Which bank has announced(13 June 2022) USD 250 million in lending support for high-growth, technology-led start-ups in India?

Today General Knowledge(GK)

HSBC India

ICICI Bank

World Bank

Deutsche Bank

Correct Answer : Option (A) - HSBC India

* Foreign lender HSBC India on Monday(13th June 2022) announced that it will lend USD 250 million to startups in the country.

* The bank did not specify the timeframe for disbursal of the amount

* The lending will be done to high-growth, tech-led startups in the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, the lender said in a statement.

* The lending, which comes amid increased focus on startups' debt needs by financial intermediaries locally and a 'funding winter' impacting equity funding to the sector, will be managed by the lender's commercial banking vertical.

* The commercial banking vertical in India had witnessed a 42 per cent jump in its profit for 2021 at USD 265 million as against USD 187 million in the year ago period.

* Loans to small and medium enterprises tripled to USD 1 billion in 2021 as against USD 300 million in 2018, the bank said..

Source : Business Standard

Published On : June 17, 2022

Category : Banking

Recent General Knowledge Questions

Q .

Which advanced AI model has been launched by Google's parent company Alphabet?

Neo

Aqua

Gemini

Gossip

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Gemini

Alphabet (GOOGL.O) on Wednesday (6th Dec 2023) introduced its most advanced artificial intelligence model, a technology capable of crunching different forms of information such as video, audio and text.

* Called Gemini, the Google owner's highly anticipated AI model is capable of more sophisticated reasoning and understanding information with a greater degree of nuance than Google's prior technology, the company said.

* "This new era of models represents one of the biggest science and engineering efforts we’ve undertaken as a company," Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post.

* Since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT roughly a year ago, Google has been racing to produce AI software that rivals what the Microsoft (MSFT.O)-backed company has introduced.

* Google added a portion of the new Gemini model technology to its AI assistant Bard on Wednesday (6th Dec 2023), and said it planned to release its most advanced version of Gemini through Bard early next year.

Published On : December 9, 2023

Category : Science and Technology

Q .

At what rate has RBI maintained the Repo Rate for the 5th Consecutive Time?

6.5%

6.8%

7.3%

7.9%

Correct Answer : Option (A) - 6.5%

* The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent in its monetary review meeting. This is for the fifth time in a row that the MPC has maintained the status quo. Briefing about the Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy in Mumbai this morning, RBI governor Shakitkanta Das said that the Monitory Policy Committee, MPC's has unanimously decided to keep key rates unchanged.

* Mr Das added that consequently, the Standing Deposit Facility rate remains at 6.25 percent and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75 percent. Attributing the declining inflation as reason behind maintain status quo the policy stance, the RBI Governor informed that, real GDP growth projection for the current year 2023-24 has been revised from earlier 6.5 per cent to 7 percent. Real GDP growth for Quarter one of 2024-25 is projected at 6.7 per cent, for Quarter 2 at 6.5 per cent and for Quarter 3 at 6.4 per cent. He added that the risks are evenly balanced.

* The RBI Governor also said that the central bank has proposed to hike the limit of UPI transactions in hospitals and educational institutions from one lakh rupees to 5 lakhs.

Published On : December 8, 2023

Category : Banking

Q .

Who has become the first Indian to operate NASA's Mars Rover?

Soni Sarang

Akshata Krishnamurthy

Preeti Narayan

Surbhi Kumari

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Akshata Krishnamurthy

Akshata Krishnamurthy is an Indian woman who created history as she became the first person from the country to operate the Mars rover with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States. She shared her achievement on Instagram, saying, "No dream is ever too big or crazy. Believe in yourself, keep those blinkers on and keep working! I promise you'll get there if you work hard."

Akshata is a PhD holder from the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). She is among the few Indians who joined NASA for a full-time opportunity. According to her LinkedIn profile, Akshata is a principal investigator and mission science phase lead at NASA. She has been working at NASA for over five years now.

Akshata shared her inspiring journey on Instagram and how she became the first Indian citizen to operate a rover on Mars and collect samples to bring back to Earth. Akshata's journey began 13 years ago when she came to the United States with a dream to work at NASA and lead science and robotic operations on Earth and Mars. However, she was discouraged from having unrealistic goals as she was a foreign national on a visa. People told her to have a different plan or change her field entirely. However, Akshata blocked those comments and persevered until she reached the goal.