Current Affairs - 7 October 2014

EC notice to Gadkari for ‘inducing voters to take bribe’

• 

  MUMBAI: The Election Commission of India has issued a notice to Union surface transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari for allegedly inducing the voters to take bribes and then decided on whom to vote. The commission has vowed to take action against him if he did not clarify on his statement by October 8 evening. Gadkari's objectionable view came in during his speech at an election rally in Latur while campaigning for a BJP candidate there.
  
  "The Commission has received emails from the local observers that during the speech in Nilanga constituency in Latur on October 5 you made statements to the effect of inducing voters to take bribe if offered by someone and then decided on vote," the Commission has stated in its notice to Gadkari.

Modi team is like Afzal Khan's army, Uddhav Thackeray says

• 

  PUNE/SOLAPUR/MUMBAI: Escalating his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday equated Modi and his central ministers with the army of Bijapur general Afzal Khan and asked voters to ensure the defeat of the BJP which, he said, was "conspiring to break the state into pieces."
  
  "PM Modi is here in Maharashtra to campaign, and his ministers are joining him. It seems like the army of Afzal Khan is intruding to win the state," Uddhav said at a rally in the holy town of Tuljapur in Osmanabad district.
  
  Afzal Khan was a chieftain of the Adil Shahi kingdom of Bijapur who came to Maharashtra in 1659 with the aim of defeating Chhatrapati Shivaji. He tried to kill Shivaji during an embrace but was killed himself when the Maratha leader pulled out his tiger claws.
  
  Uddhav asked people not to succumb to Modi's development talk. "Don't fall prey to that. They (BJP) are here to break the state by wearing the mascot of development. They are conspiring to divide Maharashtra," he said.

Report calls for scrapping of 100 outdated laws

• 

  NEW DELHI: Did you know that possessing 2.43mm to 3.52mm of copper wire was illegal and could land you in prison or that you need to pay excise duty of 1 paisa per kilogram on Virginia tobacco produced and auctioned? These are just some of the laws that continue to be in our statute books according to 100 Laws Repeal project report by Centre for Civil Society in collaboration with NIPFP and Vidhi Legal Centre.
  
  The report released recently has outlined 25 colonial and independence related laws, 17 laws that constrain economic freedom and impose restrictions on personal liberty and 19 laws that hinder effective governance. The report includes justification and evidence to support repeal of 8 laws that impose taxes, cesses and levies that bring little benefit despite adding significant administrative and collection costs. The group also recommends that 20 laws passed around the time of Emergency, allowing the government to take over private enterprises be repealed besides identifying 10 central statutes that add to India's labour market rigidities.

HC to hear Jayalalithaa’s bail plea today

• 

  BANGALORE: The Karnataka high court will on Tuesday hear the bail petitions filed by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and her three associates convicted in a disproportionate assets case.
  
  The quartet, lodged in the central jail here, has also challenged the verdict of the special court convicting them in the 18-year-old case.
  
  The four separate petitions are listed at serial No. 73 onwards before Justice A V Chandrashekara, the regular bench dealing with bail as well as criminal appeals under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Choppergate effect: Upgraded Mi-17 V5s to ferry President, PM

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  NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have much more secure chopper rides from next year onwards. Their modified Mi-17 V5 helicopters might not be as plush or safe as specially-designed VVIP choppers but would be far better than the ageing and obsolete ones being currently used.
  
  The defence ministry has approved the "conversion" of six new Mi-17 V5s into VVIP helicopters to replace the old Mi-8 helicopters with IAF's elite Communication Squadron to ferry the President and PM within the country.
  
  This has become necessary after India in January this year scrapped the 556 million euros contract for 12 swanky AW-101 helicopters, which was inked with AgustaWestland in February 2010, due to allegations of bribery.
  
  "The Mi-17 V5s will replace the existing Mi-8s, which have almost outlived their operational life, as an interim measure. They will be modified at one of our base repair depots (3 BRD at Chandigarh) over the next six months...VVIP security will not be compromised," said IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.

All players win on Indian e-tail's biggest day

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  The fireworks have started way before Diwali, as the big three in Indian e-tailing ​— Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal — tried to outdo each other by offering merchandise at big discounts. Though many shoppers were disappointed with 'out of stock' stickers and website errors, those who managed to grab a bargain on Monday showed off their buys on social media sites.
  
  The Bangalore-based Flipkart, which sparked off the e-contest with its much-publicized Big Billion Day sale, said it had notched up $100 million in sales on Monday as shoppers bought 20 lakh products from the site. Going by Flipkart's expected annual sales of $3 billion (Rs 18,000 crore), that's a 12-fold jump from the $8.2 million it has been doing on average per day.

Ebola hits US journalist once hailed as 'reincarnated lama'

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  WASHINGTON: The Ebola virus didn't care that he was once considered a reincarnated Tibetan lama (high priest). Or that he was named after the great emperor Ashoka. Or that he had dedicated himself to highlighting how the world was seemingly abandoning the people of Liberia. The deadly disease struck Ashoka Mukpo, on Gandhi Jayanti.
  
  Ashoka, a freelance American journalist, had just joined media giant NBC the previous day when the fever hit him. He immediately phoned Mitchell Levy, his biological father (his spiritual father is the well-known Tibetan Buddhist monk Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who founded the Shambhala community that spread Buddhism in the US; his mother was married to Rinpoche before Levy married her). "Dad pick up your phone. Answer the phone. I think I'm in trouble," Ashoka, 33, beseeched his dad Levy in the voicemail from Ebola-hit Liberia.
  
  Levy was in a conference in Barcelona, and he rushed back to the US after hearing the symptoms and realizing Ashoka may have contacted the Ebola virus. On Monday, Ashoka was flown back to the US, the fifth American to be evacuated to the US since the outbreak began to affect foreigners.

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR BANK EXAMS

• 1. Which bank is appointed to take care of refunding excess income tax paid to tax payers?
  a) AXIS Bank
  b) PNB
  c) ICICI Bank
  d) SBI
  e) None of these
• 2. What is nomination?
  a) A facility given to depositors by the Government
  b) It confers a right to the nominee to receive payment of a deposit after death of depositor
  c) It is a process of appointing legal heir by the depositors
  d) It is a part of will on behalf of a depositor
  e) It is a direction to the bank to pay to nominee only if legal heirs do not claim the balance deposit amount
• 3. Relation between banker & customer in respect of amounts in transit is:
  a) Agr & Principle
  b) Debtor & Creditor
  c) Trustee & Beneficiary
  d) None of these
  e) All of these
• 4. The charge created by a bank to sanction a loan against Insurance Policy is:
  a) Assignment
  b) Arbitrage
  c) Amortization
  d) Acquisition
  e) None of these
• 5. Which public sector bank is the leader in mobile banking business in India?
  a) ICICI
  b) HDFC
  c) SBI
  d) Axis Bank
  e) UBI
• 6. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to withdraw its nominee directors from the boards of which of the following types of banks?
  a) Co-operative Banks
  b) Nationalized Banks
  c) Private Sector Banks
  d) Foreign Banks
  e) None of these
• 7. The National Agricultural Insurance Scheme was started by the Govt. of India in ___
  a) 1990-91 Kharif season
  b) 1995-96 Kharif-season
  c) 1997-98 Rabi Season
  d) 1998-99 Kharif season
  e) 1999-2000 Rabi season
• 8. Which of the following nations is considered the originator of the concept of Micro Finance?
  a) India
  b) Bangladesh
  c) South Africa
  d) USA
  e) Canada
• 9. Which of the following is NOT a foreign bank functioning in India?
  a) BNP Paribas
  b) Bank of Nova Scotia
  c) Standard Chartered Bank
  d) HSBC
  e) YES BANK
• 10. As per the current year taxation policy the maximum amount of housing loan rebate under section 80C is allowed up to ___
  a) Rs. 1.00 lakh
  b) Rs. 1.50 lakh
  c) Rs. 2.00 lakh
  d) Rs. 2.50 lakh
  e) Rs. 3.00 lakh
• 11. 84th annual general meeting of BIS held in ___
  a) Hyderabad
  b) Tokyo
  c) Frankfurt
  d) Paris
  e) Basel
• 12. Which among the following is correct full form of CAS in context with banking market in India?
  a) Cash Authorization Scheme
  b) Credit Authorization Scheme
  c) Credit Access System
  d) Credit Arrangement System
  e) Cash Accreditation Scheme
• 13. Which of the following term is NOT related with Banking/ Finance?
  a) Annuity
  b) Line of Credit
  c) Legal heir
  d) Fore Closure
  e) None of the above
• 14. What will be the impact on the cash reserves of commercial banks if RBI conducts a sale of securities?
  a) Increase
  b) Decrease
  c) Remain constant
  d) Increase or Decrease
  e) Increase if the securities are sold in open market operations
• 15. Banks in India are permitted to have fixed deposit for a period of maximum ____
  a) 60 months
  b) 72 months
  c) 84 months
  d) 96 months
  e) 120 months
• 16. Which one of the following rates signal the RBI's long term outlook on Interest Rates?
  a) Repo Rate
  b) Reverse Repo Rate
  c) Bank Rate
  d) SLR
  e) CRR
• 17. Which public sector bank is the second bank in the world that have above 10,000 branches?
  a) Punjab National Bank
  b) State Bank of India
  c) Bank of Baroda
  d) Bank of India
  e) Syndicate Bank
• 18. The Head Office of Standard chartered Bank is located in ___
  a) France
  b) USA
  c) Russia
  d) Germany
  e) UK
• 19. Which is the first bank in India that got ISO Certification?
  a) Canara bank
  b) PNB
  c) South Indian Bank
  d) SBI
  e) SBH
• 20. Which of the following is a scheduled bank?
  a) Indian Bank
  b) Ratnakar Bank
  c) OBC
  d) IDBI
  e) All of these
• 21. Which bank has first time lunched the withdrawn money from ATMs without ATM card?
  a) ICICI
  b) SBI
  c) UBI
  d) Axis
  e) HDFC
• 22. "Deepika Padukone" is the brand ambassador of which Bank?
  a) ICICI
  b) Axis
  c) SBI
  d) HDFC
  e) Yes Bank
• 23. The rates of SLR/ CRR will be valid ___
  a) Once in a year
  b) Twice in year
  c) Thrice in a year
  d) Till any change is announced
  e) None of the above
• 24. Which public-sector bank declared Kingfisher Airlines, its promoter Vijay Mallya and three directors as "wilful defaulters" on 1 September 2014, with which it became the first bank to make such
  a declaration against Mallya?
  a) United Bank of India
  b) SBI
  c) PNB
  d) Bank of Baroda
  e) Allahabad Bank
• 25. What is the slogan (punch line) of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which was launched on 28 August 2014?
  a) Mera Account Bhagya vidhataa
  b) Mera khaata Bhagya vidhataa
  c) My bank my country
  d) Mera account mera Bharat
  e) None of these
• 26. What are the features of selective credit control?
  a) They distinguish between essential and non-essential uses of Bank credit
  b) Only non-essential uses are brought under the scope of Credit Bank controls
  c) They affect not only the lenders but also the borrowers
  d) a, b & c
  e) Only a & b
• 27. Which of the following Acts is specially launched to facilitate banks in recovery of bad loans?
  a) RBI Act
  b) Banking Regulation Act
  c) SARFAESI Act
  d) Companies Act
  e) Income Tax Act
• 28. Negotiable Instrument Act was passed in ___
  a) 1881
  b) 1892
  c) 1885
  d) 1857
  e) 1860
• 29. RBI prepares the Annual Financial Statements as on:
  a) 31st March
  b) 30th Sept
  c) 31st Dec
  d) 30th June
  e) None of these
• 30. What is the maximum amount that can be remitted by any person to NEPAL through NEFT under Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility Scheme?
  a) Rs. 25000/-
  b) Rs. 30000/-
  c) Rs. 35000/-
  d) Rs. 40000/-
  e) Rs. 50000/-
• 31. Electronic Clearing Service in banks can be availed only by:
  a) Individuals
  b) Corporate
  c) Senior Citizens
  d) All of these
  e) None of the above
• 32. Business risks in Risk Based Supervision are:
  a) Capital and credit risk
  b) Market risk
  c) Liquidity risk
  d) Staff Risk
  e) Only a, b & c
• 33. Which of the following cannot be called as a Debt Instrument as referred in financial transactions?
  a) Certificate of Deposits
  b) Bonds
  c) Stocks
  d) Commercial Papers
  e) All the above
• 34. Which of the following statements is not correct?
  a) Monetary policy has facilitated growth of financial institutions
  b) Monetary policy has resulted in widening the gaps between rich and poor
  c) Monetary policy has improved the balance of payment position
  d) Credit policy has been instrumental in the increased savings rate
  e) None of the above
• 35. The purpose of Open Market Operation of RBI is to regulate which of the following?
  a) Inflation only
  b) Liquidity in economy
  c) Borrowing powers of the banks
  d) Flow of Foreign Direct Investments
  e) None of these
• 36. The maximum interest paid on PPF (Public Provident Fund) is:
  a) 7.0%
  b) 8.0%
  c) 8.7%
  d) 9.0%
  e) 9.7%
• 37. Which was the first Indian Bank to introduce credit card?
  a) State Bank of India
  b) Central Bank of India
  c) Union Bank of India
  d) ICICI
  e) None of these
• 38. Which of the following is necessary while opening deposit accounts in banks?
  a) Will
  b) Registration
  c) Nomination
  d) Indemnity
  e) Guarantee
• 39. Which of the following is a short term government security?
  a) Debenture
  b) Mutual funds
  c) Treasury bill
  d) Share
  e) None of these
• 40. What is Call Money?
  a) Money borrowed or lent for a day or over night
  b) Money borrowed for more than one day but up to 3 days
  c) Money borrowed for more than one day but up to 7 days
  d) Money borrowed for more than one day but up to 14 days
  e) None of these
• 41. Banking services delivered to a customer by means of a computer control system that does not directly involve banks branch is called?
  a) Universal banking
  b) Virtual banking
  c) Narrow banking
  d) Brick & Mortal banking
  e) None of these
• 42. ____ provides insurance cover for bank deposits up to a maximum of Rs 1.00 lakh.
  a) SBI
  b) Government of India
  c) DICGC
  d) GIC
  e) None of these
• 43. Which of the following concept/ product not directly associated with banks?
  a) E-payment
  b) SMS Alert
  c) ATM/ Debit Card
  d) Demat Account
  e) Number Portability
  
• ANSWERS: 
  
  1) d; 2) b; 3) c; 4) a; 5) c; 6) c; 7) e; 8) b; 9) e; 10) b;
  11) e; 12) b; 13) e; 14) b; 15) e; 16) c; 17) b; 18) e; 19) a; 20) e;
  21) a; 22) b; 23) d; 24) a; 25) b; 26) d; 27) c; 28) a; 29) d; 30) e;
  31) d; 32) e; 33) c; 34) b; 35) b; 36) c; 37) b; 38) c; 39) c; 40) a;
  41) b; 42) c; 43) e.