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

1 .

According to NASSCOM, assets under the management of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds will be registered at _____ in 2021.

A)

USD 370 million

B)

USD 486 million

C)

USD 565 million

D)

USD 650 million

Correct Answer : USD 650 million

Assets under management for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds increased 2.5 times to USD 650 million in India in financial year 2021 on an annual basis, a top official of IT industry body Nasscom said on Friday.

Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh, during the launch of 'Enterprise Innovation Challenge', said there has been a sharp increase in conversations around ESG.

"Companies are not just becoming alert to ESG performance of vendors or partners that they are willing to work with, but investors also are using ESG as metrics to drive investments.

"In India alone, the assets under management for ESG funds rose by 2.5 times in just a year. From 275 million USD in Fiscal Year 20, the assets under management for ESG funds went up to 650 million USD in Fiscal Year 21," Ghosh said at the virtual event.

Digital India CEO Abhishek Singh said ESG will be one of the top priorities for the industry..

Source : Business Standard

2 .

Which company has partnered with industry body the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to support 5 lakh women-led small businesses across India?

A)

Apple

B)

Meta

C)

Microsoft

D)

Google

Correct Answer : Meta

Social media giant "Meta" on Friday(28th Jan 2022) said it has, under its #SheMeansBusiness programme, partnered with industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to support 5 lakh women-led small businesses across India.

The announcement was made during Meta's inaugural National Women Entrepreneurship Summit to encourage industry dialogue and steps to support the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across sectors.

Access to capital and relevant digital tools remain the leading issues faced by women-led businesses, according to a statement.

Out of over 63 million small businesses in India, about 20% are owned by women highlighting the need to bring more gender equality, it added.

"Together with FICCI, Meta will address the barrier to access right digital tools and resources by offering easy access to tools, programmes and resources by Meta to women entrepreneurs in India.

"With this partnership, Meta will extend its support via three initiatives — Facebook Business Coach, Grow your Business Hub, and Meta's Commerce Partners Program," the statement said.

Narayan Rane, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said digital adoption through social media platforms has led many businesses to grow and succeed.

Source : The Hindu

3 .

When was the teenage-focused Fintech startup in India, Pencilton recently launched the Pencil Card, a debit card that meets the National Common Mobility Card standards?

A)

24th Jan 2022

B)

25th Jan 2022

C)

26th Jan 2022

D)

27th Jan 2022

Correct Answer : 25th Jan 2022

Pencilton, a teen-focused fintech company, has launched PencilCard in 25th Jan 2022, a debit card with NCMC for teens. PencilCard is an NCMC-compliant (National Common Mobility Card) RuPay debit card specially designed for the teenager segment. It has been launched in partnership with Transcorp.

According to a press release for customers, a single PencilCard will serve a number of wants as this debit card which works for on-line & offline funds similar to every other debit card additionally doubles up as a metro card, and bus card – an all-in-one card. The debit card can already work as a metro card for journey in Delhi (Airport line) & as a bus card in Goa (throughout KTC buses). It can be scheduled to be accepted for metro journey in Pune, Chennai & Mumbai in addition to in BEST buses (Mumbai) very quickly.

Source : Economic Times

4 .

Which company has announced USD 1 billion investment in Bharti Airtel?

A)

Google

B)

Apple

C)

Amazon

D)

Microsoft

Correct Answer : Google

Alphabet Inc's "Google" will invest up to USD 1 billion in Bharti Airtel in a move that could help bolster the Indian telecom operator's digital offerings, the companies said in a BSE filing on Friday(28th Jan 2022).

The investment includes a USD 700 million equity investment in Airtel at a price of 734 rupees (USD 9.77) per share and up to USD 300 million towards implementing commercial agreements, including investments in scaling Airtel's offerings, the companies said.

The share issue is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and comes months after Airtel raised up to 210 billion rupees through a sale of shares to existing shareholders.

Airtel shares were up 0.54 per cent at 711 rupees after the announcement.

Google announced plans less than two years ago to infuse USD 10 billion in India via its digitisation fund over five to seven years through equity deals and tie-ups.

Source : India Today

5 .

The Government of India has officially handed over Air India to the Tata Group but what is the value of this deal?

A)

Rs 29,000 crore

B)

Rs 24,000 crore

C)

Rs 18,000 crore

D)

Rs 13,000 crore

Correct Answer : Rs 18,000 crore

The Government of India officially handed over India’s flag carrier, Air India to Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Group, on January 27, 2022, almost 69 years after acquiring the conglomerate. The total value of the deal is Rs 18,000 crore (USD 2.4 billion). Tatas would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and take over Rs 15,300 crore of the airline's debt. The deal also includes sale of Air India Express and ground handling arm AISATS.

6 .

How many millions has Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) invested in data center development to serve emerging Asia?

A)

USD 120 million

B)

USD 130 million

C)

USD 140 million

D)

USD 150 million

Correct Answer : USD 150 million

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development bank has committed USD 150 million to invest in the development of data centres that mostly serve emerging Asia. This project is being AIIB’s 1st data centre project. India is a key founding member of AIIB.

AIIB’s investment of USD 100 million through a parallel fund structure and USD 50 million through co-investments mark the final close of KDCF II, a development fund making strategic investments in the fast-growing data center sector with a focus on the Asia Pacific.

7 .

With which company does Paytm partnered in providing lending products to business partners and customers?

A)

Fullerton India

B)

Tata Capital

C)

Bajaj Finserv Ltd.

D)

HDB Financial Services

Correct Answer : Fullerton India

Fullerton India and One97 Communications, which owns Paytm, have partnered to provide lending products to merchant partners and consumers. “With the partnership, the two will leverage data-driven insights and wide reach to bring credit to new-to-credit users,” said a statement on Monday(24th Jan 2022). The programme will offer Paytm Postpaid or buy-now-pay-later to consumers on the Paytm platform while utilising Fullerton’s risk assessment capabilities and scale, it further said.

Fullerton India and Paytm will further expand their product offerings to include instant personal loans. “We believe that there is a massive opportunity to provide access to credit to merchants in small cities and towns. Consumer credit has been growing exponentially through products like Paytm Postpaid and Personal Loans, which we believe can be further expanded through our partnership with Fullerton India,” said Bhavesh Gupta, CEO, Paytm Lending.

Source : The Hindu Businessline

8 .

Swiggy has become Decacorn, how many billions has the valuation crossed in the new funding round?

A)

$9.1 billion

B)

$10.7 billion

C)

$12.4 billion

D)

$15.6 billion

Correct Answer : $10.7 billion

Food-ordering and instant grocery delivery platform, Swiggy has signed a $700 million funding round led by asset manager "Invesco". With this, the total valuation of Swiggy has reached to $10.7 billion i.e. it is now a decacorn.

Swiggy’s latest valuation is almost double that of Zomato before the latter went for its initial public offering. Zomato was valued at $5.4 billion before its IPO.

Bengaluru-based Swiggy has overtaken budget hospitality company Oyo, whose valuation dropped to $8 billion in 2020 from $10 billion in 2019, and then increased to $9 billion in 2021.

Swiggy has overtaken sports technology company Dream Sports, the parent firm of fantasy sports platform Dream11.

Source : Business Standard

9 .

Who has signed a pact with the University of Oulu, Finland, to accelerate research and standardization in 6G technology?

A)

Optus

B)

Jio

C)

Airtel

D)

AT&T

Correct Answer : Jio

Jio Platforms (JPL) has signed a pact with the University of Oulu, Finland, for undertaking research and standardization related activities in 6G technology.

Jio Platforms, we entered into a strategic partnership with the University of Oulu, Finland - to accelerate research and standardisation in 6G technology,” Jio Senior Vice President Aayush Bhatnagar Thursday(20th Jan 2022) said in a post on social media platform Linkedin.

JPL, established in October 2019 as a wholly owned unit of Reliance, houses the Mukesh Ambani-owned group’s telecom business Reliance Jio Infocomm, the largest in the country, and other digital properties and investments. Reliance Jio though makes up the bulk of JPL’s numbers.

Source : Economic Times

10 .

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Working Paper, what is the estimated optimal hedge ratio for External Trade Loans (ECBs) raised by companies in India?

A)

50%

B)

57%

C)

63%

D)

71%

Correct Answer : 63%

The optimal hedge ratio for the External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) raised by firms in India is estimated at 63% for the periods of high volatility in the foreign exchange (forex/FX) market, according to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Working Paper.

An optimal hedge ratio is a ratio that implies the percentage of total asset or liability exposure that an entity ought to hedge against exchange rate fluctuations.

In times of typical high FX volatility, firms issuing ECBs may take recourse to hedge their exposure financially/ naturally in the range [63 per cent, 66 per cent], which would translate to the total cost on loan, including hedging cost, proportional to nearly 9 per cent,said Ranjeev, Assistant Adviser, Department of Statistics and Information Management, RBI.

Source : The Hindu Business Line

Business and Economics - General Knowledge Questions