Today GK, 2023 Latest General Knowledge Questions, Daily GK 2022

1 .

Sudarshan Chakra Corps of Indian Army has conducted Exercise "Sudarshan Prahar" in Which state on 29th Nov 2022?

A)

Punjab

B)

Rajasthan

C)

Gujarat

D)

Uttar Pradesh

Correct Answer : Rajasthan

Indian Army’s Sudarshan Chakra Corps carried out Exercise Sudarshan Prahar in the deserts of Rajasthan Tuesday(29th Nov 2022).

The exercise focussed on the synergised application of combat power through the integration of force multipliers & practising new battle techniques in an integrated all arms environment showcasing high level of professionalism and offensive spirit.

Lieutenant General AK Singh, Goc-in-C, Southern Command witnessed Exercise SUDARSHAN PARHAR and complimented the troops for the high standard of training and operational preparedness..

Source : AIR

Published On : December 1, 2022

2 .

What percentage stake did YES Bank buy in JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC)?

A)

9.9%

B)

10.7%

C)

15.2%

D)

20.4%

Correct Answer : 9.9%

YES Bank has inked the share purchase agreement (SPA) with JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC), acquiring a 9.9 percent stake in the ARC at Rs 11.43 per share, the private sector lender informed bourses after market hours on 28th November 2022.

A subsequent acquisition of additional shareholding of 10 percent is subject to requisite regulatory approvals, the bank said.

On September 20, Yes Bank's board had approved the sale of stressed loans worth Rs 48,000 crore to JC Flowers, after receiving no other challenger bids.

The bank intends to participate as a minority shareholder in the ARC. "This will be an ancillary to the main line of business of the bank", it said. As of 31 March, 2022, JC Flowers ARC had Rs 595 crore in assets under management with annual turnover of Rs 19.9 crore.

For the three-month ended 30 September, 2022, Yes Bank's standalone net profit dropped by 32.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 152.8 crore. In the corresponding period of the past fiscal, the private lender's net profit stood at Rs 225.50 crore.

Total income during Q2 FY23, however, was higher at Rs 6,394.11 crore as against Rs 5,430.30 crore in the same period a year ago. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs or bad loans) came down to 12.89 percent of gross advances as against 14.97 percent in the year-ago period..

Source : Money Control

Published On : December 1, 2022

3 .

State Bank of India plans to raise _______ crore worth of infrastructure bonds during the current financial year(FY 2022-2023).

A)

Rs 6,000 Crore

B)

Rs 8,000 Crore

C)

Rs 10,000 Crore

D)

Rs 12,000 Crore

Correct Answer : Rs 10,000 Crore

The Executive Committee of the Central Board of State Bank of India at its meeting held on 29 November 2022 has accorded approval for raising Infrastructure Bonds up to an amount of Rs 10,000 crore (including green shoe option of Rs 5,000 crore) through a public issue or private placement, during FY 2022-23.

* The infrastructure bonds are likely to be of 10 years tenure according to the plans.

* Infrastructure bonds typically have an edge in such a scenario as the money raised through the issuance of these bonds will be excluded while maintaining a cash reserve ratio (CRR).

* With these, the banks will have more funds to lend.

* According to the RBI norms, long-term bonds with a minimum maturity of seven years raise resources for lending to long-term projects in infrastructure sub-sectors..

Source : Business Standard

Published On : December 1, 2022

4 .

NDTV promoter company RRPR Holding transferred what percentage of shares to Adani VCPL?

A)

95.5%

B)

97.5%

C)

99.5%

D)

100%

Correct Answer : 99.5%

News broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd’s (NDTV’s) promoter firm RRPR Holding said on Monday(28th Nov 2022) that it had transferred shares constituting 99.5 per cent of its equity capital to Adani group-owned Vishvapradhan Commercial (VCPL).

* The transaction was done on Monday(28th Nov 2022), RRPR Holding said in a disclosure to the stock exchanges, in consonance with a conversion notice, dated August 23, 2022, issued by VCPL. This follows the expiry of the two-year restraint imposed by the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on November 26, it said.

* The transfer of shares will give the Adani group control over a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV. The port-to-power conglomerate is also conducting an open offer for another 26 per cent stake in the media firm.

* The open offer, which began on November 22, has seen shareholders tender 5.3 million shares, or 31.78 per cent of the issue size of 16.7 million shares, so far, the exchange data showed.

* Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani group, in an interview with the Financial Times, recently said the NDTV purchase was a “responsibility” rather than a “business opportunity” for him, and invited NDTV owner-founder Prannoy Roy to remain its head.

* “Sebi has not responded to a specific letter dated August 28, 2022, behalf the promoter group vehicle seeking clarification, but has since approved the letter of offer (dated November 11, 2022) by VCPL (acquirer) along with AMG Media Networks and Adani Enterprises for acquiring up to 16,762,530 fully paid-up equity shares of the face value of Rs 4 each representing 26 per cent of the voting share capital of New Delhi Television in accordance with the Sebi (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011,” RRPR Holding said on Monday(28th Nov 2022).

* On August 23, VCPL had said it had exercised rights to acquire an indirect stake of 29.18 per cent in NDTV through the conversion of warrants into an equity stake in the promoter group company RRPR Holding..

Source : Business Standard

Published On : December 1, 2022

5 .

RBI to launch of first pilot for retail digital Rupee on _________.

A)

1st January 2023

B)

15th December 2022

C)

10th December 2022

D)

1st December 2022

Correct Answer : 1st December 2022

The Reserve Bank of India announced the launch of the first pilot for the retail digital Rupee on 1st December 2022.

* As per the RBI Press release, eight banks have been identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot.

* The first phase will begin with four banks including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities across the country.

* Four more banks, including Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will join this pilot subsequently.

* The pilot would initially cover four cities, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar and later extend to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla.

* The scope of the pilot may be expanded gradually to include more banks, users and locations as needed.

* The pilot would cover select locations in a closed user group - CUG comprising participating customers and merchants. The digital Rupee would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. Users will be able to transact with digital Rupee through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones. Transactions can be both Person to Person and Person Merchant.

* Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at merchant locations. The digital Rupee would offer features of physical cash like trust, safety and settlement finality.

* As in the case of cash, it will not earn any interest and can be converted to other forms of money, like deposits with banks. The pilot will test the robustness of the entire process of digital rupee creation, distribution and retail usage in real time. Different features and applications of the digital Rupee token and architecture will be tested in future pilots, based on the learnings from this pilot..

Source : AIR

Published On : December 1, 2022

6 .

Scientists revived a 48,500-year-old Zombie Virus buried in ice in which country?

A)

Denmark

B)

Russia

C)

China

D)

United States

Correct Answer : Russia

French scientists have revived a 48,500-year-old “zombie virus” buried under a frozen lake in Russia.

* According to New York Post, the French scientists have sparked fears of yet another pandemic after the revival of the zombie virus.

* The New York Post has quoted a viral study which is yet to be peer-reviewed. "The situation would be much more disastrous in the case of plant, animal, or human diseases caused by the revival of an ancient unknown virus," reads the study.

* According to the preliminary report, global warming is irrevocably thawing enormous swathes of permafrost -- permanently frozen ground that covers a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere. This has had the unsettling effect of "releasing organic materials frozen for up to a million years" - possibly deadly germs included.

* The oldest, Pandoravirus yedoma, was 48,500-year-old, a record age for a frozen virus returning to a form where it may infect other creatures. This breaks the previous record of a 30,000-year-old virus identified in Siberia by the same scientists in 2013.

* The new strain is one of 13 viruses described in the study, each with its own genome, according to Science Alert.

* While the Pandoravirus was discovered at the bottom of a lake in Yukechi Alas, Yakutia, Russia, others have been discovered everywhere from mammoth fur to Siberian wolf intestines..

Source : Tribune India

Published On : November 30, 2022

7 .

Who is set to become the first female referee at the men's World Cup Game?

A)

Kateryna Monzul

B)

Salima Mukansanga

C)

Stephanie Frappart

D)

Yoshmini Yamashita

Correct Answer : Stephanie Frappart

The French referee "Stéphanie Frappart" will lead the first all-female officiating team for a men’s World Cup match when she takes charge of Costa Rica v Germany.

Frappart, who will be the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match, will be joined by the assistant referees Neuza Back of Brazil and Mexico’s Karen Díaz Medina for the crucial Group E game on Thursday, Fifa announced on Tuesday(29th Nov 2022).

The 38-year-old will mark another milestone in her career at the Al Bayt Stadium, having refereed a men’s World Cup qualifier in March, a men’s Champions League game in 2020, the 2019 Uefa Super Cup final and matches in Ligue 1.

Frappart featured as the fourth official during Mexico’s goalless draw with Poland in Group C. Two other referees – Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga and Yamashita Yoshimi of Japan – were also included in Fifa’s pool of World Cup officials. Along with Back and Díaz Medina, the US official Kathryn Nesbitt was also called up as an assistant..

Source : The Guardian

Published On : November 30, 2022

8 .

Monkeypox Disease Name Changed to _____ by World Health Organisation(WHO).

A)

Mpox

B)

MKpox

C)

Mky-P

D)

Mky-Pox

Correct Answer : Mpox

Monkeypox will now be known as mpox, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday(28th Nov 2022), in the wake of reports of racist and stigmatizing language surrounding the name of the disease.

* The decision follows a series of consultations with global experts.

* Both terms will be used simultaneously for a year before the monkeypox name is phased out.

* “This serves to mitigate the concerns raised by experts about confusion caused by a name change in the midst of a global outbreak”.

Concern and change :

* Mpox is a rare viral disease that primarily occurs in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa, but outbreaks emerged in other parts of the world this year.

* There have more than 80,000 cases, and 55 deaths, with 110 countries affected.

* When the current outbreak expanded, WHO both observed and received reports of racist and stigmatizing language online, in other settings and in some communities.

* “In several meetings, public and private, a number of individuals and countries raised concerns and asked WHO to propose a way forward to change the name,”

Naming new diseases :

* The monkeypox name was given in 1970, some 12 years after the virus that causes the disease was discovered in captive monkeys.

* This was before WHO first published best practices on naming diseases in 2015.

* These guidelines recommend that new disease names should aim to minimize unnecessary negative impacts on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare.

* They should also avoid offending any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups.

Source : News.UN

Published On : November 30, 2022

9 .

Which Bank Signed Bancassurance Pact with Chola MS General and Max Life Insurance Company?

A)

Indian Overseas Bank

B)

Kotak Mahindra Bank

C)

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank

D)

Karur Vysya Bank

Correct Answer : Tamilnad Mercantile Bank

The old private sector bank Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has entered into bancassurance partnerships with Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd and Max Life Insurance Company to provide general insurance products and life insurance schemes respectively to TMB’s customers.

Under the agreement, Tuticorin-based TMB’s 500-plus branches will start retailing the insurance products of both companies.

Bancassurance : It is the selling of insurance products through banking channels. In Bancassurance a bank enters into an agreement with an Insurance company. The Bank makes its customer database available to the Insurance companies. If the bank customer buys the insurance products then the bank will receive a commission from the Insurance companies.

Here both the bank and the Insurance companies benefit. The Insurance companies get new customers and banks earn extra income.

Regulator of Bancassurance in India : Bancassurance sector is regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)..

Source : The Bindu Businessline

Published On : November 30, 2022

10 .

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs __________ crore on Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank, Bombay, for non-compliance with RBI directions.

A)

Rs 1.02 crore

B)

Rs 1.25 crore

C)

Rs 1.45 crore

D)

Rs 1.80 crore

Correct Answer : Rs 1.25 crore

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1.25 crore on Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank, Bombay, for non-compliance with RBI directions on ‘Discounting of Bills by UCBs – Restricted Letters of Credit’ and the provisions of the Co-operative Banks Rules, 1985.

This penalty had been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI, the central bank said in a statement released on Monday(28th Nov 2022) evening.

This action is based on a deficiency in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers, the RBI said in the statement.

The RBI statement said the statutory inspection of the bank was done by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2020, and examination of the risk assessment report pertaining to Forensic Audit Report (FAR) by an external auditor.

RBI said all related correspondence in the matter revealed that the bank had failed to comply with the central bank’s directions on Discounting of Bills by UCBs – Restricted Letters of Credit (LC) and the provisions of the Rules, as it discounted accommodation bills under LCs without establishing the genuineness of underlying transactions/documents and failed to preserve records in good order for a period of eight years..

Source : The Print

Published On : November 29, 2022