Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Crude oil.

Important Points

• An import is a good or service bought in one country that was produced in another.
• Imports and exports are components of international trade.
• If the value of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports, the country has a negative balance of trade (BOT), also known as a trade deficit.

Key Points

• India produces just 20% crude oil of its demand and rests 80% is imported from abroad.
• Crude oil and other related products account for around 22% total import of India.
• The second spot is obtained by the capital goods (machinery, base metal, transport equipment) which accounts for 19.2% of the total Indian imports.
• The third spot is obtained by the import of gems and jewellery (16.8 per cent of the total imports), the fourth and fifth spot is secured by the chemical & related products (12.7%), and electronic goods (11.4%) respectively.

The correct answer is 1 only

Key Points

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
  • SIDBI is the principal development financial institution for the promotion, financing and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in India.
  • It was established on April 2, 1990, through an Act of Parliament (thus, it is a statutory body).
  • It is headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
  • SIDBI aims to facilitate and strengthen credit flow to MSMEs and address both financial and developmental gaps in the MSME eco-system across the country. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • It coordinates functions of institutions engaged in similar activities.
  • Currently, the shares of SIDBI are held by Central Government and 29 other institutions including public sector banks (PSBs), insurance companies owned and controlled by Central Government.

• Functions of SIDBI:
  • It aims at emerging as a single-window to meet the developmental and financial needs of MSMEs in order to make them globally competitive, strong, vibrant and to protect the institution as a customer-friendly financial body. 
  • It also aims at enhancing the wealth of shareholders through the modern technology platform.
  • It is involved in the promotion and development of the MSME sector.
  • It is the principal institution for the development, promotion and financing of the MSME sector and for the coordination of functions of the institutions engaged in similar activities.
  • SIDBI retained its position in the top 30 Development Banks of the World in the ranking of The Banker, London.
     
• Note: Statement 2 is not correct, because SIDBI does not provide all type of loan to the agriculture sector.

The correct answer is Anupriti yojana.

• Under Anupriti yojana schemes, Rajasthan Government provides financial incentives to SC / ST candidates passing the all India Civil Services examination and State Civil Services examination.

​Key Points

• Rajasthan Anuprati Yojana
  • The Rajasthan Government has launched the Rajasthan Anuprati Yojana for the meritorious students of minority families.
  • It covers the residents of Rajasthan State who belong to SC / ST / Special Backward Class and general category BPL families.
  • The approval scheme was launched by the state government in January 2005.
  • In the year 2012, according to the changed scheme, the major changes made in this scheme are as follows: -
  • The objective of the scheme: 
    • It covers BPL of Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes / Special Backward Classes / Other Backward Classes and General Classes of Rajasthan State. 
    • The talented candidates of the families are given various incentives for competitive exams like Indian Civil Service, Sasthajan Civil Service, IIT, IIM, CPMT, NIT. 
    • It also encourages financial aid for the preparation of selection in state engineering and medical etc.

Additional Information

• Rajasthan Anuprati Yojana Eligibility: 
  • Native of Rajasthan
  • Those candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes / Special Backward Classes whose parents/guardians do not have an annual income of more than 2.00 lakhs (Rupees two lakhs).
  • Other backward classes and general category BPL (Including state BPL) member of the family.
  • The candidate must have passed the prescribed stage of the competitive examination or passed the entrance examination and got admission to the listed educational institutions.
  • Should not have been working in the State Service in the State and Subordinate Services (Joint Competitive) examination conducted by Rajasthan Public Service Commission.
  • For admission in state engineering / medical colleges of the state, 60 percent marks in class 10 + 2 should be awarded.
• Incentives: 
  • The details of the incentive amount to be given at various levels under this scheme are as follows: - 

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 3.

Key Points

• Planning in India:
  • History of Economic Planning In India
    • Economic planning in India dates back to the pre-Independence period when leaders of the freedom movement and prominent industrialists and academics got together to discuss the future of India after Independence which was soon to come.
    • Noted civil engineer and administrator M. Visvesvaraya is regarded as a pioneer of economic planning in India. Hence statement 1 is correct.
    • His book “Planned Economy for India” published in 1934 suggested a ten-year plan, with an outlay of Rs. 1000 crore and a planned increase of 600% in industrial output per annum based on the economic conditions of the time. 
    • The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950. 
    • Subsequently, Planning Commis­sion was set up on 15 March 1950 and the plan era started from 1April 1951 with the launch­ing of the First Five Year Plan (1951-56).​

• Long term objectives of Five Year Plans in India are:
  • High Growth rate to improve the living standard of the residents of India.
  • Economic stability for prosperity.
  • Self-reliant economy.
  • Social justice and reducing the inequalities.
  • Modernization of the economy.
  • The idea of economic planning for five years was taken from the Soviet Union under the socialist influence of first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru. Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • The first eight five-year plans in India emphasized growing the public sector with huge investments in heavy and basic industries, but since the launch of the Ninth five-year plan in 1997, attention has shifted towards making the government a growth facilitator. Hence statement 3 is correct.

The Issue Department of the RBI:

• The Issue Department is concerned with the proper and efficient management of the note issue.
• For the conduct of monetary transactions, the country has been divided into 14 circles of issue, each having an Office of Issue — the branch of the Issue Department.
• Each branch of the Issue Department consists of: (i) the General Department and (ii) the Cash Department, controlled by the currency officer.
  • The General Department deals with resource operations, i.e., arrangement of supply of notes and coins from the presses and Government Mints.
  • The Cash Department deals with cash transactions.
• ​The RBI Offices, where Issue Department is functioning, offer the facility to members of the public to exchange their notes including soiled and mutilated notes and coins including uncurrent or worn-out coins.
• The Bank is committed to providing exchange facilities free of cost at its counters during business hours.
• The Issue Department of the RBI maintains a Minimum Reserve System against the printing of notes.
• Under the Minimum Reserve System, the RBI has to maintain a minimum reserve of Rs. 200 crores, Rs. 115 crores should be in the form of gold coins and the rest in the form of foreign currencies.
• After maintaining the minimum reserve, the RBI can print any number of currency notes as per the requirement of the economy, except one rupee note.
• Since the one rupee note is issued by the Ministry of Finance but is distributed by the RBI through commercial banks. 

Therefore, the Issue Department of the RBI maintains a Minimum Reserve System against the printing of notes.