Current Affairs : Banking Awareness for IBPS PO Exam 2013

Institute of Banking Personnal Selection (IBPS) is going to conduct exam for recruitment of Probationary Officers in various banking & financial institutions later this month. Observing latest pattern and a few years question papers, IBPS emphasize on banking awareness part in general awareness section of question paper. To help you with this, we are with latest banking awareness topics and current affairs related with banking industry.

• IDBI's 'Own Your NPA Campaign': IDBI Bank has launched a special ‘Own Your NPA’ (non-performing asset) campaign so that officials give it all they’ve got for faster resolution of bad debts. As part of the campaign, each zonal, regional and branch manager will personally go and meet the customers.
• Global rating agency Fitch has scaled down its projections on India’s growth to 4.8% for the current fiscal from the earlier estimate of 5.7% made in June, 2013.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 7 October 2013 reduced the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate to 9 per cent from 9.5 per cent.
• Reserve Bank of India on 25 September 2013 banned 0% interest rate schemes for purchase of consumer goods.
• Reserve Bank of India hiked the short-term lending (repo) rate to 7.5%, seeking to control inflation. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was left unchanged at 4%.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 19 September announced that banks can open their branches in tier 1 centers without taking its permission in each case.
• The First direct bank (a bank without any branch network that offers its services remotely via online banking and telephone banking and may also provide access via ATMs) has been launched in China by the Bank of Beijing in co-operation with the Netherlands-based ING Group.
• RBI allowed Non-Resident Investors to purchase shares from listed stock exchanges of Indian entities Under FDI Scheme.
• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill (PFRDA), 2011 which aims to regulate the New Pension System (NPS) has been passed in the Lok Sabha.
• Insurance compnay Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has increased its equity stake by 2.86% in the country’s largest public sector bank State Bank of India (SBI) from 10.4 % to 13.26% by buying 19.57 lakh shares from open market.
• S R Bansal in new Chairman and Managing director of Corporation Bank.

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Current Affairs September 2013 for IBPS/Banking & SSC Exams

Here we are sharing important current affair updates and general knowledge to boost up your preparations for upcoming IBPS PO recruitment and various SSC Exams.

• India Won First Under-21 Johor Cup of Hockey tournament by defeating Malaysia.
• Malala Yousufzai has been honored with 2013 Peter J Gomes humanitarian,a prestigious award, by Harvard Univversity.
• Ravinder Kumar, Editor of ‘The Statesman’ newspaper has been elected as the president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for the year 2013-14.
• Chief of the Odisha Cricket Association, Ranjib Biswal was appointment as the new Chairman of the IPL who succeeds Rajiv Shukla, who resigned at the end of his tenure.
• Narayanaswamy Srinivasan has been re-elected as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a third term.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare named former Indian cricket team captain Rahul Dravid as the brand ambassador for its National Tobacco Control Campaign.
• The Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, allotted a Customized Pin Code to the Supreme Court of India. The Pin Code allotted to the Supreme Court is ‘110 201’.
• Rafiq Kathwari, an Indian-American poet on 29 September 2013 selected for 2013 Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award for the collection of his debut poems.
• Venkat Rahul Ragala from Andhra Pradesh on 7 September 2013 won weightlifting gold at Asian youth Games in Guangzhou.
• Indian social activist Anna Hazare has been honored with the inaugural Allard Prize for International Integrity conferred by the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Law at a function held in Vancouver, Canada.
• Sudha Singh of Railways won gold medal in women’s 3000m steeplechase in 53rd National Open Athletics Championship.
• Megan Young of Philippines on 28 September 2013 was crowned Miss World 2013 at the Bali Nasa Dua Convention Center in Bali, Indonesia.
• Ruchira Kamboj was appointed as the Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, Paris with the rank of Ambassador.
• Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel won a third term by in German elections.
• Ravindra Kumar, Editor of The Statesman was elected President of The Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2013-14.
• India beat China in the 8th Asia Cup Women hockey tournament at Kuala Lumpur to win the Bronze on 27 September 2013.
• Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan was awarded with the Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial Economics 2013. 
• Pond’s Femina Miss India World 2013 Navneet Kaur Dhillon won the Multimedia Award at the Miss World 2013 held in Bali, Indonesia.
• The Supreme Court of India on 27 September 2013 held that citizens have the right to reject all candidates contesting an election.
• Sri Srinivasan was on 26 September 2013 sworn in as judge of the US Courts of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit.
• Horticultural mail order company Thompson & Morgan developed a plant called The TomTato, which can produce tomatoes and potatoes.
• Randall Oliphant, Executive Chairman of the Canadian gold producer New Gold Inc., has been appointed as the Chairman of the World Gold Council (WGC) . 
• Chinese table tennis player Liu Shiwen clinched Women’s Table TennisWorld Cup 2013 after beating teammate Wu Yang in the final play of the tournament held in Kobe, Japan.
• Australia unveiled its most powerful super computer Raijin in Canberra on 31 July 2013.
• Sarah Outen (28), an adventurer from Britain who spent 150 days at sea to become the first woman to row solo from Japan to Alaska.

For more current affairs and important general knowledge updates for Banking & SSC Exams, Keep Visiting gkline.blogspot.com.

Important Banking & Financial Terms for IBPS/Bank PO/Clerk Exams & Interview

1. Balance of Trade:

The value of a country’s exports minus the value of its imports. Unless specified as the balance of merchandise trade, it normally incorporates trade in services, including earnings (interest, dividends, etc.) on financial assets.

2. Balanced Trade:

When a balance of trade equal to zero. (exports – imports = 0)

3. Balance of Payments:

A list of all of a country’s international transactions for a given time period, usually one year. Payments into the country (receipts) are entered as positive numbers, called credits; Payments out of the country (payments) are entered as negative numbers called debits. A single numbers summarize all of a country’s international transactions: the balance of payments surplus.

4. MFN (Most Favoured Nation):

The principle, fundamental to the GATT, of treating imports from a country on the same basis as that given to the most favoured other nation. That is, and with some exceptions, every country gets the lowest tariff that any country gets, and reductions in tariffs to one country are provided also to others.

5. Balanced Budget:

A government budget surplus that is zero, thus with net tax revenue equaling expenditure. A balanced budget changes in policy or behavior is one which a component of the government budget, usually taxes, is adjusted as necessary to maintain a balanced budget.

6. Balanced Growth of an Economy:

Growth of an economy in which all aspects of it, especially factors of production, grow at the same rate.

7. Bank Rate:

The interest rate charges by a central bank to commercial banks for very short term loans.

8. Repo:

Repo is “Repurchase Agreement”. An agreement to sell a security for a specified price and to buy it back later at another specified price. A repo is essentially a secured loan.

9. Repo Rate:

Whenever the banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow it form RBI. Repo rate is the rate at which commercial banks borrows rupees from RBI. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases borrowing form RBI becomes more expensive.

10. Reverse Repo Rate:

Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which RBI borrows money from commercial banks. Banks are always happy to lend money to RBI since their money is in the safe hands with a good interest. An increase in reverse repo rate can cause the banks to transfer more funds to RBI due to this attractive interest rates.

11. CRR (Cash Reverse Ratio):

CRR is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI increases CRR, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR), to drain out the excessive money from the banks.

12. SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio):

SLR is the amount a commercial banks needs to maintain in the form of cash, or gold, or govt. approved securities (Bonds) before providing credit to its customers. SLR rate is determined and maintained by RBI in order to control the expansion of the bank credit.

13. Need of SLR:

With the SLR, the RBI can ensure the solvency of a commercial banks. It is also helpful to control the expansion of the Bank credits. By changing SLR rates, RBI can increase or decrease bank credit expansion. Also through SLR, RBI compels the commercial banks to invest in the government securities like govt. bonds.

14. Main use of SLR:

SLR is used to control inflation and propel growth. Through SLR rate the money supply in the system can be controlled effectively.

15. Fiscal Deficit:

A deficit in the government budget of a country and represents the excess of expenditure over income. So this is the amount of borrowed funds require by the government to meet its expenditures completely.

16. Direct Tax:

A direct tax is that which is paid directly by someone to taxing authority. Income tax and property tax are an examples of direct tax. They are not shifted to somebody else.

17. Indirect Tax:

This type of tax is not paid by someone to the authorities and it is actually passed on to the other in the form of increased cost. They are levied on goods and services produced or purchased. Excise Tax, Sales Tax, Vat, Entertainment tax are indirect taxes.

18. NOSTRO Account:

A Nostro account is maintained by an Indian Bank in the foreign countries.

19. VOSTRO Account:

A Vostro account is maintained by a foreign bank in India with their corresponding bank.

20. SDR (Special Drawing Rights):

SDR are new form of International reserve assets, created by the International Monetary Fund in 1969. The value of SDR is based on the portfolio of widely used countries and they are maintained as accounting entries and not as hard currency or physical assets like Gold.

Imprtant Organisations and their Head Offices for IBPS/Bank PO/Clerk Exams

Imprtant Organisations and their Head Offices for IBPS/Bank PO/Clerk Exams:

1. Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) —Rome
2. International Labour Organisation (ILO) —Geneva
3. World Health Organisation (WHO) —Geneva
4. World meteorological Organisation (WMO) —Geneva
5. International Telecommunication Union (ITD) —Geneva
6. International Monetary Fund (IMF) —Washington
7. International Finance Corporation (IFC) —Washington
8. International Bank For Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank —Washington
9. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) —Montreal
10. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) —Paris
11. United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) —New York
12. Inter-governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMCO) —London
13. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) —Vienna
14. United Nations Industrial Development Organizations (UNIDO) —Vienna, (Austria)
15. United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) —New York
16. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) —New york
17. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) —Geneva (Switzerland)
18. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) —Nairobi (Kenya)
19. Universal Postal Union (UPU) —Berne (Switzerland)

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All About DBF, JAIIB and CAIIB Exams in Banking

Friends for benefit of you all i am explaining DBF, JAIIB and CAIIB in full details.

JAIIB and CAIIB are exams conducted by IIBF for only bankers who are in any type of bank and are atleast in clerical cadre.You have to take lifetime ordinary membership of IIBF to sit in all these exams. 

There are increments for clearing both. One increment is given for clearing JAIIB, and one for PO and two for clerk who clears CAIIB from that date one clears them. DBF is also conducted by IIBF and is for non bankers who get benefit on joining bank as it gets converted to JAIIB if one forward a bank letter to IIBF. For getting ordinary membership of IIBF you have to make payment through debit card or net banking and have to apply on this link http://registration.sifyitest.com/iibf_mem_reg/registration.php

The fees for becoming ordinary member of JAIIB is Rs 1685/-. After becoming ordinary member of IIBF you can fill JAIIB form online on this link http://registration.sifyitest.com/iibf_mem_reg/ExamLogin.php?Mtype=Tw%3D%3D&ExId=MjE%3D

You have to pay Rs. 2697/- for first block of 2 attempts in JAIIB. It means u have 2 attempts to clear JAIIB otherwise u have to pay Rs. 2697/- again and after 4 attempts u have to start again as ur chance gets lapsed. In both JAIIB and DBF you have to give and clear 3 papers which fall on simultaneous sundays of generally May and November as all these exams are conducted twice in each year. There are 3 same papers in both DBF and JAIIB namely 1) Principles & Practices of Banking. 2) Accounting & Finance for Bankers 3)Legal & Regulatory Aspects of Banking.

JAIIB is conducted in both online and offline mode and result of offline mode comes after 6-8 weeks while online test gives u result immediately. There are generally around 120 Objective multiple choice questions of 100 marks in each paper and u have to secure 50 out of 100 marks in each papers.

Candidate securing at least 45 marks in each subject with an aggregate of 50% marks in all subjects of JAIIB examination in a single attempt will also be declared as havingpassed JAIIB Examination.

Candidates will be allowed to retain credits for the subject/s they have passed in one attempt
till the expiry of the time limit for passing the examination as mentioned bellow :

Candidates will be required to pass JAIIB examination within a time limit of 2 years (i.e. 4 consecutive attempts). Initially a candidate will have to pay examination fee for a block of one year i.e. for two attempts. In case a candidate is not able to pass JAIIB examination within 1st block of 2 attempts, he / she can appear for a further period of 1 year (2nd block) i.e. 2 attempts on payment of requisite fee. 

Candidates who have exhausted the first block of 2 attempts, should necessarily submit the examination application form for the next attempt, without any gap. If they do not submit the examination form immediately after exhausting the first block, the examination conducted will be counted as attempts of the second block for the purpose of time limit for passing.

Candidates not able to pass JAIIB examination within the stipulated time period of two years are required to re-enroll themselves afresh by submitting fresh Examination Application Form. Such candidates will not be granted credit/s for subject/s passed, if any, earlier.

Attempts will be counted from the date of application irrespective of whether a candidate appears at any examination or otherwise