General Awareness Quiz for Bank Mains Exams 2023-11th March

Q1. The Shipping Ministry has formed a committee to draft revised Guidelines for the operationalization of Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) and Roll on-Passenger (Ro-Pax) ferry service. Who is heading the ministry of port, shipping, and waterways?

(a) Ramchandra Prasad

(b) Girraj Singh

(c) Sarbananda Sonowal

(d) Dharmendra Pradhan

(e) Hardeep Singh Puri

Q2. According to the centre, around _______________ loans have been extended under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana till 27th of January 2023.

(a) 29 Crore

(b) 35 Crore

(c) 30 Crore

(d) 40 Crore

(e) 39 Crore

Q3. What was the retail inflation in January 2023?

(a) 5.9%

(b) 7.0%

(c) 6.5%

(d) 6.9%

(e) 6.2%

Q4. In which state recently, the country’s strictest Anti-Copying Law has come into force?

(a) Uttar Pradesh

(b) Kerala

(c) Odisha

(d) Uttarakhand

(e) Himachal Pradesh

Q5. In which city, India’s first AC Double Decker Electric Bus was introduced recently?

(a) Mumbai

(b) Hyderabad

(c) Bengaluru

(d) New Delhi

(e) Bhopal

Q6. Which payments bank has launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) LITE, enabled by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for multiple small-value UPI transactions?

(a) Airtel Payments Bank

(b) Paytm Payments Bank

(c) NSDL Payments Bank

(d) Jio Payments Bank

(e) Fino Payments Bank

Q7. According to the RBI’s most recent status report, there were approximately 1.87 crore physical and digital payment acceptance devices deployed under the PIDF Scheme as of December 31, 2022. What does ‘I’ stand for in PIDF?

(a) Investment

(b) Infrastructure

(c) Interchange

(d) Indefinite

(e) None of these

Q8. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and _____________ unveiled India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) technology solution for heavy-duty trucks.

(a) Ashok Leyland

(b) Tata Motors

(c) Mahindra and Mahindra

(d) Hyundai Motors

(e) Maruti Suzuki

Q9. What was the Wholesale Price Index in January 2023?

(a) 4.50%

(b) 4.75%

(c) 4.95%

(d) 4.73%

(e) None of these

Q10. According to the Monetary Policy Committee held in February 2023, what is the current Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate?

(a) 6.25%

(b) 6.50%

(c) 6.75%

(d) 6.85%

(e) 6.35%

Solutions

S1. Ans. (c)
Sol. Sarbananda Sonowal is the Union Minister of Port, Shipping and Waterways.

Details:

• The Shipping Ministry has formed a committee to draft revised Guidelines for the operationalization of Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) and Roll on-Passenger (Ro-Pax) ferry service.
• This committee, headed by the Chairman, Deendayal Port Authority, would also draft the Model Concession Agreement for Ro-Ro or Ro-Pax Terminal Operator and Model License Agreement for the Operation of the ferry services in the country.

S2. Ans. (e)
Sol. The Centre said that around 39 crore loans have been extended under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana till the 27^th of January 2023.

Details:

• The scheme was introduced in 2015.
• Over 26 crore loans have been extended to women entrepreneurs and about 20 crore loans to SC, ST, and OBC category of borrowers.
• The scheme has helped in generating one crore 12 lakh net additional employment in the country from 2015 to 2018.

S3. Ans. (c)
Sol. India’s consumer inflation hit a three-month high in January at 6.5%, reversing its downtrend because of higher food prices.

Details:

• The year-on-year increase in the consumer price index (CPI) breached the central bank’s upper tolerance limit of 6%, after keeping within the targeted range in November and December, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

S4. Ans. (d)
Sol. The country’s strictest Anti-Copying Law has come into force in Uttarakhand.

Details:

• Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh has approved the Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Measures for Prevention and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Ordinance 2023.
• In view of this, the Anti-Copying Law is described as the biggest anti-copying law in the country.
• This comes after the UKPSC paper leak which led to the cancellation of exam for around 1.4 lakh government job aspirants.

Uttarakhand Static Facts:

• Capital: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)
• Chief Minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami
• Governor: Gurmit Singh
• National Parks: Jim Corbett, Rajaji, Nanda Devi, Gangotri, Valley of Flowers National Parks
• Folk Dance: Chholiya or Hudkeli

S5. Ans. (a)
Sol. India’s first air-conditioned double-decker electric bus was inducted into the fleet of BEST in Mumbai.

Details:

• This air-conditioned double-decker electric bus is likely to ply on the routes in suburbs where conventional double-decker buses that run on diesel are currently operated.

S6. Ans. (b)
Sol. Paytm Payments Banks Limited (PPBL) has launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) LITE, enabled by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for multiple small-value UPI transactions.

S7. Ans. (b)
Sol. PIDF stands for “Payments Infrastructure Development Fund”.

Details:

• According to the RBI’s most recent status report, there were approximately 87 crore physical and digital payment acceptance devices deployed under the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme as of December 31, 2022.

About Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme:

• The Reserve Bank announced the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme on January 5, 2021.
• The scheme’s goal was to promote the implementation of physical and digital Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure in tier 3 to tier 6 cities and northeastern states.
• The Reserve Bank has now decided to count street vendors who have been designated as beneficiaries of the PIDF Scheme under the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi Scheme) in tier-1 and tier-2 centres.
• The Scheme will continue to cover street sellers in Tier-3 to Tier-6 cities as it has in the past.

S8. Ans. (a)
Sol. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Ashok Leyland unveiled India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) technology solution for heavy-duty trucks.

S9. Ans. (d)
Sol. India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased to 4.73 percent in January on an annual basis from 4.95 percent in December, stated provisional data from the Commerce Ministry.

S10. Ans. (c)
Sol. The current Marginal Standing Facility rate is 6.75%