General Affairs
MiG 29 Combat Aircraft Upgradation In Final Stage
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NASHIK, MAHARASHTRA: The 11 Base Repair Depot (11 BRD) of Air Force Station at Ojhar in Nashik which undertakes maintenance and overhauling MiG series combat aircraft, is currently engaged in upgradation of MiG 29 which is in final stages.
Group Captain and Station Commander of Air Force Station, Ojhar, P K Anand also said at the depot yesterday that overhauling of MiG23 has been stopped since 2015.
"Since 1996, our depot overhauled a number of aircraft and even upgraded them," he added.
The upgraded MiG29 combat aircraft is fully equipped for delivering weapons, including missiles, increasing its capability, Group Captain and Station PRO, N Chaturvedi said.
The depot engineers have made most of the changes and enhanced the aircraft by using 90 per cent of 'indigenous spares parts', produced in Nashik-based industrial units, Chaturvedi added.
"Nashik has become for us a 'aviation-hub'. Even 11 BRD's best awards went to Nashik industrial unit for supplying and manufacturing good quality spares, which has also reduced our cost in overhauling combat aircraft," he said.
During the visit to the depot, mediapersons were shown its assembly line, aircraft engine shops, pilot's special ejecting-seat workshop and stores of spare parts.
Group Captain and Station Commander of Air Force Station, Ojhar, P K Anand also said at the depot yesterday that overhauling of MiG23 has been stopped since 2015.
"Since 1996, our depot overhauled a number of aircraft and even upgraded them," he added.
"Nashik has become for us a 'aviation-hub'. Even 11 BRD's best awards went to Nashik industrial unit for supplying and manufacturing good quality spares, which has also reduced our cost in overhauling combat aircraft," he said.
During the visit to the depot, mediapersons were shown its assembly line, aircraft engine shops, pilot's special ejecting-seat workshop and stores of spare parts.
Amid Strain, India Does Not Rule Out Cutting Off Indus Water To Pakistan
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NEW DELHI: Amid plummeting ties over the Kashmir unrest and Uri terror attack, India today did not rule out scrapping the Indus water treaty with Pakistan if it doesn't act against terror from its soil.
At a press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup, when asked whether cancelling the Indus pact was an option, said: "Eventually any cooperative arrangement requires goodwill and cooperation on both sides."
When pressed for a more specific response, Mr Swarup said: "For any such treaty to work, it is important for mutual trust and cooperation. It cannot be a one-sided affair."
India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, in 1960.
According to this agreement, control over the three eastern rivers - the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej - was given to India and the three western rivers - the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - went to Pakistan.
Under the treaty, India can use only 20 per cent of the water of the Indus, which flows through it first, for irrigation, transport and power generation.
If India were to cut off supply to Pakistan, it could cause major crisis in that country as a majority of its areas are dependent on Indus water.
The tenuous ties between India and Pakistan have been stretched thin over Pakistan's attacks on India at the UN with references to the Kashmir protests and Sunday's attack at an army base in Uri in the Valley, in which 18 soldiers were killed by terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, whose chief Masood Azhar is based in Pakistan.
New Delhi summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit yesterday and presented to him, evidence of Pakistan's role in a series of attacks including in Pathankot in January and Uri.
The government also responded to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's UN speech, in which he raised the Kashmir protests and glorified terrorist Burhan Wani, with a sharply worded statement.
"The land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism," India said, calling Pakistan a terrorist state.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: "We do not need to produce a dossier. The whole world knows what Pakistan's role is in sponsoring terror."
At a press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup, when asked whether cancelling the Indus pact was an option, said: "Eventually any cooperative arrangement requires goodwill and cooperation on both sides."
When pressed for a more specific response, Mr Swarup said: "For any such treaty to work, it is important for mutual trust and cooperation. It cannot be a one-sided affair."
According to this agreement, control over the three eastern rivers - the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej - was given to India and the three western rivers - the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum - went to Pakistan.
Under the treaty, India can use only 20 per cent of the water of the Indus, which flows through it first, for irrigation, transport and power generation.
The tenuous ties between India and Pakistan have been stretched thin over Pakistan's attacks on India at the UN with references to the Kashmir protests and Sunday's attack at an army base in Uri in the Valley, in which 18 soldiers were killed by terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, whose chief Masood Azhar is based in Pakistan.
New Delhi summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit yesterday and presented to him, evidence of Pakistan's role in a series of attacks including in Pathankot in January and Uri.
The government also responded to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's UN speech, in which he raised the Kashmir protests and glorified terrorist Burhan Wani, with a sharply worded statement.
"The land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of terrorism," India said, calling Pakistan a terrorist state.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: "We do not need to produce a dossier. The whole world knows what Pakistan's role is in sponsoring terror."
Nitin Gadkari Throws Ball Into Goa Government's Court Over Satellite Port In State
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PANAJI: Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today asked the Goa government to promptly take a call on setting up a satellite port in the state, as Maharashtra and Karnataka are keen on shifting it to their regions.
"We are planning the development of a port (satellite port at South Goa's Betul village). If the state government needs, we can do it, if not then we are planning to shift it to Karnataka or Maharashtra," Mr Gadkari told Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
Addressing a gathering in Panaji after signing an agreement for re-development of cargo berths at existing Mormugao Port Trust (MPT), the Union minister said, "The Karnataka government is requesting us for the port in Karwar. As far as ports in Goa are concerned, we have to increase the capacity of existing port (MPT) or go for a second port."
"Now it is for the government to let us know (about the decision) after considering all the problems," he said referring to the recent protests by locals against the satellite port at Betul village.
"In Goa, there are lot of activists. People are very active, we don't have any problem with it, but if you have some reservations (for new port), we will increase the capacity of existing port. We are taking all preventive measures as far as environment is concerned," he added.
Mr Gadkari said both protecting the environment as well as accelerating the economy are important.
"Today I am expecting that we will encourage new economic potential which will create employment," he said.
PANAJI: Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today asked the Goa government to promptly take a call on setting up a satellite port in the state, as Maharashtra and Karnataka are keen on shifting it to their regions.
"We are planning the development of a port (satellite port at South Goa's Betul village). If the state government needs, we can do it, if not then we are planning to shift it to Karnataka or Maharashtra," Mr Gadkari told Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
Addressing a gathering in Panaji after signing an agreement for re-development of cargo berths at existing Mormugao Port Trust (MPT), the Union minister said, "The Karnataka government is requesting us for the port in Karwar. As far as ports in Goa are concerned, we have to increase the capacity of existing port (MPT) or go for a second port."
"In Goa, there are lot of activists. People are very active, we don't have any problem with it, but if you have some reservations (for new port), we will increase the capacity of existing port. We are taking all preventive measures as far as environment is concerned," he added.
Mr Gadkari said both protecting the environment as well as accelerating the economy are important.
"Today I am expecting that we will encourage new economic potential which will create employment," he said.
PM Modi's New Slogan To Take On Indira Gandhi's Garibi Hatao
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KOZHIKODE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to announce on Saturday a new slogan against poverty to take on the iconic "Garibi Hatao" coined by the Congress' Indira Gandhi.
He will be addressing party workers in Kerala's Kozhikode, where the BJP's national council, made up of top leaders, will meet on Sunday.
As the BJP prepares for crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, top leaders believe the party can position itself to lead the battle against poverty, a space occupied for many years by the Congress since former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave it the "Garibi Hatao" or end poverty slogan in the 1970s.
The Congress, the BJP believes, has long vacated that space and PM Modi wants to occupy it.
The Modi government made a strategic shift earlier this year aligning key policies with the core goal of fighting poverty, as it sought to reject the tag of anti-poor, pro-corporate pinned to it by the Congress-led opposition.
The new anti-poverty campaign will be built around Deen Dayal Upadhyay, a former president of the Jan Sangh, from which the BJP was born. The government has named several schemes for the poor after Deen Dayal Upadhyay as the BJP celebrates his centenary.
Kozhikode, once known as Calicut, was picked as the venue for the conclave because Deen Dayal Upadhyay was elected Jan Sangh president there in December 1967. He died 41 days after the election.
It also acknowledges the BJP's debut in the Kerala assembly elections earlier this year. The party won a seat for the first time ever as it attempts to expand its presence to places where it has traditionally been politically weak.
The BJP has created a air-conditioned township with halls, lounges and exhibition areas in a park in the heart of Kozhikode for the conclave and has called it the Deen Dayal Updhayay Nagri.
Kozhikode's roads are lined with big cutouts of BJP leaders. The party's central ministers, its chief ministers and top leaders will attend the conclave.
BJP chief Amit Shah arrived today to a traditional Kerala welcome. A panchvadyam (five instrument) orchestra played at the venue instead of the usual public address system blaring BJP theme songs.
He will be addressing party workers in Kerala's Kozhikode, where the BJP's national council, made up of top leaders, will meet on Sunday.
As the BJP prepares for crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, top leaders believe the party can position itself to lead the battle against poverty, a space occupied for many years by the Congress since former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave it the "Garibi Hatao" or end poverty slogan in the 1970s.
The Modi government made a strategic shift earlier this year aligning key policies with the core goal of fighting poverty, as it sought to reject the tag of anti-poor, pro-corporate pinned to it by the Congress-led opposition.
The new anti-poverty campaign will be built around Deen Dayal Upadhyay, a former president of the Jan Sangh, from which the BJP was born. The government has named several schemes for the poor after Deen Dayal Upadhyay as the BJP celebrates his centenary.
Kozhikode, once known as Calicut, was picked as the venue for the conclave because Deen Dayal Upadhyay was elected Jan Sangh president there in December 1967. He died 41 days after the election.
It also acknowledges the BJP's debut in the Kerala assembly elections earlier this year. The party won a seat for the first time ever as it attempts to expand its presence to places where it has traditionally been politically weak.
The BJP has created a air-conditioned township with halls, lounges and exhibition areas in a park in the heart of Kozhikode for the conclave and has called it the Deen Dayal Updhayay Nagri.
Kozhikode's roads are lined with big cutouts of BJP leaders. The party's central ministers, its chief ministers and top leaders will attend the conclave.
BJP chief Amit Shah arrived today to a traditional Kerala welcome. A panchvadyam (five instrument) orchestra played at the venue instead of the usual public address system blaring BJP theme songs.
Jammu And Kashmir High Court Refuses To Ban Pellet Guns
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SHRINAGAR: Rejecting a plea seeking ban on use of pellet guns in controlling street protests, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has cited the ground situation and observed that as long as there is violence by unruly mobs, use of force is inevitable.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey also declined the plea to prosecute the officers who ordered use of pellet guns or fired them even as it directed the authorities to provide adequate medical treatment to the injured by specialists in or outside the state.
"Having regard to the ground situation prevailing as of now and the fact that Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs has already constituted a Committee of Experts through its Memorandum dated July 26, 2016 for exploring other alternative to pellet guns... Before filing of the report by the Expert Committee and a decision taken at the government level, we are not inclined to prohibit the use of pellet guns in rare and extreme situations," the court said in its order yesterday.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association seeking ban on use of pellet guns for crowd control.
The court said "it is manifest that so long as there is violence by unruly mobs, use of force is inevitable".
"What kind of force has to be used at the relevant point of time or in a given situation or place, has to be decided by the persons in-charge of the place where the attack is happening," it said.
"This court in the writ jurisdiction without any finding rendered by the competent forum / authority cannot decide as to whether the use of force in particular incident is excessive or not," the court said.
The bench also declined the plea to prosecute the officers who ordered use of pellet guns and those who actually fired them.
"Same cannot be considered in this petition as no findings on use of excessive force, violating the guidelines issued in SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), have been recorded by any fact-finding authority," it said.
Hence the persons alleging use of excessive force due to which death or injury has occurred, can very well approach the appropriate forum to establish the same and seek redressal, the bench ruled.
However, the court said the pendency of the PIL with regard to other prayers will not be a bar for the state government for paying compensation to deserving family members of the deceased or injured persons.
The court directed the concerned authorities to ensure that all the injured are extended adequate medical treatment for whatever injury they sustain and provide all possible required medical treatment to the injured by specialists.
If specialists are not available in the state, appropriate arrangement has to be made to treat the patients by inviting specialists in the state or to shift the patients to hospitals outside the state wherever specialists are available, the court said.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey also declined the plea to prosecute the officers who ordered use of pellet guns or fired them even as it directed the authorities to provide adequate medical treatment to the injured by specialists in or outside the state.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association seeking ban on use of pellet guns for crowd control.
The court said "it is manifest that so long as there is violence by unruly mobs, use of force is inevitable".
"What kind of force has to be used at the relevant point of time or in a given situation or place, has to be decided by the persons in-charge of the place where the attack is happening," it said.
"This court in the writ jurisdiction without any finding rendered by the competent forum / authority cannot decide as to whether the use of force in particular incident is excessive or not," the court said.
"Same cannot be considered in this petition as no findings on use of excessive force, violating the guidelines issued in SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), have been recorded by any fact-finding authority," it said.
Hence the persons alleging use of excessive force due to which death or injury has occurred, can very well approach the appropriate forum to establish the same and seek redressal, the bench ruled.
However, the court said the pendency of the PIL with regard to other prayers will not be a bar for the state government for paying compensation to deserving family members of the deceased or injured persons.
The court directed the concerned authorities to ensure that all the injured are extended adequate medical treatment for whatever injury they sustain and provide all possible required medical treatment to the injured by specialists.
If specialists are not available in the state, appropriate arrangement has to be made to treat the patients by inviting specialists in the state or to shift the patients to hospitals outside the state wherever specialists are available, the court said.
Business Affairs
After GST, PM Modi has his eyes on labour reforms
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is to make a renewed drive to overhaul labor laws, hoping to create millions of new jobs by making it easier to hire and fire, the labour ministry's top bureaucrat said on Thursday.
Modi made a shake-up of country's labor market a part of his reform agenda after coming into office in 2014, but opposition from unions and a bruising battle to pass other crucial pieces of economic legislation have stalled those efforts.
Shankar Aggarwal, the ministry secretary, told Reuters that the government felt the time was right to prioritize labor reform again after parliament in August passed India's biggest overhaul of indirect taxes, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a victory for Modi's bid to boost the economy.
"We have to tweak the law. Employers want flexibility in hiring," Aggarwal said in an interview.
Two key bills, covering industrial relations and wages, would be sent to the cabinet this month, he said. Subject to cabinet approval, the bills would be presented in parliament's next session, beginning in November.
A rule requiring firms to seek rarely granted government permission for laying off large numbers of workers, which employers say has discouraged permanent hiring and kept factories small, are among restrictions to be loosened.
"It is a question of priority. We thought that it will be a good idea to put GST first so that we don't fritter away our energy," Aggarwal said.
The government says freeing up labor markets will boost employment, lure foreign investment and encourage firms to expand.
Trade unions argue that the reforms will put jobs at risk and make it tougher for employees to form unions or strike. More than a million workers went on strike on Sept. 2 to protest against the policies.
Under the reforms, 44 labor laws, some of them dating back to the end of British rule and as anachronistic as providing spittoons in the work place, will be grouped into four new labor codes.
Bills on social security and working conditions remain under discussion with states and trade unions.
India's two-decade streak of fast economic expansion is often derided as "jobless growth" since the service sector-led model has been capital rather than labor intensive.
Also In Business News
More than 200 million Indians will reach working age over the next two decades, and creating sufficient jobs for perhaps the largest youth bulge the world has ever seen is among the toughest challenges for the country.
In 2009, 84 percent of India's manufacturers employed fewer than 50 workers, compared to 25 percent in China, according to a study by consultancy firm McKinsey.
Nine out of ten Indians are employed in the informal sector, where labor laws are rarely enforced.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is to make a renewed drive to overhaul labor laws, hoping to create millions of new jobs by making it easier to hire and fire, the labour ministry's top bureaucrat said on Thursday.
Modi made a shake-up of country's labor market a part of his reform agenda after coming into office in 2014, but opposition from unions and a bruising battle to pass other crucial pieces of economic legislation have stalled those efforts.
Shankar Aggarwal, the ministry secretary, told Reuters that the government felt the time was right to prioritize labor reform again after parliament in August passed India's biggest overhaul of indirect taxes, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a victory for Modi's bid to boost the economy.
"We have to tweak the law. Employers want flexibility in hiring," Aggarwal said in an interview.
Two key bills, covering industrial relations and wages, would be sent to the cabinet this month, he said. Subject to cabinet approval, the bills would be presented in parliament's next session, beginning in November.
A rule requiring firms to seek rarely granted government permission for laying off large numbers of workers, which employers say has discouraged permanent hiring and kept factories small, are among restrictions to be loosened.
"It is a question of priority. We thought that it will be a good idea to put GST first so that we don't fritter away our energy," Aggarwal said.
The government says freeing up labor markets will boost employment, lure foreign investment and encourage firms to expand.
Trade unions argue that the reforms will put jobs at risk and make it tougher for employees to form unions or strike. More than a million workers went on strike on Sept. 2 to protest against the policies.
Under the reforms, 44 labor laws, some of them dating back to the end of British rule and as anachronistic as providing spittoons in the work place, will be grouped into four new labor codes.
Bills on social security and working conditions remain under discussion with states and trade unions.
India's two-decade streak of fast economic expansion is often derided as "jobless growth" since the service sector-led model has been capital rather than labor intensive.
Also In Business News
Also In Business News
More than 200 million Indians will reach working age over the next two decades, and creating sufficient jobs for perhaps the largest youth bulge the world has ever seen is among the toughest challenges for the country.
In 2009, 84 percent of India's manufacturers employed fewer than 50 workers, compared to 25 percent in China, according to a study by consultancy firm McKinsey.
Nine out of ten Indians are employed in the informal sector, where labor laws are rarely enforced.
Vodafone gets ready for RJio fight with Rs 47,700 crore fresh capital
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Amid a hyper competitive market following the entry of Reliance Jio, the second largest telcom firm Vodafone India on Thursday said it has received Rs 47,700-crore fresh capital from its parent to fund business expansion.
The money that is tune to Rs 47,700 crore has flown into the company, which previously announced a plan to do a share sale, since April this year, Managing Director and Chief Executive Sunil Sood told reporters here. He also claimed that this is the single-largest FDI inflow into the country till date.
The funds will be used to retire debt, bidding for spectrum that begins next week, expansion of network and deployment of next generation technologies, Sood informed. The company's debt stands at around Rs 25,000 crore at present, and it is half of the company's equity, the MD said.
Declining to divulge any specifics on the IPO, Sood said the firm is continuing to prepare for the share sale on full steam.
The company's total customer base has touched 200-million mark, he said, adding that 106 million of are in rural areas.
Till now, Vodafone has invested a total of Rs 1,15,500 crore in the country since 2007 and has 1,37,000 sites. Incumbent telcom firms like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have been on a warpath following the entry of Reliance Jio with an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, and offering services such as free voice and cheaper data plans.
Last week seven telcos, which applied to participate in the spectrum auction beginning October 1, have made earnest money deposit of Rs 14,653 crore to acquire rights to use spectrum in seven frequencies. Out of these Reliance Jio has alone deposited Rs 6,500 crore, followed by Vodafone India at Rs 2,740 crore.
The government has set an ambitious target of mopping up over Rs 5 lakh crore from the process. Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) is indicative of a company's strategy to bid in specific circles and spectrum bands. It gives them eligibility points with regard to those circles.
The Finance Ministry in the Budget pegged the revenue target at Rs 98,995 crore from the telecom space, which includes Rs 64,000 crore from the auction of about 2,354.55 Mhz of spectrum and the rest from various levies and services this financial year.
Amid a hyper competitive market following the entry of Reliance Jio, the second largest telcom firm Vodafone India on Thursday said it has received Rs 47,700-crore fresh capital from its parent to fund business expansion.
The money that is tune to Rs 47,700 crore has flown into the company, which previously announced a plan to do a share sale, since April this year, Managing Director and Chief Executive Sunil Sood told reporters here. He also claimed that this is the single-largest FDI inflow into the country till date.
The funds will be used to retire debt, bidding for spectrum that begins next week, expansion of network and deployment of next generation technologies, Sood informed. The company's debt stands at around Rs 25,000 crore at present, and it is half of the company's equity, the MD said.
Declining to divulge any specifics on the IPO, Sood said the firm is continuing to prepare for the share sale on full steam.
The company's total customer base has touched 200-million mark, he said, adding that 106 million of are in rural areas.
Till now, Vodafone has invested a total of Rs 1,15,500 crore in the country since 2007 and has 1,37,000 sites. Incumbent telcom firms like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have been on a warpath following the entry of Reliance Jio with an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, and offering services such as free voice and cheaper data plans.
Last week seven telcos, which applied to participate in the spectrum auction beginning October 1, have made earnest money deposit of Rs 14,653 crore to acquire rights to use spectrum in seven frequencies. Out of these Reliance Jio has alone deposited Rs 6,500 crore, followed by Vodafone India at Rs 2,740 crore.
The government has set an ambitious target of mopping up over Rs 5 lakh crore from the process. Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) is indicative of a company's strategy to bid in specific circles and spectrum bands. It gives them eligibility points with regard to those circles.
The Finance Ministry in the Budget pegged the revenue target at Rs 98,995 crore from the telecom space, which includes Rs 64,000 crore from the auction of about 2,354.55 Mhz of spectrum and the rest from various levies and services this financial year.
How Reliance Jio entry may benefit Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular
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It's a bet which has shaken the telecom market with super-low data and voice tariffs.
The Rs 1.5-trillion (till July 2016) investment by Reliance Industries has offered users liberty to consume free voice calls and internet data till December 31.
After that, its services will become chargeable that too at rates which will make key players such as Bharti Airtel,Vodafone and Idea Cellular feel the heat.
The allegations Reliance Jio has levelled against incumbent operators for providing insufficient points of interconnect to successfully make voice calls is another matter of contention.
Reliance Jio claims that against a requirement of 4,000 to 5,000 points of interconnect per operator, the interconnections released by Airtel are less than 2,000, about 1,500 by Vodafone and close to 1,600 by Idea.
Despite all these issues, the incumbent players whose margins and consumer base face a threat from the RIL telco still have a silver lining. We look at how the key telecom players, the telecom industry as a whole and the government will gain significantly from the entry of Jio.
Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular to gain
As Reliance Jio's commercial launch approached, incumbent telecom operators Bharti Airtel , Vodafone and Idea cut tariff and bundled free calls with data to drive mass market adoption.
The telcos have not cut tariffs after Mukesh Ambani formally launched Reliance Jio services because there is no substitute to Jio's free plans, no matter how much they reduce rates.
However, from January 1 2017, when Jio services become chargeable, incumbents are expected to cut rates for data and voice plans, significantly to protect market share.
After incumbents cut rates, possibilities are high Jio customers will shift loyalties to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular, the established players in the industry. The Jio network may witness mass desertions after consumers stop using Jio sims after the free trial period. This could hugely benefit Airtel and Idea, which have invested substantially in their 4G and 3G networks.
Though Bharti Airtel has issued statements intending to end the POIs issue with Jio as soon as possible, chances are high if the issue does not get resolved fully, consumers opting for free voice calls may simply switch to others.
A report by a brokerage says, "It will be interesting to see if RJio is able to retain its subscribers after the end of the welcome offer. Based on our channel check, there could be about 30-40% retention, which implies about 10-15 million subscribers".
Telecom industry
The approximately four-month period for which data and voice services have been made free will add new subscribers to the telecom industry. At the end of June 2016, the subscriber base stood at 1059.86 million, according to Trai data.
The figure is expected to rise significantly as Jio aims to fulfil Mukesh Ambani's ambition of reaching the 100 million customer mark in the shortest time possible. At present, Reliance Jio boasts a subscriber base of over five million.
4G network
The demand for 3G phones has been declining during the last three to four months ahead of the Reliance Jio 4G launch. Experts say with telcos aggresively cutting rates, consumers are switching to 4G compatible phones to enjoy high internet speed.
The timing of free data services for almost four months and phones starting Rs 2,999 could not have been better. Reliance Jio's Lyf brand handsets are your ticket to use unlimited data for four months.
According to an ET report, Samsung Electronics, Oppo, Vivo, Lenovo-Motorola, HTC, Micromax Informatics and Panasonic have decided that they will launch only 4G smartphones.
The consumer base primarily for 4G network is expected to rise significantly. For consumers, this will be an exciting opportunity to choose among the data plans bundled with attractive offers.
Digital India campaign
"World's demand for digital oxygen, that is data, is growing exponentially. Jio aims to fulfill this need of Indians. Access to information will now know no barriers," Ambani said during the Reliance Jio launch.
And if we don't consider voice calls for now, Reliance Jio's 4G data speed and apps seem to be perfect platform for PM Narendra Modi's Digital India programme.
Digital India is a plan envisioned by Modi "to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy". The key to the programme is turning high-speed internet into a core utility.
With lowest data rates in the sector, Jio services can provide digital infrastructure as a utility to every citizen and contribute to PM Modi's Digital plan.
Backed by India's largest business conglomerate, Jio aims to take on telecom behemoth which has subscriber base of almost 50 times (Bharti Airtel 250 million) its current users.
The starting phase of the race has been exceptional with free Jio services arousing huge interest among the subscribers, but it will be interesting to see if Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio can transform into the new Airtel of the industry.
It's a bet which has shaken the telecom market with super-low data and voice tariffs.
The Rs 1.5-trillion (till July 2016) investment by Reliance Industries has offered users liberty to consume free voice calls and internet data till December 31.
After that, its services will become chargeable that too at rates which will make key players such as Bharti Airtel,Vodafone and Idea Cellular feel the heat.
The allegations Reliance Jio has levelled against incumbent operators for providing insufficient points of interconnect to successfully make voice calls is another matter of contention.
Reliance Jio claims that against a requirement of 4,000 to 5,000 points of interconnect per operator, the interconnections released by Airtel are less than 2,000, about 1,500 by Vodafone and close to 1,600 by Idea.
Despite all these issues, the incumbent players whose margins and consumer base face a threat from the RIL telco still have a silver lining. We look at how the key telecom players, the telecom industry as a whole and the government will gain significantly from the entry of Jio.
Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular to gain
As Reliance Jio's commercial launch approached, incumbent telecom operators Bharti Airtel , Vodafone and Idea cut tariff and bundled free calls with data to drive mass market adoption.
The telcos have not cut tariffs after Mukesh Ambani formally launched Reliance Jio services because there is no substitute to Jio's free plans, no matter how much they reduce rates.
However, from January 1 2017, when Jio services become chargeable, incumbents are expected to cut rates for data and voice plans, significantly to protect market share.
After incumbents cut rates, possibilities are high Jio customers will shift loyalties to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular, the established players in the industry. The Jio network may witness mass desertions after consumers stop using Jio sims after the free trial period. This could hugely benefit Airtel and Idea, which have invested substantially in their 4G and 3G networks.
Though Bharti Airtel has issued statements intending to end the POIs issue with Jio as soon as possible, chances are high if the issue does not get resolved fully, consumers opting for free voice calls may simply switch to others.
A report by a brokerage says, "It will be interesting to see if RJio is able to retain its subscribers after the end of the welcome offer. Based on our channel check, there could be about 30-40% retention, which implies about 10-15 million subscribers".
Telecom industry
The approximately four-month period for which data and voice services have been made free will add new subscribers to the telecom industry. At the end of June 2016, the subscriber base stood at 1059.86 million, according to Trai data.
The figure is expected to rise significantly as Jio aims to fulfil Mukesh Ambani's ambition of reaching the 100 million customer mark in the shortest time possible. At present, Reliance Jio boasts a subscriber base of over five million.
4G network
The demand for 3G phones has been declining during the last three to four months ahead of the Reliance Jio 4G launch. Experts say with telcos aggresively cutting rates, consumers are switching to 4G compatible phones to enjoy high internet speed.
The demand for 3G phones has been declining during the last three to four months ahead of the Reliance Jio 4G launch. Experts say with telcos aggresively cutting rates, consumers are switching to 4G compatible phones to enjoy high internet speed.
The timing of free data services for almost four months and phones starting Rs 2,999 could not have been better. Reliance Jio's Lyf brand handsets are your ticket to use unlimited data for four months.
According to an ET report, Samsung Electronics, Oppo, Vivo, Lenovo-Motorola, HTC, Micromax Informatics and Panasonic have decided that they will launch only 4G smartphones.
The consumer base primarily for 4G network is expected to rise significantly. For consumers, this will be an exciting opportunity to choose among the data plans bundled with attractive offers.
Digital India campaign
"World's demand for digital oxygen, that is data, is growing exponentially. Jio aims to fulfill this need of Indians. Access to information will now know no barriers," Ambani said during the Reliance Jio launch.
And if we don't consider voice calls for now, Reliance Jio's 4G data speed and apps seem to be perfect platform for PM Narendra Modi's Digital India programme.
Digital India is a plan envisioned by Modi "to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy". The key to the programme is turning high-speed internet into a core utility.
With lowest data rates in the sector, Jio services can provide digital infrastructure as a utility to every citizen and contribute to PM Modi's Digital plan.
Backed by India's largest business conglomerate, Jio aims to take on telecom behemoth which has subscriber base of almost 50 times (Bharti Airtel 250 million) its current users.
The starting phase of the race has been exceptional with free Jio services arousing huge interest among the subscribers, but it will be interesting to see if Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio can transform into the new Airtel of the industry.
India wants loan from US for nuclear reactors, but hurdles remain
-
India is negotiating with U.S. Export-Import Bank for an $8-9 billion loan to finance six Westinghouse Electric nuclear reactors, two sources familiar with the talks said, although a lending freeze at the trade agency threatens progress.
The mega-project, the result of warming U.S.-India ties in recent years, could open up billions of dollars of further investment in India's nuclear power sector, which was for decades shut out of the global market.
India now targets a tenfold expansion in capacity to 63,000 MW by 2032, and U.S., French and Russian companies are among those chasing the business.
The Westinghouse deal, however, is contingent on financing and Ex-Im cannot approve loans of more than $10 million, owing to a row in the U.S. Congress over board appointments stemming from a campaign by conservatives to close the government lender.
Only two of five seats on Ex-Im's board are filled and the appointment of a third director - the minimum needed to clear board decisions - is on hold due to opposition from the Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Republican Richard Shelby.
"Financing of the reactors is the critical piece; everything is down to this," said one source involved in protracted negotiations to build the reactors in Andhra Pradesh.
The source, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said Indian negotiators and Ex-Im officials were trying to set the terms of the financial package in the hope that the freeze on the bank, affecting potential sales of several major U.S. companies, would lift soon.
Westinghouse is owned by Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) but is based in the United States.
In addition to U.S. Ex-Im, India is also seeking funding from Japan and South Korea for the reactors to be built in Kovvada, two sources familiar with the talks said.
Ex-Im had asked a South Korean export credit agency if it would be interested in partly financing the Westinghouse deal, since some of the nuclear equipment and materials are expected to come from South Korea, an official at the agency with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
The agency was willing to fund a part if a Korean contractor was involved, with Ex-Im providing the majority of the total, the official said.
The U.S. bank had not made any request to its Japanese counterpart to extend loans to the nuclear project in India, a source with direct knowledge said in Tokyo.
LEADERSHIP LOBBY
Both U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been promoting the nuclear deal, which was stuck for years because of an Indian law that made nuclear equipment suppliers liable in case of an accident, and not just the plant operators as is the global norm.
India has since set up an insurance pool to indemnify suppliers, and both Westinghouse and India's state-run operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) are working to a June 2017 deadline to sign the contract laid down by Obama and Modi.
"The goal right now is to get that financing done during President Obama's tenure, knowing full well that it may or may not stick in a new administration following the ... presidential election," said industry veteran Vijay Sazawal, principal of International Atomic Energy Consulting in Washington D.C.
While negotiators are unlikely to nail down a contract under Obama, who steps down in January, their challenge will be to come up with concessional financing terms that will make Westinghouse's AP1000 reactors affordable.
Westinghouse did not respond to a request for comment, while a U.S. Ex-Im Bank spokeswoman declined to comment. An NPCIL official said the firm had nothing to say at this stage.
Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Congress were pushing this week to include a provision in a must-pass spending measure that would lift the board quorum requirement for deals above $10 million.
But negotiations between party leaders were dragging on and congressional aides and lobbyists said on Tuesday it was unclear whether the Ex-Im provision would prove too controversial to make it into the final spending extension package, needed to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.
The deal with Westinghouse would be the first since a landmark 2008 U.S.-India nuclear pact that allowed New Delhi access to foreign technology and finance even though it has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and runs an active weapons programme.
Under the rules of non-proliferation, no U.S. or Japanese firm could engage in nuclear trade with a non-signatory, but since Washington made an exception for India, Tokyo has also signalled its assent.
The nuclear agreement crafted by the George W. Bush administration was seen initially as an attempt to build India into a military and economic power to counter China, but has since become linked to Washington's effort to wean major economies such as India off fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy.
India is also in talks with Russia to build four more reactors on top of the two already completed in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, as well as with France's EDF (EDF.PA) for the construction of six reactors of 1650 MW each in western India, which would be the world's biggest nuclear power complex.
But talks with Westinghouse are more advanced than those with the French, with the two sides aiming to sign an early works agreement next month, sources familiar with their progress said.
A delegation from the U.S.-based firm visited New Delhi earlier this month to finalise the pact that would include the timeline and up-front costs such as land acquisition and site preparation, said a source familiar with the matter.
India is negotiating with U.S. Export-Import Bank for an $8-9 billion loan to finance six Westinghouse Electric nuclear reactors, two sources familiar with the talks said, although a lending freeze at the trade agency threatens progress.
The mega-project, the result of warming U.S.-India ties in recent years, could open up billions of dollars of further investment in India's nuclear power sector, which was for decades shut out of the global market.
India now targets a tenfold expansion in capacity to 63,000 MW by 2032, and U.S., French and Russian companies are among those chasing the business.
The Westinghouse deal, however, is contingent on financing and Ex-Im cannot approve loans of more than $10 million, owing to a row in the U.S. Congress over board appointments stemming from a campaign by conservatives to close the government lender.
Only two of five seats on Ex-Im's board are filled and the appointment of a third director - the minimum needed to clear board decisions - is on hold due to opposition from the Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Republican Richard Shelby.
"Financing of the reactors is the critical piece; everything is down to this," said one source involved in protracted negotiations to build the reactors in Andhra Pradesh.
The source, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said Indian negotiators and Ex-Im officials were trying to set the terms of the financial package in the hope that the freeze on the bank, affecting potential sales of several major U.S. companies, would lift soon.
Westinghouse is owned by Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) but is based in the United States.
In addition to U.S. Ex-Im, India is also seeking funding from Japan and South Korea for the reactors to be built in Kovvada, two sources familiar with the talks said.
Ex-Im had asked a South Korean export credit agency if it would be interested in partly financing the Westinghouse deal, since some of the nuclear equipment and materials are expected to come from South Korea, an official at the agency with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
The agency was willing to fund a part if a Korean contractor was involved, with Ex-Im providing the majority of the total, the official said.
The U.S. bank had not made any request to its Japanese counterpart to extend loans to the nuclear project in India, a source with direct knowledge said in Tokyo.
LEADERSHIP LOBBY
Both U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been promoting the nuclear deal, which was stuck for years because of an Indian law that made nuclear equipment suppliers liable in case of an accident, and not just the plant operators as is the global norm.
India has since set up an insurance pool to indemnify suppliers, and both Westinghouse and India's state-run operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) are working to a June 2017 deadline to sign the contract laid down by Obama and Modi.
"The goal right now is to get that financing done during President Obama's tenure, knowing full well that it may or may not stick in a new administration following the ... presidential election," said industry veteran Vijay Sazawal, principal of International Atomic Energy Consulting in Washington D.C.
While negotiators are unlikely to nail down a contract under Obama, who steps down in January, their challenge will be to come up with concessional financing terms that will make Westinghouse's AP1000 reactors affordable.
Westinghouse did not respond to a request for comment, while a U.S. Ex-Im Bank spokeswoman declined to comment. An NPCIL official said the firm had nothing to say at this stage.
Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Congress were pushing this week to include a provision in a must-pass spending measure that would lift the board quorum requirement for deals above $10 million.
But negotiations between party leaders were dragging on and congressional aides and lobbyists said on Tuesday it was unclear whether the Ex-Im provision would prove too controversial to make it into the final spending extension package, needed to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.
The deal with Westinghouse would be the first since a landmark 2008 U.S.-India nuclear pact that allowed New Delhi access to foreign technology and finance even though it has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and runs an active weapons programme.
Under the rules of non-proliferation, no U.S. or Japanese firm could engage in nuclear trade with a non-signatory, but since Washington made an exception for India, Tokyo has also signalled its assent.
The nuclear agreement crafted by the George W. Bush administration was seen initially as an attempt to build India into a military and economic power to counter China, but has since become linked to Washington's effort to wean major economies such as India off fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy.
India is also in talks with Russia to build four more reactors on top of the two already completed in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, as well as with France's EDF (EDF.PA) for the construction of six reactors of 1650 MW each in western India, which would be the world's biggest nuclear power complex.
But talks with Westinghouse are more advanced than those with the French, with the two sides aiming to sign an early works agreement next month, sources familiar with their progress said.
A delegation from the U.S.-based firm visited New Delhi earlier this month to finalise the pact that would include the timeline and up-front costs such as land acquisition and site preparation, said a source familiar with the matter.
Mukesh Ambani tops richest Indian list, Patanjali's Balkrishna ranks 48
-
Mukesh Ambani topped the Forbes' Richest Indians list with a net worth of $22.7 billion for the ninth consecutive year.
Reliance Industries Limited, which disrupted the telecom sector by launching its 4G phone service Jio in September saw its shares rise by 21 per cent in the past 12 months.
Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi was the runner-up with a net worth of $16.9 billion. However, the most surprising entry in the 100 richest Indian list was that of Patanjali's Acharya Balkrishna who ranked 48 with his 97 per cent stake in Patanjali Ayurveda.
Hinduja brothers, with their multinational conglomerate, were ranked number 3. While, Wipro founder Azim Premji took the fourth spot.
There were a total of six new faces in the list including Hero Group's Pawan Munjal who ranked number 29.
However, co-founders of Flipkart Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal did not make it to the list this year.
Mukesh Ambani topped the Forbes' Richest Indians list with a net worth of $22.7 billion for the ninth consecutive year.
Reliance Industries Limited, which disrupted the telecom sector by launching its 4G phone service Jio in September saw its shares rise by 21 per cent in the past 12 months.
Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi was the runner-up with a net worth of $16.9 billion. However, the most surprising entry in the 100 richest Indian list was that of Patanjali's Acharya Balkrishna who ranked 48 with his 97 per cent stake in Patanjali Ayurveda.
Hinduja brothers, with their multinational conglomerate, were ranked number 3. While, Wipro founder Azim Premji took the fourth spot.
There were a total of six new faces in the list including Hero Group's Pawan Munjal who ranked number 29.
However, co-founders of Flipkart Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal did not make it to the list this year.
General Awareness
GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs FOR IBPS CLERKS & P.O. EXAM
-
1. New Governor of RBI is .......
1) N.Viswanathan
2) Rakesh Mohan
3) Arundhathi Bhattacharya
4) Urjith Patel
5) Subhir Gokarn
2. On 25 August 2016 UPI launched by RBI which revolutionize peer to peer payments in the country, a step closer towards becoming a cashless economy. UPI stands for......
1) United Payments Interface
2) Unified Pay Interface
3) Unique Payments Interface
4) Union Payments Interface
5) Unified Payments Interface
3. Which of the following statements is wrong related to Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?
1) Currently in order to make payments in online, account number, account type, Bank name and IFSC code etc must be entered.
2) But once UPI introduced, interface allow account holders across banks to send and receive money from their smart phones using just their Aadhaar number, mobile number or virtual payments address without entering bank account details.
3) This facility not available to private banks.
4) To initiate a transaction one can use two types of address - global or local. The bank provides Virtual address similar to e-mail ID.
5) Virtual address will allow, sending and receiving money from multiple banks and prepaid payment issuers is possible.
4. The RBI has allowed only banks to become Payment Service Providers of UPI service and the Mobile wallets are worrying that their prominence may go away. In this context, which of the following is example for Mobile wallet?
1) Paytm
2) Freecharge
3) Mobikwik
4) Oxigen
5) All of above are the Mobile wallets
5. PhonePe, a Flipkart Group company and which bank launched UPI-based payment APP?
1) Yes Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) Andhra Bank
4) Bank of India
5) Bank of Baroda
6. The benefit of UPI (Unified Payments Interface) system of transfer of money is....
1) immediate money transfer through mobile device round the clock 24 X 7 and 365 days.
2) single mobile application for accessing different bank accounts.
3) scheduling PUSH and PULL Payments for various purposes.
4) barcode (Scan and Pay) based payments
5) All of above are the unique benefits of UPI.
7. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the banks, once UPI introduced?
1) Universal Application for transaction
2) Payment basis Single/ Unique Identifier
3) Possibility of seamless merchant transactions
4) Single click two factor authentication
5) All of above
8. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the Merchants, once UPI introduced?
1) Suitable for e-Com & m-Com transaction
2) Tap customers not having credit/ debit
3) Seamless fund collection from customers - single identifiers
4) No risk of storing customer's virtual address like in Cards
5) All of above
9. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the Merchants, once UPI (Unified Payments Interface) introduced?
1) Use of Virtual ID is more secure, no credential sharing
2) Single click authentication
3) Single Application for accessing different bank accounts
4) Raise complaint from Mobile App directly
5) All of above
10. The UPI supports which of the following transactions/ Services ?
1) It can do Pay Request. It means initiating customer is pushing funds to the intended beneficiary.
2) Collect Request is possible. It is a transaction where the customer is pulling funds from the intended remitter by using Virtual ID.
3) Generating OTP (One Time Password)
4) Generate/ change PIN
5) All of above transactions/ services available in UPI
11. Till now IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) is the faster mode of transfer of money. What is the additional benefit of UPI (Unified Payments Interface)?
1) Single click two factor authentication
2) Provides for a P2P Pull functionality
3) Single APP for money transfer
4) Simplifies Merchant Payments
5) All of above are the additional benefits of UPI
12. What is the present upper limit of fund transfer using UPI?
1) Rs.10,000
2) Rs.50,000
3) Rs.1 Lakh
4) Rs.2 Lakh
5) Rs.10 Lakh
13. The details of UPI given. Locate the wrong statement.
1) Bank customer needs to register with his/ her PSP (Payment Services Provider) before remitting funds using UPI and link his accounts.
2) Registration of Beneficiary is not required for transferring funds through UPI as the fund would be transferred on the basis of Virtual ID/ Account number and IFSC.
3) Customer cannot link a wallet to UPI, only bank accounts can be added.
4) One customer can use more than one UPI application on the same mobile and link both same as well as different accounts.
5) All of above correct statements
14. RBI constituted the Board for Payment and Settlement Systems in ....
1) 2008
2) 2007
3) 2005
4) 2011
5) 2012
15. NPCI initiated Unified Payments Interface. NPCI stands for ......
1) National Pay Corporation of India
2) National Payments Company of India
3) National Payments Corporation of Initiation
4) National Payments Corporation of India
5) Nodal Payments Corporation of India
16. NPCI is an umbrella organization for all retail payments system in India. It was incorporated in ......
1) 2010
2) 2011
3) 2009
4) 2008
5) 2013
17. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) headed by ........
1) Raghuram Rajan
2) Arundhathi Bhattacharya
3) K.R. Kamath
4) M.Balachandran
5) Urjith Patel
18. To take the banking services to every common man across the country, NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) launched ∗99# service. The ∗99# service worked on USSD channel. In this context, USSD stands for .........
1) Unity Supplementary Service Data
2) Unstructured Support Service Data
3) Unstructured Single Service Data
4) Unstructured Supplementary Simple Data
5) Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
19. ∗99# service introduced in the mobile phones for the inclusion of under banked society. It was launched by Narendra Modi on 28th August 2014 as part of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). Which service available under this service?
1) Check the balance
2) Fund transfer
3) Mini statement request
4) All of above services available
5) None of above service available
20. ∗99∗99# is a USSD based value added service from NPCI that facilitates the customers ........
1) to know the Rupee and Dollar reference rate.
2) to check the balance in their bank account at the end of last month.
3) to check the credit of TDS in his bank account after 30 September in every year.
4) to check the status of his/ her Aadhaar number seeding/ linking in the bank account.
5) to know whether the OD was granted under JDY account.
21. On 25 August 2016, RBI issued a notification regarding the loans to women Self Help Groups. Pick up wrong statement.
1) SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention on credit up to Rs.3 lakh.
2) The rate of Interest is at 7% per annum under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission.
3) However SHGs availing capital subsidy under Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) in their existing credit outstanding will not be eligible for benefit under this scheme.
4) The banks lend to a women SHGs in 250 districts as per this notification.
5) All of above statements correct
22. Chillr and Federal Bank joined hands for cashless transactions. Chillr is a ....
1) Small Finance Bank
2) New Payment rank
3) Mobile banking application
4) HDFC bank subsidiary Co-ordinated mutual fund company
5) Insurance company
23. Which bank launched a payment service using a smart phone keyboard named 'iMobile SmartKeys' to make mobile payments easier?
1) Andhra Bank
2) SBI
3) ICICI Bank
4) HDFC
5) Union Bank of India
24. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai signed an agreement with SBI and Development Bank of Singapore for ECB to the tune $400 Million. In this context, the term ECB stands for .....
1) Exit Commercial Borrowing
2) Elective commercial Borrowing
3) External Commercial Board
4) Economical Commercial Borrowing
5) External Commercial Borrowing
25. 11th G - 20 summit concluded at....
1) Hangzhou of China
2) Tokyo of Japan
3) New Delhi of India
4) Rome of Italy
5) Ottawa of Canada
Answers:
1-4, 2-5, 3-3, 4-5, 5-1, 6-5, 7-5, 8-5, 9-5, 10-5
11-5, 12-3, 13-5, 14-3, 15-4, 16-4, 17-4, 18-5, 19-4, 20-4, 21-5, 22-3, 23-3, 24-5, 25-1
1. New Governor of RBI is .......
1) N.Viswanathan
2) Rakesh Mohan
3) Arundhathi Bhattacharya
4) Urjith Patel
5) Subhir Gokarn
2. On 25 August 2016 UPI launched by RBI which revolutionize peer to peer payments in the country, a step closer towards becoming a cashless economy. UPI stands for......
1) United Payments Interface
2) Unified Pay Interface
3) Unique Payments Interface
4) Union Payments Interface
5) Unified Payments Interface
3. Which of the following statements is wrong related to Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?
1) Currently in order to make payments in online, account number, account type, Bank name and IFSC code etc must be entered.
2) But once UPI introduced, interface allow account holders across banks to send and receive money from their smart phones using just their Aadhaar number, mobile number or virtual payments address without entering bank account details.
3) This facility not available to private banks.
4) To initiate a transaction one can use two types of address - global or local. The bank provides Virtual address similar to e-mail ID.
5) Virtual address will allow, sending and receiving money from multiple banks and prepaid payment issuers is possible.
4. The RBI has allowed only banks to become Payment Service Providers of UPI service and the Mobile wallets are worrying that their prominence may go away. In this context, which of the following is example for Mobile wallet?
1) Paytm
2) Freecharge
3) Mobikwik
4) Oxigen
5) All of above are the Mobile wallets
5. PhonePe, a Flipkart Group company and which bank launched UPI-based payment APP?
1) Yes Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) Andhra Bank
4) Bank of India
5) Bank of Baroda
6. The benefit of UPI (Unified Payments Interface) system of transfer of money is....
1) immediate money transfer through mobile device round the clock 24 X 7 and 365 days.
2) single mobile application for accessing different bank accounts.
3) scheduling PUSH and PULL Payments for various purposes.
4) barcode (Scan and Pay) based payments
5) All of above are the unique benefits of UPI.
7. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the banks, once UPI introduced?
1) Universal Application for transaction
2) Payment basis Single/ Unique Identifier
3) Possibility of seamless merchant transactions
4) Single click two factor authentication
5) All of above
8. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the Merchants, once UPI introduced?
1) Suitable for e-Com & m-Com transaction
2) Tap customers not having credit/ debit
3) Seamless fund collection from customers - single identifiers
4) No risk of storing customer's virtual address like in Cards
5) All of above
9. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the Merchants, once UPI (Unified Payments Interface) introduced?
1) Use of Virtual ID is more secure, no credential sharing
2) Single click authentication
3) Single Application for accessing different bank accounts
4) Raise complaint from Mobile App directly
5) All of above
10. The UPI supports which of the following transactions/ Services ?
1) It can do Pay Request. It means initiating customer is pushing funds to the intended beneficiary.
2) Collect Request is possible. It is a transaction where the customer is pulling funds from the intended remitter by using Virtual ID.
3) Generating OTP (One Time Password)
4) Generate/ change PIN
5) All of above transactions/ services available in UPI
11. Till now IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) is the faster mode of transfer of money. What is the additional benefit of UPI (Unified Payments Interface)?
1) Single click two factor authentication
2) Provides for a P2P Pull functionality
3) Single APP for money transfer
4) Simplifies Merchant Payments
5) All of above are the additional benefits of UPI
12. What is the present upper limit of fund transfer using UPI?
1) Rs.10,000
2) Rs.50,000
3) Rs.1 Lakh
4) Rs.2 Lakh
5) Rs.10 Lakh
13. The details of UPI given. Locate the wrong statement.
1) Bank customer needs to register with his/ her PSP (Payment Services Provider) before remitting funds using UPI and link his accounts.
2) Registration of Beneficiary is not required for transferring funds through UPI as the fund would be transferred on the basis of Virtual ID/ Account number and IFSC.
3) Customer cannot link a wallet to UPI, only bank accounts can be added.
4) One customer can use more than one UPI application on the same mobile and link both same as well as different accounts.
5) All of above correct statements
14. RBI constituted the Board for Payment and Settlement Systems in ....
1) 2008
2) 2007
3) 2005
4) 2011
5) 2012
15. NPCI initiated Unified Payments Interface. NPCI stands for ......
1) National Pay Corporation of India
2) National Payments Company of India
3) National Payments Corporation of Initiation
4) National Payments Corporation of India
5) Nodal Payments Corporation of India
16. NPCI is an umbrella organization for all retail payments system in India. It was incorporated in ......
1) 2010
2) 2011
3) 2009
4) 2008
5) 2013
17. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) headed by ........
1) Raghuram Rajan
2) Arundhathi Bhattacharya
3) K.R. Kamath
4) M.Balachandran
5) Urjith Patel
18. To take the banking services to every common man across the country, NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) launched ∗99# service. The ∗99# service worked on USSD channel. In this context, USSD stands for .........
1) Unity Supplementary Service Data
2) Unstructured Support Service Data
3) Unstructured Single Service Data
4) Unstructured Supplementary Simple Data
5) Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
19. ∗99# service introduced in the mobile phones for the inclusion of under banked society. It was launched by Narendra Modi on 28th August 2014 as part of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). Which service available under this service?
1) Check the balance
2) Fund transfer
3) Mini statement request
4) All of above services available
5) None of above service available
20. ∗99∗99# is a USSD based value added service from NPCI that facilitates the customers ........
1) to know the Rupee and Dollar reference rate.
2) to check the balance in their bank account at the end of last month.
3) to check the credit of TDS in his bank account after 30 September in every year.
4) to check the status of his/ her Aadhaar number seeding/ linking in the bank account.
5) to know whether the OD was granted under JDY account.
21. On 25 August 2016, RBI issued a notification regarding the loans to women Self Help Groups. Pick up wrong statement.
1) SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention on credit up to Rs.3 lakh.
2) The rate of Interest is at 7% per annum under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission.
3) However SHGs availing capital subsidy under Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) in their existing credit outstanding will not be eligible for benefit under this scheme.
4) The banks lend to a women SHGs in 250 districts as per this notification.
5) All of above statements correct
22. Chillr and Federal Bank joined hands for cashless transactions. Chillr is a ....
1) Small Finance Bank
2) New Payment rank
3) Mobile banking application
4) HDFC bank subsidiary Co-ordinated mutual fund company
5) Insurance company
23. Which bank launched a payment service using a smart phone keyboard named 'iMobile SmartKeys' to make mobile payments easier?
1) Andhra Bank
2) SBI
3) ICICI Bank
4) HDFC
5) Union Bank of India
24. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai signed an agreement with SBI and Development Bank of Singapore for ECB to the tune $400 Million. In this context, the term ECB stands for .....
1) Exit Commercial Borrowing
2) Elective commercial Borrowing
3) External Commercial Board
4) Economical Commercial Borrowing
5) External Commercial Borrowing
25. 11th G - 20 summit concluded at....
1) Hangzhou of China
2) Tokyo of Japan
3) New Delhi of India
4) Rome of Italy
5) Ottawa of Canada
Answers:
1-4, 2-5, 3-3, 4-5, 5-1, 6-5, 7-5, 8-5, 9-5, 10-5
11-5, 12-3, 13-5, 14-3, 15-4, 16-4, 17-4, 18-5, 19-4, 20-4, 21-5, 22-3, 23-3, 24-5, 25-1
1) N.Viswanathan
2) Rakesh Mohan
3) Arundhathi Bhattacharya
4) Urjith Patel
5) Subhir Gokarn
2. On 25 August 2016 UPI launched by RBI which revolutionize peer to peer payments in the country, a step closer towards becoming a cashless economy. UPI stands for......
1) United Payments Interface
2) Unified Pay Interface
3) Unique Payments Interface
4) Union Payments Interface
5) Unified Payments Interface
3. Which of the following statements is wrong related to Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?
1) Currently in order to make payments in online, account number, account type, Bank name and IFSC code etc must be entered.
2) But once UPI introduced, interface allow account holders across banks to send and receive money from their smart phones using just their Aadhaar number, mobile number or virtual payments address without entering bank account details.
3) This facility not available to private banks.
4) To initiate a transaction one can use two types of address - global or local. The bank provides Virtual address similar to e-mail ID.
5) Virtual address will allow, sending and receiving money from multiple banks and prepaid payment issuers is possible.
4. The RBI has allowed only banks to become Payment Service Providers of UPI service and the Mobile wallets are worrying that their prominence may go away. In this context, which of the following is example for Mobile wallet?
1) Paytm
2) Freecharge
3) Mobikwik
4) Oxigen
5) All of above are the Mobile wallets
5. PhonePe, a Flipkart Group company and which bank launched UPI-based payment APP?
1) Yes Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) Andhra Bank
4) Bank of India
5) Bank of Baroda
6. The benefit of UPI (Unified Payments Interface) system of transfer of money is....
1) immediate money transfer through mobile device round the clock 24 X 7 and 365 days.
2) single mobile application for accessing different bank accounts.
3) scheduling PUSH and PULL Payments for various purposes.
4) barcode (Scan and Pay) based payments
5) All of above are the unique benefits of UPI.
7. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the banks, once UPI introduced?
1) Universal Application for transaction
2) Payment basis Single/ Unique Identifier
3) Possibility of seamless merchant transactions
4) Single click two factor authentication
5) All of above
8. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the Merchants, once UPI introduced?
1) Suitable for e-Com & m-Com transaction
2) Tap customers not having credit/ debit
3) Seamless fund collection from customers - single identifiers
4) No risk of storing customer's virtual address like in Cards
5) All of above
9. Which of the following statement is correct relating to the benefit for the Merchants, once UPI (Unified Payments Interface) introduced?
1) Use of Virtual ID is more secure, no credential sharing
2) Single click authentication
3) Single Application for accessing different bank accounts
4) Raise complaint from Mobile App directly
5) All of above
10. The UPI supports which of the following transactions/ Services ?
1) It can do Pay Request. It means initiating customer is pushing funds to the intended beneficiary.
2) Collect Request is possible. It is a transaction where the customer is pulling funds from the intended remitter by using Virtual ID.
3) Generating OTP (One Time Password)
4) Generate/ change PIN
5) All of above transactions/ services available in UPI
11. Till now IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) is the faster mode of transfer of money. What is the additional benefit of UPI (Unified Payments Interface)?
1) Single click two factor authentication
2) Provides for a P2P Pull functionality
3) Single APP for money transfer
4) Simplifies Merchant Payments
5) All of above are the additional benefits of UPI
12. What is the present upper limit of fund transfer using UPI?
1) Rs.10,000
2) Rs.50,000
3) Rs.1 Lakh
4) Rs.2 Lakh
5) Rs.10 Lakh
13. The details of UPI given. Locate the wrong statement.
1) Bank customer needs to register with his/ her PSP (Payment Services Provider) before remitting funds using UPI and link his accounts.
2) Registration of Beneficiary is not required for transferring funds through UPI as the fund would be transferred on the basis of Virtual ID/ Account number and IFSC.
3) Customer cannot link a wallet to UPI, only bank accounts can be added.
4) One customer can use more than one UPI application on the same mobile and link both same as well as different accounts.
5) All of above correct statements
14. RBI constituted the Board for Payment and Settlement Systems in ....
1) 2008
2) 2007
3) 2005
4) 2011
5) 2012
15. NPCI initiated Unified Payments Interface. NPCI stands for ......
1) National Pay Corporation of India
2) National Payments Company of India
3) National Payments Corporation of Initiation
4) National Payments Corporation of India
5) Nodal Payments Corporation of India
16. NPCI is an umbrella organization for all retail payments system in India. It was incorporated in ......
1) 2010
2) 2011
3) 2009
4) 2008
5) 2013
17. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) headed by ........
1) Raghuram Rajan
2) Arundhathi Bhattacharya
3) K.R. Kamath
4) M.Balachandran
5) Urjith Patel
18. To take the banking services to every common man across the country, NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) launched ∗99# service. The ∗99# service worked on USSD channel. In this context, USSD stands for .........
1) Unity Supplementary Service Data
2) Unstructured Support Service Data
3) Unstructured Single Service Data
4) Unstructured Supplementary Simple Data
5) Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
19. ∗99# service introduced in the mobile phones for the inclusion of under banked society. It was launched by Narendra Modi on 28th August 2014 as part of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). Which service available under this service?
1) Check the balance
2) Fund transfer
3) Mini statement request
4) All of above services available
5) None of above service available
20. ∗99∗99# is a USSD based value added service from NPCI that facilitates the customers ........
1) to know the Rupee and Dollar reference rate.
2) to check the balance in their bank account at the end of last month.
3) to check the credit of TDS in his bank account after 30 September in every year.
4) to check the status of his/ her Aadhaar number seeding/ linking in the bank account.
5) to know whether the OD was granted under JDY account.
21. On 25 August 2016, RBI issued a notification regarding the loans to women Self Help Groups. Pick up wrong statement.
1) SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention on credit up to Rs.3 lakh.
2) The rate of Interest is at 7% per annum under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission.
3) However SHGs availing capital subsidy under Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) in their existing credit outstanding will not be eligible for benefit under this scheme.
4) The banks lend to a women SHGs in 250 districts as per this notification.
5) All of above statements correct
22. Chillr and Federal Bank joined hands for cashless transactions. Chillr is a ....
1) Small Finance Bank
2) New Payment rank
3) Mobile banking application
4) HDFC bank subsidiary Co-ordinated mutual fund company
5) Insurance company
23. Which bank launched a payment service using a smart phone keyboard named 'iMobile SmartKeys' to make mobile payments easier?
1) Andhra Bank
2) SBI
3) ICICI Bank
4) HDFC
5) Union Bank of India
24. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai signed an agreement with SBI and Development Bank of Singapore for ECB to the tune $400 Million. In this context, the term ECB stands for .....
1) Exit Commercial Borrowing
2) Elective commercial Borrowing
3) External Commercial Board
4) Economical Commercial Borrowing
5) External Commercial Borrowing
25. 11th G - 20 summit concluded at....
1) Hangzhou of China
2) Tokyo of Japan
3) New Delhi of India
4) Rome of Italy
5) Ottawa of Canada
Answers:
1-4, 2-5, 3-3, 4-5, 5-1, 6-5, 7-5, 8-5, 9-5, 10-5
11-5, 12-3, 13-5, 14-3, 15-4, 16-4, 17-4, 18-5, 19-4, 20-4, 21-5, 22-3, 23-3, 24-5, 25-1
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