Daily Quiz #8 UPSC Prelims Marathon – September 10, 2019

Explanation: India has surpassed China to secure the top position among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business, according to a study that cited India’s rapidly expanding economy, relaxation of FDI rules and a consumption boom as the key drivers. The 2017 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), now in its 16th edition, ranks the top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide and analyses 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables. India’s rapidly expanding economy; easing of foreign direct investment (FDI) rules and a consumption boom are the key drivers for India’s top ranking in the GRDI. The GRDI titled ‘The Age of Focus’ ranks China in second place. Despite its slower overall economic growth, the market’s size and the continued evolution of retail still make China one of the most attractive markets for retail investment. “The study is unique in that it not only identifies the markets that are most attractive today, but also those that offer future potential,” said the management consulting firm A T Kearney in a statement.

Explanation: With a vision to ‘Cultivate one Million children in India as Neoteric Innovators’, Atal Innovation Mission is establishing Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs) in schools across India. The objective of this scheme is to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing etc.
Key Features of ATL: ATL is a work space where young minds can give shape to their ideas through hands on do-it-yourself mode; and learn innovation skills. Young children will get a chance to work with tools and equipment to understand the concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). ATL would contain educational and learning ‘do it yourself’ kits and equipment on – science, electronics, robotics, open source microcontroller boards, sensors and 3D printers and computers. Other desirable facilities include meeting rooms and video conferencing facility. In order to foster inventiveness among students, ATL can conduct different activities ranging from regional and national level competitions, exhibitions, workshops on problem solving, designing and fabrication of products, lecture series etc. at periodic intervals.
Financial Support: AIM will provide grant-in-aid of Rs. 20 Lakh to each school that includes a one-time establishment cost of Rs. 10 lakh and operational expenses of Rs. 10 lakh for a maximum period of 5 years to each ATL.
Eligibility: Schools (minimum Grade VI – X) managed by Government, local body or private trusts/society to set up ATL.

Explanation:
Treasury Bills (TBs): This instrument of the money market though present since Independence got organized only in 1986. They are used by the Central Government to fulfill its short-term liquidity requirement up to the period of 364 days. There developed five types of the TBs in due
Course of time:
(a) 14-day (Intermediate TBs)
(b) 14-day (Auctionable TBs)
(c) 91-day TBs
(d) 182-day TBs
(e) 364-day TBs
Out of the above five variants of the TBs, at present only the 91-day TBs, 182-day TBs and the 364-day TBs are issued by the government. The other two variants were discontinued in 2001.10
The TBs other than providing short-term cushion to the government also function as short-term investment avenues for the banks and financial institutions, besides functioning as requirements of the CRR and SLR of the banking institutions.

Explanation: Repos and Reverse Repos: In the era of economic reforms there developed two new instruments of money market-repo and reverse repo. Considered the most dynamic instruments of the Indian money market they have emerged the most favored route to raise short-term funds in India. ‘Repo’ is basically an acronym of the rate of repurchase. The RBI in a span of four years, introduced these instruments-repo in December 1992 and reverse repo in November 1996. Repo allows the banks and other financial institutions to borrow money from the RBI for short-term (by selling government securities to the RBI). In reverse repo, the banks and financial institutions purchase government securities from the RBI (basically here the RBI is borrowing from the banks and the financial institutions). All government securities are dated and the interest for the repo or reverse repo transactions is announced by the RBI from time to time. The provision of repo and the reverse repo have been able to serve the liquidity evenness in the economy as the banks are able to get the required amount of funds out of it, and they can park surplus idle funds through it. These instruments have emerged as important tools in the management of the monetary and credit policy in recent years.

Explanation: Of all investment options, mutual funds are touted to be the best tool for wealth creation over the long term. They are of several types, and the risk varies with the kind of asset classes these funds invest in. As the name suggests, a mutual fund is a fund that is created when a large number of investors put in their money, and is managed by professionally qualified
persons with experience in investing in different asset classes-shares, bonds, money market instruments like call money, and other assets such as gold and property. Their names usually give a good idea about what type of asset class a fund, also called a scheme, will invest in. For example, a diversified equity fund will invest in a large number of stocks, while a gilt fund will invest in government securities, while a pharma fund will mainly invest in stocks of companies from the pharmaceutical and related industries.