Eco Quz 2 2012

SEBI, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, unveiled rules for direct investment in stocks by foreign investors, including individuals. These rules were introduced to put curbs on opaque structures and prevent routing of funds by resident Indians. SEBI's aim was to ensure transparency and accountability in the investment process and to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders in the Indian stock market.

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee approved the auction route for selling a 5% stake in state-run oil major ONGC. This means that the government will sell its stake in ONGC through an auction process, where interested buyers will bid for the shares. This method allows for transparency and fair market value discovery, ensuring that the government gets the best price for its stake in ONGC.

India extended the anti-dumping duty on import of four Chinese products like nylon filament yarn, Saccharin, cellophane transparent film, etc. for a period of 5 years. This extension suggests that the Indian government believes that these products from China are being dumped in the Indian market at unfairly low prices, which is causing harm to the domestic industry. By imposing the anti-dumping duty for 5 years, India aims to protect its domestic industry from such unfair trade practices and promote fair competition.

The Union government in January 2012 decided to subscribe to preferential equity shares issued by State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB). This means that the government agreed to purchase these shares at a predetermined price, giving them a higher priority compared to other shareholders. This move was likely aimed at increasing the capital base of these banks and strengthening their financial position.

The correct answer is 9.5%. This is because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) changed the bank rate to realign it with the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate as a one-time technical adjustment. The question does not provide any additional information or context to suggest a different answer.

The correct answer is 40%. The RBI panel proposed an increment in the target for foreign banks to 40% of net bank credit. This means that foreign banks would be required to allocate a larger portion of their lending towards priority sectors such as exports and the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) sector. Currently, the target stands at 32%, so the proposed increase would aim to further promote lending to these sectors and support their growth.

The correct answer is 4.5%. This is because the statement mentions that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points. If the current CRR stands at 5.5%, a 50 basis point cut would result in a new CRR of 5%. Therefore, the correct answer is 5%.

The given answer, 1, 2 & 4, is correct because the statement mentions that the economy recorded a growth rate of 8.4% in 2010-11, which is expected to moderate to 6.7% in the current fiscal year. This aligns with fact 1. Fact 2 states that inflation was projected to moderate to 6.5% by March 2012 and 5-6% in 2012-13, which matches the statement. Fact 4 mentions that the projected GDP growth for 2012 is substantially down from the budgetary target of around nine percent, and 8.4 percent expansion registered in 2010-11, which is consistent with the statement.

The present repo rate is 8.5%. The question states that the Reserve Bank of India kept the repo rate unchanged for the second consecutive time after raising it 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011. This implies that the repo rate was raised multiple times before, and the fact that it has remained unchanged for two consecutive times suggests that it is currently at 8.5%.

The correct answer is 16.1%. Indirect tax collections increased by this percentage during April-December 2011 due to a rise in service tax mop-up. This means that the amount of tax collected from services increased, contributing to the overall increase in indirect tax collections.

The percentage growth in the number of foreigners availing the Visa on Arrival (VoA) scheme in January 2012 can be calculated by finding the difference between the number of foreigners in January 2012 and January 2011, and then dividing that difference by the number of foreigners in January 2011.

The difference between 1359 and 790 is 569.

Dividing 569 by 790 and multiplying by 100 gives us a percentage growth of approximately 72%.

The correct answer is Rs 137.22 lakh crore. According to the Forward Markets Commission data released on 9 January 2012, the turnover of the 21 commodity exchanges in India increased by 66% till December 2011. This means that the turnover reached Rs 137.22 lakh crore during that period.

The correct answer is 7.65%. This is the percentage at which inflation based on the all India Consumer Price Index stood in January 2012, as per the first nationwide retail inflation data released by the Centre of Statistical Office on 21 February 2012.

The correct answer is Only 3. This is because the statement "The non-banking entities should have a minimum net worth of Rs. 1000 crore at the time of making the application and on a continuing basis after issue of the requisite authorisation" is not true. The RBI's draft circular does not mention any specific requirement for the minimum net worth of non-banking entities applying to set up WLAs.

The statement "As per PFRDA’s measures announced, a distributor will get a flat Rs 50 on initial subscription and 0.05% of the initial subscription amount" is not true. The correct statement is that the incentive for distributors was fixed at 0.25% of the subscription amount, as recommended by the G.N. Bajpai committee.

The correct answer is 3.1%. According to the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the growth rate of eight core industries slowed down to 3.1% in December 2011 from 6.3% in December 2010. This indicates a decrease in the growth rate of these industries over the one-year period.

The correct answer is Rs 4.34 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit stood at 105% of the total annual target in the April-January period of 2011-12, as per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts.

The statement that is incorrect is "The Commission has however limited this facility to 3G airwaves alone." This is not true as the Telecom Commission has allowed mobile phone companies to share spectrum, not just limited to 3G airwaves.

The correct answer is Rs.1.41 lakh crore. The question asks for the amount to be invested domestically, and the correct answer states that it is Rs.1.41 lakh crore.

The given statement is about the guidelines issued by the RBI on compensation of directors and risk takers in banks. It states that the guidelines include provisions to clawback pay if transactions fail years after origination. This means that if a transaction fails in the future, the bank can recover the pay that was given to the director or risk taker. This is not true according to the given answer. The correct answer states that only statement 3 is not true, which means that the guidelines do not include capping the variable component of the compensation at 48% of the fixed pay in a year.

The correct answer is "Only 2." This is because the statement in option 2 is true. The project aims to boost milk production using scientific breeding and feeding programs. The other statements in options 1, 3, and 4 are also true as they provide information about the National Dairy Development Board's plans, milk production statistics, and the need for the cooperative sector to increase procurement share.

The correct answer is 6.55%. According to the official data released on 14 February 2012, headline inflation in January 2012 stood at 6.55%. This was a decrease from the previous month's inflation rate of 7.47%. The decline in inflation was attributed to a further fall in vegetable prices.

In 2011-12, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) estimated that Corporate India's sales would grow by 21.6%. This indicates that there was a positive growth in the sales of Indian companies during that period.

The correct answer is 10.1%. This means that India's exports in January 2012 increased by 10.1% compared to the previous period. This indicates a positive growth in the country's export sector during that time.

The Union government revised the economic growth rate for the 2010-2011 financial year to 8.4%, which is higher than the previous estimate of 8.5%. This indicates that the economy performed slightly better than initially projected.

The correct answer is $150 a tonne. The Commerce Ministry lowered the minimum export price of onions by $100 a tonne to boost exports. Therefore, the changed minimum export price of onion is $150 a tonne.

In November 2011, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data showed that industrial production grew by 5.9%. This marked a five-month high and a reversal from the negative trend observed in October 2011. This indicates that there was a significant improvement in industrial production during this period, with a growth rate of 5.9%.

The correct answer is 56%. The explanation for this answer is that foreign direct investment (FDI) into India increased by 56% to $2.53 billion in November 2011. This indicates a significant improvement in investor sentiment, as more foreign investors were willing to invest in India during that period. The increase in FDI suggests that India was seen as an attractive destination for foreign investment, potentially due to positive economic indicators or government policies that encouraged foreign investors.

The correct answer is 7.47%. According to the Wholesale Price Index published by the government on 16 January 2012, reduced food prices caused the inflation rate to decrease to a year low. The percentage mentioned indicates the extent to which the inflation rate dropped in December 2011.

The given question states that gems and jewellery exports fell into the negative zone to $3 billion in December 2011. To find the percentage fall, we need to calculate the difference between the initial value and the final value, and then divide it by the initial value and multiply by 100. In this case, the initial value is not given, but since the exports fell into the negative zone, we can assume that the initial value was positive. Therefore, the percentage fall cannot be determined accurately based on the given information.