1.Vijay Shankar Vyas, who passed away recently, was the noted personality of which branch of economics?
[A] Constitutional economics[B] Environmental economics
[C] Agricultural economics
[D] Monetary economics
ANSWER: C [Agricultural economics]
Notes:
Prof. Vijay Shankar Vyas (87), the Padma Bhushan awardee and noted agricultural economist, has passed away in Jaipur, Rajasthan on September 12, 2018. He had held several prestigious, professional and leadership positions in national and international organisations. The economist was the director of the IIM Ahmedabad and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of Jaipur. He was also a senior advisor in the World Bank’s agriculture and rural development department. Beside this, Prof. Vyas also remained the vice president of the Rajasthan planning board.
2.Who will head the panel of secretaries to look into the issues raised on some proposals of the draft e-commerce policy?
[A] Rajiv Gauba[B] S S Ahluwalia
[C] Ajay Prakash Sawhney
[D] Ramesh Abhishek
ANSWER: D [Ramesh Abhishek]
Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has set up a group of secretaries to look into the issues raised on some proposals of the draft e-commerce policy. The group will be chaired by Ramesh Abhishek, the secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The development comes at a time when the DIPP has effectively ruled out FDI in inventory based ecommerce models. As per draft e-commerce policy, any group company of an online retailer or marketplace may not be allowed to directly or indirectly influence the price or sale of products and services on its platform, a move that could completely restrict e-tailers from giving deep discounts. The draft has also suggested introduction of a pre-set timeframe for offering differential pricing or deep discounts by e-commerce players to customers. Further, the draft recommended 49% FDI in inventory-based business-to-customer e-commerce model. Currently, FDI in such businesses is prohibited and it is allowed only in the marketplace model.
3.India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has tied up with which software company to create payments network for unorganized retail?
[A] FSS[B] Oracle
[C] Infosys
[D] TCS
ANSWER: A [FSS]
Notes:
The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has partnered with Financial Software and Systems (FSS) to create payments network for unorganized retail. FSS is a payments technology company that enables micro-merchants to accept payments online, or via Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Quick-Response (QR) codes, Aadhaar and IPPB accounts. FSS will also provide merchant management and settlement solutions including on-boarding fee calculation, reconciliation and settlement. IPPB has been incorporated as a public sector company under the Department of Posts with 100% government equity and is governed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). IPPB offers a range of products such as savings and current accounts, money transfer, direct benefit transfer, bill and utility payments and enterprise and merchant payments. Customers are able to access these products and related services across various channels—counter services, micro-ATM, mobile banking app, text messages and phone calls.
4.The Indo-US military training Exercise “Yudh Abhyas 2018” will be held at which state?
[A] Himachal Pradesh[B] Uttarakhand
[C] Uttar Pradesh
[D] Punjab
ANSWER: B [Uttarakhand ]
Notes:
The 14th edition of the joint military exercise “Yudh Abhyas 2018” will be conducted between India and United States in the foothills of Himalayas at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand from September 16 to 29. The exercise will simulate a scenario where both nations will work together in counter insurgency and counter terrorism environment in mountainous terrain under United Nation charter. The two week exercise will witness participation of about 350 personnel of the US Army and similar strength of the Indian Army. It will witness a Division Headquarter based Command Post Exercise, an Infantry Battalion carrying out Field Training Exercise and discussions on issues of mutual interest by experts of both countries. The training will culminate with a final validation exercise in which troops of both countries will jointly carry out an operation against terrorists in a fictitious but realistic setting.
5.Mega Icons’ is the new series to be launched by which TV channnel?
[A] Sony[B] Discovery
[C] National Geographic
[D] BBC
ANSWER: C [National Geographic]
Notes:
Actor R Madhavan will host the National Geographic’s new series ‘Mega Icons’, which examines the success stories of five prominent personalities. It is scheduled to premier on September 24. The five-part television series will feature episodes on former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam, movie star and politician Kamal Haasan, Nobel laureate the Dalai Lama, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and the first woman Indian Police Service officer, Kiran Bedi. Each episode would be a journey into the life of an iconic personality, with help of not only intimate interviews with the icons and their families but also through research and analysis by experts.
