICI 
2) SBI 
3) HDFC
4) Citi Bank 
5) Yes Bank

9. Which commercial bank has launched a mobile application 'Pingpay' that enables customers to make payments to any contact across social media platforms in seconds?
1) Central bank of India 
2) Andhra Bank
3) Axis Bank 
4) ICICI
5) SBI

10. Government ordered commercial banks to step up lending to minorities on 12 March 2015. Accordingly, all scheduled commercial banks are required to specially monitor the credit flow to minorities in how many districts?
1) 140 
2) 121 
3) 90
4) 640 
5) 88

11. The statements related to corporate funding given. Locate the wrong statement.
1) RBI moves to restrict commercial banks exposure to corporate loans.
2) Banks would only be allowed to lend up to 25 percent of their core capital.
3) The earlier ceiling of up to 55 percent.
4) RBI proposes this new rule effective from 1 January 2019.
5) None

12. The rate at which RBI purchases or rediscounts bills of exchange of commercial banks is called ........
1) CRR 
2) Base Rate
3) SLR 
4) LAF
5) Bank Rate

13. In which year the Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. converted into a commercial bank - the first Indian company to do so?
1) 1996 
2) 1998 
3) 1994
4) 2003 
5) 2010

14. The power of the commercial banks to expand deposits through expanding their loans and advances is known as which among the following?
1) Capital Expansion 
2) Credit Expansion
3) Credit Control 
4) Credit suasion
5) Credit Creation

ANSWERS:
1-3, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, 6-3, 7-5, 8-3, 9-3, 10-2
11-5, 12-5, 13-4, 14-5

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL BANK EXAMS 2015

1. Who is the Chairman of NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)?
a) Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala
b) Mrs V.R.Iyer
c) HR Kamath
d) B Bhattacharya
e) R Rajendran

2. For recovery of NPA from the defaulted borrowers, SARFAESI Act 2002, is implemented. What does the letter ‘S’ stands for in SARFAESI
a) Social
b) Security
c) Seasonal
d) Stamp
e) Systematic

3. Bank holidays under Sec.25 of N.I. Act are declared by
a) RBI
b) State govt. for the respect state
c) Central govt.
d) LHO
e) Prime Minister

4. One rupee coin issued under _____ Act
a) Coinage Act 1906
b) RBI
c) BR
d) All the above
e) None of these

5. Clean Note policy has been introduced as per
a) Banking Regulation Act
b) RBI Act
c) SBI Act
d) PNB Act
e) None of these

6. Under prevention of Money laundering Act 2002, the financial transaction records have to be preserved for _____ years.
a) 5
b) 10
c) 20
d) 40
e) None of these

7. Under prevention of Money laundering Act 2002, banks have to report suspicious transaction to _____
a) RBI
b) CBI
c) FIU-IND
d) LHO
e) Central Govt.

8. RBI Has relaxed KYC norms for small account holders who do not intend to make deposits over Rs.50,000/- and total credits in the account in a year is limited to Rs. 1 lakh. Total withdrawls/ Transfer in a month does not exceed Rs. ____
a) 10,000
b) 20,000
c) 50,000
d) 60,000
e) None of these

9. When form15-H has been received, the bank shall forward the same to I.T. Department on or before ____ day of next month.
a) 3rd
b) 5th
c) 7th
d) 15th
e) 17th

10. In which of the following transaction PAN should be quoted?
a) A time deposit exceeding Rs.50,000
b) Payment in cash to purchase bank draft or banker’s cheque for an amount aggregating Rs.50,000 or more during any one day
c) Deposit cash aggregating Rs. 50,000 or more during any one day
d) All the above
e) None of these

11. Currency Notes are printed at:
a) Nasik
b) Dewas
c) Mysore
d) Salboni
e) All of these

12. If the customer does not cooperate for making their accounts KYC compliant, despite repeated communication/ contacts, their accounts should be _____.
a) Frozen
b) Closed
c) Close the account only after
compliance of KYC
d) a or c
e) a & b

13. As per KYC Norms / AML measures risk categorization of all customer accounts should be done and review of risk categorization should be cared out at ____ months intervals every year.
a) 3
b) 6
c) 9
d) 12
e) 15

14. SLR has to be maintained by banks under _______
a) Sec. 24 of BR Act
b) Sec. 24 of RBI Act
c) Sec. 42 of RBI Act
d) Sec. 42 of BR Act
e) None of these

15. Who is the Chairman of IRDA?
a) T.S.Vijayan
b) Dr. Rangarajan
c) M.V.Nair
d) J.S. Bhatnagar
e) HR Khan

16. Who is the authority for referring appeals against the award of banking ombudsman?
a) Deputy Governor, RBI
b) RBI Governor
c) CMD of concerned bank
d) Group of CMDs formed by RBI
e) None of the above

17. The sponsoring bank’s share in RBIs is:
a) 50%
b) 35%
c) 15%
d) 75%
e) None of these

18. Can a HUF join as a partner in a partnership firm?
a) Can be included
b) Can be included with company
c) Cannot join
d) Can join subject to the approval of CMD
e) None of the above

19. Bank’s Lien is:
a) General lien
b) Particular lien
c) Contingent lien
d) b & c
e) None of these

20. Within how many days the CPIO (Central Public Information Officer) has to provide information under RTI Act?
a) 30 days
b) 15 days
c) 45 days
d) 10 days
e) 60 hours

21. Which of the following is not a negotiable instrument as per N.I. Act?
a) Promissory note
b) Draft
c) TDR (Term Deposit Receipt)
d) Cheque
e) None of the above

22. Which of the following is not correct in respect of issue of CP:
a) It can now be issued as a standalone facility
b) Minimum issue is Rs. 5 lakh
c) CPs can be underwritten by a bank
d) Minimum Tangible net worth of the Corporate should be Rs. 4 crore
e) All the above

23. The maximum period for which a CD can be issued is _____
a) 1 month
b) 3 months
c) 180 days
d) 1 year
e) None of these

24. What is not true about CDs?
a) It is transferable from the data issues
b) It can be issued for a minimum period of 7 days
c) It is not all transferable
d) It can be issued in demat form only
e) None of these

25. Gilt edged securities refer to ___
a) Govt. securities
b) Shares of first class companies
c) Securities issued by first class companies
d) Duplicate securities
e) Securities issued by RBI Identified Companies

26. The standard rate at which the RBI is prepared to buy or rediscount export bills or other commercial
paper eligible for purchase from banks under the RBI Act is known as _____
a) Bank rate
b) Repo Rate
c) Card rate
d) PLR
e) Base Rate

27. The result of increase in SLR by RBI is
a) Decrease in lendable resources of banks
b) Increase in loadable resources of banks
c) There will not be any change in loan able resources of banks
d) Only b and c
e) None of these

28. Blue chip securities mean ____
a) Shares of progressive, well managed companies with excellent record of payment of dividends.
b) The shares which are in blue ink
c) Securities issued by Chip Manufacturing companies
d) Securities identified by the concerned state governments
e) None of the above

29. Cash kept in the currency chest is owned by
a) Currency Chest Branch Bank
b) Central Government
c) Reserve Bank of India
d) State Bank of India
e) None of the above

30. Bank can’t proceed against the borrower under SARFAESI Act where:
a) Security is agricultural land
b) Liability is less than Rs.1 lakh
c) Liability is less than 20% of the principal
d) Pledge of movables
e) All the above

31. The minimum capital required to start a new private sector bank is________
a) 100 crore
b) 200 crore
c) 300 crore
d) 400 crore
e) 500 crore

32. RBI injects liquidity through
a) Increase Bank Rate
b) Reduction of Repo Rate
c) Reduction of Reverse Repo
d) Increase CRR
e) Increase SLR

33. A customer requested to include his wife and daughter as nominees after one year of opening of
the account. Will it be accepted?
a) It can be accepted since the nominees are the family members of the depositor
b) Cannot be considered since the request is not received at the time of opening of account
c) Can be considered with 50% share each
d) Nomination should be made only in favor of single name. Hence can’t be considered
e) None of the above

34. What is the relationship between the Bank and Overdraft Customer where the account is showing
credit balance?
a) Creditor & Debtor
b) Principle & Agent
c) Trustee & Beneficiary
d) Debtor & Creditor
e) None of the above

35. What are the interest rates that are still regulated by RBI?
a) SB Deposits
b) Commercial Loans
c) DRI Loans
d) b & c
e) All

ANSWERS:
1) a; 2) b; 3) b; 4) a; 5) a; 6) b; 7) c; 8) a; 9) c; 10) d;
11) e; 12) b; 13) b; 14) a; 15) a; 16) a; 17) b; 18) c; 19) a; 20) a;
21) c; 22) c; 23) d; 24) e; 25) a; 26) a; 27) a; 28) a; 29) c; 30) e;
31) e; 32) b; 33) d; 34) d; 35) c.

Mission Indradhanush

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has launched Mission Indradhanush on 25th December 2014 with the aim of expanding immunization coverage to all children across India by year 2020. The Mission Indradhanush, depicting seven colours of the rainbow, targets to immunize all children against seven vaccine preventable diseases namely Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Childhood Tuberculosis, Polio, Hepatitis B and Measles. In addition to this, vaccines for JE (Japanese Encephalitis) and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B) are also being provided in selected states.  Immunization is the key to protect children from life threatening conditions that are preventable. As per MOHFW, immunization coverage in India has increased from 61% to 65% only from 2009-2013. So, MOHFW has decided to intensify its efforts in immunization though this mission.      

 

Objectives of Mission Indradhanush

The government intends to cover 201 high focus districts in the first phase of year 2015.  These districts have nearly 50% of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children. Out of these 201 districts, 82 districts lie in just four states of India namely, UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Nearly 25% of the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children of India live in these 82 districts of 4 states. Furthermore, another 297 districts will be targeted in the second phase of year 2015.

 

Strategy of Mission Indradhanush
The government has planned to conduct four special vaccination campaigns between January and June 2015.  All vaccines are already available free of cost under universal immunisation programme in India. Under this mission, government plans to intensify its efforts and thus increase accessibility of these vaccines to all the children of India. 

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

1. Proportional Reserve System was replaced in 1956 by Minimum of Foreign Reserve System. It means....
1) RBI to hold assets minimum of Rs. 515 crores worth of foreign reserves in which Rs. 115 Cr. of gold and Rs. 400 Cr. of foreign securities must be maintained.
2) RBI to hold assets minimum of Rs. 515 crores worth of foreign reserves in which Rs. 115 Cr. of gold and Rs. 400 Cr. Dollars must be maintained.
3) RBI to hold assets minimum of Rs. 515 crores worth of foreign reserves in which Rs. 400 Cr. of gold and Rs. 115 Cr. of foreign securities must be maintained.
4) RBI to hold assets minimum of Rs. 515 crores worth of foreign reserves in which Rs. 200 Cr. of gold and Rs. 315 Cr. of foreign direct investments.
5) RBI to hold assets minimum of Rs. 515 crores worth of foreign reserves in any mode.

2. 1956 Minimum of Foreign Reserve System of RBI was diluted in 1957. It says .....
1) RBI should maintain Rs. 115 crore worth of Gold.
2) RBI should maintain Rs. 150 crore worth of Gold and Rs. 450 Cr. worth of Government bonds.
3) RBI should maintain Rs. 1000 Cr. worth of Gold or Rs. 1000 crore worth of Government securities.
4) RBI should maintain Rs. 100 Cr. worth of Gold or Rs. 1000 crore worth of foreign securities.
5) RBI need not maintain any worth of Gold or Government securities.

3. Currency paper is composed of ......
1) Flax seed pulp
2) Soya seed pulp
3) Cotton and cotton rag
4) Jute
5) None

4. Who determines the denominations of Paper currency?
1) RBI
2) Ministry of Commerce
3) Government of India
4) Deputy Governor
5) None of above

5. To cancel the disadvantages of Paper Currency Plastic currency mooted. Which is the first country to mint Plastic money?
1) India
2) New Zealand
3) China
4) Spain
5) Australia

6. India moots to mint ........ rupee plastic money first?
1) 5
2) 2
3) 100
4) 10
5) 500

7. In the five cities/ towns, the Rs. 10 plastic paper currency to be introduced for the valuation of up to Rs. 100 crores. They are Kochi, Mysore, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and....
1) New Delhi
2) Hyderabad
3) Visakhapatnam
4) Shimla
5) Pune

8.Virtual Currency is .....
1) coins
2) Bit coin
3) Rs. 1000 currency note
4) Rs. 1 coin
5) None

9. Bit coin invented by ........
1) John Shepherd - Barron
2) Satoshi Nakamoto
3) Tim Berners-Lee
4) Charles Babbage
5) None of above

10. Who has the sole right to mint coins in India?
1) RBI
2) MMTC
3) Government of India
4) SBI
5) Department of Post

11. Whose signature appears on coins?
1) President of India
2) RBI Governor
3) Finance Secretary
4) RBI Deputy Governor
5) Coins do not bear the signature

12. Whether all banks accept coins in India though mint by government of India?
1) accept by asking the customer give the undertaking
2) Never accept
3) Yes, accept
4) Accept, tell the customer that the bank return any time
5) Accept at the lower value

13. Which rupee coin has largest circulation in India?
1) 2
2) 5
3) 1
4) 10
5) None

14. Which committee suggested for the high denomination of Coins in Indian Circulation?
1) C. Rangarajan
2) Bimal Jalan
3) Tarapore
4) Chandulal
5) Malegam

15. Maximum punishment for melting or destruction of coins would be increased from 5 years to ..... years of imprisonment?
1) 4
2) 9
3) 7
4) 10
5) 16

16. Coins in India are presently being issued for the circulation in denominations of 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees, five rupees and ...
1) two hundred rupees
2) hundred rupees
3) ten rupees
4) twenty rupees
5) None

17. Familiar metal using to mint coins of India these days is.....
1) Stainless Steel
2) Gold
3) Silver
4) Copper
5) Brass

18. ......... become the 19th country to adopt Euro as a Single currency from 1 January 2015?
1) Croatia
2) Lithuania
3) Latvia
4) Mexico
5) South Sudan


ANSWERS:
1-1, 2-1, 3-3, 4-3, 5-5, 6-4, 7-4, 8-2, 9-2, 10-3
11-5, 12-3, 13-3, 14-3, 15-3, 16-3, 17-1, 18-2

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR BANK EXAMS

1. Which of the following is the boundary line between India and Pakistan?
1) McMahon Line
2) Durand Line
3) Hindenburg Line
4) Radcliffe Line
5) 17th Parallel

2. Riel is the currency of which of the following countries?
1) Malaysia
2) Thailand
3) Cambodia
4) Myanmar
5) Philippines

3. Which of the following is the process by which a company collects money from the public for the first time?
1) Follow on public offering
2) Secondary offering
3) Initial public offering
4) Bonus shares
5) None of these

4. Saurav Ghosal is associated with which of the following sports?
1) Squash
2) Wrestling
3) Boxing
4) Shot put
5) Discus throw

5. Zend Avesta is the sacred book of the?
1) Jains
2) Buddhists
3) Jews
4) Parsis
5) None of these

6. Palatana Power Plant is situated in which of the following States?
1) Jharkhand
2) Chhattisgarh
3) Tripura
4) West Bengal
5) Assam

7. Which bank has launched ‘Bank Aap Ki Muththi Mein’ a mobile banking initiative, in December 2014?
1) ICICI Bank
2) Yes Bank
3) Axis Bank
4) HDFC Bank
5) None of these

8. With effect from 2014 December29, the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) business hours on week days have been increased to?
1) 10 hours
2) 9 hours
3) 12 hours
4) 11 hours
5) 8 hours

9. Which private bank launched India’s first credit card with a transparent design in December 2014?
1) ICICI Bank
2) HDFC Bank
3) Axis Bank
4) Yes Bank
5) Karur Vysya Bank

10. A government constituted task force has suggested creation of a Postal Bank of India (PBI). The task force is headed by?
1) Ravindra Dholakia
2) G. N. Bajpai
3) T.V. Mohandas Pai
4) T.S.R. Subramanian
5) Rakesh Garg

11. India defeated which of the following teams in the final to win the men’s World Cup Kabaddi in December 2014?
1) Bangladesh
2) Pakistan
3) Sri Lanka
4) Nepal
5) China

12. Which country won the women’s World Cup Kabaddi in December 2014?
1) New Zealand
2) Pakistan
3) India
4) Japan
5) China

13. Which country won the fourth Cricket World Cup for the visually challenged in Cape Town, South Africa on December 7, 2014?
1) India
2) Pakistan
3) Sri Lanka
4) Australia
5) South Africa

14. Who became the oldest player to score a one day international cricket century in November 2014?
1) Ahmed Nadeem
2) Arshad Ali
3) Ali Asad
4) Mohammad Tauqir
5) Khurram Khan

15. The 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games mascot has been named?
1) Tom
2) Vinicius
3) Oba
4) Eba
5) Tiba

16. Which of the following is a public sector bank?
1) Axis Bank
2) South Indian Bank
3) Nainital Bank
4) Karnataka Bank
5) IDBI Bank

17. Human Rights Day is observed on?
1) December 5
2) December 20
3) December 7
4) December 10
5) December 24

18. Carolina Marin is a badminton champion from?
1) Denmark
2) Australia
3) Spain
4) Norway
5) Ireland

19. The abbreviation NTCA stands for?
1) National Thermal Control Authority
2) National Tiger Conservation Authority
3) National Terrorist Control Authority
4) National Transport Control Authority
5) None of these

ANSWERS:
1) 4 2) 3 3) 3 4) 1 5) 4 6) 3 7) 4 8) 3 9) 1 10) 4
11) 2 12) 3 13) 1 14) 5 15) 2 16) 5 17) 4 18) 3 19) 2