RBI, Monetary Policy, Banking Terminology - Question Bank

1. What is the role of the RBI in managing India's foreign exchange reserves?
A) To fix the exchange rate of the Indian Rupee
B) To intervene in the foreign exchange market to maintain stability and manage reserves
C) To issue foreign currency notes
D) To regulate foreign investment in Indian companies
2. What is 'Rehypothecation' in banking?
A) A bank lending money to another bank
B) A bank using customer assets pledged as collateral for its own borrowing
C) A customer withdrawing funds from their account
D) A bank writing off a bad debt
3. What is the primary purpose of 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) norms in banking?
A) To assess a customer's investment potential
B) To verify customer identity and address to prevent money laundering and fraud
C) To determine loan eligibility
D) To offer personalized banking services
4. What is 'Broad Money' (M3) also known as?
A) Narrow Money
B) Net Domestic Product
C) Aggregate Monetary Resources
D) Gross Domestic Product
5. What is the 'Prime Lending Rate' (PLR)?
A) The interest rate at which banks lend to their most creditworthy customers
B) The interest rate at which banks borrow from the RBI
C) The interest rate at which banks lend to each other
D) The minimum interest rate set by the RBI
6. Which of the following is a feature of 'Fiscal Policy'?
A) Management of money supply
B) Government spending and taxation
C) Regulation of interest rates
D) Control of inflation through credit
7. What is the 'Reverse Repo Window' under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility?
A) Banks borrow from RBI
B) RBI borrows from banks
C) Banks lend to each other
D) RBI lends to the government
8. What is the 'Repo Window' under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility?
A) Banks borrow from RBI
B) RBI borrows from banks
C) Banks lend to each other
D) RBI lends to the government
9. What is the primary function of a 'Commercial Bank'?
A) To print currency notes
B) To accept deposits and grant loans
C) To regulate the stock market
D) To collect income tax
10. What does 'Non-Performing Asset' (NPA) refer to in banking?
A) A loan that is performing well
B) A loan where the principal or interest payments are overdue for a specified period
C) A loan given to a government institution
D) A loan with a very low interest rate
11. What is 'Basel Norms' related to?
A) Banking supervision and capital adequacy
B) Monetary policy formulation
C) Stock market regulation
D) Insurance sector reforms
12. What is 'Priority Sector Lending' (PSL)?
A) Loans given to large corporations
B) Loans given to sectors identified by the government as important for the country's development
C) Loans given to government employees
D) Loans given to profitable businesses
13. Who sets the target for inflation in India?
A) The Parliament of India
B) The Reserve Bank of India
C) The Ministry of Finance
D) The Prime Minister's Office
14. What is 'Capital Adequacy Ratio' (CAR)?
A) The ratio of a bank's profits to its total deposits
B) The ratio of a bank's capital to its risk-weighted assets
C) The ratio of a bank's liquid assets to its total liabilities
D) The ratio of a bank's non-performing assets to its total loans
15. What is 'Net Interest Margin' (NIM) for a bank?
A) The difference between a bank's total revenue and total expenses
B) The difference between a bank's total assets and total liabilities
C) The difference between interest income and interest expenses, expressed as a percentage of interest-earning assets
D) The profit a bank makes from trading securities
16. What is a 'Demand Draft'?
A) A payment instrument issued by a bank on its own behalf, payable on demand
B) A cheque drawn by an individual
C) A bill of exchange
D) A promissory note
17. What does 'Dishonour of a Cheque' mean?
A) The cheque has been lost
B) The bank refuses to pay the amount due to insufficient funds or other reasons
C) The cheque has been post-dated
D) The cheque has been cancelled by the drawer
18. What is 'Endorsement' of a cheque?
A) Cancelling a cheque
B) Signing on the back of a cheque to transfer ownership or for other purposes
C) Depositing a cheque into an account
D) Guarantying the payment of a cheque
19. What is a 'Cheque'?
A) A promise to pay a certain sum of money in the future
B) An order to a bank to pay a specified sum of money from the drawer's account
C) A certificate of deposit
D) A loan agreement
20. What is 'Selective Credit Control'?
A) Controlling the overall flow of credit
B) Regulating credit to specific sectors of the economy
C) Setting a uniform interest rate for all loans
D) Limiting the number of bank branches
21. Which of the following is a qualitative tool of monetary policy?
A) Bank Rate
B) CRR
C) Selective Credit Control
D) OMOs
22. What is the 'Lender of Last Resort' role of the RBI?
A) Providing loans to individuals in financial distress
B) Providing emergency liquidity to banks facing a shortage
C) Acting as a guarantor for all bank deposits
D) Offering bailouts to failing financial institutions
23. What is 'Banker to Banks' function of the RBI?
A) Regulating the stock market
B) Providing loans to commercial banks and acting as a lender of last resort
C) Setting interest rates for corporate loans
D) Auditing the accounts of private banks
24. What is meant by 'Banker to the Government' function of the RBI?
A) Providing loans to government employees
B) Managing the government's banking accounts and transactions
C) Collecting taxes on behalf of the government
D) Regulating government-owned banks
25. The RBI manages the country's foreign exchange reserves. This function is related to:
A) Monetary policy
B) Debt management
C) Exchange rate management
D) Banking regulation
26. What is the 'Marginal Standing Facility' (MSF)?
A) A facility for banks to borrow from the RBI at a rate higher than the repo rate
B) A facility for banks to lend to the RBI at a rate lower than the reverse repo rate
C) A rate at which banks lend to each other
D) A rate for long-term borrowing by banks
27. The RBI's primary mandate regarding currency is to:
A) Issue currency notes and coins
B) Regulate the value of the Indian Rupee against other currencies
C) Control the circulation of counterfeit currency
D) All of the above
28. What is 'Moral Suasion' as a tool of monetary policy?
A) Direct intervention in the market
B) Setting specific interest rates
C) Persuading banks to follow certain policies without legal compulsion
D) Buying and selling government bonds
29. When the RBI conducts 'Reverse Repo' operations under LAF, it:
A) Injects liquidity into the market
B) Absorbs liquidity from the market
C) Reduces the bank rate
D) Increases the call money rate
30. When the RBI conducts 'Repo' operations under LAF, it:
A) Absorbs liquidity from the market
B) Injects liquidity into the market
C) Reduces the CRR
D) Increases the SLR
31. What is 'Liquidity Adjustment Facility' (LAF)?
A) A facility for banks to borrow from the RBI on a daily basis
B) A facility for banks to lend to the RBI on a daily basis
C) A facility for banks to manage their short-term liquidity mismatches
D) A facility for the government to borrow from the RBI
32. What is 'Broad Money' (M3)?
A) M1 + Savings deposits with post office savings banks
B) M1 + Time deposits with banks
C) Currency with the public only
D) Demand deposits with banks only
33. What is 'Narrow Money' (M1)?
A) Currency with the public + Demand deposits with banks + Other deposits with RBI
B) Currency with the public + Time deposits with banks
C) Broad money supply
D) Total money in circulation
34. Who heads the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)?
A) The Finance Minister
B) The Governor of the RBI
C) The Chief Economic Advisor
D) The Chairman of SEBI
35. What is 'Monetary Policy Committee' (MPC)?
A) A committee that sets fiscal policy
B) A committee responsible for setting the policy repo rate
C) A committee that regulates the stock exchange
D) A committee that manages foreign exchange reserves
36. What is 'Deflation'?
A) A rapid increase in prices
B) A general decrease in the price level of goods and services
C) A stable price level
D) A moderate increase in prices
37. Which type of inflation is characterized by rising costs of production?
A) Demand-pull inflation
B) Cost-push inflation
C) Built-in inflation
D) Creeping inflation
38. What does 'Inflation' mean?
A) A decrease in the general price level of goods and services
B) A sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services
C) A decrease in the value of currency
D) An increase in unemployment rates
39. What is the 'Bank Rate'?
A) The rate at which the RBI lends to commercial banks for long-term needs
B) The rate at which commercial banks lend to the RBI
C) The rate at which commercial banks lend to their customers
D) The rate at which the RBI lends to the government
40. Which term refers to the rate at which commercial banks lend to each other for short periods?
A) Prime Lending Rate
B) Bank Rate
C) Call Money Rate
D) Discount Rate
41. What is the main objective of monetary policy?
A) To increase government revenue
B) To control inflation and promote economic growth
C) To regulate international trade
D) To manage the stock market index
42. When the RBI wants to stimulate economic growth, it typically:
A) Increases the Repo Rate
B) Sells government securities
C) Reduces the CRR
D) Tightens credit availability
43. When the RBI wants to curb inflation, it typically:
A) Reduces the Repo Rate
B) Increases the CRR
C) Buys government securities
D) Lowers the SLR
44. Open Market Operations (OMOs) involve the RBI:
A) Selling gold reserves
B) Buying and selling government securities
C) Printing more currency notes
D) Setting interest rates for housing loans
45. What does 'Statutory Liquidity Ratio' (SLR) represent?
A) The minimum percentage of deposits that banks must maintain in the form of gold
B) The minimum percentage of deposits that banks must maintain in liquid assets like government securities and cash
C) The minimum percentage of capital that banks must maintain
D) The minimum percentage of loans that banks must disburse
46. What is the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)?
A) The percentage of total deposits that banks must keep as liquid cash
B) The percentage of total deposits that banks must keep with the RBI in the form of cash
C) The percentage of advances that banks must keep as reserves
D) The percentage of profits that banks must maintain as reserves
47. Which of the following is a quantitative tool of monetary policy?
A) Margin requirements
B) Moral suasion
C) Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)
D) Credit guidance
48. What is the 'Reverse Repo Rate'?
A) The rate at which the RBI borrows money from commercial banks
B) The rate at which commercial banks borrow from the RBI
C) The rate at which banks lend to each other
D) The rate at which the government borrows from banks
49. What does 'Repo Rate' signify in monetary policy?
A) The rate at which commercial banks lend to the RBI
B) The rate at which the RBI lends to commercial banks against government securities
C) The rate at which commercial banks lend to each other
D) The rate at which the RBI lends to the government
50. Which of the following is a tool of monetary policy used by the RBI?
A) Fiscal deficit management
B) Repo rate
C) Government spending
D) Public debt management