1. RBI on 28 December 2015 released the report of Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion
Consider the following statements regarding the salient recommendations of the Committee Report
1. The Government may consider a deposit scheme for the girl child – Sukanya Shiksha - as a welfare measure.
2. A geographical information system (GIS) to map all banking access points.
3. The Committee was of the view that a meaningful financial inclusion is not feasible without government-to-person (G2P) cash transfer.
4. Banks to complete the task of linking of deposit accounts with Aadhaar in a time bound manner
5. a unique biometric identifier such as Aadhaar should be linked to each individual credit account
Which of the following is /are true
a. Only 1 and 5
b. Only 2 and 4
c. Only 1,3 and 4
d. All the statements are correct
Answer . d
Explanation: This Committee was constituted with the objective of working out a medium-term (five years) measurable action plan for financial inclusion. It is headed by Shri Deepak Mohanty. It was mandated to, inter alia, review the existing policy of financial inclusion including supportive payment system and customer protection; study cross-country experiences of financial inclusion to identify key learnings, particularly in the area of technology-based delivery models; articulate the underlying policy and institutional framework and finally, suggest a monitorable medium-term action plan for financial inclusion in terms of its various components such as payments, deposit, credit, social security transfers, and other financial products and services.
The Committee set a much wider vision of financial inclusion as “‘convenient’ access to a basket of basic formal financial products and services that should include savings, remittance, credit, government-supported insurance and pension products to small and marginal farmers and low-income households at reasonable cost with adequate protection progressively supplemented by social cash transfers, besides increasing the access of small and marginal enterprises to formal finance with a greater reliance on technology to cut costs and improve service delivery, such that by 2021, over 90 per cent of the hitherto underserved sections of society become active stakeholders in economic progress empowered by formal finance.”
It also recommended a low-cost solution should be developed by utilisation of the mobile banking facility for maximum possible G2P payments.
To phase out the agricultural interest subvention scheme which has distorted the agricultural credit system and ploughing the subsidy amount into an affordable technology aided universal crop insurance scheme for marginal and small farmers for all crops with a monetary ceiling of Rs.200,000 at a nominal premium to end agrarian distress.
2. Consider the following Statements related to the report of the Committee on Revisiting and Revitalising PPP Model of Infrastructure.
1. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure refer to the provision of a public asset and service by a private partner
2. PPP structures not to be adopted for very small projects
3. Amendment in the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
4. Creation of a National Facilitation Committee (NFC) to ensure time bound resolution of issues
5. The Department of Economic Affairs may develop and publish a national PPP Policy document.
Which of the statements are true
a. 1, 2 and 5
b. 2,3 and 4
c. 1,2 and 4
d. All of the above
Answer. d
Explanation. A 10-member Committee was constituted, to review and revitalize the PPP mode of infrastructure development chaired by Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Chairman with the following terms of reference:
i. Review of the experience of PPP policy, including variations in the content of contracts and difficulties experienced with particular variations and conditions;
ii. Analysis of risks in PPP projects in different sectors and existing framework of sharing such risks between the project developer and the government, thereby suggesting optimal risk sharing mechanism;
iii. Propose design modifications in contractual arrangements of the PPPs, based on the above and international best practices, and our institutional context; and
iv. Measures to improve capacity building in government for effective implementation of PPP projects.
3. Consider the following statements regarding the National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015-2020
1. The Strategy aims to establish India as a world-class bio-manufacturing hub.
2. Launching Four Major Missions – Healthcare, Food and Nutrition, Clean Energy and Education
3. Launch a major well directed mission backed with significant investment for generation of new Biotech Products
4. Building a Skilled Workforce and Leadership
Which of the statements are true
a. 1,2,3 and 4 are true
b. 2 and 3 are true
c. 1 and 3 are true
d. 2 and 4 are true
e. Only 3 is true
Answer . a
Explanation: National Biotechnology Development Strategy - 2015-2020 was unveiled recently with the objective of making India as a world-class bio-manufacturing hub.
Bio Manufacturing means, in most simple words, the use of living organisms to manufacture a product. But it very generalized definition, we can say Bio Manufacturing means that use a biological organism, or parts of a biological organism, in an unnatural manner to produce a product. Biotechnology and bioengineering are both considered the parent disciplines of bio-manufacturing.
Bio-manufacturing is an advanced manufacturing technology that involves the use of chemical, physical, and biological processes performed by living cells for use in other applications. Bio-manufacturing enables the manufacture of products with unique characteristics and has significant potential in the manufacture of several products such as polymers, energy sources, chemicals, food products, pharmaceuticals, and biodegradation (remediation) of hazardous materials.
Biomanufactured products range from biopharmaceuticals to industrial enzymes, human tissues and replacement organs, biofuels, ‘green’ chemicals and green products to replace those derived from petroleum
4. Which among the following are the salient features of BARAK -8 Missile
1. It is Jointly developed by India – Russia
2. It has a range of 70 KM
3. BARAK is LRSAM
4. It can travel at a maximum speed of Mach 2
Choose the right option among the following
a. 1 and 2 are true
b. 2 and 3 are true
c. 2,3 and 4 are true
d. All are true
Answer . c
Explanation: Barak-8 is a safe carry and launch missile for ships and is based on the small missile and proven vertical launcher concept. The missile will have a length of about 4.5m, diameter of 0.54m and a wingspan of 0.94m. It can travel at a maximum speed of Mach 2. It is a long-range surface-to-air missile and the project is being carried out by India and Israel jointly.
5. Consider the following Points regarding “Debian”
1. It is a Linux based operating system
2. It is a free software
3. It is developed by Oracle
4. It is developed by Ian Murdock
Which of the below given is correct
a. 1 ,2 and 4 are true
b. 1,3 and 4 are true
c. 1,2 and 3 are true
d. All the above are true.
Answer. a
Explanation. The Debian Project is an association of individuals who have made common cause to create a free operating system. This operating system that we have created is called Debian. Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel. Ian Murdock, A German Software Engineer, founded Debian in 1993. Debian was one of the first Linux distributions.
6. Exercise Shakti 2016 that will be held in 2016 is a military exercise between India and
a) Sri Lanka
b) The UK
c) France
d) Maldives
Answer. c
Explanation. Indo-French joint military training exercise named 'Exercise Shakti-2016' will be held in Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan's Bikaner. This is the third edition in the series of bilateral exercises under this banner.
7. Consider the following Points regarding the salient features of UDAY
1. UDAY is a revival plan for discoms rather than a bailout package
2. UDAY focuses on four major initiatives - improving operational efficiencies of discoms; reduction of cost of power; reduction in interest cost of discoms and enforcing financial discipline
Which of the following options are correct
a. 1 is correct
b. 2 is correct
c. Both are correct
d. Both are wrong
Answer. d
Explanation: Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna or UDAY Scheme provides for the financial turnaround and revival of Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs). Jharkhand become first state to come under UDAY scheme.
• States shall take over 75% of DISCOM debt as on 30 September 2015 over two years - 50% of DISCOM debt shall be taken over in 2015-16 and 25% in 2016-17.
• Government of India will not include the debt taken over by the States as per the above scheme in the calculation of fiscal deficit of respective States in the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17.
• States will issue non-SLR including SDL bonds in the market or directly to the respective banks / Financial Institutions (FIs) holding the DISCOM debt to the appropriate extent.
• DISCOM debt not taken over by the State shall be converted by the Banks / FIs into loans or bonds with interest rate not more than the bank’s base rate plus 0.1%. Alternately, this debt may be fully or partly issued by the DISCOM as State guaranteed DISCOM bonds at the prevailing market rates which shall be equal to or less than bank base rate plus 0.1%.
8. Consider the following points regarding the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)?
1. Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2015 was awarded to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
2. In the absence of a national legal framework for refugees, UNHCR conducts refugee status determination
3. Many refugees can now apply for long term visas (LTVs) issued by the Government of India, based on UNHCR documentation. This includes the right to work in the private sector and access to education facilities in India.
Which of the above statement/s is/are true
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. 1 and 3 only
d. All are true
Answer. d
Explanation: UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland and is a member of the United Nations Development Group. The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, once in 1954 and again in 1981. In 1947, the International Refugee Organization (IRO) was founded by the United Nations.
