Current Affairs 21 October 2014

INS Teg Visits Simon's Town

• Indian Naval Ship Teg, a Stealth Frigate of the Indian Navy, is scheduled to make port calls at Simon’s Town and Cape Town between 20th October and 10th November 2014. The ship will participate in the fourth edition of the biennial India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime (IBSAMAR) Exercise. The port call at Simon’s Town will coincide with the visit of Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command. 
  
  INS Teg is the 9th Indian Naval ship to participate in IBSAMAR to strengthen the existing bonds of friendship between the three nations. The visit also seeks to underscore India’s solidarity with countries of the Indian Ocean Region. 
  
  The ship sailed from her base port Mumbai on 1st October 2014 as part of a four-ship Task Group headed by Rear Admiral R Hari Kumar, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet. During the ship’s stay in harbour at Simon’s Town, various activities are planned including professional interaction between naval personnel. On departure from South Africa, the ship is scheduled to make a port call at Mozambique before returning to Mumbai in end Nov 2014. 
  
  INS Teg, built at Kaliningrad, Russia was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 27th April 2012. The ship is a guided missile Stealth Frigate with formidable arsenal. The ship is commanded by Captain Anand Yeshwant Sardesai and is manned by a crew of 25 officers and 220 sailors.

Expert advisory committee to help water resources ministry Constituted

• NEW DELHI: Four days after appointing a full-time advisor in the Union water resources ministry, the government on Monday constituted a three-member expert advisory committee, headed by BN Navalawala — ex-UPSC member and one of the advisors to the Gujarat chief minister — to assist the ministry on all matters pertaining to water resources including the NDA's dream project of inter-linking of rivers. 
  
  Navalawala, who had also served as secretary in ministry of water resources during 2001-02, will be the chief advisor of this expert committee having two other members as advisors. 
  
  The two members would be appointed in consultation with the chief adviser. 
  
  "The group may co-opt any other experts for a specific purpose and specified period with the prior approval of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation", said an official statement. 
  
  Internationally renowned water resources expert, Navalawala has expertise in planning, design and execution of multipurpose water resources projects, flood management and economic planning & financial management of water resources. 

Key role for Indian scientist in Nasa project

• MUMBAI: As comet Siding Spring arrives on the Red Planet on Sunday, Isro's Mars Orbiter, along with four other such spacecraft, will be at "some risk" from the comet's particles. 
  
  Monitoring the five spacecraft will be Nasa's Canberra Deep Space Network (DSN), ready with manoeuvres to handle eventualities. And playing a key role in this will be the DSN's Ashish Soni, who provides engineering support for systems used in telemetry, tracking, commanding and monitoring the spacecraft. 
  
  The Canberra DSN, owing to its particular geographic position, generally picks up messages sent by all spacecraft and then transmits them to other countries' DSNs, such as Isro's Byalalu facility on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. It will handle MOM's communication till the mission is completed. 

Joko Widodo sworn in as Indonesian President

• Joko Widodo was sworn in as Indonesia’s new President on Monday.
  
  Mr. Widodo, the first Indonesian President not to come from the ranks of the country’s established political, business and military elite, took the oath of office in a ceremony at Parliament in Jakarta, attended by regional leaders and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
  
  “To the fishermen, the workers, the farmers, the merchants, the meatball soup sellers, the hawkers, the drivers, the academics, the labourers, the soldiers, the police, the entrepreneurs and the professionals, I say let us all work hard, together, shoulder to shoulder, because this is a historic moment,” said Mr. Widodo.
  
  A former furniture salesman, Mr. Widodo rose from humble beginnings to become Jakarta’s Governor before winning July’s presidential election with 53 per cent of the vote. Polls showed most of his support came from lower-income, non-urban Indonesians attracted by his simple demeanour and record of honest, hard work.

Bankruptcy Reforms Committee

• The Hon'ble Finance Minster in his Budget Speech of 2014-15 announced that an Entrepreneur friendly legal bankruptcy framework would be developed for SMEs to enable easy exit. 
  
  Pursuant to the above announcement, a Committee has been set up under the Chairmanship of Shri TK Vishwanathan, former Secretary General, Lok Sabha and former Union Law Secretary, to study the corporate bankruptcy legal framework in India and submit a report by February next year. 
  
  The Committee will examine the whole gamut of issues relating to bankruptcy including the following specific areas: 
  
  i.Why bankruptcy matters? 
  ii.Early detection and resolution of finacial distress 
  iii.Protection of interest of stakeholders 
  iv.Study the rescue mechanism and suggest ways of improving it 
  v.Examine the role of the institutions engaged in the process of rescue and liquidation 
  vi.Liquidation procedurefor smaller companies 
  vii.Any other aspect relevant to the subject 
  
  Comments and suggestions on the proposed areas may be sent to Director (FSLRC), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

WHO declares Nigeria free of Ebola

• The World Health Organisation has declared that Nigeria is now free of Ebola.
  
  In an update issued on Monday, the U.N. health agency said the country’s containment of the lethal disease was a “spectacular success story”.
  
  The announcement comes after 42 days have passed twice the disease’s maximum incubation period since the last case in Nigeria tested negative.
  
  WHO said Nigeria had traced nearly every contact of Ebola patients in the country, all of whom were linked to the country’s first patient, a Liberian man who arrived with symptoms in Lagos and later died. Nigeria reported 20 cases of Ebola, including eight deaths.
  
  For an outbreak to be declared officially over, WHO convenes a committee on surveillance, epidemiology and lab testing to determine that all conditions have been met.

Why and how has multicultural India become racist?

• On October 15, Michael Lamjathang Haokip, a 26-year-old Manipuri youth, was attacked by a mob and asked to speak in Kannada in Bangalore. He was reminded during the scuffle that he ‘was not in China, but India’.
  
  The very next day, in Delhi’s Sikanderpur area, two Naga youths were mercilessly thrashed with cricket bats and hockey sticks and allegedly told, “If you guys from Manipur and Nagaland come and stay here, we will kill you.”
  
  These two incidents come close on the heels of another racial atrocity in Delhi. Last month, three African men were nearly lynched to death by a mob in the Rajiv Chowk Metro station after they objected to being photographed and commented upon by fellow commuters.

Hong Kong crisis deepens after weekend clashes

• HONG KONG: A deepening sense of impasse gripped Hong Kong as pro-democracy protests entered their fourth week, with the government having limited options to end the crisis and demonstrators increasingly willing to confront police. 
  
  Dozens of people were reportedly injured in two nights of clashes that began late on Friday in the densely populated Mong Kok district of the Chinese-controlled city, including 22 police. Four people were arrested early on Sunday, police said. 
  
  The area was calm early on Monday, although scores of protesters remained on the streets. 
  
  Hopes of easing the worst political crisis in Hong Kong since Britain handed the free-wheeling city back to China in 1997 rest on talks scheduled for Tuesday between the government and student protest leaders that will be broadcast live. 
  
  But few are expecting any resolution given the two sides are poles apart on how the city will elect its next leader in 2017. 

India set to become $2 trillion economy this year

• On October 15, Michael Lamjathang Haokip, a 26-year-old Manipuri youth, was attacked by a mob and asked to speak in Kannada in Bangalore. He was reminded during the scuffle that he ‘was not in China, but India’.
  
  The very next day, in Delhi’s Sikanderpur area, two Naga youths were mercilessly thrashed with cricket bats and hockey sticks and allegedly told, “If you guys from Manipur and Nagaland come and stay here, we will kill you.”
  
  These two incidents come close on the heels of another racial atrocity in Delhi. Last month, three African men were nearly lynched to death by a mob in the Rajiv Chowk Metro station after they objected to being photographed and commented upon by fellow commuters.

BANKING AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

• 1. Which of the following is not a debt instrument in banking parlance?
  a) a Certificate of deposit
  b) Bonds
  c) Stocks
  d) Commercial papers
  e) Debentures
• 2. Which of the following is NOT a scheduled Commercial Bank?
  a) HDFC Bank
  b) Axis Bank
  c) IDBI Bank
  d) NABARD
  e) SBI
• 3. Which of the following organizations/ agencies is not associated with banking and Finance?
  a) SEBI
  b) AMFI
  c) RBI
  d) ECGC
  e) ONGC
• 4. Who amongst the following Padma Bhushan Awardees is a famous banker?
  a) Mr. Azim H. Premji
  b) Ms. Chanda Kochhar
  c) Ms. Kapila Vatsyayan
  d) Mrs. Waheeda Rehman
  e) Mr. Brajesh Mishra
• 5. Which of the following has been renamed as "Annual Policy Statement" by the Reserve Bank of India?
  a) Busy season banking policy
  b) Slack season banking policy
  c) Monetary and credit policy
  d) Annual statistical report
  e) None of the above
• 6. Which committee has recommended introduction of smart card?
  a) Rangarajan committee
  b) Saraf committee
  c) Nayak committee
  d) Pannirselvan committee
  e) None of the above
• 7. Which committee had formulated consultative profile in connection with electronic funds transfer?
  a) A.K. Purwar committee
  b) Y V Reddy committee
  c) K S Shere committee
  d) S. A. Dave committee
  e) None of the above
• 8. The process of transformation of physical shares, commercial paper or certificate of deposit into electronic form is called as:
  a) Electronic clearing service
  b) Electronic securitization
  c) Share truncation
  d) Dematerialisation
  e) None of the above
• 9. Providing banking services to a customer without his entrance inside the bank's branch is called
  as:
  a) Virtual banking
  b) Relationship banking
  c) Universal banking
  d) Mobile banking
  e) None of the above
• 10. Where is the headquarters of "Society for worldwide Inter bank Financial Telecommunication
  - SWIFT" situated?
  a) New York
  b) Los Angels
  c) Brussels
  d) Hague
  e) None of the above
• 11. Where has National Financial Switch of IDRBT established?
  a) Mumbai
  b) New Delhi
  c) Hyderabad
  d) Bangalore
  e) None of the above
• 12. If the employees of the bank go on strike, it results in?
  a) Operational risk
  b) Employee risk
  c) Credit risk
  d) Market risk
  e) Systemic risk
• 13. Which of the following is not included in three pillars of BASEL capital accord?
  a) Minimum capital requirement
  b) Supervisory review
  c) Market discipline
  d) Core banking solution
  e) None of the above
• 14. When ICICI Limited merged with ICICI bank?
  a) 1st August, 2000
  b) 1st August 2001
  c) 1st August, 2002
  d) 1st August, 2003
  e) None of the above
• 15. Which bank has changed its name to AXIS bank limited?
  a) Centurion bank
  b) Times bank
  c) Bank of Punjab Limited
  d) Bank of Karad
  e) UTI bank limited
• 16. Times Bank Limited merged with:
  a) HDFC Bank
  b) Bank of India
  c) Punjab National Bank
  d) Central Bank of India
  e) None of the above
• 17. Which of the following Banks & Head Offices is not correct?
  a) State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur - Jaipur
  b) State Bank of Hyderabad - Hyderabad
  c) State Bank of Mysore - Mysore
  d) State Bank of Patiala - Patiala
  e) State Bank of Travancore - Thiruvananthapuram
• 18. CCIL stands for:
  a) Cement Corporation of India Limited
  b) Central Clearing Company Ltd.
  c) Clearing Corporation of India Limited
  d) Cash Credit facility in Installment Lending
  e) None of the above
• 19. When was Reserve Bank of India Nationalized?
  a) 1947
  b) 1948
  c) 1949
  d) 1950
  e) 1952
• 20. Which one of the following is the new sub-category of the commercial real estate sector (CRE) as per the latest RBI directive?
  a) Residential projects
  b) Commercial projects
  c) Industrial projects
  d) SEZ projects
  e) None of the above
• 21. In India, the Chit funds are governed / Regulated by ___?
  a) RBI
  b) Central Government
  c) State Governments
  d) Local Bodies
  e) State Finance Corporation
• 22. "The bank for a changing world" is the punch line of:
  a) BNP Paribas
  b) Scotia Bank
  c) Royal Bank of Scotland
  d) CITI Bank
  e) American Express Bank
• 23. The RBI is also set to introduce a fifth Deputy Governor in the top management of the central
  bank. The fifth Deputy Governor will be designated as ___
  a) COO (Chief Operating Officer)
  b) CFO
  c) CEO
  d) CAO
  e) None of these
• 24. What is the RBI's model for rating of Indian banks?
  a) CAMEL
  b) CAMELS
  c) CRISIL
  d) CARE
  e) None of these
• 25. Oriental Bank of Commerce was established in the year:
  a) 1943
  b) 1953
  c) 1963
  d) 1973
  e) 1983
• 26. What is the Punch line of "ICICI Bank"?
  a) World's Local Bank
  b) We Understand Your World
  c) Hum Haina …
  d) Serving to Empower
  e) Good people to grow with
• 27. Who is the CMD of Union Bank of India?
  a) R. M. Malla
  b) S. Raman
  c) M D. Mallya
  d) T. M. Bhasin
  e) Arun Tiwari
• 28. Which among the following is correct full form of CAS in context with banking markets in India?
  a) Cash Authorization Scheme
  b) Credit Authorization Scheme
  c) Credit Access System
  d) Credit Arrangement System
  e) Cash Accreditation Scheme
• 29. A medium term note (MTN) programme is issued to ___
  a) Provide loans
  b) Raise Funds
  c) Sell Equity
  d) Purchase shares
  e) Any of the above
• 30. Which among the following regulate the commodity markets in India?
  1) RBI
  2) SEBI
  3) Forward Market Commission
  Choose the correct option from the codes given below:
  a) Only 1 & 2
  b) Only 2 & 3
  c) Only 1 & 3
  d) Only 3
  e) None of the above
• 31. Which among the following is a major qualitative control measure used by RBI?
  a) Bank Rate Policy
  b) Open Market Operations
  c) Ways and means advances
  d) Reserve Ratio Requirements
  e) Margin Requirements
• 32. Which of the following is known as plastic money?
  a) Bearer cheques
  b) Credit cards
  c) Demand drafts
  d) Gift cheques
  e) None of these
• ANSWERS:
  1) c 2) d 3) e 4) b 5) c 6) b 7) c 8) d 9) a 10) c
  11) c 12) a 13) d 14) c 15) e 16) a 17) c 18) c 19) c 20) a
  21) c 22) a 23) a 24) b 25) a 26) c 27) e 28) b 29) b 30) d
  31) e 32) b