Banking Awareness -RBI, SBI, PO, IBPS Exam - October 2019

Table of Contents

Jitendra Pal Singh Chawla was appointed as the Controller General of Accounts (CGA)
IRDAI set up 9-member working group headed by TR Alamelu to review existing reinsurance norms i.e. to have a look at the set of regulations, circulars and guidelines on Reinsurance, Foreign Reinsurance Branches etc
Interest rate for October – December 2019 quarter

Public Provident Fund (PPF) – 7.9 %
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) – 7.6 %
Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme – 8.4%
National Savings Certificate (NSC) – 7.9 %
Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) – 8.6%

Indian airline carrier IndiGo became the member of global airlines body IATA, International air transport association
HQ Montreal
Indigo – 1st airline to have 245 planes in its fleet
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) became the first Indian company to have a market capitalization (m-cap) of Rs 9 lakh crore.
17th edition of World Bank’s (WB) report ,“Doing Business 2020- Comparing Business Regulation in 190 Economies”,
India – 63rd /190 nations
77th position in the 2018-19 list
Kolkata and Bengaluru will be added to the list of World Bank’s ease of doing business survey from the year 2020
The survey so far covered only Delhi and Mumbai
SBI Card has launched ‘SBI Card Pay’, a feature which allows contactless payment using mobile phones at point of sale (PoS) terminals.
Using SBI Card Pay, customers can make contactless payments at Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled point of sale terminals with just one tap of their mobiles, without using the physical credit card or entering any PIN. Basically, it is a payment feature based on Host Card Emulation (HCE) technology for faster, convenient and more secure card payments using mobile phones.
SBI Card Pay is a highly secure platform as it uses tokenisation which converts customer’s sensitive card information (Card Number, Expiry Date, CVV etc.) into a device specific digital token.
Since the card information transmitted wirelessly by NFC is protected through tokenisation, the customer’s physical card information is never exposed to the merchant, making the transaction completely secure.

RBI NEW RULES

BBPOU, (Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit)
The Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an interoperable platform for repetitive bill payments, and currently covers five segments — direct-to-home (DTH), electricity, gas, telecom, and water bills.

RBI NEW RULES

TReDS scheme (Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) is to facilitate financing of invoices and bills of MSMEs drawn on corporate buyers by way of discounting by financiers.
White Label ATMs are set up by NBFCs

RBI NEW RULES

For BBPOUs and white label ATM operators, the RBI said entities applying for the license should have a net worth of Rs 100 crore and one-year experience in the field of payments.
For entities dealing with trade financing, they should have a minimum paid up equity capital of Rs 25 crore. And non-promoters should have a shareholding of 10% of equity capital.
White label ATM players applying for the license should also be deploying ATMs in the ratio of 1:2:3 for metro, urban and rural areas — so that rural areas get the required focus
In order to strengthen its oversight of commercial banks, urban cooperative banks (UCBs) and non banking financial companies (NBFCs), RBI has decided to operationalise unified department of supervision (DoS) and department of regulation (DoR) with effect from
1st November 2019
1st December 2019
1st January 2020
1st February 2020

ICEDASH and ATITHI

ATITHI is a mobile app for international travelers to file the Customs declaration in advance.
Passengers can use this app to file declaration of dutiable items and currency with the Indian Customs even before boarding the flight to India

ICEDASH and ATITHI

ICEDASH is an ‘ease of doing business (EoDB) monitoring dashboard’ of the Indian Customs helping public see the daily customs clearance times of import cargo at various ports and airports.
With ICEDASH, Indian customs has taken a lead globally to provide an effective tool that helps the businesses compare clearance times across ports and plan their logistics accordingly. This dashboard has been developed by CBIC in collaboration with NIC. ICEDASH can be accessed through the CBIC website.

Q) Ministry of Finance has launched which Number system of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on 1 October 2019?

A.Taxation

B.Documetation

C.Audit

D.Electornic

Govt forms high-level panel to look at bailout package for telcom companies

The Committee of Secretaries, headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, has been asked to examine “all aspects” of “financial stress” faced by service providers such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea and suggest measures to mitigate them
IRDAI set up an 8-member panel headed by S Sadagopan to evaluate applications filed under the Regulatory Sandbox(RS)
It refers to live testing of new products/services in a secure & controlled regulatory environment, where the regulators can allow certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing
Italy has decided to levy 3% web tax for internet transactions on digital giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon from 2020
Similar to GAFA tax of FRANCE

Q) Who has been appointed as Executive Director for India at International Monetary Fund for a period of three years?

A.Subir Gokarn

B.Abhijit Banerjee

C.Surjit Bhalla

D.Avinash Dixit

RBI rejects merger of Lakshmi Vilas Bank and Indiabulls housing finance
The rejection was because Lakshmi Vilas Bank was put into a prompt corrective action (PCA) framework in September 2019 by the RBI due to high NPAs (Non Performing Assets), not enough cash for risk management and negative returns on assets for two consecutive years.

Q) S&P Global Ratings has reduced India’s growth projection for 2019-20 at what percent?

A.6.3%

B.6.1%

C.6.4%

D.6.2%

S&P India growth forecast

FY20 – 6.3%
FY21 – 7%

Q) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has launched the Pragati Rath of which bank that will provide financial and digital literacy to the people?

A.Axis Bank

B.HDFC Bank

C.Yes Bank

D.ICICI Bank

Q) Which bank has launched a new product called Ucash that enables customers to withdraw money from ATMs through mobile banking without using debit card.

A.Canara Bank

B.Union Bank of India

C.United Bank

D.UCO Bank

Q) Reliance Mutual Fund has been renamed as ________?

A.Nippon Reliance Mutual Fund

B.Nippon India Mutual Fund

C.Nippon Mutual Fund

D.Nippon First India Mutual Fund

Q) Which Fintech start-up has received a licence from the Reserve Bank of India to set up a non-banking financial company?

A.Lendingkart

B.Capital Float

C.Home Credit

D.Shubh Loans

Credit Saison India, the domestic subsidiary of Japanese financial services leader Credit Saison, has received a licence from the Reserve Bank of India to set up a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka
Vreedhi Financial Services receives NBFC licence from RBI

Q) The World Bank has predicted the GDP Growth rate for India for fiscal year 2019-20 at what percent?

A.6.1%

B.6 %

C.5.9%

D.6.3%

Guyana to be fastest growing country in the world next year at 86%: IMF
Guyana will experience the world’s fastest economic growth in 2020 driven by ExxonMobil’s discovery of oil,
Its GDP is expected to grow 86% next year after expanding 4.4% this year. Guyana is projecting $300 million in petroleum revenue in 2020 as ExxonMobil starts pumping from its first oil well next month.

Q) What will be the slogan of the insurance industry’s first joint mass media campaign which will be launched by the Life Insurance Council?

A.Anmol Jeevan Sukhi Jeevan

B.Zindagi hai toh Sab Hai

C.Sabse Pehle Life Insurance

D.Surakshit Jeevan Ki liye Insurance

Q) India and Asian Development Bank have signed 190 million dollar loan agreement for improving road connectivity in which of the following states?

A.Haryana

B.Rajasthan

C.Gujarat

D.Punjab

Q) Which among the following companies made its stock market debut on 14 October?

A.Flipkart

B.Ola

C.IRCTC

D.Big Basket

Q) International Monetary Fund has predicted GDP rate for India for the year 2019 at what per cent?

A.5.9%

B.6.1%

C.6.2%

D.6.3%

IMF revises GDP growth rate prediction for 2019 at 6.1% and for 2020 at 7.0%
ADB signs $190 million worth loan agreement for improving road connectivity in Rajasthan
ADB has sanctioned a $451 million loan to the state of Tamil Nadu for a project that will enable better power transfer between the southern part of the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) and the northern regions where there is higher power demand
World Bank (WB) inks $165 million worth loan agreement with India to support small holder farmers in Odisha
Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture

Q) Reserve Bank of India has stopped the printing of which currency notes ?

A.Rs 500

B.Rs 2,000

C.Rs 100

D.Rs 200

The government owned presses are at Nasik (Western India) and Dewas (Central India). The other two presses are at Mysore (Southern India) and Salboni (Eastern India).
Coins are minted in four mints owned by the Government of India. The mints are located at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and NOIDA.

Q) Mastercard has launched a campaign named “Team Cashless India”, who is the brand ambassador of Mastercard and this campaign?

A.Virat Kohli

B.P V Sindhu

C.Mary Kom

D.M S Dhoni

Singapore-based AirCarbon Pte launched the worlds’ 1st blockchain-based carbon trading exchange
It will permit airlines and other corporate buyers to buy and sell tokens backed by carbon offset credits approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Q) As per the World Economic Outlook 2019, the Global growth rate is projected to improve to ______% by 2020?

A.2.7%

B.3.4%

C.1.6%

D.4.2%

IMF: World Economic Outlook, 2019

The World Economic Outlook is a biennial report that is released in April and October. According the report released recently on October 15, 2019, the global economy is at its slowest pace of growth at 3%.
This is a serious climb down from 3.8% in 2017.
Highlights of the report:
The Global growth rate is projected to improve to 3.4% by 2020.

Q) Christine Lagarde has been appointed as the new chief of the European Central Bank, where is the HQs of ECB located?

A.Frankfurt

B.London

C.Rome

D.Munich

Q) From November 1, Merchant Discount Rate will not be applicable on digital payments made to establishments having an annual turnover of more than____________?

A.₹30 crore

B.₹20 crore

C.₹70 crore

D.₹50 crore

Also, businesses with an annual turnover of more than ₹50 crore will have to mandatorily offer electronic mode of payments to their customers from 1 November
For this, amendments have been made in the income tax act as well as in the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007
State-run Coal India will produce one billion tonne coal by 2024
Minister of Coal & Mines, Prahlad Joshi 45th Coal India Foundation Day

Q) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given permission to the State government to amalgamate how many district cooperative banks (DCBs) with the Kerala State Cooperative Bank to form proposed Kerala Bank?

A.Fifteen

B.Thirteen

C.Ten

D.Eight

Nirmala Sitharaman announces Rs 25,000 crore for stalled real estate projects
The government will pump in 10000 crore and SBI and LIC will pump in Rs 15,000 crore into a priority debt fund for completion of at least 1,600 stalled real estate projects in the country.
Some stalled residential projects have been declared NPAs or admitted for insolvency proceedings, the government wants to boost growth by steering consumption in real estate and associated sectors.
This will be beneficial not only to the stressed real estate sector but also to the home finance and NBFCs which have lent to developers.

Q) Which bank has launched the ‘Express FD’, a digital fixed deposit (FD) product?

A.Yes Bank

B.HDFC Bank

C.ICICI Bank

D.Axis Bank

Q) RBI has instructed State/ UT Level Bankers Committees (SLBCs/ UTLBCs) to identify how many districts in each state/UT for making them 100% digital within one year?

A.Three

B.Four

C.One

D.Two

EESL, NIIF joins hands to install smart electricity meters in all households in India
Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings) under the Union Ministry of Power and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) have joined hands to formulate electricity distribution plan to install smart electricity meters in all households
The two companies have formed a joint venture called IntelliSmart Infrastructure Pvt Ltd which will execute, finance and operate the smart meter program

Q10) Which private sector bank has launched its new scheme “FD Health”, India’s first fixed deposit with critical illness insurance?

A.HDFC Bank

B.ICICI Bank

C.Axis Bank

D.Yes Bank

Q) Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has launched a customer outreach initiative, ‘Grahak Mela Camp’ by various national banks, in which city?

A.Imphal

B.New Delhi

C.Pune

D.Bhubaneswar

‘Grahak Mela Camp’

Self Help Groups (SHGs) can avail loans of Rs 50,000 within 30 seconds and bank customers can get loans of up to Rs 1 crore within 59 minutes from these centres.

Q) Who has been appointed as the Whole-Time Member of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)?

A.Rajiv Kumar

B.Shivam Teotia

C.Ajit Pai

D.Sudhaker Shukla

The Governing Board Members of IBBI consists of a Chairman 3 WTM four ex officio members two part-time members chairman M S Sahoo

Q)Who has been appointed as the new chairman of Indian Banks’ Association?

A.Sunil Mehta

B.Rajnish Kumar

C.Jitendra Rai Goyal

D.Sushil Muhnot

Q) What is the fixed issue price of the 6th tranche of the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme 2019-20?

A.Rs 2,835 per gram

B.Rs 4,835 per gram

C.Rs 3,450 per gram

D.Rs 3,835 per gram

India has been ranked at 5th spot in The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Global Microscope on Financial Inclusion report
Colombia has topped the ranking. Peru is on second, Uruguay is on third and Mexico is on fourth. Total 55 countries have been ranked.
The 2019 Global Microscope analyses the practices used by governments and regulators around the world to increase financial inclusion with a particular focus on the adoption of digital financial services.

Q) i-SERV is a video calling service launched by which insurance company?

A.Max Life Insurance

B.HDFC Life

C.Kotak Mahindra

D.Bajaj Allianz