RBI releases Mid Quarter Monetary Policy Review

Monetary Measures

On the basis of the current macroeconomic assessment, it has been decided to:

• keep the cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged at 6 per cent; and
• keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 8.5 per cent.

Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF will remain unchanged at 7.5 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate at 9.5 per cent.

Introduction

Since the Reserve Bank’s Second Quarter Review (SQR) of October 25, 2011, the global economic outlook has worsened significantly. The recent European Union (EU) summit agreement did not assuage negative market sentiments, thereby increasing the likelihood of persistent financial turbulence as well as a recession in Europe. Both factors pose threats to emerging market economies (EMEs), including India. Significantly, despite these developments, crude oil prices remain elevated.

On the domestic front, growth is clearly decelerating. This reflects the combined impact of several factors: the uncertain global environment, the cumulative impact of past monetary policy tightening and domestic policy uncertainties.

Both inflation and inflation expectations are currently above the comfort level of the Reserve Bank. However, reassuringly, inflationary pressures are expected to abate in the coming months despite high crude oil prices and rupee depreciation. The growth deceleration is contributing to a decline in inflation momentum, which is also being helped by softening food inflation.

Global Economy

The global economic situation continues to be fragile with no credible solution as yet to the immediate  euro area sovereign debt problem. At the EU summit on December 8-9, the European leaders agreed on a new fiscal compact, involving stronger coordination of economic policies to strengthen fiscal discipline. While the agreement is necessary for medium and long-term sustainability of the euro area, its ability to resolve short-term funding pressures was questioned by markets.  Q3 euro area growth, at 0.8 per cent, was anaemic and 2012 growth is now expected to be weaker than earlier projected.  Reflecting these projections, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its policy rate twice in the last two months, and also implemented some non-standard measures. By contrast, growth in the US in Q3 of 2011 was better than in Q2, although still substantially below trend.

Growth in EMEs is also moderating on account of sluggish growth in advanced economies and the impact of monetary tightening to contain inflation. In view of the slowing down of their economies, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel and Thailand cut their policy rates, while China cut its reserve requirements. EME currencies have also come under varying degrees of downward pressure as a result of global risk aversion and financial stress emanating from the euro area.

Domestic economy

Growth

GDP growth moderated to 6.9 per cent in Q2 of 2011-12 from 7.7 per cent in Q1 and 8.8 per cent in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The deceleration in economic activity in Q2 was mainly on account of a sharp moderation in industrial growth. On the expenditure side, investment showed a significant  slowdown. Overall, during the first half (April-September) of 2011-12, GDP growth slowed down to 7.3 per cent from 8.6 per cent last year.

Industrial performance has further deteriorated as reflected in the decline of the index of industrial production (IIP) by 5.1 per cent, y-o-y, in October 2011. This was mainly due to contraction in manufacturing and mining activities. The contraction was particularly sharp in capital goods with a y-o-y decline of 25.5 per cent, reinforcing the investment decline story emerging from the GDP numbers.

Other indicators also suggest a similar tendency, though by no means as dramatic as the IIP. The HSBC purchasing managers' index (PMI) for manufacturing suggested further moderation in growth in November 2011. However, PMI-services index recovered in November from contractionary levels in the preceding two months. Corporate margins in Q2 of 2011-12 moderated significantly as compared with their levels in Q1. The decline in margins was largely on account of higher input and interest costs. Pricing power is evidently declining.

On the food front, the progress of sowing under major rabi crops so far has been satisfactory, with area sown under foodgrains and pulses so far being broadly comparable with that of last year.

Inflation

On a y-o-y basis, headline WPI inflation moderated to 9.1 per cent in November from 9.7 per cent in October, driven largely by decline in  primary food articles inflation. Fuel group inflation went up marginally. Notably, non-food manufactured products inflation remains elevated, actually increasing to 7.9 per cent in November from 7.6 per cent in October, reflecting rising input costs. The new combined (rural and urban) consumer price index (base: 2010=100) rose further to 114.2 in October from 113.1 in September. Inflation in terms of other consumer price indices was in the range of 9.4 to 9.7 per cent in October 2011. Reassuringly, headline momentum indicators, such as the seasonally adjusted month-on-month and 3-month moving average rolling quarterly inflation rate, show continuing signs of moderation.

External sector

Merchandise exports growth decelerated sharply to an average of 13.6 per cent y-o-y in October-November from an average of 40.6 per cent in the first half of 2011-12.  However, as imports moderated less than exports, the trade deficit widened, putting pressure on the current account. This, combined with rebalancing of global portfolios by foreign institutional investors and the tendency of exporters to defer repatriating their export earnings, has led to significant pressure on the rupee.

As on December 15, 2011, the rupee had depreciated by about 17 per cent against the US dollar over its level on August 5, 2011, the day on which the US debt downgrade happened. In the face of this, several measures were taken to attract inflows. Limits on investment in government and corporate debt instruments by foreign investors were increased. The ceilings on interest rates payable on non‐resident deposits were raised. The all‐in‐cost ceiling for external commercial borrowings was increased. Further, a series of administrative measures that discourage speculative behaviour were also initiated. The Reserve Bank is closely monitoring the developments in the external sector and it will respond to the evolving situation as appropriate.

Fiscal  Situation

The central government’s key deficit indicators worsened during 2011-12 (April-October), primarily on account of a decline in revenue receipts and increase in expenditure, particularly subsidies. The fiscal deficit at 74.4 per cent of the budgeted estimate in the first seven months of 2011-12 was significantly higher than 42.6 per cent in the corresponding period last year (about 61.2 per cent if adjusted for more than budgeted spectrum proceeds received last year). The likely slippage in this year’s fiscal deficit has inflationary implications. 

Money, Credit and Liquidity Conditions

The y-o-y money supply (M3) growth moderated from 17.2 per cent at the beginning of the financial year to 16.3 per cent on December 2, 2011, although still higher than the projected trajectory of 15.5 per cent for the year. Y-o-y non-food credit growth at 17.5 per cent on December 02, 2011, however, was below the indicative projection of 18 per cent.

Consistent with the stance of monetary policy, liquidity conditions have remained in deficit during this fiscal year. However, the deficit increased significantly beginning the second week of November 2011. The average borrowings under the daily LAF increased to around ` 89,000 crore during November-December (up to December 15, 2011) from around  `49,000 crore during April-October 2011.  The Reserve Bank conducted open market operations (OMOs) on three occasions in November-December 2011 for an amount aggregating about ` 24,000 crore to ease liquidity conditions.

There are currently no significant signs of stress in the money market. The overnight call money rate is stable around the policy repo rate and liquidity facilities such as marginal standing facility (MSF) remain unutilised.  However, in view of the fact  that borrowings from the LAF are persistently above the Reserve Bank's comfort zone, further OMOs will be conducted as and when seen to be appropriate. 

Outlook

Global growth for 2011 and 2012 is now expected to be lower than earlier anticipated. Increased strains in financial markets on the back of growing concerns over euro area sovereign debt, limited monetary and fiscal policy manoeuvrability, high unemployment rates, weak housing markets and elevated oil prices are all contributory factors. These factors have also contributed to moderating growth in the EMEs. As a consequence of all-round slower growth, inflation has also started declining, both in advanced countries and EMEs. 

On the domestic front, agricultural prospects look promising on the back of expected record kharif output and satisfactory progress on rabi sowing. However, industrial activity is moderating, driven by deceleration in investment, which is a matter of serious concern. Overall, the growth momentum in the economy is clearly moderating. Further, considering the global and domestic macroeconomic situation, the downside risks to the Reserve Bank’s growth projection, as set out in the SQR, have increased significantly. 

Between the First Quarter Review (FQR) and the SQR, while non-oil commodity prices had declined significantly, the rupee too had depreciated sharply. Consequently, the headline inflation projection at 7 per cent for March 2012, as set out in the FQR, was retained in the SQR. With moderation in food inflation in November 2011 and expected moderation in aggregate demand and hence in non-food manufactured products inflation, the inflation projection for March 2012 is retained at 7 per cent.

The Reserve Bank will make a formal numerical assessment of its growth and inflation projections for 2011-12 in the third quarter review of January 2012.

Guidance

While inflation remains on its projected trajectory, downside risks to growth have clearly increased. The guidance given in the SQR was that, based on the projected inflation trajectory, further rate hikes might not be warranted. In view of the moderating growth momentum and higher downside risks to growth, this guidance is being reiterated. From this point on, monetary policy actions are likely to reverse the cycle, responding to the risks to growth.

However, it must be emphasised that inflation risks remain high and inflation could quickly recur as a result of both supply and demand forces. Also, the rupee remains under stress. The timing and magnitude of further actions will depend on a continuing assessment of how these factors shape up in the months ahead.

BANK EXAMS GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs

1. Sushil Kumar, the winner of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', was appointed as the brand ambass-ador for which of the following programmes?
1) JNNURM
2) IAY
3) Bharat Nirman
4) MGNREGA
5) None of these

2. Mario Monti became the new Prime Minister of which of the following countries in November 2011? (He succeeded Silvio Berlusconi)
1) France
2) Greece
3) Italy
4) Russia
5) Poland

3. Which of the following stateme-nts about the International Child-ren's Film Festival is/are correct?
1) The 17th International Childr-en's Film Festival was titled 'The Golden Elephant'.
2) The film festival was organiz-ed by the Children's Film Soc-iety of India (CFSI). Nandita Das is the chairperson of CFSI.
3) In the Indian competition section, 'Chillar Party' won the Best Feature Film.
4) Alafzar(Meadow), an Iranian film, was adjudged the Best Feature Film in the Competit-ion International section.
5) All the above are correct.

4. Which of the following countries was suspended from the Arab League in November 2011?
1) Qatar
2) Syria
3) Jordan
4) Libya
5) Saudi Arabia

5. Which is the first Indian comp-any to be listed in NASDAQ?
1) TCS
2) Reliance
3) Infosys
4) Wipro
5) None of these

6. With which game is Vijay Hazare Trophy associated?
1) Hockey
2) Football
3) Tennis
4) Table Tennis
5) Cricket

7. Which of the following countries is not a member of ASEAN?
1) Pakistan
2) Indonesia
3) Singapore
4) Malaysia
5) Thailand

8. Renowned cricket writer Peter Roebuck committed suicide recently. He was the captain of which of the following English county teams in the 1980s?
1) Oxford shire
2) Somerset
3) Kent
4) Essex
5) Sussex

9. Which city hosted the 17th International Children's Film Festival in November 2011?
1) Mumbai
2) Bangalore
3) Hyderabad
4) New Delhi
5) None of these

10. Who was named the Male World Athlete of the Year for 2011 by athletics' governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF)?
1) Yohan Blake (Jamaica)
2) Kirani James (Grenada)
3) Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
4) LaShawn Merritt (USA)
5) None of these

11. Sally Pearson, the world 100m hurdles champion, was named the Female World Athlete of the year for 2011 by the IAAF. To which country does she belong?
1) Australia
2) New Zealand
3) U.K.
4) U.S.A.
5) Denmark

12. Which of the following awards/ prizes is given for science?
1) Templeton Prize
2) Jnanpith Award
3) Phalke Ratna
4) Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award
5) None of these

13. Who is the author of the book 'The Exile', which is based on the life of Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of Lahore?
1) Chetan Bhagat
2) Navtej Sarna
3) Mulk Raj Anand
4) Khushwant Singh
5) None of these

14. Which of the following is not a plantation crop?
1) Rubber
2) Arecanut
3) Cocoa
4) Potato
5) Coconut

15. The term Bull's eye is associated with which of the following sports?
1) Badminton
2) Boxing.
3) Shooting
4) Cricket
5) Hockey

16. Which of the following is/are considered as allied agricultural activity?
1) Poultry
2) Fisheries
3) Dairy
4) Sheep rearing
5) All the above

17. Which of the following program-mes was launched by the govern-ment to develop rural infrastruct-ure in India?
1) SHGs
2) Bharat Nirman
3) JNNURM
4) IAY
5) None of these

18. Which of the following is not the name of a foreign bank?
1) BNP Paribas
2) Deutsche Bank
3) Barclays
4) Cathay Pacific
5) RBS

19. Which of the following schemes has been successful in attracting children to come to school and get educated?
1) MGNREGA
2) Food for Work
3) Mid Day Meal
4) NRLM
5) None of these

20. Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup tournament is associated with which of the following sports?
1) Hockey
2) Badminton
3) Cricket
4) Soccer
5) None of these

21. Where is the National Commo- dity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) located?
1) Hyderabad
2) Mumbai
3) Kolkata
4) Bangalore
5) New Delhi

22. Which former Chief Election Commissioner is the author of the book 'The Miracle of Demo-cracy: India's Amazing Journey'?
1) T.N.Seshan
2) M.S.Gill
3) B.B.Tandon
4) T.S.Krishnamurthy
5) Navin Chawla

23. What is the full form of 'POS'?
1) Permission of Sale
2) Point of Sale
3) Point of Support
4) Potential of Service
5) None

24. Which of the following is not a banking term?
1) Overdraft
2) CBS
3) Equator
4) Account payee
5) SME Finance

25. The Doing Business Report (DBR) is released every year by which of the following instituti-ons?
1) IMF
2) World Bank
3) WTO
4) ADB
5) UNCTAD

26. Which of the following banking terms is used to describe bad loans?
1) CBS
2) NPA
3) RTGS
4) Prime Loans
5) Prime Assets

27. Which country's currency is called Yen?
1) China
2) North Korea
3) South Korea
4) Japan
5) Thailand

28. Which of the following approves the draft of the Five Year Plans?
1) Planning Commission
2) National Innovation Council
3) National Development Council
4) Finance Commission
5) None of these

29. Which of the following is an extra-constitutional and non-statutory body?
1) Election Commission
2) Finance Commission
3) Planning Commission
4) Union Public Service Commission
5) None of these

30. Which of the following gives Crystal Award?
1) WTO
2) WEF
3) APEC
4) IBRD
5) ADB

31. Which of the following decides the distribution of tax incomes between the central and state governments?
1) Law Commission
2) Pay Commission
3) Planning Commission
4) Finance Commission
5) Administrative Reforms Commission

32. Who is the author of the book 'Termites in the Trading System'?
1) Jagdish Bhagwathi
2) Amartya Sen
3) M.S.Swaminathan
4) Paul Krugman
5) None of these

33. Which of the following is not a football club?
1) Chelsea
2) Arsenal
3) Manchester United
4) Monte Carlo
5) Liverpool

34. Putrajaya is the administrative capital of which of the following countries?
1) Malaysia
2) Indonesia
3) Sri Lanka
4) Nepal
5) None of these

35. Which of the following South American countries is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)?
1) Peru
2) Ecuador
3) Chile
4) Brazil
5) Argentina

ANSWERS:
1) 4 2) 3 3) 5 4) 2 5) 3
6) 5 7) 1 8) 2 9) 3 10) 3
11) 1 12) 4 13) 2 14) 4 15) 3
16) 5 17) 2 18) 4 19) 3 20) 1
21) 2 22) 4 23) 2 24) 3 25) 2
26) 2 27) 4 28) 3 29) 3 30) 2
31) 4 32) 1 33) 4 34) 1 35) 2

Crisis management group for financial markets on cards

With high volatility in the equity and currency markets, the Government aims to set up an empowered ‘Crisis Management Group' for the financial markets. This group is likely to take shape on December 8, when the sub-committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) will meet.

It is proposed to nominate a Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India as the Chairman, along with senior officials from market regulator SEBI, insurance regulator IRDA, pension regulator PFRDA and the Ministry of Finance as members.

A senior Government official familiar with the development says, “The effort is to bring sufficiently high level of representation, so that prompt decisions could be taken for effective crisis management.”

He said that though every segment of the financial sector has crisis prevention systems in place, an integrated system was needed to avoid sudden shocks which can quickly spread across market segments and institutions. The genesis of the crisis may be different from time to time, but the manifestation is similar.

Timely management of the crisis requires early detection of fault lines based on information on diverse institutions and markets, he added.

The official explained the whole concept with the impact of Euro zone crisis on the Indian capital and financial systems. The benchmark BSE Sensex is down by over 18 per cent from January.

Analysts say it is because foreign institutional investment in equity markets has turned negative by $187 million (January 3-December 2, 2011).

This and several other factors have impacted the rupee, which depreciated by over 15 per cent.

On the other hand, a sudden fall in the market price of equity or debt instruments might trigger redemption pressure on mutual funds.

Liquid funds

Among mutual funds, as on October 31, 2011, income funds had the largest share of assets at 45 per cent, followed by liquid or money market funds with 24 per cent and equity funds with 23 per cent. Here the most happening segment is liquid fund.

As on September 30, the investor profile of liquid funds was dominated by corporates with 75 per cent share and banks/financial institutions with 20 per cent.

Now, when corporates, banks or any other financial institutions face liquidity shortfall, they start withdrawing from liquid funds.

At the same time, fresh investment falls, leading to liquidity pressure on entities like non-banking financial companies, which receive investments from liquid funds.

IBPS CLERKS EXAM GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER

1. Who among the following served as the first chairman of the governing body of IBPS?
1) Dr. Manmohan Singh
2) Sir Smith
3) P. C. Mahalanobis
4) Dr. J.C. Chakraborthy
5) Dr. A.K.Qureshi

2. 'Saranda Action Plan', has been recently launched by Rural Development Ministry. It will be implemented firstly in Naxal-hit Saranda district of which among the following states?
1) Chhattisgarh
2) Jharkhand
3) Odisha
4) Punjab
5) Haryana

3. How many key infrastructure sectors are known as Core sector in India Economy used for Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data?
1) six
2) seven
3) eight
4) ten
5) three

4. The Ennahda Party has emerged as largest political party in the first elections after the Arab Spring in  which among the following countries?
1) Tunisia
2) Syria
3) Libya
4) Algeria
5) Sudan

5. Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) was initiated by which among the following countries?
1) India
2) Sri Lanka
3) Maldives
4) Mauritius
5) Nepal

6. Nabam Tuki has been sworn in as Chief Minister of which among the following states recently?
1) Nagaland
2) Mizoram
3) Arunachal Pradesh
4) Meghalaya
5) Sikkim

7. Who among the following has recently topped the Fortune India's 50 Most Powerful Women in Business list?
1) Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
2) Chanda Kochar
3) Ekta Kapoor
4) Shikha Sharma
5) Lalitha Dutta

8. Which among the following decides the Saving Banks Account Interest Rate in India?
1) Ministry of Finance
2) Reserve Bank of India
3) Indian Banks' Association (IBA)
4) Banks themselves
5) IBPS

9. For which among the following criminal activities related to Business, tycoon Raj Rajaratnam was sent to jail recently?
1) Terrorist Funding
2) Insider Trading
3) Tax Evasion
4) Hawala Transaction
5) Smuggling

10. Which of the following banks recently completed its Platinum Jubilee celebrations?
1) Central Bank of India
2) Reserve bank of India
3) Andhra Bank
4) Canara Bank
5) IDBI

11. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which provides AADHAAR is a part of which among the following?
1) National Development Council
2) Planning Commission
3) Ministry of Home Affairs
4) Ministry of Planning and Implementation
5) Planning and Statistics

12. Which among the following country is the host to 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in November 2011?
1) Bangladesh
2) Maldives
3) Nepal
4) Pakistan
5) India

13. Accounts are allowed to be operated by cheques in respect of ________
1) Both saving bank accounts and fixed deposit accounts
2) Both saving bank accounts and current accounts
3) Both saving bank accounts and loan accounts
4) Both saving bank accounts and cash accounts
5) Both saving bank account and credit accounts

14. Vasanth Sathe , who recently died is known for spearheading the move to bring which among the following to India 1980s?
1) Personal Computers
2) Color TVs
3) Washing Machines
4) Motor Cycles
5) Telecom revolution

15. Recently which of the following bank celebrated its CENTENARY Anniversary ?
1) Andhra Bank
2) Bank of India
3) Central Bank of India
4) Vijaya Bank
5) Canara Bank

16. The students of which among the following institutions have built the 'Jugnu' satellite which is a remote-sensing satellite that will monitor vegetation and waterbodies?
1) IIT Kanpur
2) IIT Kharagpur
3) SRM University
4) Andhra University
5) Delhi University

17. Who among the following is the winner of 26th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration?
1) Anil Kakodkar
2) Amjad Ali Khan
3) Mohan Dharia
4) Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati
5) Prof.Niharika VidyaSagar

18. On October 25, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had deregulated the savings bank deposit rates and asked banks to determine their own. Banks are required to offer a uniform rate on deposits up to which among the following amounts?
1) Rs. 50,000
2) Rs. 1,00,000
3) Rs. 1,20,000
4) Rs. 1,50,000
5) Rs.2,00,000

19. What is the requirement of the minimum capital adequacy ratio under the new Basel III guidelines released in 2010?
1) 9%
2) 9.5%
3) 10%
4) 10.5%
5) 11%

20. Which among the following states have topped India Human Development Report 2011?
1) Kerala
2) Tamil Nadu
3) Himachal Pradesh
4) Punjab
5) Andhra Pradesh

21. Who among the following is India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations?
1) Arundhati Ghose
2) Hardeep Singh Puri
3) B N Rau
4) Nirupam Sen
5) Nidhi Razdan

22. P. C. Haldar was recently making news for being appointed as interlocutor by the Government to remove bottlenecks on the road to a dialogue in which among the following issues in India?
1) Gorkhaland Talks
2) Assam Peace Talks
3) Jammu & Kashmir Problem
4) Naxalite Problem
5) Delhi bomb blasts

23. Before it was transferred to Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd, the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme was being implemented by which among the following companies?
1) General Insurance Corporation of India
2) Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.
3) New India Assurance Company Ltd.
4) National Insurance Company Ltd
5) Food Corporation of India

24. As per the latest data, which among the following is the nearest figure to the average population of India per bank branch?
1) 8000
2) 13000
3) 18000
4) 21000
5) 25000

25. Who among the following is the current Chief of National Security Guards?
1) AK Mitra
2) JK Dutt
3) NPS Aulakh
4) Rajan K Medhekar
5) Jagadish Patnaik

26. RBI has decided to release Rs 5 coin to mark the 1000 years of which of the following temple recently ?
1) Vaishno Devi temple
2) Brihadeswara temple
3) Kashi Vishwanath temple
4) Sabarimala Temple
5) Tirumala Dwaraka

27. Which of the following approved $ 1 billion loan for the National Ganga River Basin project recently ?
1) Asian Development Bank
2) World Bank
3) UNEP
4) IMF
5) None

28. The National Green tribunal headquartered at Delhi will have benches at all the following places except ___
1) Bhopal
2) Pune
3) Kolkatta
4) Jaipur
5) Chennai

29. India assumed the chairmanship of which of the following international organisations in September 2011 ?
1) G24
2) BRICS
3) G20
4) G8
5) IBSA

30. Which of the following is a private sector bank ?
1) Corporation Bank
2) Indian Bank
3) Karur Vysya Bank
4) Oriental Bank of Commerce
5) None of the above

31. What is the minimum time of operation an insurance company is required to complete for becoming eligible to launch an IPO ( Initial Public Offer )?
1) 2 years
2) 5 years
3) 7 years
4) 8 years
5) 10 years

32. SCORES is a complaint redressal system launched by ____
1) CCI
2) RBI
3) TRAI
4) SEBI
5) SBI

33. The national broadband plan is aimed at rolling out broadband infrastructure to every village with more than____ people ?
1) 2000
2) 3000
3) 1000
4) 200
5) 500

34. Indian mining companies have bid for stake in Hajigak ore mines in Afghanistan, which of the following is the mines famous for ?
1) Iron
2) Bauxite
3) copper
4) Coal
5) Cobalt

35. From which of the following state National Rural Livelihood Mission launched recently?
1) Andhra Pradesh
2) Punjab
3) Haryana
4) Karnataka
5) Rajasthan

36. 'Aichi Targets' refers to which of the following?
1) Trade
2) Environment
3) S & T
4) Commerce
5) Education

37. Where in India World Spice Organisation set up recently ?
1) Guntur
2) Bangalore
3) Chennai
4) Kochi
5) Delhi

38. ASHA is a low priced milk food drink introduced for rural consumers by which of the following ?
1) Nestle
2) Amul
3) Heinz
4) GlaxosmithKline
5) None

39. Which of the following is the new income tax return form for salaried employees introduced by Finance Minister Recently ?
1) Suvida
2) Sugam
3) Sahaj
4) Saral
5) Samasya

40. Which Bank has announced an end to its TEASER home loan scheme recently?
1) SBI
2) Andhra Bank
3) Vijaya Bank
4) ICICI
5) HDFC

41. Kimberley process certificated are compulsory for trade in which of the following ?
1) Gold
2) Trade
3) Diamonds
4) Nuclear materials
5) Radio active materials

42. Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs ) in which of the states are known as Mitanins ?
1) Punjab 2) Haryana
3) Chhattisgarh
4) Madhya Pradesh
5) Kerala

43. Which of the foreign bank has the highest number of employees in India ?
1) HSBC
2) RBS
3) Bank of America
4) UBS
5) Standard Chartered Bank

44. What is the FDI limit in the insurance sector in India ?
1) 26 %
2) 25 %
3) 30%
4) 50%
 5) 49 %

45. Which of the following state has recently announced a monthly allowance to unemployed under graduates recently ?
1) Karnataka
2) Rajasthan
3) Goa
4) Maharashtra
5) Punjab

46. Which of the following has launched the EVERYWHERE TELLER MACHINE in India ?
1) Andhra Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) Axis Bank
4) RBS
5) SBI

47. French Auction is a term used in which of the following sectors of financial services ?
1) Capital Markets
2) Banks
3) Insurance
4) NBFC
5) Micro Credit

48. Which state has the second highest literacy rate as per the provisional figures of the census 2011 ?
1) Gujarat
2) Mizoram
3) Assam
4) Rajasthan
5) Punjab

49. China emerged as the world's second largest economy in 2010 overtaking which of the following ?
1) France
2) Germany
3) Italy
4) India
5) Japan

50. The new head of IMF is ?
1) Montek Singh Ahluwalia
2) Christine Lagarde
3) John Paul
4) Liu Xiabaou
5) Robert Zoellick

ANSWERS:

1)1 2)2 3)3 4)1 5)4 6)3 7)2 8)4 9)2 10)2 11)2 12)2 13)2 14)2 15)3 16)1
17)3 18)2 19)4 20)1 21)2 22)2 23)1 24)2 25)4 26)2 27)2 28)4 29)2 30)4 31)5 32)4
33)5 34)1 35)5 36)2 37)4 38)4 39)3 40)1 41)3 42)3 43)5 44)1 45)3 46)3 47)1 48)2
49)5 50)2

IBPS CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER

1. Lucas Papadesmos became the new Prime Minister of which of the following countries in November 2011?
1) Spain
2) Italy
3) Greece
4) Belgium
5) None of these

2. Which Indian city hosted the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Indian Economic Summit in November 2011?
1) Mumbai
2) New Delhi
3) Chennai
4) Bangalore
5) Hyderabad

3. Moshe Katsav has been sentenced to seven years in prison on the charges of sexual harassment and obstruction of justice. He was the 8th President of whi-ch of the following countries?
1) Iran
2) Israel
3) Syria
4) Sudan
5) Germany

4. Which former Australian cricketer's autobiography is titled 'Fierce Focus'?
1) Allan Border
2) Shane Warne
3) Steve Waugh
4) Greg Chappell
5) Adam Gilchrist

5. Which of the following teams lifted the Beighton Cup hockey tournament in November 2011?
1) IOC
2) ONGC
3) Air India
4) Railways
5) None of these

6. Who became the first batsman in Test cricket history to score four centuries in successful fourth innings run chases in November 2011?
1) Hashim Amla
2) Graeme Smith
3) Ricky Ponting
4) Rahul Dravid
5) Sachin Tendulkar

7. Who was reelected as the Presid-ent of Liberia in November 2011?
1) Joseph Boakai
2) Gyude Bryant
3) William Tolbert
4) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
5) None of these

8. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the People's Majlis recently. It is the Parliament of which of the following countries?
1) Iraq
2) Maldives
3) Lebanon
4) UAE
5) Saudi Arabia

9. Which country lifted the inaugural Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament in November 2011?
1) Malaysia
2) Australia
3) India
4) South Korea
5) None of these

10. Which country test fired Jericho, a ballistic missile, in November 2011?
1) Pakistan
2) Israel
3) Iran
4) Iraq
5) None of these

11. Who is the winner of the National Premier Women's chess championship that was held in Chennai in November 2011?
1) Mary Ann Gomes
2) Eesha Karavade
3) Tania Sachdev
4) Nisha Mohota
5) Padmini Rout

12. Who is the first player to take 500 catches in Test cricket?
1) Rahul Dravid
2) Adam Gilchrist
3) Mark Boucher
4) Kumar Sangakkara
5) None of these

13. Joe Frazier died of liver cancer. In which of the following sports did he excel?
1) Golf
2) Boxing
3) Squash
4) Snooker
5) Weightlifting

14. Which city hosted the 23rd annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in November 2011?
1) Canberra
2) Singapore
3) Seoul
4) Bangkok
5) Honolulu

15. Which of the following statements about the South Asian Association for Regional Coope-ration (SAARC) is/are true?
1) SAARC was started in 1985 with headquarters in Kathmandu.
2) It is dedicated to economic, technological, social and cultural development emphasizing collective self reliance.
3) Mohamed Nasheed is the present chairman of SAARC.
4) The 17th SAARC Summit was held in Addu city, Maldives in November 2011.
5) All the above are correct.

16. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has signed an agreement to take a 25 per cent stake in Satpayev oil block. In which country is Satpayev block located?
1) Russia
2) Mongolia
3) Ukraine
4) Kazakhstan
5) Kyrgyzstan

17. Which state became the first in the country to achieve total financial inclusion in September 2011? (Each household in the state has at least one bank account)
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Kerala
3) Karnataka
4) Manipur
5) Assam

18. DVC, NHPC, PGCIL and NTPC are the four public sector undertakings working in which of the following sectors?
1) Coal
2) Telecom
3) Power
4) Textiles
5) None of these

19. Who is the author of the book "India and Global Financial Crisis: Managing Money and Finance"?
1) P. Chidambaram
2) Pranab Mukherjee
3) C.Rangarajan
4) Y.V.Reddy
5) Bimal Jalan

20. What is the full form of NFSM?
1) National Food Security Mechanism
2) New Food Security Mechanism
3) National Food Security Mission
4) National Farmers Security Mechanism
5) None of these

21. India is not a member of which of the following organizations?
1) BRICS
2) IBSA
3) SAARC
4) OPEC
5) The Commonwealth

22. Which of the following is not a Kharif crop?
1) Rice
2) Wheat
3) Sorghum
4) Bajra
5) Ragi

23. What per cent of foreign direct investment (FDI) is allowed in apiculture (beekeeping) under controlled conditions?
1) 20%
2) 26%
3) 100%
4) 49%
5) None of these

24. The FDI limit in FM radio has been increased from the existing 20% to?
1) 26%
2) 51%
3) 49%
4) 100%
5) None of these

25. Which is the largest producer and the consumer of tea in the world?
1) Brazil
2) India
3) Indonesia
4) Pakistan
5) Vietnam

26. Which state has the highest number of operational special economic zones in India?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Karnataka
3) Maharashtra
4) Kerala
5) Andhra Pradesh

27. Which of the following has become the first public sector company to introduce Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) for its employees?
1) NMDC
2) IOC
3) NALCO
4) NTPC
5) ONGC

28. Which of the following groups can be called financially excluded people?
1) Urban slum dwellers
2) Marginal farmers
3) Landless laborers
4) Unorganized sector employees
5) All the above

29. In which year was the Bank of Calcutta established?
1) 1802
2) 1805
3) 1806
4) 1809
5) 1800

30. Which of the following stock exchanges was initially known as "The Native Share & Stock Brokers Association"?
1) Bombay
2) Madras
3) Jaipur
4) Cochin
5) Uttar Pradesh

31. Who among the following served as the Finance Minister before becoming the President of India?
1) N.Sanjeeva Reddy
2) Pratibha Patil
3) R.Venkatraman
4) A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
5) S.Radhakrishnan

32. Which bank has recently launched 'Everywhere Teller Machine' service in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh? (ETM allows debit card holders to withdraw upto Rs.1000 in cash per day from a Point of Sale terminal at select merchant outlets.)
1) ICICI Bank
2) Axis Bank
3) SBI
4) SBH
5) HDFC Bank

33. The Hindustan Copper Limited will develop an underground copper-ore mine at Malanjkhand with an investment of Rs.1,856 crore. In which state is this mine located?
1) Rajasthan
2) Madhya Pradesh
3) Jharkhand
4) Orissa
5) Bihar

34. Alok Prasad is the Chief Executive Officer of which of the following industry associations?
1) ASSOCHAM
2) FICCI
3) MFIN
4) NASSCOM
5) None of these

35. Who is the chairman of the Wor-king Group on Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) appointed by the Reserve Bank of India?
1) Deepak Mohanty
2) Bimal Jalan
3) Usha Thorat
4) R.V.Gupta
5) None of these

ANSWERS:

1. (3) 2. (1) 3. (2) 4. (4) 5. (1) 6. (2) 7. (4) 8. (2) 9. (1) 10. (2)
11. (1) 12. (3) 13. (2) 14. (5) 15. (5) 16. (4) 17. (2) 18. (3) 19. (4) 20. (3)
21. (4) 22. (2) 23. (3) 24. (1) 25. (2) 26. (5) 27. (3) 28. (5) 29. (3) 30. (1)
31. (3) 32. (2) 33. (2) 34. (3) 35. (1)

Equip ATMs to accept cash directly, suggests panel

A year down the line government-owned bank ATMs in urban as well as rural areas may start accepting cash (not in an envelope but directly), have solar powered back-up, and 24x7 surveillance. The aforementioned are some of the recommendations of a government-appointed committee on ATMs headed by Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor, IIT-Madras. These come at a time when the Government has directed the 21 banks in which it owns majority stake to go in for joint procurement of ATMs.

Cash acceptor

Besides dispensing notes, which are soiled but can be issued, and retracting notes left behind by customers, the ATMs to be deployed by public sector banks will come equipped with a cash acceptor.

The cash acceptor will accept teller grade currency notes of denominations ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 1,000.

The idea behind incorporating the cash acceptance feature — intra-bank and inter-bank — in ATMs is to ensure that customers such as small retailers, traders, and vegetable vendors can deposit cash after the close of business hours and get immediate credit for the same in their account.

Banks could also add the currency recycle feature so that the frequency of replenishing the ATMs comes down.

Currently, bank ATMs offer cash deposit facility in an envelope. However, there is a delay of a day or two in crediting the depositor's account. This is so because the envelope has to be deposited at the designated branch, and opened and counted by bank staff in the presence of two witnesses.

Integrated Surveillance

To tackle incidents such as stolen ATM cards being misused, the committee said all ATMs must have an internal camera. It should store images in a digital format for at least two months.

The integrated ATM surveillance solution must be able to capture and stamp the transaction information on the images and also allow for monitoring from a central location.

ATMs must be able to handle an average of 300 transactions in urban and semi-urban areas and 200 transactions in rural areas in a day and must work for at least 16 hours a day using solar power alone.

The committee has emphasised the importance of solar powered back-up for ATMs due to the frequent power cuts in rural and semi-urban areas. Further, the ATMs must be able to function without air-conditioner.

Besides cash withdrawal and acceptance, ATMs should, among others, enable transactions such as change in personal identification number (PIN), registration for mobile banking, mini-statement of last 10 transactions, balance enquiry, request for cheque books and funds transfer (intra and inter bank)

IRDA launched Two Online Initiatives to Safeguard the Interest of Insurance-seekers

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) announced two online initiatives to safeguard the interest of insurance-seekers. The first of the two online initiatives is the extensive guidelines pertainining to web aggregators and the second one relates to the launch of a mobile application to compare unitlinked insurance policies (ULIPS) from various companies and their premium rates.

Guidelines to web aggregators

Web aggregators are sites like policybazaar.com, i-save.com, medimanage.com and click2insure.in that provide information on insurance products from various companies. The information so collated can help insurance-seekers compare premium rates for life, health, travel and motor insurance. Most portals just generate leads and not all offer the option to purchase a product online.

However, some do facilitate an online buying process to the extent possible, usually by directing the insurance-seekers to the companies’ website. However, aggregators often sell visitors’ personal information to several insurers, resulting in customers being bombarded with sales calls from the companies or their agents. IRDA therefore directed the aggregators not to pass visitor’s information on to companies on the site’s home page.
To ensure that aggregators do no indulge in promoting products, the insurance regulator has decreed that they cannot display ratings, rankings, endorsements or bestsellers of insurance products on their websites. Similarly, they have been barred from commenting on insurers or their products.

In addition, aggregators will from here on be required to highlight links to the product comparison charts and tables for each category of products covered by them. Items to be displayed include premiums quoted by each insurer as per age and other personal details, policy and premium term, sum assured, default underwriting requirements such as medical examination, diagnostics, etc, and key features of the product chosen. The diktat also puts the onus of safeguarding and securing the entire process on the aggregators.

Launch of the mobile application

The launch of the mobile application, is intended to help insurance-seekers compare ULIPs launched after 1 September 2010. The tool, which works on Android, iPhone, Nokia and Blackberry platforms, has been termed a mobile application and can be accessed even via a personal computer.

Users can search products for comparison through three options – By company, Policy type and Keywords. Up to three products can be selected at a time for comparison, with the criteria listed being benefits offered, premium-paying term, tenure, charges and so on.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE PRACTICE MCQs

1. Namrata Randhawa Haley (Nik-ki Haley) is the first woman and non-white governor of which of the following states of the USA?
1) Louisiana
2) South Carolina
3) Texas
4) Alaska
5) California

2. Identify the mismatched pair
1) January 9 -Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (NRI Day)
2) January 12-National Youth Day
3) January 15 - Army Day
4) January 24- National Girl Child Day
5) January 27-National Voters Day

3. Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed is the new Secretary General of SAARC. She was the former attorney general of which of the following countries?
1) Pakistan
2) Afghanistan
3) Maldives
4) Bangladesh
5) India

4. The Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations is also presently the chairman of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee. Name him/her?
1) Hardeep Singh Puri
2) Meera Shankar
3) Nirupama Rao
4) Ranjan Mathai
5) None of these

5. Who is the first sitting head of state ever indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well as the first to be charged with genocide?
1) Zubair Mohamed Salih
2) Ali Osman Taha
3) Omar al-Bashir
4) John Garang
5) None of these

6. Who among the following is the winner of the Phalke Ratna Award for the year 2011?
1) Dev Anand
2) Dharmendra
3) Shammi Kapoor
4) Shashi Kapoor
5) Amitabh Bachchan

7. Which of the following pairs is not matched correctly?
AUTHOR                 BOOK
1) Tony Blair - A Journey
2) George Bush - Decision Points
3) Bill Clinton - My Life
4) Cherie Blair- Speaking for Myself
5) Ronald Reagan- Going Rogue: An American Life

8. Where are the headquarters of ASEAN located?
1) Jakarta
2) Manila
3) Singapore
4) Bangkok
5) Kuala Lumpur

9. Which of the following organisations was officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement?
1) UNO
2) IMF
3) World Bank
4) ADB
5) WTO

10. Which foreign bank has 4.8% stake in Yes Bank?
1) BNP Paribas
2) Rabobank
3) HSBC
4) RBS
5) Barclays

11. Identify the mismatched pair
COUNTRY               PRESIDENT
1) Sri Lanka- Mahinda Rajapakse
2) Iran -Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
3) Chile - Sebastian Pinera
4) Philippines - Benigno Aquino
5) Zimbabwe- Goodluck Jonathan

12. Which of the following statements about the Youth Olympic Games is not true?
1) The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are held every four years and these games feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18.
2) Johann Rosenzopf of Austria has developed the idea of the YOG.
3) The first summer YOG were held in Singapore in 2010.
4) The second summer YOG will be held in Nanjing, China in 2014.
5) The inaugural winter YOG will be held in Sochi in 2012.

13. Identify the mismatched pair
ORGANIZATION            CHIEF
1) World Bank -Robert Zoellick
2) IMF -Christine Lagarde
3) WTO -Pascal Lamy
4) ADB - Haruhiko Kuroda
5) Amnesty International-Kamalesh Sharma

14. Which of the following books is not written by Chetan Bhagat?
1) Five Point Someone
2) One Night @ Call Center
3) Three Mistakes of My Life
4) Listening to Grasshoppers
5) 2 States:The Story of My Marriage

15. Which of the following famous personalities is the brand ambassador of Bank of Baroda?
1) Yusuf Pathan
2) Geet Sethi
3) Amitabh Bachchan
4) Irfan Pathan
5) Rahul Dravid

16. Which city will host the 99th Indian Science Congress in January 2012?
1) Chennai
2) Bhubaneswar
3) New Delhi
4) Hyderabad
5) Kolkata

17. Who among the following is a Billiards/ Snooker champion?
1) Jyothi Randhawa
2) Jeev Milka Singh
3) Pankaj Advani
4) Arjun Atwal
5) Gaganjeet Bhullar

18. Which of the following Prizes is given for mathematicians?
1) Templeton Prize
2) Nobel Prize
3) Kalinga Prize
4) Abel Prize
5) Pritzker Prize

19. Which of the following books is not written by Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize winner from Turkey?
1) My Name is Red
2) Snow
3) Enigma of Arrival
4) The Museum of Innocence
5) Istanbul: Memories and the City

20. Anil Agarwal is the chief of which of the following companies?
1) Corus
2) Caparo
3) Arcelor Mittal
4) Vedanta Resources
5) Ashok Leyland

21. Which company manufactures Blackberry smart phones?
1) Nokia
2) Samsung
3) Onida
4) Sony Ericsson
5) Research In Motion

22. The headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is situated in which of the following cities?
1) London
2) Washington
3) Brussels
4) Vienna
5) Paris

23. Which of the following countries will host both the 2014 FIFA world cup football and the 2016 Olympic Games?
1) UK
2) Brazil
3) South Africa
4) USA
5) Qatar

24. Merdeka Cup is associated with which of the following sports?
1) Cricket
2) Football
3) Hockey
4) Chess
5) Volleyball

25. The recession occurring two times with a short gap in between is called?
1) Double deflation
2) Double inflation
3) Double Dip recession
4) Depression
5) None of these

26. Which of the following terms is not used in Cricket?
1) Ashes
2) Doosra
3) Silly Point
4) Love
5) Long On

27. What is the full form of SHGs?
1) Self Help Groups
2) Small Help Groups
3) Small Hope Groups
4) Self Hope Groups
5) Selfless Help Groups

28. In which year were the SBI Associate Banks nationalized?
1) 1955
2) 1949
3) 1959
4) 1969
5) 1980

29. In which year was the IDBI established?
1) 1961
2) 1960
3) 1962
4) 1964
5) 1965

30. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was established in 1990 with the headquarters in?
1) Lucknow
2) New Delhi
3) Mumbai
4) Nagpur
5) Kolkata

31. In which year did NHB start its operations?
1) 1985
2) 1988
3) 1987
4) 1990
5) 1992

32. Which city hosted the 12th Inter-national Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards ceremony in June 2011?
1) Bangkok
2) Macau
3) Colombo
4) Toronto
5) None of these

33. Who was selected for the prestigious G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research for his contributions in the area of electronic communications for the year 2011?
1) Mahindra Agrawal
2) Subhasis Chaudhuri
3) Raghavan Varadarajan
4) Santanu Bhattacharya
5) None of these

34. The Saraswati Samman, an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language, was instituted in 1991 by the K.K. Birla Foundation. Who was given this award in April 2011?
1) S.L. Bhyrappa
2) Surjit Paatar
 3) Naiyer Masud
4) Jagannath Prasad Das
5) None of these

35. The Vyas Samman, instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation, is given to an outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen during the preceding ten years. Who was given this award for 2010 for his collection of poems 'Phir Bhi Kuch Rah Jayega'?
1) Amar Kanth
2) Mannu Bhandari
3) Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari
4) Kailash Vajpayee
5) None of these

36. In which field is the Chameli Devi Jain Award given annually?
1) Social Work
2) Journalism
3) Classical Dance
4) Cinema
5) Trade and Industry

37. The K.C Kulish International Award for Excellence in Print Media 2009 was conferred on the team of 'The New Crusading Guide' in June 2011. It is a newspaper published in which of the following countries?
1) South Africa
2) Sudan
3) Zimbabwe
4) Ghana
5) Egypt


Answers
1) 2 2) 5 3) 3 4) 1 5) 3 6) 2
7) 5 8) 1 9) 5 10) 2 11) 5 12) 5
13) 5 14) 4 15) 5 16) 2 17) 3 18) 4
19) 3 20) 4 21) 5 22) 3 23) 2 24) 2
25) 3 26) 4 27) 1 28) 3 29) 4 30) 1
31) 2 32) 4 33) 2 34) 1 35) 3 36) 2
37) 4

Market Capitalization of all 24 Listed Public Sector Banks below that of 15 Listed Private Banks

The combined market capitalization of all 24 listed public sector banks,which control 73% of bank deposits,is currently below that of the 15 listed private banks.

On 15 November 2011, the combined market capitalization of the 24 public sector banks which include 19 nationalized banks, SBI and its three associates and IDBI was Rs 311877 crore. As against this,the market capitalization of 14 private banks was Rs 321613 crore. This is a reversal of the position at the beginning of 2011. As on 1 April 2011, the total mkt-cap of government-owned banks was Rs 439600 crore much higher than the Rs 374218 crore for private banks.

As on end-June 2011,PSU banks accounted for 74.6% of bank deposits while private sector banks had only 18%,with the rest of the funds lying with regional rural banks and foreign banks.In matters of credit, PSU banks account for 74.9% of bank loans in the country while private banks have only a 17.6% share.

Two bad quarters of 2011-12 for State Bank of India and reports of loan restructuring and NPA worries in public sector banks hit valuations hard.

HDFC Bank overtook SBI to become the most valuable bank in the country.Incidentally,SBI the largest lender in the country has contributed the most to the decline in value of public sector banks.

PSU banks can work around capital constraints in the short-term by consolidation or via a relaxation in norms that require the government to hold a minimum 51% stake.There also exists larger social burden on the public sector banks because of which they have had to restructure large loans. Compared to them the private banks have been selective in their lending and have had far fewer NPAs.

Corp Bank scheme for Kerala Govt employees

Corporation Bank has announced special benefits for the permanent employees of the State Government.

Mr A.M.M.G. Nair, Zonal Manager, Corporation Bank, regional office, Kochi, said Corp Payroll Account is available for routing the salary of permanent employees through which they can withdraw 50 per cent of the amount as overdraft from the second month.

Instant ATM-cum-debit card, Internet banking, SMS banking, free remittance facility, cheque book, multi-city cheques and passbook are also available.

Payment of tax, insurance payment and NEFT can be done free of charge through Internet and ATM.

There is a concession of 1 per cent on interest rates and 50 per cent of processing charges on housing loans and 0.25 per cent concession on interest rates for vehicle loans. Gift cards are also available free of charge.