General Affairs
Chhattisgarh Government Paid Commission For Agusta Chopper: Swaraj Abhiyan
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NEW DELHI: NGO Swaraj Abhiyan on Thursday accused the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh of inviting a "fraudulent" tender and paying a hefty commission of $1.57 million on the purchase of one AgustaWestland chopper in 2007.
A court-monitored investigation be conducted to probe the deal and find out those who took kickbacks, Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav demanded at a joint press conference in Delhi.
"The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are toys controlled by the central government. A former Supreme Court judge should be appointed to investigate the matter," Mr Yadav said.
As per documents shown by them, the state civil aviation department prepared a note on the need for a VIP helicopter on December 19, 2006.
Within days, they said, a meeting was held between state government officials and representatives of OSS (service provider of AgustaWestland in India), where the latter gave a presentation on the A-109 chopper model of the company.
The Swaraj Abhiyan leaders said the state government then approached AgustaWestland directly, which said it would take two years to deliver the chopper and suggested (the government) to purchase it from its Hong Kong-based dealer Sharp Ocean, which had already quoted a price of $6.31 million through its subsidiary OSS.
Mr Bhushan and Mr Yadav said the price included a "premium" of $2,00,000.
They said the government sent a team to Hong Kong to negotiate the premium amount but in vain after which the state government floated a "global tender" calling for suppliers who could provide 'Agusta 109 Power E Helicopter'.
"The tender itself was fraudulent. The government mentioned the name of the product and company in the tender notification itself. No attempt was made to find out different manufacturers. There are at least 10 similar helicopter manufacturers who supply at cheaper rate than AgustaWestland. Why did the government favour it?" Mr Bhushan asked.
Interestingly, companies that are said to have bid for the tender were AgustaWestland, Sharp Ocean (Hong Kong dealer of AgustaWestland) and OSS (service provider of AgustaWestland and subsidiary of Sharp Ocean), which quoted the lowest price of $ 6.57 million. The tender was finally awarded to OSS.
"It is important to note that the initial price quoted by OSS was 6.31 million. However, the tender was awarded to it at $6.57 million, which also included commission of $1.57 million (around 30 percent of the deal). Who all shared the premium amount which was paid to AgustaWestland? The Comptroller and Auditor General had also indicted the Chhattisgarh government in its 2011 report for wasting public money by signing this deal," Mr Bhushan, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, added.
The then United Progressive Alliance government had signed a deal with the AgustaWestland company to buy 12 VVIP choppers in 2010, which was cancelled in January 2013.
The deal came into public focus again after an Italian court referred to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the then prime minister Manmohan Singh, among others, in its judgment last month but gave no details of any wrongdoing by the two leaders.
NEW DELHI: NGO Swaraj Abhiyan on Thursday accused the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh of inviting a "fraudulent" tender and paying a hefty commission of $1.57 million on the purchase of one AgustaWestland chopper in 2007.A court-monitored investigation be conducted to probe the deal and find out those who took kickbacks, Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav demanded at a joint press conference in Delhi.
"The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are toys controlled by the central government. A former Supreme Court judge should be appointed to investigate the matter," Mr Yadav said.
As per documents shown by them, the state civil aviation department prepared a note on the need for a VIP helicopter on December 19, 2006.
Within days, they said, a meeting was held between state government officials and representatives of OSS (service provider of AgustaWestland in India), where the latter gave a presentation on the A-109 chopper model of the company.
The Swaraj Abhiyan leaders said the state government then approached AgustaWestland directly, which said it would take two years to deliver the chopper and suggested (the government) to purchase it from its Hong Kong-based dealer Sharp Ocean, which had already quoted a price of $6.31 million through its subsidiary OSS.
Mr Bhushan and Mr Yadav said the price included a "premium" of $2,00,000.
They said the government sent a team to Hong Kong to negotiate the premium amount but in vain after which the state government floated a "global tender" calling for suppliers who could provide 'Agusta 109 Power E Helicopter'.
"The tender itself was fraudulent. The government mentioned the name of the product and company in the tender notification itself. No attempt was made to find out different manufacturers. There are at least 10 similar helicopter manufacturers who supply at cheaper rate than AgustaWestland. Why did the government favour it?" Mr Bhushan asked.
Interestingly, companies that are said to have bid for the tender were AgustaWestland, Sharp Ocean (Hong Kong dealer of AgustaWestland) and OSS (service provider of AgustaWestland and subsidiary of Sharp Ocean), which quoted the lowest price of $ 6.57 million. The tender was finally awarded to OSS.
"It is important to note that the initial price quoted by OSS was 6.31 million. However, the tender was awarded to it at $6.57 million, which also included commission of $1.57 million (around 30 percent of the deal). Who all shared the premium amount which was paid to AgustaWestland? The Comptroller and Auditor General had also indicted the Chhattisgarh government in its 2011 report for wasting public money by signing this deal," Mr Bhushan, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, added.
The then United Progressive Alliance government had signed a deal with the AgustaWestland company to buy 12 VVIP choppers in 2010, which was cancelled in January 2013.
The deal came into public focus again after an Italian court referred to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the then prime minister Manmohan Singh, among others, in its judgment last month but gave no details of any wrongdoing by the two leaders.
Air Pollution A National Crisis: Green Bodies On WHO Report
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NEW DELHI: With four Indian cities figuring in the top seven most polluted cities in the world, green bodies in the country today said air pollution is now a "national crisis" and strict and aggressive action is needed to check it.
Commenting on a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report which ranked Gwalior (2), Allahabad (3), Patna (6) and Raipur (7) in the top seven cities with worst air pollution, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) called for more aggressive and stringent action across all cities to check pollution.
"This indicates that air pollution is now a national crisis and needs strict and aggressive nation-wide action across all cities of India," said Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE's executive director for research and advocacy.
"India urgently needs national air quality planning to ensure that all cities have clean air action plan that are implemented in a time-bound manner to meet clean air target," the CSE said.
On New Delhi being listed 11th in the report after being ranked worst in 2014, the CSE said although the national capital has "arrested and improved" air quality, it still has a "long way to go".
Terming it as "disturbing" that several Indian cities have shown substantial increase in pollution levels since 2014, CSE said that PM2.5 in Allahabad has increased by 92 per cent, in Ludhiana 34 per cent, in Khanna 30 per cent, Kanpur 24 per cent, Agra 20 per cent, Lucknow 18 per cent and Amritsar 17 per cent among others.
CSE analysis of the WHO report, however, said that there were lesser number of Indian cities in the list of top 10 and top 20 most polluted cities this year.
While four are in top 10 list as opposed to six last time and 10 are in the top 20 list as opposed to 13 last time, bad news is that several smaller India cities including Patna, Allahabad, Ludhiana, Gwalior, Kanpur are more polluted than mega cities and are getting worse.
"This calls for more aggressive and stringent action across all cities of India," CSE said.
Noting that pollution does not recognise political boundaries, Greenpeace India said it has repeatedly called for an "urgent and comprehensive" National Clean Air Action Plan.
"Pollution does not recognise political boundaries, with polluted air travelling across long distances. Air pollution is a national crisis and demands a concerted national action plan in response," said Sunil Dahiya, campaigner, Greenpeace India.
The NGO said that continuing rise of fossil fuel consumption in India along with several other factors, has contributed to an increase in air pollution levels.
"The government needs to make a determined switch to cleaner forms of energy. This is the only way to secure a healthy future for generations to come," Mr Dahiya added.
Commenting on a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report which ranked Gwalior (2), Allahabad (3), Patna (6) and Raipur (7) in the top seven cities with worst air pollution, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) called for more aggressive and stringent action across all cities to check pollution.
"India urgently needs national air quality planning to ensure that all cities have clean air action plan that are implemented in a time-bound manner to meet clean air target," the CSE said.
On New Delhi being listed 11th in the report after being ranked worst in 2014, the CSE said although the national capital has "arrested and improved" air quality, it still has a "long way to go".
Terming it as "disturbing" that several Indian cities have shown substantial increase in pollution levels since 2014, CSE said that PM2.5 in Allahabad has increased by 92 per cent, in Ludhiana 34 per cent, in Khanna 30 per cent, Kanpur 24 per cent, Agra 20 per cent, Lucknow 18 per cent and Amritsar 17 per cent among others.
CSE analysis of the WHO report, however, said that there were lesser number of Indian cities in the list of top 10 and top 20 most polluted cities this year.
While four are in top 10 list as opposed to six last time and 10 are in the top 20 list as opposed to 13 last time, bad news is that several smaller India cities including Patna, Allahabad, Ludhiana, Gwalior, Kanpur are more polluted than mega cities and are getting worse.
"This calls for more aggressive and stringent action across all cities of India," CSE said.
Noting that pollution does not recognise political boundaries, Greenpeace India said it has repeatedly called for an "urgent and comprehensive" National Clean Air Action Plan.
"Pollution does not recognise political boundaries, with polluted air travelling across long distances. Air pollution is a national crisis and demands a concerted national action plan in response," said Sunil Dahiya, campaigner, Greenpeace India.
The NGO said that continuing rise of fossil fuel consumption in India along with several other factors, has contributed to an increase in air pollution levels.
"The government needs to make a determined switch to cleaner forms of energy. This is the only way to secure a healthy future for generations to come," Mr Dahiya added.
Congress To Move Privilege Motion Against Subramanian Swamy, Manohar Parrikar
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NEW DELHI: Going on the counteroffensive, Congress will be giving privilege motion against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in Rajya Sabha tomorrow accusing them of "lying blatantly" during the AgustaWestland debate.
AICC also announced that the party will file defamation case against a US-based website, www.pguru.com, whose material was used by Mr Swamy in the Rajya Sabha debate. It alleged that the website is linked to the Sangh Parivar.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Upper House during the current session.
Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh told reporters that both Mr Swamy and Mr Parrikar have "blatantly lied" in Parliament by creating a "web of deceit" in front of the people.
Noting that the Defence Minister authenticated documents in the Lok Sabha, he claimed it was not the judgement of the Italian court.
Insisting that the Italian judgement has nothing, he claimed there is "no accusation against the Congress leadership" in the verdict.
"It is a lie that the Italian judgement has indicted the Congress leadership.
"Swamy has made baseless allegations. He said he was reading from the Italian judgement," Mr Ramesh said, adding the BJP leader authenticated a 13-page document in the Rajya Sabha, which consists of two pages of an email from "Swamy to Swamy", a news report and nine pages from the website.
"Swamy has spoken big lies in the Rajya Sabha on May 4 and has used false documents. We will not allow him to go scot-free. The duo of Swamy and Parrikar have attempted to mislead the nation, for which they will have to pay the price," said Mr Ramesh.
Claiming that the nine pages from the website are "false", he said the party would be filing a defamation case against it.
He claimed that besides Mr Swamy, S Gurumurthy and R Vaidyanathan are linked to the website being run by a person named Shri Aiyar from the Silicon valley.
Mr Ramesh also claimed that Mr Swamy wanted Mr Vaidyanathan be made the next RBI Governor in place of Raghuram Rajan.
NEW DELHI: Going on the counteroffensive, Congress will be giving privilege motion against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in Rajya Sabha tomorrow accusing them of "lying blatantly" during the AgustaWestland debate.AICC also announced that the party will file defamation case against a US-based website, www.pguru.com, whose material was used by Mr Swamy in the Rajya Sabha debate. It alleged that the website is linked to the Sangh Parivar.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Upper House during the current session.
Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh told reporters that both Mr Swamy and Mr Parrikar have "blatantly lied" in Parliament by creating a "web of deceit" in front of the people.
Noting that the Defence Minister authenticated documents in the Lok Sabha, he claimed it was not the judgement of the Italian court.
Insisting that the Italian judgement has nothing, he claimed there is "no accusation against the Congress leadership" in the verdict.
"It is a lie that the Italian judgement has indicted the Congress leadership.
"Swamy has made baseless allegations. He said he was reading from the Italian judgement," Mr Ramesh said, adding the BJP leader authenticated a 13-page document in the Rajya Sabha, which consists of two pages of an email from "Swamy to Swamy", a news report and nine pages from the website.
"Swamy has spoken big lies in the Rajya Sabha on May 4 and has used false documents. We will not allow him to go scot-free. The duo of Swamy and Parrikar have attempted to mislead the nation, for which they will have to pay the price," said Mr Ramesh.
Claiming that the nine pages from the website are "false", he said the party would be filing a defamation case against it.
He claimed that besides Mr Swamy, S Gurumurthy and R Vaidyanathan are linked to the website being run by a person named Shri Aiyar from the Silicon valley.
Mr Ramesh also claimed that Mr Swamy wanted Mr Vaidyanathan be made the next RBI Governor in place of Raghuram Rajan.
Antrix-Devas Case: Former ISRO Chief Questioned By CBI
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NEW DELHI: CBI today questioned former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair in connection with the case registered by the agency for probing alleged Rs. 578-crore "wrongful" gain to a private multi-media company Devas by Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO.
Mr Nair was summoned to the CBI headquarters in Delhi this morning and asked about the details of the contract signed between Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia Private Limited on January 28, 2005 during his tenure as chairman of ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space.
The Antrix-Devas deal had seen early exit of Mr Nair as Chairman of ISRO as he was the Chairman of the Governing Council of Antrix when the deal was finalised.
CBI had registered a case last year and carried out searches at the premises of Devas Limited as well as the then Executive Director of Antrix KR Sridhara Murthi in Bengaluru.
An FIR was lodged against Murthi, MG Chandrasekhar and R Vishwanathan of Forge Advisors, Devas Multi-media Private Limited and unnamed officials of Antrix, ISRO and Department of Space in a designated court in Bengaluru.
The agency has slapped 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act against them.
It is alleged that the accused people had entered into a criminal conspiracy and the government officials abused their position by favouring Devas by giving them rights for delivery of videos, multimedia and information services to mobile phones using S-Band through GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites and terrestrial systems in India.
The accused officials "thus caused wrongful gain of Rs. 578 crore" to the private firm and its owners, CBI alleged.
CBI said that a deal between Antrix and Devas was fixed in principle in January 2005 for lease of S-Band transponders.
However, the then Executive Director of Antrix signed it on behalf of Antrix six months later only after ensuring that Chandrashekhar and Vishwanathan were majority stakeholders in Devas multi-media. They continued in this position till 2008-09.
The change in the board, where a US company represented by Chandrashekar and Vishwanathan had majority stakes, was never verified by Antrix as the agreement had been in violation of Shankara Committee which had recommended execution of any such agreement with an Indian company only, it was contended.
Mr Nair was summoned to the CBI headquarters in Delhi this morning and asked about the details of the contract signed between Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia Private Limited on January 28, 2005 during his tenure as chairman of ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space.
The Antrix-Devas deal had seen early exit of Mr Nair as Chairman of ISRO as he was the Chairman of the Governing Council of Antrix when the deal was finalised.
An FIR was lodged against Murthi, MG Chandrasekhar and R Vishwanathan of Forge Advisors, Devas Multi-media Private Limited and unnamed officials of Antrix, ISRO and Department of Space in a designated court in Bengaluru.
The agency has slapped 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act against them.
It is alleged that the accused people had entered into a criminal conspiracy and the government officials abused their position by favouring Devas by giving them rights for delivery of videos, multimedia and information services to mobile phones using S-Band through GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A satellites and terrestrial systems in India.
The accused officials "thus caused wrongful gain of Rs. 578 crore" to the private firm and its owners, CBI alleged.
CBI said that a deal between Antrix and Devas was fixed in principle in January 2005 for lease of S-Band transponders.
However, the then Executive Director of Antrix signed it on behalf of Antrix six months later only after ensuring that Chandrashekhar and Vishwanathan were majority stakeholders in Devas multi-media. They continued in this position till 2008-09.
The change in the board, where a US company represented by Chandrashekar and Vishwanathan had majority stakes, was never verified by Antrix as the agreement had been in violation of Shankara Committee which had recommended execution of any such agreement with an Indian company only, it was contended.
53 Farewell Speeches in Rajya Sabha, Congress May Be Biggest Loser
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NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha will host 53 farewell speeches on Friday, with that many members retiring before the next Parliament session in July. Nostalgia apart, that means some major changes in the make-up of the 245-member Upper House.
There are some big names on the good bye list; some may come back, some won't. The Congress, right now the biggest party in the house with 65 seats, will also be the biggest loser given its recent run in assembly elections and some of its most prominent faces may bow out or will struggle to return. 16 members from the party are retiring.
The BJP may gain some seats, but not enough to smoothly push important legislation in the Rajya Sabha, whose members are elected by state legislatures.
Five ministers are set to retire - Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitaraman, YS Choudhry and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Mr Naidu holds the key Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development portfolio and he has to be brought back to Parliament. He was elected from Karnataka last time and with liquor baron Vijay Mallya resigning, there is a vacancy.
If he wants to be elected from his home state Andhra Pradesh, the BJP will need to enlist the help of the state's ruling TDP, which is in a position to get three seats with a fourth going to Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress.
But then there is also Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitaraman who came in from Andhra Pradesh for a two-year term. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to bring her to the house from some other state if he wants her back in his council as the TDP is unlikely to give the BJP two of three seats.
The Congress won't get any seat from Andhra Pradesh or Telangana. So the return of its Jairam Ramesh depends on the benevolence of Telangana's ruling TRS party. Other big Congress leaders like Hanumanth Rao and JD Seelam may not come back.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal will seek to return from Maharashtra. After the Maharashtra elections, the BJP-Sena combine get to pick the most seats. The Congress' Vijay Darda is retiring and three prominent leaders - Sushil Kumar Shinde, Gurudas Kamat and Mukul Vasnik - are aspirants for that one seat.
Uttar Pradesh will see a virtual overhaul. The BSP has no members in the Lok Sabha and six of its MPs in the Rajay Sabha will retire, including the party's no 2 Satish Chandra Mishra.
The BSP will send back two and the Congress and BJP one each. Mulayam Yadav's Samajwadi Party will have the rest. The BJP is likely to get back Minister Mukhtar Naqvi from UP.
From Bihar, five JD(U) MPs are retiring; the party will retain two seats, while ally RJD will get two and the BJP one.
Four Rajasthan seats fall vacant in July. The BJP has a huge majority in the state, so may take all four. Pre-empting that, the Congress' Anand Sharma has already shifted to Himachal Pradesh.
The other member Ashk Ali Tak won't make it back. Ram Jethmalani had won on a BJP ticket and has no chance of returning as his relations with the BJP at their lowest.
Another stalwart set to retire is former defence minister AK Antony. The Kerala assembly election results next week will decide his fate.
The Congress will have problems in Punjab too; three of its MPs retire but it can get back only two.
Oscar Fernandes is retiring from Karnataka and there is buzz that former finance minister P Chidambaram may be brought in, but local Congress leaders saying "outsiders are not welcome." Mr Chidambaram is from Tamil Nadu.
NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha will host 53 farewell speeches on Friday, with that many members retiring before the next Parliament session in July. Nostalgia apart, that means some major changes in the make-up of the 245-member Upper House.There are some big names on the good bye list; some may come back, some won't. The Congress, right now the biggest party in the house with 65 seats, will also be the biggest loser given its recent run in assembly elections and some of its most prominent faces may bow out or will struggle to return. 16 members from the party are retiring.
The BJP may gain some seats, but not enough to smoothly push important legislation in the Rajya Sabha, whose members are elected by state legislatures.
Five ministers are set to retire - Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitaraman, YS Choudhry and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Mr Naidu holds the key Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development portfolio and he has to be brought back to Parliament. He was elected from Karnataka last time and with liquor baron Vijay Mallya resigning, there is a vacancy.
If he wants to be elected from his home state Andhra Pradesh, the BJP will need to enlist the help of the state's ruling TDP, which is in a position to get three seats with a fourth going to Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress.
But then there is also Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitaraman who came in from Andhra Pradesh for a two-year term. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to bring her to the house from some other state if he wants her back in his council as the TDP is unlikely to give the BJP two of three seats.
The Congress won't get any seat from Andhra Pradesh or Telangana. So the return of its Jairam Ramesh depends on the benevolence of Telangana's ruling TRS party. Other big Congress leaders like Hanumanth Rao and JD Seelam may not come back.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal will seek to return from Maharashtra. After the Maharashtra elections, the BJP-Sena combine get to pick the most seats. The Congress' Vijay Darda is retiring and three prominent leaders - Sushil Kumar Shinde, Gurudas Kamat and Mukul Vasnik - are aspirants for that one seat.
Uttar Pradesh will see a virtual overhaul. The BSP has no members in the Lok Sabha and six of its MPs in the Rajay Sabha will retire, including the party's no 2 Satish Chandra Mishra.
The BSP will send back two and the Congress and BJP one each. Mulayam Yadav's Samajwadi Party will have the rest. The BJP is likely to get back Minister Mukhtar Naqvi from UP.
From Bihar, five JD(U) MPs are retiring; the party will retain two seats, while ally RJD will get two and the BJP one.
Four Rajasthan seats fall vacant in July. The BJP has a huge majority in the state, so may take all four. Pre-empting that, the Congress' Anand Sharma has already shifted to Himachal Pradesh.
The other member Ashk Ali Tak won't make it back. Ram Jethmalani had won on a BJP ticket and has no chance of returning as his relations with the BJP at their lowest.
Another stalwart set to retire is former defence minister AK Antony. The Kerala assembly election results next week will decide his fate.
The Congress will have problems in Punjab too; three of its MPs retire but it can get back only two.
Oscar Fernandes is retiring from Karnataka and there is buzz that former finance minister P Chidambaram may be brought in, but local Congress leaders saying "outsiders are not welcome." Mr Chidambaram is from Tamil Nadu.
Business Affairs
Sensex falls 200 points, Nifty below 7,850 post poor IIP, CPI data; Bharti Airtel top loser
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Snapping Thursday's losses, the S&P BSE Sensex on Friday slipped over 200 points, while the broader CNX Nifty slipped below its key 7,850-mark.
The headline indices tumbled after data showed the industrial output growth plunged to 0.1 per cent in March while retail inflation soared to 5.39 per cent in April. Negative trend seen in Asian markets also weighed on the markets.
At 09:30 am, the 30-share index was trading at 25,695, down 94.75 points, while broad-based 50-share index was quoting 7,875, down 25.30 points.
Market breadth turned fairly negative with 23 of the 30 Sensex components trading in red.
"The Nifty now looks set for a re-test of 8000 and has also now improved its trading trend substantially as it makes a move again towards the same. Support has been strong on moves towards 7850-7780 range which is an important pivot range in trading terms. Further gains are possible in the near term but a further momentum up is likely to only start once 8000 is breached," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Centrum Wealth.
Bharti Airtel was the worst performing stock on Sensex and lost over 2 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite was trading flat, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.95 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.85 per cent.
Overnight, concerns about slowing sales at Apple dragged the company's share price down 2.4 per cent, causing losses on the wider Nasdaq index.
Snapping Thursday's losses, the S&P BSE Sensex on Friday slipped over 200 points, while the broader CNX Nifty slipped below its key 7,850-mark.
The headline indices tumbled after data showed the industrial output growth plunged to 0.1 per cent in March while retail inflation soared to 5.39 per cent in April. Negative trend seen in Asian markets also weighed on the markets.
At 09:30 am, the 30-share index was trading at 25,695, down 94.75 points, while broad-based 50-share index was quoting 7,875, down 25.30 points.
Market breadth turned fairly negative with 23 of the 30 Sensex components trading in red.
"The Nifty now looks set for a re-test of 8000 and has also now improved its trading trend substantially as it makes a move again towards the same. Support has been strong on moves towards 7850-7780 range which is an important pivot range in trading terms. Further gains are possible in the near term but a further momentum up is likely to only start once 8000 is breached," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Centrum Wealth.
Bharti Airtel was the worst performing stock on Sensex and lost over 2 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite was trading flat, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.95 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.85 per cent.
Overnight, concerns about slowing sales at Apple dragged the company's share price down 2.4 per cent, causing losses on the wider Nasdaq index.
Indian economy to grow at 7.3% this year: UN
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India's economy is slowly gaining momentum and is projected to grow by 7.3 percent in 2016, a United Nations report said on Thursday.
"India's economy is slowly gaining momentum, with an expected GDP growth of 7.3 and 7.5 percent in 2016 and 2017 respectively," said the World Economic Situation and Prospect mid-2016 update released at the UN headquarters in New York.
"Despite some delays in domestic policy reforms and enduring fragilities in the banking system, investment demand is supported by the monetary easing cycle, rising FDI, and government efforts towards infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships," it said.
Growth estimates for India in the mid-year update are in line with that made in the January report, which had said that the country will be the world's fastest growing large economy at 7.3 percent in 2016, improving further to 7.5 percent in the following year.
The report also said that despite the instabilities and general weakness of the global economy, South Asia's economic outlook remains favourable, with most countries benefiting from low oil prices.
The region's GDP growth is projected to rise from 6.1 percent in 2015, to 6.6 this year and 6.8 percent in 2017 on the back of robust private consumption, strengthening investment demand and gradual progress on domestic policy reforms.
Instead, China, which grew at about 6.9 percent in 2015, will continue to witness slowdown in growth, with its GDP projected to grow 6.4 percent in 2016 and 6.5 percent in 2017, according to the report.
"A larger-than-expected slowdown in China would have widespread spill-over effects through trade, financial and commodity markets, while a further deterioration of commodity prices could trigger debt crises in certain commodity-dependent economies," the report said.
India's economy is slowly gaining momentum and is projected to grow by 7.3 percent in 2016, a United Nations report said on Thursday.
"India's economy is slowly gaining momentum, with an expected GDP growth of 7.3 and 7.5 percent in 2016 and 2017 respectively," said the World Economic Situation and Prospect mid-2016 update released at the UN headquarters in New York.
"Despite some delays in domestic policy reforms and enduring fragilities in the banking system, investment demand is supported by the monetary easing cycle, rising FDI, and government efforts towards infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships," it said.
Growth estimates for India in the mid-year update are in line with that made in the January report, which had said that the country will be the world's fastest growing large economy at 7.3 percent in 2016, improving further to 7.5 percent in the following year.
The report also said that despite the instabilities and general weakness of the global economy, South Asia's economic outlook remains favourable, with most countries benefiting from low oil prices.
The region's GDP growth is projected to rise from 6.1 percent in 2015, to 6.6 this year and 6.8 percent in 2017 on the back of robust private consumption, strengthening investment demand and gradual progress on domestic policy reforms.
Instead, China, which grew at about 6.9 percent in 2015, will continue to witness slowdown in growth, with its GDP projected to grow 6.4 percent in 2016 and 6.5 percent in 2017, according to the report.
"A larger-than-expected slowdown in China would have widespread spill-over effects through trade, financial and commodity markets, while a further deterioration of commodity prices could trigger debt crises in certain commodity-dependent economies," the report said.
IIP drop, CPI uptick don't augur well for economy
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Disappointed with the fall in industrial output and rise in retail inflation, industry and experts said the double whammy "does not augur well" for economic growth, and government should push policy reforms.
Pinning hopes on a favourable monsoon, economists said food price pressures are expected to ease going forward.
"The macro picture looks challenging once again," said Assocham President Sunil Kanoria on the twin data released on Thursday showing industrial output growth plunging to 0.1 per cent in March and inflation racing to 5.39 per cent in April.
The big picture looks "far more difficult making it imperative for the government to bring in policy reforms and demand push measures", he added.
Industrial production growth plunged to 0.1 per cent in March due to poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors coupled with sharp decline in output of capital goods.
"The growth in manufacturing for the last year is disappointing and emphasizes the need for more deep rooted reforms for the sector to make its growth sustainable in the long run," Ficci President Harshvardhan Neotia said.
The manufacturing sector, which accounts for over 75 per cent of the index, declined by 1.2 per cent in March against a growth of 2.7 per cent in same month a year ago. In 2015-16, the sector grew at 2 per cent against 2.3 per cent in previous year.
"The contraction in manufacturing growth on a volume basis in Q4 FY2016 does not augur well for the upcoming GDP growth print," Senior Economist ICRA Limited Aditi Nayar said.
Meanwhile, retail inflation soared to 5.39 per cent in April on higher food prices, reversing a downward trend seen in recent months.
Food inflation rose to 6.32 per cent in April against 5.21 per cent in March, the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed.
"The RBI will be observing this closely as the present drought conditions in Maharashtra and other parts with zero reservoir levels can lead to pressure on some products even if the monsoon is normal given the rather difficult conditions prevailing here," CARE Ratings said.
However, Suvodeep Rakshit, Economist, Kotak Institutional Equities, said: "We expect food price pressures to ease once the monsoons set in and provided the spatial and temporal distribution is favourable".
Disappointed with the fall in industrial output and rise in retail inflation, industry and experts said the double whammy "does not augur well" for economic growth, and government should push policy reforms.
Pinning hopes on a favourable monsoon, economists said food price pressures are expected to ease going forward.
"The macro picture looks challenging once again," said Assocham President Sunil Kanoria on the twin data released on Thursday showing industrial output growth plunging to 0.1 per cent in March and inflation racing to 5.39 per cent in April.
The big picture looks "far more difficult making it imperative for the government to bring in policy reforms and demand push measures", he added.
Industrial production growth plunged to 0.1 per cent in March due to poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors coupled with sharp decline in output of capital goods.
"The growth in manufacturing for the last year is disappointing and emphasizes the need for more deep rooted reforms for the sector to make its growth sustainable in the long run," Ficci President Harshvardhan Neotia said.
The manufacturing sector, which accounts for over 75 per cent of the index, declined by 1.2 per cent in March against a growth of 2.7 per cent in same month a year ago. In 2015-16, the sector grew at 2 per cent against 2.3 per cent in previous year.
"The contraction in manufacturing growth on a volume basis in Q4 FY2016 does not augur well for the upcoming GDP growth print," Senior Economist ICRA Limited Aditi Nayar said.
Meanwhile, retail inflation soared to 5.39 per cent in April on higher food prices, reversing a downward trend seen in recent months.
Food inflation rose to 6.32 per cent in April against 5.21 per cent in March, the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed.
"The RBI will be observing this closely as the present drought conditions in Maharashtra and other parts with zero reservoir levels can lead to pressure on some products even if the monsoon is normal given the rather difficult conditions prevailing here," CARE Ratings said.
However, Suvodeep Rakshit, Economist, Kotak Institutional Equities, said: "We expect food price pressures to ease once the monsoons set in and provided the spatial and temporal distribution is favourable".
Industrial production falls to 0.1% in March
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Dashing hopes of recovery, growth in industrial production plunged to 0.1 per cent in March due to poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors coupled with sharp decline in output of capital goods.
Factory output measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was 2.5 per cent in March last year, as per data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The index had registered a growth of about 2 per cent in February this year. For the entire 2015-16 fiscal, the factory output grew at 2.4 per cent, down from 2.8 per cent in the previous fiscal.
The manufacturing sector, which accounts for over 75 per cent of the index, declined by 1.2 per cent in March against a growth of 2.7 per cent in same month a year ago.
The sector has not done well in 2015-16 as it grew at meager rate of 2 per cent compared to 2.3 per cent in previous year. Mining sector output too contracted by 0.1 per cent in March compared to a growth of 1.2 a year ago.
In 2015-16, the sector grew at 2.2 per cent up from 1.1 per cent in previous fiscal. However, the power sector performed well recording a robust growth of 11.3 per cent in March up from 2 per cent year ago.
During the financial year as a whole, power generation recorded a growth of 5.6 per cent, down from 8.4 per cent in 2014-15. Capital goods segment, which is a barometer of investment, contracted by 15.4 per cent in March as against a growth of 9.1 per cent year ago. During 2014-15, the output of these goods also declined by 2.9 per cent compared to a growth of 6.3 per cent in previous fiscal.
Overall, 12 of the 22 industry groups in manufacturing sector showed positive growth in March 2016 as compared to a year ago. The industry group Radio, TV and communication equipment & apparatus has shown the highest positive growth of 36.5 percent, followed by 19.8 percent in Tobacco products and 16.9 percent in Wearing apparel; dressing and dyeing of fur.
On the other hand, the industry group Electrical machinery & apparatus n.e.c. has shown the highest negative growth of (-)36.2 percent, followed by (-)15 percent in Food products and beverages and (-)9.9 percent in Publishing, printing & reproduction of recorded media.
Dashing hopes of recovery, growth in industrial production plunged to 0.1 per cent in March due to poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors coupled with sharp decline in output of capital goods.
Factory output measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was 2.5 per cent in March last year, as per data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The index had registered a growth of about 2 per cent in February this year. For the entire 2015-16 fiscal, the factory output grew at 2.4 per cent, down from 2.8 per cent in the previous fiscal.
The manufacturing sector, which accounts for over 75 per cent of the index, declined by 1.2 per cent in March against a growth of 2.7 per cent in same month a year ago.
The sector has not done well in 2015-16 as it grew at meager rate of 2 per cent compared to 2.3 per cent in previous year. Mining sector output too contracted by 0.1 per cent in March compared to a growth of 1.2 a year ago.
In 2015-16, the sector grew at 2.2 per cent up from 1.1 per cent in previous fiscal. However, the power sector performed well recording a robust growth of 11.3 per cent in March up from 2 per cent year ago.
During the financial year as a whole, power generation recorded a growth of 5.6 per cent, down from 8.4 per cent in 2014-15. Capital goods segment, which is a barometer of investment, contracted by 15.4 per cent in March as against a growth of 9.1 per cent year ago. During 2014-15, the output of these goods also declined by 2.9 per cent compared to a growth of 6.3 per cent in previous fiscal.
Overall, 12 of the 22 industry groups in manufacturing sector showed positive growth in March 2016 as compared to a year ago. The industry group Radio, TV and communication equipment & apparatus has shown the highest positive growth of 36.5 percent, followed by 19.8 percent in Tobacco products and 16.9 percent in Wearing apparel; dressing and dyeing of fur.
On the other hand, the industry group Electrical machinery & apparatus n.e.c. has shown the highest negative growth of (-)36.2 percent, followed by (-)15 percent in Food products and beverages and (-)9.9 percent in Publishing, printing & reproduction of recorded media.
Six industries log out of Odisha, Posco plant plan on hold
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At least six major industries have pulled back their projects from Odisha while South Korean steel player Posco has temporarily put its plan of setting up a 12-mtpa greenfield steel plant near Paradip on hold, the state government said.
"Posco has put its Odisha project on hold temporarily," Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said while replying to a written question in the assembly.
The minister's statement on Posco takes on significance as it came barely three days after Union Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo informed Parliament that the Centre has not received any communication from South Korean steel giant Posco on "disinterest" in pursuing its proposed plant.
Mishra's reply was in response to a question from Congress member Kailash Chandra Kulesika, who wanted to know whether Posco has withdrawn its project.
To another question from Congress member Asshuman Mohanty, the minister said: "Posco India Private has deposited Rs 41,61,71,739 with the state-owned IDCO for procurement of land, out of which Rs 40,17,61,606 has been sent and exhausted for land acquisition."
Mishra, however, clarified that the government has no information on the expenditure incurred by Posco in Odisha.
Posco last month had informed the National Green Tribunal that its steel project in Odisha "cannot proceed" any further at this stage due to regulatory hurdles.
The steel maker told the green panel that it is yet to receive land and forest clearance for setting up the plant.
The project is billed as the largest FDI in India.
At least six major industries have pulled back their projects from Odisha while South Korean steel player Posco has temporarily put its plan of setting up a 12-mtpa greenfield steel plant near Paradip on hold, the state government said.
"Posco has put its Odisha project on hold temporarily," Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said while replying to a written question in the assembly.
The minister's statement on Posco takes on significance as it came barely three days after Union Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo informed Parliament that the Centre has not received any communication from South Korean steel giant Posco on "disinterest" in pursuing its proposed plant.
Mishra's reply was in response to a question from Congress member Kailash Chandra Kulesika, who wanted to know whether Posco has withdrawn its project.
To another question from Congress member Asshuman Mohanty, the minister said: "Posco India Private has deposited Rs 41,61,71,739 with the state-owned IDCO for procurement of land, out of which Rs 40,17,61,606 has been sent and exhausted for land acquisition."
Mishra, however, clarified that the government has no information on the expenditure incurred by Posco in Odisha.
Posco last month had informed the National Green Tribunal that its steel project in Odisha "cannot proceed" any further at this stage due to regulatory hurdles.
The steel maker told the green panel that it is yet to receive land and forest clearance for setting up the plant.
The project is billed as the largest FDI in India.
General Awareness
IBPS CRP-V Specialist Officer (Marketing) Exam Professional Knowledge Solved Paper (Exam Held on 02-02-2016)
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1. A tangible product that the consumer feels comfortable purchasing without gathering additional information and then actually buys with minimum of effort is termed a(n)–
(a) Shopping good (b) Convenience good (c) Business product (d) Specially good (e) Unsought good (Ans : b)
2. The process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who have different needs, characteristics or behaviours and who might require separate products or marketing programs is called–
(a) Market segmentation (b) Market positioning (c) Market differentiation (d) Market targeting (e) Marketing mix (Ans : a)
3. ………. is not a stage of product life cycle in marketing.
(a) Introduction (b) Maturity (c) Growth (d) Decline (e) Planning (Ans : e)
4. ……….Which of the following is not a characteristic important in influencing an innovator's rate of adoption?
(a) Organisation type of the innovator (b) Compatibility (c) Divisibility (d) Communicability (e) Complexity (Ans : a)
5. The financial contracts whose values are obtained from the values of underlying assets are–
(a) mortgage (b) commercial papers (c) stocks (d) derivatives (e) bonds (Ans : d)
6. All of the following are considered to be broad market-follower strategies except–
(a) innovator (b) imitator (c) cloner (d) counterteller (e) adapter (Ans : a)
7. A company has four choices when it comes to developing brands. Which one of the following is not one among them?
(a) New brands (b) Multi brands (c) Brand extension (d) Line extension (e) Brand sponsoring (Ans : e)
8. ………. is a demand state where consumer may share a strong need that cannot be satisfied by an existing model.
(a) Declining demand (b) Irregular demand (c) Negative demand (d) Non-existent demand (e) Latent demand (Ans : e)
9. ………. is the development, design and implementation of marketing programme, processes and activities that recognises the breadth and inter-dependencies of today's marketing environment.
(a) Niche marketing (b) Supply chain marketing (c) Holistic marketing (d) Relationship marketing (e) Demand-centred marketing (Ans : c)
10. The ………. holds that marketing strategy should deliver value to customers in a way that maintain or improve both the consumer's and society's well-being.
(a) societal marketing concept (b) society centered marketing (c) customer centered marketing
(d) focused business model (e) production centered business (Ans : a)
11. Major oil producers carryon oil exploration, oil drilling, oil refining, chemical manufacture and service-station operation. When an organisation does all of these separate tasks distribution channel they can be said to have achieved what is called–
(a) Parallel marketing (b) Horizontal integration (c) Vertical integration
(d) Concentric integration (e) Conglomerate marketing (Ans : c)
12. Which of the following describes the tendency of people to interpret information in a way that will support what they already believe?
(a) Selective creativity (b) Selective distortion (c) Selective matching
(d) Selective attraction (e) Selective attribute (Ans : b)
13. The ………. stage of a product is characterised as being one where there is period of rapid climb in sales and substantial profit improvement.
(a) introduction (b) decline (c) maturity (d) saturation (e) growth (Ans : e)
14. The discomfort caused by post purchase conflict is called–
(a) Dissatisfaction (b) Cognitive dissonance (c) Post purchase behaviour (d) Buyer's remorse (e) Comparative tension (Ans : b)
15. ………. is the study of how individuals, groups and organisations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants.
(a) Psychology (b) Product differentiation (c) Psychographic segmentation (d) Target marketing (e) Consumer behaviour (Ans : e)
16. Mutual Funds are regulated in the country by–
(a) IRDAI (b) Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) (c) NABARD
(d) Securities and Exchange Board of India (e) Reserve Bank of India (Ans : d)
17. Situation in which a firm introduces new products to stimulate sales but the profit comes at the expense of other products sold by that firm is called–
(a) repositioning (b) push marketing (c) differentiated marketing (d) cannibalisation (e) cartelisation (Ans : d)
18. Cultivating opinion leaders and getting them to spread information about a product or service to others in their communities is–
(a) Buzz marketing (b) Leader marketing (c) Niche marketing (d) Complex marketing (e) Selective marketing (Ans : e)
19. Marketing management is defined as–
(a) monitoring the profitability of the' company's products and services (b) the art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them
(c) managing the market process (d) developing marketing strategies to move the company forward
(e) selecting target markets to deploy marketers (Ans : c)
20. The measure of the brand's ability to capture consumer performance and loyalty is termed as–
(a) Brand superiority (b) Brand equity (c) Brand version (d) Brand loyalty (e) Brand preference (Ans : d)
21. Mission statements are at their best when they reflect a ………. to an almost impossible dream that provides direction for the next 10 to 30 years.
(a) market (b) strength (c) competency (d) vision (e) value (Ans : d)
22. A strategy in which the initial price of the product is set low in relation to the target market's range of expected prices is termed as–
(a) Market skimming pricing (b) Old pricing (c) Discount market pricing
(d) Market penetration pricing (e) Special market pricing (Ans : d)
23. A group of tradition bound consumers who are the tool to adapt an innovation is called as–
(a) Challengers (b) Leaders (c) Innovators (d) Laggards (e) Loyal agents (Ans : c)
24. Low prices on products for which you have accurate price knowledge lets you know that the product has to be a bargain. This type of pricing is termed as–
(a) Reference pricing (b) Psychological pricing (c) Volume pricing (d) Promotional pricing (e) Signpost pricing (Ans : d)
25. The want satisfying power of a product is called its–
(a) price (b) utility (c) bond (d) purpose (e) goal (Ans : b)
26. Based on the rates firms charge in the target market in a specific industry, they are classified as following except in a–
(a) Market challenger (b) Market plotter (c) Market leader (d) Market nicher (e) Market follower (Ans : b)
27. TQM approach in which all the people of the company are involved in constantly improving the performance of products, services and business processes. TQM stands for–
(a) Total Quality Management (b) Total Quality Marketing (c) Total Quantity Management
(d) Total Queries Management (e) Total Quality Manipulation (Ans : a)
28. When backed by buying power, wants become
(a) self-esteem needs (b) demand (c) exchanges (d) physical needs (e) social needs (Ans : b)
29. The philosophy of product centered marketing' concept is–
(a) right products for the customers (b) make and sell (c) make what the market wants
(d) sense and respond (e) selling on product benefits (Ans : e)
30. The customer's evaluation of the difference between all the benefits and all the costs of a market offering relative to those of competing offers is called
(a) Customer perceived value (b) Customer expectation (c) Customer satisfaction
(d) Customer loyalty (e) Customer relationship (Ans : a)
31. Button market is where–
(a) capital is disposed (b) gold is purchased and sold (c) shares are purchased
(d) production of silver takes place (e) investment are made (Ans : e)
32. Especially in large firms, a sales force frequently is specialised in some organisational fashion. Which of the following is not one of such specialisations?
(a) Customer specialisation (b) Major accounts specialisatibn (c) Product specialisation
(d) Geographic specialisatlon (e) Economic order specialisation (Ans : e)
33. Greater consumer control means that, in building customer relationships, companies can no longer rely on marketing by intrusion. The most practiced marketing is–
(a) conversion (b) delivery (c) retention (d) attraction (e) attention (Ans : c)
34. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, sense of belonging is grouped in–
(a) Esteem needs (b) Social needs (c) Safety needs (d) Physiological needs (e) Self-actualisation needs (Ans : b)
35. Michael Porter has identified five forces that determine the intrinsic long-run attractiveness of a market segment. Which of the following would not be among Porter's five forces?
(a) Threat of buyers' growing bargaining power (b) Threat of substitute products (c) Threat of technological partners
(d) Threat of intense segment rivalry (e) Threat of new entrants (Ans : c)
36. The unplanned static or distortion during the communication process, which results in the receivers' getting a different message then the one that the sender sent is the–
(a) response (b) feedback (c) noise (d) decoding (e) encoding (Ans : c)
37. If-a MNC like Nestle varied the elements of the marketing mix to suit the countries in which it sold its products, which type of strategy would it be following?
(a) Differentiated (b) Undifferentiated (c) Standardised (d) Adapted (e) Concentrated (Ans : d)
38. Under which of the following company orientations toward the market place would we expect to get 'better economical' falacy?
(a) Marketing concept (b) Holistic marketing concept (c) Production concept
(d) Selling concept (e) Product concept (Ans : c)
39. If a company focuses on only one or a few market segments instead of small share of a large market, the same is–
(a) Segment marketing (b) Conceptual marketing (c) Mass marketing (d) Micro marketing (e) Niche marketing (Ans : e)
40. An estimate the total financial value of the brand is–
(a) Brand valuation (b) Brand tracking (c) Brand auditing (d) Brand partitioning (e) Brand equity (Ans : a)
41. The total combined customer value of all the company's current and potential customers is called–
(a) Customer share (b) Customer delight (c) Customer loyalty (d) Customer orientation (e) Customer equity (Ans : e)
42. We can say that a ………. has three characteristics. (1) It is a source of competitive advantage in that it makes a significant contribution to perceived customer benefits; (2) It has application in a wide variety of markets, and (3) It is difficult for competitors to imitate.
(a) strategic business unit (b) core competency (c) business strategy (d) winning strategy (e) core technology (Ans : b)
43. Which demographic segmentation divides buyers into different groups based on social class, lifestyle or personality characteristics?
(a) Age and life cycle segmentation (b) Gender segmentation (c) Age segmentation
(d) Psycho graphic segmentation (e) Income segmentation (Ans : d)
44. The internet version of word of mouth marketing is termed as–
(a) Viral marketing (b) Web marketing (c) Channel marketing (d) Network marketing (e) Virtual marketing (Ans : a)
45. ………. is the development, interpretation and communication of decision oriented information to be used in all phases of marketing process.
(a) Marketing forecast (b) Market intelligence (c) Market planning
(d) Marketing research (e) Marketing information system (Ans : e)
46. GATT is more than 60 years old treaty designed to promote world trade by reducing tariff and other international trade barriers. GATT stands for–
(a) General Aspects on Tariff and Trade (b) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (c) Geneva Agreement on Trade and Tariff
(d) General Allowance for Trade and Tariff (e) Geneva Agreement on Traffic or Trade (Ans : b)
47. People differ greatly in their readiness to try new products. Which of the following do not belong to the adapter categorisation on the basis of relation time of adopter of innovators?
(a) Innovators (b) Laggards (c) Early majority (d) Late majority (e) Super majority (Ans : b)
48. As per BCG Matrix of classification of SBUs of an organisation, Cash cows are SBUs that typically generate–
(a) large Awareness levels but few sales (b) problems for product managers often (c) high industry growth
(d) more cash than that can be invested profitably in its own business (e) paper losses in the long run (Ans : c)
49. A strategy of pricing involves using price as in a competitive weapon in order to push competitors out of market or eliminate competitors.
(a) bargain (b) psychological (c) premium (d) advanced (e) predatory (Ans : e)
50. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous apex–
(a) consultative body (b) statutory body (c) advisory body (d) cooperative body (e) corporate body (Ans : b)
- 1. A tangible product that the consumer feels comfortable purchasing without gathering additional information and then actually buys with minimum of effort is termed a(n)–
(a) Shopping good (b) Convenience good (c) Business product (d) Specially good (e) Unsought good (Ans : b)
2. The process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who have different needs, characteristics or behaviours and who might require separate products or marketing programs is called–
(a) Market segmentation (b) Market positioning (c) Market differentiation (d) Market targeting (e) Marketing mix (Ans : a)
3. ………. is not a stage of product life cycle in marketing.
(a) Introduction (b) Maturity (c) Growth (d) Decline (e) Planning (Ans : e)
4. ……….Which of the following is not a characteristic important in influencing an innovator's rate of adoption?
(a) Organisation type of the innovator (b) Compatibility (c) Divisibility (d) Communicability (e) Complexity (Ans : a)
5. The financial contracts whose values are obtained from the values of underlying assets are–
(a) mortgage (b) commercial papers (c) stocks (d) derivatives (e) bonds (Ans : d)
6. All of the following are considered to be broad market-follower strategies except–
(a) innovator (b) imitator (c) cloner (d) counterteller (e) adapter (Ans : a)
7. A company has four choices when it comes to developing brands. Which one of the following is not one among them?
(a) New brands (b) Multi brands (c) Brand extension (d) Line extension (e) Brand sponsoring (Ans : e)
8. ………. is a demand state where consumer may share a strong need that cannot be satisfied by an existing model.
(a) Declining demand (b) Irregular demand (c) Negative demand (d) Non-existent demand (e) Latent demand (Ans : e)
9. ………. is the development, design and implementation of marketing programme, processes and activities that recognises the breadth and inter-dependencies of today's marketing environment.
(a) Niche marketing (b) Supply chain marketing (c) Holistic marketing (d) Relationship marketing (e) Demand-centred marketing (Ans : c)
10. The ………. holds that marketing strategy should deliver value to customers in a way that maintain or improve both the consumer's and society's well-being.
(a) societal marketing concept (b) society centered marketing (c) customer centered marketing
(d) focused business model (e) production centered business (Ans : a)
11. Major oil producers carryon oil exploration, oil drilling, oil refining, chemical manufacture and service-station operation. When an organisation does all of these separate tasks distribution channel they can be said to have achieved what is called–
(a) Parallel marketing (b) Horizontal integration (c) Vertical integration
(d) Concentric integration (e) Conglomerate marketing (Ans : c)
12. Which of the following describes the tendency of people to interpret information in a way that will support what they already believe?
(a) Selective creativity (b) Selective distortion (c) Selective matching
(d) Selective attraction (e) Selective attribute (Ans : b)
13. The ………. stage of a product is characterised as being one where there is period of rapid climb in sales and substantial profit improvement.
(a) introduction (b) decline (c) maturity (d) saturation (e) growth (Ans : e)
14. The discomfort caused by post purchase conflict is called–
(a) Dissatisfaction (b) Cognitive dissonance (c) Post purchase behaviour (d) Buyer's remorse (e) Comparative tension (Ans : b)
15. ………. is the study of how individuals, groups and organisations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants.
(a) Psychology (b) Product differentiation (c) Psychographic segmentation (d) Target marketing (e) Consumer behaviour (Ans : e)
16. Mutual Funds are regulated in the country by–
(a) IRDAI (b) Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) (c) NABARD
(d) Securities and Exchange Board of India (e) Reserve Bank of India (Ans : d)
17. Situation in which a firm introduces new products to stimulate sales but the profit comes at the expense of other products sold by that firm is called–
(a) repositioning (b) push marketing (c) differentiated marketing (d) cannibalisation (e) cartelisation (Ans : d)
18. Cultivating opinion leaders and getting them to spread information about a product or service to others in their communities is–
(a) Buzz marketing (b) Leader marketing (c) Niche marketing (d) Complex marketing (e) Selective marketing (Ans : e)
19. Marketing management is defined as–
(a) monitoring the profitability of the' company's products and services (b) the art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them
(c) managing the market process (d) developing marketing strategies to move the company forward
(e) selecting target markets to deploy marketers (Ans : c)
20. The measure of the brand's ability to capture consumer performance and loyalty is termed as–
(a) Brand superiority (b) Brand equity (c) Brand version (d) Brand loyalty (e) Brand preference (Ans : d)
21. Mission statements are at their best when they reflect a ………. to an almost impossible dream that provides direction for the next 10 to 30 years.
(a) market (b) strength (c) competency (d) vision (e) value (Ans : d)
22. A strategy in which the initial price of the product is set low in relation to the target market's range of expected prices is termed as–
(a) Market skimming pricing (b) Old pricing (c) Discount market pricing
(d) Market penetration pricing (e) Special market pricing (Ans : d)
23. A group of tradition bound consumers who are the tool to adapt an innovation is called as–
(a) Challengers (b) Leaders (c) Innovators (d) Laggards (e) Loyal agents (Ans : c)
24. Low prices on products for which you have accurate price knowledge lets you know that the product has to be a bargain. This type of pricing is termed as–
(a) Reference pricing (b) Psychological pricing (c) Volume pricing (d) Promotional pricing (e) Signpost pricing (Ans : d)
25. The want satisfying power of a product is called its–
(a) price (b) utility (c) bond (d) purpose (e) goal (Ans : b)
26. Based on the rates firms charge in the target market in a specific industry, they are classified as following except in a–
(a) Market challenger (b) Market plotter (c) Market leader (d) Market nicher (e) Market follower (Ans : b)
27. TQM approach in which all the people of the company are involved in constantly improving the performance of products, services and business processes. TQM stands for–
(a) Total Quality Management (b) Total Quality Marketing (c) Total Quantity Management
(d) Total Queries Management (e) Total Quality Manipulation (Ans : a)
28. When backed by buying power, wants become
(a) self-esteem needs (b) demand (c) exchanges (d) physical needs (e) social needs (Ans : b)
29. The philosophy of product centered marketing' concept is–
(a) right products for the customers (b) make and sell (c) make what the market wants
(d) sense and respond (e) selling on product benefits (Ans : e)
30. The customer's evaluation of the difference between all the benefits and all the costs of a market offering relative to those of competing offers is called
(a) Customer perceived value (b) Customer expectation (c) Customer satisfaction
(d) Customer loyalty (e) Customer relationship (Ans : a)
31. Button market is where–
(a) capital is disposed (b) gold is purchased and sold (c) shares are purchased
(d) production of silver takes place (e) investment are made (Ans : e)
32. Especially in large firms, a sales force frequently is specialised in some organisational fashion. Which of the following is not one of such specialisations?
(a) Customer specialisation (b) Major accounts specialisatibn (c) Product specialisation
(d) Geographic specialisatlon (e) Economic order specialisation (Ans : e)
33. Greater consumer control means that, in building customer relationships, companies can no longer rely on marketing by intrusion. The most practiced marketing is–
(a) conversion (b) delivery (c) retention (d) attraction (e) attention (Ans : c)
34. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, sense of belonging is grouped in–
(a) Esteem needs (b) Social needs (c) Safety needs (d) Physiological needs (e) Self-actualisation needs (Ans : b)
35. Michael Porter has identified five forces that determine the intrinsic long-run attractiveness of a market segment. Which of the following would not be among Porter's five forces?
(a) Threat of buyers' growing bargaining power (b) Threat of substitute products (c) Threat of technological partners
(d) Threat of intense segment rivalry (e) Threat of new entrants (Ans : c)
36. The unplanned static or distortion during the communication process, which results in the receivers' getting a different message then the one that the sender sent is the–
(a) response (b) feedback (c) noise (d) decoding (e) encoding (Ans : c)
37. If-a MNC like Nestle varied the elements of the marketing mix to suit the countries in which it sold its products, which type of strategy would it be following?
(a) Differentiated (b) Undifferentiated (c) Standardised (d) Adapted (e) Concentrated (Ans : d)
38. Under which of the following company orientations toward the market place would we expect to get 'better economical' falacy?
(a) Marketing concept (b) Holistic marketing concept (c) Production concept
(d) Selling concept (e) Product concept (Ans : c)
39. If a company focuses on only one or a few market segments instead of small share of a large market, the same is–
(a) Segment marketing (b) Conceptual marketing (c) Mass marketing (d) Micro marketing (e) Niche marketing (Ans : e)
40. An estimate the total financial value of the brand is–
(a) Brand valuation (b) Brand tracking (c) Brand auditing (d) Brand partitioning (e) Brand equity (Ans : a)
41. The total combined customer value of all the company's current and potential customers is called–
(a) Customer share (b) Customer delight (c) Customer loyalty (d) Customer orientation (e) Customer equity (Ans : e)
42. We can say that a ………. has three characteristics. (1) It is a source of competitive advantage in that it makes a significant contribution to perceived customer benefits; (2) It has application in a wide variety of markets, and (3) It is difficult for competitors to imitate.
(a) strategic business unit (b) core competency (c) business strategy (d) winning strategy (e) core technology (Ans : b)
43. Which demographic segmentation divides buyers into different groups based on social class, lifestyle or personality characteristics?
(a) Age and life cycle segmentation (b) Gender segmentation (c) Age segmentation
(d) Psycho graphic segmentation (e) Income segmentation (Ans : d)
44. The internet version of word of mouth marketing is termed as–
(a) Viral marketing (b) Web marketing (c) Channel marketing (d) Network marketing (e) Virtual marketing (Ans : a)
45. ………. is the development, interpretation and communication of decision oriented information to be used in all phases of marketing process.
(a) Marketing forecast (b) Market intelligence (c) Market planning
(d) Marketing research (e) Marketing information system (Ans : e)
46. GATT is more than 60 years old treaty designed to promote world trade by reducing tariff and other international trade barriers. GATT stands for–
(a) General Aspects on Tariff and Trade (b) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (c) Geneva Agreement on Trade and Tariff
(d) General Allowance for Trade and Tariff (e) Geneva Agreement on Traffic or Trade (Ans : b)
47. People differ greatly in their readiness to try new products. Which of the following do not belong to the adapter categorisation on the basis of relation time of adopter of innovators?
(a) Innovators (b) Laggards (c) Early majority (d) Late majority (e) Super majority (Ans : b)
48. As per BCG Matrix of classification of SBUs of an organisation, Cash cows are SBUs that typically generate–
(a) large Awareness levels but few sales (b) problems for product managers often (c) high industry growth
(d) more cash than that can be invested profitably in its own business (e) paper losses in the long run (Ans : c)
49. A strategy of pricing involves using price as in a competitive weapon in order to push competitors out of market or eliminate competitors.
(a) bargain (b) psychological (c) premium (d) advanced (e) predatory (Ans : e)
50. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous apex–
(a) consultative body (b) statutory body (c) advisory body (d) cooperative body (e) corporate body (Ans : b)
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