SBI Clerk Mains Mock Test - 6 - Bank Exams MCQ

The unilateral announcement of the Agnipath scheme by the government of India witnessed widespread reactions in all states, including Punjab. As per Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, this policy (Agnipath) is likely to create dissatisfaction among the youth who wish to serve the armed forces of the nation for a lifetime.

• PM Modi participated in the first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.

• The first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture was given by a Minister of the Singapore government, Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

• The theme of the lecture was 'Growth through Inclusivity, Inclusivity through Growth’.

• Department of Economic Affairs has organized the first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture in memory of his invaluable contribution to the nation.

• The Prime Minister addressed the gathering and interacted with the delegates participating in the Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC).

• Kautilya Economic Conclave was organized by the Institute of Economic Growth in association with the Ministry of Finance from 8th-10th July.

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi took part in the first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

• Department of Economic Affairs has organized the first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture in memory of his invaluable contribution to the nation.

• The first ‘Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture was given by a Minister of the Singapore government Tharman Shanmugaratnam on 'Growth through Inclusivity, Inclusivity through Growth’.

• It was followed by a panel discussion by Mathias Cormann (OECD Secretary-General) and Arvind Panagariya (Professor, Columbia University).

• The Prime Minister addressed the gathering and interacted with the delegates participating in the Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC).

• Kautilya Economic Conclave is being organized by the Institute of Economic Growth in association with the Ministry of Finance from 8th-10th July.

Prabhakar's prize package also included an unrestricted gift, access to more than 300 Amazon public datasets, and artificial intelligence and machine learning tools and services from Amazon Web Services.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank Indonesia (BI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on July 16, 2022, in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting to improve cooperation between the two central banks.

• The MoU was signed by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra and BI Deputy Governor Dody Budi Waluyo in the presence of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and BI Governor Perry Warjiyo.

• With this MoU, RBI and BI committed to deepening relations between both central banks and strengthening the exchange of information and cooperation in the area of central banking, including payment systems, digital innovation in payments services, and regulatory and supervisory framework for Anti Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT).

• The MoU will be implemented through policy dialogue, technical cooperation, exchange of information, and joint work.

• Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resigned from his post.

• Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to resign as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka after violent protestors stormed the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Colombo.

• 16 MPs from President Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party urged him to resign immediately.

• Following several waves of COVID-19, Sri Lanka is currently suffering from its worst economic crisis.

• The total foreign debt of Sri Lanka stands at $51 billion.

• The Sri Lankan rupee is the currency of Sri Lanka.

• Its executive and judicial capital are Colombo, and its legislative capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.

Necessary amendments would be made in Recruitment Rules (RRs) to ensure the selection of suitable candidates for vacant posts.

Sawant also said that recruitment through the Staff Selection Commission would be made compulsory.

• In a positive addition to the nascent Indian defence industry, discussions on the maintenance of submarines were held by Brazil.

• During the two-day visit, the Brazilian delegation held extensive discussions with the Indian Navy counterparts with a focus on the maintenance of submarines. As part of the visit, the delegation also visited Mazagon Docks Shipbuilders Ltd. (MDL) and a Kalvari (Scorpene) class submarine of the Indian Navy.

• MDL is involved in manufacturing six conventional Scorpene (Project 75) jointly with the Naval Group of France. The sixth and last submarine of the Indian Navy’s Kalvari class submarines was launched in April this year.

• The Brazilian Navy also operates 4 Scorpene-class submarines and is exploring options for collaboration towards the maintenance of the diesel-electric attack submarines.

• India adds 11 more wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites to make a total of 75 Ramsar sites covering an area of 13,26,677 ha in the country in the 75th year of Independence.

• The 11 new sites include Four (4) sites in Tamil Nadu, Three (3) in Odisha, Two (2) in Jammu & Kashmir, and One (1) each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Designation of these sites would help in the conservation and management of wetlands and the wise use of their resources.

• India is one of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. India signed it on 1st Feb 1982. From 1982 to 2013, a total of 26 sites were added to the list of Ramsar sites, however, from 2014 to 2022, the country added 49 new wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites.

• During this year itself (2022) a total of 28 sites have been declared as Ramsar sites. Based on the date of designation mentioned on the Ramsar Certificate, the number is 19 for this year (2022) and 14 for the previous year (2021).

• Tamil Nadu has the maximum no. of Ramsar sites (14 nos), followed by UP which has 10 nos. of Ramsar sites.

• Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) announced the launch of the Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme, a special term deposit product offering higher interest rates.

• The Baroda Tiranga Deposits are available in two tenor buckets – offering interest rates of 5.75 pc p.a. for 444 days and 6.00 pc p.a. for 555 days.

• The scheme opens on August 16 up till December 31, 2022, and is applicable on retail deposits below Rs 2 crore.

• The Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme offers a higher rate of interest and the flexibility to choose from two tenures, backed by one of India’s leading and most trusted banks.

• Bank of Baroda customers can use bob World to open an online FD through Mobile.

• Income taxpayers will not be eligible for the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), a universal social security scheme, from 1 October.

• In case a subscriber of the scheme, who joined on or after 1 October 2022, is subsequently found to have been an income-tax payer on or before the date of application, the APY account shall be closed and the accumulated pension wealth to date would be given to the subscriber, as per the order.

• Atal Pension Yojana was launched in 2015 to create a universal social security system for the citizens, especially the poor, the underprivileged, and the workers in the unorganized sector.

• It is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

• It is currently open to all bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years and the contributions differ, based on the pension amount chosen. Subscribers would receive a guaranteed minimum monthly pension at the age of 60.

1. Cooperative Credit Societies

2. Land Development Banks

3. Commercial Banks

4. Regional Rural Banks

5. The Government

The Co­operative Societies are supposed to be the cheap­est and most important source of rural credit.

Land Devel­opment Banks (formerly known as Land Mortgage Banks) mainly provide long-term loans to farmers against the mortgage of their lands at low rates of interest over a period of 15 to 20 years.

Before nationalisa­tion of top 14 Commercial Banks in June 1969, they had an urban bias. They were mainly accept­ing deposits from the urban people and making loans to trade and industry.

In 1975, the Gov­ernment set up a network of regional rural banks to look into the special needs of small and mar­ginal farmers, landless workers, rural artisans and the rural poor in general. The unique feature of the 196 RRBs operating since September 1990 is that they cater exclusively to the weaker sections of the rural community through nearly 14,800 branches spread over India.

The Government has also provided short-term and long-term loans to farmers in times of emergency such as floods or famine. Such loans are known as Taccavi loans.

• Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has inked an MoU with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to onboard small and medium-sized businesses on the ONDC network and thus, increasing their participation in the e-commerce sector.

• The MoU was signed between Sivasubramanian Ramann, CMD of SIDBI, and T Koshy, managing director and CEO of ONDC. With this, SIDBI and ONDC will collaboratively put efforts to help MSMEs access the open network e-commerce platform proposed by ONDC.

• Through this MoU, we will connect SIDBI’s network with ONDC, which will revolutionize the ecosystem of small industries. This initiative will be a driving force to initiate the participation of small industries in e-commerce on a larger scale and enable their growth.

• Both ONDC and SIDBI will hold sessions with MSMEs to educate them about ONDC’s network, protocol, and MVP definition. Thereafter, the two bodies will conduct accelerator programs to incentivize MSMEs and enable them to go live on the ONDC’s network.

• Set up in December 2021, ONDC is a brainchild of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). With this initiative, the Centre aims to democratize access to digital e-commerce for small retailers in the country.

• World Elephant Day is observed every year on August 12 to recognize their importance in our ecosystem.

• This day emphasizes raising awareness of the dangers that elephants encounter in their lives.

• According to National Geographic, the elephant population has declined by an estimated 50 percent over the past 75 years. As per the reports, there are an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 Asian elephants left.

• World Elephant Day was first observed in the year 2012 by two Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark along with the Thailand-based Elephant Reintroduction Foundation. And ever since 2012, Patricia Sims has taken the lead on World Elephant Day.

• Theme - Bringing the world together to help elephants.

As per the report, Mumbai (127) was the costliest city in India in terms of both living expenses and accommodation costs. Mumbai was followed by New Delhi (155), Chennai (177), Bengaluru (178) and Hyderabad (192), while Pune (201) and Kolkata (203) were the least expensive Indian cities in the ranking.

• The Coal Ministry has aimed to enhance coal production to 1.23 billion tonnes by 2024-25 to ensure the energy security of the country.

• To support the vision, Coal India Limited has adopted an integrated planning approach by strengthening evacuation infrastructure for one billion tonnes of production and seamless transportation of coal to the end users.

• The Ministry said North Karanpura Coalfield is a major coalfield in Jharkhand, falling within the command of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) having a coal resource of about 19 billion tonnes.

• CCL has a projected production contribution of about 135 Million tonnes by 2025, out of which about 85 million tonnes are likely to be produced from North Karanpura Coalfield.

• The Ministry said, Tori - Shivpur double railway line has been created by CCL, which will provide up to 125 Million Ton coal evacuation capacity.

• The development of the third line on the same alignment is under construction at an additional capital of 894 crore rupees, which is likely to be operationalized by May next year

• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, in collaboration with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, successfully designed and conducted the Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy” for 13 Countries.

• It was a part of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative- Resilience Working Group.

• The Group is being led by India under the leadership of the National Security Council Secretariat.

• The theme of the exercise was “Building Network Resiliency to counter Ransomware Attacks”.

• The exercise scenario was derived from real-life cyber incidents, in which a domestic-level (limited impact) ransomware incident escalates to a global cyber security crisis.

• The Exercise “Synergy” was hosted by CERT-In on its exercise simulation platform. Each State participated as a National Crisis Management Team having composition from different government agencies.

• The specific objective of the exercise was to Assess, Share and Improve strategies and practices among Member-States to build network resiliency against ransomware & cyber extortion attacks.

• Indian-Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In): It is an office under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

• It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing.

• It was established on 19 January 2004. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

• The Insurance Ombudsmen offices across the country settled a total of 40,527 complaints related to policyholders' grievances in the last 2021-22 financial year. In FY21, the Insurance Ombudsmen offices disposed of 30,596 complaints.

• The Delhi center office of the Bima Lokpal or the Insurance Ombudsmen settled 3,830 complaints in 2021-22.

• The Bima Lokpal at the Delhi office told reporters here that it is an alternative grievance redressal platform set up by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).

• It is also a platform for the speedy and cost-effective disposal of customer complaints. Constituted under the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, there are as many as 17 Insurance Ombudsmen (IO) centers in the country, covering all the states and union territories (UTs).

• In the exercise of the powers conferred by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, and by the Redressal of Public Grievances Rules, 1998, the office of the Insurance Ombudsman was established by the Central Government.

• Its powers, functions, terms of office, etc. were laid in Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017.

• New research fellowships and research grant schemes were launched by the University Grants Commission.

• The commission has announced Five schemes, including 3 grants and 2 fellowship schemes.

• These schemes include:

• Savitribai Jyotirao Phule fellowship for single girl child

• Dr. Radhakrishnan's UGC post-doctoral fellowship

• Superannuated Faculty Members Fellowship

• Research Grant for In-Service Faculty Members

• Dr. D S Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members

• 'Fellowship for Superannuation Faculty Members' scheme has been launched to provide research opportunities for retired teachers.

• This fellowship has a total of 100 available slots, and candidates will get Rs 50,000 per month and Rs 50,000 per year as a contingency.

• The objective of 'Research Grants for in-service Faculty Members' is to provide research opportunities to regularly appointed faculty members.

• 10 lakhs will be given to 200 selected candidates for two years.

• Dr. DS Kothari's Research Grant has been announced for newly recruited faculty members and regularly appointed faculty members.

• 10 lakhs will be provided to 132 selected candidates for two years.

• The objective of the 'Dr. Radhakrishnan UGC Post-Doctoral Fellowship' is to provide the opportunity to pursue advanced study and research in Engineering, Sciences, Technology, Humanities, Social Sciences, and languages given by Indian universities and organizations.

• There are reportedly 900 seats in this fellowship and 30 percent of them are reserved for women candidates.

Through this consultation, the commission sought to offer a broad platform to academicians, researchers, social activists, policy makers, civil society members, and transwomen themselves to analyse problems which they face in various arenas and to discuss future directions and policy proposals for the welfare of transwomen.

• The government announced the constitution of a 47-member committee, headed by former Union Cabinet Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, for drafting the National Cooperation Policy document.

• The new National Cooperative Policy is being formulated to realize the government’s vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’, the Ministry of Cooperation said in a statement.

• The constitution of the committee was announced by the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah.

• Mr. Shah recently announced that a new National Cooperation Policy will soon be prepared, and will have a holistic approach from primary agriculture credit societies (PACS) upwards.

• The new National Cooperation Policy document is being formulated to fulfill the mandate given to the new Ministry of Cooperation, which includes strengthening the cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots, and promoting a cooperative-based economic development model.

• The existing National Policy on Cooperatives was formulated in 2002.

• India has about 8.5 lakh cooperative societies with a member base of around 29 crores. These co-operatives are engaged in varied activities like agro-processing, dairying, fisheries, housing, weaving, credit, and marketing, among others.