Latest Business and Economics General Knowledge(GK) Questions and answers

1 .

Which nation has become the second one to launch Trade and Technology Council with the European Union?

A)

China

B)

Japan

C)

Canada

D)

India

Correct Answer : India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on Monday(25th Apr 2022) to launch the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, a strategic coordination mechanism to tackle challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security.

India has become the second trade and technology council involving the 27-nation European Union (EU) after its first one with the United States.

The decision to launch the new platform was taken during talks between Modi and von der Leyen. The two leaders deliberated on a plethora of key issues, including the situation in war-hit Ukraine.

In a tweet, Modi said he was delighted to hold talks with the European leader and that both sides reviewed the ''full range of India-EU ties including economic and cultural linkages''..

Source : Business Today

2 .

Sri Lankan inflation rose to how much in March 2022?

A)

18.7 percent

B)

20.5 percent

C)

21.5 percent

D)

25.8 percent

Correct Answer : 21.5 percent

Debt-ridden Sri Lanka's nationwide inflation rose to 21.5 percent in March from 17.5 percent in February 2022, as per official data released by the Department of Census and Statistics on April 22, 2022. Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry met IMF officials in Washington to negotiate a bailout package for the country.

3 .

For Rs 184 crore, how much interest will HDFC sell on HDFC Capital to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority?

A)

10%

B)

12%

C)

14%

D)

15%

Correct Answer : 10%

India's leading mortgage lender HDFC has sold its 10% stake in HDFC Capital to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for about Rs 184 crore.

ADIA is also the primary investor in alternative investment funds managed by HDFC Capital. Established in 1976, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is a globally-diversified investment institution of Government of Abu Dhabi.

HDFC Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), is in the business of managing private equity funds focused on the real estate sector in India.

Set up in 2016, HDFC Capital is the investment manager to HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Funds 1, 2 & 3; and is aligned with the Government of India’s goal to increase housing supply and support the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana..

Source : Economic Times

4 .

Who is reconstituted its advisory committee for leveraging regulatory and technology solutions?

A)

RBI

B)

SEBI

C)

IRDA

D)

NSDL

Correct Answer : SEBI

SEBI has reconstituted its advisory committee, which provides guidance on enhancing the regulator's technological capabilities and on exploring appropriate technological solutions for early detection of market anomalies.

The Advisory Committee for Leveraging Regulatory and Technology Solutions (ALeRTS) will now be headed by Sunil Bajpai, former Principal Advisor (Information Technology) at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), an update with Sebi showed on Tuesday.

The seven-member committee, which was set-up by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in December 2021, was earlier chaired by Madhabi Puri Buch, current chief of the regulator.

Other members in the panel include Puneet Narang, head of corporate banking technology India at Deutsche Bank, Girish Keshav Palshikar, Principal Scientist at TCS Research and Innovation, Ratnakar Pandey Senior Data Scientist at Amazon, Rohan Rao Senior Data Scientist at H2O.ai, Subir Saha, Head of Compliance at ICICI Group and Harini Balaji CGM, ISD at Sebi..

Source : Business Standard

5 .

The GDP growth rate projection of the world economy as per World Bank for 2022 is estimated at ________ percent.

A)

2.7%

B)

3.2%

C)

4.5%

D)

5.7%

Correct Answer : 3.2%

* The World Bank has lowered the global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.2%. Earlier this was estimated at 4.1%.

* The downward revision is due to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the world economy. The reason for lowering the projection is that people are facing reduced commercial activity and trade, and the debt crisis and currency depreciations have placed a heavy burden on the poor.

* The world is also facing reversals in development in education, health and gender equality.

6 .

India's gold imports increased by 33.34% to _____ billion in 2021-22.

A)

Rs 32.57 billion

B)

Rs 39.21 billion

C)

Rs 40.63 billion

D)

Rs 46.14 billion

Correct Answer : Rs 46.14 billion

According to the official data, the import of gold in India has been rose by 33.34% to Rs 46.14 billion on account of higher demand in 2021-22. The import of gold in 2020-21 was about Rs 34.62 billion. The increase in gold imports has contributed to the widening of the trade deficit to $192.41 billion, against $102.62 billion in 2020-21.

India is the world’s second-biggest gold consumer after China. The imports are largely driven by the jewellery industry. The export of gems and jewellery grew by about 50% to about $39 billion during 2021-22.

7 .

The World Trade Organisation has downgraded the global GDP forecast for FY 2022 to how much?

A)

2.0 percent

B)

2.3 percent

C)

2.8 percent

D)

3.4percent

Correct Answer : 2.8 percent

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has downgraded its forecast for global GDP growth in Financial Year 2022 to 2.8 percent from the previously predicted 4.1 percent. The world GDP is expected to grow by 2.8% in 2022, down by 1.3 percentage points from the previous forecast, as per WTO report. The report stated that the global GDP growth should pick up to 3.2 percent in 2023.

8 .

How much amount has been set as the target by the government for the National Bank for Financial Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) to sanction loans for infrastructure sector in 2022-23?

A)

Rs 1 trillion

B)

Rs 2 trillions

C)

Rs 3 trillions

D)

Rs 4 trillions

Correct Answer : Rs 1 trillion

Central Government has set a target of about Rs 1 trillion for the National Bank for Financial Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) for sanctioning loans to the infrastructure sector in the next financial year i.e 2022-23.

9 .

How many shares did Kotak, HDFC and Axis each acquire in Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)?

A)

7.84%

B)

8.69%

C)

9.67%

D)

11.57%

Correct Answer : 7.84%

HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank have each purchased a 7.84 percent stake in ONDC, an open public digital infrastructure framework business.

Key Points :

* Each of the three banks has put in Rs 10 crore in the company.

* In a regulatory statement on Wednesday, HDFC Bank said it now owns 7.84 percent of ONDC’s equity share capital after allotting 10 lakh equity shares for Rs 10 crore.

* “Kotak Mahindra Bank has subscribed to 10,00,000 equity shares of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for Rs 10 crore, translating into an equity shareholding of 7.84 percent in ONDC as of March 22,,” according to another filing.

* Axis Bank said in a separate filing that ONDC allotted 10,00,000 equity shares with a face value of Rs 100 apiece for a consideration of Rs 10 crore on March 22.

* The bank now owns 7.84 percent of ONDC following the allotment.

* The lenders stated that their investment in ONDC is intended to assist in the development and transformation of the Indian digital commerce ecosystem.

10 .

Who acquired Fifth Payment Tech Startup IZealiant Technologies?

A)

PayU

B)

Razorpay

C)

Paytm

D)

PayPal

Correct Answer : Razorpay

Razorpay, a fintech unicorn, announced the purchase of IZealiant Technologies, a renowned Fintech business that provides banks with payments technology solutions, for an undisclosed sum. IZealiant is a Pune-based startup that offers banks and financial institutions mobile-first, API-enabled, and cloud-ready payment processing tools.

KEY POINTS :

* Razorpay’s Banking Solutions Arm will be strengthened by the purchase of IZealiant, which will develop revolutionary payment banking solutions for partner banks, allowing businesses and their end-customers to enjoy a faster, more seamless, and secure payment experience.

* Razorpay’s Banking team has worked on a number of important projects in India, including Razorpay TokenHQ, India’s first multi-network RBI compliant card tokenization solution, and MandateHQ, an API-based, plug-and-play recurring payments interface for banks.

* “We are pleased to have the IZealiant team join the Razorpay family today,” said Harshil Mathur, CEO and Co-founder of Razorpay, in response to the purchase. I am certain that the combined strength of two technological firms will provide our partner banks with the required assistance in developing next-generation solutions and changing market dynamics in the new normal.”

* “The team at IZealiant has considerable expertise creating and executing sophisticated, high-performance acquiring and issuing systems,” he continued, “and I am certain that together we will be able to offer industry-first solutions for Indian banks.””

* “We are happy to join up with Razorpay and be part of their growth path together,” stated Prashant Mengawade, CEO of IZealiant. Financial institutions are rapidly eager to implement innovative, versatile, and secure solutions to satisfy ever-changing client expectations, and the time couldn’t be better.

* IZealiant is incredibly proud of our customer-centricity and high-performing digital payments systems that we have designed for some of the world’s most prestigious financial institutions.

Business and Economics - General Knowledge Questions