Quiz on General Knowledge 64 - 2010

1.      Who is the new Chief Minister of Meghalaya?

a)D D Lapang   b)Khanduri     c)Mukul Sangma    d)Donkupar Roy   e)none

2.      Who has been voted as India Inc’s Most Powerful CEO for 2009 by Economic Times Corporate Dossier magazine?

a)Sunil Mittal     b)Anand Mahindra     c)Aditya Puri    d)Mukhesh Ambhani    e)Ratan Tata

3.      To which of the following neighbouring country India has decided to supply 50,000 tonnes of wheat, 25,000 tonnes of rice and 10,000 tonnes of yellow peas dal?

a)Pakistan    b)Afghanistan     c)Bangladesh     d)Nepal    e)none

4.      India's 18th Nuclear Power Plant Begins Commercial Operations in which of the following states?

a)Andhra Pradesh      b)Karnataka     c)Rajasthan    d)Gujarat    e)Tamilnadu

5.      Which Country hosted the 16^th SAARC summit?

a)Nepal    b)Srilanka     c)Pakistan    d)Bhutan     e)none

6.      India's first International Tourism police station has been opened in which state?

a)Kerala     b)Delhi     c)Maharashtra    d)Jammu and Kashmir   e)none

7.      Which Company has topped the list of Fortune’s most admired company in the world?

a)Google     b)Microsoft     c)Yahoo    d)P & G    e)Apple

8.      What is the full form of FCNR, term used in banking?

a)Foreign Capital for Nations and Region

b)Finance Capital Non Resident

c)Foreign Currency Non Resident

d)Finance Currency Non Resident

e)none

9.      Recently Rbi increased Policy rates and Reserve ratios. Why did Rbi increased these measures?

a)To Improve the Indian Economy

b)To control the Inflation

c)To control the deflation

d)Rbi wants more money to give to government 

e)because banks are gaining huge profits

10. Who has been named ‘Wisden Cricketer of the Year’ for the second time in a row?

a)Ricky Pointing   b)T Dilshan     c)Andrew Strauss    d)Sachin Tendulkar   e)V Sehwag

11. Which of the following received the ‘Boeing's Supplier of the Year Award for the year 2009’?

a)HAL    b)DRDO     c)ISRO     d)BEL    e)none

12. Chandrashekhar Rele has recently passed away. He was famous _____?

a)Carnatic Musician    b)Dancer      c)Vocalist     d)Hindustan Classical Musician   e)none

13. Who has been awarded the Tejaswini award for young women achievers?

a)Vidya balan    b)Priya Dutt    c)Mary Kom   d)All the bove    e)none

14. Bahraich district has become the first tribal village in the state to be converted into a revenue village under the Forest Rights Act. Bahraich is in which state?

a)Sikkim    b)Rajasthan   c)Maharashtra    d)Chhattisgarh    e)Uttar Pradesh

15. Who is the author of the book ‘Wide Angle’?

a)Tiger Woods     b)Anil Kumble     c)Adam Gilchrist    d)Rahul Dravid    e)none

16. Which is the first bank in India to get the Chinese approval to carry out business in the local currency – yuan?

a)ICICI     b)SBI     c)Punjab National Bank    d)Axis Bank   e)none

17. Which Organization has sanctioned USD 4.9-billion (over Rs 22,000 crore) loans to India in 2009-10 for 14 schemes and projects undertaken by the government?

a)ADB     b)UN     c)World Bank    d)IMF    e)none

18. Which State has decided to pioneer an e-waste policy to encourage green information technologies?

a)Tamilnadu    b)Karnataka    c)Kerala     d)Gujarat   e)none

19. Which Country will host the 11th International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA)?

a)India      b)Srilanka      c)UK    d)Maldives   e)none

20. Recently SEBI banned the 14 life insurance companies in India from circulating ULIP’s. what is the full form of ULIP?

a) Unit Linked Investment Plan

b) Unit Linked Insurance Policy

c) Unit Linked Insurance Plan

d)Unit Linked Investment Policy

e)none

Current Affairs March-III 2010

·        India already has 27 of its famous sites, including Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar, inscribed as World Heritage Sites. The Jantar Mantar complexes in Jaipur and Santiniketan in West Bengal have been recommended by India to be included in the World Heritage List.(Go for Part II & I).

·        The State Bank of India has received the permission from the Chinese government to lend in the local currency—Yuan. SBI is the first Indian bank to receive this permission from the Chinese authorities, who are traditionally conservative in allowing foreign banks to do business in the local currency.

·        Bhutan government will produce 10,000 MW of hydro-power for India by 2020 under a joint venture. India will provide Rs 35,000 crore for the venture.

·        India has the lowest percentage of female population in the Asia-Pacific region ranking lower than Pakistan, Maldives and Bangladesh despite having the highest sex ratio at birth compared to these countries, a new study shows. According to the report 'Power, Voice and Rights' by the UNDP, while India had 48.2 per cent female population at birth, Pakistan had 48.5, Bangladesh had 48.8 and Japan 51.1 per cent.

·        Three Indians--Congress President Sonia Gandhi, ICICI Bank Head Chanda Kochhar and PepsiCo Chief Executive Indra Nooyi--have been named among Asia's eight top power women by American broadcaster CNN. The list is topped by China-based Nine Dragons Paper Holdings' Zhang Yin, followed by Nooyi at the second spot. Gandhi is ranked third, while Kochhar is at the fifth slot.

·        Shoma Chaudhury of Tehelka and Monalisa Changkija of Nagaland Page have been selected for the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediapersons.

·        AICC general secretary Mohsina Kidwai was elected Chairperson of the Haj Committee of India. Kidwai would be the first woman Chairperson of the minority body.

·        Greece has been added to the US Visa Waiver Programme, allowing its citizens to travel to the United States for 90 days at a time without a visa.

·        Indian-American computer scientist Subhash Khot, well known for his 'Unique Games Conjecture' has been selected for a prestigious USD 500,000 national science award.

·        Jharkhand started a new Atal Jyoti Electrification Scheme in the 2010/11 budget to provide electricity for villages.

·        Actress Preity Zinta was appointed UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador and plans to combine Cricket and Bollywood to raise awareness about the deadly disease.

·        Mumbai has been named among the world's top ten billionaire cities as it is home to as many as 20 richest Indians, according to a list compiled by the Forbes magazine.

·        India opened its 23rd Cultural Relations centre in Dhaka naming it after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and acknowledging her contribution to Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War.

·        In an indication of sustained economic growth, the per capita income in the national capital(Delhi)  has increased to Rs 78,690 in the financial year 2007-08 as against the national figure of Rs 33,283. Delhi per capita income, which indicates an average earning of a person, is the third highest in the country with Chandigarh having per capita income of Rs 1,10676 topping the list and closely followed by Goa at Rs 1,05,582.

·        Pravinchandra V Gandhi, former Chairman of Dena Bank and a leading figure in the print media industry, passed away.

·        Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the most influential person in Indian sports in the annual Sports Illustrated Power list. The top 50 rates Tendulkar as the number one influencer in India, followed closely by IPL Chairman Lalit Modi at second spot and liquor baron Dr Vijay Mallya in third. Union Agriculture Minister and President elect, ICC Sharad Pawar, Indian cricket team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and BCCI president Shashank Manohar are fourth, fifth and sixth on the list respectively.

·        The Bombay Stock Exchange has emerged as one of the top ten bourses globally in terms of valuation of shares traded, with its market valuation nearly doubling to Rs 60,79,892 crore ($1.31 trillion) last year. Among the top ten bourses with the largest domestic equity market capitalizations at the end of 2009, the BSE is placed at the tenth spot, according to the WFE. The league is topped by the NYSE Euronext of the US with a market capitalisation of $11.84 trillion and the Tokyo Stock Exchange Group ($ 3.31 trillion) at the second place.

·        Delhi gets India’s first remote controlled street lights that can be switched on and off using an internet-enabled main server located in the heart of the city.

·        Pakistan cricket was thrown into turmoil with the country's Board putting an end to the international careers of former captains Mohd Yousuf and Younis Khan besides imposing a one-year ban on Shoaib Malik in the wake of the team's disastrous tour of Australia. As recommended by the committee headed by Wasim Bari, former captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were handed one-year bans. The Akmal brothers Kamran and Umar and Afridi have been put on probation for six months besides being fined between Rs 2-3 million for indiscipline on the tour.

Banking Interview Question and Answers 2010

What is Retail Banking?

Banking services for individual customers. Retail banking refers to banking in which banking institutions execute transactions directly with consumers. Services offered include: savings and checking accounts, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, credit cards, and so forth.

What is Private Banking?

Banking services offered to high net-worth individuals. Private banking institution assists the high net-worth individual in investing his/her money in exchange for commissions and fees. The term "private" refers to the customer service being rendered on a more personal basis.

What is an Investment Bank and Commercial Bank and what is the difference between them?

Investment Bank: A financial institution that deals primarily with raising capital, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and securities trades. It aids companies in acquiring funds.

Commercial Bank: An institution which accepts deposits, makes business loans, and offers related services. Commercial banks also allow for a variety of deposit accounts, such as checking, savings, and time deposit. These institutions are run to make a profit and owned by a group of individuals.

A Commercial bank is commonly referred to as simply a bank. The term ‘Commercial’ is used to distinguish it from an investment bank. The term ‘Commercial’ is used to refer to any banking organization or division that deals with the deposits and loans of business organizations.

Traditionally, banks either engaged in commercial banking or investment banking. In commercial banking, the institution collects deposits from clients and gives direct loans to businesses and individuals.

Through investment banking, an institution generates funds in two different ways. They may draw on public funds through the capital market by selling stock in their company, and they may also seek out venture capital or private equity in exchange for a stake in their company.

Examples of Investment Banks: Bank of America, J P Morgan Chase, Citigroup.

What is Private Equity?

Private equity is money invested in companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange. Instead, they normally seek equity stakes (that is partial ownership) in private companies. Venture capital is a specialized subcategory of private equity. Both are high risk, high reward investment approaches.

What is Globalization?

Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations.

Advantages of Globalization:

i)It can reduce Poverty,

ii) It promotes world peace.

iii)It is allowing access to technology in developing countries and etc.

What is Privatization?

Privatization can also be called denationalization or disinvestment. Privatization refers to of ownership from the government(public sector) to the private business sector either partially or totally.

What is Liberalization?

The process of reducing or removing restrictions on international trade. This may include the reduction or removal of tariffs, abolition or enlargement of import quotas, abolition of multiple exchange rates, and removal of requirements for administrative permits for imports or allocations.

What is Marketization?

It is an economic system based on the principles of the market, including supply, demand, choice and competition.

What is Micro Finance?

Microfinance offers poor people access to basic financial services such as loans, savings, money transfer services and micro insurance. People living in poverty, like everyone else, need a diverse range of financial services to run their businesses, build assets, smooth consumption, and manage risks.

What is Free Market economy?

A market economy based on supply and demand with little or no government control is said to be free market economy.

What is Stock Market/ Share market?

A market where securities are bought and sold. Its basic function is to enable public companies, governments and local authorities to raise capital by selling securities to investors.

What is Equity?

Ownership interest in a corporation in the form of stock.

What is Stock?

The capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares entitling holders to an ownership interest (equity).

What is National Electronic Fund Transfer system (NEFT)? What is the difference between RTGS and NEFT?

National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) is an online system for transferring funds of Indian financial institution (especially banks). This facility is used mainly to transfer funds below Rs. 1,00,000. The Reserve Bank of India has instructed banks that they should not use RTGS for amounts below Rs 1 lakh.

The key difference between RTGS and NEFT is that while RTGS is on gross settlement basis, NEFT is on net settlement basis. The minimum transaction value for RTGS is Rs. 1,00,000, whereas there is no minimum value for NEFT.

What is DICGC?

Deposit Insurance is nothing but the protection of deposit amount invested in banks under the Act of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). If a bank fails then a limited amount of protection is provided by the government to depositors. All commercial banks, cooperative banks are covered under the Deposit Insurance in India.

What is IRDA?

To protect the interests of the policyholders, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Headquartered in Hyderabad. Hari Narayan is the chairman of IRDA.

What is Balance of Payments?

A balance of payments is a strategy used to analyze the relationship between money that is flowing into a country and money that is going out of that same country. The BOP is divided into three main categories: the current account, the capital account and the financial account.

What is Balance of Trade?

The difference between a country's imports and its exports.

What is Global Warming?

Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. 

What is Kyoto Protocol?

It is an international agreement aimed at controlling the greenhouse emissions, mainly Carbon Dioxide.

What is Savings Account?

A savings account typically refers to an account in which one places money to earn a small amount of interest.

What is Debit Card?

A debit card is a plastic card issued by banks to customers. The card allows instant purchase, removing the correct balance from the user’s attached bank account.

What is Credit Card?

A card issued by a financial company giving the holder an option to borrow funds, usually at point of sale.(for more go on to Banking terms page).

Essay Writing in Bank Exams - 2010

Q) Write an essay on ‘Below Poverty Line in India’?

The Planning Commission of India recently adopted the Tendulkar Committee's methodology for poverty estimate that includes spends on education and health besides food, taking the number of the poor to a whopping 37.2 per cent from 27.5 per cent estimated earlier in 2004. This means that India now has 100 million more people living below the poverty line than in 2004.

National estimates of the percentage of the population falling below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group.

Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations. What does poverty in India actually mean? It is difficult for those living in an industrialised country to truly appreciate the level of poverty in our country.

In the West, even those living in poverty can live in well-constructed dwellings, with heating, clean running water, indoor toilet facilities, access to health care, and even a vehicle. But such luxuries are a distant dream for India's poor.

The earlier definition of India's poverty was based on calorie intake, according to which only 27.5 per cent of people were living below the poverty line as on March 1, 2004 and the number of BPL families were about 6.5 crore (65 million).

As per the methodology suggested by the Tendulkar report, the number would swell to 37.2 per cent of the total population and the number of BPL families to about 8.1 crore (81 million). The new poverty estimate which would reflect the impact of high growth recorded during the decade, would be available in 2011. The computation of the number of BPL families at the this stage assumes significance in view of the government's decision to enact the food security law under which 25 kg of foodgrain at Rs 3 per kg would be provided every month to a BPL family.

The EGoM on food, which had cleared the draft of the Food Security Bill last month, was reportedly asked by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi to have a re-look at the proposal and consider the possibility of raising the highly subsidised monthly foodgrain allocation to 35 kg from 25 kg and increasing the number of beneficiaries. Currently, a ration card holder is entitled to 35 kg of food grain every month. The Indian government spends only 1 per cent of its gross domestic product on healthcare facilities.

The government has found that 100 million more Indians are actually living below the poverty line than previously thought. Over 370 million Indians -- 40 per cent of the population -- are now eligible for subsidised food supplies.

According to the World Bank, more people are living in extreme poverty in developing countries than previously thought as it adjusted the recognised yardstick for measuring global poverty to $1.25 a day from $1.The poverty-fighting institution said there were 1.4 billion people -- a quarter of the developing world -- living in extreme poverty on less than $1.25 a day in 2005. Last year, the World Bank said there were 1 billion people living under the previous $1 a day poverty mark.

India's official poverty measure has long been based solely upon the ability to purchase a minimum recommended daily diet of 2,400 kilocalories (kcal) in rural areas where about 70 percent of people live, and 2,100 kcal in urban areas. Rural areas usually have higher kcal requirements because of greater physical activity among rural residents.

The National Planning Commission, which is responsible for the estimate, currently estimates that a monthly income of about Rs 356 (about $7.74) per person is needed to provide the required diet in rural areas and Rs 539 in urban areas. Factors such as housing, healthcare and transportation are not taken into account in the poverty estimates. The estimate is derived from the National Sample Survey, which measures monthly per capita consumer expense every five years.

The below poverty line population is currently estimated at 29 per cent in rural areas and 26 per cent in urban areas. The World Bank estimates that 1.4 billion people live below an income of $1.25 per day and that 2.6 billion live below the $2 level worldwide.

According to oneworld.net, despite sustained high gross domestic product growth in India, latest estimates of global poverty by World Bank suggest that India has more people living below $2 than even sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the Bank's new estimates, India is home to roughly one-third of all the poor in the world.

Source: Rediff

SBI Clerical Interview Experience - 2010

I present the Interview experience of a candidate named Balvinder who attended Sbi Associates Clerical interview in 2009 and submitted her interview experience to this blog.

Interviewer: why do u want to join the bank , as u have engineering background your performance is fantastic in every field n u r lecturer in engineering college?

balvinder: I told them that i always wanted to come into banking field after doing mba but due to some financial problems i could not make it. I have always admired my paternal uncle who is in one of the psb employee at a very reputed designation....n as far as my engineering background is concerned so i think i always stand one step ahead den those who r plain graduate as i can handle each n every thing in a smarter way den a plain graduate can do.

Int: Don’t you think that you are overqualified for this post?

bal: Yes i m aware of his fact but to me becoming a part of this organisation will b an honour for me moreover this is my dream bank n this post will act as a first step to get into this organisation.

Int: Don’t you get frustrated if a person with less knowledge and qualification will b your boss/ senior?

bal: Absolutely not because if that person is a part of this organisation and holding a respected designation then definitely he will b having some knowledge ...moreover i will try to learn new things from that person n will try to move ahead in my professional life.

Int: Were do you see yourself after 5 yrs?

bal: Well i c my self at a managerial post (officer) in this organisation itself .

Int: r u mobile?

bal: yes i am .

Int: Do you any problem if u will b posted in a village?

Bal: Absolutely not.

Int: What will u do if an illiterate customer comes to you?

bal: I will first ask his purpose for visiting the bank on that basis will deal with him.

Int: What will u do if he has to open an saving a/c n at that time when you are busy in your work?

bal: I will keep aside my work as every customer comes with a purpose. I will attend him , will fill up his form and will complete all the formalities as he can help us in increasing our business.

Int: As you have written in your bio-data form that you won soo many prizes in quiz competition, so tell me tha news channels u watch?

bal: I told him few news channels (all were hindi).

Int: Don’t you watch English Channel?

bal: I said i do,

Int: He asked me to name them?

bal: i told him few channels like cnbc 18, cnbc awaaz,  zee business, etc.

Int: lastly they asked me to define bank?

bal: It is a financial institution which facilitates to make deposits, provided loans for education, agriculture, and may other things.

RBI Annual Policy Statement 2010-11

The RBI on Tuesday(20-04-10) hiked short-term lending and borrowing rates(Repo and Reverse repo Rates) and the portion of money banks deposit with it by 25 basis points each, in a move aimed at controlling the double digit inflation.

The below list shows the present and increased key rates:

Policy Rates/Reserve Ratios	Present rate	Increased rates
1. Bank Rate	6.00%	Unchanged
2. Repo Rate	5.00%	5.25%
3. Reverse Repo Rate	3.50%	3.75%
4. Cash Reserve Ratio	5.75%	6.00%
5. Statutory Liquid Ratio	25.0%	unchanged

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with the Reserve Bank of India. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks. The hike in CRR, which will come into effect from April 24.

As a result of the increase in the CRR, about Rs 12,500 crore of excess liquidity will be absorbed from the banking system.

With the RBI deciding that banks now need to increase the amount of cash they have to keep with the central bank (the cash reserves), the problem is that banks will not earn any interest on this amount.

So banks will be left with little option but to hike interest rates to make up for that loss of interest they would normally have earned had CRR been lower.

So Home loan, car loan and personal loans are likely to rise marginally that might burden for the common man.

Why RBI was forced to hike rates?

The RBI said that the Indian economy is firmly on the recovery path. Exports have been expanding since October 2009, a trend that is expected to continue.

On balance, under the assumption of a normal monsoon and sustenance of good performance of the industrial and services sectors on the back of rising domestic and external demand, for policy purposes the baseline projection of real GDP growth for 2010-11 is placed at 8.0 per cent with an upside bias.(Inputs from: Rediff)

Assuring that the policy actions would not halt the recovery, the RBI pegged the FY'11 GDP growth at 8 per cent. It also pegged the wholesale inflation, which is currently hovering close to the double-digits (9.9 per cent in March), at 5.5 per cent for FY' 11.