Test: Current Affairs October 2020 - BPSC (Bihar) MCQ

The Monetisation of the deficit was in practice in India until 1997, whereby the central Bank automatically monetised government deficit through ad-hoc treasury bills.

What is helicopter money? : This is an unconventional monetary policy tool aimed at bringing a flagging economy back on track. It involves printing large sums of money and distributing it to the public. Under such a policy, a central bank "directly increase the money supply and, via the government, distribute the new cash to the population to boost demand and inflation."

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is one of the "Three Sisters" recognised by the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement, along with the Codex Alimentarius Commission for food safety standards and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for animal health standards.

It also provides banking services, but only to central banks and other international organisations. It is based in Basel, Switzerland.

OECN as a credit rail will have a common language and connecting lenders and marketplaces, allowing them to create innovative credit products and services on top of it.

It will democratise credit in the country, helping small businesses and entrepreneurs get loans.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) tightened its regulations of additional tier-1 bonds or AT-1 bonds and ensured that these risky instruments are less accessible to retail investors.

As per the latest norms, banks can issue these bonds only on an electronic platform, and only institutional investors could subscribe to them. Minimum allotment for these bonds is set at 1 cr

"These instruments have certain unique features which, inter-alia, grant the issuer (i.e. banks, in consultation with RBI) a discretion in terms of writing down the principal/interest, to skip interest payments, to make an early recall etc. without the commensurate right for investors to legal recourse, even if such actions of the issuer might result in a potential loss to investors,"

"The absolute right, given to the RBI, to direct a bank to write down the entire value of its outstanding AT1 instruments/bonds, if it thinks the Bank has passed the Point of Non-Viability (PONV) or requires a public sector capital infusion to remain a going concern.

For example, in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, Darjeeling tea producers can exclude the term "Darjeeling" for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced to the standards set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.

However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication. 

Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication. Geographical indications are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts, and industrial products.

How long is the registration of Geographical Indication valid?

The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years.

It can be renewed from time to time for a further period of 10 years each.

It was established in 2014, at the 6th BRICS Summit at Fortaleza, Brazil.

The Bank's initial authorised capital is $100 billion divided into 1 million shares having a par value of $100,000 each. The initial subscribed capital of the NDB is $50 billion divided into paid-in shares ($10 billion) and callable shares ($40 billion). The initial subscribed capital of the Bank was equally distributed among the founding members. The Agreement on the NDB specifies that every member will have one vote no one would have any veto powers.

(i) It is a regional development bank.

(ii) Established on 19 December 1966.

(iii) headquartered — Manila, Philippines.

(iv) Official United Nations Observer.

The Bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE) and non-regional developed countries.

ADB now has 68 members, 49 from within Asia.

It is modelled closely on the World Bank and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with members' capital subscriptions.

As of 31 December 2019, ADB's five largest shareholders are Japan and the United States (each with 15.6% of total shares), the People's Republic of China (6.4%), India (6.3%), and Australia (5.8%).

Roles and functions:

Dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.

This is carried out through investments - in the form of loans, grants and information sharing - in infrastructure, health care services, financial and public administration systems, helping nations prepare for the impact of climate change or better manage their natural resources, as well as other areas.

The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, permits the Government to auction coal mines to the private sector for captive and commercial purposes. The Government has auctioned 24 coal blocks to private companies till March 2019 and will be further auctioning coal blocks for commercial mining by both Indian and foreign companies.

This act extends to the whole of India.

(i) It is a statutory body established in 2020.

(ii) It works under the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

(iii)Headquartered in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The Authority will function as a unified regulator and is empowered to exercise the powers of RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA in respect of financial services, financial products and financial institutions performed/located in the international financial services centres in the country.

Besides the Chairman, IFSCA has a member each nominated from RBI, IRDAI, SEBI and PFRDA. There are also two members from the Central Government and full-time or part-time members in the Authority.

(i) Atomic Energy Generation

(ii) Cigars, Cigarettes, or any related tobacco industry

(iii) Lotteries (online, private, government, etc.)

(iv) Investment in Chit Funds

(v) Agricultural or Plantation Activities (although there are many exceptions like horticulture, fisheries, tea plantations, Pisciculture, animal husbandry, etc.)

(vi) Housing and Real Estate (except townships, commercial projects, etc.)

(vii) Trading in TDR's (Transferable development rights)

(viii) Any Gambling or Betting businesses

A Government Security (G-Sec) is a tradeable instrument issued by the Central Government or the State Governments. It acknowledges the Government's debt obligation. Such securities are short term (usually called treasury bills, with original maturities of less than one year) or long term (usually called Government bonds or dated securities with an original maturity of one year or more). In India, the Central Government issues both, treasury bills and bonds or dated securities while the State Governments issue only bonds or dated securities.