QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 9 March 2020

Solution: d)

RBI has announced a new liquidity facility under Long Term Repo Operations (LTRO) to inject liquidity in the banking system. The new policy tool comes in the context of the RBI’s limitations in cutting its policy rate as well as its desire to enhance liquidity of the banking system and promote lending activities of banks.

An interesting feature of the RBI’s new effort is that the central bank will be injecting Rs 1 lakh crore into the banking system through auctions with long term maturity periods (compared to one day repos) of 1 year and 3 year.

Funds through LTRO will be provided at the repo rate. This means that banks can avail one year and three-year loans at the same interest rate of one day repo. Usually, loans with higher maturity period (here like 1 year and 3 year) will have higher interest rate compared to short term (repo) loans.

If the RBI is ready to give one-year and three year loans at the low repo rate, then there will be a clear pressure on banks to reduce thier lending rates. Hence, the most important effect of the LTRO in the system will be a decline in short term lending rates of banks. There are two clear effects of LTROs:

(a) it will enhance liquidity in the banking system by Rs 1 lakh crore

(b) since the interest rate is comparatively low, there will be a downard pressure on short term lending rates.

These two will bring the effect of a slightly easy monetary policy.

According to the RBI, the LTRO scheme will be in addition to the existing LAF and MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) operations. The LAF and MSF are the two sets of liquidity operations by the RBI with the LAF having a number of tools like repo, reverse repo, term repo etc.

Objectives of LTRO

• To assure banks about the availability of durable liquidity at reasonable cost relative to prevailing market conditions.
• Further encourage banks to undertake maturity transformation smoothly and seamlessly so as to augment credit flows to productive sectors.

LTROs will be conducted on CBS (E-KUBER) platform.

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Solution: a)

The Goldilocks Zone refers to the habitable zone around a star where the temperature is just right – not too hot and not too cold – for liquid water to exist on a planet.

Just because a planet or moon is in the Goldilocks Zone of a star, doesn’t mean it’s going to have life or even liquid water.

After all, Earth isn’t the only planet in the Sun’s Goldilocks Zone – Venus and Mars are also in this habitable zone, but aren’t currently habitable.

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Solution: b)

BrahMos is a medium-range supersonic ramjet cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft, or land.

It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace.

In 2019, India upgraded the missile with a new range of 500 km.

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Solution: d)

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), is a multi-disciplinary scientific organization   of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India. Central Ground Water Board is the National Apex Agency entrusted with the responsibilities of providing scientific inputs for management, exploration, monitoring, assessment, augmentation and regulation of ground water resources of the country. Central Ground Water Board was established in 1970 by renaming the Exploratory Tube wells Organization under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. It was merged with the Ground Water Wing of the Geological Survey of India during 1972.

Activities:  CGWB being the national apex organization is vested with the responsibilities to carry out scientific studies , exploration aided by drilling , monitoring of ground water regime, assessment, augmentation, management and regulation of country’s ground water resources. The major activities of the Board are:-

• National Aquifer mapping and Management ( NAQUIM) involving Preparation of Aquifer Maps and Management Plans.
• Ground water explorations to delineate ground water worthy areas and potential aquifers.
• Geophysical surveys to delineate ground water bearing zones etc.
• Periodic assessment of the country’s ground water resources
• Monitoring of Ground water levels and quality through ground Water observation wells.
• Dissemination of Ground Water Data and knowledge.
• Ground water modeling
• GIS and Remote sensing
• Regulation and control of ground water development and management by CGWA in coordination with State Government Organizations.
• Coordination with State Government with a view to establish benchmark methodologies for ground water studies.
• R & D studies in ground water sector and application and operationalization of new technologies/ techniques for ground water investigation, development and management.
• Water conservation and Artificial recharge to ground water
• Capacity building and knowledge transfer.

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Solution: b)

The act is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more employees.

The Maternity Benefit Act originally provided maternity benefit of 12 weeks. In 2017, the law was amended to extend the period to 26 weeks.

The Act is applicable to all establishments which are factories, mines, plantations, Government establishments, shops and establishments under the relevant applicable legislations, or any other establishment as may be notified by the Central Government.

As per the Act, to be eligible for maternity benefit, a woman must have been working as an employee in an establishment for a period of at least 80 days in the past 12 months.

Women who legally adopt a child below the age of three months or a “commissioning mother” will be entitled to maternity benefit for 12 weeks from the date on which the child is handed over to her. A commissioning mother is defined as a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in another woman.

he Maternity Benefit Amendment Act makes crèche facility mandatory for every establishment employing 50 or more employees.^[4] Women employees would be permitted to visit the crèche 4 times during the day (including rest intervals)

It introduces a provision which requires every establishment to intimate a woman at the time of her appointment of the maternity benefits available to her.

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