Schemes and Programme for Economic Empowerment of Women Run by Ministry of Women and Child Development

In its capacity as the nodal Ministry, the Ministry of Women and Child Development seeks to promote economic empowerment of women through policies and programmes cutting across sectors, mainstreaming gender concerns, creating awareness about their rights and facilitating institutional and legislative support for enabling them to develop to their full potential.  The important programmes in different areas are

Skill upgradation:

Support to Training & Employment Programme for Women (STEP), a Central Sector Scheme launched in 1986-87, seeks to upgrade skill of poor and assetless women and provide employment on sustainable basis by mobilizing them in viable cooperative groups, strengthening marketing linkages, support services and access to credit.   The scheme also provides for enabling support services in the form of health check-ups, legal and health literacy, elementary education, gender sensitization and mobile crèches. The ultimate endeavour of each project is to develop the group to thrive on a self-sustaining basis in the market place with minimal governmental support and intervention even after the project period is over.  Since inception, around 250 projects have been provided financial assistance under the scheme.

         The ten traditional sectors identified for project funding under STEP comprise of agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries, handlooms, handicrafts, khadi and village industries, sericulture, waste land development and social forestry. The scope and coverage of the scheme is being broadened with introduction of locally appropriate sectors being identified and incorporated into the scheme.                                                                                

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) – ‘Sabla’, a Centrally-sponsored scheme was approved by the Government on 16.8.2010. The scheme is being implemented in 200 districts across the country on a pilot basis. In the remaining districts, Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) continues to be operational as before.  However, SABLA has completely replaced Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) as all districts of NPAG are now part of the SABLA. The scheme, interalia, aims at vocational training for girls above 16 years of age for their economic empowerment.

                           Sabla is being implemented through the State Governments/UTs with 100 per cent financial assistance from the Central Government for all inputs other than nutrition provision for which 50 % Central assistance to States is provided. Anganwadi Centre is the focal point for the delivery of the services.

Objectives:

i.            Life Skill Education and accessing public services,

ii.            Vocational training for girls aged 16 and above under National Skill Development Program (NSDP)

iii.            The successful implementation of SABLA requires convergence with development activities/schemes of other Departments such as Health, Education, Youth Affairs, Labour, PRIs etc.

iv.            Nearly 100 lakh adolescent girls per annum are expected to be benefitted under the scheme. Against the allocation of Rs. 350 crore for the year 2010-11, a sum of Rs. 330 crore (approx.) has been released to States/UTs. The year 2011-12 will be the first complete year of implementation of the scheme after which the physical and financial achievements made vis-à-vis the target would be assessed. A sum of Rs. 750 crore has been allocated for Sabla for 2011-12.

Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB)- In order to address the socio-economic needs of the women and children of selected eight most backward districts in the North Eastern region in the economic arena, Central Social Welfare Board has formulated the Integrated Scheme for Women Empowerment (ISWE). The scheme is being implemented on pilot basis since 2008 and has the objective of meeting the felt needs of the area by mobilizing community action, converging available services and resources of the area, income generation through feasible and sustainable activities for women and to provide services for health awareness, career counseling vocational training, preventing child trafficking and other social evils.

Economic Improvement:

National Mission for Empowerment of Women- The extent of empowerment of women from a holistic and macro-point of view is largely determined by 3 factors viz. economic, social and political identity. These factors are deeply intertwined and linked with many cross cutting linkages. It implies that if efforts in any one dimension remains absent or week, the outcome and momentum generated by the other components cannot be sustained. It is only when all these three factors are addressed simultaneously and made compatible with each other can women be truly empowered. Therefore, for the holistic empowerment of women, an inter-sectoral approach has to be adopted. The vision for socio-economic empowerment of women is to empower women economically and socially to end exploitation and discrimination enabling them to develop their full potential to be active participants in nation building, sharing the benefits of economic growth and prosperity. To achieve this vision, the National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW) was launched on 8th March. The objectives of the Mission are to:

I.                                       Ensure economic empowerment of women,

II.                                       Ensure that violence against women is eliminated progressively,

III.                                       Ensure empowerment of women with emphasis on health and education,

IV.              Oversee gender mainstreaming of programmes, policies, institutional arrangements and processes of participating Mininstries, institutions and organizations, and

V.              Undertake awareness generation as well as advocacy activities to fuel the demand for benefits under various schemes and progreammes and create, if required, structures at district, tehsil and village level with the involvement of Panchayats foe their fulfillment.

Economic Empowerment of Women is to be achieved through convergence of the schemes and programmes having focus on formation and promotion of SHGs so as to enable women to have access to micro credit and micro finance. Programmes like National Rural Livelihood Mission (erstwhile SGSY) of MoRD, Smayamsidha of MWCD and similar programmes of other Ministries and organizations would need to be converged to help the identified SHGs in a coordinated fashion. The Mission would see that access to credit by women SHGs under schemes of NABARD, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, Financial institutions like NSCFDC/ NBCFDC/ NSKFDC of MoSJ&E and nationalized banks, is coordinated well and delivery of credit is timely.

In order to promote self employment opportunities and create livelihood options for women, it would ensure that training and skill upgradation under schemes/ programmes of MoS&ME, MoL&E , MoRD, MWCD etc. are available to the women beneficiaries of SHGs and that there is no duplication of errors. Sustainability of income generation activities by women would be looked at and they would be ensured provision of adequate forward, backward and horizontal linkages. The relevant programmes of NABARD, RMK and participating Ministries as well as organizations with components of processing, storage, distribution and market networks would be put in a convergent mode to strengthen the livelihood of women.

The existing monitoring systems in place at the state and district levels would be utilized by the National Mission for tracking the effectiveness of convergence efforts in the area of economic empowerment. While at the district level, the District Collector as per the existing arrangement of the DRDA would be responsible for monitoring convergence efforts at the district level, the Chief Secretary of the State Government with technical inputs from the State Resource Centre to be set up for women (SRCW) will be made responsible at the state level. At the national level national level, the National Mission Authority (NMA) will be responsible for overall monitoring of actionable agenda requiring convergence and for which it will take the inputs from both the Mission Directorate and the National Resource Centre for Women (NRCW).

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh - (National Credit Fund for Women)

         The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (National Credit Fund for Women) was set up in 1993 with a corpus of Rs. 31 crore, against the backdrop of socio-economic constraints faced by poor women to access micro – credit from the formal financial system in the country, especially those in the rural and in unorganized sectors. The principal corpus has increased to Rs.100.00 crore by 2009-10.  The main objective of setting up of Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) under the Department of Women and Child Development (now Ministry) was to provide micro-credit to poor women for various livelihood support and income generating activities at concessional terms in a client-friendly procedure to bring about their socio-economic development. The RMK is now being restructured as a NBFC with a corpus of Rs.500.00 crore.  Till 31.3.2011, 6, 87,512 women beneficiaries have been sanctioned Rs.307.52 crore and disbursed Rs.251.82 crore.  However, with the proposed induction of funds and conversion to NBFC, the projected yearly number of beneficiaries and loans are at the end of five year period in FY 2015-16 is likely to be 2,19,500 and Rs.492.02 crore respectively.   Thus, there would be a quantum jump in the business volume of the organization through this restructuring.  Further, the fact that RMK extends loan upto maximum of 18 per cent interest per annum to SHGs/beneficiaries as against loans disbursed to beneficiaries through Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) under the NABARD’s SHG - Bank  Linkage Programme at the interest rate ranging between 30 and 40 per cent per annum and even higher and 60 to 70 percent rate charged by traditional moneylenders, would mean that the impact by way of higher incomes and welfare of the beneficiaries at  such an expanded scale of finance and at affordable rate, would be much more pronounced.

         An RMK sponsored ‘Impact Study ‘ of 2008 shows 84% beneficiaries from rural areas and 16% from urban areas had undertaken activities like Animal husbandry (41%), Petty Shops (19%) and Agriculture (17%).  Their monthly income has increased between Rs.2000/- and Rs.4000/-.  54% reported increase in household expenditure, 96% reported improvement in food consumption pattern, and 87% reported increase in household assets.  Access to medical facility increased for majority of beneficiaries (88%).  There was increase in social status of 87% of beneficiaries.  98% women beneficiaries reported increase in their self-confidence and security with increased income through RMK.  Majority (95%) of the beneficiaries reported improvement in their standard of living and participation in micro finance led to decrease in domestic violence.

Gender Budgeting and Economic Empowerment of Women-

Budgets, which influence the overall level of national income and employment and reflect the priorities of the government regarding public investment, also promote gender equality within the national development framework.  The Government of India is committed to promoting gender equality and has adopted Gender Budgeting (GB) as a tool to address the inequalities faced by women. The purpose is to ensure the translation of Government’s policy commitments on gender equity into budgetary allocations.

To institutionalize the process of Gender Budgeting, the Government had initiated the formation of Gender Budget Cells (GBCs) within all Central Ministries/ Departments in 2005. These Cells are required to take up evaluation of existing Government programmes and schemes from a gender perspective and identify new areas of intervention for addressing the existing gender gaps. The flow of funds under certain women specific schemes/programmes are also being monitored through a Gender Budget Statement (Statement 20) as a part of the Union Budget Document since 2005.

MWCD, as the nodal agency, is pursuing with other Ministries/Departments to build their capacity so as to integrate gender concerns across sectors/schemes/programmes/ and ensure proper allocation and/or reprioritization of resources.  The number of Ministries reflecting their allocations in the Gender Budget Statement have gone up from nine in 2005-06 to 29 in 2011-12, with a magnitude of Gender Budget (BE) increasing from Rs.14379.00 crore (2.79%) in 2005-06 to Rs.78251.00 crore (6.22%) in 2011-12.

Support services:

Hostel for Working Women-

a. The Scheme of Working Women Hostel envisages provision of safe and affordable hostel accommodation to working women, single working women, women working at places away from their home-towns and for women being trained for employment.

The scheme has been revised with following salient features:

·           Financial assistance for construction of hostel building to be given only on public land.

·           Financial assistance available for rent of the hostels which are run in rented premises also.

·           Provision for maintenance grant of hostel building (maximum Rs.5 lakh) and one-time non-recurring grant for furnishings (@ Rs.7500 per beneficiary).

·           State Government agencies, Urban Municipal Bodies, Cantonment Boards, Civil Society Organizations, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Self Help Groups, Recognized Colleges/Universities, and Corporate or associations like CII, ASSOCHAM and FICCI have been included under the revised scheme.

·            The State Governments have been advised to disseminate and send project proposals as per the revised guidelines the Scheme. Since its inception in 1972-73, 890 hostels have been sanctioned under the scheme all over the country benefiting about 66,000 working women.

b. Working Women Hostel at Jasola, New Delhi: In view of increasing incidents of assault on women from the North-eastern States, the Ministry of Women and Child Development had undertaken construction of a working women hostel in the year 2008-09 exclusively for the working women of North East region working in and around Delhi. The construction of the hostel building at Jasola, New Delhi, has been completed in this current year. The six storied hostel building is having 167 living rooms with a capacity to accommodate 500 working women. This hostel also has provision of a day care centre for the children of working mothers.

Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme- With a view to encourage women to join/ continue with gainful employment, Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for children of working mothers (RGNCS) was introduced in 2006. The scheme seeks to provide day care facilities to children in the age group 0-6 years from families with a monthly income of less than Rs. 12,000/-. In addition to being a safe space for the children, the crèche provide services like supplementary nutrition, pre school education, emergency health care etc.

         The scheme provides for grant of Rs.3532/- per month for a crèche, limited to 90% of the schematic pattern or actual expenditure whichever is less, and the remaining expenditure is borne by the implementing agencies. Honorarium to crèche workers is fully funded under the scheme. Funds are separately provided to the implementing agencies for one time training of crèche workers.

        

The Central Sector scheme is implemented through Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) and two national level mother NGOs i.e. Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) and Bharatiya  Adimjati  Sevak  Sangh (BAJSS).

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) – Conditional Maternity Benefit (CMB) scheme is a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women to contribute to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers.  It is being implemented initially on pilot basis in 52 selected districts using the platform of ICDS. IGMSY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme introduced in the FY 2010-11, under which the grant-in-aid is released to States/UTs.  The Scheme envisages providing cash directly to P&L women during pregnancy and lactation in response to individual fulfilling specific conditions. It would address short term income support objectives with long term objective of behaviour and attitudinal change.  The scheme attempts to partly compensate for wage loss to pregnant & lactating women both prior to and after delivery of the child.

Reserve Bank of India Grade ‘B’ Officers Exam., 2011

General Awareness

(Exam Held on 6-2-2011) 

1. What role do Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play in a country’s economic and industrial development ?
1. They have the capacity to absorb skilled and unskilled labour available in the country.
2. Such institutions help in distribution of income in a wide spectrum and do not allow it to get concentrated in few hands or in few areas.
3. They help in eradication of poverty by providing selfemployment opportunities.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 1 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (E)

2. Which of the following statements about the Indian Economy is correct ?
(A) Indian economy is as developed as that of China
(B) About 70% Indians are involved in some type of selfemployment and are the owners of some or the other micro or small enterprise
(C) In India single biggest employment is agriculture and allied activities
(D) About 48% Indian workforce is employed in foreign countries or in organizations assisted by foreign capital
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

3. Which of the following is/are correct about the problems of Indian Agriculture ?
1. Large agricultural subsidies are hampering productivity—enhancing investments.
2. Irrigation infrastructure is in bad shape and needs immediate improvement.
3. Frequent takeovers of fertile land by private companies and multinationals to launch big business complexes.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 1 and 2
(C) Only 1 and 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)


4. As per news in various journals, many banks have failed to achieve agri-loan target fixed by the RBI for the year 2010-11. What was the target fixed for the year ?
(A) 10%
(B) 15%
(C) 18%
(D) 24%
(E) 30%
Ans : (C)

5. Which of the following statements about Agro and Allied activities is not correct ?
(A) Farmers do not get adequate credit for purchase of cattle
(B) There is a need to improve breed and genetic characteristics of the cattle folk
(C) India has huge forest cover and also degraded and marshy land which can be used for productive purposes
(D) India is the 10th largest producer of medicinal and aromatic plants. But the products are not of commercial value
(E) Animal husbandry plays an important role in providing sustainability under Rain fed conditions
Ans : (C)

6. Which of the following schemes launched by the Govt. of India aims at enhancing the livelihood security of the people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work ?
(A) TRYSEM
(B) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(C) Kutir Jyoti Scheme
(D) ASHA
(E) MGNREGA
Ans : (E)

7. In some parts of India, farmers face acute distress because of heavy burden of debt from noninstitutional lenders. Who can be called a non-institutional lender ?
(A) Small Banks
(B) Grameen Banks
(C) Credit Cooperative Societies
(D) Micro Finance Institutions
(E) Money Lenders
Ans : (E)

8. The South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was introduced with a view of levying how much custom duty for trading any product within the SAARC zone ?
(A) 5%
(B) 4%
(C) 2%
(D) 1%
(E) No custom duty
Ans : (E)

9. Which of the following organisation prepares rural credit plans on annual basis for all districts in India, which in turn from the base for annual credit plans of all rural financial institutions ?
(A) SIDBI
(B) NABARD
(C) RBI
(D) Indian Bank’s Association
(E) CII
Ans : (B)

10. Which of the following is TRUE about the current population trend(s) in India ?
1. Every year India adds more people to the world’s population than any other country.
2. Currently India has a young population which will grow somewhat older largely as a result of decline in fertility.
3. The National Family Planning Programme did not contribute much in controlling fertility rate
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 1 and 2
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (D)

11. In economic terms, which of the following factors determine the ‘Individual’s demand’ of a product/commodity ?
1. Price of a commodity.
2. Income of the individual.
3. Utility and quality of a commodity.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 1 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (E)

12. Which of the following terms is used in the field of economics ?
(A) Adiabatic
(B) Bohr Theory
(C) Plasma
(D) Barter System
(E) Viscosity
Ans : (D)

13. “Pascal Lamy calls on trade negotiators to move out of their comfort zones towards agreements”, was the headline in some major newspapers. This news is associated with which of the following organizations/agencies ?
(A) World Trade Organization
(B) International Monetary Fund
(C) World Bank
(D) United Nations Organisations
(E) North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
Ans : (A)

14. Which of the following is not a function of the Planning Commission of India ?
(A) Assessment of the material, capital and human resources of the country
(B) Formulation of plans for the most effective and balanced utilization of country’s resources
(C) Public cooperation in national development
(D) Preparation of annual budget of the country and collection of taxes to raise capital for the implementation of the plans
(E) Determination of stages in which the plan should be carried out
Ans : (D)

15. Which of the following periods represents the period of the first Five Year Plan in India ?
(A) 1948 – 53
(B) 1947 – 52
(C) 1952 – 57
(D) 1950 – 55
(E) 1951 – 56
Ans : (E)

16. Which of the following is the name of the process available to common people to seek court’s intervention in matters of public interest ?
(A) Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
(B) Habeas Corpus
(C) Ordinance
(D) Residuary power
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

17. India’s foreign policy is based on several principles, one of which is—
(A) Panchsheel
(B) Satyamev Jayate
(C) Live and Let Live
(D) Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

18. As we know thousands of tonnes of foodgrain was washed away in the floods in Haryana and Punjab a few months back. This incident is an example which indicates that there is a scope for improvement in our machinery controlling our—
(A) Mid Day Meal Scheme
(B) Public Distribution System
(C) Food for Work Programme
(D) Village Grain Bank Scheme
(E) Operation Flood Scheme
Ans : (B)

19. President Barack Obama was on a visit to India a few months back. His visit is said to have forged both the nations into a new era of relations. India managed to sign a special agreement with US in which of the following fields/areas as a byproduct of the visit of Obama ?
1. Energy sector and Nuclear energy as US has lifted sanctions on supply of high tech machines.
2. Skill Development Programmes in IT sector in which US has super-specialisation.
3. Training in management of Micro finance Institutions.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 1 and 3
(D) Only 2 and 3
(E) Only 1 and 2
Ans : (A)

20. Many times we read a term ‘Tax Haven’ in various newspapers. What does it mean ?
1. It is a country where certain taxes are levied at a very low rate.
2. It is a country where people can dump their illegal money without any problem.
3. It is a place where foreigners can work without paying any tax on their income.
(A) Only 1 and 2
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 2 and 3
(D) Only 1
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (E)

21. As per existing law, what is the minimum per day wages paid to a worker from unorganised sector in India ?
(A) 50
(B) 75
(C) 100
(D) 125
(E) No such law is there
Ans : (C)

22. Who amongst the following was awarded the “Indira Gandhi Peace Prize” for 2010 ?
(A) Ronald Noble
(B) Luiz Inacio Lula D’Silva
(C) Mohammed Elbaradei
(D) Aung San Su Kyi
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

23. Which of the following is not a Poverty Eradication Programme launched by the Govt. of India ?
(A) Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana
(B) Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana
(C) National Social Assistance Programme
(D) ADHAR
(E) National Family Benefit Scheme
Ans : (D)

24. According to the World Bank estimate about 40% Indians are living below International Poverty line of US $ —
(A) 1 per day
(B) 1•25 per day
(C) 2 per day
(D) 2•5 per day
(E) 3 per day
Ans : (B)

25. The 10th Trilateral Ministerial Meeting of RIC group was organized in November 2010. Who are the members of the RIC ?
(A) Russia—Iran—China
(B) Russia—India—China
(C) Romania—Iran—Canada
(D) Romania—Israel—Chile
(E) Russia—India—Croatia
Ans : (B)

26. India and Syria recently decided to double their trade in next 2 years. Indian Govt. has decided to export which of the following commodities to Syria ?
(A) Natural gas
(B) Milk
(C) Oil
(D) Wheat
(E) All of these
Ans : (E)

27. India has sanctioned a 26 million grant to which of the following countries for development of tube wells ?
(A) Myanmar
(B) Bangladesh
(C) Nepal
(D) Pakistan
(E) Sri Lanka
Ans : (C)

28. Which of the following is the name of the scheme launched by the Govt. of India for adolescent girls ? (Launched in November 2010)
(A) Swawlamban
(B) SABALA
(C) Aadhar
(D) ASHA
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

29. Many times we see in financial journals/bulletins a term M3. What is M3 ?
(A) Currency in circulation on a particular day
(B) Total value of the foreign exchange on a particular day
(C) Total value of export credit on a given date
(D) Total value of the tax collected in a year
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

30. As per news in various newspapers, Govt. has allocated a huge sum of 31,000 crore for ‘RTE’. What is full form of RTE ?
(A) Right of Education
(B) Reforms in Technical Education
(C) Return to Empowerment
(D) Right to Empowerment
(E) Renewable Technology for Energy
Ans : (A)

31. Which of the following is not a major function of the RBI in India ?
(A) Issuance of currency notes
(B) To facilitate external trade and payment and developing a foreign exchange market in India
(C) Maintaining price stability and ensuring adequate flow of credit to productive sectors
(D) Taking loans/credit from World Bank/IMF and ADB etc., and reallocating it for various activities decided by the Govt. of India
(E) Formulation and monitoring the monetary and credit policy
Ans : (C)

32. The RBI has regional offices at various places. At which of the following places it does not have an office ?
(A) Kota
(B) Shimla
(C) Lucknow
(D) Panaji
(E) Guwahati
Ans : (C)

33. Which of the following organizations/agencies has given a US $ 407 billion loan to India to boost up its micro finance services in unbanked areas ?
(A) IMF
(B) World Bank
(C) Bank of Japan
(D) ADB
(E) Jointly by IMF and ADB
Ans : (B)

34. The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) has projected that the Indian Exports will grow by what percentage during 2010-11 ?
(A) 15%
(B) 18%
(C) 22%
(D) 24%
(E) 28%
Ans : (B)

35. Which of the following organisations/agencies has given the estimate that the India will be third largest FDI recipient in 2010–12 ?
(A) UNCTAD
(B) WTO
(C) World Bank
(D) IMF
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

36. The performance of which of the following industries is considered performance of a core industry ?
(A) Garments
(B) Leather
(C) IT
(D) Oil and Petroleum
(E) Handicrafts
Ans : (D)

37. Who amongst the following is not a recipient of Nobel Prize in economics ?
(A) Peter A. Diamond
(B) Dale T. Mortensen
(C) Amartya Sen
(D) Paul Krugman
(E) Robert G. Edwards
Ans : (E)

38. Basel Committee has given its recommendations on which of the following aspects of banking operations ?
(A) Marketing of bank products
(B) Priority sector lending
(C) Risk Management
(D) Micro financing
(E) All of these
Ans : (C)

39. Which of the following is the rank of India in Human Development Report 2010 prepared by the UNO ?
(A) 99
(B) 100
(C) 115
(D) 119
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

40. Which of the following was/where the key objectives of the RBI’s review of Monetary and Credit Policy 2010-11 which was reviewed again on 2nd November 2010 ?
1. To sustain the anti inflationary thrust.
2. To maintain an interest rate regime consistent with price.
3. To provide extra tax incentives to exporters who were in stress due to market fluctuations.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 1 and 2
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

41. PIIGS is the group of nations falling under—
(A) Euro zone
(B) Asia Pacific
(C) SAARC
(D) NATO
(E) Commonwealth
Ans : (A)

42. Which of the following is/are the preconditions, the IMF has put to provide bail out package to Ireland ?
1. It should gradually lower down unemployment benefits.
2. It should bring down the minimum wages in order to boost employment.
3. It should import some of the crucial commodities from non euro countries as an immediate measure to improve shortage of the same.
(A) Only 1 and 2
(B) Only 2 and 3
(C) Only 1 and 3
(D) Only 1
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (B)

43. India is self-sufficient in production of which of the following commodities ?
(A) Edible oil
(B) Milk
(C) Pulses
(D) Natural gas
(E) All of these
Ans : (B)

44. Which of the following is used as a fuel in Nuclear power stations in India ?
(A) Thorium
(B) Copper
(C) Tin
(D) Chromium
(E) All of these
Ans : (A)

45. Which of the following States has taken up the job of improving Dams with the help of the World Bank’s Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement project ?
(A) Kerala
(B) Gujarat
(C) Tamil Nadu
(D) Uttar Pradesh
(E) Guwahati
Ans : (A)

46. Nitish Kumar led National Democratic Alliance won how many seats in recently held assembly elections in Bihar ?
(A) 150
(B) 243
(C) 200
(D) 206
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

47. Who amongst the following is the author of the book “Development as Freedom” ?
(A) M. S. Swaminathan
(B) C. Rangarajan
(C) Manmohan Singh
(D) Y. V. Reddy
(E) Amartya Sen
Ans : (E)

48. Which of the following terms is used in Finance and Banking ?
(A) Line of Sight
(B) Scattering loss
(C) Revenue
(D) Oscillation
(E) Shielding
Ans : (A)

49. Who amongst the following is a famous economist ?
(A) Richard Dawkins
(B) Alan Greenspan
(C) Vernon Heywood
(D) Olivar Sachs
(E) Stephan Hawking
Ans : (B)

50. Who amongst the following has never held post of the Governor of the RBI ?
(A) C. Rangarajan
(B) L. K. Jha
(C) Manmohan Singh
(D) Bimal Jalan
(E) Usha Thorat
Ans : (E)

Housing Facilities to Urban Poor

The National Urban Housing & Habitat Policy (NUHHP) 2007 advocates that 10 to 15 percent of land in every new public/private housing project or 20 to 25 percent of Floor Area Ratio (FAR) / Floor Space Index(FSI) which is greater will be reserved for EWS/LIG housing through appropriate legal stipulations and spatial incentives.

Further, the guidelines of schemes of Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) being implemented under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) identify earmarking at least 20-25% of developed land in all housing projects (both Public and Private Agencies) for EWS/LIG category with a system of cross subsidization, as an optional reform.

Also, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has prepared and circulated a Model Amendment Act for guidance to states to amend their state legislations (namely Municipal Corporation Act / Town Planning Act / Urban Development Act etc.) for reservation of land / FAR for EWS/LIG housing. However, ‘land’ and ‘colonisation’ being state subjects, it is for the State Governments to pursue the advocacy.

GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs

1. On 24 March 2011, to which bank, RBI had given permission to raise Rs.1000 cr. of which Rs.500 cr. can be raised through GDRs also?
1) ICICI bank
2) YES bank
3) HDFC bank
4) ING Vysya Bank
5) Dhanalaxmi Bank

2. If a letter from a bank, guaranteeing that a buyer's payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount, it is called ………?
1) Indemnity
2) Pledge
3) Mortgage
4) Letter of Credit
5) Estoppel

3. ……… sanctioned $89.7 million to Assam Power Sector Enhancement program?
1) IBRD (International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development
2) IMF ( International Monetary Fund)
3) IDA (International Development Association)
4) ADB ( Asian Development Bank)
5) IFC ( International Finance Corporation)

4. On 21 February 2011, Reliance Industrial Limited (RIL) sold away the sale of 30% stake in 23 blocks to the ..……… for $ 7.2 billion?
1) Scotland Oil
2) Vodafone
3) London Oil
4) Llyod Insurance
5) British Petroleum

5. March list of days given. Pick up wrong one?
1) 8 March- International Women's Day
2) 15 March- World Consumer Day
3) 17 March- National Vaccination Day
4) 19 March - World Disabled Day
5) 22 March- World Day for Water

6. Recently India’s longest rail bridge work completed having the length of 4.62 km connecting Idapalli to Vallarpadam in Kochi in ..……..?
1) Tamilnadu
2) Bihar
3) Kerala
4) Odisha
5) Goa
7. On 11 January 2011, India’s third Antarctica research centre officially opened. It is .......?
1) Maitri
2) Dakshin Gangothri
3) Himadri
4) Astra
5) Bharati

8. 22nd Moorti devi Award got by Dr. Raghuvansh (Hindi) and 23rd Moorti devi Award got by .……, the Malayalam writer.
1) C. Narayan Reddy
2) Akkitham Achuthan Namboodiri
3) O.N.V. Kurup
4) Veerappa Moily
5) Vishnu Sastry
9. How many teams participated in 2011 Cricket cup?
1) 15
2) 18
3) 14
4) 10
5) 8

10. National Games highest tally of Gold medals got by ……………? ( 70 Gold Medals)
1) Manipur
2) Haryana
3) Goa
4) Services
5) Assam

11. India is the ............ largest nation in the terms of Purchasing Power Parity ( PPP)
1) Second
2) Fifth
3) Third
4) Fourth
5) Tenth
12. The famous personalities are given. Pick up correct pair?
1) K. Subramanyam - Defence Analyst
2) Fateh Singh - Conservator for Wild Life
3) Ashok Sahani - Mining
4) K.S.Chitra - Vocal Music
5) All of above

13. The heads of the states/ appointments are given. Pick up wrong one?
1) Loonel Fernandez Reyna-president of Dominican Republic
2) James Alix - president of Scychelles
3) Mari Kiviniemi - Prime minister of Finland
4) Kamala Persad - Bissessar- Prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago
5) None

14. Which day is celebrated as Earth day?
1) 18 April
2) 14 April
3) 22 April
4) 23 April
5) 7 April

15. Indian National Maritime day celebrated on............?
1) 12 January
2) 15 January
3) 28 February
4) 5 April
5) 8 March

16. The books written by V.S. Naipaul?
1) Half a Life
2) A House for Mr. Biswas
3) In A Free State
4) Bend in the River
5) All of above

17. Which among the following book is not written by A.P.J.Abdul Kalam?
1) Inspiring Thoughts
2) wings of fire
3) The Greatness Guide
4) 2020- A Vision for the New Millennium
5) My Journey

18. The highest number of wickets taken in World cup Cricket 2011 (with economy rate of 3.62 ) is .............
1) Muralidharan
2) Yuvaraj Singh
3) Zaheer Khan
4) Tim Southee
5) Shahid Afridi

19. The statements related to the famous Games in the world are given. Pick up wrong one?
1) Olympics- 2008 (Beijing), 2012 (London), 2016 ( Rio)
2) Common Wealth Games-2006 (Sydney), 2010 (New Delhi) , 2014 (Glasgow)
3) Asian Games-2006 (Doha), 2010 (Guangzhou) , 2014 (Incheon)
4) South Asian Games-2006 (Colombo), 2010 (Dhaka), 2012 (New Delhi)
5) None

20. The sports terms are given. Pick up correct one?
1) Cricket- Ashes, Banana, Caught, Doosra, Fine Leg, Googly, Hat-trick, In swing
2) Chess-Bishop, Capture, Grand Master, King, Pawn, Queen, Rook, Stalemate
3) Basket Ball-Basket, Blocking, Free Throw, Jump Ball, Multiple Throws
4) Hockey- Advantage, Bully, Corner, Dribble, Free-hit, Goal Line, Green Card
5) All of above

21. To protect the farmers and cattle growers against any eventual loss of their animals due to death …….. was introduced by the ministry of Agriculture in 2005-06. The premium also subsidized up to 50% by the governments.
1) Animal Health Insurance Scheme
2) Animal Health Scheme
3) Live Stock Protection Scheme
4) Animal Breeding Scheme
5) Livestock Insurance Scheme

22. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) announced by the Prime Minister August 15, 2007, to provided the insurance cover to Below Poverty Line (BPL) up to Rs.30,000 per annum for a nominal registration o Rs. ………. ?
1) 100
2) 200
3) 30
4) 150
5) 500

23. Union Budget 2011-2012 enhanced Lower
Excise duty from 4 percent to ..……%?
1) 5
2) 6
3) 7
4) 8
5) 9

24. Aam Admi Bima Yozana (AABY) announced on 2 October 2008, provides the insurance if the bread winner in the family dies or disabled in the rural area. Who administers this scheme?
1) LIC
2) State Governments
3) UNO
4) ASHA
5) None

25. Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) provide the ..… organized by Ministry of Rural
Development (MoRD)?
1) Urban Infrastructure
2) Rural Infrastructure
3) School Education
4) Higher education
5) All of above

26. Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme introduced on 1 February 2009, provide the pension of Rs.200 to the widows aged between ……..years?
1) 40-60
2) 50-70
3) 55-65
4) 45-64
5) 58-65

27. The Custom duty exemptions as per the 2011-12 Budget proposals are given below.
Pick up Correct one?
1) Batteries imported by manufacturers of electrical vehicles
2) Concessional excise duty of 10 per cent to vehicles based on Fuel cell technology.
3) Basic customs duty on solar lantern reduced from 10 to 5 per cent.
4) Exemption from import duty for spares and capital goods required for ship repair units extended to import by ship owners
5) All of above

28. The book list is given. Pick up wrong one?
1) R.K.Narayan-Swami and Friends, Grand Mother’s Tale, A tiger of malgudi, the man- eater of malgudi, A horse and Two Goats, The Bachelor of Arts, The Guide
2) A.P.J.Abdul Kalam- Inspiring Thoughts, wings of fire, Indomitable Spirit, 2020- A Vision for the New Millennium, Guiding Souls, Envisioning an Empowered Nation
3) Chetan Bhagat-2 States, 3 Mistakes of My life, One Night @ The call Center,
Five Point Some One
4) Robin Sharma- The Greatness Guide, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable On Real Success in Business and in Life
5) None

29. Which bank was emerged as the most popular bank 2010 in the case of more online visits?
1) SBI
2) CITI bank
3) HDFC
4) Bank of Baroda
5) None

30. The Railway Budget 2011-2012 proposals to construct new projects are given below.
Pick up correct one?
1) A bridge factory will be set up in Jammu
2) Disel Locomotive unit will be established in Manipur
3) Wagon units in Kolar (Kerala), Alappuzha (Kerala) and Buniadpur (West Bengal)
4) 700 MW gas based power plant will be established in Thakurli in Maharastra
5) All of above

31. The recent appointments and elections was given. Pick up wrong one?
1) Pascal Lamy elected as the Director General of WTO
2) Anibal Cavaco Silva elected as the president of Portugal second time
3) Sudhir Chandra took oath as the chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes.
4) K.S. Das Guptha became the Director of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology
5) None

32. To kill the financial problems of Hand Weavers, Union Government provides Rs. 3,000 cr to ………… as per the budget
2011-12?
1) SBI
2) SFC
3) NCB
4) State Governments
5) NABARD

33. SAIL ultimately got clearance from the ministry of environment and forests to dig Iron Ore Mines. These mines are located in ……….?
1) Goa
2) Odisha
3) Andhra Pradhesh
4) Jharkhand
5) Bihar

34. IAF inducted ‘Super Hercules’ Transport Aircraft, imported from ………?
1) Russia
2) UK
3) France
4) USA
5) Italy

ANSWERS:
1-5; 2-4; 3-4; 4-5; 5-3; 6-3; 7-5; 8-2;
9-3; 10-4; 11-4; 12-5; 13-5; 14-3; 15-4;
16-5; 17-3; 18-5; 19-5; 20-5; 21-5; 22-3;
23-1; 24-1; 25-1; 26-4; 27-5; 28-5; 29-3;
30-5; 31-5; 32-5; 33-4; 34-4.

Socio economic Awareness MCQs

1.The President of India appoints the Chairman and Members of the National Human Rights Commission on whose recommendations?
(A)Prime Minister of India
(B)Speaker of Lok Sabha
(C)Home Minister
(D)Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
(E)All of the Above
Ans: (E) All of the Above

2.In which year India ratified International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ?
(A)1966
(B)1968
(C)1976
(D)1978
(E)1979
Ans: (E) 1979

3.In which of the following cities is located the technology center of Unique Identification Authority of India?
(A)Delhi
(B)Hyderabad
(C)Ranchi
(D)Hyderabad
(E)Bangalore
Ans: (E) Bangalore

4.The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) links 37 constituent laboratories with diverse research portfolios as varied as drug discovery to oceanography. Recently we read in the newspapers that CSIR’s latest imitative is launching of an Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) Programme. What is the main purpose of Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) Programme?
(A)To make India a hub of drug research and development
(B)To bring the scientists of the world under one roof
(C)To bring down the costs of the new drugs and make them affordable to all
(D)To make India self reliant in Drug production
(E)All of above
Ans: (C) To bring down the costs of the new drugs and make them affordable to all

5.On the recommendation of which of the following committees the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has been releasing money of the Centers share of recapitalization assistance to the primary agriculture credit societies (PACS) in various states to introduce
cooperative reforms ?
(A)N R Narayanmurthy Committee
(B)Prof A. Vaidyanathan Committee
(C)K Madhav Das Committee
(D)R Gandhi Committee
(E)None of them
Ans: (B)Prof A. Vaidyanathan Committee

6.Express Remit is the brand name of a remittance facility by which of the following banks?
(A)State Bank of India
(B)Punjab National Bank
(C)Bank of Baroda
(D)ICICI Bank
(E)HDFC Bank
Ans: (A) State Bank of India

7.Which among the following is the most important source region of NRI remittances to India ?
(A)North America
(B)Europe
(C)Middle East
(D)Asia Pacific
(E)South America
Ans: (A) North America

8.As per the guidelines issued by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in February 2009, any company with more than what fraction of foreign equity should be considered as a foreign company?
(A)51%
(B)59%
(C)61%
(D)71%
(E)75%
Ans: (A) 51%

9.To achieve 100% financial Inclusion in India, Reserve Bank of India had had issued a circular in July 2009 permitting cash withdrawals of up to Rs 1,000 per day from PoS (Point of sale) terminals at merchant establishments. Recently which of the following bank has become first Bank of India to offer this facility?
(A)State Bank of India
(B)Punjab National Bank
(C)Bank of India
(D)Union Bank of India
(E)UCO Bank
Ans: (D) Union Bank of India

10.Which among the following sector of Indian Economy is maximum dependent on economic developments in advanced nations?
(A)Manufacturing Sector
(B)Agricultural Sector
(C)Mining Sector
(D)Textile Sector
(E)Services Sector
Ans: (E) Services Sector

11.Many a times we read in the newspapers that Government of India is promoting private investment in the country through PPP mode that is Public private partnership. What is the target of the private sector investment in the country by 2012 ?
(A)$ 150 Billion
(B)$ 200 Billion
(C)$ 300 Billion
(D)$ 400 Billion
(E)None of them
Ans: (B) $ 200 Billion

12.Which among the following country has been consistently on the top slot for last four years and this year too in the latest version of World Bank’s annual report “Doing Business 2010″?
(A)Sweden
(B)New Zea Land
(C)Singapore
(D)China
(E)South Korea
Ans: (C) Singapore

13.What is Doing Business 2010 rank of India?
(A)129
(B)131
(C)132
(D)133
(E)135
Ans: (D) 133, last year it was 132 and it has gone down by 1

14.As per the World Bank Report, which among the following in India is comparatively easy for outsiders planning to do business here?
(A)Dealing with Construction Permits
(B)Registering Property
(C)Getting Credit
(D)Enforcing Contracts
(E)Employing Workers
Ans: (C) Getting Credit

15.Which among the following cities ranks first in ease of doing business in India?
(A)Gurgaon
(B)Chandigarh
(C)Hyderabad
(D)Ludhiana
(E)Bangalore
Ans: (D) Ludhiana

16.For the first time in India, in which of the following Budgets “basic reforms in the international financial and trading system ” was stressed in India?
(A)1969
(B)1975
(C)1983
(D)1991
(E)1992
Ans: (C) 1983

17.The recently presented Economic Survey says ” India’s unpardonably large bureaucratic costs are like a valuable resource buried under the ground, waiting to be excavated and used” . The unpardonably large bureaucratic costs refer here to which of the following?
(A)Cost incurred in recruitment and training of bureaucrats
(B)Costs incurred in getting a project cleared in government offices as bribes
(C)Hidden Costs due to unwanted delay in projects approval
(D)Low efficiency of the bureaucracy of the country due to political instability
(E)All of the above
Ans: (C) Hidden Costs due to unwanted delay in projects approval

18.Bring out the incorrect statement regarding India’s textile sector:
(A)India’s textile and clothing sector currently employs 35 million people
(B)After agriculture it is second largest provider of employment
(C)Textile sector has a tendency to shrink as the GDP and Economy grows
(D)Textile sector is a major absorber of low-skilled labor
(E)All of above are correct statements
Ans: (C) statement C is incorrect. This natural tendency has been seen in agriculture sector and not in textile sector

19.Year 2009-10 was a time of inflationary concerns for our country witnessing unusual double digit inflation. In the history of Independent India, which among the following decades had shown 3 consecutive years of double-digit, food price inflation?
(A)1970s
(B)1980s
(C)1990s
(D)2000s
(E)1960s
Ans: (A) 1970s. 1972-73-74

20.Who among the following is the chairman of the Technology Advisory Group which has the mandate to fix the framework for large and transformational IT projects of the government?
(A)Kaushik Basu
(B)C Rangrajan
(C)Nandan Nilkeni
(D)Ashowk Chawla
(E)None of them
Ans: (C) Nandan Nilkeni

21.The following options A to E are news headlines related to Union Budget 2010 , taken from some financial newspapers. Among them bring out the one that deals with Transfer Payments ?
(A)Government projects Rs. 248664 crore for Interest payments
(B)Government projects Rs. 301331 as corporation tax in 2010-11
(C)Government will spend Rs. 60000 Crore on Defense in 2010-11
(D)The Subsidy has been Reduced from Rs. 131025 crore to 116224 crore in Union Budget 2010
(E)The government pitches for Rs. 40000 crore for Disinvestment
Ans: (D) The Subsidy has been Reduced from Rs. 131025 crore to 116224 crore in Union Budget 2010

22.In which of the following example the marginal productivity is close to zero?
(A)7 people working in a bank branch and 3 more join them after a massive recruitment drive of the bank
(B)7 people from a family working in a farm and 3 more join to them because they lost their jobs due to poor markets
(C)7 teachers teaching in a school and 3 more join them to teach 3 different subjects to a class of 100 students
(D)7 people are recruited by a company in unreserved category and 3 more recruited one of them was a physically disabled person
(E)None of them
Ans: (B) Option B is an example of Hidden Unemployment

23.As we all know that economic liberalization began in true sense in July 1991 in India. Which among the following was the first step of the government while taking the country towards Economic Liberalization?
(A)Substantial changes in industrial license policy were made
(B)The Rupee was made convertible
(C)Procedural formalities for Foreign direct Investment were removed
(D)The government significantly reduced the taxes
(E)The Government launched a highly focused Foreign Trade Policy
Ans: (A) Substantial changes in industrial license policy were made

24.Who among the following is not a member of National Development Council?
(A)The Prime Minister of India
(B)The President of India
(C)The members of Planning Commission
(D)The Chief Minister of states
(E)All of above are members
Ans: (B) The President of India

25.Bhoodan Yojna which was a measure of gifting land by the rich landlords to the poor laborers was initiated by whom among the following?
(A)Acharya Narendra Dev
(B)Acharya Vinoba Bhave
(C)Raj Naraina
(D)Medha patkar
(E)Swami Sundaranand
Ans: (B) Acharya Vinoba Bhave

26.As per 2001 census, which among the following states had lowest density of population per sq. kms?
(A)Mizoram
(B)Sikkim
(C)Nagaland
(D)Manipur
(E)Arunachal Pradesh
Ans: (E) Arunachal Pradesh

27.In a condition of monopoly, the monopolist has a control over the price he charges for his product. In which of the following conditions he will be able to maximize his profits?
(A)Lowering the prices if the demand curve is elastic
(B)Lowering the price, if the demand curve is inelastic
(C)Raising the price, if the demand curve is elastic
(D)In all of above situation
(E)in none of the above situations
Ans: (A) Lowering the prices if the demand curve is elastic

28.A competitive firm maximizes its profit when _______?
(A)MR=AR
(B)MR=MC
(C)MC=AC
(D)MC=AR
(E)None of the above
Ans: (B) MR=MC

29.Rs. 10000 are realized after selling 100 units and Rs. 14000 are realized after selling 120 Units. In this example, Rs. 200 is ________?
(A)Price per unit
(B)marginal cost
(C)marginal profit
(D)marginal revenue
(E)maximum profit
Ans: (D) Marginal Revenue

30.Who among the following is India’s current Minister of State (Expenditure & Financial Services)?
(A)S S Palanimanickam
(B)Namo Narain Meena
(C)Dinsha J. Patel
(D)Jitin Prasada
(E)None of them
Ans: (B) Namo Narian Meena

31.What is the current limit for collateral free loansto micro and small enterprises (MSEs) sector in India?
(A)Rs. 5 Lakh
(B)Rs. 10 Lakh
(C)Rs. 15 Lakh
(D)Rs. 8 Lakh
(E)None of them
Ans: (A) Rs. 5 Lakh

32.As we read in the newspapers that Reserve bank of India is introducing Base rate System which shall be the new reference rate for determining lending rates for banks. The Base Rate System would bring in more transparency to loan pricing for customers. On which date is being introduced in India?
(A)April 1, 2010
(B)June 1, 2010
(C)July 1, 2010
(D)January 1, 2011
(E)April 1, 2011
Ans: (C) July 1, 2011

33.Recently RBI has released on its website, the report of the Committee on Comprehensive Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies. Who among the following is the chairman of this committee?
(A)Dr. K.P. Krishnan
(B)Subir Gokarn
(C)Ashok Chawla
(D)Shri Vipin Malik
(E)Dr A.Vasudevan
Ans: (A) Dr. K. P. Krishnan

34.”On-line Electric Vehicle,”(OELV) is world ‘ s first commercial wireless electric vehicle. It was launched on March 9, 2010 in which of the following countries?
(A)Japan
(B)United States
(C)South Korea
(D)China
(E)India
Ans: (C) South Korea

35.With traded over 161 million contracts in 2009 , MCX has in February 2010 became word’s ______largest commodity Exchange?
(A)Second
(B)Third
(C)Fourth
(D)Fifth
(E)Sixth
Ans: (E) Sixth

36.Recently we read in the newspapers that attorney generals of seven states of United States are investigating over the charges over world’s largest seed producer that it has abused its market power to lock out competitors and raise prices. Which of the following companies is this world’s largest seed producer?
(A)Asgrow
(B)McKenzie Seeds
(C)Burpee Seeds
(D)Monsanto
(E)Unwins Seeds
Ans: (D) Monsanto

37.Recently Bt varieties Bollgard-I and Bollgard-II were amid news as the reports in various news papers say that Bollgard-I has been phased out in many countries and Bolgard-II are preferred. These verities are of ________?
(A)Bt Cotton
(B)Bt Brinjal
(C)Bt Tomato
(D)Bt Potato
(E)None of them
Ans: (A) Bt Cotton

38.Which among the following is the largest importer of Indian marine products as we read in the newspapers that it has decided to adopt the 20 per cent sampling method on Indian marine Products, especially shrimp, from April 2010 which shall lead to difficulty in exports?
(A)China
(B)Japan
(C)United States
(D)European Union
(E)Australia
Ans: (D) European Union

39.Which among the following organizations holds the largest stake in India’s top depository, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL)?
(A)National Stock Exchange
(B)IDBI Bank
(C)Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI)
(D)Bombay Stock Exchange
(E)None of them
Ans: (B) IDBI Bank

40.What is Amfis related to in India?
(A)Banking
(B)Mutual Funds
(C)Marketing & Finance
(D)Power Industry
(E)Information Technology
Ans: (B)Mutual Funds Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfis)

The sources of economic diversity

Within a context of overall backwardness lie substantial variations in the level of development of the different states of India. Six out of 28 states (Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal) account for a little more than 50 per cent of the GDP generated by all of them together. Per capita gross state domestic product in 2010 varied from a third of the national average in the state of Bihar to more than one-and-a-half times the national average in the case of Maharashtra and Haryana.

In a country as large as India, regional variations are inevitable. Variations in geographical terrain that affect agricultural productivity, differences in climatic conditions and differentials in the availability of crucial raw materials, among other factors, affect a state’s performance relative to that of others. But what stands out from an even impressionistic examination of differentials in economic performance suggest that these kinds of “initial conditions” are not the prime determinants of regional inequalities. States rich in mineral resources such as Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkand and Orissa are among the more backward, and the performance of the North-eastern states cannot be explained by their geographical weaknesses alone.

What seems to be crucial here is the evolution of economic policy over a long period of time, especially since the colonial period. The impact of colonialism came first through the operations of the British East India Company and then through the workings of the imperial government. The impact of colonialism was not only regionally concentrated, with its full force visible in the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras, but indeed very different across even these regions.

In Bengal, for instance, the revenue-farming system developed under the Permanent Settlement, which resulted in absentee landlordism and a process of subinfeudation, adversely affected productive investment in land, more than it did elsewhere. Further, while imports of commodities like textiles from England resulted in the destruction of the handicrafts industry, colonial trade and investment did not generate a modern industrial sector that could adequately absorb the displaced labour. The result was a process of deindustrialisation. On the other hand, since the effects of British entry were felt less and later in the Bombay and Madras Presidencies and they were subjected to different land poliies, they were not as adversely impacted. In fact, some regions like the Punjab gained from investments in irrigation infrastructure which stood them in good stead for a long time thereafter.

The regional inequalities generated or strengthened by such influences were significantly enhanced in the post independence period, for a number of reasons. The first was the inevitable tendency towards cumulative divergence in economies where markets play an important role. Investments and the best human capital are attracted to already developed regions. They then suck in mineral resources from other regions that remain backward. The successful regions tend to generate more revenues for provincial governments that can strengthen infrastructure. And productivity and income growth creates vibrant local markets for goods and services.

A second reason for divergence was not the operation of spontaneous tendencies but the role of the central government. Mandated to collect a significant share of revenues and devolve a substantial proportion to the states through both statutory transfers determined by Finance Commissions constituted every five years and discretionary transfers through the Planning Commission, the Centre was expected to correct for regional imbalances. As numerous studies have shown, this did not occur in practice, resulting in the persistence or, according to some, widening of spontaneously generated regional inequalities.

The third were significant variations in agricultural growth. For close to two decades after Independence in 1947, agricultural growth was substantially driven by the possibilities for expansion of area under cultivation, supported by some productivity increase. By the mid-1960s, however, the possibilities of expanding area under cultivation were by and large exhausted. Growth now depended on raising cropping intensity and raising productivity in each cropping season. Pushed by an agrarian crisis precipitated by two bad harvests in the mid-1960s, the government of India chose to implement the Green Revolution strategy, which besides using high-yielding varieties of seeds, required a package consisting among other things of access to irrigation and use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

It was to be expected that such a strategy would be more successful in areas where farmers had access to irrigation facilities and access to the resources needed to finance this more expensive (even if more profitable) system of production. Further, the productivity increases delivered by HYVs varied across crops, benefiting farmers cultivating crops like wheat substantially more in the initial phases. Thus some increase in regional inequalities in agricultural growth was inevitable, though it was expected that over time as the early-starters lose their gains and the revolution spreads across geographies there would be a tendency towards convergence.

However, the experience has been disappointing. A study by G.S. Bhalla and Gurmail Singh (2009) found that while the “new technology matured during the period 1980-83 to 1990-93 when it spread widely to more areas and encompassed more crops”, leading to higher in the levels and growth rates of yields and output as in most states and regions of India, the post-reform period 1990-93 to 2003-06 is characterised by a serious retrogression both in the matter of levels and growth rates of yield and output in most states and regions. While in the north-western parts of the country growth slowed because of an erosion of productivity increase and profitability due to excessive use of inputs and decreasing input use efficiency, in many other parts including the eastern region the problem can be traced to a decline in public investment in irrigation, water management and flood control, and in scientific research.

Finally, underlying the increase in regional inequality were also variations in the growth of the other important commodity producing sector, namely, manufacturing. India’s limited manufacturing growth, which has rstricted the sector’s share to 16 per cent of India’s GDP in 2006 and 12.2 per cent of the country’s workforce in 2004-05, was also regionally extremely concentrated. According to a study by Jayan Jose Thomas, the combined share of Maharashtra and Gujarat in the total value added by India’s factory sector was 36 per cent in 1959-62 and 37 per cent in 2005-08. The share of these States in India’s population was only 14 per cent in 2004-05.

It is true that the southern States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had recorded significant increases in industrial activity during the five decades since the beginning of the Second Five Year Plan in 1956. The combined share of four southern States in total factory sector value added in India increased from 17 per cent during 1959-62 to 25 per cent during 2005-08. However, during the same period, the eastern States of West Bengal and Bihar suffered a sharp decline in factory production. West Bengal’s share in total value added by India’s factory sector fell from 20 per cent in 1959-62 to 3 per cent only in 2005-08.

Things seem to have worsened more recently. Between 1989-92 and 2005-08, the western States, especially Maharashtra and Gujarat, increased their shares in India’s factory sector value added (by 10 percentage points). On the other hand, the Eastern States further lost shares in the country’s factory sector value added, investment and employment, in a continuation of the decline they suffered during the earlier decades. The northern States too, which were gainers until the 1980s, lost their shares during the 1990s and 2000s.

Thus, economic liberalization and “reform” seem to be worsening rather than improving the degree of regional inequality in both agriculture and industry. This has been added too by the growing role of services. While services accounted for 43 and 48 per cent respectively of the increment of GDP at current prices in the 1970s and 1980s, the figure rose to 58 per cent and 62 per cent respectively during the 1990s and the years 2000-01 to 2004-05.

There are two components to the services sector. One is the low-income, low-productivity sink into which labour that is unemployed and not protected with social security is driven as a result of distress. The other are the “modern”, high productivity services such as financial, business and IT-enabled services. The latter are largely concentrated in the metropolitan cities and large urban agglomerations. Growth of this kind would only worsen regional inequality.

Thus it is clear that, besides overcoming the worst forms of deprivation everywhere in the country, India needs to address the substantial regional inequalities in growth and development to safeguard its unity as a nation.

World rice output in 2011 estimated at 476 mn tonnes: FAO

Global rice production is expected to touch 476 million tonnes in 2011, on the back of improved weather conditions, as the influence of La Nina is expected to neutralise by June, United Nation’s body FAO said.

The world rice production reached a new record in 2010, at 464 million tonnes (696 million tonnes paddy), up 1.8 per cent from the previous season, Food and Agriculture Organisation said.

“Although very preliminary, world paddy production in 2011, is forecast to expand by 2.5 per cent to 713 million tonnes (about 476 million tonnes, milled basis), reflecting expectations of improved weather conditions, as the influence of La Nina is expected to fade away by June,” it said.

In Asia, output is expected to grow by 2.5 per cent to 645 million tonnes (430 million tonnes, milled basis), with major increases expected in China and India and a recovery in Pakistan, it added.

According to the third advance estimate of the Agriculture Ministry, rice production in India in the 2010-11, season is pegged at 94.11 million tonnes.

However, the outlook has not been healthy for Sri Lanka, that has been affected by a consecutive round of floods, and Japan, where the catastrophic earthquake in March and ensuing tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear plant radioactive leakage will affect the output, FAO pointed out.

The event particularly affected the Tohoku district, that accounts for a quarter of Japan’s rice output, it added.

“FAO estimates that the disaster will result in a 43,000 hectares cut in area cultivated to rice in 2011, equivalent to about 3,00,000 tonnes of paddy production. If confirmed, it would bring Japan’s paddy production down by 3 per cent to 10.3 million tonnes,” it added.

In Africa, production of rice in 2011, is expected to remain close to the 2010 level, with some increases in Western Africa compensating for reductions in Egypt and Madagascar, FAO said.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, paddy production is expected to recover in 2011, after the last year’s reduced crop.

The output in 2011, is helped by a strong recovery in the southern part of the continent, especially in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela, where harvesting of the 2011 main paddy crops is virtually completed, it added.

REVISED ESTIMATES OF ANNUAL NATIONAL INCOME, 2010-11

REVISED ESTIMATES OF ANNUAL NATIONAL INCOME, 2010-11
AND
QUARTERLY ESTIMATES OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, 2010-11

1.The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has released the revised estimates of national income for the financial year 2010-11 and the quarterly estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter (January-March) of 2010-11, both at constant (2004-05) and current prices.

2. The CSO has also released the corresponding annual and quarterly estimates of Expenditure components of the GDP in current and constant (2004-05) prices, namely the private final consumption expenditure, government final consumption expenditure, gross fixed capital formation, change in stocks, valuables, and net exports.

I REVISED ANNUAL ESTIMATES OF NATIONAL INCOME, 2010-11
3. The advance estimates of national income for the year 2010-11 were released on 7th February, 2011. These estimates have now been revised incorporating latest estimates of agricultural production, index of industrial production and performance of key sectors like, railways, transport other than railways, communication, banking and insurance and government expenditure.

4. The salient features of these estimates are detailed below:
(a) Estimates at constant (2004-05) prices Gross Domestic Product
5. GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in the year 2010-11 is now estimated at Rs. 48,77,842 crore (as against Rs. 48,79,232 crore estimated earlier on 7th February, 2011), showing a growth rate of 8.5 per cent (as against 8.6 per cent in the Advance Estimates) over the Quick Estimates of GDP for the year 2009-10 of Rs. 44, 93,743 crore, released on 31th January 2011. The downward revision in the GDP growth rate is mainly on account of lower performance in ‘mining and quarrying’, ‘manufacturing’ and ‘trade, hotels, transport, and communication’ and ‘financing, insurance, real estate & business services’ than anticipated.

6. In the agriculture sector, the third advance estimates of crop production released by the Ministry of Agriculture showed an upward revision as compared to their second advance estimates in the production of wheat (84.27 million Tonnes from 81.47 million Tonnes), pulses (17.29 million Tonnes from 16.51 million Tonnes), oilseeds (302.51 lakh Tonnes from 278.48 lakh Tonnes) and sugarcane (340.54 million Tonnes from 336.70 million Tonnes) during 2010- 11. Due to this upward revision in the production, ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ sector in 2010-11 has shown a growth rate of 6.6 per cent, as against the growth rate of 5.4 per cent in the Advance estimates.

7. In the case of ‘mining and quarrying’, the Index of Industrial Production of Mining (IIP-Mining) registered a growth rate of 5.9 per cent during 2010-11, as against the growth rate of 8.0 per cent during April-November, 2010, which was used in the Advance Estimates. Due to this decrease in the IIP-Mining, the growth rate in GDP is now estimated at 5.8 per cent, as against the advance estimate growth rate of 6.2 per cent.

8. Similarly, the IIP of manufacturing registered a growth rate of 8.1 per cent during 2010- 11, as against the growth rate of 10 per cent during April-November, 2010. Due to this decrease in the IIP, the growth rate in GDP of ‘manufacturing’ sector is now estimated at 8.3 per cent, as against the Advance estimate growth rate of 8.8 per cent.

9. The sector 'community, social and personal services' has shown a rise in growth rate to 7.0 per cent in the revised estimates, as against the growth rate of 5.7 per cent in the advance estimates, mainly due to rise in total expenditure of Central Government than anticipated (during April-December, 2010, the total expenditure of Central Government showed an increase of 11.2 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year which was extrapolated in the advance estimates, whereas the RE, 2010-11 showed a rise of 19.4 per cent
during 2010-11).

10. Growth rates in various sectors are as follows: ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ (6.6 per cent), ‘mining and quarrying’ (5.8 per cent), ‘manufacturing’ (8.3 per cent), ‘electricity, gas and water supply’ (5.7 per cent) ‘construction’ (8.1 per cent), 'trade, hotels, transport and communication' (10.3 per cent), 'financing, insurance, real estate and business services' (9.9 per cent), and 'community, social and personal services' (7.0 per cent).

Gross National Income
11. The Gross National Income (GNI) at factor cost at 2004-05 prices is now estimated at Rs. 48,34,759 crore (as compared to Rs. 48,44,971 crore estimated on 7th February 2011), during 2010-11, as against the previous year’s Quick Estimate of Rs. 44,64,854 crore. In terms of growth rates, the gross national income is estimated to have risen by 8.3 per cent during 2010-11, in comparison to the growth rate of 7.9 per cent in 2009-10.

Per Capita Net National Income
12. The per capita net national income in real terms (at 2004-05 prices) during 2010-11 is estimated to have attained a level of Rs. 35,917 (as against Rs. 36,003 estimated on 7th February, 2011), as compared to the Quick Estimates for the year 2009-10 of Rs. 33,731. The growth rate in per capita income is estimated at 6.5 per cent during 2010-11 as against 6.1 per cent during 2009-10.

(b) Estimates at current prices
Gross Domestic Product
13. GDP at factor cost at current prices in the year 2010-11 is estimated at Rs. 73,06,990 crore, showing a growth rate of 19.1 per cent over the Quick Estimates of GDP for the year 2009-10 of Rs. 61,33,230 crore, released on 31th January 2011.

Gross National Income
14. The GNI at factor cost at current prices is now estimated at Rs. 72,41,026 crore during
2010-11, as compared to Rs. 60,95,230 crore during 2009-10, showing a rise of 18.8 per cent.

Per Capita Net National Income
15. The per capita income at current prices during 2010-11 is estimated to have attained a
level of Rs. 54,835 as compared to the Quick Estimates for the year 2009-10 of Rs. 46,492,
showing a rise of 17.9 per cent.

II ANNUAL ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURES ON GDP, 2010-11
16. Alongwith the Revised Estimates of GDP by economic activity, the CSO is also releasing the estimates of expenditures of the GDP at current and constant (2004-05) prices. These estimates have been compiled using the data on indicators available from the same sources as those used for compiling GDP estimates by economic activity, detailed data available on merchandise trade in respect of imports and exports, balance of payments, and monthly accounts of central government. As various components of expenditure on gross
domestic product, namely, consumption expenditure and capital formation, are normally measured at market prices, the discussion in the following paragraphs is in terms of market prices only.

Private Final Consumption Expenditure
17. Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) at current prices is estimated at Rs. 45,02,974 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 37,82,013 crore in 2009-10. At constant (2004-05) prices, the PFCE is estimated at Rs. 30,91,328 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 28,46,410 crore in 2009-10. In terms of GDP at market prices, the rates of PFCE at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 57.2 per cent and 58.3 per cent, respectively, asagainst the corresponding rates of 57.7 per cent and 58.5 per cent, respectively in 2009-10.

Government Final Consumption Expenditure
18. Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) at current prices is estimated at Rs. 9,06,665 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 7,85,443 crore in 2009-10. At constant (2004-05) prices, the GFCE is estimated at Rs. 5,91,761 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 5,64,835 crore in 2009-10. In terms of GDP at market prices, the rates of GFCE at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 11.5 per cent and 11.2 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 12.0 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively in 2009-10.

Gross Fixed Capital Formation
19. Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) at current prices is estimated at Rs. 23,22,097 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 20,16,186 crore in 2009-10. At constant (2004-05) prices, the GFCF is estimated at Rs. 16,93,284 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 15,59,126 crore in 2009-10. In terms of GDP at market prices, the rates of GFCF at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 29.5 per cent and 32.0 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 30.8 per cent and 32.0 per cent, respectively in 2009-10. The rates of Change in Stocks and Valuables at current prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 3.3 per cent and 2.0 per cent, respectively.

20. The discrepancies at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at (-) 0.2 per cent and (-) 1.5 per cent, respectively of the GDP at market prices, as against the corresponding rate of (-) 0.3 per cent each in 2009-10.

21. Estimates of gross/net national income and per capita income, along with GDP at factor cost by kind of economic activity and the Expenditures on GDP for the years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 at constant (2004-05) and current prices are given in Statements 1 to 6.

II QUARTERLY ESTIMATES OF GDP FOR Q4 (JANUARY-MARCH), 2010-11
(a) Estimates at constant (2004-05) prices
22. The four quarters of a financial year are denoted by Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4. GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in Q4 of 2010-11 is estimated at Rs. 13,17,554 crore, as against Rs. 12,22,573 crore in Q4 of 2009-10, showing a growth rate of 7.8 per cent. The sectors which registered significant growth rates in Q4 of 2010-11 over Q4 of 2009-10 are ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ at 7.5 per cent ‘electricity, gas and water supply’ at 7.8 per cent, ‘construction’ at 8.2 per cent, 'trade, hotels, transport and communication' at 9.3 per cent, and 'financing, insurance, real estate and business services' at 9.0 per cent.

23. The PFCE and GFCF at constant (2004-05) market prices in Q4 of 2010-11 are estimated at Rs. 7,72,416 crore and Rs. 4,72,304 crore, respectively. The rates of PFCE and GFCF as percentage of GDP at market prices in Q4 of 2010-11 were 52.6 per cent and 32.1 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 52.4 per cent and 34.5 per cent, respectively in Q4 of 2009-10.

(b) Estimates at current prices
24. GDP at factor cost at current prices in Q4 of 2010-11 is estimated at Rs. 20,12,528 crore, as against Rs. 17,16,675 crore in Q4 of 2009-10, showing a rise of 17.2 per cent.

25. The PFCE and GFCF at current market prices in Q4 of 2010-11 are estimated at Rs. 11,70,430 crore and Rs. 6,58,212 crore, respectively. The rates of PFCE and GFCF at current prices as percentage of GDP at market prices in Q4 of 2010-11 are estimated at 52.6 per cent and 29.6 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 53.2 per cent and 32.7 per cent, respectively in Q4 of 2009-10.

26. Estimates of GDP at factor cost by kind of economic activity and the Expenditures on GDP for the four quarters of 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 at constant (2004-05) and current prices, are given in Statements 7 to 10.

27. The next release of quarterly GDP estimate for the quarter April-June, 2011 (Q1 of
2011-12) will be on 30.08.2011.