Question 1

GST on under construction flats cut from 12 percent to __________ %.

Accepted Answer

Under construction properties priced over ₹45 lakh will attract 5% GST (Goods and Services Tax), instead of 12%. A residential property priced at ₹45 lakh or below will now be defined as "affordable" and taxed at 1%, from 8% earlier. The new rates will be effective from April 1, 2019.

Question 2

Govt Allocates Rs __________ Cr for Development of 40 Satellite launch vehicles for the next 4 years.

Accepted Answer

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr. K Sivan stated that the Union Government has allocated 10,900 crore rupees for the development of 40 satellite launch vehicles in the next 4 years. Dr. Sivan also stated that Chandrayan Mission will be launched within three months. It will land in one part of the Moon which is still unexplored. He also said that the human spaceflight Gaganyaan is planned to be launched by 2022, the 75th anniversary of Independence.

Question 3

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi stated that the GST on Haj reduced from 18% to __________.

Accepted Answer

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi stated that GST on Haj has been reduced from 18% to 5% and this will significantly lower the airfare thus saving Haj pilgrims' 113 crore rupees this year. Mr. Naqvi also stated that for the first time since the independence 2,340 women from India will go on 2019 Haj without Mehram.

Question 4

How much amount has been spent by Government on GST advertisements?

Accepted Answer

The expenditure on advertisements through print media stood at nearly Rs 127 crore while more than Rs 5 crore was spent on advertisements with outdoor media. There was "nil" expenditure for the same on electronic media. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented on July 1, 2017. The government had also roped in Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador to promote GST and inform people about its benefits.

Question 5

Indian economy grew by __________ in the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal year.

Accepted Answer

Indian economy grew by 8.2% in the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal, the highest in over two years. This announcement was made by Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley. The manufacturing sector grew by 13.5% which signals very good turnaround in the sector. In a related development Reserve Bank of India stated Non-food credit growth in the system accelerated to 10.6% for July as compared to previous year, driven by loans to the services sector growing at the faster clip. Credit to the services sector grew 23% for the reporting period, up from the year-ago period's 4.9%.

Question 6

The Asian countries of RCEP have offered a concession to this country to open up its markets?

Accepted Answer

Several Asian member countries of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have offered India a concession on the extent to which it needs to open up its markets. India can now open up 83% of its market against the earlier 92%. The RCEP is a proposed trade agreement between the ASEAN countries and the six free trade agreement partners.

Question 7

According to the report of United Nations' World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2019, what will be the growth rate of India for in 2019-20?

Accepted Answer

With robust private consumption and 7.4% GDP growth rate in the current fiscal, the Indian economy is expected to accelerate at a rate of 7.6% in 2019-20, according to a report by the United Nations titled United Nation's World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2019. As per the report, the world trade growth moderated over the course of 2018 to 3.8% from growth of 5.3% in 2017.

Question 8

Union government retained the interest rate for General Provident Fund (GPF) at ___________ % for the first quarter of the current financial year 2019-2020.

Accepted Answer

Union government retained the interest rate for General Provident Fund (GPF), Contributory Provident Fund and other related schemes at 8% for the first quarter of the current financial year 2019-2020. The interest rate on these funds was at 8% in the January-March quarter of 2018-19 and government kept it unchanged for April to June for 2019-20. The Department of Economic Affairs, in a notification, the mentioned interest rate will be applicable on provident funds of central government employees, railways and defence forces.

Question 9

Fitch Cuts India GDP Growth Forecast for FY20 is __________.

Accepted Answer

Fitch Ratings cut India's economic growth forecast for the next financial year starting April 1, to 6.8% from its previous estimate of 7%, on weaker than expected momentum in the economy. The rating agency also cut growth forecasts for FY20 and FY21 to 7% from 7.3% and 7.1% from 7.3%, respectively.

Question 10

The government has slashed the minimum annual deposit requirement for accounts under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) to __________ from Rs 1,000.

Accepted Answer

The government has slashed the minimum annual deposit requirement for accounts under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) to Rs 250 from Rs 1,000. The maximum amount that can be deposited in a year is Rs 1.5 lakh. Sukanya Samriddhi scheme was launched in January 2015, under which a parent or legal guardian can open an account in the name of the girl child until she attains the age of ten years. The account opened under the scheme will be valid for 21 years from the date of opening, after which it will mature and the money will be paid to the girl child in whose name the account is opened.

Question 11

For which crop, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA, has increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP)?

Accepted Answer

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA, has increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all Rabi crops for the current financial year which will be marketed in 2019-20 season. The MSP of wheat has been raised by 105 rupees per quintal, Masur by 225 per quintal, and Gram by 220 per quintal. According to Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad, the decision is a step towards doubling the farmers' income. The decision will give additional return to the farmers of 62,635 crore rupees by way of increasing the MSP of notified crops to at least 50 per cent return over cost of production.

Question 12

Under which provision did the U.S. revoke the duty free imports on 50 Indian products?

Accepted Answer

The U.S. revoked duty-free concessions on the import of at least 50 Indian products, mostly from handloom and agriculture sectors. The revocation is to reflect the Trump administration's tough stand on trade-related issues with New Delhi. The Federal Register issued a notification, listing 90 products which were so far subject to duty-free provisions under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), an oldest and largest U.S. trade preference programme. The GSP is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary-countries. A count of these products indicated that at least 50 of them are from India. Notably, India is the largest beneficiary of the GSP.

Question 13

What will be the GDP rate of India for March 2019?

Accepted Answer

Moody's expects the real gross domestic product (GDP) in India to grow 7.2 per cent in the year ending March 2019 and 7.4 per cent in the following year. Earlier Moody's Investors service growth prediction for India was 7.5% in 2018-19, 7.5% in 2019-20 released on 23rd August,2018. This growth is driven by investment growth and strong consumption. The stable outlook is based on six parameters - operating environment, asset quality, capital, funding and liquidity, profitability and efficiency, and government support.

Question 14

As per the latest report of IMF, what is the growth rate of India for the 2019?

Accepted Answer

As per the IMF's latest report, India is projected to grow at 7.3% in 2018 and 7.4% in 2019. The report predicted India to regain the tag of the world's fastest-growing major economy this year, crossing China with more than 0.7 percentage points. In China, growth is projected to moderate from 6.9 per cent in 2017 to 6.6% in 2018 and 6.2 % in 2019. In India, important reforms have been implemented in recent years, including the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the inflation-targeting framework, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and steps to liberalise foreign investment and make it easier to do business.

Question 15

Recently, CBIC launched an app to verify if the person collecting GST from the consumer is eligible to collect it or not. The name of the app is;

Accepted Answer

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has launched a mobile app 'GST Verify' developed by B Raghu Kiran, joint commissioner GST Hyderabad. It is an android app to verify if the person collecting GST from the consumer is eligible to collect it or not.

Question 16

As per the report of US, which country name is removed from the currency monitoring list?

Accepted Answer

In its latest report, the US has said that it could remove India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners citing certain developments and steps taken by New Delhi, which address some of its major concerns. India was for the first time, in April, placed by the US in its currency monitoring list of countries with potentially questionable foreign exchange policies along with five other countries - China, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland. This represented a notable change from 2017, when purchases over the first three quarters of the year pushed net purchases of foreign exchange above 2% of GDP. Recent sales came amid a turnaround in foreign portfolio inflows, as foreign investors pulled portfolio capital out of India (and many other emerging markets) over the first half of the year.

Question 17

As per ADB's Asian Development Outlook report, India is the fastest growing economy in Asia with the GDP of __________.

Accepted Answer

As per Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s Asian Development Outlook report India continues to be the fastest growing economy in Asia with projected GDP growth of 7.3 per cent. Growth would accelerate to 7.6 percent in 2019. Growth would be driven by increased public spending, higher capacity utilisation rate and uptick in private investment, reform in the banking sector and tax. China will decelerate to 6.6 per cent in 2018 and further to 6.4 per cent in 2019. Globally, South Asia would be the fastest growing sub-region despite trade tensions with US.

Question 18

Finance Ministry increased interest rates for non-governmental provident funds, gratuity and superannuation on 13th October 2018. The increased interest rate is;

Accepted Answer

The Finance Ministry increased interest rates for non-governmental provident funds, gratuity and superannuation to 8 percent from existing 7.6 percent. Also, the interest rates for small savings schemes has been hiked by 40 basis points. These include: Public Provident Fund (PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme, National Savings Certificate and post office time deposits. The changes are effective from October 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018, for the 3rd quarter.

Question 19

Global research agency Fitch has raised India's growth forecast from 7.4 per cent to __________.

Accepted Answer

Global research agency Fitch has raised India's growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.8 per cent from the earlier 7.4 per cent. However, forecast for the next two fiscal, 2019-20 and 2020-21, have been shaved by 20 basis points (100 basis points means 1 per cent) to 7.3 per cent. Fitch's latest projection for the current fiscal is higher than what is estimated by the Reserve Bank of India and even the Government. While the RBI's estimate is 7.4 per cent, the Government feels that it could be 7.5 per cent. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its projection to 7.3 per cent from 7.4 per cent. India Ratings too lowered its growth projection by 20 bps to 7.2 per cent.

Question 20

Which company becomes India's largest tax payer in private sector?

Accepted Answer

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at the Reliance Industries' 41st Annual General Meeting announced that Reliance is India's largest payer of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Excise and Customs Duty, and Income Tax in the private sector paying Rs.9844 crore in FY18. Reliance has become the first Indian company to record PBDIT (Profit Before Depreciation Interest and Taxes) of over $10 billion.

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