Indian Economy MCQs

Notes:
David Ricardo, an English classical economist, developed the law of rent in 1809. He presented the law in his book On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation in 1821.
Ricardo’s theory defined rent as the portion of the earth’s produce that is paid to the landlord for the original and indestructible powers of the soil. In other words, rent is the price paid for the use of land.
Ricardo developed his theory to explain the origin and nature of economic rent. He used the economy and rent to analyze the large rise in corn and land prices during the Napoleonic wars (1805-1815).
The term “Ricardian rent” comes from Ricardo’s theory.

Notes:
Stagflation refers to an economic situation where high inflation, stagnant economic growth, and elevated unemployment occur simultaneously. The term was coined in the 1960s. A notable period of stagflation happened during the 1970s oil crisis when global oil prices rose sharply. Policymakers find stagflation challenging because inflation and unemployment move in opposite directions to typical business cycles.

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State Development Loans are debt instruments issued by state governments in India. The Reserve Bank of India acts as the agent for all state governments in managing and coordinating the auction and sale of SDLs. RBI notifies the details and conducts the actual sale process via electronic platforms regulated by it, ensuring efficient borrowing for states.

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Under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021, the Executive Director in charge of the Consumer Education and Protection Department of RBI is the appellate authority for appeals against Banking Ombudsman decisions. Appeals must be filed within 30 days through the RBI portal or email. Previous schemes listed the Deputy Governor, but the current scheme specifies the Executive Director.

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Saudi Arabia is the top oil producer in OPEC, with vast reserves, low extraction costs, and significant spare production capacity managed by Saudi Aramco, granting major influence over global oil markets.

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Credit creation by commercial banks occurs under the fractional reserve system. Banks keep a part of deposits as reserves and lend the rest. This process increases the total supply of money. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) determines the amount banks must retain. The money multiplier is calculated as 1 divided by the CRR. New loans are redeposited and re-lent, multiplying deposits.

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Competition is generally measured by calculating concentration ratios. Concentration ratios indicate whether an industry consists of a few large firms or many small firms. Two of the most commonly used metrics are the Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI) and the N-firm concentration ratio.

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EEFC accounts are non-interest bearing current accounts maintained by authorized dealer (Category-I) banks following RBI regulations. These do not earn interest and require no minimum balance. Such accounts are not held directly with RBI but through authorized dealers. Therefore, only statement 4 is correct as per current RBI rules.

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Penny stocks are shares of small companies usually trading below $5 per share. These stocks have low liquidity and high volatility and generally trade on over-the-counter (OTC) markets. Penny stocks are not listed on major exchanges. Regulatory oversight for penny stocks is reduced compared to larger stocks. Most penny stocks have limited trading volume and minimal analyst coverage.

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Allahabad Bank was founded in 1865 in Allahabad. It was nationalized by the Government of India in 1969. The bank’s operations merged with Indian Bank in April 2020. Punjab National Bank started in 1894, Central Bank of India in 1911, and Imperial Bank of India was set up in 1921. Allahabad Bank operated for 155 years until its amalgamation.