1

Banking Knowledge

This Chapter is taken from our Book:

ISBN : 978-9386323378

3 Awareness
HISTORY OF BANKING
For the past three decades India's banking system has several
outstanding achievements to its credit. The most striking is its
extensive reach. It is no longer confined to only metropolitans or
cosmopolitans in India. In fact, Indian banking system has reached
even to the remote corners of the country. This is one of the main
reasons for India's growth.
The government's regular policy for Indian banks since 1969 has
paid rich dividends with the nationalisation of 14 major private
banks of India in 1969.
The first bank in India, though conservative, was established in
1786. From 1786 till today, the journey of the Indian Banking System
can be segregated into three distinct phases. They are as mentioned
below:
Phase I Early phase from 1786 to 1969.
Phase II Nationalisation of Indian Banks and up to 1991 prior to
Indian banking sector Reforms.
Phase III New phase of Indian Banking System with the advent
of Indian Financial & Banking Sector Reforms after
1991.
Phase I
The General Bank of India was set up in the year 1786. Next came
Bank of Hindustan and Bengal Bank.
The East India Company established Bank of Bengal (1809), Bank
of Bombay (1840) and Bank of Madras (1843) as independent
units and called them Presidency Banks. These three banks were
amalgamated in 1920 and Imperial Bank of India was established
which started as a private shareholders bank with mostly
Europeans shareholders.
In 1865 Allahabad Bank was established and for the first time
exclusively by Indians, Punjab National Bank Ltd. was set up in 1894
with headquarters at Lahore. Between 1906 and 1913, Bank of India,
Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Bank,
and Bank of Mysore were set up. Reserve Bank of India came in 1935.
During the first phase the growth was very slow and banks also
experienced periodic failures between 1913 and 1948. There were
approximately 1100 banks, mostly small. To streamline the
functioning and activities of commercial banks, the Government
of India came up with The Banking Companies Act, 1949 which
was later changed to Banking Regulation Act 1949 as per amending
Act of 1965 (Act No. 23 of 1965). Reserve Bank of India was
vested with extensive powers for the supervision of banking in
India as the Central Banking Authority.
During those days public had lesser confidence in the banks. As
an aftermath, deposit mobilisation was slow. Abreast of it the
savings bank facility provided by the Postal department was
comparatively safer. Moreover, funds were largely given to traders.
2
General / Banking
Phase II
Government took major steps in this Indian Banking Sector Reform
after independence. In 1955, it nationalised Imperial Bank of India
with extensive banking facilities on a large scale specially in rural
and semi-urban areas. It formed State Bank of India to act as the
principal agent of RBI and to handle banking transactions of the
Union and State Governments all over the country.
Seven banks which were subsidiaries of State Bank of India were
nationalised in 1960. On 19th July, 1969, a major process of
nationalisation were carried out. It was the effort of the then Prime
Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 14 major commercial banks
in the country were nationalised.
The second phase of nationalisation of Indian Banking Sector
was carried out in 1980 with seven more banks. This step brought
80% of the banking segment in India under Government
ownership.
In summary, the following are the steps taken by the Government
of India to Regulate Banking Institutions in the Country:
1. 1949 : Enactment of Banking Regulation Act.
2. 1955 : Nationalisation of State Bank of India.
3. 1960 : Nationalisation of SBI subsidiaries.
4. 1961 : Insurance cover extended to deposits.
5. 1969 : Nationalisation of 14 major banks.
7. 1975 : Creation of regional rural banks.
8. 1980 : Nationalisation of seven banks with deposits over
200 crore.
After the nationalisation of banks, the branches of the public
sector banks in India rose approximately 800% in deposits and
advances took a huge jump by 11,000%.
Banking in the sunshine of Government ownership gave the public
implicit faith and immense confidence about the sustainability of
these institutions.
Phase III
This phase has introduced many more products and facilities in
the banking sector and is a major reforms measure. In 1991, under
the chairmanship of M Narasimhan, a committee was set up in his
name which worked for the liberalisation of banking practices.
Now-a-days the country is flooded with foreign banks and their
ATM stations. Efforts are being put to give a satisfactory service
to customers. Phone banking and net banking is introduced. The
entire system has become more convenient and swift.
The oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank of
India, which originated as the Bank of Calcutta in June 1806, which
almost immediately became the Bank of Bengal.
For many years the Presidency banks acted as quasi-central
banks, as did their successors. The three banks merged in 1921 to
form the Imperial Bank of India, which, upon India's independence,
became the State Bank of India. Indian merchants in Calcutta
established the Union Bank in 1839, but it failed in 1848 as a
consequence of the economic crisis of 1848-49.

The Allahabad Bank, established in 1865 and still
functioning today, is the oldest Joint Stock bank in India.
Joint Stock Bank: A company that issues stock and requires
shareholders to be held liable for the company's debt. It was not
the first though.
That honour belongs to the Bank of Upper India, which was
established in 1863, and which survived until 1913, when it failed,
with some of its assets and liabilities being transferred to the
Alliance Bank of Simla.
Foreign banks too started to arrive, particularly in Calcutta,
in the 1860s. The Comptoire d'Escompte de Paris opened a branch
in Calcutta in 1860, and another in Bombay in 1862; branches in
Madras and Puducherry, then a French colony, followed. HSBC
established itself in Bengal in 1869.
Calcutta was the most active trading port in India, mainly
due to the trade of the British Empire, and so became a banking
center.
The first entirely Indian joint stock bank was the Oudh
Commercial Bank, established in 1881 in Faizabad. It failed in 1958.
The next was the Punjab National Bank, established in Lahore in
1895, which has survived to the present and is now one of the
largest banks in India.
Around the turn of the 20th Century, the Indian economy
was passing through a relative period of stability. Around five
decades had elapsed since the Indian Mutiny, and the social,
industrial and other infrastructure had improved. Indians had
established small banks, most of which served particular ethnic
and religious communities.
The presidency banks dominated banking in India but there
were also some exchange banks and a number of Indian joint
stock banks. All these banks operated in different segments of
the economy.
The exchange banks, mostly owned by Europeans,
concentrated on financing foreign trade. Indian joint stock banks
were generally undercapitalized and lacked the experience and
maturity to compete with the presidency and exchange banks.
This segmentationled Lord Curzon to observe, "In respect
of banking it seems we are behind the times. We are like some old
fashioned sailing ship, divided by solid wooden bulkheads into
separate and cumbersome compartments."
The period between 1906 and 1911 saw the establishment of banks
inspired by the Swadeshi movement. The Swadeshi movement
inspired local businessmen and political figures to found banks
of and for the Indian community.
A number of banks established then have survived to the
present such as Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Bank,
Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Central Bank of India.
The fervour of Swadeshi movement lead to establishment
of many private banks in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts
which were unified earlier and known by the name South Canara
(South Kanara) district.
Four nationalised banks started in this district and also a
leading private sector bank. Hence undivided Dakshina Kannada
district is known as the "Cradle of Indian Banking".
During the First World War (1914-1918) through to the end of the
Second World War (1939-1945), and two years thereafter until the
independence of India were challenging for Indian banking.
3
The years of the First World War were turbulent, and it
took its toll with banks simply collapsing despite the Indian
economy gaining indirect boost due to war-related economic
activities. At least 94 banks in India failed between 1913 and
1918 as indicated in the following table:
Year Number of Authoris ed Paid-up
bank s that capital Capital
failed (Rs . Lak hs ) (Rs. Lak hs )
1913 12 274 35
1914 42 710 109
1915 11 56 5
1916 13 231 4
1917 9 76 25
1918 7 209 1
INDIAN BANKS AFTER INDEPENDENCE
The partition of India in 1947 adversely impacted the economies
of Punjab and West Bengal, paralyzing banking activities for
months. India's independence marked the end of a regime of the
Laissez-faire for the Indian banking. The Government of India
initiated measures to play an active role in the economic life of the
nation, and the Industrial Policy Resolution adopted by the
government in 1948 envisaged a mixed economy. This resulted
into greater involvement of the state in different segments of the
economy including banking and finance. The major steps to
regulate banking included:
1. The Reserve Bank of India, India's central banking authority,
was nationalized on January 1, 1949 under the terms of the
Reserve Bank of India (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act,
1948 (RBI, 2005b).[Reference www.rbi.org.in]
2. In 1949, the Banking Regulation Act was enacted which
empowered the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) "to regulate,
control, and inspect the banks in India."
3. The Banking Regulation Act also provided that no new bank
or branch of an existing bank could be opened without a
license from the RBI, and no two banks could have common
directors.
BANK NATIONALISATION IN INDIA
Despite the provisions, control and regulations of Reserve
Bank of India, banks in India except the State Bank of India or SBI,
continued to be owned and operated by private persons. By the
1960s, the Indian banking industry had become an important tool
to facilitate the development of the Indian economy.
At the same time, it had emerged as a large employer, and a
debate had ensued about the nationalization of the banking
industry. Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, expressed
the intention of the Government of India to nationalize banks.
Thereafter, her move was swift and sudden. The Government
of India issued an ordinance and nationalised the 14 largest
commercial banks with effect from the midnight of July 19, 1969.
Jayaprakash Narayan, a national leader of India, described
the step as a "masterstroke of political sagacity." Within two weeks
of the issue of the ordinance, the Parliament passed the Banking
Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Bill, and it
received the presidential approval on 9 August 1969.

A second dose of nationalization of 7 more commercial
banks followed in 1980. The stated reason for the nationalization
was to give the government more control of credit delivery.
With the second dose of nationalization, the Government of
India controlled around 91% of the banking business of India.
Later on, in the year 1993, the government merged New Bank of
India with Punjab National Bank.
It was the only merger between nationalized banks and
resulted in the reduction of the number of nationalised banks
from 21 to 20. After this, until the 1990s, the nationalised banks
grew at a pace of around 4%, closer to the average growth rate of
the Indian economy.
LIBERALISATION
In the early 1990s, the Narasimha Rao government embarked
on a policy of liberalization, licensing a small number of private
banks. These came to be known as New Generation tech-savvy
banks, and included Global Trust Bank (the first of such new
generation banks to be set up), which later amalgamated with
Oriental Bank of Commerce, Axis Bank(earlier known as UTI Bank),
ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.
This move, along with the rapid growth in the economy of
India, revitalized the banking sector in India, which has seen rapid
growth with strong contribution from all the three sectors of banks,
namely government banks, private banks and foreign banks.
The next stage for the Indian banking has been set with the
proposed relaxation in the norms for Foreign Direct Investment,
where all Foreign Investors in banks may be given voting rights
which could exceed the present cap of 10%. At present it has
gone up to 74% with some restrictions.
Currently banking in India is generally fairly mature in terms
of supply, product range and reach-even though reach in rural
India still remains a challenge for the private sector and foreign
banks. In terms of quality of assets and capital adequacy, Indian
banks are considered to have clean, strong and transparent
balance sheets relative to other banks in comparable economies
in this region.
The Reserve Bank of India is an autonomous body, with
minimal pressure from the government. The stated policy of the
Bank on the Indian Rupee is to manage volatility but without any
fixed exchange rate-and this has mostly been true.
In March 2006, the Reserve Bank of India allowed Warburg
Pincus to increase its stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank (a private
sector bank) to 10%.
This is the first time an investor has been allowed to hold
more than 5% in a private sector bank since the RBI announced
norms in 2005 that any stake exceeding 5% in the private sector
banks would need to be vetted by them.
In recent years critics have charged that the non-
government owned banks are too aggressive in their loan recovery
efforts in connection with housing, vehicle and personal loans.
There are press reports that the banks' loan recovery efforts
have driven defaulting borrowers to suicide.
The three different phases in the history of banking in India are
described in detail below.
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1. Pre-Nationalization Era : In India the business of
banking and credit was practiced even in very early times. The
remittance of money through Hundies, an indigenous credit
instrument, was very popular.
The Hundies were issued by bankers known as Shroffs,
Sahukars, Shahus or Mahajans in different parts of the country.
The modern type of banking, however, was developed by the
Agency Houses of Calcutta and Bombay after the establishment
of Rule by the East India Company in 18th and 19th centuries.
During the early part of the 19th Century, volume of foreign
trade was relatively small. Later on as the trade expanded, the
need for banks of the European type was felt and the government
of the East India Company took interest in having its own bank.
The government of Bengal took the initiative and the first
presidency bank, the Bank of Calcutta (Bank of Bengal) was
established in 1860.
In 1840, the Bank of Bombay and in 1843, the Bank of Madras
was also set up.
These three banks are also known as "Presidency Bank".
The Presidency Banks had their branches in important trading
centers but mostly lacked in uniformity in their operational policies.
In 1899, the Government proposed to amalgamate these three
banks into one so that it could also function as a Central Bank,
but the Presidency Banks did not favour the idea.
However, the conditions obtaining during World War I
period (1914-1918) emphasized the need for a unified banking
institution, as a result of which the Imperial Bank was set up
in1921. The Imperial Bank of India acted like a Central bank and as
a banker for other banks.
The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) was established in 1935 as
the Central Bank of the Country. In 1949, the Banking Regulation
act was passed and the RBI was nationalized and acquired
extensive regulatory powers over the commercial banks.
In 1950, the Indian Banking system comprised of the RBI,
the Imperial Bank of India, Cooperative banks, Exchange banks
and Indian Joint Stock banks.
2. Nationalization Stages:
After Independence, in 1951, the All India Rural Credit
survey, committee of Direction with Shri. A. D. Gorwala as Chairman
recommended amalgamation of the Imperial Bank of India and ten
others banks into a newly established bank called the State Bank
of India (SBI).
The Government of India accepted the recommendations of
the committee and introduced the State Bank of India bill in the
Lok Sabha on 16th April 1955 and it was passed by Parliament and
got the president's assent on 8th May 1955. The Act came into
force on 1st July 1955, and the Imperial Bank of India was
nationalized in 1955 as the State Bank of India.
The main objective of establishing SBI by nationalizing the
Imperial Bank of India was "to extend banking facilities on a large
scale more particularly in the rural and semi-urban areas and to
diverse other public purposes."
In 1959, the SBI (Subsidiary Bank) act was proposed and
the following eight state-associated banks were taken over by
the SBI as its subsidiaries.
 5
4. The credit facilities extended to the priority sector at
Name of the Bank Subsidiary with effect from concessional rates.
5. The high level of low yielding SLR investments adversely
1. State Bank of Hyderabad 1st October 1959
affected the profitability of the banks.
2. State Bank of Bikaner 1st January 1960 6. The rapid branch expansion has been the squeeze on
3. State Bank of Jaipur 1st January 1960 profitability of banks emanating primarily due to the increase
4. State Bank of Saurashtra 1st May 1960 in the fixed costs.
5. State Bank of Patiala 1st April 1960 7. There was downward trend in the quality of services and
efficiency of the banks.
6. State Bank of Mysore 1st March 1960
3. Post-Liberalization Era-Thrust on Quality and Profitability:
7. State Bank of Indore 1st January 1968 By the beginning of 1990, the social banking goals set for the
8. State Bank of Travancore 1st January 1960 banking industry made most of the public sector resulted in the
presumption that there was no need to look at the fundamental
With effect from 1st January 1963, the State Bank of Bikaner financial strength of this bank. Consequently they remained
and State Bank of Jaipur with head office located at Jaipur. undercapitalized. Revamping this structure of the banking industry
Thus, seven subsidiary banks State Bank of India formed was of extreme importance, as the health of the financial sector in
the SBI Group. particular and the economy was a whole would be reflected by its
The SBI Group under statutory obligations was required to open performance.
new offices in rural and semi-urban areas and modern banking The need for restructuring the banking industry was felt
was taken to these unbanked remote areas. greater with the initiation of the real sector reform process in 1992.
On 19th July 1969, then the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira The reforms have enhanced the opportunities and
Gandhi announced the nationalization of 14 major scheduled challenges for the real sector making them operate in a borderless
Commercial Banks each having deposits worth Rs. 50 crore and global market place.
above. This was a turning point in the history of commercial However, to harness the benefits of globalization, there
banking in India.
should be an efficient financial sector to support the structural
Later the Government Nationalized six more commercial
reforms taking place in the real economy. Hence, along with the
private sector banks with deposit liability of not less than Rs. 200
reforms of the real sector, the banking sector reformation was also
crores on 15th April 1980, viz.
addressed.
1. Andhra Bank.
The route causes for the lackluster performance of banks,
2. Corporation Bank.
formed the elements of the banking sector reforms.
3. New Bank if India.
Some of the factors that led to the dismal performance of banks
4. Oriental Bank of Commerce.
5. Punjab and Sind Bank. were.
6. Vijaya Bank. 1. Regulated interest rate structure.
In 1969, the Lead Bank Scheme was introduced to extend 2. Lack of focus on profitability.
banking facilities to every corner of the country. Later in 1975, 3. Lack of transparency in the bank's balance sheet.
Regional Rural Banks were set up to supplement the activities of 4. Lack of competition.
5. Excessive regulation on organization structure and
the commercial banks and to especially meet the credit needs of
managerial resource.
the weaker sections of the rural society.
6. Excessive support from government.
Nationalization of banks paved way for retail banking and
Against this background, the financial sector reforms were initiated
as a result there has been an alt round growth in the branch
network, the deposit mobilization, credit disposals and of course to bring about a paradigm shift in the banking industry, by
employment. addressing the factors for its dismal performance.
The first year after nationalization witnessed the total In this context, the recommendations made by a high level
growth in the agricultural loans and the loans made to SSI by 87% committee on financial sector, chaired by M. Narasimham, laid
and 48% respectively. the foundation for the banking sector reforms. These reforms
The overall growth in the deposits and the advances tried to enhance the viability and efficiency of the banking sector.
indicates the improvement that has taken place in the banking The Narasimham Committee suggested that there should
habits of the people in the rural and semi-urban areas where the be functional autonomy, flexibility in operations, dilution of
branch network has spread. Such credit expansion enabled the banking strangulations, reduction in reserve requirements and
banks to achieve the goals of nationalization, it was however, adequate financial infrastructure in terms of supervision, audit
achieved at the coast of profitability of the banks. and technology.
Consequences of Nationalization The committee further advocated introduction of prudential
1. The quality of credit assets fell because of liberal credit forms, tran sparency in operations and improvement in
extension policy. productivity, only aimed at liberalizing the regulatory framework,
2. Political interference has been as additional malady. but also to keep them in time with international standards. The
3. Poor appraisal involved during the loan meals conducted emphasis shifted to efficient and prudential banking linked to
for credit disbursals. better customer care and customer services.

Since the days of the Rural Credit Survey Committee
(1954), India has come a long way in its search for an appropriate
rural banking set-up. Though there has been some improvement,
the problem remains.
There has been tremendous progress in quantitative terms
but quality has suffered, progress has been slow and halting and
significant regional disparities persist.
Stagnation in rural banking is noticed in the north and
northeastern regions. The focus should be on assisting and
guiding small farmers. It is in this context that the role of rural
banking institutions has to be reconsidered.
The development strategy adopted and the increasing
diversification and commercialisation of agriculture underline the
need for the rapid development of rural infrastructure and a larger
flow of credit.
Progressive and not-so-small farmers have no difficulty in
obtaining credit from the commercial banks. Credit for the poorer
households is the real problem.
Experience of RRBs that have locally-recruited employees;
the employees are unhappy in view of the lack of adequate career
prospects.
Apart from having a basic knowledge of agriculture and
rural development, a rural banker is required to handle credit
extension work, scheme appraisal work in connection with farm
and non-farm investments and the production of different crops,
the monitoring/supervision and recovery of loans spread over
villages which are not even connected by all-weather roads and
in an environment in which vested interests are quite powerful.
A person who says he has been in bank service for more
than 25 years writes: "That rural credit has become unfashionable
is evident from the fact that the subject is accorded only residual
focus in the various congregations of our bankers.
The placement policy in vogue in our banks is such that
exposures in rural credit or agro-financing rarely count for
promotions.
Unfortunately a uniform standardized approach to lending
has led to rigidities as a result of which a farmer-borrower becomes
a defaulter for no fault of his. Also, the agricultural sector is beset
with considerable uncertainties - the weather and rainfall problem,
the pest problem and the market and price problem.
Government interference that leaves no scope for these apex
bodies to show initiative and work out action plans for
development on their own is partly responsible for this situation.
Another reason for such a state of affairs is that the apex
bodies have expanded and prospered at the cost of primary bodies
by taking over functions like deposit mobilisation even at the
rural level.
Today, banking sector is seen as a catalyst in economic
growth of a country and, lot is expected from the banking fraternity.
The recognition of banking, as a tool for all inclusive growth
by economists, financial planners, reformist etc has made it an
important sector in the Government's planning of economic
growth.
The banking sector in India is therefore witnessing
tremendous changes because of political, social and economic
changes that are taking place domestically and internationally.
The concept of banking, which was earlier restricted to
accepting of deposits from public for the purpose of, has also
undergone sea change.
6
Today the banking sector is seen as a vehicle for all
inclusive economic growth, social responsibility and equiv-
distribution of national resources.
The entire process of customer service is dependent on following.
1. Human resources
Any organization's success or failure is the result of success
or failure of its employees collectively. Here the employee doesn't
mean only the staff working down the ladder, but also includes
people right up to the top.
All the functions in an organization are undertaken by
humans, whether it is selection of staff, development of product,
making software, formulating policies, devising systems,
procedures, defining processes, delivery channels, undertaking
market studies etc.
Humans may be assisted by the technology for arriving at
the decisions. In all the functions enumerated above, different
departments do the work separately but the same are ultimately
linked to each other to achieve the corporate goal.
It is just like gears though rotating independently, move the
entire structure in the desired direction. If any gear malfunctions,
it brings the entire process to halt. Thus the human beings working
in an organization are very important. Handling of humans by
humans is a very complex job also.
The job requirements of HRD are to select, train, develop,
deploy, and motivate the human resources in the organization so
as to get optimum results for the organization.
2. Products/services
Banks do not provide physical goods to its customers. The
products which a bank offers are mostly financial products and
along with these products also provide other services which are
not financial in nature, like safe deposit vaults, Locker facilities
etc.
In financial products there are basically two types of
activities, namely deposit procurement and its deployment
profitably. These two activities constitute more than 80% of
banking business in all the banks.
Deposits: Basic structure of deposit is to attract the customer
by offering interest on funds or some facility in lieu of interest.
However depending upon the needs of different set of
customers various types of deposit schemes are formulated. For
example, savings bank accounts are for those who want short
term savings with liquidity and to make regular deposits and
withdrawals etc.
Term deposits are for those who want to invest for longer
duration having surplus funds not needed immediately.
Some may want savings to grow gradually by contributing
smaller amounts at set intervals. The ultimate goal of depositor is
to keep his money safely in the bank and be able to use when
needed. Likewise there are various combinations of deposit
schemes based on liquidity, returns and safety.
Advances: Banks, in a similar way deploy deposits by lending
to those who need it at a cost in the shape of interest. Here again
the products differ depending upon the need of the customer. It
may be overdraft facility, working capital finance, term loan, etc
for business or personal needs.

Other products/ services: Apart from deposit and
advances, banks offer various other facilities/services to their
clients, like remittances, investment services, fund management,
financial advisory services, tax collections, bill payment services
etc. to earn fee based incomes.
The flexibility of banks to adopt changing needs and
expectation of customers and bring out products/ services to suit
customers is an important area in banking services.
A robust Research and Development department which can
effectively and efficiently bring out newer products/ services
based on market feel and futurist visualization of customer
preferences is an important aspect in banking services.
3. Processes.
Today's customer is short of time and feels uncomfortable
when the process involved in getting the product or service is
lengthy and cumbersome. The customer wants very simple
processes to get his work done.
The processes for any product or service should be at the
minimum and at one go. Frequent back references and repeated
information and excessive documentation dissatisfy the customer.
The processes devised for getting the services should be
very customer friendly, easy to understand and complete.
4. Delivery channels
Customer satisfaction is also dependent upon the delivery
channels used by banks in providing the services. Today's
customer wants effortless, efficient, secure, simple and dependable
channels of delivery, whether it is through humans or technology
driven channels.
To quote an example, suppose a customer uses internet
banking and made a third party payment. He would like to know
what happened to his payment instructions. He should be able to
track the payment on line till it reaches the beneficiaries account.
If this facility is not available, he may not be comfortable
with the internet banking. Another thing mostly observed in Public
sector banks is that their websites are not updated regularly and
navigation is very tardy. The forms/ applications are scanned and
can not be filled on line.
5. Customer feedback and complaints
Feedback from customers is of immense help in formulating
products, fine tune services and plug the loopholes. However
most of the time, feedbacks are generally not available and public
sector banks are normally not enthused about taking feed back
on their services.
Rather wherever a customer gives his feedback (read
complaint), it is not taken in right spirit by the bank/ concerned
staff. Instead of looking into the real cause an effort is made to
provide alibis or blame the staff. It may be possible that that the
procedure itself is the cause of complaint or it is because of
reasons which are not under control of the branch.
Today no bank is willing to accept complaints from the
customers and normally effort is made to somehow get the
complaint withdrawn or resolved without analyzing why the
complaint has originated. It becomes very difficult for field level
staff to get the complaint redressed when the cause or reason of
complaint is not because of them. However they are made to beg
the customer to give satisfaction letter.
7
Each complaint when made may be because of so many
factors, not necessarily the fault of the person or branch against
which it is made. It may be due to system lapse, procedural
deficiency, inapt technology, poor in-house work allocation, work
flow module etc. Some times the complaints are frivolous and
made to harass the person concerned. Though in customer
oriented markets, customer is always right but care should be
taken that the staff is also protected from frivolous complainants.
Each complaint of the customer should be properly analyzed,
assessed. It may be possible that route cause may be some where
else which should be rectified rather then the concerned staff or
branch made the scapegoat.
6. Grievances redressal Mechanism.
Improving upon the services is an ongoing process. The essential
inputs are customer feedback, market surveys and the complaints
received by an organization. No organization can say that they
have zero customer complaints. However an organization which
has robust mechanism to redress the complaints and resolve
problem of the customer gets recognition as a customer friendly
organization. Accepting the mistake and offering compensation
goes a long way in retaining the customer. Most of the banks
have come out with their compensation policies and customer
grievances cells.
7. Market Studies.
Market studies are effective tools to study the behavior of
customers and their response to present standard of services. It
also helps to understand future trends and requirements as needs
of the customer's keeps of changing with change of times.
Market research gives way to innovations in products and
services. Market studies may be done in-house, or assigned to
outside expert agencies or both depending upon the vision of the
bank.
The Reserve Bank of India participates in the payment
systems as a user of the system, as the service provider for various
components of the systems and is also the regulator of the systems
in many instances.
As a user, the RBI submits instruments for clearing in the
cheque-based clearing operations. RBI also participates as a user
in the Electronic Clearing Service (ECS)and EFT systems for
making its own internal payments to its employees, vendor
payments etc.
Similarly, RBI transactions in Repo / Reverse Repo under
LAF, Open Market Operations etc., would also be settled through
the respective components of payment systems.
As a provider of payment system services, the RBI has
taken many initiatives as can be seen under the evolution of
payment systems in the country in the development and
operationalisation of the systems.
Under this, the clearing houses and ECS systems are
managed by the Reserve Bank of India at 16 and 15 centres
respectively and EFT systems are completely managed by RBI at
 8
the 15 centres. The CFMS, NDS/SSS and RTGS systems have The National Payments Council is assisted by five
been fully developed, operationalised and maintained by RBI. permanent Task Forces, each of which is headed by a member of
Besides the above, RBI (through IDRBT) has also provided the the National Payments Council and comprises of a few experts
communication back bone to the financial system in the country appointed by the Chairman from different disciplines / institutions.
in the form of Indian Financial Network (INFINET). It is assisted by the respective Head of the Department concerned
By way of being the central bank, the RBI derives regulatory within the Reserve Bank. These are the:
powers in certain jurisdictions of payment systems. However, 1. Task Force on Monetary Policy and related issues;
specific oversight powers for payment systems for RBI is sought
2. Task Force on Payment and Settlement Systems Oversight;
to be obtained through appropriate legislation in the form of the
3. Task Force on Legal Issues;
Payment Systems Legislation and the setting of Board for Payment
and Settlement Systems. 4. Task Force on Technology Related Issues;
ORGANIZATIONALFRAMEWORK 5. Task Force on Systems and Procedures related issues.
Moving from a technology-based solution towards issues
of Payment and Settlement Systems, the Reserve Bank of India IMPORTANT FACTS
has adopted a holistic approach, in which Information Technology The first major step was Nationalization of the Imperial Bank
is an integral component. In order to usher in and establish a of India in 1955 via State Bank of India Act.
modern, robust payments and settlement system consistent with
State Bank of India was made to act as the principal agent of
international best practices, the Reserve Bank has adopted a three-
RBI and handle banking transactions of the Union and State
pronged strategy of Consolidation of existing Payment Systems,
Governments.
Development of Payment Systems and Integration of the Payment
and Settlement System. In a major process of nationalization, 7 subsidiaries of the
State Bank of India were nationalized by the Indira Gandhi regime.
In order to drive this Payment System reform process an
institutional framework and structure has been created within the In 1969, 14 major private commercial banks were nationalized.
Reserve Bank. The base layer of this structure consisted of the These 14 banks Nationalized in 1969 are as follows:
Payment Systems Group, which included an exclusive team of 1. Central Bank of India
inter-disciplinary professionals representing IT, Banking 2. Bank of Maharastra
Operations, Supervision, Legal, Economics, Government & Bank
3. Dena Bank
Accounts, and Foreign Exchange operations.
4. Punjab National Bank
The Group focused on the System Design of an integrated
5. Syndicate Bank
payments system, Payment Instruments, Electronic Banking
systems, Clearing and settlement arrangements, technological 6. Canara Bank
infrastructure, legal issues, Monetary Policy implications, Change 7. Indian Bank
management and responsibilities of banks. The Group was 8. Indian Overseas Bank
disbanded in December 2002.
9. Bank of Baroda
The next tier in the institutional framework is the Payment
10. Union Bank
Systems Advisory Committee which is a permanent body and
oversees the operations of the Payment Systems Group and 11. Allahabad Bank
reviews the developments in the area of Payment Systems. 12. Union Bank of India
The apex layer in the institutional structure is the National 13. UCO Bank
Payments Council. The council lays down the broad policy 14. Bank of India.
framework and guidelines for the implementation of a sound and The above was followed by a second phase of
efficient payments and settlement system for the country. nationalization in 1980, when Government of India acquired the
The NPC is chaired by the Deputy Governor in charge of ownership of 6 more banks, thus bringing the total number of
the Department of Information Technology and represented by Nationalised Banks to 20.
the Executive Director-in-Charge of the Department of Information The private banks at that time were allowed to function side
Technology, Chairman of the Indian Banks Association, Joint by side with nationalized banks and the foreign banks were allowed
Secretary, Banking Division, Ministry of Finance, Chairmen and to work under strict regulation.
Managing Directors of two Public Sector banks, one Private bank,
After the two major phases of nationalization in India, the
a Nonbanking financial company, Securities Exchange Board of
80% of the banking sector came under the public sector /
India and the National Stock Exchange.
government ownership.

Banking History : at a glance
Creation of Reserve bank of India: 1935
Nationalization of Reserve Bank of India : 1949 (January )
Enactment of Banking Regulation Act : 1949 (March)
Nationalization of State Bank of India : 1955
Nationalization of SBI Subsidiaries : 1959
Nationalization of 14 major Banks : 1969
Creation of Credit Guarantee Corporation: 1971
Creation of Regional Rural Banks : 1975
Nationalization of 7 more banks with deposits over Rs. 200
Crore: 1980
The result was outstanding. The public deposits in these banks
increased by 800% , as
the government ownership gave the public faith and trust.
The third phase of development of banking in India started in the
early 1990s when India started its economic liberalization.
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI, ) is the central banking
institution of India and controls the monetary policy of the rupee
as well as US$300.21 billion (2010) of currency reserves. The
institution was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj
in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India
Act, 1934 and plays an important part in the development strategy
of the government. It is a member bank of the Asian Clearing
Union
The central bank was founded in 1935 to respond to economic
troubles after the first world war.
Policy rates and Reserve ratios
Bank Rate: RBI lends to the commercial banks through its discount
window to help the banks meet depositors demands and reserve
requirements. The interest rate the RBI charges the banks for this
purpose is called bank rate. If the RBI wants to increase the liquidity
and money supply in the market, it will decrease the bank rate and
if it wants to reduce the liquidity and money supply in the system,
it will increase the bank rate. As of January, 2013 the bank rate was
9%.
Cash Reserve Ratio(CRR): Every commercial bank has to keep
certain minimum cash reserves with RBI. RBI can vary this rate
between 3% and 15%. RBI uses this tool to increase or decrease
the reserve requirement depending on whether it wants to affect
a decrease or an increase in the money supply. An increase in
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) will make it mandatory on the part of
the banks to hold a large proportion of their deposits in the form
of deposits with the RBI. This will reduce the size of their deposits
and they will lend less.This will in turn decrease the money
supply.The current rate is 6%.
Statutory Liquidity Ratio(SLR): Apart from the CRR, banks are
required to maintain liquid assets in the form of gold, cash and
9
approved securities. Higher liquidity ratio forces commercial
banks to maintain a larger proportion of their resources in liquid
form and thus reduces their capacity to grant loans and advances,
thus it is an anti-inflationary impact. A higher liquidity ratio diverts
the bank funds from loans and advances to investment in
government and approved securities.
Facts about Banking System in India
The first bank in India to be given an ISO Certification
Canara Bank
The first bank in Northern India to get ISO 9002 certification
for their selected branches
Punjab and Sind Bank
The first Indian bank to have been started solely with Indian
capital -Punjab National Bank
The first among the private sector banks in Kerala to become
a scheduled bank in 1946 under the RBI Act
South Indian Bank
India's oldest, largest and most successful commercial bank,
offering the widest possible range of domestic, international and
NRI products and services, through its vast network in India and
overseas
State Bank of India
India's second largest private sector bank and is now the
largest scheduled commercial bank in India
The Federal Bank Limited
Bank which started as private shareholders banks, mostly
Europeans shareholders
Imperial Bank of India
The first Indian bank to open a branch outside India in
London in 1946 and the first to open a branch in continental
Europe at Paris in 1974 -Bank of India, founded in 1906 in Mumbai
The oldest Public Sector Bank in India having branches all
over India and serving the customers for the last 132 years.
Allahabad Bank
The first Indian commercial bank which was wholly owned and
managed by Indians
Central Bank of India
Bank of India was founded in 1906 in Mumbai. It became the first
Indian bank to open a branch outside India in London in 1946 and
the first to open a branch in continental Europe at Paris in 1974.
List of Public Sector Banks in India
Allahabad Bank
Andhra Bank
Bank of Baroda
Bank of India
Bank of Maharashtra
Canara Bank
 10
Central Bank of India List of Foreign Banks in India
Corporation Bank ABN-AMRO Bank
Dena Bank Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
Indian Bank Bank of Ceylon
Indian Overseas Bank BNP Paribas Bank
Oriental Bank of Commerce
Citi Bank
Punjab & Sind Bank
China Trust Commercial Bank
Punjab National Bank
Deutsche Bank
Syndicate Bank
UCO Bank HSBC

Union Bank of India JPMorgan Chase Bank

United Bank of India Standard Chartered Bank
Vijaya Bank Scotia Bank
Taib Bank
List of Private Banks in India
Bank of Punjab Upcoming Foreign Banks In India
Bank of Rajasthan
By 2009 few more names is going to be added in the list of
Catholic Syrian Bank foreign banks in India. This is as an aftermath of the sudden
Centurion Bank interest shown by the Reserve Bank of India paving roadmap for
foreign banks have greater freedom in India. Among them is the
City Union Bank
world's best private bank by EuroMoney magazine, Switzerland's
Dhanalakshmi Bank UBS.
Development Credit Bank The following are the list of foreign banks going to set up
Federal Bank business in India:
HDFC Bank Royal Bank of Scotland
ICICI Bank Switzerland's UBS
IDBI Bank US-based GE Capital
IndusInd Bank
Credit Suisse Group
ING Vysya Bank
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Jammu & Kashmir Bank
Merrill Lynch is having a joint venture in Indian investment
Karnataka Bank
banking space DSP Merrill Lynch. Goldman Sachs holds stakes
Karur Vysya Bank in Kotak Mahindra arms.
Laxmi Vilas Bank GE Capital is also having a wide presence in consumer finance
South Indian Bank through GE Capital India.
India's GDP is seen growing at a robust pace of around 7% over
United Western Bank
the next few years, throwing up opportunities for the banking
UTI Bank sector to profit from the present economic scenario.
 11

EXERCISE -1
9. When a loan is granted by a bank for purchase of white
CONCEPTUAL BANKING goods it is called
1. Which of the following terms is used in Banking Field? (a) Consumption loan (b) White goods loan
(a) Interest Rate Swap (b) Input Devices (c) Consumer durable loan (d) All of these
(c) Sedimentary (d) Zero Hour (e) None of these
(e) Privilege Motion 10. As per the reports in various newspapers many private
2. On which one of the following issues can SEBI penalize any companies are trying to obtain the licences to launch a
company in India? banking company in India. Which of the following
organizations/agencies issue the licence for the same?
(A) Violation of Banking Regulation Act.
(a) Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
(B) Violation of foreign portfolio investment guidelines. (b) Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF)
(C) For violation of Negotiable Instrument Act. (c) Indian Banks Association
(a) Only (A) (b) All (A), (B) & (C) (d) Registrar of Companies
(c) Only (A) & (B) (d) Only (B) & (C) (e) None of the above
(e) Only (B) 11. Which of the following methods is being adopted by Banks
3. Expand the term ALM as used in Banking/Finance sector? for calculating and applying interest on Savings Bank
(a) Asset Liability Mismatch accounts?
(b) Asset Liability Maturity (a) On monthly products based on minimum balance
between 10th and last working day.
(c) Asset Liability Management
(b) Daily balance is counted and interest is paid
(d) Asset Liability Manpower accordingly
(e) None of the above (c) On average quarterly balance.
4. What is the full form of the term LIBOR as used in financial (d) On average half yearly balance.
banking sectors? (e) None of the above.
(a) Local Indian Bank Offered Rate 12. The main function of IMF is to
(b) London-India Bureau of Regulations (a) give financial investment loans to devoloping countries
(c) Liberal International Bank Official Ratio (b) act as a private sector lending arm of the World Bank
(d) London inter Bank Offered Rate (c) help of solve balance of payment problems of member
countries
(e) None of the above
(d) arrange international deposits from banks
5. Expand the term FSDC which is used in financial sectors? (e) None of the above
(a) Financial Security and Development Council 13. Which of the following is not a part of the scheduled
(b) Financial Stability and Development Council banking structure in India ?
(c) Fiscal Security and Development Council (a) Money lenders (b) Public sector banks
(d) Fiscal Stability and Development Council (c) Private sector banks (d) Regional rural banks
(e) None of the above (e) State cooperative banks
6. For which one of the following reasons are Basel II norms to 14. The rate of interest on savings bank account is stipulated by
be followed by Commercial Banks? (a) the concerned bank
(b) RBI
(a) Risk management
(c) Indian banks association
(b) Adoption of international accounting standards (d) Government of India
(c) Restriction on bonus payments to bank executives (e) Banking codes and standards board of India
(d) Transparency in disclosures 15. Many times we read a term 'CBS' used in banking operation.
(e) None of the above What is the full form of the letter 'C' in the term 'CBS'?
7. Which one of the following will set up core banking (a) Core (b) Credit
infrastructure for rural banks? (c) Continuous (d) Complete
(a) RBI (b) NABARD (e) None of these
(c) SIDBI (d) IBA 16. The RBI reviews its credit and monetary policy at regular
(e) None of these intervals and also in between. What is the purpose of the
same ?
8. Which of the following rates/ratios is not covered under
A. To ensure that inflation does not cross limits.
the RBI monetary and credit policy ? B. To ensure that banks have enough liquidity.
(a) Bank rate C. To ensure that cost of the fund does not reach a very
(b) Exchange rate of foreign currencies high level
(c) Repo rate (a) Only A (b) Only B
(d) Reverse repo rate (c) All A, B and C (d) Only B and C
(e) Cash reserve ratio (e) None of these
 12
17. Under provisions of which one of the following Acts does 24. As we all know, the RBI has raised the Cash Reserve Ratio
the RBI issue directives to the Banks in India ? (CRR) by 25 bps, in April 2010. What action will banks have
(a) RBI Act to take to implement the same ?
(b) Banking Regulation Act (A) They will have to deposit some more money with the
(c) Essential Commodities Act RBI as reserve money.
(d) RBI and Banking Regulation Act (B) Banks will be required to give some more loan to projects
(e) None of the above of the priority sector.
18. Which one of the following tools is used by RBI for selective (C) Banks will be required to give a loan equivalent to the
credit control ? CRR to the Govt. of India for its day to day expenditure
(a) It advises banks to lend against certain commodities as and when required.
(b) It advises banks to recall the loans for advances against (a) Only A (b) Only B
certain commodities (c) Only C (d) Only A and B
(c) It advises banks to charge higher rate of interest for (e) All A, B and C
advance against certain commodities. 25. Insurance service provided by various banks is commonly
(d) It discourages certain kinds of lending by assigning known as ....
higher risk weights to loans it deems undesirable. (a) Investment Banking (b) Portfolio Management
(e) None of the above
(c) Merchant Banking (d) Bancassurance
19. For which one of the following are loan products 'teaser
(e) Micro Finance
loans' offered by banks ?
26. The rate on which banks borrow from the RBI is called .......
(a) Education loans
(a) SLR (b) CRR
(b) Commercial laons
(c) Loans against security of gold (c) Interest Rate (d) Bank Rate
(d) Retail trade loans (e) Repo Rate
(e) Home loans 27. As we know, the RBI is the apex bank of India; similarly, the
20. Under provisions of which one of the following Acts has apex Bank of USA is called.....
the Reserve Bank of India has the power to regulate, (a) Federal Reserve
supervise and control the banking sector? (b) The Central Bank of USA
(a) RBI Act (c) Bank of America
(b) Banking Regulation Act (d) Central Bank of USA
(c) Negotiable Instruments Act (e) None of the above
(d) RBI and Banking Regulation Act 28. What is the full form of 'NBFC' as used in the Financial
(e) None of the above Sector?
21. Credit rating is (a) New Banking Finance Company
(a) used to rate the borrowers while giving advances (b) National Banking & Finance Corporation
(b) used to work out performance of the employees (c) New Business Finance & Credit
(c) used to calculate the number of excellent audit rated (d) Non Business Fund Company
branches (e) None of the above
(d) not used in any bank 29. Cross-selling is not effective for which one of the following
(e) necessary before giving promotion to employees products ?
22. RTGS stands for (a) Debit cards (b) Savings accounts
(a) Real Time Gross Settlements (c) Internet banking (d) Pension loans
(b) Reduced Time Gross Settlements (e) Personal loans
(c) Relative Time Gross Settlements
30. As per the news published in a financial publication, RBI is
(d) Real Total Gross Securities
redesigning its 'ECS' to function as an Automated Clearing
(e) None of the above
House (ACH) for bulk transactions. What is full form of
23. As we all know, the Bank Rate at present is fixed at 6%.
'ECS'?
What does it mean in context to the banking operations ?
(a) Extra Closing System
(a) No bank will be able to give loan to any patron at a rate
(b) Electronic Cheque System
lower than the Bank Rate.
(c) Evening Cheque Sorter
(b) Bank should give loan to their priority sector customers/
borrowers at the rate of 6% only. They cannot charge (d) Evening Cheque System
less or more than this from their priority sector clients. (e) Electronic Clearing Service
(c) Banks are required to invest 6% of their total capital on 31. What is wholesale banking?
financial inclusion and inclusive banking operations. (a) It is a bank-to-bank or B2B dealing.
(d) Banks will be required to give 6% of their total deposits (b) It is a bank-to-customer dealing.
to the Govt. of India for meeting its Balance of Trade (c) It is a bank-to-trustworthy customer dealing.
requirements. (d) It is a bank-to-government dealing
(e) None of the above (e) None of these
 13
32. Which of the following is the full form of the term SLR as 1. It will bring substantial economic benefits to India
used in the banking sector? and also to the countries where branches will be
(a) Social Lending Ratio opened.
(b) Statutory Liquidity Ratio 2. It will help in smooth inflow of FDI, long term capital
(c) Scheduled Liquidity Rate inflow and also technical know-how to India.
(d) Separate Lending Rate 3. It will give better opportunities to Indians to visit
(e) None of these foreign nations and get better facilities like education,
33. What is hot money? medical treatment, etc.
(a) Money which has tendency to migrate towards (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
highprofit-oriented places. (c) Only 3 (d) Only 1 and 2
(b) Money which has tendency to migrate towards
(e) All 1, 2 and 3
lowprofit-oriented places
39. "Higher provisioning dragged down the profits of down
(c) Money, which has no interest
(d) Only (a) and (b) the 4th quarter of some banks" was the news in some major
(e) Only (a) and (c) newspapers. This means that the banks
34. As we all know, the major source of income of the banks is (a) had many NPAs
lending money (providing credit) and earning interest on it. (b) had no NPA
In normal circumstances, the demand of credit comes mainly (c) was in great loss
from which of the following sectors ? (d) was not able to earn any profit last year
1. Personal Loans (e) None of these
2. Priority Sector Lending and Bailout Packages 40. As we all know, RBI hiked the CRR by 025 basis points.
3. Project Finance What immediate impact will it have on the functioning of
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 banks ?
(c) Only 3 (d) All 1, 2 and 3
1. Banks will have to lock some additional fund with the
(e) None of these
RBI without any income generation to the banks on
35. One of the sources of income of banks is to charge fee for
these funds.
certain services. What are some of the services provided by
the banks for which they charge fee? 2. Banks will have to raise their capital base by bringing
1. Issuing Demand Drafts/Pay Orders IPOs or by taking money from the Govt. of India.
2. Issue of ATM/Credit/Debit Cards 3. Banks will have to give more funds to priority sectors
3. Electronic Transfer of Money and less to corporate sector.
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) Only 3 (d) All 1, 2 and 3 (c) Only 3 (d) All 1, 2 and 3
(e) None of these (e) None of these
36. Many banks have launched/ floated their subsidiaries which 41. When the Reserve Bank says that the Rupee is over-valued,
are fully owned by them. Banks launch subsidiaries normally it means?
for which of the following businesses? (a) RBI has shortage of hard currency and it has to order
1. Home Loan Business for printing of new notes to the press concerned
2. To sell Insurance Policies
(b) Rupee is appreciating against other currencies
3. To control Online Operations or Internet Banking
whereas other currencies are weakening against US
business
Dollar
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
(c) Only 3 (d) All 1, 2 and 3 (c) Money is locked in banks and people do not have
(e) None of these enough to make their day to day purchases. It is a
37. "The set of directive principles issued by the Central Bank strategy which brings down inflation
of a country or the process adopted by it to control the (d) More and more people are selling their stocks. As a
supply of money, availability of money, cost of money and result stock market may crash, as there is no hard
rate of interest, etc. in order to bring stability and growth of cash for such voluminous transactions
the economy" are commonly known as- (e) None of these
(a) Monetary policy of the Central Bank of the country 42. Which of the following is not a nationalised bank?
(b) Budget of the Govt. (a) Canara Bank (b) Allahabad Bank
(c) Profit and Loss Account (c) IDBI Bank (d) PNB
(d) Business Policy of the Bank
(e) None of the above
(e) None of these
43. Which of the following is not a financial regulator?
38. As we see every day, many Indian banks are in close
competition to open their branches / offices in various (a) IRDA (b) PFRDA
countries. What benefit will the Indian economy have if (c) AMFI (d) SEBI
banks open branches in a foreign country ? (e) None of the above
 14
44. Which of the following key rates has not been altered by (c) They have two tier structures: at state and district
RBI since 2003? level
(a) Bank Rate (d) They grant loans on mortgage security
(b) Statutory Liquidity Ratio (e) They are customers of NABARD
(c) Cash Reserve Ratio 54. Which among the following statements is incorrect
(d) Repo Rate regarding the Regional Rural Banks?
(e) None of the above (a) They have been established as per the provisions of
45. Mobile banking is set to get a boost from IMPS, which Regional Rural Banks Act 1976
stands for (b) Ever y Region al Rural Bank is sponsored by
(a) Inter-Bank Mobile Payment Service commercial banks
(b) Inter-Bank Money Payment Service (c) The commercial banks need to approach to the state
(c) Inter-Bank Mobile Payment System governments to establish Regional Rural Banks
(d) Inter-Bank Money Payment System (d) The Regional Rural Banks may open branches in
(e) None of the above notified area
46. Which of the following is not correctly matched? (e) All statements are correct
55. Which among the following is the correct statement?
(a) Mutual Fund & SEBI (b) ULIP & SEBI
(a) Cooperative Banks are fully controlled by RBI
(c) Pension & PFRDA (d) Insurance & IRDA
(b) Cooperative Banks are partially controlled by RBI
(e) None of the above (c) Cooperative Banks are not controlled by RBI
47. Which among the following are the oldest financial (d) Cooperative Banks are fully controlled by Banking
institutions in India? Regulation Act 1949
(a) Private Agencies (b) Commercial Banks (e) None of the above is correct
(c) Reserve Bank of India (d) State bank of India 56. Agency Functions of the commercial Banks are __?
(e) None of the above (a) Primary Functions
48. In which year was SIDBI established? (b) Secondary Functions (c) Tertiary Functions
(a) 1975 (b) 1998 (d) Social Functions (e) None of the above
(c) 1990 (d) 1978 57. Which among the following is an essential feature of a
(e) 1981 commercial bank?
49. Which among the following is the first Development (a) providing Locker facilities
Financial Institution in the country to cater to the long-term (b) dealing with credit
finance needs of the industrial sector? (c) providing business information and data
(a) IFCI (b) IDBI (d) Underwriting (e) Sale of securities
58. Which among the following Banks in India was the first to
(c) ICICI (d) SIDBI
take a major step of reorganizing based upon market
(e) SBI
segmentation?
50. Which among the following is the main function of (a) ICICI Bank (b) State Bank of India
Agricultural Finance Corporation Limited ? (c) Punjab National Bank (d) Bank of Baroda
(a) consultancy services in the field of agriculture (e) Indian Bank
(b) social service organization 59. When a person has a savings account in the bank , the bank
(c) Agricultural commodities exchange assumes the position of ___?
(d) Agricultural cooperative society (a) Debtor (b) Creditor
(e) none of the above (c) Agency (d) Depositor
51. National Rural Credit Stabilization Fund is a Institution of (e) Agent
purpose-specific funds in which of the following? 60. Which among the following is the Bank rate?
(a) IDBI (b) SIDBI (a) the rate at which a commercial Bank lends to its
(c) NABARD (d) IFCI customers
(e) AFCL (b) the rate at which a commercial Bank lends to its best
52. To meet the need of which of the following has the concept customers
of Land Development Bank been developed? (c) the rate at which a central Bank lends to commercial
Banks
(a) Industries
(d) the rate at which a Commercial Bank lends to Central
(b) Real estate
bank
(c) Farmers (e) the rate at which a commercial Bank accepts deposits
(d) Export Oriented Units and SEZ from its customers
(e) Education Institutes 61. An investor or speculator who subscribes to a new issue
53. Which among the following statement is incorrect regarding with the intention of selling them shares soon after allotment
Land Development Banks? to realize a quick profit is called?
(a) They are cooperative institutions (a) Bull (b) Bear
(b) They meet the needs of the farmers for development (c) Stag (d) Short
purposes (e) Tall
 15
62. The Unclaimed deposits are those deposits which haven't (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
been operated for ______? (c) Only 3 (d) All 1, 2 & 3
(a) 5 years or more (b) 7 years or more (e) None of these
(c) 10 years or more (d) 12 years or more 72. The Reserve Bank of India keeps on changing various ratio/
(e) 15 years or more rates frequently. Why is this done?
63. In which year Statutory Liquidity Ratio was first imposed (1) To keep inflation under control.
on banks? (2) To ensure that Indian Rupee does not lose its market
(a) 1949 (b) 1951 value.
(c) 1955 (d) 1968 (3) To ensure that Banks do not earn huge profits at the
(e) 1971 cost of public money.
64. On which of the following dates does a Bank publish its (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2
balance sheet ? (c) Only 3 (d) All 1, 2 & 3
(a) March 31 (b) April 1 (e) None of these
(c) December 31 (d) January 1 73. Deficit financing increases
(e) None of the above (a) Rate of money inflation (b) Rate of money deflation
65. Which among the following was the first Commercial Bank (c) Rate of devaluation (d) All of the above
of India? (e) None of these
(a) Hindustan Bank (b) The bank of Bengal 74. Which is not a monetary measure to control inflation ?
(c) Imperial Bank of India (d) Punjab National Bank (a) Soft loan policy
(e) Allahabad Bank (b) Hard credit policy
66. A new private bank is established under which of the (c) Tighten the regulations of money issue
following? (d) To reduce the quantity of money
(a) Banking regulation Act 1949 (e) None of these
(b) Companies Act 1956 75. Which is the monetary measure to control inflation ?
(c) RBI Act 1934 (a) Increase in taxation (b) Decrease in taxation
(d) All of the above (c) Soft credit policy (d) Hard credit policy
(e) None of the above (e) None of these
67. In which stock exchange, currency futures trading was 76. Selling of securities in the open market by the central bank
first started ? creates
(a) BSE (a) Inflation (b) Deflation
(b) NSE (c) Both of the above (d) None of the above
(c) MCX-SX (e) None of these
(d) All the above had the trading simultaneously 77. To control inflation the central bank should
68. ECB stands for (a) Sell government securities and decrease bank
(a) Extra Cornmercial Banking rate
(b) Extra Commerical Borrowing (b) Sell government securities and increase bank
(c) External Commerical Borrowing rate
(d) Extra Community for Bank (c) Purchase government securities and increase
(e) Noneof these bank rate
69. What is a Consortium? (d) Purchase government securities and to decrease
(a) When more than one bank allow credit facility to one bank rate
party in coordination with another under a formal (e) None of these
arrangement . 78. Smart Money is a term used for
(b) In a consortium more than two persons together take (a) Internet Banking (b) Credit Card
loan from one bank. (c) Cash with Bank (d) Cash with Public
(c) In a consortium, banks provide loan only to the poor. (e) None of these
(d) Both (a) and (b) are correct 79. When was RBI nationalised ?
(e) None of these (a) 1st April, 1935 (b) 1st January, 1949
70. The Stock market index of London Stock Market is referred (c) 1st January, 1935 (d) 1st July, 1969
as (e) None of these
80. How many banks are there in public sector at present ?
(a) Sensex (b) Footsie (FTSE)
(a) 28 (b) 27
(c) NIFTY (d) Bullish
(c) 19 (d) 20
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
71. As we all know Ministry of Finance every year prepares
81. The central banking functions in India are performed by the
Union Budget and presents it to the Parliament . Which of
I. Central Bank of India II. Reserve Bank of India
the following is / are the elements of the Union Budget ?
III. State Bank of India IV. Punjab National Bank
(1) Estimates of revenue and capital receipts.
(a) I, II and III (b) II
(2) Ways and Means to raise the revenue.
(c) I (d) II and IV
(3) Estimates of expenditure.
(e) None of these
 16
82. ICICI is the name of a (b) to reduce the freedom given to banks to rationalize
(a) chemical industry (b) bureau their existing branch network
(c) corporation (d) financial institution (c) to set up more foreign exchange banks
(e) None of these (d) to lend more easily for industrial development
83. If all the banks in an economy are nationalized and converted (e) None of these
into a monopoly bank, the total deposits 93. Deficit financing means that the government borrows money
(a) will decrease from the
(b) will increase (a) RBI (b) local bodies
(c) will neither increase nor decrease (c) big businessmen (d) IMF
(d) None of the above (e) None of these
84. The association of the rupee with pound sterling as the 94. The co-operative credit societies have a
intervention currency was broken in
(a) two-tier structure (b) three-tier structure
(a) 1990 (b) 1991
(c) four-tier structure (d) five-tier structure
(c) 1992 (d) 1993
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
95. Regional rural banks
85. On July 12, 1982, the ARDC was merged into
(a) RBI (b) NABARD I. have limited area of operation
(c) EXIM Bank (d) HDFC Bank II. have free access to liberal refinance facilities from
(e) None of these NABARD
86. If the cash reserve ratio is lowered by the RBI, its impact on III. are required to lend only to weaker sections
credit creation will be to (a) I, III (b) II, III
(a) increase it (b) decrease it (c) I, II, III (d) I, II
(c) no impact (d) constant (e) None of these
(e) None of these 96. The Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR)
87. Which of the following items would not appear in a came into existence in
company's balance sheet? (a) 1984 (b) 1986
(a) Value of stocks of raw materials held (c) 1987 (d) 1989
(b) Total issued capital 97. The banks are required to maintain a certain ratio between
(c) Revenue from sales of the company's products their cash in hand and totals assets. This is called
(d) Cash held at the bank (a) Statutory Bank Ratio (SBR)
(e) None of these (b) Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)
88. The currency convertibility concept in its original form (c) Central Bank Reserve (CBR)
originated in (d) Central Liquid Reserve (CLR)
(a) Wells Agreement (e) None of these
(b) Bretton Woods Agreement 98. How banks were nationalized in 1969?
(c) Taylors Agreement (a) 16 (b) 14
(d) Both a and b (c) 15 (d) 20
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
89. The central co-operative banks are in direct touch with
99. The accounting year of the Reserve Bank of India is
(a) farmers
(a) April-March (b) July-June
(b) state co-operative banks
(c) October-September (d) January-December
(c) land development banks
(d) central government (e) None of these
(e) None of these 100. In India, the first bank of limited liability managed by Indians
90. The first wholly Indian Bank was set up in and founded in 1881 was
(a) 1794 (b) 1894 (a) Hindustan Commercial Bank
(c) 1896 (d) 1902 (b) Oudh Commercial Bank
(e) None of these (c) Punjab National Bank
91. Our financial system has provided for the transfer of (d) Punjab and Sind Bank
resources from the centre to the states; the important means (e) None of these
of resource transfer are 101. If the RBI adopts an expansionist open market operations
(a) tax sharing (b) grant-in-aids policy, this means that it will
(c) loans (d) All the above (a) buy securities from non-government holders
(e) None of these (b) sell securities in the open market
92. In pursuance of the recommendations of Narsimhan (c) offer commercial banks more credit in the open market
Committee, the RBI has framed new guidelines (d) openly announce to the market that it intends to
(a) to govern entry of new private sector banks to make expand credit
the banking sector more competitive (e) None of these
 17
102. Which of the following is NOT the name of a multinational 109. Which of the following is the apex institution which
bank? handles refinance for agriculture and rural development in
(a) BNP Paribas India?
(b) British Bank of Middle East (a) RBI (b) SIDBI
(c) Standard Chartered Bank (c) NABARD (d) SEBI
(d) HSBC (e) None of these
(e) Cathay Pacific 110. Which of the following is NOT a part of India's Money
103. In order to avoid crowding of customers wanting to withdraw Market?
cash in the branches, banks have provided many delivery (a) Bill Market (b) Call Money Market
channels. Which of the following is one of the most popular (c) Banks (d) Mutual Funds
channels of getting instant hard cash? (e) Indian Gold Council
(a) Core Banking Solution 111. Which of the following is the Regulator of the credit rating
(b) Pay Orders agencies in India?
(c) Demand Drafts (a) RBI (b) SBI
(d) Automated Teller Machines (c) SEBI (d) SIDBI
(e) None of these (e) None of these
104. As we all know, when we deposit a cheque issued in our 112. Bank rate is decided by which of the following?
name in the bank, the bank always checks if the cheque has (a) RBI (b) Govt. of India
been crossed or not. Why is this done? (c) SEBI (d) IBA
(a) It ensures that the money is deposited only in the (e) NABARD
account of the person in whose name the cheque has 113. FDI refers to
been drawn.
(a) Fixed Deposit Interest
(b) It is a process by which the person who has issued the
(b) Fixed Deposit Investment
cheque comes to know whether the cheque is encashed
(c) Foreign Direct Investment
or not.
(d) Future Derivative Investment
(c) The bank insists on it only when the party wants the
(e) None of these
payment immediately and that too in cash only.
114. Teaser Rates are related to which of the following types of
(d) This is the instruction of RBI that all the cheques of
loans?
the amount of ` 10,000 should be accepted only if they
are crossed. (a) Home Loans
(e) None of these (b) Personal Loans
105. Which of the following terms is NOT associated with (c) Auto Loans
banking operations? (d) Reverse Mortgage Loans
(a) Repo Rate (b) Prime Lending Rate (e) Crop Loans
(c) Equator (d) Corporate Finance 115. As we all know, the major source of income of the banks is
(e) Cash Reserve Ratio lending money (providing credit) and earning interest on it.
106. A student has got admission to a foreign university. From In normal circumstances, the demand of the credit comes
where can he/she get the foreign currency ? mainly from which of the following sectors?
(a) From the Bank of that country only (A) Personal Loans
(b) From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (B) Priority Sector Lending and Bailout Packages
(c) From office of the Consulate General of that country (C) Project Finance
(d) From an authorised foreign exchange dealer (a) Only (A) (b) Only (B)
(e) From any big five star hotel as many foreigners come (c) Only (C) (d) All (A), (B) and (C)
to stay there (e) None of these
107. What is the full form the term 'FDIs' as used in the economic 116. Many banks have launched/floated their subsidiaries which
world? are fully owned by them. Banks launch subsidiaries normally
(a) Fixed Duration Investments for which of the following businesses?
(b) Financial and Debt Instruments (A) Home Loan Business
(c) Foreign Deployment Index (B) To sell Insurance Policies
(d) Foreign Direct Investments (C) To control Online Operations or Internet Banking
(e) Formal Direct Issues business
108. Which of the following is NOT a Govt. sponsored (a) Only (A) (b) Only (B)
organization? (c) Only (C) (d) All (A), (B) and (C)
(a) Small Industries Development Bank of India (e) None of these
(b) NABARD 117. "The set of directive principles issued by the Central Bank
(c) National Housing Bank of a country or the process adopted by it to control the
(d) ICICI Bank supply of money, availability of money, cost of money and
(e) All are Govt. sponsored rate of interest, etc, in order to bring stability and growth of
 18
the economy" are commonly known as deposits
(a) Monetary policy of the Central Bank of the country (d) rate at which RBI purchases or rediscounts bills of
(b) Budget of the Govt. exchange of commercial banks
(c) Profit and Loss Account (e) None of the above
(d) Business Policy of the Bank 123. What is an Indian Depository Receipt?
(e) None of the above (a) A deposit account with a Public Sector Bank
118. Consider the following statements: (b) A depository account with any depositorys in India
1. In call money market, funds are borrowed and lent (c) An instrument in the form of depository receipt
for one day and for a period of up to 14 days without created by an Indian depository against underlying
any collateral security. equity shares of the issuing company
2. Ways and Means Advances are made the commercial (d) An instrument in the form of deposit receipt issued
banks to maintain mandatory reserves. by Indian depositories
3. Treasury Bills are promissory notes issued by State (e) None of the above
Governments for fixed period extending up to one year. 124. An instrument that derives its value from a specified
Which of the above statement/s is/are correct? underlying currency, gold, stocks etc, is known as
(a) Only (1) (b) Only (1) and (2) (a) Derivative (b) Securitisation Receipt
(c) Only (3) (d) Only (1) and (3) (c) Hedge Fund (d) Factoring
(e) All the above (e) Venture Capital Funding
119. Consider the following statement/s about Open Market 125. Reverse repo means
Operations is/are true: (a) injecting liquidity by the Central Bank of a country
1. Open Market Operation stands for the purchase and through purchases of Govt. securities
sale of government securities by the RBI from/ to the (b) absorption of liquidity from the market by sale of Govt.
public and banks. securities
2. The RBI buys all the unsold stock new government (c) balancing liquidity with a view to enhance economic
loans at the end of the subscription period. growth rate
3. Such purchases of the government securities by the (d) improving the position to availability of the securities
RBI constitute only an internal arrangement and are in the market
not genuine market purchases. (e) None of the above
(a) Only (1) (b) Only (1) and (2) 126. The stance of RBI monetary policy is
(a) inflation control with adequate liquidity for growth (b)
(c) Only (2) and (3) (d) Only (3)
improving credit quality of the banks
(e) All the above are true
(c) strengthening credit delivery mechanism
120. When the Reserve-Bank says that the Rupee is over-valued,
(d) supporting investment demand in the economy
it means
(e) None of the above
(a) RBI has shortage of hard currency and it has to order
127. Currency Swap is an instrument to manage
for printing of new notes to the press concerned
(a) currency risk
(b) Rupee is appreciating against other currencies
(b) interest rate risk
whereas other currencies are weakening against US
(c) currency and interest rate risk
Dollar
(d) cash flows in different currencies
(c) Money is locked in banks and people do not have
(e) All of the above
enough to make their day to day purchases. It is a
128. Euro Bond is an instrument
strategy which brings the inflation down
(a) issued in the European market
(d) More and more people are selling their stocks. As a (b) issued in Euro currency
result stock market may crash, as there is no hard (c) issued in country other than the country of the
cash for such voluminous transactions currency of the Bond
(e) None of the above (d) All of the above
121. RBI's open market operation transactions are carried out (e) None of the above
with a view to regulate 129. Money Laundering normally involves
(a) liquidity in the economy (a) placement of funds (b) layering of funds
(b) prices of essential commodities (c) integration of funds (d) All of (a), (b) and (c)
(c) inflation (e) None of (a), (b) and (c)
(d) borrowing power of the banks 130. The IMF and the World Bank were conceived as institutions to
(e) All of the above (a) strengthen international economic co-operation and
122. The bank rate means to help create a more stable and prosperous global
(a) rate of interest charged by commercial banks from economy
borrowers (b) Promote international monetary cooperation
(b) rate of interest at which commercial banks discounted (c) Promote long term economic development and
bills of their borrowers poverty reduction
(c) rate of interest allowed by commercial banks on their (d) All of (a), (b) and (c)
 19
(e) None of (a), (b) and (c) (e) None of these
131. Capital Market Regulator is 139. Which of the following is not a public sector unit/
(a) RBI (b) IRDA undertaking/agency?
(c) NSE (d) BSE (a) ECGC (b) SIDBI
(e) SEBI (c) SEBI (d) Axis Bank
132. What is the Call Money? (e) None of these
(a) Money borrowed or lent for a day or overnight 140. CRR stands for
(b) Money borrowed for more than one day but upto (a) Cash Rate Requirements
(b) Cash Reserve Ratio
3 days
(c) Credit Rate Requirements
(c) Money borrowed for more than one day but upto
(d) Credit Reserve Requirements
7 days (e) None of these
(d) Money borrowed for more than one day but upto 141. Green Banking means
14 days (a) financing of irrigation projects by banks
(e) None of the above (b) development of forestry by banks
133. Which of the following is the Regulator of the credit rating (c) financing of environment friendly projects by banks
agencies in India ? (d) Managing fishery by banks.
(a) RBI (b) SBI (e) None of these
(c) SIDBI (d) SEBI 142. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the
(e) None of these Reserve Bank of India have given guidelines to enable
134. The logo of Bank of Baroda is known as trading in currency derivatives on stock exchanges. Which
(a) Sun of Bank of Baroda of the following statements is/are TRUE in this context?
(b) Baroda Sun A. Any bank is eligible to become a clearing member and/
(c) Bank of Baroda's Rays or a trading member of the currency derivatives segment
(d) Sunlight of Bank of Baroda of an exchange.
B. The last day for trading of the contract shall be two
(e) None of the above
working days prior to the final settlement day.
135. Many times we read about Future Trading in newspapers.
C. Currency futures are permitted now only in U.S. dollar-
What is 'Future Trading' ? Indian Rupee.
(A) It is nothing but a trade between any two stock (a) Only A (b) Only C
exchanges where in it is decided to purchase the (c) Both A & B (d) All A, B & C
stocks of each other on a fixed price throughout the (e) None of these
year 143. Fiscal deficit in the Union Budget means
(B) It is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell (a) The difference between crucial expenditure and current
an underlying asset in the future at a predetermined revenue.
price (b) The sum of budgetary deficit and net increase in
(C) It is an agreement between stock exchanges that they internal and external borrowings
will not trade the stocks of each other under any (c) Net increase in union government borrowings from
circumstances in future or for a given period of time Reserve Bank of India
(a) Only A (b) Only B (d) The sum of monetized deficit and budgetary deficit.
(c) Only C (d) All A, Band C (e) None of these
(e) None of these 144. Free international trade leads to equalization of
(a) prices in both the countries
136. The expansion for the abbreviation BIS, in the context of
(b) international price with domestic price
the banking industry is
(c) commodities of both the countries
(a) Bank for International Settlements (d) Trade between two countries
(b) Bank for Industrial Settlements (e) None of the above
(c) Bank for Industrial Sectors 145. Which one of the following is not a quantitative control
(d) Bank for International Services method of credit control?
(e) None of these (a) Cash reserve Ratio
137. As per the guidelines issued by the SEBI the Permanent (b) Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)
Account Number (PAN) is a must for which of the following? (c) Bank Rate
(a) Demat Accounts (d) Selective Credit Control
(b) All Saving Banks Accounts (e) None of these
(c) All Housing Loan Accounts 146. The RBI has helped to finance Indias foreign trade through
(d) All Current Accounts (a) IDBI (b) SBI
(e) None of these (c) EXIM Bank (d) NABARD
138. Which of the following names is not associated with the (e) None of these
insurance business in India? 147. When the price of a substitute of a commodity X falls, then
the demand for X
(a) Bajaj Allianz (b) GIC
(a) Rises (b) Falls
(c) LIC (d) GE Money
(c) Remains unchanged (d) First rises and then falls
 20
(e) None of these (e) None of these
148. The provision of credit and other financial services and 154. Which of the following organizations is known as Market
products of very small amount to the poor in rural semi Regulator in India?
urban and urban areas to enable them to raise their income (a) SEBI (b) IBA
level and living standard is known as (c) AMFI (d) NSDL
(a) Micro Credit (b) Personal Banking (e) None of these
(c) Corporate Banking (d) Non-Banking Finance 155. FSLRC stands for-
(e) None of these (a) Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission
149. Who among the following is known as the guardian of the (b) Financial Sector Legal Reforms Commission
Public Purse in India? (c) Financial Sectional Law Reforms Commission
(a) The President (d) None of the above
(b) The Comptroller and Auditor General (e) None of these
(c) The Finance Minister 156. With the recent increase in reports and reverse repo rates
(d) The Parliament announced by RBI there is speculation that the leading rates
(e) None of these of banks would also increase. Why?
150. The National Stock Exchange functions from (a) Cost of funds for banks would increase
(a) New Delhi (b) Kolkata (b) Banks use this opportunity raise lending rates
(c) Mumbai (d) Chennai (c) RBI would instruct the banks to raise the lending rates
(e) None of these (d) None of these
151. Fiscal Policy is related to 157. The terms Entry Load and Exit Load are most frequently
(a) Issue of currency used in context with the following?
(b) Credit creation (a) Health Insurance (b) Real Estate
(c) Public revenue and expenditure (c) Mutual Funds (d) Housing Loans
(d) All of these (e) None of these
(e) None of these 158. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
152. The Foreign Exchange Reserves of India are kept in the Industry (FICCI) was founded in 1927 by
custody of (a) Birla and Tata (b) Tata and Thakurdas
(a) Prime Minister Rahat Kosh (c) Thakurdas and Birla (d) Tata and Godrej
(b) International Monetary Fund (e) None of these
(c) World Bank 159. Which of the following is not a Central Government tax?
(d) Reserve Bank of India (a) Income tax (b) Customs
(e) None of these (c) Land revenue (d) Corporation tax
153. Inflation implies (e) None of these
(a) Rise in budget deficit 160. Interest rates on Savings Bank Account is calculated on a
(b) Rise in general price index ..............basis.
(c) Rise in price of consumer goods (a) Quarterly (b) Monthly
(d) Rise in money supply (c) Daily (d) Half-yearly
(e) None of these

ANSWER KEY
1 (a) 17 (d) 33 (a) 49 (a) 65 (a) 81 (b) 97 (b) 113 (c) 129 (d) 145 (d)
2 (d) 18 (b) 34 (d) 50 (a) 66 (b) 82 (d) 98 (b) 114 (a) 130 (d) 146 (c)
3 (c) 19 (e) 35 (d) 51 (c) 67 (b) 83 (c) 99 (a) 115 (c) 131 (e) 147 (b)
4 (d) 20 (b) 36 (d) 52 (c) 68 (c) 84 (c) 100 (b) 116 (d) 132 (a) 148 (a)
5 (b) 21 (a) 37 (a) 53 (c) 69 (a) 85 (b) 101 (c) 117 (a) 133 (d) 149 (b)
6 (a) 22 (a) 38 (d) 54 (c) 70 (b) 86 (a) 102 (e) 118 (a) 134 (b) 150 (c)
7 (b) 23 (a) 39 (a) 55 (b) 71 (d) 87 (c) 103 (d) 119 (e) 135 (b) 151 (c)
8 (b) 24 (a) 40 (a) 56 (d) 72 (d) 88 (b) 104 (a) 120 (e) 136 (a) 152 (d)
9 (c) 25 (d) 41 (b) 57 (b) 73 (a) 89 (b) 105 (c) 121 (e) 137 (a) 153 (d)
10 (c) 26 (d) 42 (c) 58 (b) 74 (a) 90 (b) 106 (d) 122 (d) 138 (d) 154 (a)
11 (b) 27 (a) 43 (c) 59 (a) 75 (d) 91 (d) 107 (d) 123 (c) 139 (d) 155 (a)
12 (c) 28 (e) 44 (a) 60 (c) 76 (b) 92 (a) 108 (d) 124 (a) 140 (b) 156 (a)
13 (a) 29 (d) 45 (a) 61 (c) 77 (b) 93 (a) 109 (c) 125 (a) 141 (c) 157 (c)
14 (d) 30 (d) 46 (b) 62 (c) 78 (b) 94 (b) 110 (e) 126 (a) 142 (d) 158 (c)
15 (a) 31 (a) 47 (b) 63 (a) 79 (b) 95 (d) 111 (c) 127 (d) 143 (b) 159 (c)
16 (c) 32 (b) 48 (c) 64 (a) 80 (b) 96 (c) 112 (a) 128 (c) 144 (d) 160 (c)
 21

EXERCISE -2
GENERAL AWARENESS (e) None of these
1. Which of the following books has been written by Bill 10. The Tropic of Cancer passes through which one of the
Gates? following?
(a) Microsoft Secrets (b) The Road Ahead (a) Assam (b) Manipur
(c) Mizoram (d) Nagaland
(c) The Elephant Paradigm (d) How Nations Compete
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
11. Highest award given to civilian in India is
2. Where is the headquarters of the UNO ?
(a) Bharat Ratna (b) Padma Vibhushan
(a) Geneva (b) The Hague
(c) Sharam Award (d) Padma Bhushan
(c) New York (d) Paris
(e) None of these
(e) None of these 12. Which of the following owns the Easy Day retail stores?
3. The inaugural DLF Indian Premier League Trophy (a) Reliance Retail (b) Bharti Retail
Championship was won by : (c) Wal-Mart (d) Birla Retail
(a) Chennai Superkings (b) Kings XI Punjab (e) None of these
(c) Rajasthan Royals (d) Delhi Dare Devils 13. No Tobacco Day is observed on
(e) None of these (a) 20th May (b) 22nd May
4. Dada Saheb Phalke Award constituted in 1969 for which (c) 25th May (d) 31st May
field? (e) None of these
(a) Film (b) Literature 14. September 8 is observed every year as
(c) Sports (d) Science (a) World Health Day (b) World Peace Day
(e) None of these (c) World Literacy Day (d) Friendship Day
5. Which of the following schemes was launched to promote (e) None of these
basic education in India and attract children in the school 15. Big Bazaar chain of stores is run by which group?
going age to attend the classes? (a) Jindal Group (b) Reliance Group
(a) Operation Flood (b) Pulse Polio Abhiyan (c) Future Group (d) Aditya Birla Group
(c) Mid Day Meal Scheme (d) Operation Black Board (e) None of these
(e) None of these 16. What does Financial Inclusion mean?
6. Jnanpith Award is given for which field? (a) Allow the merger and acquisition of banks so that only
few big banks exist and continue to cater to the need
(a) Journalism (b) Music
of corporate sector.
(c) Science (d) Literature
(b) Providing insurance cover to each and every citizen
(e) None of these so that he/she can live a healthy and long life.
7. INS Airavat is Indias (c) Expanding the network of banks of such a way that
(a) Naval Ship (b) Amphibious Ship people from lower strata of society also get the benefit
(c) Submarine (d) Army Command Centre of services provided by banks
(e) None of these (d) To manage banking operations smoothly and merge
8. Saina Nehwal is associated with which of the following nationalised banks for further financial settlements.
games? (e) None of these
(a) Badminton (b) Chess 17. Government of India is running a scheme, Jawaharlal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Its objective
(c) Athletics (d) Cricket
is to
(e) None of these
(a) Improve urban Infrastructure
9. Who was the author of Das Kapital? (b) Providing employment in urban areas
(a) J. M. Keynes. (b) Karl Marx (c) Environment programme for cities
(c) James Tobin (d) Adam Smith (d) Establishing of small scale industries in urban areas
 22
(e) None of these (d) Bhatnagar Award
18. Which one of the following is not included in Article 19 (e) None of these
of the constitution of India, pertaining to the Right to 27. The Nobel prize was instituted by which country?
Freedom? (a) USA (b) UK
(a) Right to reside and settle in any part of the territory (c) Russia (d) Sweden
of India (e) None of these
(b) Right to form associations or unions 28. World Population Day is observed on
(c) Right of minorities to establish and administer (a) July 6 (b) July 7
educational institutions (c) July 11 (d) July 1
(d) Right to assemble peaceably and without arms (e) None of these
(e) None of these
29. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was earlier known
19. What does the IAEA stand for?
as
(a) International Atomic Energy Agency
(a) UNICEF (b) GATT
(b) International Automobile Energy Agency
(c) UNCTAD (d) FAO
(c) India Atomic Energy Agency
(e) None of these
(d) India Atomic Emergency Agency
30. What does SAPTA stand for:
(e) None of these
(a) South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement
20. Which is the first Asian country to host commonwealth
games? (b) South Asian Post Trade Agreement
(a) South Korea (b) Japan (c) SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement
(c) Malaysia (d) India (d) SAARC Post Trade Agreement
(e) None of these (e) None of these
21. Which was the first Indian Company to be listed on 31. Merdeka Cup is associated with
NASDAQ? (a) Hockey (b) Football
(a) Infosys (b) Satyam (c) Basketball (d) Badminton
(c) Reliance (d) TISCO (e) None of these
(e) None of these 32. Which of the following awards is given by UNESCO to
22. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee those who popularize use of science in life?
Act (MNREGA) provides for at least how many days of (a) Booker Prize
wage employment to every rural household in a year? (b) Magsaysay Award
(a) 90 days (b) 180 days (c) Kalinga Award
(c) 100 days (d) 300 days (d) Kalidas Samman
(e) None of these (e) None of these
23. Which of the following is NOT included in the list of new 33. Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme,
Seven Wonders of the World? the concerned rural households are to be given job cards
(a) Statue of Liberty (b) Taj Mahal by
(c) Great Wall of China (d) Roman Colosseum (a) Gram Vikas Adhikari
(e) None of these (b) Gram Panchayat
24. Which department presents report on Economic Survey of (c) Block Development Officer
India?
(d) Kshettra Panchayat
(a) Ministry of Commerce
(e) None of these
(b) Ministry of Finance
34. Cristiano Ranaldo is a famous_______.
(c) Planning Commission of India
(a) Politician (b) Journalism
(d) Prime Minister Office
(c) Sportsman (d) Author
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
25. The global community comes together to celebrate World
Environment Day on 35. The word NELP is associated with
(a) June 5 (b) June 4 (a) Discovery of Oil and Natural Gas
(c) July 6 (d) October 2 (b) National Highways Extension
(e) None of these (c) Communications
(d) Space Research
26. Sports coaches receive which of the following awards?
(e) None of these
(a) Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
(b) Dronacharya Award 36. Shovna Narayan is associated with which classical dance
(c) Arjuna Award form of India?
 23
(a) Bharatnatyam (b) Kathakali (b) Humanity, Equality and Destiny
(c) Kuchipudi (d) Kathak (c) Humanity, Equality and Brotherhood
(e) None of these (d) Unity, Humanity and Equality
37. NCHER stands for (e) None of these
(a) National Capital for Higer Education and Research 45. According to the Indian Constitution, what is the minimum
(b) National Committee for Higher Education and educational qualification required for contesting the Lok
Research Sabha elections?
(c) Non-Capitalisation of Higher Education and Research (a) Post Graduation
(d) National Council for Higher Education Resources (b) Graduation
(e) None of these (c) Higher Secondary
38. Which of the prize is also known as the Alternative Nobel (d) No such qualification is required
prize? (e) None of these
(a) Pulitzer prize 46. TRAI stands for
(b) Magsaysay award (a) Telephone Regulatory Authority of India
(c) Booker prize (b) Telegram Regulatory Authority of India
(d) Right Livelihood award
(c) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(e) None of these
(d) Telecom Regulation Authority of India
39. Which of the following organisations gives the Kalinga
(e) None of these
Prize?
47. Onam festival celebrated in
(a) UNESCO
(a) Mahrashtra (b) Bihar
(b) CSIR
(c) Kerala (d) Tamil Nadu
(c) Ministry of Welfare
(e) None of these
(d) Department of Science and Technology
48. Which of the following is a dance drama?
(e) None of these
(a) Kathak (b) Kathakali
40. Which of the following is/are in the Tata Group of industries?
(c) Odissi (d) Manipuri
(a) Voltas (b) Indian Hotels
(e) None of these
(c) Rallis India (d) All of these
49. Cryogenic Engines are used in which of the following
(e) None of these areas of technology?
41. Aam Admi Bima Yojana provides social security to ____ (a) Atomic Energy (b) Food Technology
(a) All landless labours living below poverty line in rural (c) Oceanography (d) Space Research
areas (e) None of these
(b) All labours in urban areas 50. Who is the author of the book Patrons of the Poor : Caste
(c) All labours in both rural and urban areas Politics and Policy Making in India?
(d) All labours in rural areas (a) Narayan Lakshman (b) Greg Lindsay
(e) None of these (c) Khushwant Singh (d) Salman Rushdie
42. The term Fourth Estate refers to (e) None of the above
(a) Under-Developed State 51. First time India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 by
(b) Parliament defeating
(c) Judiciary (a) Australia (b) West Indies
(d) Press (c) Pakistan (d) Canada
(e) None of these (e) None of these
43. The panchatantra was written during the 52. International Labour Day is observed on-
(a) Later Vedic period (a) May 1 (b) May 3
(b) Mughal period (c) May 9 (d) May 12
(c) Maurya period (e) None of these
(d) Post Gupta period 53. Katputli, the string puppetry belongs to
(e) None of these (a) Rajasthan (b) Karnataka
44. The three core values of the Commonwealth Games (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Uttrakhand
movement are: (e) None of these
(a) Equality, Brotherhood and Unity 54. Which of the following decade registered highest growth
 24
rate in India? (e) None of these
(a) 1961-71 (b) 1971-81 64. 'Dettol' is a product of which company?
(c) 1991-2001 (d) 2001-11 (a) Procter and Gamble (b) Hindustan Lever
(e) None of these (c) Johnson & Johnson (d) Reckitt-Beneckiser
55. The Population Stabilization Scheme launched by the Govt. (e) None of these
of India is named- 65 Mario Miranda is well known as
(a) Prerna (b) Sthapana (a) Editor (b) Story Writer
(c) Unmesh (d) Aaradhana (c) Cartoonist (d) Politician
(e) None of these (e) None of these
56. World Day for Water is observed on which of the following 66. The book A Bend in the River is written by
days ? (a) VS Naipaul (b) Chetan Bhagat
(a) 22nd May (b) 22nd April (c) Vikram Seth (d) Arundhati Roy
(c) 22nd March (d) 20th March (e) None of these
(e) 20th April 67. Who owns the cosmetic brand, Lakme?
57. Which of the following awards is given by the Govt. of (a) Procter & Gamble (b) CavinKlare
India ? (c) Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (d) Wipro
(a) Kalinga Prize (b) Oscar Awards (e) None of these
(c) Man Booker Prize (d) Pulitzer Prize 68. Which company was the first to launch mobile phone
(e) Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International operations in India?
Understanding (a) Modi Telstra (b) Reliance India
58 What is the full form of IBM? (c) Bharati (d) Tata Indicom
(a) International Business Machines (e) None of these
(b) Indian Business Modifier 69. Hyundai belongs to which country?
(c) International Business Modifier (a) South Korea (b) China
(d) Indian Bureau of Mass communication (c) Italy (d) Japan
(e) None of these (e) None of these
59. The determent 'Tide' is manufactured by which company? 70. What is the full form of LG?
(a) Procter and Gamble (b) Hindustan Unilever (a) Lalvani-Grewals
(c) Henkel (d) Wipro (b) Life is Good
(e) None of these (c) Lekraj Goods
60. The car Manza belongs to which of the following companies? (d) Lufthansa Gateways
(a) Hyundai (b) Tata (e) None of these
(c) Honda (d) Toyota 71. A passage to England was written by
(e) None of these (a) Nirad C Chaudhury
61 Larry page and Sergey Brin are well known as (b) RK Narayan
(a) Creators of Bluetooth device (c) Khushwant Singh
(b) Founders of Google (d) Nayantra Sehgal
(c) Stem cell researchers (e) None of these
(d) Scientists 72. Who is /are the founder/s of Microsoft?
(e) None of these (a) Bill Gates
62. The efforts of the Swiss Public Welfare Society in the late (b) Paul Allen
nineteenth century led to the birth of a famous Nestle brand (c) Bill Gates and Paul Allen
for a quick-to-prepare and easy-to-digest packaged food. (d) Bill Gates and Ray Ozzie
Name the brand and what it began with. (e) None of these
(a) Maggi; soup 73. Which from the following wireless networks has a range of
(b) Maggi; noodles 50 kilometres?
(c) Taster's Choice; baked beans (a) Macintosh (b) Wi-Max
(d) Taster's Choice; yoghurt (c) Wi-Fi (d) Blue Tooth
(e) None of these (e) None of these
74. What is the full form of ADAG?
63. 'Sugar Free' is a leading brand of artificial sweetener in India.
It is owned by (a) Additional District Authority Group
(a) Dabur (b) Cadila (b) Area Development and Group
(c) Cipla (d) Glaxo (c) Army Development and Growth
(d) Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
 25
(e) None of these (e) None of these
75. The National Sports Day is observed on 86. Who amongst the following is the author of the book Half
(a) 28th Aug. (b) 29th Aug. a Life?
(c) 30th Aug. (d) 31st Aug. (a) Mark Tully (b) Deepak Chopra
(e) None of these (c) Chetan Bhagat (d) Ved Mehta
76. 'Eno' is produced by which company? (e) V. S. Naipaul
(a) Paras Pharmaceuticals (b) Glaxo SmithKline 87. Expand the term CCEA as used in administrative circles.
(c) Johnson and Johnson (d) Ranbaxy Ltd (a) Cabinet Committee on External Affairs
(e) None of these (b) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
77. Which of the private telecom operator became the first to (c) Cabinet Council on External Affairs
introduce 3G services in the country? (d) Cabinet Council on Economic Affairs
(a) Airtel (b) DOCOMO
(e) None of the above
(c) IDEA (d) Vodafone
88. With which one of the following games, is Baichung Bhutia
(e) None of these
associated?
78. 'Boost' is a product of which company?
(a) Cadbury (b) Vicco (a) Hockey (b) Kabaddi
(c) Wipro (d) Dabur (c) Golf (d) Football
(e) None of these (e) Tennis
79. Name the founder of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. 89. With which one of the following games is Tiger Woods
(a) Rajendra Prasad Shukla associated?
(b) Gurjar Sharan (a) Golf (b) Swimming
(c) Bhai Mohan Singh (c) Tennis (d) Table Teennis
(d) Ramakrishna Gupta (e) Badminton
(e) None of these
90. Grand Slam is associated with the game of
80. Which of the following brands does not belong to P & G ?
(a) Lawn Tennis (b) Hockey
(a) Kotex (b) Pantene
(c) Football (d) Swimming
(c) Rejoice (d) Tide
(e) None of these (e) None of these
81. Indian Airforce Day celebrated on 91. Rangaswami Cup is associated with
(a) 8th Oct. (b) 9th Oct. (a) Wrestling (b) Football
(c) 10th Oct. (d) 11th Oct. (c) Hockey (d) Golf
(e) None of these (e) None of these
82. What is the full form of SMS? 92. Expand the term GSLV.
(a) Short Messaging Service (a) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
(b) Simplified Messaging Service (b) Global Satellite Launch Vehicle
(c) Swift Messaging Service (c) Geosynchronous Station Launch Vehicle
(d) Short Messaging System (d) Global Station Launch Vehicle
(e) None of these (e) None of the above
83. Champion trophy is associated with 93. Which of the following terms is used in Cricket?
(a) Football (b) Hockey
(a) Centre forward (b) Goal
(c) Cricket (d) Chess
(c) Love (d) LBW
(e) None of these
(e) Bulls eye
84. What is an ISO series?
94. With which one of the following activities are Golden Globe
(a) Documentation of production processes
Awards associated?
(b) Engineering process flowchart
(a) Journalism (b) Social work
(c) Quality management and quality assurance standards
(d) Documentation of marketing processes (c) Peace initiatives (d) Films
(e) None of these (e) None of these
85. L'Oreal is a company of 95. With which one of the following sports is Narain Karthikeyen
(a) France (b) England is connected?
(c) Sweden (d) Japan (a) F-1 motor racing (b) Tennis
(c) Badminton (d) Table Tennis
 26
(e) Snooker (d) Issuance of Demand Drafts
96. In which one of the following States is Sabari mala temple (e) (b) and (d) both
located? 104. Which of the following terms is used in Banking?
(a) Tamil Nadu (b) A.P. (a) Epicenter (b) Pascal's Law
(c) Kerala (d) Karnataka (c) Currency (d) Centre of Gravity
(e) None of these (e) Latitude
97. Which of the followmg is a book authored by Shri Pranab 105. Which of the following IT companies of India has for the
Mukherji? first time overtaken Infosys in quarterly revenues and
(a) The Inheritance of Loss emerged as the second largest software company of India
(b) The Argumentative Indian after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)?
(c) Beyond Survival: Emerging Dimensions of Indian (a) HCL Technologies
Economy (b) Wipro
(d) The Family and the Nation (c) Mahindra Satyam
(e) None of these (d) Patni Computer System
98. Which of the following schemes of the Govt. of India is (e) Cognizant Technology
associated with the health sector?
106. With which one of the following sports is the name of
(a) NRDP (b) IRDP Parupalli Kashyap associated?
(c) ASHA (d) Bharat Nirman
(a) Chess (b) Tennis
(e) All of these
(c) Badminton (d) Athletics
99. Which of the following is not the abbreviated name of a
(e) None of these
scheme launched for watershed developments in India?
107. Goodbye Shahzadi is a book written by
(a) DPAP (b) DDP
(a) Shyam Bhatia (b) Ashok Mehta
(c) VHNDs (d) IWDP
(e) Hariyali (c) Janardhan Thakur (d) Arun Gandhi
100. Which of the following is not the name of a Chemical (e) None of these
Fertilizer? 108. Which of the following awards is given only to individuals
(a) Urea (b) Murate of Potash and organisations of Asian countries for excellence in their
(c) Diammonium Phosphate (d) Sodium Sulphate respective fields?
(e) All are fertilizers (a) Booker Prize
101. Which of the following is a sort of Poverty Eradication (b) Nobel Prize
Programme of the Govt. of India, specially designed for rural (c) Templeton Prize
areas ? (d) Ramon MagsaysayAward
(a) Self Help Group (e) Oscar Awards
(b) Antodaya Anna Yojana 109. The Dronacharya Award is given to
(c) Social Security for Agricultural and Unorganized (a) Coaches (b) Sportspersons
Labour
(c) Umpires (d) Sports Editors
(d) Enforcement of Minimum Wages
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
110. Which of the following is now a fundamental right of every
102. Which of the following programmes has been launched by
child in India?
the "Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies" of the Govt. of
India? (a) To get a unique identity card as a proof of citizenship
(a) Mid-Day Meal Scheme (b) To get free medical aid in any hospital in India,
(b) Wheat-based Nutrition Programme private or govt.
(c) Public Distribution System (c) To get enough food to survive even without any
parental support
(d) Annapurna Scheme
(e) None of these (d) To get elementary education
103. Which of the following services is NOT provided by the (e) All of these
post offices in India? 111. Which of the following is correctly matched?
(a) Savings Bank Scheme (a) Cricket : Bogey
(b) Retailing of Mutual Funds (b) Boxing : Bully
(c) Sale of stamps (c) Chess : Checkmate
(d) Tennis : Smas
 27
(e) None of these 123. National Trust an NGO kicks off its nationwide campaign
112. Duleep Trophy is associated with the game of Badhte Kadam every year. It is related to
(a) Hockey (b) Badminton (a) spreading awareness about proper sanitation.
(c) Football (d) Cricket (b) giving boost to and spreading awareness about the
(e) None of these rights of people with disability.
113. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (c) putting an end to the practice of child labour.
Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. It falls under (d) the mission to improve literacy rate.
(a) The 86th Constitutional Amendment (e) None of these
(b) The 94th Constitutional Amendment 124. Which game is associated with Queensberry rules?
(c) The 90th Constitutional Amendment (a) Weight lifting (b) Boxing
(d) The 89th Constitutional Amendment (c) Golf (d) Polo
(e) None of these 125. Who is the author of the novel Half Girlfriend?
114. Who amongst,the following is the founder of Facebook? (a) Kavin Maurer (b) Martin Dugard
(a) Steve Jobs (b) Steve James (c) Ravinder Singh (d) Chetan Bhagat
(c) Sabeer Bhatia (d) Mark Zuckerberg (e) None of these
(e) Bill Gates 126. Which one of the following games is associated with the
115. Book Devil May Care is written by Sultan Azlan Shah Cup?
(a) Salman Rushdie (b) Ian Fleming (a) Hockey (b) Football
(c) J K Rowling (d) Sebastian Faulks (c) Cricket (d) Tennis
(e) None of these (e) None of these
116. Book Indian Army Vision 2020 is written by 127. During 1991-2001, Indias population had population growth
(a) Deepak Kapoor (b) Gurmeet Kanwal Malik of 2165% which during 2001-11 became-
(c) VP Malik (d) Y. V. Reddy (a) 1662% (b) 1764%
(e) None of these (c) 1862% (d) 2061%
117. Of the following, who has authored the Book I Too Had a (e) None of these
Dream? 128. As per Census 2011, which of the two States have been
ranked first and second most populous states?
(a) Anita Nair (b) Verghese Kurien
(a) U.P. and Bihar (b) Bihar and U.P.
(c) Okram Ibobi Singh (d) S.S. Sidhu
(c) Maharashtra and Bihar (d) U.P. and Maharashtra
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
118. Out of My comfort Zone is the autobiography of a Cricketer
in which he has written the adverse effects of drinking 129. Which of the State in India shows the lowest population as
culture of his term. Name the Cricketer. per Census 2011 ?
(a) Imran Khan (b) Sanath Jaisurya (a) Sikkim (b) Puducherry
(c) Allen Boarder (d) Steve Waugh (c) Tripura (d) Manipur
(e) None of these (e) None of these
119. Who has written the book, Gifted? 130. Sex-ratio in India as per Census 2011 has gone up from 933
(Census 2001) to-
(a) Anita Desai (b) Shobha De
(a) 936 (b) 938
(c) Nikita Lalvani (d) Indira Sinha
(c) 940 (d) 942
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
120. Barack Obama, the New Face of American Politics has
been written by 131. Blue Riband Cup is associated with
(a) Erez Mandela (b) Henary Keith (a) Rugby Football (b) Netball
(c) Bill Clinton (d) Martin Dupuis (c) Horse Racing (d) Chess
(e) None of these (e) None of these
121. Aditya is a satellite to study 132. Population density in India as per Census 2001 and Census
2011 stand at-
(a) the Sun (b) the Moon
(a) 325 and 378 per sq km respectively
(c) the Mars surface (d) the Earth
(e) None of these (b) 325 and 382 per sq km respectively
122. Who among the following is the author of the book The (c) 323 and 382 per sq km respectively
Namesake? (d) 333 and 392 per sq km respectively
(a) Arundhati Roy (b) Kiran Desai (e) None of these
(c) Amitava Ghosh (d) Jhumpa Lahiri 133. During 2001-11, male and female population growth stood
(e) None of these at
 28
(a) 172% and 181% respectively (c) Nadeem Aslam (d) Harsh Mander
(b) 181% and 172% respectively 16 (e) None of these
(c) 163% and 181% respectively 144. The Freethinkers prayer book was written by
(d) 172% and 176% respectively (a) Khushwant Singh (b) Tavleen Singh
(e) None of these (c) Salman Rushdie (d) Nadeem Aslam
134. Child sex-ratio (age group 0-6) which was 927 females / (e) None of these
1000 145. The Last War was written by
males in 2001 became females/1000 males in 2011.
(a) Sandipan Deb
(a) 912 (b) 913
(b) Madhumita Mukherjee
(c) 914 (d) 915
(c) Vinod Mehta
(e) None of these
135. The States Union Territories showing highest and lowest (d) Harsh Mander
sex ratio in Census 2011 are- (e) None of these
(a) Puducherry and Daman & Diu 146. The book Jhansi Ki Rani was written by
(b) Kerala and Daman & Diu (a) Devkinandan Khatri
(c) Kerala and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (b) Sharat Chand Chaudhary
(d) Puducherry and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (c) Vrindavanlal Verma
(e) None of these (d) Mahadevi Verma
136. Literacy rate in India shows an improvement in Census 2011
(e) None of these
which rose from 6483% (Census 2011) to-
147. The National Youth Day is celebrated on
(a) 686% (b) 708%
(a) 12th Jan. (b) 13th Jan.
(c) 72.3% (d) 741% th
(c) 14 Jan. (d) 15th Jan.
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
137. Who amongst the following is the author of the book "Many
Lives Many Masters" ? 148. The Anti-terrorism Day is observed on
(a) Robin Cook (a) 20th May (b) 21st May
nd
(b) Dr. Brian Weiss (c) 22 May (d) 23rd May
(c) L. K. Advani (e) None of these
(d) Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat 149. Who declared that his ultimate aim was to wipe every tear
(e) None of these from every eyes?
138. Management thinker M.B. Athreya bases his concepts on (a) Rajendra Prasad (b) Sardar Patel
(a) Common sense (b) The Holy Bible (c) J. L. Nehru (d) Mahatma Gandhi
(c) The Gita and the Vedas (d) Modern science (e) None of these
(e) None of these 150. Index Residex is associated with
139. Who is the author of A River Sutra? (a) share prices
(a) VS Naipaul (b) Nirad C Choudhari (b) mutual fund prices
(c) Gita Mehta (d) Vikram Seth (c) price inflation index
(e) None of these (d) land prices
140. The Hungry Tide is written by (e) None of these
(a) Amitabh Ghosh (b) Arundhati Roy 151. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is at
(c) Shashi Tharoor (d) Ved Mehta (a) Thiruvananthapuram
(e) None of these (b) Mumbai
141. Who is the author of the book Conquest of Self? (c) Hyderabad
(a) Aurobindo Ghosh (b) Rabindra Nath Tagore (d) Bengaluru
(c) Mahatma Gandhi (d) S. Radhakrishnan (e) None of these
(e) None of these 152. The book The White Tiger is authored by
142. Golden Threshold and Broken wings are written by : (a) Arundhati Roy (b) Aravind Adiga
(a) Sarojini Naidu (b) Indira Priyadarshani (c) Kiran Desai (d) VS Naipaul
(c) Kalpana Datta (d) Lakshmi Sehgal (e) None of these
143. Playing to Win is written by 153. The book The Audacity of Hope is written by
(a) Salman Rushdie (b) Saina Nehwal
 29
(a) Nayantara Sehgal (b) Aravind Adiga (a) 19th February (b) 4th February
(c) Vikram Seth (d) Barrack Obama (c) 12th February (d) 17th January
(e) None of these (e) None of these
154. The book Long walk to Freedom is written by 157. World Environment Day run by the UNEP on
(a) Sonia Gandhi (b) Nelson Mandela (a) 11th Dec. (b) 20th Dec.
(c) Benazir Bhutto (d) Nawaz Sharif
(c) 15th Sept. (d) 5th June
(e) None of these
(e) None of these
155. World Disability Day is observed annually on 158. WTO came into existence in the year
(a) 10th Dec. (b) 3rd Dec. (a) 1977 (b) 1985
(c) 29th Nov. (d) 15th Dec. (c) 1995 (d) 1950
(e) None of these (e) None of these
156. World Cancer Day is observed on 159. The first summit of SAARC was held at
(a) Kathmandu (b) Colombo
(c) New Delhi (d) Dhaka
(e) None of these
ANSWER160.
KEYIndia Remembered is written by
1 (b) 21 (a) 41 (a) 61 (b) 81 (a) (a) 101
JK Rowling (b) 121 (a) 141 (c)
2 (c) 22 (c) 42 (d) 62 (a) 82 (b) (a) 102
Robert Dallek (a) 122 (d) 142 (a)
3 (c) 23 (a) 43 (c) 63 (b) 83 (c) 103 (d) 123 (c) 143 (b)
(c) Pamela Mountbatten
4 (a) 24 (b) 44 (b) 64 (d) 84 (c) 104 (c) 124 (b) 144 (a)
(d) Stephen Hawking
5 (c) 25 (a) 45 (d) 65 (c) 85 (a) 105 (e) 125 (d) 145 (a)
6 (d) 26 (b) 46 (c) 66 (a) 86
(e) None
(e) of
106
these (c) 126 (a) 146 (c)
7 (b) 27 (d) 47 (c) 67 (c) 87 (b) 107 (a) 127 (c) 147 (a)
8 (a) 28 (c) 48 (b) 68 (a) 88 (d) 108 (d) 128 (d) 148 (b)
9 (b) 29 (b) 49 (d) 69 (a) 89 (a) 109 (a) 129 (a) 149 (c)
10 (c) 30 (a) 50 (a) 70 (b) 90 (a) 110 (d) 130 (c) 150 (d)
11 (a) 31 (b) 51 (b) 71 (a) 91 (c) 111 (c) 131 (c) 151 (a)
12 (b) 32 (c) 52 (a) 72 (c) 92 (a) 112 (d) 132 (a) 152 (b)
13 (d) 33 (b) 53 (a) 73 (b) 93 (d) 113 (a) 133 (c) 153 (d)
14 (c) 34 (c) 54 (a) 74 (d) 94 (d) 114 (d) 134 (b) 154 (b)
15 (c) 35 (a) 55 (b) 75 (b) 95 (a) 115 (d) 135 (a) 155 (b)
16 (c) 36 (d) 56 (c) 76 (b) 96 (c) 116 (b) 136 (c) 156 (b)
17 (a) 37 (d) 57 (e) 77 (b) 97 (c) 117 (b) 137 (b) 157 (d)
18 (c) 38 (d) 58 (a) 78 (a) 98 (c) 118 (d) 138 (c) 158 (c)
19 (a) 39 (a) 59 (a) 79 (c) 99 (c) 119 (c) 139 (c) 159 (d)
20 (c) 40 (b) 60 (b) 80 (a) 100 (d) 120 (d) 140 (a) 160 (c)