GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. Who was the Chairman of 14th Finance Commission? – Dr. Y.V.Reddy
2. The India Institute of Advanced Studies is located in– Shimla 
3. Virtual water implies– Volume of water required to produce a commodity or service 
4. The main security guard of International Trade is– WTO 
5. The Government Securities on which no interest is paid and the Government only pays the Face Value of the bond on its maturity are called– Zero Coupon Bonds 
6. Meera Seth Committee was associated with– the development of handloom industry 
7. Which company has started a rural marketing network called e-chaupals ? – ITC 
8. Non-Resident Inday Day is observed on– January 9 
9. 'Closed Economy' is that economy in which– Neither export nor import takes place 
10. The document 'Planning Commission's India Vision 2020' has been proposed by– A Committee headed by Shyam Prasad Gupta 
11. Where was First Trade Point in India established? – New Delhi (August 16, 1994) 
12. Nabinagar Power Plant situated in Bihar belongs to– Indian Railways 
13. IIP stands for– Index of Industrial Production 
14. Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana was launched on– August 31, 2007 
15. For which item is Tirpur well known as a huge exporter to many parts of the world– Knitted garments 
16. National Rural Development Institute is situated at– Hyderabad 
17. The World's seventh largest city in terms of billionaire population is– Mumbai 
18. Where is the Bank Press Note located? – Dewas (M.P.) 
19. 'Axis Bank' is the new proposed name for– UTI Bank 
20. Swam Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) was introduced on– December 1, 1997 
22. Whose name is associated with formulation of Planning Strategy in Second Five Year Plan ? – Prasant Chandra Mahalanobis 
23. Indian Planning Commission was constituted in– 1950 
24. Swamajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) aims at– Establishing a large number of micro-enterprises in rural areas of the country 
25 The outline of second five year plan was made by – P. C. Mahalanobis 
26. Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) was launched on– October 2, 1993
 27. Bank Rate is the rate at which– Reserve Bank of India lends money to Commercial Banks 
28. The first multipurpose river valley project of independent India is– Damodar Valley Corporation 
29. Devaluation means– To reduce the value of home currency in terms of other currency 
30. The Government proposals for the levy of new taxes, alterations in the present tax structure are in the form of– Finance Bill 
31. When personal direct taxes are subtracted from personal income the obtained value is called– Disposable Personal Income 
32. Who maintains foreign exchange reserve in our country ? – Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 
33. India is the second largest producer of– Nitrogenous fertilizer in the world 
34. RBI was nationalised in– 1949 
35. J. J. Irani Committee was associated with– Company Law Reforms
36. Which constitutional body is appointed by the President under Article 280 every five years to review Centre State financial relations ? – Finance Commission
37. The Ministry which gives financial support to Mid-day meal scheme for the benefit of Class I to V students in Government or Government aided schools is– Ministry of Human Resource Development 
38. National Safety Council to check casualties in industrial units to reduce the incidence of dangers and to promote the awareness for safety among the labourers was constituted in– 1966 
39. In India, the first bank of limited liability managed by Indians and founded in 1881 was– Oudh Commercial Bank
40. Who is called the father of Operation Flood in India? – Verghese Kurien 

RAILWAY BUDGET 2016-17 CHART

BANKING AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

1. What is the minimum capital requirement for New Banks in the Private Sector?
a) Rs. 200 crore
b) Rs. 300 crore
c) Rs. 500 crore
d) Rs. 600 crore
e) None of these

2. Many times we read a term "ECB" in financial newspapers. What is the full form of ECB?
a) Essential Commercial Borrowing
b) Essential Credit and Borrowing
c) External Credit and Business
d) External Commercial Borrowing
e) None of the above

3. Which among the following banks has launched "Dhanchayat" an educational film to raise awareness on the dangers of borrowing money from unorganised sources?
a) Axis 
b) ICICI
c) HDFC 
d) SBI
e) YES

4. What is the maximum monthly pension for the subscribers under Atal Pension Yojana?
a) Rs 2000 
b) Rs 3000
c) Rs 4000 
d) Rs 5000
e) None of these

5. If a company which is not a non - banking financial company wants to collect public deposits, it is governed by ___ Act:
a) RBI Act 1934
b) Banking companies Act
c) Companies Act 1956
d) Central Government
e) None of the above

6. Which among the following has launched a Smart Humsafar Plan, a unique plan which offers multiple benefits of savings and insurance cover for husband and wife under a single policy?
a) ICICI Prudential
b) SBI Life 
c) NIACL
d) LIC 
e) HDFC ERGO

7. Which country launched world first Facial recognition ATM?
a) China 
b) Japan
c) US 
d) Canada
e) Brazil

8. Which type of machine is used by Business Correspondents?
a) Micro ATMs 
b) POS
c) Biometric Card Reader
d) Solar empowered
e) Water resistant

9. Which among the following bank has tied up with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba to provide easier trade finance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country?
a) HDFC Bank
b) SBI Bank
c) Canara Bank
d) ICICI Bank 
e) Axis Bank

10. In India, conventionally, bonds are issued by institutions in ____ sector while debentures by corporate in ____ sector.
a) private, public
b) public, private
c) either a or b
d) cooperative, NBFC
e) None of the above

11. What is the name of the platform launched by State Bank of India (SBI) that enables customers to book their foreign exchange transactions online?
a) SBI eforex
b) SBI emoney
c) SBI eonline
d) SBI eshare
e) SBI ebuddy

12. In CDR, "R" stands for ____.
a) Ratio 
b) Receipt
c) Regulation 
d) Restructuring
e) Reserve

13. Which of the following is not a function of General Insurance?
a) Cattle Insurance
b) Crop Insurance
c) Marine Insurance
d) Fire Insurance
e) None of the above

14. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is the world's oldest international financial organization established on 17 May 1930. The mission of the BIS is to serve central banks in their pursuit of monetary and financial stability, to foster international cooperation
in those areas and to act as a bank for central banks. The head office of BIS is located in ___.
a) Hong Kong 
b) Switzerland
c)China 
d) Mexico
e) Australia

15. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is a fund created by the Government of India for enhancing infrastructure financing in the country. To be operational by the year end, the headquarter of NIIF will be located in ____.
a) Mumbai 
b) New Delhi
c) Bengaluru 
d) Chennai
e) Kolkata

16. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) are international foreign exchange reserve assets issued by
a) World Bank 
b) WTO
c) ADB 
d) IMF
e) None of these

17. Which of the following types of accounts are known as "Demat Accounts"?
a) Zero Balance Accounts
b) Accounts which are opened to facilitate repayment of a loan taken from the bank. No other business can be conducted from there
c) Accounts in which shares of various companies are traded in electronic form
d) Accounts which are operated through internet banking facility
e) None of the above

18. According to the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) which among the following states in India has highest per cent of Urban BPL households?
a) Bihar 
b) Uttar Pradesh
c) Manipur 
d) Jharkhand
e) Sikkim

19. Payment of a cheque may be countermanded by the ___
a) Payee 
b) Drawer
c) True owner 
d) Drawee
e) None of these

20. Union Government has decided to set up a Bank Board Bureau (BBB) to monitor key performance indicators of two dozen public sector banks (PSBs). BBB will start functioning from ___.
a) 31st December 2015
b) 1st January 2016
c) 31st March 2016
d) 1st April 2016
e) 1st June 2016

21. Identify the well known person related to Banking field in India from the following?
a) Mrs. Meira Kumar
b) Mrs. Kiran Shaw
c) Mr. Arun Jaitley
d) Dr. D Subbarao
e) All of the above

22. A fixed deposit receipt is kept with the bank for its safety, is known as ___?
a) Safe custody
b) Safe deposit
c) Locker
d) Valid safe deposit
e) None of the above

23. Reserve Bank will issue ___bank notes with 3 additional features to aid the visually impaired in identification.
a) Rs. 500 and Rs 1,000
b) Rs. 100 and Rs. 500
c) Rs. 50 and Rs. 100
d) Rs. 10 and Rs. 100
e) None of these

24. Simply click a card launched by SBI special for ____.
a) Cash Transfer
b) Online Shopping
c) Pay Utility Bills
d) For Home Loans
e) None of these

25. Banking Companies are prohibited under Sec 8 of banking Regulation Act to sell and purchase securities. Yet Banks are selling securities (of the customer) which are under pledge as permitted by:
a) Indian Contract Act
b) SARFAESI Act
c) Government Notification
d) Banking Regulation Act
e) None of these

26. Hypothecation is:
a) Atransaction of conditional sale
b) A legal transaction whereby goods may be made available as security for a debt
c) Transfer of ownership by the borrower to the lender
d) Either a or b
e) None of the above

27. Mortgage is a:
a) Security on movable property for a loan
b) Security on immovable property for a loan
c) Concession on immovable property
d) Facility on immovable property
e) Security on loan sanctioned against fixed deposits

28. What is the minimum amount to be invested under Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme?
a) Rs. 500 
b) Rs. 1000
c) Rs. 1500 
d) No ceiling
e) Rs. 100

29. The Main activity of the Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIUIND) is to control:
a) Tax Evasion
b) Money Laundering
c) Terrorism
d) Avoiding NPAs
e) Avoiding frauds in ATMs

30. The SARFAESI Act 2002 empowers Banks / Financial Institutions to recover their non-performing assets (bad loans) without the intervention of the Court. In "SARFAESI" second "S" stands for ____.
a) Securitisation
b) Security 
c) Statutory
d) Share 
e) Saving

31. The main function of an Asset Management Company is to:
a) hold the securities of various schemes
b) manage the funds by making investments in various types of securities
c) hold its property for the benefit of the unit holders
d) act on behalf of SEBI
e) All the above

32. Global Rating Agency Fitch has downgraded Viability Rating (VR) by one notch to 'bb' of which among the following banks?
a) Bank of Baroda
b) State Bank of India
c) Punjab National Bank
d) Canara Bank
e) IDBI Bank

33. The Banking Codes and Standards Board of India was registered on 18th February, 2006 under which of the following RBI Act?
a) Banking Regulation Act
b) The Societies Registration Act, 1860
c) Cooperative Societies Act
d) None of the above
e) All the above

34. As per the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, any person can file a complaint before the Banking Ombudsman, if the satisfied reply is not received from the bank within a period of ____.
a) one month 
b) three months
c) two months 
d) six months
e) None

35. CIBIL as a credit bureau caters to:
a) Consumer segments
b) Commercial segments
c) Both commercial and consumer segments
d) Nationalized Banks only
e) Private Banks only

36. Infusion of liquidity, by RBI, is done through _____ from / to banks under a _____ transaction.
a) borrowing, repo
b) borrowing, reverse repo
c) lending, repo
d) lending, reverse repo
e) None of the above

37. Some banks are financing big projects like construction of roads, bridges etc. Financing such projects means banks are helping exactly in:
a) Infrastructural Development
b) Project Management
c) Developing core sector Industry
d) Financial Inclusion
e) All of the above

38. A rate of exchange established between any two currencies on the basis of the respective quotation of each currency in terms of a third currency is known as:
a) Cross rate 
b) Merchant rate
c) Wash rate 
d) Composite rate
e) None of the above

ANSWERS:
1) c; 2) d; 3) c; 4) d; 5) c; 6) b; 7) a; 8) c; 9) d; 10) b;
11) a; 12) d; 13) e; 14) b; 15) a; 16) d; 17) c; 18) c; 19) b; 20) d;
21) d; 22) a; 23) a; 24) b; 25) d; 26) b; 27) b; 28) b; 29) b; 30) b;
31) b; 32) c; 33) b; 34) a; 35) c; 36) c; 37) a; 38) a.

UNION BUDGET 2016-17: IMPORTANT HIGHLIGHTS

Tax

• Infrastructure and agriculture cess to be levied.
• Excise duty raised from 10 to 15 per cent on tobacco products other than beedis
• 1 per cent service charge on purchase of luxury cars over Rs. 10 lakh and in-cash purchase of goods and services over Rs. 2 lakh.
• 0.5 per cent Krishi Kalyan Cess to be levied on all services.
• Pollution cess of 1 per cent on small petrol, LPG and CNG cars; 2.5 per cent on diesel cars of certain specifications; 4 per cent on higher-end models.
• Dividend in excess of Rs. 10 lakh per annum to be taxed at additional 10 per cent.
• SUVs, Luxury cars to be more expensive. 4% high capacity tax for SUVs.
• Companies with revenue less than Rs 5 crore to be taxed at 29% plus surcharge
• Limited tax compliance window from Jun 1 – Sep 30 for declaring undisclosed income at 45% incl. surcharge and penalties
• Excise 1 per cent imposed on articles of jewellery, excluding silver.

Social

• Rs. 38,500 crore for Mahtma Gandhi MGNREGA for 2016-17
• Swacch Bharat Abhiyan allocated Rs.9,500 crores.
• Hub to support SC/ST entrpreneurs
• Government is launching a new initiative to provide cooking gas to BPL families with state support.
• LPG connections to be provided under the name of women members of family: Rs 2000 crore allocated for 5 years for BPL families.
• 2.87 lakh crore grants to gram panchayats and municipalities – a quantum jump of 228%.
• 300 urban clusters to be set up under Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission
• Four schemes for animal welfare.

Education, Skills and Job Creation

• 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas will be opened
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to increasing focus on quality of education
• Regulatory architecture to be provided to ten public and ten private institutions to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions
• Higher Education Financing Agency to be set-up with initial capital base of ` 1000 Crores
• Digital Depository for School Leaving Certificates, College Degrees, Academic Awards and Mark sheets to be set-up.

Financial Sector Reforms

• A comprehensive Code on Resolution of Financial Firms to be introduced.
• Statutory basis for a Monetary Policy framework and a Monetary Policy Committee through the Finance Bill 2016.
• A Financial DataManagement Centre to be set up.
• RBI to facilitate retail participation in Government securities.
• New derivative products will be developed by SEBI in the Commodity Derivatives market.
• Amendments in the SARFAESI Act 2002 to enable the sponsor of an ARC to hold up to 100% stake in the ARC and permit non institutional investors to invest in Securitization Receipts.
• Comprehensive Central Legislation to be bought to deal with the menace ofillicit deposit taking schemes.
• Increasing members and benches of the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
• Allocation of ` 25,000 crore towards recapitalisation of Public Sector Banks.
• Target of amount sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana increased to ` 1,80,000 crore.
• General Insurance Companies owned by the Government to be listed in the stock exchanges.

Health

• 2.2 lakh renal patients added every year in India. Basic dialysis equipment gets some relief.
• A new health protection scheme for health cover upto 1 lakh per family.
• PM Jan Aushadhi Yojana to be strengthened, 300 generic drug store to be opened National Dialysis Service Prog with funds thru PPP mode to provide dialysis at all district hospitals.
• Senior citizens will get additional healthcare cover of Rs 30,000 under the new scheme

Energy

• Rs. 3000 crore earmarked for nuclear power generation
• Govt drawing comprehensive plan to be implemented in next 15-20 years for exploiting nuclear energy
• Govt to provide incentive for deepwater gas exploration
• Deepwater gas new disc to get calibrated market freedom, pre-determined ceiling price based on landed price of alternate fuels.

Agriculture

• Total allocation for agriculture and farmer welfare at Rs 35984 crores
• 28.5 lakh heactares of land wil be brought under irrigation.
• 5 lakh acres to be brought under organic farming over a three year period
• Rs 60,000 crore for recharging of ground water recharging as there is urgent need to focus on drought hit areas cluster development for water conservation.
• Dedicated irrigation fund in NABARD of Rs.20.000 cr
• Nominal premium and highest ever compensation in case of crop loss under the PM Fasal Bima Yojna.

Banking

• Banks get a big boost: Rs 25,000 crore towards recapitalisation of public sector banks. Jaitley says: Banking Board Bureau will be operationalised, we stand solidly behind public sector banks.
• Target of disbursement under MUDRA increased to 1,80,000 crore
• Process of transfer of government stake in IDBI Bank below 50% started
• General Insurance companies will be listed in the stock exchange
• Govt to increase ATMs, micro-ATMs in post offices in next three years

Investments and infrastructure

• Rs. 27,000 crore to be spent on roadways
• 65 eligible habitats to be connected via 2.23 lakh kms of road. Current construction pace is 100 kms/day
• Shops to be given option to remain open all seven days in a week across markets.
• Rs. 55,000 crore for roads and highways. Total allocation for road construction, including PMGSY, – Rs 97,000 crore
• India’s highest-ever production of motor vehicles was recorded in 2015
• Total outlay for infrastructure in Budget 2016 now stands at Rs. 2,21,246 crore
• 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products produced and marketed in India
• Dept. of Disinvestment to be renamed as Dept. of Investment and Public Asset Management
• Govt will amend Motor Vehicle Act in passenger vehicle segment to allow innovation.
• MAT will be applicable for startups that qualify for 100 per cent tax exemption
• Direct tax proposals result in revenue loss of Rs.1060 crore, indirect tax proposals result in gain of Rs.20,670 crore
• New greenfield ports to be developed on east and west coasts
• Revival of undeserved airports. Centre to Partner with States to revive small airports for regional connectivity

Roadmap & Priorities

• ‘Transform India’ to have a significant impact on economy and lives of people.
• Focus on enhancing expenditure in priority areas of – farm and rural sector, social sector, infrastructure sector employment generation and recapitalisation of the banks.
• Continue with the ongoing reform programme and ensure passage of the Goods and Service Tax bill and Insolvency and Bankruptcy law.

Rural Sector

• Allocation for rural sector – ` 87,765 crore.
• 2.87 lakh crore will be given as Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission
• Every block under drought and rural distress will be taken up as an intensive Block under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Mission
• A sum of ` 38,500 crore allocated for MGNREGS.
• 300 Rurban Clusters will be developed under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission
• A new Digital Literacy Mission Scheme for rural India to cover around 6 crore additional household within the next 3 years.
• National Land Record Modernisation Programme has been revamped.
• New scheme Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan proposed with allocation of ` 655 crore
• 100% village electrification by 1st May, 2018.
• District Level Committees under Chairmanship of senior most Lok Sabha MP from the district for monitoring and implementation of designated Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
• Priority allocation from Centrally Sponsored Schemes to be made to reward villages that have become free from open defecation.

Key Features of Budget 2016-17

  

2016 OSCAR AWARD WINNERS

Best Picture : 'Spotlight'
Direction : 'The Revenant,' Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Actor : Leonardo DiCaprio, 'The Revenant'
Actress : Brie Larson, 'Room'
Supporting Actor : Mark Rylance, 'Bridge of Spies'
Supporting Actress : Alicia Vikander, 'The Danish Girl'
Adapted Screenplay : 'The Big Short,' Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
Original Screenplay : 'Spotlight,' Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
Cinematography : 'The Revenant,' Emmanuel Lubezki
Production Design : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson (set decoration)
Film Editing : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Margaret Sixel
Visual Effects : 'Ex Machina,' Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
Costume Design : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Jenny Beavan
Makeup : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
Sound Editing : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Mark Mangini and David White
Sound Mixing : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
Score : 'The Hateful Eight,' Ennio Morricone
Song : 'Writing’s on the Wall,' from 'Spectre,' Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
Foreign Language Film : 'Son of Saul' (Hungary)
Animated Feature: 'Inside Out'
Documentary Feature : 'Amy'
Animated Short : 'Bear Story'
Documentary Short : 'A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness'
Live Action Short : 'Stutterer'