Q. Which Indian PSU has signed MoU with Brazilian oil major Petrobras, to diversify its crude oil sourcing?
[A] HPCL
[B] BPCL
[C] ONGC
[D] GAIL
Answer: B
Notes:
Indian major Public sector Unit Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brazilian oil major Petrobras, to diversify its crude oil sourcing.
Bharat Petro Resources Limited (BPRL) plans to invest USD 1.6 billion to develop an oil block in Brazil to procure equity oil overseas. For the first time, India will ink a long-term supply deal with Oil major- Petrobras that operates in the oil, natural gas and energy industry.
Q. Which private sector bank launched the ‘SmartHub Vyapar Merchant app’ for SMEs?
[A] Axis Bank
[B] ICICI Bank
[C] HDFC Bank
[D] Yes Bank
Answer: C [HDFC Bank]
Notes:
Leading private sector bank of India, HDFC Bank, announced the launch of SmartHub Vyapar Merchant app.
It is a payments and banking solution for small and medium-sized businesses. HDFC Bank has developed the SmartHub Vyapar app in partnership with a merchant Saas platform, Mintoak Innovations India. The app enables merchants to accept payments across multiple payment modes.
Q. Which institution has invited comments on the proposed common ITR form?
[A] CBIC
[B] CBDT
[C] RBI
[D] SEBI
Answer: B [CBDT]
Notes:
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has invited stakeholder comments on the proposed new common ITR form.
At present, taxpayers are required to furnish their Income-tax Returns in various forms including ITR-1 to ITR-7 depending upon the type of person and nature of income. The draft proposes to introduce a common ITR by merging all the existing returns of income except ITR-7.
Q. Which company is the investment manager of the ‘Self Reliant India (SRI) fund’?
[A] LIC
[B] SBICAP Ventures
[C] Aditya Birla Sun Life Fund
[D] Edelweiss Fund
Answer: B [SBICAP Ventures]
Notes:
The Self Reliant India (SRI) fund’, launched by the government of India to provide growth capital to MSMEs, has committed to deploy Rs 5,000 crore, in 38 private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms.
SBICAP Ventures, owned by the State Bank of India Group, is the investment manager of the fund. SRI fund is a SEBI-registered category-II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) that operates through the mother-fund and daughter-fund structure.
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Q. What is the name of the account, a bank holds on behalf of another, often a foreign bank?
[A] Nostro account
[B] Vostro account
[C] Forex Trade Account
[D] Settlement Account
Answer: B [Vostro account]
Notes:
Vostro account is the name of the account that a bank holds on behalf of another, often a foreign bank.
The Union government has given approval to nine banks to open special Vostro accounts, three months after the Reserve Bank of India allowed trade settlement in Indian rupees. Out of the nine, three have opened accounts- Gazprom bank with UCO Bank (Kolkata), VTB and Sberbank with their own branch offices. The move will facilitate India’s exports to Russia.
Q. Which institution has signed MoU with the Reserve Bank of India for collaboration in the field of regulation and supervision of regulated entities?
[A] PFRDA
[B] IFSCA
[C] IRDAI
[D] National Housing Bank
Answer: B [IFSCA]
Notes:
The International Financial Services Centres Authority, IFSCA and Reserve Bank of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration in the field of regulation and supervision of regulated entities.
The MoU facilitates technical cooperation and exchange of information. The agreement aims to strengthen the safety, stability and strength of financial ecosystems. IFSCA is a unified regulator responsible for development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in IFSCs.
Q. Which institution released the ‘Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2021-22’?
[A] SEBI
[B] RBI
[C] NITI Aayog
[D] Department of Economic Affairs
Answer: B [RBI]
Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India has released the seventh edition of its statistical publication titled ‘Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2021-22’.
As per the report, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to register a growth rate of about 7% in 2022-23 and between 6.1% and 6.3% in the June-September quarter of this fiscal. In the current edition of the Handbook, two new sections namely Health and Environment have been introduced.
Q. As per the recent NSO data, what is India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the July-September quarter of 2022-23?
[A] 6.1 %
[B] 6.3 %
[C] 6.5 %
[D] 7.2 %
Answer: B [6.3 %]
Notes:
As per provisional estimates released by National Statistical Office (NSO), India’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the July-September quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2022-23 slowed to 6.3 per cent.
The GDP saw a growth of 13.5 per cent in the preceding April-June quarter of 2022-23. It was cut down mainly by the poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors.
Q. As per a recent report by Pay Nearby, UPI transactions rose by how much percent in semi-urban and urban sectors?
[A] 650 percent
[B] 250 per cent
[C] 100 percent
[D] 50 per cent
Answer: A [650 percent]
Notes:
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) saw a huge rise of 650 percent in value at the semi-urban and rural stores in India, according to a report by fin-tech company Pay Nearby.
According to the report, the demand for micro-ATMs and mPOS devices increased by 25 percent. There was sharp growth of over 200 percent in the cash collection business with a monthly average of Rs 1400 crores.
Q. As of December 2022, how many Financial Institutions have on boarded themselves on Account Aggregator (AA) platform as Financial Information User?
[A] 14
[B] 34
[C] 94
[D] 154
Answer: C [94]
Notes:
As on date, 94 Financial Institutions have on boarded themselves on Account Aggregator (AA) platform as Financial Information User (FIU)
26 Financial Institutions are onboard as Financial Information Provider (FIP). Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted Certificate of Registration to six companies as Account Aggregator (AA), as on date.
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