Be Peaceful in Chaos!!

Article by Dr. Pratik P. SURANA

Chief Mentor and Founder

Quantum, India.

I do not know anyone who feels especially peaceful at every moment. War rhetoric shouts at

us from the TV. The media bombards us with violent images of Delhi rape victim and our

beheaded soldiers on LOC . We run into people in the street who only want to talk about the

anger and unrest. Jobs are being lost. Our Banking system does not take care of those who

need care most. People are dying, the earth is dying and some of us feel we are losing our

souls. I am writing about peace in the midst of chaos, war, mayhem,unrest and the potential

for grand scale disaster and anarchy.

Is it absurd to say that one can experience tranquillity in the face of disorder? There are

several ways in which I think this can occur. One way to find peace in disorder is by

distraction. Even – and especially – when life is bearing down upon us, it is important to

have a reserve of people, things and activities that lifts us up. These may include a walk in

nature, pursuing a hobby or an interest, talking to a friend, taking time to help someone,

seizing a moment to "smell the roses." It’s important to choose distractions that are engaging

and close to the heart, rather than just "v egging out." Staring mindlessly at the television

night after night is less helpful toward pursuing peace than engaging in more soulful

activities such as drawing, listening to music, or participating in a favourite sport or activity.

The reason that our soulful distractions lead us to peace in muddled times is that they enable

us to draw upon the larger sources of energy and inspiration available in the universe. When

an area or areas of life are disabled or blocked, drawing on other areas can dissolve the

blocks, restore the flow of energy and guide us to new ideas and directions.

Another way to find peace in the midst of disorder is prayer and meditation. This connects

us with God, the divine source of ideas, energy and love. There is an almost infinite variety

of ways to do this, including journalling; oral, written or mental dialogue with God; various

methods of guided meditation; the practice of silence; the reading of Scripture; and so on.

Direct prayer of petition and talking the situation over with God are important methods of

prayer, too; but they carry a caveat. If we’re not careful, they can leave us focused on the

very situation we’re trying to alleviate. We can become discouraged when our circumstances

do not seem to improve, or at least not right away. For that reason, prayers of petition should

be made in tandem with other forms of prayer, so that we can maintain our focus on God and

not just on the problem. The basic law of the mind is that what we pay attention to

multiplies. When we focus exclusively on the problem, we tend to experience it as lingering

or becoming worse. Problems tend to narrow our focus, and we need to keep ourselves

spiritually attuned to as many of the myriad avenues of inspiration and of the divine

presence as we can.

Peace can be ours both when we experience order in our lives and when we do not. We do

not, thankfully, have to wait until our lives are all together in order to have peace. We can

establish routines of peace in our everyday lives – special prayers, quiet places, favourite

books or poems, approachable friends – which gift us with peace even in highly stressful

times. By creating little pockets of peace for ourselves every day, we assure that peace is

never a stranger to us and that we can always find, inside ourselves, a corner of home.

If we went by the dictionary definition, peace may not seem an attainable state during these

troubled times:

Peace: A state of quiet or tranquillity; freedom from disturbance or agitation; calm; repose.

When I read this definition, I envision a tie-dyed long haired daisy-wearing hippie, sitting

lotus style, fingers in the OM position -- smiling contentedly. I see the image of a Buddhist

monk with saffron robes, a baby sleeping in her soft warm crib. I hear birds singing and the

sound of chanting in the rafters. Yet these are just (the) images of peace.

Peace is a thing we want to achieve. It is one of the last great American dreams. If we insist

that peace means a world without problems, pain or imbalance, it is an illusion, a fleeting

ideal. We chant and declare "we want Peace and we want it now." We stamp our feet, take

Prozac, sip some scotch and say, "give me Peace now." We demand it on the streets and fight

for it on foreign soil. We have police to enforce it. Diplomats encourage it. Besides the

dictionary definition, do we have any idea of what Peace really is? Perhaps in this brave new

world, it is time to redefine peace and clarify what it is to each of us personally.

Peace as a state of mind: Peace is a state of mind we can acquire when we come to know

that life may not always be rosy. As humans, we are subject to the whims of our emotions

and the fragile state of our lives. In her book, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and

Art, Madeline L’Engle says, "Being a Christian, being saved, does not mean nothing bad is

ever going to happen. Terrible things happen to Christians as well as Hindus and Buddhists

and hedonists and atheists. To human beings. When the phone rings at an unexpected hour

my heart lurches. I love, therefore I am vulnerable." This vulnerability engages us in the

possibility of pain. Pain is part of the joy of living, taking the bitter with the sweet. Standing

in the midst of personal and global chaos it is easy to make snap judgements based on many

outside influences. When we encounter a stranger the first reaction may be fear. Who is our

enemy now? How do we handle these fears and judgements? What is the right choice about

whom to trust and love? L’Engle continues, "We try to make the loving, the creative

decision, but we cannot know whether or not we are right. Alleluia! We don’t have to be

right! We do have to love, to be vulnerable, to accept joy and pain, and to grow through

them."

Peace as a state of being: Is inner peace possible given that we are subject to our emotional

influences from world events, media and our own judgements? I think it is possible when

you cultivate peace from the core and not look for it externally. I recently read about a

Tibetan monk held in captivity for 20 or so years. He was beaten, starved and forced into

slave lobar Upon his release, his body was broken and frail yet his spirit was alive and vital.

When asked how he could be so peaceful, he spoke gratefully of his captors. His captivity

was a gift, he said. Before his spiritual practice had been mere dogma. In captivity, his

practice became rooted in a hard and harsh reality. He had to embody what he believed in.

Thankfully, most of us are not forced into exile to find inner peace. What can we do right

now?

Self Care: Taking care of ourselves goes a long way to maintaining a calm state of mind.

There are enough studies to prove that stress has a negative effect. A healthy body does

translate into a happier state of mind. When one feels stressed, taking care of the body gets

lost. Remember to maintain a healthful diet. Relax with family and friends .

Develop a spiritual or meditation practice: During a time of crisis, our very existence

comes into question and our lives may seem threatened. Strong emotions can overtake us.

We become more reflective and quiet. Taking time to be alone with our thoughts and

feelings is a valuable tool to developing a strong foundation. Drawn to the urgent news of

the day, we may forget how important it is to have some quiet time. Thich Nhat Hanh,

Vietnamese Zen master, poet and peace advocate suggests beginning with conscious

breathing as a way of developing inner peace. Even God took a day off. We need rest. Our

minds, bodies and spirits need some time off. In a fast paced life turning off the outside

world is a frightening idea. Do the laundry tomorrow. In-laws can visit another day. Things

can wait. The Sabbath can be valued part of a spiritual practice, or, it can be the best excuse

to turn off the TV. If you can slow the pace down you will find a sense of peace naturally

emerges. You begin to discover the rhythm of your body, discovering what you really need.

You will eat when hungry, drink when thirsty and wake when rested. If a whole day off

causes to much stress begin with a couple of hours. Take the phone off the hook, kick back

and relax.

Honour your feelings: I am a great judge, not of character but of my emotions. I see

something and begin to cry and will say, "Why are you crying?" That’s stupid. On and on it

goes until the end of the day and I don’t know what I am feeling, thinking or what to do

about anything. Emotions are emotions they come and they go. Nonetheless, they are yours

and the moment they show up on your doorstep you have something to say about them. In

the middle of worldwide crisis, it is OK to feel upset. The idea is not to let the feelings rule

you, but to learn from what they reveal about you. We can see clearly how anger and hatred

can turn people against each other in vicious ways. Right after 9/11 there was an incredible

amount of openness and love. People turned to each other. Strangers helped strangers. There

was a glimmer of hope we could turn a disastrous event into something really grand and

glorious. What happened? Anger and hatred became the feeding ground for revenge rather

then the source of growth for our souls. The Dalai Lama says: "We cannot overcome anger

and hatred simply by suppressing them. We need to actively cultivate the antidote to hatred:

patience and tolerance."

Cultivate Loving Kindness: We come to one of the most difficult parts of creating peace.

When we meet the stranger, we have a few choices. We can run fight or, we can love. Love

does not mean the acceptance of an evil action but learning to love the person behind that

act. That is not an easy task to do. Jesus taught forgiveness when he said, "Love the Lord thy

God with all your heart, with all thy soul and with all thy mind, and love thy neighbour as

thyself." This is the practice of loving kindness. If you cannot treat yourself with forgiveness

and compassion then it is difficult to extend it to others. Through the act of loving-kindness,

we can practice creating peace. There is a Buddhist practice called Ton glen, a meditation of

giving and receiving. We do it first for ourselves, then our loved ones, next our enemies and

finally for all beings. If new to meditation, begin by working with your own feelings,

discovering in time emotions that were once overwhelming transformed with this practice.

We have the choice to live in fear or love. We see the results of living in fear.

Universal responsibility: In Ethics for the New Millennium, The Dalai Lama tells us, "I

believe that our every act has a universal dimension. Because of this, ethical discipline,

wholesome conduct, and careful discernment are crucial ingredients for a meaningful happy

life." He asserts that creating contentment is critical for the welfare of the universal

community. When you are content, you cannot sow the seeds of envy, greed or resentment.

In essence, we are part of the global family. What occurs in Iraqi is happening in our living

rooms at the same time. We can no longer ignore the world because it is now knocking

loudly on our door. As part of the universal community it is our responsibility to first take

care of ourselves, practice and embody peace offering it to the world. The steps can be

simple: treat our neighbours and ourselves with loving-kindness. Each small act of love has

broad implications. There are organizations that support the needs of the global community.

Investigate them. Before you begin the day, be thankful for what you have, even if it is just a

bed to sleep in and water running from a faucet. Practice peace and peace will come to you.

I bow to the light in you. Namaste.

How to bounce back from anything

How to overcome life’s obstacles and bounce back stronger than ever

Life is filled with setbacks and unexpected twists and turns. However, in the words of Aldous Huxley, “Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.” By mastering some simple coping techniques, you can turn your luck around and get back on your feet, whatever life throws your way. Here are seven ways to bounce back from anything.

Bounce back tip 1: Focus on the positives

No matter how bad a situation may seem, it is always possible to find at least one positive thing about the situation if you really try. Maybe you have gained inner strength and resilience from dealing with a difficult situation, grown closer to a friend through sharing your heartbreak or learned something important about yourself. Try your best to focus on what you have learned and gained from your experience rather than on what you have lost.

Bounce back tip 2: Take away the emotion

It is obviously difficult to view disappointments and setbacks in life without feeling some sort of emotion. However, being emotionally involved in a situation can mean that we often build things up into something far worse than they actually are. Rather than getting carried away with your own interpretation of how disastrous things are, try to look at the situation a little more objectively. Ask a friend for their point of view or write down exactly what has happened, simply stating the facts. You may find that the situation is not as bleak as it seems when emotions are taken out of the equation, and remember those emotions will fade with time.

Bounce back tip 3: Be your own best friend

We often see ourselves in the worst light, particularly when life isn’t going how we want it to. However, it is important not to be hard on yourself and blame yourself just because something in your life hasn’t worked out. Instead, think about what you would you say to a friend in your situation and show yourself the same love and respect.  Remember that a plan or relationship failing doesn’t make you a failure, and even the world’s most beautiful and successful people have faced failure and rejection at some point in their lives.

Bounce back tip 4: Get a support system

You may think that dealing with your problems all by yourself is the “grown up” thing to do. However, all of us need support at times, and asking those you love for help is not a sign of weakness. It can help to talk things through and to have someone on your side to make you feel good when life feels too hard, so don’t try to cope with your problems alone. If you don’t have any friends you can, or want to, confide in, it may be worth considering counseling to help you get things off your chest and get you through this difficult time.

Bounce back tip 5: Look to the future

It is easy to get caught up in the “what ifs” and “why mes” when things go wrong in life. However, dwelling on your disappointment will not help the situation. As Alexander Graham Bell stated, “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” The situation may not feel great and it may not seem fair, but what has happened has happened, whether you like it or not. Rather than dwelling on what could have been, start planning now where you can go from here.

Bounce back tip 6: Form a plan B

Unfortunately in life our plan A doesn’t always work out. Sometimes we have to wait a little longer than we would like for what we want, and sometimes those things just aren’t meant to be at all. However, remember there are many routes to happiness and just because one thing hasn’t worked out that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to take its place. Rather than focusing fixatedly on one life plan, safeguard yourself against disappointment by formulating several backup plans in case plan A fails. By being flexible, prepared to adapt your plans and continually striving towards more than one goal, you will be better equipped to deal with setbacks and to get back on your feet in record time.

Bounce back tip 7: Seek happiness

We often think that happiness should be something that comes to us naturally, without any effort on our part. However, very often happiness is a choice, not something that just falls upon us of its own accord. Make a choice to be happy by becoming a positive thinker, surrounding yourself with supportive friends, doing the things that you enjoy and looking after yourself. Even if you don’t feel like smiling or being happy right now, by acting how you want to feel, the feelings will often naturally follow. Article Courtesy Mr.R.Parthasarathy

RAPID READING EXERCISE- PART: 030-IBPS BANK EXAMINATIONS - BANKING AWARENESS

01. What do you know by stale cheque?- When the cheque becomes out of date and cannot be encashed, it is termed as stale cheque. For example, the validity period of any cheque is three months and when a cheque dated: 10.01.2012 is presented for payment on 10.01.2013, it is considered as a stale cheque, since the cheque is more than three months old.

02. What do you mean by post dated cheque?- When the date of the cheque is beyond the date on which the cheque is presented for payment, the cheque is considered to be post dated. For example, when a cheque dated: 10.02.2013 is presented for payment on 10.01.2013, it is considered to be a post dated cheque.

03. What do you know by current chest? – Currency chests are operated by RBI so that they can provide good quality currency notes to the public. However, RBI has appointed commercial banks to open and monitor currency chests on behalf of RBI. The cash kept in currency chests is considered to be kept in RBI and

04. What is meant by minimum balance to be maintained in the accounts? In the case of savings bank and current account deposits, the banks stipulates a minimum balance to be maintained. The minimum balance varies from bank to bank and when the balance in the account falls below the minimum balance then banks debit the account with some penal charges. Some banks insist quarterly average minimum balance to be maintained instead of regular minimum balance to be maintained.

05. What do you mean by tax deduction at source? TDS means tax deducted at source. Banks must deduct tax from the interest paid on the fixed deposit when the interest paid on fixed deposits to a customer exceeds Rs. 10000/- during the accounting year. TDS is applicable to fixed deposits only and is applicable to savings bank deposits.

06. What do you mean hindu undivided family? – HUF means Hindu Univided family and it is the legal entity duly recognized by the laws in India. The account of hindu undivided family is operated by Karta and karta is the senior most male member in the family. The remaining members in the family are called as coparceners. Banks can open deposit accounts and also extend loan facilities to hindu undivided family.

07. What do you know by MICR? – MICR means magnetic ink character recognition. Nowadays, the cheques are issued in MICR formats in metropolitan centres namely; Mumbai, Chennai, Kokatta, Bangalore etc. The micr code is readable by a reader sorter computer which helps in quick sorting of the cheques towards immediate adjustment of the amount to be received and paid by the banks in the clearing house. MICR code consists of the following namely; the cheque number, name of the city, name of the bank, name of the branch, account category etc. and banks simply type the amount of the cheque in the MICR portion using scanners so that the sorter reader is able to read the entire information in regard to the cheque instantaneously.

08. What do you mean by cheque truncation? – Under cheque truncation, the physical cheque is replaced by the digital image of the cheque after scanning. Once the cheque is truncated the physical cheque is cancelled and from the moment of truncation only the digital image has life. The digital image of the cheque which contains the digital signature of a bank officer as to its authenticity is processed by all banks and payment is effected. Cheque truncation helps in quick processing of the cheques drawn even on far away places since there is no necessity to physically move the cheque from one place to another place.

09. What do you mean by ECS?- ECS means electronic clearing service and this facility is used where a large number of small value payments or receipts are to be made or received. ECS can be used for either debit transactions or credit transactions. When a company wants to pay dividends to large number of shareholders, they use ECS credit facility and by debiting the company’s account, the shareholders accounts are credited with the dividend amount instantaneously. Similarly when an accountholder can use ECS debit facility towards effecting payment to telephone charges each month.

10. What do you mean by bankassurance? Hitherto banks were dealing with acceptance of deposits and lending loans to the customers apart from undertaking certain ancillary services. Nowadays banks started selling insurance policies of prominent insurance companies by having tie up arrangements with such companies and banks earn commission for such transactions.

11. What do you mean by Universal banking? – Universal banking is the concept under which banks can provide various types of services namely; deposits, loans, safe deposit lockers, safe custody services, dealing with mutual fund schemes, selling insurance policies, selling gold coins, dealing with issue of shares and debentures etc. Thus at present banks are becoming like a supermarket for all kinds of financial products and such concept is called as universal banking.

12. What do you mean by Regional Rural Banks? – The Regional Rural Banks are relatively new banking institutions which were added to the Indian banking scene since October, 1975. The distinctive feature of a rural bank is that though it is a separate body corporate with perpetual succession and common seal, it is very closely linked with the commercial bank which has sponsored the proposal to establish it.

13. What do you mean by National Housing Bank?- National Housing Bank was established under the National Housing Bank act, 1987 as an apex body and the key function of National Housing Bank is the development of the housing sector and it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India. National Housing Bank undertakes the following activities namely; promotion and development of housing finance companies; regulation and supervision of housing finance companies and providing both direct finance and indirect finance to housing sector.

14. What do you mean by NABARD? – National Bank for agriculture and rural development was set up in 1982 as an apex development bank in the field of agricultural finance and rural development. NABARD is set up by the Government for the purpose of facilitating credit flow for promotion and development agriculture and integrated rural development. It covers supporting all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promoting sustainable rural development and ushering in prosperity in the rural areas

15. What do you mean by EXIM Bank? – Export and Import Bank of India was set up during the year, 1982 for the purpose of financing, promoting and facilitating foreign trade in the country. It is wholly owned by the Government of India. The bank apart from enhancing exports from the country, integrates the country’s foreign trade and investment with the overall economic growth.

16. What do you mean by SIDBI? – SIDBI was established for the purpose of assisting and promoting small scale industry. It was established on 2.4.1990. It is the principal financial institution established for the promotion, financing and development of industry in the small scale sector and to coordinate the functions of the institutions engaged in the promotion and financing or developing industry in the small scale sector.

17. What do you mean by NBFCs? – Non Banking Finance Companies provide finance for small ventures but at the same time they are more customer oriented and operate at low volumes compared to the banks. They also collect deposits from customers and offer slightly higher interest rates on deposits compared to the banks.

18. What do you mean NEFT and RTGS – The two options namely – national electronic funds transfer and RTGS – real time gross settlement offered by Reserve Bank of India allow electronic transfer of funds from the remitter who has an account in one bank to the beneficiary who has account in any other bank/branch. The transfer can be carried out using the internet banking facility. The minimum amount that can be transferred by RTGS is Rs. 2.00 lakh and there is no such limit for transfer through NEFT. It is settled in batches at times defined by the Reserve Bank of India. RTGS transactions are settled continuously as and when they are put through. The transfer of funds through NEFT and RTGS can also be carried out by submitting the remittance form at the remitter’s bank branch.

19. What do you mean IFSC code? – IFSC means Indian financial system code. It is a eleven digit code to identify the bank branch. IFSC code is used while transferring the funds using RTGS and NEFT payments.

20. What do you mean by financial inclusion? In spite of vast growth in the banking system, a large number of  poor people are still not served by any bank. They are living outside the purview of any bank. Financial inclusion is delivery of financial services at an affordable cost to the vast population of disadvantaged/low incomes sections of the society

21. What do you mean No frill accounts? No frill accounts are accounts with very low or nil minimum balance as well as charges to be opened by the banks as targeted by Reserve Bank of India. KYC norms are relaxed for opening no frill accounts so that people living in rural and semi urban areas can open the accounts conveniently. Overdrafts upto Rs. 25000.00 are allowed in the no frill accounts

22. What do you mean by narrow banking? – It is the system of banking under which the bank accepts deposits from the public and places the funds accepted in 100 percent risk free assets with maturity matching for its liabilities. The bank takes no risk of lending at all.

23. Who are business facilitators and business correspondents? – RBI has permitted the banks to use the services of business facilitators and correspondents with effect from 2006. The services of non governmental officers, microfinance institutions and civil society organizations can be utilized by the banks. They help the banks in identifying the borrowers processing their applications etc. without involving in business transactions. No approval of RBI is necessary. Correspondents will do all the above and will also participate in business transactions in a small way.

24. What do you mean by non performing assets? – Non performing assets means bad loans. When the principal and interest in the account becomes overdue for more than 90 days, it is treated as non performing assets. Non performance assets are classified into sub standard assets, doubtful assets and loss assets. Banks are willing to keep the level of non performance accounts at the lowest.

25. What are the major risks faced by banks according to Basel II norms? – Banks are facing credit risk, market risk and operational risk. When the bank lends an advance, it faces credit risk and sometimes the banks may not be able to recover the loan amount from the borrowers. In the case of failure of any bank product, the banks face market risk and operational risk occurs on account of failure of systems available in the bank branches namely; staff unrest; striking employees; computer failure; automated teller machines out of order etc.

26. What do you mean by merchant banking? – Merchant banking stands for provision of various services to corporate clients by helping them to access capital market. Merchant banks help the corporate customers to approach the capital market with initial public offers for the purpose of collection of capital by way of shares.

27. What do you mean by demat accounts? Demat means dematerialization. During the early days, shares and debentures certificates were issued in physical form in the form of certificates. At present, they are issued in electronic form. It is the process by which paper securities are converted to electronic form so that they can be stored, sold and transferred easily.

28. What is a depository? – A depository holds the securities of the investors in electronic form. In our country there are two depositories namely; NSDL – National Securities Depositories Limited promoted by National Stock Exchange and CDSL – Central Depository Services Limited promoted by Bombay Stock Exchange.

29. What do you know by consortium financing? When a corporate is in need of huge finance – say Rs. 200 crores and above, banks join together and extend the loan facilities by sharing the loan amount between themselves. This reduces the risk for each bank. The banks jointly process the application of the borrower and sanction the advance and this is called consortium lending.

30. What do you mean by repo rate? – It is the rate at which RBI lends short term funds to the commercial banks against securities. In order to temporarily expand the money supply, the central bank decreases repo rates enabling the banks to swap the government securities for cash. Repo is the abbreviation of Repurchase and to contract the money supply RBI increases the repo rates.

31. What do you mean reverse repo ? – The reverse repo rate is the interest rate that banks receive if they deposit money with the central bank. This reverse repo rate is always lower than the repo rate. Increases or decreases in the repo and reverse repo rate have an effect on the interest rate on banking products such as loans, mortgages and savings.

32. What do you mean by CRR? – CRR means Cash Reserve Ratio and as per the stipulations by Reserve Bank of India, all banks are in a position to maintain a certain percentage of their deposits (technically called as net demand and time liabilities) in their account with the RBI. CRR ranges from 5 percent to 15 percent. By increasing CRR by merely 0.25 percent, an amount of Rs. 15000 crores of liquid funds can be transferred from the commercial banks to the coffers of RBI. When CRR is reduced, the liquid funds are transferred from RBI to commercial banks.

33. What do you mean by SLR? – Statutory Liquidity Ratio refers to the stipulation by RBI that approximately 25 percent of the banks deposits is to be kept in the form of government securities, gold and cash. Primarily SLR refers to the amount invested by the banks in Government of India securities. RBI has the right to change the statutory liquidity ratio from time to time. On reduction of SLR, the availability of funds for the banks moves up and banks tend to more loans to the common public. In the case of increase in SLR, banks reduce bank lending.

34. What do you mean by PLR? – Prime lending rate is the rate at which commercial banks are willing to lend to their triple A rated No 1 borrowers. The lending rates by the bank for other borrowers whose credit worthiness is low will be more than prime lending rate. RBI has deregulated the lending rates that are to be charged by the banks for advance above Rs. 2 lakhs.

35. What do you mean by BPLR? – It is the rate at which commercial banks must charge to all their advances less than Rs. 2 lakhs.

36. Who is a non resident Indian? – Non resident Indian is the person who is the Indian citizen who is residing in abroad for more than 182 days and has gone for abroad for the purposes namely; business, studies and employment.

37. What are the different types of accounts that can be opened by Non Resident Indians? – Non resident ordinary account, Non resident External account, FCNR account and RFC account.

38. What are the different currencies in which FCNR accounts can be opened? – FCNR accounts can be opened in the following currencies namely; US dollar, pound sterling, Euro, Australian dollar, Japanese Yen and Canadian dollar. FCNR accounts can be opened for a minimum period of one year and maximum period of three years

39. What are the traditional functions of RBI? – The traditional functions of RBI are – issue of currency, forex management, export assistance, clearing house functions, change of currency, transfer of currency, publication of statistics and other information and training in banking.

40. What are the developmental functions of RBI? – The developmental functions of RBI are – agriculture development, promotion of industrial finance, promotion of export through refinance, development of bill market, development and regulation of banking system.

41. What are the regulatory functions of RBI? – The regulatory functions of RBI are – qualitative credit control, bank rate, differential rate of interest, open market operations, Maintenance of CRR and SLR, direct action, credit authorization scheme and moral persuasion

42. What are the different types of financial institutions in our country? – The various financial institutions in our country are – RBI – Reserve Bank of India; SEBI – Securities and Exchange Board of India and IRDA – Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. RBI monitors the various banks in the country; SEBI monitors and regulates capital markets and IRDA monitors the functions of insurance companies.

43. What are the different types of banks in our country? – In our country the following banks are available – savings banks; commercial banks; industrial banks; development banks; land development banks; indigenous banks; central bank; cooperative banks; exchange banks and consumer banks

44. What are the different types of secondary functions of any bank? – They are agency or representative functions; general utility services and social development functions.

45. What do you mean by agency or representative functions of any bank? – They are collection and payment of various items; purchase and sale of securities; trustee and executor; remitting money; purchase and sale of financial exchange; letter of references and other agency functions.

46. What are the general utility services offered by the banks? – They are locker facilities; business information; help in transportation of goods; acting as a referee; issuing of letters of credit; acting as underwriters; issue of traveler cheques; issue of gift cheques and dealing in merchant banking activities

47. What are the social development functions of a bank ? – They are capital formation; inducement to innovations; impact on the rate of interest; role on the development of rural sector; helping in pushing up the demand

48. Can you name some items which are covered under negotiable instruments act? – They are promissory notes, bills of exchanges; cheques, exchequer bills; circular notes; dividend warrants; share warrants; bearer debentures; bank notes and bank drafts

49. What do you mean by priority sector advance? – In order to boost development of agriculture and industries, Government of India has stipulated certain norms under which banks are in a position to allocate 40 percent of their advances exclusively to certain categories of borrowers called as priority sector advances. The following are classified into priority sector advances namely – retail traders, small business, professional and self employed; agriculture; small scale industries, self help groups, differential rate of interest and SC/ST beneficiaries

50. What do you mean by weaker sections? – The following categories are termed as weaker sections namely – small business enterprises; marginal farmers; artisans/village and cottage industries for whom loans are granted upto Rs. 50000.00; SGSY beneficiaries; SC/ST beneficiaries; DIR beneficiaries; SJSRY beneficiaries; SLRS; self help groups and people belonging to minority community.