Global giant Deutsche Boerse has decided to expand its strategic partnership with BSE thus allow market participants in Hong Kong and Singapore to use its connectivity networks for connecting to the trading systems of the Indian exchange. What percent of stake does Deutsche Boerse holds in BSE ?: 4.91 percent stake
Explanation: After this announcement now from second quarter of 2015, participants of BSE will be able to use Deutsche Boerse's N7 network services to connect to BSE back-ends in India through the respective Deutsche Boerse Access Points or data centres in Hong Kong and Singapore. Therefore, this major step will boost and help to improve the connectivity of BSE's customers operating out of Hong Kong and Singapore. This direct service will now allow them to connect their trade-execution systems to BSE's fully regulated offering covering equities, derivatives and currency markets. Currently, the two Access Points are mainly used by Eurex members.
The per capita income in Chhattisgarh is up by 10% and estimated at Rs 64,442 for the 2014-15 fiscal. What was the per capita Income in 2013-2014?: Rs.58.547
Explanation: The per capita income in Chhattisgarh is up by 10% while the state's economy GSDP (gross state domestic product) is likely to grow by 13.20 per cent during the period. As per advance estimate of GSDP at current price, during 2014-15, agriculture sector (agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing) is expected to grow by 14.18 per cent, whereas industry sector (mining, construction, manufacturing and electricity, gas & water supply) and service sector is likely to grow by 10.62 per cent and 15.21 per cent, respectively.
Preparing for its banking foray, Reliance Capital has completed sale of 2.77 per cent stake for Rs 371 crore on 12 March 2015 to which country’s bank, which would be also a strategic partner in the proposed bank?: Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank
Explanation: Reliance Capital, which is running the host of financial services segments, including insurance, mutual funds, commercial and home finance, broking and wealth management, plans to set up a full-fledged bank as and when RBI opens the window for new licenses. Thus, SMTB has made its investment in the company at a price of Rs 530 each through preferential allotment of shares. SMTB is Japan's fourth-largest group, managing assets of USD 682 billion, while it has assets under custody of USD 1.8 trillion.
NITI Aayog on 12 March 2015 decided to hire outsiders through a transparent procedure backed by entrance exam. What is the idea behind this change of hiring?: To ensure that no retired officials of the Aayog are generally absorbed in the Aayog as domain experts without going through the strictly laid out procedure
Explanation: The Cabinet resolution of January 1 2015 had led to the creation of the National Institution for Transforming India or NITI Aayog. Thus Aayog will have experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the prime minister. Thus to maintain a state-of-theart resource Centre, now Aayog has to hire from outside through a proper entrance exam, which will be a repository of research on good governance and best practices in sustainable and equitable development, and the domain experts, similar to young professionals, would be utilized to fulfill this mandate of the government's think tank. However, during the Planning Commission days, research associates were hired on contracts for a period of one year to assist various technical divisions in the commission. With the maximum age limit for applying to the posts being 65 years, in majority of cases, it were retired officials of the commission who were roped in as research associates, primarily for two reasons.
On 1st March 2015, the government has announced that it is looking forward to make mandatory for non-government provident funds to invest a minimum of what percent of their investible funds in equity or equity related instruments.?: 5 Percent
Explanation: Investment of minimum 5 percent and up to 15 percent of the investible funds in equity and equity related instruments were proposed in new investment pattern for provident fund (Investment pattern is decided by the central board of trustees CBT). Thus, it seeks to provide greater flexibility to subscribers to maximize returns as also to provide long term resources to productive sectors in the economy. In the new modification, the limit for parking funds in Central Government Securities, State Government Securities, Government Guaranteed Securities and units of gilt Mutual Funds, will be reduced to 50 percent from 55 percent along with in debt securities, the term deposits of the banks, the provident fund could invest 35-45 per cent of the fund as against the earlier limit of 55 percent.
On 2 March 2015, who was appointed as the new mentor for Ficci's public policy & economic work?: Arvind Virmani
Explanation: Arvind Virmani had served as the country's Chief Economic Advisor and Principal Advisor in the Planning Commission. His illustrious career as an advisor to Government of India at the highest levels, including as Principal Advisor, Planning Commission and Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Virmani brings with him rich and invaluable experience that would help Ficci strengthen its work in the area of economic and public policy.
Which three senior officials of commodity brokerages were arrested on 3 March 2015 in connection with the Rs 5,600 crore National Spot Exchange scam?: IIFL, Anand Rathi and Geojit Comtrade
Explanation: The NSEL scam had come to light after the government had on July 31, 2013, ordered the Jignesh Shah-promoted spot exchange to stop trading in some instruments which led to a payment crisis. Following this, the exchange was forced to suspend trading and eventually down shutters, leaving over 11,000 investors in the lurch. The alleged brokers were manipulating client codes to the tune of 3,00,000 times, after the trade was carried out on the exchange and then they transferred the same to other names. Thereafter, Mumbai City police's Economic Offenses Wing tightened the noose on commodity brokers by arresting Anand Rathi Commodities Managing Director Amit Rathi, India InfoLine Commodities vice president Chintan Modi and Kochi-based Geojit Comtrade's whole time director C P Krishnan for their alleged involvement in the scam.
Which two public-sector banks rating was downgrade by the International rating agency Moody’s on 3 March 2015?: Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank
Explanation: The agency downgraded to BA1 from BAA3 from its ratings on local and foreign-currency deposits of Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). Apart from this IOB’s senior unsecured debt was also downgraded to BA1 from BAA3. BAA3 rating means below investment grade ratings. Central Bank of India and IOB continue to have standalone ratings of B3 and B2, respectively. Moody’s action reflects its assumption of a lower level of support from the Government.
How many urban cooperative banks across the country have come under the scanner of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 9 March 2015 for alleged violation of anti-money laundering laws?: Over 480 cooperative banks
Explanation: UCBs are inspected annually or once in two years depending on their ratings or classification. Near about 70 percent of these urban cooperative banks are subjected to inspection every year. CEIB officials are in touch with RBI and keeping a close watch on any case of suspected money laundering via these banks. The central bank has been taking strict action like imposition of penalty and denial of branch expansion against the erring urban cooperative banks (UCBs) and therefore, has instructed the banks to block accounts of all non complying customers. The RBI has issued instructions to its regional offices to undertake scrutiny of 489 UCBs to ascertain compliance of Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) guidelines.
On March 2015, ICICI bank is planning to re-start the Special Vertical for NPA’s recovery, when the Bad loan is becoming one of the great problems for the Indian banks. In which year this special Vertical was shut down?: 2005
Explanation: ICICI Bank is looking at various ways to check over the bad loans, which went up to 3.40 percent in the December quarter. According to bank, its gross non-performing assets ratio moved up to 3.40 percent, while fresh slippages rose to Rs 2,279 crore. Of this, almost a third, or Rs 776 crore, came from restructured loans. When this special Vertical will be launched then it will be headed by Senior General Manager K M Jayarao, who headed the wing in its first avatar as well. In the past, ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Chanda Kochchar had blamed the NPA problem on prolonged tepidness on the macro front, which is forcing recast assets to slip.
