QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 8 March 2021

Solution: d)

Within its sovereign credit ratings cohort – countries rated between A+/A1 and BBB-/Baa3 for S&P/ Moody’s – India is a clear outlier on several parameters, i.e. a sovereign whose rating is significantly lower than mandated by the effect on the sovereign rating of the parameter. These include

• GDP growth rate,
• inflation,
• general government debt (as per cent of GDP),
• cyclically adjusted primary balance (as per cent of potential GDP),
• current account balance (as per cent of GDP),
• political stability,
• rule of law,
• control of corruption,
• investor protection,
• ease of doing business,
• short-term external debt (as per cent of reserves),
• reserve adequacy ratio and
• sovereign default history.

Source: Economic Survey 2020-21 Vol-1

Solution: a)

The gross amount of the following six segments of money at any point of time is known as the Reserve Money (RM) for the economy or the government:

• RBI’s net credit to the Government;
• RBI’s net credit to the Banks;
• RBI’s net credit to the commercial banks;
• Net forex reserve with the RBI;
• Government’s currency liabilities to the Public;
• Net non-monetary liabilities of the RBI.

India’s forex reserves stood at US$ 584.24 as of January 15, 2021, greater than India’s total external debt (including that of the private sector) of US$ 556.2 bn as of September 2020.

Source: Economic Survey 2020-21 Vol-1

Solution: c)

Annual Financial Statement (AFS) is a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government in a financial year. In addition to it, the Budget contains:

• Estimates of revenue and capital receipts,
• Ways and means to raise the revenue,
• Estimates of expenditure,

The economic and financial policy of the coming year, i.e., taxation proposals, prospects of revenue, spending programme and introduction of new schemes/projects.

Solution: c)

At Chang La in the Himalayas, at a height of 17,300 feet, India has its seed storage facility. The vault is a joint venture of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (which comes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research) and the Defence Institute of High-Altitude Research (under Defence Research and Development Organisation).

Solution: c)

The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. It is the only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter.

Disappearing sea ice impacts Emperor Penguins directly, as the animals use it as a home base for their nine-month breeding season and for feeding and moulting.

Source