general topics

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Latest Current Affairs- June 2013

Q1. Who is the winner of 2013 French open men's title?

Ans. Rafael Nadal

Q2. World Blood Donor Day was observed on 14 June 2013 across the world. What was the theme selected for this year?

Ans. Give the Gift of Life: Donate Blood.

Note: This day is observed every year on 14 June with an aim of creating a worldwide culture of voluntary blood donation.

Q3. Recently BSNL decided to put an end to one of the communication system being offered by it, which 160 years old. Name it?

Ans. Telegram Services

Q4. World Day against Child Labour was celebrated on 12 June 2013. What was the theme this year?

Ans. No to Child Labour in Domestic Work.

Q5. Which team won the Men's Doubles Title at French Open 2013?

Ans. Bob and Mike Bryan (USA)

Q6. Name the new software unveiled by Apple for its computers, smartphones and tablets on 9 June 2013? -http://currentaffairs4examz.blogspot.in/

Ans. iOS7

Q7. Name the Indian who clinched the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton trophy on 9 June 2013?

Ans. Srikanth K

Q8. Who on 10 June 2013 won the Canadian Grand Prix racing?

Ans. Sebastian Vettel

Q9. Where will the Asian Athletic Championship 2013 be held from 3 to 7 July 2013?

Ans. Pune, Maharashtra

Q10. Name the Indo-Russian military exercise which is scheduled to take place in October 2013 at Mahajan field firing range of Rajasthan?

Ans. INDRA 2013

Q11. Indian Railways on 11 June 2013 decided to start offering train tickets via mobile phones through which service?

Ans. SMS

Q12. Name the online mapping service bought by Google in the month of June 2013?- http://currentaffairs4examz.blogspot.in/

Ans. Waze

Q13. Apollo Tyres Announced Acquiring ......................... company for 14500 Crore, recently?

Ans. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

Note: This is the third crucial foreign acquisition of Apollo Tyres. The first two were Dunlop South Africa for 290 crore Rupees which took place in 2006 and Netherlands-based Vredestein Banden BV in the year 2009.

Q14. The Government of Pakistan on 14 June 2013 decided to declare which place as a holy city?

Ans. Panja Sahib

Q15. The Union Government of India on 12 June 2013 announced that it has set a target to achieve ............... percent literacy rate in the country by 2017?

Ans. 80

Note: The literacy rate of the country at present is 74 percent.

Q16. Name the new feature announced by Facebook on 12 June 2013 which are basically the number signs used on services such as Instagram and Twitter for identification of topics for discussions?- http://currentaffairs4examz.blogspot.in/

Ans. Hashtags

Q17. Name the former Union Minister and Congress veteran from Chhattisgarh who passed away on 11 June 2013, being a victim of Maoist attack on group of Party leaders on 25 May 2013 in Chhattisgarh?

Ans. VC Shukla

Q18. Name the co-owner of Rajasthan Royals who was suspended by BCCI for betting in IPL VI?

Ans. Raj Kundra

Q19. Name the banks which were penalised by RBI for violation of KYC norms and anti-money laundering guidelines recently?

Ans. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank

Q20. Name the Carnatic vocalist who passed away on 9 June 2013 in her hometown Udupi?

Ans. Ranjani Hebbar Guruprasad

Q21. Dubai in the first week of June 2013 inaugurated the tallest twisted tower of the world. Name it?- http://currentaffairs4examz.blogspot.in/

Ans. Cayan Tower

Ans. It was built at the cost of 272 million US dollar. Earlier it was called the Infinity Tower. It was inaugurated in Dubai Marina.

Q22. Name the 24 hours news channel launched by Media firm TV18 Broadcast on 13 June 2013 in UK?

Ans. News18 India

Q23. As per the data released on 12 June 2013, Retail inflation stood at .................. per cent in May 2013?

Ans. 9.31

source:currentaffairexamz.blogspots

Some useful General Knowledge Questions for Competitive Exams

1. Which of the following countries recently signed a ‘Ceasefire agreement’ with ‘Karen Rebels’?

(a) China (b) Libya (c) Myanmar (d) Nepal (e) Egypt

Ans- (C)

2. Which of the following countries has recently decided to fix the term of the President of the country for 7 years?

(a) Iraq (b) Myanmar (c) Nepal (d) Libya (e) Turkey

Ans- (E)

3. India recently decided to purchase fighter planes from France. Which of the following is the name of these planes?

(a) Rafale (b) Boeing (c) MiG-35 (d) Lockhead Martin (e) Cassadion

Ans- (A)

4. India is now declared free from which of the following diseases after a long battle against it?

(a) AIDS (b) TB (c) Cancer (d) Polio (e) All of these

Ans- (D)

5. India recently decided to give US $ 1.5 million to which of the following countries to establish Vivekanand Chair in one of its Universities?

(a) France (b) Britain (c) Russia (d) Italy (e) USA

Ans- (E)

6. Which of the following countries is likely to join European Union in the near future ?

(a) Malta (b) Croatia (c) Hungary (d) Kenya (e) South Africa

Ans- (B)

7. Which of the following schemes is launched by the Govt. of India to develop various facilities in rural areas?

(a) IRDP (b) NHRM (c) PPP (d) Operation Flood (e) None of these

Ans- (C)

8. Indian coastguard conducted a joint exercise named ‘Sahyog-Kaijin-XI’ with which of the following countries?

(a) Myanmar (b) Russia (c) China (d) Sri Lanka (e) Japan

Ans- (E)

9. Who among the following won the Thailand Golf Championship held in December 2011?

(a) Lee Westwood (b) Charl Schwartzel (c) Alvaro Quiros (d) Paul Lawrie (e) Peter Hanson

Ans- (A)

10. India wants a ‘CEPA’ with Thailand – was the news in major newspapers. What is the full form of ‘CEPA’ as used here?

(a) Complete Economic Preference Agreement

(b) Cultural and Economic Partnership Accord

(d) Cooperation and Economic-Partnership Accord

(e) Complete Economic Partnership and Assistance

Ans- (C)

11. European Union recently decided to enforce European Stability Mechanism (ESM) w.e.f. July 2012. ESM is a system to achieve / safeguard–

(a) financial stability (b) political stability

(d) free access to uranium reserves in Libya

(e) interests of all the members in case of attack by Iran or any other country

Ans- (A)

12. Kovvada Nuclear Power Plant which was recently in news is being set up in–

(a) Karnataka (b) Andhra Pradesh (c) Chhattisgarh (d) Uttarakhand (e) Odisha

Ans- (B)

13. Mullaperiyar Dam is built on which of the following rivers?

(a) Tungbhadra (b) Cauvery (c) Krishna (d) Periyar (e) Mahanadi

Ans- (D)

14. Which of the following countries is not a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC)?

(a) Nigeria (b) Iran (c) Iraq (d) Algeria (e) Bangladesh

Ans- (E)

15. Which of the following books is written by Steve Waugh ?

(a) Out of My Comfort Zone : The Autobiography (b) My Life (c) Wings of Fire

(d) Long Walk to Freedom (e) Revolutionary Wealth

Ans- (A)

16. Which of the following organizations/agencies recently issued elaborate guidelines pertaining to the creation of new category of Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFC)-Micro Finance Industries ?

(a) AMFI (b) SIDBI (c) SEBI (d) NABARD (e) RBI

Ans- (E)

17. Which of the following organizations / agencies coordinates the operations of rural credit institutions in India ?

(a) Reserve Bank of India (b) Securities and Exchange Board of India

(e) Small Industries Development Bank of India

Ans- (D)

18. Google is–

(a) Virus programme (b) Search engine (c) Website (d) Hardware (e) None of these

Ans- (B)

19. Which of the following is not a function of the Reserve Bank of India ?

(a) Issuer of currency (b) Foreign Exchange Management

(e) Bankers and Debt Manager to Govt.

Ans- (D)

20. Which of the following organizations issued Initial Public Offer (IPO) Norms for Life Insurance Companies?

(a) CRISIL (b) SEBI (c) RBI (d) AMFI (e) IRDA

Ans- (E)

21. Which of the following states is at the top in the Child Rights Index, compiled in India for the first time?

(a) Maharashtra (b) Kerala (c) Gujarat (d) Tamil Nadu (e) Rajasthan

Ans- (B)

22. Which of the following countries won Davis Cup Tennis Tournament 2011 ?

(a) Australia (b) Argentina (c) Germany (d) France (e) Spain

Ans- (E)

23. Which of the following metals used in Nuclear Power Plants will be imported from Australia?

(a) Plutonium (b) Uranium (c) Thorium (d) Curium (e) Zirconium

Ans- (B)

24. Standard and Poor, better known as S&P, is a/the–

(a) Financial market intelligence agency (b) Central Bank of USA

(e) Intelligence wing of the World Bank

Ans- (A)

25. Thomas J. Sargent and Christopher A. Sims are the two recipients of Nobel prize 2011 in the field of–

(a) Physics (b) Economics (c) Chemistry (d) Literature (e) Medicine

Ans- (B)

26. The home of who among the following is named as Malgudi Home?

(a) Satyajit Ray (b) Shivram Karanth (c) R. K. Narayan (d) M. G. Ramachandran (e) H. D. Deve Gowda

Ans- (C)

27. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards are given for exemplary work in the field of–

(a) Sports (b) Journalism (c) Literature (d) Social Service (e) Science and Technology

Ans- (E)

28. Which of the following states has become first in India to have a ‘Carbon Inventory’ giving its total carbon emission from various sectors?

(a) Himachal Pradesh (b) Maharashtra (c) Gujarat (d) Kerala (e) Tamil Nadu

Ans- (A)

29. As per newspaper reports how, much FDI is allowed in pension sector?

(a) 15% (b) 33% (c) 41% (d) 51% (e) None of these

Ans- (E)

30. ‘Agha Khan Cup’ is associated with the game of–

(a) Football (b) Hockey (c) Badminton (d) Cricket (e) Horse Racing

Ans- (B)

31. What does the letter ‘C’ denote in the UNICEF a well-known organization operating at global level ?

(a) Credit (b) Children (c) Control (d) Cooperation (e) Crisis

Ans- (B)

32. Which of the following is India’s most advanced long range missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads?

(a) Khukri (b) Basant (c) Agni-IV (d) Vijayant-IlI (e) Sindhudurg-II

Ans- (C)

33. Who among the following was one of the recipients of the Padmashri award in 2012?

(a) Anup Jalota (b) Shabana Aazmi (c) Aruna Irani (d) Leander Paes (e) Vidya Balan

Ans- (A)

34. Dr. Manmohan Singh unveiled the foundation stone of National Institute of Technology in which of the following places in Manipur?

(a) Bishnupur (b) Thoubal (c) Imphal (d) Senapati (e) Ukhrul

Ans- (C)

35. Mario Monti has taken over as the Prime Minister of–

(a) Greece (b) New Zealand (c) Russia (d) Italy (e) None of these

Ans- (D)

36. Arab countries recently decided to impose Sanctions on which of the following countries as it has failed to check violence on its land ?

(a) Egypt (b) Kuwait (c) Syria (d) Lebanon (e) Iran

Ans- (C)

37. Kangaroos won the last and final match to win series—was the news in some news papers some-times back. This means which country won the match and the series ?

(a) New Zealand (b) England (c) West Indies (d) Australia (e) South Africa

Ans- (D)

38. ‘Calorimeter’ is an instrument used to measure–

(a) Electric current (b) Heat (c) Velocity of sound (d) Altitude (e) Atmospheric pressure

Ans- (B)

39. Which of the following countries is not a member of newly formed Eurasian Union?

(a) Russia (b) Belarus (c) Kazakhstan (d) Croatia (e) All are members of Eurasian Union

Ans- (D)

40. Govt. of India recently decided to allow more FDI in retail. This means which of the following companies will be benefitted by this decision ?

(a) Wal Mart (b) Hindalco (c) Infosys (d) Air India (e) Glaxo Smithkline Pharma

Ans- (A)

41. Which of the following states has decided to launch Right to Play Act in the state to promote sportsmanship in its children and youth ?

(a) Delhi (b) Uttar Pradesh (c) Haryana (d) Maharashtra (e) Gujarat

Ans- (C)

42. ‘Dhamra’ where an all weather port is developed, is in which of the following states ?

(a) West Bengal (b) Odisha (c) Gujarat (d) Maharashtra (e) Tamil Nadu

Ans- (B)

43. Miss Ivian Sarcos who was crowned Miss World 2011 is from which of the following countries?

(a) Russia (b) France (c) Brazil (d) Venezuela (e) Italy

Ans- (D)

44. Who among the following has written the novel ‘Mandra’ which was awarded prestigious ‘Saraswati Samman’ recently ?

(a) S. L. Bhyrappa (b) Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari (c) Nirmal Verma (d) Shrilal Shukla (e) Arun Sadhu

Ans- (A)

45. Which of the following countries is on its way to becoming a full-fledged member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ?

(a) India (b) Brazil (c) USA (d) Russia (e) Australia

Ans- (D)

46. Who among the following is one of the Deputy Governors of the RBI?

(a) Shri U. K. Sinha (b) Shri Subir Gokaran

(e) None of these

Ans- (B)

47. The Govt. of India recently signed a peace pact with United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS). The, pact will bring peace in which of the following states?

(a) Bihar (b) Madhya Pradesh (c) Assam (d) Jharkhand (e) Maharashtra

Ans- (C)

48. Which of the following terms is associated with the game of Lawn Tennis?

(a) Heave (b) Volley (c) Spikers (d) Hoops (e) Pitch

Ans- (B)

49. As per newspaper reports what per cent of Govt. stake will be disinvested in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. ?

(a) 5% (b) 7.5% (c) 10% (d) 12% (e) None of these

Ans- (C)

50. ASHA is a part of which of the following schemes launched by the Govt. of India?

(a) Operation Black Board (b) Mid Day Meal Scheme

(e) Bharat Nirman

Ans- (D)

source:currentaffairexam.blogspot

Repo, Reverse Repo, Bank rate, Call rate, CRR & SLR-

Repo (Repurchase) Rate

Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the RBI to meet the gap between the demand they are facing for money (loans) and how much they have on hand to lend.

If the RBI wants to make it more expensive for the banks to borrow money, it increases the repo rate; similarly, if it wants to make it cheaper for banks to borrow money, it reduces the repo rate.

Current Repo Rate: 7.25% (w.e.f. 03/05/2013)

Reverse Repo Rate

This is the exact opposite of repo rate.

The rate at which RBI borrows money from the banks (or banks lend money to the RBI) is termed the reverse repo rate. The RBI uses this tool when it feels there is too much money floating in the banking system.

If the reverse repo rate is increased, it means the RBI will borrow money from the bank and offer them a lucrative rate of interest. As a result, banks would prefer to keep their money with the RBI (which is absolutely risk free) instead of lending it out (this option comes with a certain amount of risk)

Consequently, banks would have lesser funds to lend to their customers. This helps stem the flow of excess money into the economy

Reverse repo rate signifies the rate at which the central bank absorbs liquidity from the banks, while repo signifies the rate at which liquidity is injected.

Current Reverse Repo Rate- 6.25% (w.e.f.03/05/2013)

Bank Rate

This is the rate at which RBI lends money to other banks (or financial institutions)

The bank rate signals the central bank’s long-term outlook on interest rates. If the bank rate moves up, long-term interest rates also tend to move up, and vice-versa.

Banks make a profit by borrowing at a lower rate and lending the same funds at a higher rate of interest. If the RBI hikes the bank rate, the interest that a bank pays for borrowing money (banks borrow money either from each other or from the RBI) increases. It, in turn, hikes its own lending rates to ensure it continues to make a profit. This is currently 6 per cent.

Call Rate

Call rate is the interest rate paid by the banks for lending and borrowing for daily fund requirement. Si nce banks need funds on a daily basis, they lend to and borrow from other banks according to their daily or short-term requirements on a regular basis.

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)

Also called the cash reserve ratio, refers to a portion of deposits (as cash) which banks have to keep/maintain with the RBI. This serves two purposes. It ensures that a portion of bank deposits is totally risk-free and secondly it enables that RBI control liquidity in the system, and thereby, inflation by tying their hands in lending money

Resent CRR- 4.00% (wef 09/02/2013)

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)

Besides the CRR, banks are required to invest a portion of their deposits in government securities as a part of their statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) requirements. What SLR does is again restrict the bank’s leverage in pumping more money into the economy.

Present Statutory Liquidity Ratio- 23%(w.e.f. 11/08/2012)

source:

Repo (Repurchase) Rate

Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the RBI to meet the gap between the demand they are facing for money (loans) and how much they have on hand to lend.

If the RBI wants to make it more expensive for the banks to borrow money, it increases the repo rate; similarly, if it wants to make it cheaper for banks to borrow money, it reduces the repo rate.

Current Repo Rate: 7.25% (w.e.f. 03/05/2013)

Reverse Repo Rate

This is the exact opposite of repo rate.

Consequently, banks would have lesser funds to lend to their customers. This helps stem the flow of excess money into the economy

Reverse repo rate signifies the rate at which the central bank absorbs liquidity from the banks, while repo signifies the rate at which liquidity is injected.

Current Reverse Repo Rate- 6.25% (w.e.f.03/05/2013)

Bank Rate

This is the rate at which RBI lends money to other banks (or financial institutions)

The bank rate signals the central bank’s long-term outlook on interest rates. If the bank rate moves up, long-term interest rates also tend to move up, and vice-versa.

Call Rate

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)

Resent CRR- 4.00% (wef 09/02/2013)

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)

Present Statutory Liquidity Ratio- 23%(w.e.f. 11/08/2012)

Repo (Repurchase) Rate

Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds from the RBI to meet the gap between the demand they are facing for money (loans) and how much they have on hand to lend.

If the RBI wants to make it more expensive for the banks to borrow money, it increases the repo rate; similarly, if it wants to make it cheaper for banks to borrow money, it reduces the repo rate.

Current Repo Rate: 7.25% (w.e.f. 03/05/2013)

Reverse Repo Rate

This is the exact opposite of repo rate.

Consequently, banks would have lesser funds to lend to their customers. This helps stem the flow of excess money into the economy

Reverse repo rate signifies the rate at which the central bank absorbs liquidity from the banks, while repo signifies the rate at which liquidity is injected.

Current Reverse Repo Rate- 6.25% (w.e.f.03/05/2013)

Bank Rate

This is the rate at which RBI lends money to other banks (or financial institutions)

The bank rate signals the central bank’s long-term outlook on interest rates. If the bank rate moves up, long-term interest rates also tend to move up, and vice-versa.

Call Rate

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)

Resent CRR- 4.00% (wef 09/02/2013)

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)

Present Statutory Liquidity Ratio- 23%(w.e.f. 11/08/2012)

source:currentaffairs blogspot

Monday, 25 February 2013

Bank Account Number Portability

Bank Account Number Portability: Lok Sabha Q&A

Posted: 24 Feb 2013 08:22 AM PST

The Committee on Customer Service in Banks constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the Chairmanship of Shri M Damodaran, had recommended intra-bank Account NumberPortability stating that the customer should also be allowed to maintain the same account numberin a bank even when he / she moves to another city or shifts his account to another branch in the same city. This recommendation has been accepted by the Indian Banks Association for implementation and RBI issued guidelines in this regard vide a circular dated April 27, 2012 whereby the banks have been advised that opening of fresh account and the Know Your Customer (KYC) fulfillment at another branch of the same bank is not required if full KYC was already done. Further, in order to safeguard the interest of the banks and the customers, RBI has advised banks for allotting Unique Customer Identification Code (UCIC) to all their individual customers in a time-bound manner.

RBI also constituted a “Technical Committee to examine uniform routing code and account number structure”, which also examined the matter regarding inter-bank portability of theaccount number. The Technical Committee is of the view that account number portability may not be feasible even with the implementation of International Bank Account Number (IBAN) because of the two constraints, i.e. (i) Bank code is an integral part of IBAN and as such, it does not facilitate account number portability across banks (ii) even if portability of the account number is considered without the bank code, it would give rise to a scenario where the saidnumber may already be allotted to other customer of the destination bank. RBI has hosted the Report of the Technical Committee on its website www.rbi.org.in for public comments.

The above information was submitted by Ministry of Finance in reply of undermentioned Lok Sabha Question:-

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 111

ANSWERED ON 22.02.2013

ACCOUNT NUMBER PORTABILITY

111. Shri ANAND PRAKASH PARANJPE
EKNATH MAHADEO GAIKWAD
N.S.V. CHITTHAN

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:-
(a) whether the Government / Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted any panel / committee to look into the possibility of account number portability through a unique number for each customer across the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the said panel/committee has submitted its report to the Government;

(d) if so, the recommendations made by the said panel / committee and the reaction of the Government thereto; and

(e) the time by which the recommendations made by the panel / committee are likely to be implemented?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI NAMO NARAIN MEENA)

(a) to (e): see above

***

Source Link: http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/psearch/QResult15.aspx?qref=134940
via : http://karnmk.blogspot.in/

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Sunday, 16 June 2013

Latest Current Affairs- June 2013

Some useful General Knowledge Questions for Competitive Exams

Repo, Reverse Repo, Bank rate, Call rate, CRR & SLR-

Monday, 25 February 2013

Bank Account Number Portabilit​y

Bank Account Number Portability