Banking facilities in 73,000 villages by March

The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said that banking facilities would be extended to 73,000 villages by March 31 next year.

The banking facilities, including mobile banking, would be reached to areas with a population of 2,000 within the period, Mr Mukherjee said at the inauguration of a branch of the Oriental Bank of Commerce here.

For this, banks should come forward since Rs 1,85,000 crore had been provided for rural development in the Budget, he said.

Panel suggests support system for urban co-operative banks

A Reserve Bank of India expert committee has recommended the establishment of a separate national umbrella organisation to provide payments and settlement services and other liquidity support, which are normally provided by a central bank, to member urban co-operative banks.

Market experts say this move could be aimed at insulating the mainstream payments and settlement system from any fallout due to failure of urban co-operative banks (UCBs).

The RBI's committee on licensing of new UCBs has suggested that the umbrella organisation be preferably in the form of a multi-state UCB with membership restricted to and mandatory for urban co-operative banks other than scheduled ones.

“There is no need for an umbrella organisation for payments and settlement now as UCBs are becoming robust when it comes to financial strength,” said Mr Satish Marathe, General Secretary, Sahakar Bharati, an umbrella body for promoting co-operatives in various fields.

Member urban co-operative banks should be required to maintain their cash reserve ratio (a portion of deposits) in the form deposits with the umbrella organisation. The organisation should invest its funds only in the form of balances with the RBI, deposits with commercial banks or in statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) securities such as government securities.

The committee, headed by Mr Y.H. Malegam, Director, Central Board, RBI, said, the umbrella organisation should offer repo (liquidity injection) and reverse repo (deployment of surplus liquidity) facilities to UCBs in the same manner as RBI offers to commercial banks and at the same rates of interest. In turn, the umbrella organisation should enjoy repos and reverse repo facilities with the apex bank.

Gateway

Urban co-operative banks can avail of repos facilities only to the extent of their excess SLR holdings. Until the payments and settlements facilities are provided directly to UCBs, the proposed organisation will act as a gateway to provide these services for a fee to the banks. In turn, the organisation will be a member of the payments and settlement system.

Being an urban co-operative bank, the umbrella organisation would have a board of management and will be subject to the regulation, supervision and inspection of the RBI.

Rs 50 lakh capital floor set for new urban coop banks

Well managed co-operative credit societies should be given priority while granting licences for urban co-operative banks (UCBs), particularly in unbanked or inadequately banked centres, according to a RBI committee.

The co-operative credit societies should meet certain financial criteria such as profits, capital adequacy, and bad loans proportion, says the Report of the Expert Committee on Licensing of New UCBs.

The committee has prescribed four entry point norms ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 5 crore, depending on how many states the new UCBs want to operate in.

To separate the ownership of a UCB as a co-operative society from its functioning as a bank, the committee has recommended a new organisation structure consisting of a board of management in addition to the board of directors.

New UCBs must have a board of management appointed by the board of directors. The Chief Executive Officer has to be appointed by the management panel , the committee said. While the directors will be responsible for laying down the broad contours of strategy, the board of management will be vested with the mandate to direct and control the day-to-day operations of the UCB within the limits set by the directors, said the report. At least 51 per cent of the members of the board of management should have special knowledge or practical experience.

“The separation of the ownership and management are welcome as under the current framework there is scope for the board of directors to influence management decisions on sanctioning of loans, sale of bad loans, giving certain concessions, et cetera,” said Mr Satish Marathe, General Secretary, Sahakar Bharati.

The directors can be members of the management board if they fulfil the specified conditions. Members of the management panel can be paid sitting fees, which can be decided by the directors subject to a ceiling specified by the RBI. The management panel has to follow a code of corporate governance specified by the apex bank.

The RBI would have unfettered powers to control and regulate the functioning of the UCB, the management board and the CEO in exactly the same way as it controls and regulates the functioning of the board of directors and the chief executive of a commercial bank, the committee added.

KVB adjudged best bank of the year

Karur-headquartered Karur Vysya Bank has bagged the CNBC – TV 18 Best Bank and Financial Institution award under the old private sector bank category. KVB's Chief Executive and Managing Director, Mr K Venkataraman, received the award on behalf of the bank from the Minister for Corporate Affairs Mr Veerappa Moily at Mumbai on September 12. This is the third award for the bank during the 2011-12 fiscal, the others being the FIBAC Banking Award (for cost efficiency) followed by Banking Technology Excellence Award (for mobile banking) among small banks in the private sector.

Black money: Govt. ‘seriously considering’ amnesty scheme

A special voluntary disclosure scheme for bringing back black money stashed away in tax havens abroad may be in the offing.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes is understood to be “seriously considering” recommending to the government a scheme on the lines of the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) announced in 1996 to tap funds lying abroad for productive use in India.

Sources said the issue gained momentum recently when captains of industry and business met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and impressed on him the need for encouraging disclosure of unaccounted money kept in tax havens which could be used to fund infrastructure projects in the country.

A proposal for ushering in a similar scheme was proposed earlier by an expert group on black money to the government.

The thinking in the government comes in the midst of a raging debate over unearthing black money and illegal funds parked abroad.

The Ministry is considering the formulation of such a scheme in the backdrop of India receiving fresh information under Tax Information Exchange Treaties (TIEAs), Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) automatic exchange route.

Under the scheme in the making, according to sources, the source of money will not have to be disclosed but criminal action would be taken if the assets or money stashed pertain to proceeds of crime.

Official sources said a committee on black money headed by the CBDT chairman is expected to discuss and decide on the proposal during its proposed meeting later this month.

Incidentally, an expert group on black money had earlier suggested that an offshore voluntary scheme may be considered by the government to collect tax on undisclosed bank accounts and assets held by resident Indians abroad.

Experts on the subject said that such a scheme is prevalent and has been implemented in many European countries, the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Greece, Italy and Portugal among others.

Sources said that now that the country’s efforts to revive and implement the various tax treaties have started giving results, such a scheme could be operationalised as compared to the earlier practice where it was very difficult to obtain bank accounts and assets data of such a taxpayer.

The nitty-gritty of such a scheme and the amount of penalty etc. on the disclosure of such funds stashed abroad could be worked at a later stage, the sources said.

The CBDT through the Income Tax department has taken several measures in the recent past to update the article concerning exchange of information in existing DTAAs to specifically allow for exchange of banking information and information without domestic interest.

India has also decided to negotiate TIEAs with priority countries and jurisdictions.

In the last two years, India has concluded negotiation of 16 TIEAs, 18 new DTAAs and renegotiation of 21 existing DTAAs.

SOCIO ECONOMIC DEVELOMENTS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. Which one of the following has decided to give guarantee for infra loans?
(a) IDBI                     
(b) SBI                                 
(c) IIFCL                   
(d) SIDBI                  
(e) None of these

2. In which one of the following States is the uranium project proposed to be set up?
(a) Manipur              
(b) Meghalaya          
(c) Orissa                  
(d) Assam                 
(e) Nagaland

3. Amongst 169 countries on Human Development Index which one of the following is India’s rank?
(a) 89                        
(b) 91                        
(c) 119                      
(d) 129                                  
(e) 138

4. What is ‘Kaveri’?
(a) India’s indigeneous aircraft engine        
(b) India’s low cost laptop
(c) India’s Air to Air Missile                                   
(d) India’s guided Surface to Air Missile
(e) Unmanned Aircraft acquired from Israel

5. An increasing finished good stock as % to sales of a manufacturing Company indicates that ……..
1. The market is getting competitive                       
2. The quality of the goods is not upto the mark
3. The production cost has increased                       
4. The production has decreased
(a) Only 1 and 2        
(b) Only 2 and 3       
(c) Only 3 and 4        
(d) Only 3                 
(e) Only 4 and 1

6. Which one of the following has got RBI nod to issue prepaid cards to its clients?
(a) LIC                                  
(b) GIC                      
(c) SIDBI                  
(d) NABARD           
(e) None of these

7. For which one of the following reasons is an amendment in Companies Bill 2009 proposed?
(a) To provide more powers to Department of Company Affairs
(b) To provide regulatory powers to Department of Company Affairs
(c) To make Indian Accounting Standards applicable with effect from 1.4.2011
(d) To ensure smooth convergence of the Indian Accounting Standards with IFRS
(e) None of these

8. as per recent newspaper reports, India’s public debt rises 2.85 per cent to Rs. 28 lakh crore. Which one of the following is the reason that has forced commercial banks to buy Government securities?
(a) Lack of credit growth                             
(b) Increase in credit growth
(c) Raising of repo rate                                
(d) raising of reverse repo rate
(e) None of these

9. In which one of the following States Sariska Tiger Reserve is located?
(a) M. P.                    
(b) U. P.                    
(c) Orissa                  
(d) Gujarat                
(e) Rajasthan

10. On which one of the following characters, Biometric security is based?
(a) Finger prints and palm recognition only
(b) Face recognition and voice recognition only
(c) Hand writing and manual recognition only
(d) Only (a) and (b)
(e) All (a), (b) and (c)

11. on which one of the following ‘Head of Expenses’, the expenses of the Government of India are highest?
(a) Food subsidy                                           
(b) Fertilizer subsidy
(c) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana     
(d) Maintenance of national highways
(e) Oil subsidy

12. Which one of the following foreign agencies will assist the municipal agencies to improve quality of municipal schools through its School Excellence Programmes (SEP)?
(a) IMF                     
(b) UNDP                  
(c) UNICEF              
(d) ADB                    
(e) None of these

13. Which of the following carries out ‘Open Market Operations’?
(a) Finance ministry                                     
(b) External Affairs Ministry
(c) Reserve Bank of India                            
(d) planning Commission
(e) Ministry of Commerce

14. Who among the following Ministers will hold telecom portfolio in addition to his own portfolio till next Reallotment?
(a) Kamal Nath         
(b) Kapil Sibal          
(c) Pranab Mukherjee
(d) Mamta Banerjee
(e) None of these

15. Under provisions of which one of the following Acts, the RBI issues directives to the Banks in India?
(a) RBI Act                                                   
(b) Banking Regulation Act
(c) Essential Commodities Act                    
(d) RBI and Banking Regulation Act
(e) None of these

16. Which one of the following tools is used by RBI for selective credit control?
(a) It advises banks to lend against certain commodities
(b) It advises banks to recall the loans for advances against certain commodities
(c) It advises banks to charge higher rate of interest for advance against certain commodities
(d) It discourages certain kinds of lending by assigning higher risk weights to loans it deems undesirable
(e) None of these

17. For which one of the following Loan Products ‘teaser loans’ are offered by Banks?
(a) Education Loans                                     
(b) Commercial Loans
(c) Loans against security of gold               
(d) Retail Trade Loans
(e) Home Loans

18. The Commonwealth Games 2010 were held in Delhi from October 3 to 14, 2010. Who amongst the following picked up the Game’s first gold medal?
(a) Augustina Nwaokolo                              
(b) Ravinder Singh
(c) Azhar Hussain                                         
(d) Carol Huynh
(e) None of these

19. In which one of the following cities was the recent meet of G-20 Countries organized?
(a) Tokyo                  
(b) Seoul                   
(c) London                
(d) Beijing                
(e) Singapore

20. As per recent newspaper reports, which one of the following countries (among the given) has highest literacy rate?
(a) India                    
(b) Sri Lanka           
(c) China                   
(d) Vietnam              
(e) Bangladesh

21. A saving Bank Deposit Account is one where ……….
(a) Amounts are deposited and are withdrawn as per requirement of the customers
(b) The deposits are made only once in a year
(c) Periodical Fixed amount are deposited month wise and with drawls are allowed after a fixed period
(d) All the above
(e) None of these

22. Who is the Chief Minister of Maharashtra at present?
(a) Ashok Chavan                                         
(b) R. R. Patil
(c) Vilasrao Deshmukh                                
(d) Sushil Kumar Shinde
(e) None of these

23. The expansion of CDMA is ……….
(a) Calculated Division of Many Applications
(b) Computer Divided Multiple Access
(c) Code Diversified Memory Applications
(d) Code Division Multiple Access
(e) None of these

24. ‘Merdeka Cup’ is associated with the game of ………..
(a) Tennis                
(b) hockey                 
(c) Badminton          
(d) Cricket                
(e) Football

25. Which of the following is a financial asset?
(a) Gold                                                        
(b) Silver
(c) Shares in a demat account                      
(d) Land & buildings
(e) None of these

26. Zero balance account is generally allowed to be opened for ………
(a) Salaried class                                          
(b) Businessmen
(c) Foreign customers                                  
(d) Children
(e) Senior Citizens

27. In Deposits Account ‘KYC’ (Know your Customer) has been implemented in 2002 as per directive of …………
(a) IBA                                                          
(b) RBI
(c) Ministry of Finance                                
(d) SEBI
(e) IRDA

28. The regulator of the banking system in India is ……..
(a) AMFI                                                       
(b) Ministry of Finance
(c) SEBI                                                        
(d) IBA
(e) RBI

29. Ten Rupee notes contain the signature of ………
(a) Finance Secretary, GOI                          
(b) Chairman, State Bank of India
(c) Governor, Reserve Bank of India                       
(d) Finance Minister, GOI
(e) Prime Minister

30. Statue of Liberty is the national monument of ……….
(a) Italy                     
(b) Australia             
(c) France                 
(d) Denmark             
(e) USA

31. Which one of the following may be the consequence of buying forex in the marked by the RBI?
(a) It leads to inflation                                
(b) It leads to control over inflation
(c) It does not affect inflation                                 
(d) it results into deflation
(e) None of these

32. Under provisions of which one of the following Acts, the Reserve bank of India has the power to regulate, supervise and control the banking sector?
(a) RBI Act                                                   
(b) Banking Regulation Act
(c) Negotiable Instrument Act                     
(d) RBI and Banking Regulation Act
(e) None of these

33. Who amongst the following is the author of the book ‘The God of Small things’?
(a) Chetan Bhagat    
(b) V. S. Naipaul      
(c) Namita Gokhale  
(d) Kiran Desai         
(e) Arundhati Roy

34. Which one of the following has proposed $ 11 billion infrastructure debt fund?
(a) NABARD                                                
(b) SBI
(c) RBI                                                         
(d) Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India
(e) Planning Commission

35. Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi is a ………
(a) 42 years old politician                           
(b) Bharat Ratna
(c) Military General                                     
(d) Nobel Prize winner
(e) None of these

36. Which one of the following factors influence working capital of a unit?
(a) Seasonality of operations only               
(b) production Policy only
(c) Suppliers Term only                              
(d) Only (a) and (b)
(e) All (a), (b) and (c)

37. One of the following states is a major producer of spices …….
(a) Karnataka            
(b) Tamil Nadu         
(c) Kerala                  
(d) Gujarat                
(e) Manipur

38. The NAV of a mutual fund ……
(a) Is always constant                                              
(b) Keeps going up at a steady rate
(c) Fluctuates with market price movements         
(d) Cannot go down at all
(e) None of these

39. The expansion of TRAI is ………..
(a) Telecom Regulations and Inspection     
(b) Transport Regulatory Authority of India
(c) Train Regulatory Authority of India      
(d) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(e) Transfer Regulations Act of India

40. ASBA, a facility while applying / submitting an application for purchase of shares under a public issue, is ……….
(a) Applications Simple Balance Amount   
(b) Amount Saved and Balance in Account
(c) Already Savings blocked Amount         
(d) Applications Supported by Blocked Amount
(e) None of these

41. Loan against the security of immovable property is by executing an agreement of ………
(a) Assignment         
(b) Pledge                
(c) transfer                
(d) mortgage             
(e) None of these

42. Credit Rating …….
(a) Is used to rate the borrowers while giving advances
(b) Is used to work out performance of the employees
(c) Is used to calculate the number of excellent audit rated branches
(d) Is NOT used in any Bank
(e) is necessary before giving promotion to employees

43. Who amongst the following is the recipient of the ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2010’?
(a) Javd Adhtar                                             
(b) Amitabh Bachchan
(c) Gulzar                                                     
(d) Hema malini
(e) None of these

44. In corporate hedging, which one of the following types of risks can be covered?
(a) Liquidity risk      
(b) Currency risk      
(c) credit risk            
(d) transaction risk   
(e) None of these

45. Bank of Rajasthan is now merged with which of the following banks?
(a) AXIS Bank          
(b) IDBI Bank           
(c) ICICI Bank          
(d) HDFC Bank        
(e) None of these

46. As per GDP figures on calendar year basis, according to World Bank, which one of the following economies will have highest GDP growth in the year 2011?
(a) US                      
(b) China                   
(c) Japan                  
(d) India                    
(e) Brazil

47. In respect of infrastructure bonds issued under provisions of Section 80 CCF of the Income Tax Act, what is the maximum amount (Rs. In thousands), upto which these bonds can be covered?
(a) 30                        
(b) 20                        
(c) 40                        
(d) 50                        
(e) None of these

48. which of the following is the full form of the abbreviation ‘IFRS’ as used in corporate /finance sector?
(a) Indian Financial Reconciliation Standards
(b) Interpretation and Formal Reporting System
(c) International Financial Reporting Standards
(d) International Financial Reporting System
(e) None of these

49. As per the new guidelines issued by SEBI, companies are required to list shares within how many days of the closure of the Initial Public Offers (IPOs)?
(a) 60 days                
(b) 12 days                
(c) 30 days                
(d) 45 days                
(d) none of these

50. RTGS stands for ………….
(a) Real time gross settlements                   
(b) Reduced time gross settlements
(c) Relative time gross settlements             
(d) real total gross securities
(e) None of these

Answers:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
C	C	C	A	A	A	E	A	E	D
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
A	C	C	B	B	C	E	A	B	D
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
A	E	D	E	C	A	B	E	C	E
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
A	B	E	D	D	E	C	E	D	D
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
D	A	E	B	C	B	E	C	D	A

History of Urban Cooperative Banks in India

The term Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs), though not formally defined, refers to primary cooperative banks located in urban and semi-urban areas. These banks, till 1996, were allowed to lend money only for non-agricultural purposes. This distinction does not hold today. These banks were traditionally centred around communities, localities work place groups. They essentially lent to small borrowers and businesses. Today, their scope of operations has widened considerably.

The origins of the urban cooperative banking movement in India can be traced to the close of nineteenth century when, inspired by the success of the experiments related to the cooperative movement in Britain and the cooperative credit movement in Germany such societies were set up in India. Cooperative societies are based on the principles of cooperation, - mutual help, democratic decision making and open membership. Cooperatives represented a new and alternative approach to organisaton as against proprietary firms, partnership firms and joint stock companies which represent the dominant form of commercial organisation.

The Beginnings

The first known mutual aid society in India was probably the ‘Anyonya Sahakari Mandali’ organised in the erstwhile princely State of Baroda in 1889 under the guidance of Vithal Laxman also known as Bhausaheb Kavthekar. Urban co-operative credit societies, in their formative phase came to be organised on a community basis to meet the consumption oriented credit needs of their members. Salary earners’ societies inculcating habits of thrift and self help played a significant role in popularising the movement, especially amongst the middle class as well as organized labour. From its origins then to today, the thrust of UCBs, historically, has been to mobilise savings from the middle and low income urban groups and purvey credit to their members - many of which belonged to weaker sections.

The enactment of Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904, however, gave the real impetus to the movement. The first urban cooperative credit society was registered in Canjeevaram (Kanjivaram) in the erstwhile Madras province in October, 1904. Amongst the prominent credit societies were the Pioneer Urban in Bombay (November 11, 1905), the No.1 Military Accounts Mutual Help Co-operative Credit Society in Poona (January 9, 1906). Cosmos in Poona (January 18, 1906), Gokak Urban (February 15, 1906) and Belgaum Pioneer (February 23, 1906) in the Belgaum district, the Kanakavli-Math Co-operative Credit Society and the Varavade Weavers’ Urban Credit Society (March 13, 1906) in the South Ratnagiri (now Sindhudurg) district. The most prominent amongst the early credit societies was the Bombay Urban Co-operative Credit Society, sponsored by Vithaldas Thackersey and Lallubhai Samaldas established on January 23, 1906..

The Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904 was amended in 1912, with a view to broad basing it to enable organisation of non-credit societies. The Maclagan Committee of 1915 was appointed to review their performance and suggest measures for strengthening them. The committee observed that such institutions were eminently suited to cater to the needs of the lower and middle income strata of society and would inculcate the principles of banking amongst the middle classes. The committee also felt that the urban cooperative credit movement was more viable than agricultural credit societies. The recommendations of the Committee went a long way in establishing the urban cooperative credit movement in its own right.

In the present day context, it is of interest to recall that during the banking crisis of 1913-14, when no fewer than 57 joint stock banks collapsed, there was a there was a flight of deposits from joint stock banks to cooperative urban banks. Maclagan Committee chronicled this event thus:

“As a matter of fact, the crisis had a contrary effect, and in most provinces, there was a movement to withdraw deposits from non-cooperatives and place them in cooperative institutions, the distinction between two classes of security being well appreciated and a preference being given to the latter owing partly to the local character and publicity of cooperative institutions but mainly, we think, to the connection of Government with Cooperative movement”.

Under State Purview

The constitutional reforms which led to the passing of the Government of India Act in 1919 transferred the subject of “Cooperation” from Government of India to the Provincial Governments. The Government of Bombay passed the first State Cooperative Societies Act in 1925 “which not only gave the movement its size and shape but was a pace setter of cooperative activities and stressed the basic concept of thrift, self help and mutual aid.” Other States followed. This marked the beginning of the second phase in the history of Cooperative Credit Institutions.

There was the general realization that urban banks have an important role to play in economic construction. This was asserted by a host of committees. The Indian Central Banking Enquiry Committee (1931) felt that urban banks have a duty to help the small business and middle class people. The Mehta-Bhansali Committee (1939), recommended that those societies which had fulfilled the criteria of banking should be allowed to work as banks and recommended an Association for these banks. The Co-operative Planning Committee (1946) went on record to say that urban banks have been the best agencies for small people in whom Joint stock banks are not generally interested. The Rural Banking Enquiry Committee (1950), impressed by the low cost of establishment and operations recommended the establishment of such banks even in places smaller than taluka towns.

The first study of Urban Co-operative Banks was taken up by RBI in the year 1958-59. The Report published in 1961 acknowledged the widespread and financially sound framework of urban co-operative banks; emphasized the need to establish primary urban cooperative banks in new centers and suggested that State Governments lend active support to their development. In 1963, Varde Committee recommended that such banks should be organised at all Urban Centres with a population of 1 lakh or more and not by any single community or caste. The committee introduced the concept of minimum capital requirement and the criteria of population for defining the urban centre where UCBs were incorporated.

Duality of Control

However, concerns regarding the professionalism of urban cooperative banks gave rise to the view that they should be better regulated. Large cooperative banks with paid-up share capital and reserves of Rs.1 lakh were brought under the perview of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 with effect from 1st March, 1966 and within the ambit of the Reserve Bank’s supervision. This marked the beginning of an era of duality of control over these banks. Banking related functions (viz. licensing, area of operations, interest rates etc.) were to be governed by RBI and registration, management, audit and liquidation, etc. governed by State Governments as per the provisions of respective State Acts. In 1968, UCBS were extended the benefits of Deposit Insurance.

Towards the late 1960s there was much debate regarding the promotion of the small scale industries. UCBs came to be seen as important players in this context. The Working Group on Industrial Financing through Co-operative Banks, (1968 known as Damry Group) attempted to broaden the scope of activities of urban co-operative banks by recommending that these banks should finance the small and cottage industries. This was reiterated by the Banking Commisssion (1969).

The Madhavdas Committee (1979) evaluated the role played by urban co-operative banks in greater details and drew a roadmap for their future role recommending support from RBI and Government in the establishment of such banks in backward areas and prescribing viability standards.

The Hate Working Group (1981) desired better utilisation of banks' surplus funds and that the percentage of the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) & the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) of these banks should be brought at par with commercial banks, in a phased manner. While the Marathe Committee (1992) redefined the viability norms and ushered in the era of liberalization, the Madhava Rao Committee (1999) focused on consolidation, control of sickness, better professional standards in urban co-operative banks and sought to align the urban banking movement with commercial banks.

A feature of the urban banking movement has been its heterogeneous character and its uneven geographical spread with most banks concentrated in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. While most banks are unit banks without any branch network, some of the large banks have established their presence in many states when at their behest multi-state banking was allowed in 1985. Some of these banks are also Authorised Dealers in Foreign Exchange.

Recent Developments

Over the years, primary (urban) cooperative banks have registered a significant growth in number, size and volume of business handled. As on 31st March, 2003 there were 2,104 UCBs of which 56 were scheduled banks. About 79 percent of these are located in five states, - Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Recently the problems faced by a few large UCBs have highlighted some of the difficulties these banks face and policy endeavours are geared to consolidating and strengthening this sector and improving governance.

Scheduled Urban Co-Operative Banks(53) 

1.Ahmedabad Mercantile Co-Op Bank Ltd.
2 Kalupur Commercial Coop.Bank Ltd.
3 Madhavpura Mercantile Co-Op Bank Ltd.
4 Mehsana Urban Co-Op Bank Ltd.
5 Nutan Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd.,
6 Rajkot Nagrik Sahakari Bank Ltd.
7 Sardar Bhiladwala Pardi Peoples Coop Bank Ltd.
8 Surat Peoples Coop Bank Ltd.
9 Amanath Co-operative Bank Ltd.
10 Andhra Pradesh Mahesh Co-Op Urban Bank Ltd.
11 Charminar Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd.
12 Vasavi Coop Urban Bank LImited.
13 Indian Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
14 Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
15 Bassein Catholic Co-operative Bank Ltd.
16 Bharat Co-operative Bank (Mumbai) Ltd.
17 Bharati Sahakari Bank Limited.
18 Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited
19 Citizen Credit Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
20 Cosmos Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd.
21 Dombivli Nagari Sahakari Bank Ltd.
22 Goa Urban Co-operative Bank Limited.
23 Gopinath Patil Parsik Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd.,
24 Greater Bombay Co-operative Bank Limited
25 Jalgaon Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd.
26 Janakalyan Sahakari Bank Ltd.,
27 Janalaxmi Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
28 Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd.,
29 Kallappanna Awade Ichalkaranji Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd.
30 Kalyan Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd.,
31 Karad Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd.
32 Mahanagar Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
33 Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank of Goa Ltd.,
34 Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
35 Nasik Merchant’s Co-operative Bank Ltd.
36 New India Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
37 NKGSB Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
38 Pravara Sahakari Bank Ltd.
39 Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Ltd.
40 Rupee Co-operative Bank Ltd.
41 Sangli Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
42 Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
43 Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank Ltd.
44 Solapur Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd.
45 Thane Bharat Sahakari Bank Ltd.
46 Thane Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd.
47 The Kapol Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
48 Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
49 Nagpur Nagrik Sahakari Bank Ltd.
50 Shikshak Sahakari Bank Ltd.,
51 The Akola Janata Commercial Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
52 The Akola Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
53 The Khamgaon Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd.,

Note: There are 1592 Non-Scheduled Urban Co-Operative Banks in India as in end of March 2011.

State Co-operative Banks (31)

1.The Andaman and Nicobar State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
2. The Andhra Pradesh State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
3. The Arunachal Pradesh State co-operative Apex Bank Ltd.
4. The Assam Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd.
5. The Bihar State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
6. The Chandigarh State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
7. The Delhi State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
8. The Goa State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
9. The Gujarat State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
10. The Haryana State Co-opertive Apex Bank Ltd.
11. The Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
12. The Jammu and Kashmir State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
13. The Karnataka State Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd.
14. The Kerala State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
15. The Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sahakari Bank Maryadit
16. The Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
17. The Manipur State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
18. The Meghalaya Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd.
19. The Mizoram Co-operative Apex Bank Ltd.
20. The Nagaland State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
21. The Orissa State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
22. The Pondichery State Co-opertive Bank Ltd.
23. The Punjab State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
24. The Rajasthan State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
25. The Sikkim State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
26. The Tamil Nadu State Apex Co-operative Bank Ltd.
27. The Tripura State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
28. The Uttar Pradesh Co-operative Bank Ltd.
29. The West Bengal State Co-operative Bank Ltd.
30. The Chhattisgarh RajyaSahakari Bank Maryadit
31. The Uttaranchal Rajya Sahakari Bank Ltd.
 

Banks in India

Nationalised banks dominate the banking system in India. The history of nationalised banks in India dates back to mid-20th century, when Imperial Bank of India was nationalised (under the SBI Act of 1955) and re-christened as State Bank of India (SBI) in July 1955. Then on 19th July 1960, its seven subsidiaries were also nationalised with deposits over 200 crores.

However, the major nationalisation of banks happened in 1969 by the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The major objective behind nationalisation was to spread banking infrastructure in rural areas and make cheap finance available to Indian farmers. The nationalised 14 major commercial banks were Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), Punjab and Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Syndicate Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India (UBI), and Vijaya Bank.

In the year 1980, the second phase of nationalisation of Indian banks took place, in which 7 more banks were nationalised with deposits over 200 crores. With this, the Government of India held a control over 91% of the banking industry in India. After the nationalisation of banks there was a huge jump in the deposits and advances with the banks. At present, the State Bank of India is the largest commercial bank of India and is ranked one of the top five banks worldwide. It serves 90 million customers through a network of 9,000 branches.

Nationalised Banks (19)

• Allahabad Bank
• Andhra Bank
• Bank of Baroda
• Bank of India
• Bank of Maharashtra
• Canara Bank
• Central Bank of India
• Corporation Bank
• Dena Bank
• Indian Bank
• Indian Overseas Bank
• Oriental Bank of Commerce
• Punjab and Sind Bank
• Punjab National Bank
• Syndicate Bank
• UCO Bank
• Union Bank of India
• United Bank of India
• Vijaya Bank

State Bank of India and Associates(6)

• State Bank of India (SBI) 
• State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ)
• State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH)
• State Bank of Mysore (SBM)
• State Bank of Patiala (SBP)
• State Bank of Travancore (SBT)

Private-Indian Banks (23)

Bank of Rajasthan Ltd.
Bharat Overseas Bank Ltd.
Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd.
Federal Bank Ltd
Dhanalakshmi Bank Ltd.
Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd.
Karnataka Bank Ltd.
Karur Vysya Bank Ltd.
City Union Bank Ltd.
Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd.
Nainital Bank Ltd.
Ratnakar Bank Ltd.
South Indian Bank Ltd.
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd.
ING Vysya Bank Ltd.
ICICI Bank Ltd. 
Axis Bank Ltd. 
IndusInd Bank Ltd.
Yes Bank Ltd.
SBI Commercial and International Bank Ltd.
HDFC Bank Ltd.
Development Credit Bank Ltd.
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

Private-Foreign Banks in India (29)

   The Royal Bank of Scotland  
    Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
    American Express Bank Ltd.
    Bank of America, NA
    Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait BSC
    Mashreq Bank PSC
    Bank of Nova Scotia
    Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.  
    Citi Bank N.A.
   Deutsche Bank
    HSBC Ltd.
   Societe Generale
    Sonali Bank
    BNP Paribas Bank
    Barclays Bank p.l.c.
    DBS Bank Ltd.
    Bank International Indonesia
    Arab Bangladesh Bank Ltd.
    Standard Chartered Bank
    State Bank of Mauritius Ltd.
    Bank of Ceylon
    Cho Hung Bank
    China Trust Commercial Bank
    Krung Thai Bank plc.
    Antwerp Diamond Bank N.V.
    J P Morgan Chase Bank
    Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd.
    Oman International Bank SAOG
    Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank

SOCIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS PRACTICE MCQs

1. RBI's open market operation transactions are carried out with a view to regulate ____
(A) Liquidity in the economy
(B) Prices of essential commodities
(C) Inflation
(D) Borrowing power of the banks
(E) All the above
Ans (E)

2. Open market operations , one of the measures taken by RBI in order to control credit expansion in the economy means ____
(A) Sale or purchase of Govt. securities
(B) Issuance of different types of bonds
(C) Auction of gold
(D) To make available direct finance to borrowers
(E) None of these
Ans (A)

3. The bank rate means ___
(A) Rate of interest charged by commercial banks from borrowers
(B) Rate of interest at which commercial banks discounted bills of their borrowers
(C) Rate of interest allowed by commercial banks on their deposits
(D) Rate at which RBI purchases or rediscounts bills of exchange of commercial banks
(E) None of these
Ans (D)

4. What is an Indian Depository Receipt?
(A) A deposit account with a Public Sector Bank
(B) A deposit account with any of depositories in India
(C) An instrument in the form of depository receipt created by an Indian depository against underlying equity shares of the issuing company
(D) An instrument in the form of deposit receipt issued by an Indian depositories
(E) None of these
Ans (C)

5. Fiscal deficit is ____
(A) total income less Govt. borrowing
(B) total payments less total receipts
(C) total payments less capital receipts
(D) total expenditure less total receipts excluding borrowing
(E) None of these
Ans (D)

6. In the capital market , the term arbitrage is used with reference to ____
(A) purchase of securities to cover the sale
(B) sale of securities to reduce the loss on purchase
(C) simultaneous purchase and sale of securities to make profits from price
(D) variation in different markets
(E) Any of the above
Ans (C)

7. The stance of RBI monetary policy is _____
(A) inflation control with adequate liquidity for growth
(B) improving credit quality of the Banks
(C) strengthening credit delivery mechanism
(D) supporting investment demand in the economy
(E) Any of the above
Ans (E)

8. Currency Swap is an instrument to manage ___
(A) currency risk
(B) interest rate risk
(C) currency and interest rate risk
(D) cash flows in different currency
(E) All of the above
Ans (D)

9. "Sub-prime" refers to_______
(A) lending done by banks at rates below PLR
(B) funds raised by the banks at sub - Libor Rates
(C) Group of banks which are not rate as prime banks as per Banker's Almanac
(D) lending done by financing institutions including banks to customers not not meeting with normally required credit appraisal standards
(E) All of the above
Ans (D)

10. Euro Bond is an instrument _____
(A) issued in the European market
(B) issued in Euro currency
(C) issued in a country other than the country of the currency of the Bond
(D) All of the above
(E) None of these
Ans (C)

11. Money laundering normally involves _____
(A) placement of funds
(B) layering of funds
(C) integrating of funds
(D) All of (A), (B) & (C)
(E) None of (A), (B) & (C)
Ans (D)

12. The IMF and the World Bank were conceived as institutions to ____
(A) strengthening international economic co-operation and to help create a more stable and prosperous global economy
(B) IMF promotes international monetary cooperation
(C) The World Bank promotes long term economic development and poverty reduction
(D) All of (A),(B) & (C)
(E) None of (A),(B) & (C)
Ans (D)

13. Capital Market Regulator is _____
(A) RBI
(B) IRDA
(C) NSE
(D) BSE
(E) SEBI
Ans (e)

14. In the term BRICS , R stands for ______
(A) Romania
(B) Rajithan
(C) Russia
(D) Regulation
(E) Npne of these
Ans (C)

15. FDI refers to _____
(A) Fixed Deposit Interest
(B) Fixed Deposit Investment
(C) Foreign Direct Investment
(D) Future Derivative Investment
(E) None of these
Ans (C)

16. Which is the fist Indian company to be listed in NASDAQ?
(A) Reliance
(B) TCS
(C) HCL
(D) Infosys
(E) None of these
Ans (D)

17. Which of the following is the Regulator of the credit rating agencies in India?
(A) RBI
(B) SBI
(C) SIDBI
(D) SEBI
(E) None of these
Ans (D)

18. Who is Brand Endorsing Personality of Bank of Baroda?
(A) Juhi Chawala
(B) Kiran Bedi
(C) Amitabh Bachchan
(D) Kapil Dev
(E) None of these
Ans (E)

19. The Branding Line of Bank of Baroda is ____
(A) International Bank of India
(B) India's International Bank
(C) India's Multinational Bank
(D) World's Local Bank
(E) None of these
Ans (B)

20. The logo of Bank of Baroda is known as ___
(A) Sun of Bank of Baroda
(B) Baroda Sun
(C) Bank of Baroda's Rays
(D) Sunlight of Bank of Baroda
(E) None of these
Ans (B)

21. One of the major challenges banking industries is facing these days is money laundering. Which of the following acts/ norms are launched by the banks by the banks to prevent money laundering in general ?
(A) Know your customer norms
(B) Banking Regulation Act
(C) Negotiable Instrument Act
(D) Narcotics and Psychotropic Substance Act
(E) None of these
Ans (E)

22. Lot of Banks in India these days are offering M-Banking Facility to their customers . What is the full form of 'M' in 'M-Banking'?
(A) Money
(B) Marginal
(C) Message
(D) Mutual Fund
(E) Mobile Phone
Ans (E)

23. Which of the following is/are true about the "Sub-Prime Crisis" ?
(1) It is a Mortage Crisis referring to Credit default by the borrowers
(2) Sub-Prime borrowers were those borrowers who were rated low and were high risk borrowers
(3) This crisis originated of negligence in credit rating of the borrowers
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1,2 & 3
(E) None of these
Ans (D)

24. Which of the following is NOT the part of the structure of the financial System in India ?
(A) Industrial Finance
(B) Agricultural Finance
(C) Government Finance
(D) Development Finance
(E) Personal Finance
Ans (E)

25. Which of the following is NOT the part of the Scheduled Banking structure in India ?
(A) Money Lenders
(B) Public Sector Banks
(C) Private Sector Banks
(D) Regional Rural Banks
(E) State Co-operative Banks
Ans (A)

26. As we all know Govt. of India collects tax revenue on various activities in the country. Which of
the following is a part of the tax revenue of the Govt. ?
(1) Tax on Income
(2) Tax on Expenditure
(3) Tax on property or Capital Asset
(4) Tax on Goods and Services
(A) Both 1 and 3 only
(B) Both 2 and 4 only
(C) All 1,2,3 & 4
(D) Only 2,3 and 4
(E) None of these
Ans (C)

27. We very frequently read about Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in newspapers. These SEZs were
established with which of the following objectives ?
(1) To attract foreign investment directly
(2) To protect domestic market from direct competition from multinationals
(3) To provide more capital to agriculture and allied activities
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1,2 & 3
(E) None of these
Ans (A)

28. Which of the following groups of the countries has almost 50% share in Global emission of carbon every year ?
(A) US, China, India, South Africa
(B) India, china, Russia , Britain
(C) South Africa, Nepal , Myanmar
(D) US, Russia, China & India
(E) None of these
Ans (D)

29. Many times we read about Future Trading in newspapers. What is Future Trading ?
(1) It is nothing but a trade between any two stock exchanges where in it is decided to purchase the stocks of each other on a fixed price throughout the year
(2) It is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell an underlying asset in the future at a predetermined price
(3) It is agreement between Stock Exchanges that they will not trade the stocks of each other under any circumstances in future or for a given period of time
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1,2 & 3
(E) None of these
Ans (B)

30. Hillary Clinton formally suspended her campaign to ensure election of who amongst the following for the next President of USA?
(A) George Bush
(B) Barack Obama
(C) John McCain
(D) Boll Clinton
(E) None of these
Ans (B)

31. Hugo Chavez whose name was recently in news is the _____
(A) President of Cango
(B) Prime Minister of Uganda
(C) President of Venezuela
(D) Prime Minister of Brazil
(E) None of these
Ans (C)

32. The Govt. of India has raised the amount of the loan Waiver to the farmers by 20%. Now the amount is nearly _____
(A) Rs. 60,000 crores
(B) Rs. 65,000 crores
(C) Rs. 72,000 crores
(D) Rs. 76,000 crores
(E) Rs. 80,000 crores
Ans (A)

33. Delimitation Commission has made a recommendation the next Census should be Panchayat-wise. When is the next Census due ?
(A) 2010
(B) 2011
(C) 2012
(D) 2013
(E) 2015
Ans (B)

34. The world Health Organization has urged that advertisements of which of the following should be banned to protect youth from bad effects of the same ?
(A) Tobacco
(B) Alcoholic drinks
(C) Junk Food
(D) Soft drinks with chemical preservatives
(E) None of these
Ans (A)

35. Which of the following countries has allocated a huge amount of US $ 10 billion to provide
relief to its earthquake victims ?
(A) Japan
(B) South Korea
(C) China
(D) South Africa
(E) None of these
Ans (C)

36. Which of the foloowing names is NOT closely associated with space Programme of India or any
other country ?
(A) CARTOSAT
(B) NLS-5
(C) RUBIN-8
(D) GSLV
(E) SCOPE
Ans (E)

37. Vijay Hazare Trophy is associated with game of _____
(A) Hockey
(B) Cricket
(C) Badminton
(D) Football
(E) Golf
Ans (B)

38. Which of the following was theme of the Olympic Torch ?
(A) Journey of Harmony
(B) Green World Clean World
(C) Journey of Peace
(D) Jouney of Hunger-free World
(E) None of these
Ans (A)

39. Which of the following schemes is NOT a social development Scheme ?
(A) Indira Awas Yojana
(B) Mid Day Meal
(C) Bharat Nirman Yojana
(D) Sarva Siksha Abhiyan
(E) All are Social Schemes
Ans (C)

40. Which of the following is NOT a member of ASEAN ?
(A) Maleysia
(B) Indonesia
(C) Vietnam
(D) Britain
(E) Singapore
Ans (D)

41. Which of the following awards are given for the excellence in the field of Sports ?
(A) Kalinga Prize
(B) Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award
(C) Arjun Award
(D) Pulitzer Award
(E) None of these
Ans (C)

42. Inflation in India is measured on which of the following indexes/indicators ?
(A) Cost of Living Index (COLI)
(B) Consumer Price Index (CPI)
(C) Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
(D) Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
(E) None of these
Ans (D)

MCQs on Union Budget 2011-12

1) Who presented the Union Budget 2011-12 in the Parliament on February 28, 2011?
a) Manmohan Singh
b) Pratibha Devi singh Patil
c) Hamid Ansari
d) D.Subbarao
e) Pranab Mukherjee

2) The first Union budget of independent India was presented by?
a) R.K.Shanmukham Chetty
b) Jawaharlal Nehru
c) Morarji Desai
d) Indira Gandhi
e) Manmohan Singh

3) Disinvestment Target for 2011-12 has been placed at?
a) Rs. 10000 crore
b) Rs. 20000 crore
c) Rs. 30000 crore
d) Rs. 40000 crore
e) None of these

4) Foreign Institutional Investor-(FII) limit for investment in Indian corporate bonds raised from $20 billion to?
a) $30 billion
b) $40 billion
c) $50 billion
d) $60 billion
e) None of these

5) As per Union Budget 2011-12, Indian Micro Finance Equity Fund of Rs.100 crore to be created with?
a) SBI
b) ICICI
c) NABARD
d) IDBI
e) SIDBI

6) Rural Infrastructure Develo-pment Fund (RIDF) was set up by the Government in?
a) 1995-96
b) 1996-97
c) 1997-98
d)1998-99
e) None of these

7) The corpus allocated for Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for 2011-12 is?
a) Rs.16000
b) Rs.17000
c) Rs.18000
d) Rs.19000
e) None of these


8) The target of credit flow to farmers has been raised from Rs.3,75,000 crore of 2010-11 to ……in 2011-12?
a) Rs.4,75,000 crore
b) Rs.5,75,000 crore
c) Rs.6,75,000 crore
d) Rs.7,75,000 crore
e) None of these

9) Rural Infrastructure Develo-pment Fund (RIDF) is maintained by?
a) RBI
b) SBI
c) NABARD
d) IDBI Bank
e) None of these

10) Eligibility for pension under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for BPL beneficiaries reduced from 65 years of age to?
a) 64 years
b) 63 years
c) 62 years
d) 61 years
e) 6o years

11) Exemption limit for the general category of individual taxpa-yers enhanced from 1,60,000 to?
a) 1,70,000
b) 1,80,000
c) 1,90,000
d) 2,00,000
e) None of these

12) As per Union Budget 2011-12, standard rate of Service Tax is?
a) 10 %
b) 11 %
c) 12 %
d) 13 %
e) None of these

13) As per Union Budget 2011-12, Defence allocation is?
a) 1.64 lakh crore
b) 1.74 lakh crore
c) 1.84 lakh crore
d) 1.94 lakh crore
e) None of these
14) In the Constitution of India, the Union Budget of India referred to as the?
a) Economic Survey
b) Monetary and Credit Policy
c) Foreign Trade Policy
d) Annual Financial Statement
e) None of these

15) Which of the following department is not a part of Finance Ministry of India?
a) Department of Economic Affairs
b) Department of Expenditure
c) Department of Revenue
d) Department of Disinvestments
e) Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion

16) Which Department principal responsibility is the prep-aration of the Union Budget annually (excluding the Railway Budget)?
a) Department of Economic Affairs
b) Department of Expenditure
c) Department of Revenue
d) Department of Disinvestments
e) Department of Financial Servies

17) Which of the following is a government body that offers a single window clearance for proposals on foreign direct investment in the country that are not allowed access through the automatic route?
a) Securities and Exchange Board of India
b) Reserve Bank of India
c) Export-Import Bank of India
d) Foreign Investment Promo-tion Board
e) Bombay Stock Exchange

18) The first woman Finance Secretary of India?
a) Sushma Nath
b) Shyamala Gopinath
c) Chanda Kochhar
d) Shikha Sharma
e) None of these

19) The only woman to hold the post of the finance minister of India?
a) Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit
b) Sarojini Naidu
c) Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
d) Indira Gandhi
e) None of these

20) The Union Budget is always presented first in ?
a) Lok Sabha
b) Rajya Sabha
c) Joint Session of the Parliament
d) State Assemblies
e) None of these

21) Which of the following presents the Economic Survey in the parliament every year, just before the Union Budget?
a) RBI
b) Ministry of Finance
c) Ministry of Commerce
d) Planning Commission
e) Finance Commission

22) The financial year in India starts on?
a) 1st January
b)1stMarch
c) 1st April
d) 1st July
e) None of these

23) A fiscal year in India ends on?
a) February 28
b) March 31
c)April1
d) July1
e)December 31

24) A. Gross Tax receipts are estimated at 9,32,440 crore.
B. Non-tax revenue receipts estimated at 1,25,435 crore.
C. Total expenditure proposed at 12,57,729 crore.
D. Increase of 18.3 per cent in total Plan allocation.
E. Increase of 10.9 per cent in the Non-plan expenditure.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) A and B
b) B and C
c) C and D
d) D and E
e) All of the above

25) A.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimated to have grown at 8.6 per cent in 2010-11 in real terms.
B. Government expects econo-my to grow at 9 % in 2011-12.
C. Fiscal Deficit target at 4.6% for 2011-12, down from 5.1% estimated for 2010-11.
D. Central Government debt estimated at 44.2 per cent of GDP for 2011-12 as against 52.5 per cent recomm-ened by the 13th Finance Commission.
E. 40,000 crore to be raised through disinvestment in 2011-12.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) A and B
b) B and C
c) C and D
d) D and E
e) All of the above

26) A. Government committed to retain at least 51 per cent ownership and management control of the Central Public Sector Undertakings.
B. "India Microfinance Equity Fund" of Rs.100 crore to be created with SIDBI. Gover-nment considering putting in place appropriate regulatory framework to protect the interest of small borrowers.
C."Women's SHG's Develo-pment Fund" to be created with a corpus of Rs. 500 crore.
D. Corpus of RIDF XVII to be raised from Rs.16,000 crore to 20,000 crore.
E. 1,000 crore to be provided to SIDBI for refinancing incre-mental lending by banks to these enterprises.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) A and D
b) A, B and C
c) C and D
d) D and E
e) None of these

27) A.Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) increased from Rs. 6,755 crore to 7,860 crore.
B. Rs.10,000 crore to be contributed to NABARD's Short-term Rural Credit fund for 2011-12.
C. Allocation for Bharat Nirman programme proposed to be increased by Rs.10,000 crore from the current year to Rs. 58,000 crore in 2011-12.
D. Rs. 21,000 crores for primary education to implement Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
E. Defence budget hiked to ’1.64 lakh crore
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) A and B
b) B and C
c) C and D
d) D and E
e) All of the above

28) Consider the following statements:
1) Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee unveiled the Union Budget 2011-12 on February 28, 2011.
2) Economic Survey 2010-11 was presented in the Parliament on Feb 25, 2011.
3) India's Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee presented the new Railway Budget for the year 2011-12 in the parliament on February 25, 2011.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 3 only
d) All of the above
e) None of these

Answers:

1) e, 2) a, 3) d, 4) a, 5) e, 6) a, 7) c, 8) a, 9) c, 10) e, 11) b, 12) a, 13) a, 14) d, 15) e, 
16) a, 17) d, 18) a, 19) d, 20) a, 21) b, 22) c, 23) b, 24) e, 25) e, 26) b, 27) e, 28) d

BANK EXAMS GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs

1. 'Global Market' means market of?
1) USA
2) China
3) OPEC members
4) European Union Countries
5) All major countries and their alliances

2. Growth for 2011-12 has been -8.8% was the news in major news papers. This means which of the following grew at this rate during that period?
1) GDP
2) Money supply
3) Foreign Exchange Reserves
4) Inflation
5) Price Index

3. What is the full form of  LAF?
1) Liquid Advance & Finance
2) Liquidity Adjustment Facility
3) Legal Adjournment Facility
4) Local Advance Finance
5) Late Arrival of Finance

4. Headquarter of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in?
l) Geneva
2) Paris
3) London
4) Manila
5) Washington DC

5. As per newspaper reports ANZ was given licence to open branch in Mumbai. ANZ is a bank based in?
1) Australia
2) Argentina
3) Afghanistan
4) Angola
5) Austria

6. Whenever somebody needs foreign-currency against Indian Rupee, banks give equivalent amount of desired currency based on prevalent?
1) Bank Rate
2) Currency rate
3) policy rate
4) exchange rate
5) base rate

7. Banks recover term loan from the parties in EMIs. What the letter 'E' represents in the term?
1) Easy
2) Effective
3) Equated
4) Essential
5) Economical

8. Which of the following is NOT a scheduled Commercial Bank?
1) IDBI Bank
2) Axis Bank
3) HDFC Bank
4) NABARD
5) Kotak Mahindra Bank

9. POSCO is a company which manufactures?
1) Cement
2) Penna products
3) Sugar
4) Textiles
5) Steel

10. The financial results of banks and other organizations normally are expressed in quarters. What does Q -1 means?
1) Results of January - March
2) Performance during April-June
3) Profits during July -September
4) The period when the profits were highest
5) None

11. Which of the following certainly is an effort in the direction of Financial Inclusion?
1) Internet Banking
2) Anywhere Banking
3) No-frills Accounts
4) Foreign Currency Accounts
5) All of these

12. Which of the following organizations has offered a credit of US $225 million to India to mitigate impact of cyclones?
1) IMF
2) World Bank
3) WTO
4 ) ADB
5) UNESCO

13. Who amongst the following Padma Bhushan Awardees is a famous banker?
1) Mr. Azim H. Premji
2) Mrs. Kapila Vatsyayam
3) Mrs. Chanda Kochhar
4) Mrs. Waheeda Rehman
5) Mr. Brajesh Mishra

14. Wages to workers of which of the following is now revised and are based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
1) MGNREGA
2) Anganwadi workers
3) Teachers involved in Operation Black Board
4) Health workers in Rural Areas
5) None of these

15. Which of the following Acts is specially launched to facilitate banks in recovery of bad loans?
1) RBI Act
2) Banking Regulation Act
3) Companies Act
4) Income Tax Act
5) SARFAESI Act

16. The financial assistance or loans of Rs.10,000/- by a bank very a small borrower will be called?
1) Business finance
2) Govt Finance
3) Micro finance
4) Small finance
5) KYC finance

17. What does letter 'P' denote in the term 'PAN' issued by the Income Tax Department?
1) Provisional
2) Private
3) Personal
4) Permanent
5) Postal

18. The Head Office of the Unique Identification Authority of India is located in ?
1) Bangalore
2) Mumbai
3) New Delhi
4) Chennai
5) Hyderabad

19. As decided by the Govt. of India, home States will now get more shares in Power Generation. This will be upto __
1) 25%
2) 30%
3) 40%
4) 50%
5) 65%

20. Who amongst the following can NOT work as a Business Corres-pondent, as given in the scheme launched by the banks?
1) Kirana Store
2) Post Office
3) Self Help Group
4) A Bank Officer
5) Cooperative Society

21. Some banks are financing big projects like construction of Roads/Bridges etc. Financing to such projects means banks are helping exactly in?
1) Infrastructure Development 2) Project Management
3) Developing Core Sector Industry
4) Financial Inclusion
5) All of these

22. As we know lot of new concepts are being used in the field of banking these days. Which of the following is NOT one such conc-ept/product directly associated with banks?
1) E-payment
2) SMS Alert
3) ATM Debit Card
4) Demat Account
5) Number Portability

23. Which of the following is NOT a Nationalized Bank ?
1) UBI
2) CBI
3) Yes Bank
4) Syndicate Bank
5) Indian Bank

24. As predicted by the World Bank, Indian economy will grow faster than which of the following countries in 2012?
1) China
2) USA
3) Japan
4) France
5) Germany

25. Who amongst the following cannot open an account in any bank in India?
1) One who is not earning regularly
2) A House wife
3) A student of l0th Standard
4) A farmer who owns a small piece of land
5) An individual who is well to do out his source of income is not known

26. Which of the following banks has taken over the Centurion Bank of Punjab ?
1) ICICI Bank
2) IDBI Bank
3) HDFC Bank
4) AXIS Bank
5) None of these

27. Inflation has become a major area of concern in India these days. What measures do the Government of India/ RBI norm-ally take to control the same?
A) Fixation of Maximum Prices of the Commodities
B) System of Dual prices
C) Increase in Supply of food grains
D) Control on credit and liquidity in market
1) Only A
2) Only B
3) Only C
4) Only B, C and D
5) All of these

28. Which state government announ-ced that each village in the State with a population of 250 would be declared a "revenue village" for facilitating its development ?
1) West Bengal
2) Orissa
3) Rajasthan
4) Haryana
5) None

29. Who among the following is the author of the novel "Without Dreams"?
1) Shahbano Bilgrami
2) Saeed Mirza
3) Javed Akhtar
4) Shabana Azmi
5) None

30. The Government of India has set up Price Stabilisation Fund for four commodities. Which of the following is NOT covered by the scheme ?
1) Tobacco
2) Coffee
3) Rubber
4) Tea
5) Jute

31. The organizing committee of FIFA World Cup announced the name of the country selected to host the event to be organized in 2014. Who is the host chosen for the same ?
1) Russia
2) Venzeula
3) Bolivia
4) Peru
5) Brazil

32. Who among the following is the author of the book :'Half a life'?
1) Mark Tully
2) Deepak Chopra
3) Chetan Bhagat
4) Ved Mehta
5) V.S. Neipaul

33. In which one of the following states, village level marketing platform has been set up for the first time in the country?
1) Haryana
2) Maharashtra
3) Gujarath
4) Bihar
5) Kerala

34. With which one of the following sports, the name of Parupalli Kashyap is associated?
1) Chess
2) Tennis
3) Badminton
4) Athletics
5) None of these

35. While passing the Finance Bill the Finance Minister agreed to with draw the controversial 'misery tax' on healthcare from the tax proposals. What did this 'misery tax relate to?
1) Expenditure tax for luxury treatment
2) Service tax on air conditioned hospitals and diagnostics
3) Sales tax on expensive healthcare
4) GST on costly hospital and medical treatment
5) None

Answers:
1) 5 2) 1 3) 2 4) 5 5) 1 6)5 7) 3 8) 4 9) 5 10) 2 11) 3 12) 2 13) 3 14) 1 15) 5 16) 3 17) 4 18) 3 19) 4 20) 4 21) 1 22) 5 23) 3 24) 1 25) 3 26) 3 27) 5 28) 3 29) 3 30) 5 31) 5 32) 5 33) 3 34) 3 35) 2