Q40. Which monetary authority manages India’s official foreign-exchange reserves?
[WBCS Mains 2015]
A. Reserve Bank of India
B. NITI Aayog
C. Income Tax Department
D. Election Commission
Answer: (A) Reserve Bank of India
Explanation: RBI manages India’s foreign-exchange reserves under its statutory functions and policy framework. Reserves support external stability, provide buffers against shocks and can be deployed for authorised intervention in currency markets.
Q39. Which claimed outcome was not a recognised benefit of commercial-bank nationalisation?
[WBCS Mains 2015]
A. Reduced depositor safety
B. More branch expansion
C. Greater priority-sector lending
D. Increased mobilisation of bank deposits
Answer: (A) Reduced depositor safety
Explanation: Bank nationalisation expanded geographic reach and directed more lending toward priority groups. A claim that it inherently made depositors’ funds less secure does not correspond to the standard historical benefits cited for the policy.
Q38. Was reverse-repo liquidity absorption included in RBI’s traditional monetary framework?
[WBCS Mains 2015]
A. Yes
B. No, it always adds cash to banks
C. No, it is an agricultural tax
D. Only by direct issue of equity
Answer: (A) Yes
Explanation: Conventional reverse repos allow banks to place surplus funds with the central bank against securities, absorbing available liquidity for the term. The toolkit has since evolved, but the basic absorption logic remains.
Q37. Under RBI’s historical minimum reserve system, what minimum value of gold was specified?
[MPSC Rajyaseva GS I 2015]
A. ₹85 crore
B. ₹115 crore
C. ₹200 crore
D. ₹500 crore
Answer: (B) ₹115 crore
Explanation: Under the traditional minimum-reserve arrangement, gold of at least ₹115 crore formed part of a combined minimum reserve of ₹200 crore in gold and foreign securities. These figures relate to the system tested historically.
Q36. What services can Business Correspondents provide in bankless villages?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2014]
A. Withdrawal of welfare benefits only
B. Cash deposits and withdrawals only
C. Both welfare access and basic deposit/withdrawal services
D. Neither
Answer: (C) Both welfare access and basic deposit/withdrawal services
Explanation: Business Correspondents extend banks’ reach through authorised local service points. They assist with small withdrawals, deposits and receipt of government benefits, reducing the need for rural customers to travel to a distant full-service branch.
Q35. What do the terms Marginal Standing Facility and Net Demand and Time Liabilities relate to?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2014]
A. Banking operations
B. Telecommunications
C. Military planning
D. Crop production
Answer: (A) Banking operations
Explanation: The MSF is a central-bank liquidity window for eligible banks, while Net Demand and Time Liabilities form an important base for computing reserve requirements. Both concepts are specific to monetary and banking operations.
Q34. Which monetary policy instruments involve bank rate and RBI open-market operations?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2014]
A. Neither is monetary
B. Only tax receipts are monetary
C. Both are monetary instruments
D. Both relate exclusively to public procurement
Answer: (C) Both are monetary instruments
Explanation: The bank rate is a central-bank interest-rate instrument, and open-market operations change liquidity through government-security transactions. Fiscal measures such as taxes and ordinary government spending are different from these monetary-policy tools.
Q33. Which among AMFI, SEBI, IRDA and PFRDA is not a statutory financial regulator?
[WBCS Mains 2014]
A. IRDA
B. AMFI
C. PFRDA
D. SEBI
Answer: (B) AMFI
Explanation: AMFI is an industry association representing mutual funds, not a statutory regulator. SEBI supervises securities, IRDAI insurance and PFRDA pension products under their respective legislative frameworks.
Q32. Which Indian city contains Dalal Street, associated with the stock exchange?
[WBCS Mains 2014]
A. Amritsar
B. New Delhi
C. Mumbai
D. Chandigarh
Answer: (C) Mumbai
Explanation: Dalal Street is in Mumbai and is closely associated with the Bombay Stock Exchange. It functions as a geographical shorthand for India’s securities market, much as Wall Street does in the United States.
Q31. What does the housing index RESIDEX principally monitor?
[WBCS Mains 2014]
A. Exchange-traded share prices
B. Mutual-fund net asset values
C. General inflation only
D. Residential property prices
Answer: (D) Residential property prices
Explanation: RESIDEX is a residential-property price index developed by the National Housing Bank. Its purpose is to help assess house-price movements in selected urban markets, not changes in equity values or mutual-fund units.
