Current Affairs -26 September 2014

Ajit Pawar, CM Prithviraj Chavan exchange fire after talks fail

• 

  MUMBAI: The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday said it was terminating its 15-year alliance with Congress, accusing the bigger party and particularly CM Prithviraj Chavan of not being serious about continuing the partnership. The combination came undone within hours of the saffron alliance breaking, over NCP's demand of half the 288 assembly seats and a 50:50 share of the chief ministership by rotation.
  
  After days of deadlocked seat-sharing talks, the Congress move to unilaterally release its first list of 118 candidates late on Wednesday seemed to have proved the last straw for the NCP. "We have terminated our alliance with Congress. Now we will secure support of like-minded parties and contest all the 288 seats," senior NCP leader Praful Patel said at a press conference attended by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and state NCP president Sunil Tatkare after a long meeting.
  
  In a facile gesture, NCP also decided to pull out of the state government. Pawar met the governor on Thursday evening.
  
  CM Chavan reacted sharply to the decision. "NCP alone is responsible for terminating the alliance, it was wrong to blame us. When Congress had moved a step forward, NCP was adamant and unilaterally decided to terminate the alliance," he said.
  
  The anger of the NCP seemed focused on the CM. The NCP trio said Chavan was never serious about the alliance and not available for discussion on seat-sharing. "We had worked with Vilasrao Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde. In the event of a crisis or deliberations on seat-sharing, they were always available for discussion, but that was not the case with Prithviraj Chavan," said Pawar. Recently, Pawar told TOI that he felt Deshmukh was a better CM and Chavan needed to do more.
  
  The CM had left for his hometown Karad, from where he has secured a ticket to fight in the October 15 assembly polls, on Wednesday morning, ignoring an NCP deadline to make a satisfactory counter offer to its demand for 144 seats and rotating CM's post.

Pakistan 'spoiled the game' by talking to Hurriyat: Sushma Swaraj

• 

  NEW YORK: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday said Pakistan "spoiled the talks" by talking to Hurriyat leaders just ahead of foreign secretaries of the two nations were scheduled to meet in Islamabad last month.
  
  "New (Narendra Modi) government has given a new signal. So they (Pakistan) spoiled the talks, they spoiled the game," Swaraj told Indian reporters here after her meeting with the IBSA foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ongoing UN General Assembly session.
  
  Swaraj was asked to comment on Pakistan's national security and foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz's remarks that talks between the two countries can happen only if New Delhi takes the initiative since India was the one which cancelled the August 25 talks.
  
  Swaraj said: "No question of first or second. As far as our reaction is concerned we have said repeatedly that if a reaction had to come it had to come at this time only. The initiative was there from our side," she said.

Asian Games half over, AIR team still in India

• 

  NEW DELHI: Six days after the Incheon Asian Games kicked off, the All India Radio team tasked to cover the Indian medal hopefuls continues to be grounded in India. AIR is using updates from internet and TV to broadcast its radio bulletins.
  
  Sources said that delay in sending proposal for official sanctions and a bloated demand of expenses could have been the reason behind this "absurd" situation.
  
  Sources said that AIR sent a proposal for a team of 25 to travel to South Korea just a day before travel. "Although the schedule for the Asian Games is announced months in advance AIR sent its proposal only on September 17 to the I&B ministry. The Games were to begin on September 19. That left the ministry with only a day to examine the request and clear it," an official source said. AIR's request is currently pending before the ministry for approval.
  
  Officials also said that the initial estimate was close to Rs 1.5 crore that was considered inflated. The I&B ministry has now pruned the list of 25 to 11 people which has cut down on expenses. However there appears to be no urgency. Incidentally, the Games will wind up on October 4.
  
  "Commentators have been cut down from the trip. The government has already paid some amount in hotel expenses and booking places at the games venue for commentators which is non-refundable. This is just public money going down the drain," a source said.
  
  AIR director general F Shehreyar did not respond to queries despite repeated calls and messages while director (sports) Rajiv Shukla refused to comment on the issue.
  
  India is placed at 15th spot with 15 medals under its belt, a gold and silver each and 13 bronze.

Just 2% of Isro’s engineers are from IITs, NITs

• 

  COIMBATORE/ NAGPUR: Isro may be making great strides in space, but when it comes to attracting graduates from premier institutes like IIT, it has a long way to go. Details gathered through an RTI application show that only 2% employees of Indian Space Research Institute (Isro) are graduates from IITs or NITs.
  
  With satellite launches and interplanetary exploration increasingly becoming as commercial as scientific, Isro will need products of premier institutes. "But this is not a trend that affects only Isro," says V Adimurthy, senior advisor of interplanetary mission at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Other sectors like roadways and railways too don't attract them," says the IIT-Kanpur alumnus.
  
  Moreover, Isro's centralized recruitment system doesn't differentiate between an IIT graduate and one from another engineering college. "We look for strength in fundamentals, wherever the person is from. It is essential to have people from different institutions."

Narendra Modi returns to his stomping ground as Prime Minister after a 14-year exile

• 

  WASHINGTON: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in New York on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning IST), he will be returning to a city that was like his second home in the late-1990s. A frequent visitor who stayed for weeks at a time in the US as a party apparatchik tasked with spreading the gospel of the sangh parivar in America, that familiarity and comfort was disrupted, first when got busy at home when he became chief minister of Gujarat in 2001, and later, when his long-term US visa was revoked by Washington following the communal riots in the state he administered.
  
  That 14-year exile — some self-inflicted and some forced — has now ended with the Obama administration's policy reversal following the sweeping mandate the Indian electorate gave the BJP and its mascot. From all accounts, Modi now returns to familiar stomping ground sans rancor, in any case promoting India's national interest over any personal pique on account of the visa issue. But when he is checked into the New York Palace hotel at the corner of 50th and Madison, where basic suites run at $1100 a night, he will find a city that has changed a lot from the time he hung out for chai at the Korean deli on 28th and Fifth Ave and dined at the original Diwan restaurant on 48th and Lexington, which has since closed.

Ladakh stand-off: India, China agree to withdraw troops by September 30

• 

  NEW YORK: India and China have resolved the stand-off at the Ladakh border and withdrawal of troops will begin on Friday and be completed by September 30, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said, describing the resolution of the issue as a "big accomplishment."
  
  "I am happy to tell you that both nations have sat down and resolved the (border stand-off) issue. Timelines have been decided," Swaraj told Indian reporters here after her meeting with the IBSA foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ongoing UN General Assembly session.
  
  Swaraj met with Chinese foreign affairs minister Wang Yi on Thursday at the United Nations and said that she discussed the border stand-off issue with him.
  
  Swaraj said during Chinese President Xi Jingping's visit to New Delhi this month, somewhere a "shadow" of the border incident was cast on the visit even though the visit in itself was "very historical" and very good outcomes came from it.

iPhone 6 Plus 'bendgate': Apple breaks silence

• 

   Apple broke its silence on complaints about bending iPhones, hours after withdrawing a glitch-ridden software update as the company struggles to restore momentum to the rollout of its latest phones.
  
  "With normal use, a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus," Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said in an email.
  
  Apple shares closed down nearly 4% at $97.87 on Thursday, wiping out nearly $23 billion in market value.

BANKING AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR SBI P.O. EXAM

• 1. Which of the following commissions recommended for establishment of Reserve Bank of India?
  a) Deshmukh Committee
  b) Hilton young commission
  c) Presidency Banking Commission
  d) Narasimhan Committee
  e) Osbone Smith Committee
• 2. RBI has capped the _______ to Rs. 35000 Crore to central government for the first half of the new financial year 2015.
  a) Bridge Loan
  b)Long term loan to repay the World Bank loan
  c) Ways and means advance
  d) Advance to promote Government Schemes
  e) Advance for improving infrastructure for the newly formed states in India
• 3. RBI has been authorised by Central Government to issue debt instruments not exceeding Rs.50000 Crore during the fiscal 2014-15 under MSS. What do you mean by MSS?
  a) Marginal Stability Scheme
  b) Market standardisation Scheme
  c) Market Stabilisation Scheme
  d) Marginal Stabilisation scheme
  e) None of the above
• 4. Which bank has started issuing Kisan Card to withdraw one lakh per day from ATMs?
  a) Axis Bank
  b) ICICI Bank
  c) HDFC Bank
  d) State Bank of India
  e) Punjab National Bank
• 5. Who is recently named as the India's governor on the board of  governors of Asian Development Bank?
  a) Sushma Swaraj
  b) Arun Jaitley
  c) Murali Manohar Joshi
  d) H.R.Khan
  e) Venkaiah Naid
• 6. The rate of interest on Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) loan introduced in the year 1972 is __
  a) 4%
  b) 5%
  c) 6%
  d) 3%
  e) Depends on the loan
• 7. Which of the following banks were merged with State Bank of India?
  a) State Bank of Indore
  b) State Bank of Sourasthra
  c) State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
  d) State Bank of Patiala
  e) a & b
• 8. When a person wants to save money for  a longer period of time with a view to earn a higher rate of interest, he/ she should open which of the following types of accounts?
  a) Savings account
  b) Current account
  c) Terms Deposit account
  d) Recurring account
  e) None of these
• 9. For obtaining which among the following, does a customer not require a bank account?
  a) A Loan
  b) A Cheque
  c) A Banker's Draft
  d) A debit Card
  e) All of the above
• 10. When RBI sells Government securities, its result:
  a) The liquidity in the banking system increases
  b) The liquidity in the banking system remains unchanged
  c) The liquidity in the banking system gets diminished
  d) The Deflation will be controlled
  e) The borrowers get credit at cheaper rate
• 11. The banks are in process to bring in biometric ATMs. These are specially aimed to address the needs of which of the following categories?
  a) Urban customers
  b) Rural customers
  c) Students
  d) Women
  e) None of these
• 12. What do you mean by flight of capital?
  a) Large number of investors of a country transferring their investments elsewhere due to disturbed economic conditions
  b) Investment in risky projects
  c) Large amount of inflow of capital from NRIs
  d) b & c
  e) None of the above
• 13. Fourteen banks were nationalised on 19.07.1969 as per:
  a) Companies Act 1956
  b) Banking Regulation Act 1949
  c) Banking Companies (Acquisition and transfer of undertakings) ordinance Act, 1969
  d) RBI Act 1934
  e) Negotiable Instruments Act 1881
• 14. Under PMJDY, every account holder will get a ____
  a) Rupay debit card
  b) Rs. 1.00 lack accident insurance
  c) Rs. 30,000 for natural death
  d) Rs. 25000 credit card limit
  e) a, b & c
• 15. The Phase II of PMJDY (15th August, 2015 to 14th August, 2018) covers ____
  a) Creation of Credit Guarantee Fund for coverage of defaults in overdraft A/Cs
  b) Micro Insurance
  c) Unorganized sector Pension schemes like Swavlamban
  d) Only a & b
  e) a, b & c
• 16. How many times nomination in deposit accounts can be changed?
  a) Only one
  b) Maximum two times
  c) Once in a year
  d) At the discretion of the concerned bank
  e) No such restriction
• 17. BIS which has representative offices in Hong Kong and Mexico was established on 17th May 1930, wherein BIS stands for:
  a) Bank for Industrial Settlements
  b) Bank of International Settlements
  c) Bank with Industrial standards
  d) Bureau of Indian Standards
  e) None of the above
• 18. Which Indian is one of the Board of Directors in BIS (Bank for International Settlements)?
  a) Arun Jaitley
  b) Chidambaram
  c) Raghuram Rajan
  d) Arundhathi subramanyam
  e) SS Mundra
• 19. Basel III Norms are to be fully implemented by ____
  a) 31 march 2020
  b) 31 March 2019
  c) 31 March 2025
  d) 30 September 2014
  e) None of these
• 20. What are the powers of RBI under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 for issuing directions to Bank?
  a) To issue directions in the public interest or in the interest of banking policy
  b) To prevent affairs of banking company if it is detrimental to the interests of depositors
  c) To secure the proper management of any banking company
  d) All the above
  e) Only a & b
• 21. As per Basel III, Banks would be required to maintain capital Adequacy Ratio of ____ including Capital Conservation Buffer (CCB).
  a) 11.5
  b) 10.5
  c) 9.5
  d) 8.5
  e) 12.5
• 22. SEBI Head Office is located in:
  a) Hyderabad
  b) Pune
  c) Mumbai
  d) New Delhi
  e) Chennai
• 23. Which of the following are the targets for different categories of priority sector?
  a) Overall target 40% of net Bank credit
  b) Agriculture loans (direct and indirect) 18%
  c) Priority sector target for foreign Banks is 32%
  d) All the above
  e) None of the above
• 24. In terms of section 19 of the RBI Act 1934, the RBI has been prohibited from:
  a) Acting as lender of last resort to banks
  b) Drawing or accepting bills payable otherwise than on demand
  c) Allowing interest on deposits or current accounts
  d) Deciding Repo and Reverse Repo Rates
  e) Deciding Bank Rate
• 25. Budget allocation for the rural housing scheme in the Union Budget 2014 - 15 is ____
  a) Rs. 6,000 cr
  b) Rs. 8,000 cr
  c) Rs. 10,000 cr
  d) Rs. 12,000 cr
  e) None of the above
• 26. RBI allocating the funds from the subvention of rate of interest to Bank loans given to farmers by pledging their gold comes under _____
  a) Traditional function
  b) Supervisory function
  c) Promotional function
  d) Derilictory function
  e) None of these
• 27. Review of banks performance is one of the functions of ____
  a) Promotional function
  b) Administrative function
  c) Supervisory functions
  d) Negative functions
  e) None
• 28. AS per RBI order, against the certificate of Deposit, the ____
  a) Loan cannot be granted
  b) Loan can be granted
  c) Loan can be granted up to 50% of value
  d) Loan can be granted up to 75% of value
  e) None of these
• 29. An order cheque is endorsed as "without recourse to me" by the endorser. This endorsement is known as
  a) Blank endorsement
  b) Restrictive endorsement
  c) Endorsement in full
  d) Sans recourse endorsement
  e) None of these
• 30. Bank A allows one of its clients to withdraw against clearing of a cheque, The banker is called as:
  a) Collecting and paying banker
  b) Holder in due course
  c) Holder for value
  d) Reimbursement banker
  e) Any of the above
• 31. Which one of the Non Resident Deposit schemes is not permitted?
  a) FCNR A/cs
  b) NRNR A/cs
  c) NRE A/cs
  d) NRO A/cs
  e) NREO A/cs
• 32. Capital adequacy is worked out based on:
  a) Total demand and time liabilities
  b) Net demand and time assetsc) Risk weighted assets
  d) Risk weighted liabilities
  e) Only a & b
• 33. The whole time Directors of a Bank are appointed by:
  a) Reserve Bank of India
  b) Central government in consultation with RBI
  c) Individual Bank
  d) All the above
  e) None of the above
• 34. Maximum amount that can be referred to Banking Ombudsman is ___
  a) Rs. 5 lakh
  b) Rs. 10.00 lakh
  c) Rs. 4.00 lakh
  d) Rs. 3.00 lakh
  e) Rs. 2.00 lakh
• 35. Which of the following is the first universal bank of India?
  a) HDFC
  b) Axis Bank
  c) ICICId) Federal Bank
  e) None of these
• 36. Which of the following guidelines are applicable in connection with short fall in lending   to priority sector?
  a) Equivalent amount of shortfall under agriculture sector should be invested with RIDF
  b) Any shortfall in achieving sub-target under SSI sector, an equivalent amount should be invested with SIDBI
  c) The interest rates on banks' contribution to RIDF shall be fixed by Reserve Bank of India from Time to time.
  d) The foreign banks having shortfall in lending to stipulated priority sector target/ subtargets will Be required to contribute to Small Enterprises Development Fund (SEDF)
  e) All of the above
• ANSWERS:
  1) b; 2) c; 3) c; 4) a; 5) b; 6) a; 7) e; 8) c; 9) c; 10) c;
  11) b; 12) a; 13) c; 14) e; 15) e; 16) e; 17) b; 18) c; 19) b; 20) d;
  21) a; 22) c; 23) d; 24) c; 25) b; 26) c; 27) c; 28) a; 29) d; 30) c;
  31) b; 32) c; 33) b; 34) b; 35) c; 36) e.