Oct 2nd Week Govt Schemes, Banking And Finance, Economy And Business Flashcards
- Name the insurance company that has recently (in Oct ‘23) introduced surrogacy cover and
oocyte donor cover to its women-centric policy.
1) Care Health Insurance
2) Star Health and Allied Insurance
3) Aditya Birla Health Insurance
4) Niva Bupa Health Insurance
5) Manipal Cigna Health Insurance
Answer- 2) Star Health and Allied Insurance
Explanation:
On October 9, 2023, Star Health and Allied Insurance introduced surrogacy cover and oocyte
donor cover to its women-centric policy namely Star Women Care Insurance Policy at no extra
charge for policyholders.
i. This inclusion will address the demand in assisted reproduction treatment, and extend health
insurance coverage to surrogate mothers and oocyte donors.
ii. The Surrogate Mother & Oocyte Donor Cover is applicable for adults 25 to 35 years. The sum
insured under this is available up to Rs. 1 Crore.
- Which bank has recently (in Oct ‘23) partnered with Social Worth Technologies Private
Limited (Fibe) to launch India’s first-ever numberless credit card?
1) Axis Bank
2) YES Bank
3) HDFC Bank
4) ICICI Bank
5) IndusInd Bank
Answer- 1) Axis Bank
Explanation:
Axis Bank Limited and Social Worth Technologies Private Limited (Fibe) (formely known as
EarlySalary) have partnered to launch India’s first-ever numberless credit card called Fibe Axis
Bank Credit Card.
i. The card, powered by Rupay, also allows the customer to link this credit card to Unified Payments
Interface (UPI).
ii. The Fibe Axis Bank Credit Card offers financial solutions by targeting tech-savvy Generation Z
(people born between 1996 and 2010) of India.
iii. The card does not have any card number, expiry date, or Card Verification Value (CVV) printed on
it.
• The cardholders can access their card details in Fibe mobile application (App).
- Which company has recently (in Oct ‘23) received the first installment of investment of Rs.
300 crore from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for its Electric Vehicle (EV)
division?
1) Kinetic Green
2) Euler Motors
3) Mahindra Last Mile Mobility
4) Piaggio Vehicles
5) Atul Auto
Answer- 3) Mahindra Last Mile Mobility
Explanation:
Mahindra Last Mile Mobility (MLMML), a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) received
the first installment of investment of Rs. 300 crore from the International Finance Corporation
(IFC) for its Electric Vehicle (EV) division. This investment is IFC’s first in an EV maker in India.
i. With this transaction, MLMML has ceased to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahindra with effect
from 9th October 2023, while it continues to be a subsidiary of the company.
ii. In March 2023, IFC committed to investing Rs. 600 Crore (in one or more installments) at a valuation of up to Rs. 6020 Crore, in a new company housing the last mile mobility division of
Mahindra Group.
- Which bank has recently (in Oct ‘23) extended the Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
integration for Non-Residential External (NRE) clients?
1) YES Bank
2) HDFC Bank
3) ICICI Bank
4) IndusInd Bank
5) Federal Bank
Answer- 5) Federal Bank
Explanation:
Kerala based Federal Bank Limited has extended the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) integration
for Non-Residential External (NRE) clients through its mobile banking platform, FedMobile, to
enhance banking convenience for its Non-Residential Indian (NRI) clients.
i. With the integration of UPI, NRI clients can now make payments seamlessly using their NRE
accounts in regions where traditional payment methods may be limited.
ii. The plan has been approved by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for NRIs from
countries including Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the United States
of America(USA), Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates(UAE), and the United Kingdom(UK).
- Name the Payment Aggregator that has recently (in Oct ‘23) received ISO/IEC 27001: 2022
certification.
1) Phi Commerce Private Limited
2) Infibeam Avenues Limited
3) Worldline ePayments India
4) Paysharp Private Limited
5) Pine Labs Private Limited
Answer- 4) Paysharp Private Limited
Explanation:
Chennai (Tamil Nadu)-based Paysharp Private Limited (Paysharp), a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in-
principle licence-approved Payment Aggregator, gets ISO/IEC 27001: 2022 certification, the world’s
best-known standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS).
i. Paysharp, a fintech startup founded in 2019, is focusing on non-card-based payments like Unified
Payments Interface (UPI) payments. It offers both Business-to-business (B2B) and Business-to-
consumer (B2C) businesses, offering a range of UPI collection solutions.
ii. ISO/IEC 27001 helps organisations become risk-aware and proactively identify and address
weaknesses. It promotes a comprehensive approach to information security.
- Which of the following points is/are “correct” with respect to the step made by the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) in October 2023?
A) RBI has decided to extend the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework to all deposit taking government NBFCs and non-deposit taking government NBFCs in middle, upper and top Layers (excluding base layer) with effect from October 1, 2024.
B) RBI under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, has ordered Bank of Baroda to immediately suspend the process of adding more customers to the ‘bob World’ mobile application.
C) As per the RBI’s monetary policy report, the Personal loans /Retail loans form the biggest
component of bank credit at 32.1 percent of outstanding credit, as of March 2023.
1) All A, B & C
2) Only A & B
3) Only B & C
4) Only A & C
5) Only A
Answer- 1) All A, B & C
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to extend the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)
Framework to all deposit taking government NBFCs and non-deposit taking government NBFCs in
middle, upper and top Layers (excluding base layer) with effect from October 1, 2024.
• Major government-owned NBFCs that will be subject to the PCA Framework include entities
like Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), Indian Railway
Finance Corporation (IRFC), and Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI).
i. The Reserve Bank of India, under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, has ordered Bank of Baroda to immediately suspend the process of adding more customers to the ‘bob World’ mobile application.
ii. As per the RBI’s monetary policy report,bank lending has changed significantly, with more credit
now directed towards services and retail loans compared to industries.
• Personal loans now form the biggest component of bank credit (at 32.1% of outstanding credit), followed by services (28.4%), industry (26.2%) and agriculture (13.3%).
- Name the Payments Bank that has recently (in Oct ‘23) received a monetary penalty of Rs
5.39 crore by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
1) Paytm Payments Bank
2) Jio Payments Bank
3) India Post Payments Bank
4) Fino Payments Bank
5) Airtel Payment Bank
Answer- 1) Paytm Payments Bank
Explanation:
On October 12, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 5.39 Crore
on Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) in exercise of its powers conferred under the provisions of
Section 47A(1)(c) read with Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation (BR) Act, 1949.
i. This penalty will not affect any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its
customers.
ii. The penalty was imposed due to non-compliance with certain provisions of,
• Reserve Bank of India (Know Your Customer (KYC)) Directions, 2016
• RBI Guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks’ read with ‘Enhancement of maximum balance
at end of the day.
- In October 2023, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled the Certificate of Registration
(CoR) of _____________ (Housing Finance Company) w.e.f. 21st September, 2023.
1) Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited
2) Ind Bank Housing Limited
3) PNB Housing Finance Limited
4) LIC Housing Finance Limited
5) Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited
Answer- 2) Ind Bank Housing Limited
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the Certificate of Registration (CoR) Chennai, Tamil
Nadu (TN) based Ind Bank Housing Ltd, a Housing Finance Company (HFC) w.e.f. September 21,
2023.
• In this regard, it cannot transact the business of a Housing Finance Institution and a Non-
Banking Financial Institution (NBFC) as defined in National Housing Bank (NHB) Act, 1987 and
RBI Act, 1934, respectively.
• This decision has been taken by RBI in exercise of its powers conferred on it under Section 29A
(6) of the NHB Act, 1987.
Note: Set up in 1991, Ind Bank Housing Ltd major shareholders were Indian Bank and HUDCO
(Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd) with 51% and 25% stake, respectively.
- Which Payments Bank has recently (in Oct ‘23) signed an agreement with Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to extend financial & other support services to MSMEs
(Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) in rural and remote areas?
1) Paytm Payments Bank
2) Jio Payments Bank
3) India Post Payments Bank
4) Fino Payments Bank
5) Airtel Payment Bank
Answer- 3) India Post Payments Bank
Explanation:
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has signed an agreement with Small Industries Development Bank
of India (SIDBI) to extend financial and other support services to MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises) in rural and remote areas.
i. SIDBI provides credit to small businesses, while IPPB provides banking transaction services.
ii. It should be noted that Payments banks are not allowed to provide credit but can partner with
other institutions for distribution.
- Name the bank that has recently (in Oct ‘23) launched ‘iFinance’ to get a consolidated view
of customers’ savings and current accounts across banks in a single place.
1) ICICI Bank
2) Axis Bank
3) HDFC Bank
4) YES Bank
5) IndusInd Bank
Answer- 1) ICICI Bank
Explanation:
ICICI Bank Limited has launched a new feature called iFinance, which allows customers-retail and
sole proprietors, to get a consolidated view of their savings and current accounts across banks in a
single place. This facility is also extended to customers of other banks.
i. ICICI bank leverages the Account Aggregator(AA) ecosystem to enable users to link their accounts.
ii. This feature is available on ICICI Bank’s digital platforms, namely iMobile Pay application, Retail
Internet Banking (RIB), Corporate Internet Banking (CIB) and InstaBIZ(Business Banking Mobile
Application).
iii. ‘iFinance’ provides a single-view dashboard of all accounts, offering a facility to get a summary of
their income and category wise information of their expenditure.
- Which Company/Financial Institutions has recently (in Oct ‘23) sanctioned loans worth Rs
8,800 crore for airports and civil aviation infrastructure development in India?
1) Industrial Finance Corporation of India
2) Infrastructure Development Finance Company
3) Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited
4) National Bank For Financing Infrastructure And Development
5) India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited
Answer- 5) India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited
Explanation:
India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 8,800 crore
for airports and civil aviation infrastructure development in India.
• The IIFCL has already sanctioned loans of around Rs 4,000 crore.
Funding:
i. IIFCL is one of India’s major airport financiers and has supported airports with a total project outlay
of about Rs 74,000 crore.
ii. IIFCL along with the Government of India will continue to support the development of world-class
airport infrastructure in India under the Public-Private-Partnership(PPP) model.
• It will also explore opportunities to fund greenfield airport projects and Maintenance, Repairs
and Overhaul (MRO) facilities.
- According to the 19th Quarterly Bulletin (QB) of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for
April-June 2023 (Q1FY24) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in October 2023,
India’s urban unemployment rate (UR) in Current Weekly Status (CWS) terms for persons aged
15 years and above declined to _________ during Q1FY24.
1) 6.3%
2) 6.6%
3) 6.9%
4) 6.7%
5) 6.2%
Answer- 2) 6.6%
Explanation:
On October 9, 2023, the National Statistical Office
(NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MoSPI) released its 19th
Quarterly Bulletin(QB) of Periodic Labour Force
Survey (PLFS) for April-June 2023 (Q1FY24).
As per it, India’s urban unemployment rate (UR)
in Current Weekly Status (CWS) terms for persons
aged 15 years and above declined to 6.6% during
Q1FY24 from 6.8% during Q4FY23. It was 7.6% in
April-June 2022 (Q1FY23).
• The UR for Q1FY24 is lower than the URs
observed in the quarters covered in the pre-
pandemic period.
• A total number of 5,639 FSUs- First Stage
Unit (UFS- Urban Frame Survey blocks) have
been surveyed during Q1FY24. The number
of urban households surveyed was 44,190 and the number of persons surveyed was 1,67,916
in urban areas.
• UR in CWS among male population declined to 5.9% as compared to 7.1 in Q1FY23.
• At all India levels, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in CWS increased to 48.8% from
47.5% in April-June 2022 (Q1FY23).
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR- in %) in CWS increased to 45.5% from 43.9% in Q1FY23.
- According to World Economic Outlook (WEO)-Navigating Global Divergences‘ released in
October 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised India’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) growth forecast to __________ for 2023.
1) 6.5%
2) 6.7%
3) 6.3%
4) 6.1%
5) 6.5%
Answer- 3) 6.3%
Explanation:
According to World Economic Outlook (WEO), October 2023 -Navigating Global Divergences‘ the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast
to 6.3% in 2023 from July 2023 estimate of 6.1% due to 7.8% growth during the June quarter.
• India will also grow at 6.3% in 2024 while remaining the world’s fastest growing major
economy in 2023 and 2024.
• The IMF’s 2023 growth forecast for India is the same as the World Bank’s (WB) projection in its
India Development Update(IDU) October 2023.
i. Global economic growth will slow to 3% in 2023 from 3.5% in 2022, a fall by 50 basis points. It will
be 2.9% in 2024.
ii. Global inflation will decline steadily to 6.9% in 2023 from 8.7% in 2022. It will be 5.8% in 2024.
- According to the 6th Annual Report ‘Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) [July, 2022 – June,
2023]’ released by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in October 2023, the
Unemployment rate (UR) at 6-year low of _______ in 2022-23 under the Usual Status (ps+ss).
1) 5.2%
2) 3.2%
3) 5.3%
4) 4.5%
5) 3.9%
Answer- 2) 3.2%
Explanation:
On October 9, 2023, the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MoSPI) released the 6th Annual Report ‘Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
[July, 2022 – June, 2023]’ stating Unemployment rate (UR) at 6-year low of 3.2% in 2022-23
under the Usual Status (ps+ss). It was 6% in 2017-18.
• The UR in Current Weekly Status (CWS) decreased to 5.1% in 2022-23. It was 8.7% in 2017-18.
• The UR under the Usual Status during the one-year period declined for the 5th consecutive
year since it was launched in April 2017 while under CWS it decreased for the 3rd consecutive
year since April 2017.
• At all India level, UR decreased to 3.2% in 2022-23 from 4.1% in 2021-22
• At the all India level, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased to 57.9% in 2022-
23 from 55.2% in 2021-22.
• At the all India level, Worker Population Ratio (WPR) increased to 51.8% from 48.3% in 2021-
22.
- Which company has recently (in Oct ‘23) signed 2 MoU with two France-based Space firms
Promethee Earth Intelligence and ConnectSAT to launch satellites on Vikram-I Rocket?
1) Garuda Aerospace
2) Tata Elxsi
3) Agnikul Cosmos
4) Dhruva Space
5) Skyroot Aerospace
Answer- 5) Skyroot Aerospace
Explanation:
Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited, a Hyderabad (Telangana) -based space startup, has signed two
memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with two France-based Space firms Promethee Earth
Intelligence and ConnectSAT.
• The satellites of the French space firms are set to be launched on Vikram-I of the Skyroot.
i. Skyroot signed an MoU with Promethee to launch its Japetus earth observation constellation
onboard Skyroot’s Vikram rockets.
• The MoU was signed by Olivier Piepsz, Co-Founder and CEO of Prométhée, and Co-Founders of
Skyroot Aerospace, Pawan Chandana and Bharath Daka.
ii. Skyroot signed a trilateral MoU with ConnectSAT and Expleo to launch ConnectSAT’s OSIRIS
satellite constellation onboard Skyroot’s Vikram rockets.
• As part of the MoU, Expleo provides reconfigurable software for ConnectSAT’s Internet of
Things (IoT) satellite.
