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GENERAL STUDIES MAINS SPECIAL BATCH - 2018 Important Traditional & Current Issues World History, Geography, Environment & Ecology, Polity & Governance Internal Security, Disaster Management, International Relations Economic Development, Social Justice, Science & Technology Ethics, Int. & Aptitude with more than 100 Case Studies Covering More than 800 Marks WITH BEST EVER TEAM S. BALIYAN , ABHAY THAKUR, DR. VIVEK, A. MANGTANI, A.N. REDDY, A.S. SHEKAR, & S.M. THAKUR NEW BATCHES Course Duration COMMENCE 18 June 12 Weeks INSIGHT IAS ACADEMY India's Best Institute for Civil Services Prep. CENTRAL DELHI NORTH DELHI 011-45090051 60/17, Above Subway B-18, Main Road, Satija House, 09818333201 Old Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi - 110060 Dr. Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi - 110009 09871216382 E-MAIL : [email protected] • WEBSITE : www.insightiasacademy.com INSIGHT GEN.STUDIES & CSAT COMPREHENSIVE TEST – 1 (FULL MOCK TEST) 1. B Recapitalisation bonds are dedicated bonds to be issued at the behest of the government for recapitalizing the trouble hit Public Sector Banks (PSBs). Bonds worth of Rs 1.35 trillion is to be issued to inject capital into PSBs who are affected by the high level of NPAs. Recapitalization bonds are proposed as a part of the Rs 2.11 trillion capital infusion package declared by the government. The money obtained from the sale of bonds will be injected into the PSBs as government equity funding. The bond will be subscribed by the public sector banks themselves. Fund from the issue of bonds will be used to subscribe shares of PSBs and will be treated as additional government equity or capital. The government has recently fixed the coupon rate - up to 7.68% - for the Rs 80, 000 crore recapitalisation bonds to be given to 20 public sector banks during the current fiscal for meeting the regulatory capital requirement and growth needs. The recapitalisation bonds with maturity date on 29 January 2028 will have a coupon rate of 7.35%, while those maturing on 29 January 2029 will carry rate of 7.42% and that of 29 January, 2030, it will be 7.48%. For bonds with maturity date of 29 January 2031, coupon rate has been fixed at 7.55%; for 29 January 2032, the interest rate 7.61% and the highest rate of 7.68% for 29 January, 2033. The investment in the special security by the investing banks would not be considered as an eligible investment for SLR securities. The bonds are non-transferable and cannot be converted into any other form of security. Thus, Option B is correct. 2. D Block Mountains also known as fault-block mountains are the result of faulting caused by tensile and compressive forces motored by endogenetic forces coming from within the earth. Block Mountains represent the upstanding parts of the ground between two faults or on either side of a rift valley or a graben. The examples of Block Mountains are: Black Forests – Germany Vosges Mountains – France Sierra Nevada Mountains – North America The Harz Mountains – Germany Vindhyas and Satpura Range – India Thus, Option D is correct. Central Delhi: 60/17, Above Subway, Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi - 60 North Delhi: B-18, Satija House, Main Road, Dr. Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi - 09 Ph: 011 - 45090051, 9818333201, 9871216382 INSIGHT GEN.STUDIES & CSAT 3. A Statement 1 is incorrect: It is a biennial survey released by the Forest Survey of India. Statement 2 is incorrect: The Report of 2017 highlighted that there is an increase of 8,021 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country compared to the previous assessment in 2015. The increase in forest cover in Very Dense Forest (VDF) is followed by the increase in Open Forest. Statement 3 is incorrect: Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover of 77,414 sq km in the country in terms of area, followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 66,964 sq km and Chhattisgarh (55,547 sq km). In terms of percentage of forest cover with respect to the total geographical area, Lakshadweep with (90.33 per cent) has the highest forest cover, followed by Mizoram (86.27 per cent) and Andaman & Nicobar Island (81.73 per cent). Statement 4 is correct: As per the ISFR 2017, the total mangrove cover stands at 4,921 sq km and has shown an increase of 181 sq km. All the 12 mangrove states have shown a positive change in the mangrove cover, as compared to the last assessment. Thus, Option A is correct. 4. A Statement 1 is correct: Letter of Undertaking (LoU) is a bank guarantee and is issued for overseas import payments. A bank, while issuing LoUs for a client agrees to repay the principal and interest on the client's loan unconditionally. When a LoU is issued, it involves an issuing bank, a receiving bank, an importer and a beneficiary entity overseas. Statement 2 is incorrect: SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications. It is a messaging network that financial institutions use to securely transmit information and instructions through a standardized system of codes. SWIFT assigns each financial organization a unique code that has either eight characters or 11 characters. SWIFT does not hold any funds or securities, nor does it manage client accounts. When a LoU is issued, the message of credit transfer is conveyed to overseas banks through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system. This is significant information as it gives the bank's consent and guarantee. Statement 3 is correct: Nostro account refers to an account that a bank holds in a foreign currency in another bank. Nostros, a term derived from the Latin word for "ours," are frequently used to facilitate foreign exchange and trade transactions. The opposite term Vostro Accounts, derived from the Latin word for "yours," is how a bank refers to the accounts that other banks have on its books in its home currency. Thus, Option A is correct. 5. C Statement 1 is correct: Masala Bonds are rupee-denominated bonds issued by Indian entities in the overseas market to raise funds. As of now, it is being traded only at the London Stock exchange. Masala bonds have been named so by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an investment arm of the World Bank which issued these bonds to raise money for infrastructure projects in India. Central Delhi: 60/17, Above Subway, Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi - 60 North Delhi: B-18, Satija House, Main Road, Dr. Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi - 09 Ph: 011 - 45090051, 9818333201, 9871216382 INSIGHT GEN.STUDIES & CSAT Statement 2 is correct: A clutch of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) including HDFC Ltd, Mahindra Finance, India Bulls Housing Finance, Shriram Transport Finance and Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) have received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to sell masala bonds to foreign investors abroad. Thus, Option C is correct. 6. D The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) is a joint program of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Launched in 1999 in the wake of Asian financial crisis, the program brings together Bank and Fund expertise to help countries reduce the likelihood and severity of financial sector crisis. The FSAP provides a comprehensive framework through which assessors and authorities in participating countries can identify financial system vulnerabilities and develop appropriate policy responses. Thus, Option D is correct. 7. D Statement 1 is incorrect: Sattriya Dance is a major Indian classical dance. It is a dance-drama performance art with origins in the Krishna-centered Vaishnavism monasteries of Assam and attributed to the 15th century Bhakti movement scholar and saint named Srimanta Sankardeva. Statement 2 is incorrect: Ramanuja was the main proponent of Vishishtadvaita philosophy. It is one of the most popular schools of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas. It is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy. It is non-dualism of the qualified whole, in which Brahman alone exists, but is characterized by multiplicity. Thus, Option D is correct. 8. C In the budget speech 2017-18, it was announced that premier testing organization to conduct all entrance examinations for higher educational institutions would be set up. The Union Government has now approved the creation of autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization, the National Testing Agency (NTA) with a view to have specialized body in India like that in many other countries. The NTA will be established as a society registered under Indian Societies Registration Act, 1860. It will be chaired by an eminent educationist appointed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. It is subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. The NTA will initially conduct entrance examinations currently being conducted by CBSE. Other examinations will be taken up gradually after NTA is fully geared up. Thus, Option C is correct. 9. A A team of Indian scientists have discovered a previously unknown ‘Supercluster’ of galaxies, some four billion light years away from Earth, and named it Saraswati. This is one of the largest known structures in the neighbourhood of the universe roughly more than 10 billion years old. Central Delhi: 60/17, Above Subway, Old Rajinder Nagar, Delhi - 60 North Delhi: B-18, Satija House, Main Road, Dr. Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi - 09 Ph: 011 - 45090051, 9818333201, 9871216382 INSIGHT GEN.STUDIES & CSAT Superclusters, a group of clusters of galaxies, are the largest structures of stars, planets and other heavenly bodies in the universe, and very few of them are known. Thus, Option A is correct. 10. D Statement 1 is incorrect: Art. 124 provides for the constitution of Supreme Court consisting of the Chief Justice and not more than thirty judges.
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