Economy and Banking News Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The IMF put the figure at 40%.

In its January 2024 staff discussion note on generative AI and the future of work, the International Monetary Fund estimated that almost 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, with the share rising to about 60% in advanced economies, where AI can both complement workers and displace them.

60% is the figure for advanced economies alone, which is the trap. 20% and 80% do not match the estimate.

Answer: D

The key gives it has increased by 10%.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey is the National Statistics Office's survey of employment. Its quarterly bulletins report the labour force participation rate (LFPR), the share of the population that is working or seeking work. The bulletins for October to December show the country-level LFPR rising from 37.2% in 2021 to 39.2% in 2023, with the rise coming mainly from women, whose rate went from 16% to 19.9%. So the direction is an increase, and the options saying it fell or stayed constant are wrong.

Among the options only the last states an increase. I could not confirm the size of 10% for the 15-years-and-above rate, which the question names; the figures I could check are for all ages, and a rise of about 2 percentage points on them is smaller than 10 points. The answer therefore rests on the direction and the key.

Answer: C

The key gives Germany.

Food prices rose sharply across Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed up energy, fertiliser and grain costs. Germany was among the worst hit: its annual food price inflation went above 20% in early 2023, among the highest rates in western Europe.

France's food inflation peaked lower, at about 16% in early 2023. Food inflation in the USA peaked at about 11% in 2022, and India's consumer food inflation stayed in single digits through 2022-23. Of the four, Germany recorded the highest rate.

Answer: C

The Reserve Bank of India set up an Expert Committee on Urban Co-operative Banks in February 2021 under the chairmanship of N. S. Vishwanathan, a former Deputy Governor, and its report of 2021 was the basis of the revised four tier regulatory framework for UCBs that the RBI announced in July 2022, according to the RBI press release. Shaktikanta Das and Urjit Patel are Governors of the RBI, not heads of this panel. The answer is N. S. Vishwanathan, option C.

Answer: A

The key gives 11.7. A pan-India Financial Literacy and Inclusion survey reported in December 2022 found that digital banking awareness and knowledge in rural and urban areas were level, with an average score of 11.7 out of 21 for both. The finding was noted because rural India was expected to score lower.

The values 12.1, 13.7 and 14.1 are not the figure that was reported (12.1 was reported for the east zone alone). The first option is the answer. Reports differ on which body ran the survey.

Answer: C

The statement that is not correct is All the four banks were established in Karnataka.

Union Bank of India was founded in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1919, so not all four banks began in Karnataka.

The other statements are correct. Corporation Bank was founded in Udupi in 1906 by Khan Bahadur Haji Abdullah Haji Kasim Saheb Bahadur. Canara Bank was founded in Mangaluru in 1906 under the leadership of Ammembal Subba Rao Pai. Syndicate Bank, too, began in Udupi, in 1925.

Answer: A

The allocation was ₹ 69,000 Crores.

In the Union Budget 2020-21, presented on 1 February 2020, the Finance Minister allocated about Rs 69,000 crore to the health sector, including Rs 6,400 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

Rs 59,000, 79,000 and 89,000 crore do not match the figure announced in that budget.

Answer: C

The loan was approved by the Asian Development Bank.

In 2017 the Asian Development Bank approved a loan of 346 million dollars for the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project, to upgrade and widen state highways and improve road safety and maintenance in the state.

The World Bank has funded other road projects in Karnataka, which makes it the natural trap, but this loan was the ADB's. Yes Bank is a private Indian commercial bank, not a lender for such projects, and since the ADB fits, 'None of the above' is wrong.

Answer: B

The firm was registered by Facebook.

In 2019 Facebook registered Libra Networks LLC in Geneva, Switzerland, in connection with its planned Libra cryptocurrency, governed by the Geneva-based Libra Association. The project was later renamed Diem and wound up.

BuyUcoin is an Indian cryptocurrency exchange, and Paytm and PhonePe are Indian digital payment companies; none of them registered Libra Networks.

Answer: D

The joint first rankers were Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The assessment of the states' implementation of the Business Reform Action Plan, released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion with the World Bank in October 2016, ranked Andhra Pradesh and Telangana jointly first, each with a score of about 98.8 per cent. Gujarat, which had topped the previous ranking in 2015, came third, and Chhattisgarh fourth.

So every option that pairs Gujarat or Chhattisgarh with one of the two leaders is wrong.