ECONOMICS 2 MARKERS

1. What is the main function of Competition Commission of India?
   -CCI is an independent body which become operational w.e.f. May 20, 2009 and is responsible for investigating the mergers, market shares & conditions besides regulating firms. CCI will ultimately replace the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) of India.
2. What is Lead Bank Scheme?
   Lead bank scheme was introduced around 40 years ago and recently it was in the news as a high level committee chaired by RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat was constituted to review and revitalize this scheme. The scheme aims at facilitating credit delivery to the farfetched areas of India. There are members of the committee from NABARD and SIDBI. Thus the scheme focuses upon financial inclusion.
   The Opinion of this committee is that full financial inclusion is possible only if it makes a facility of opening of no frill accounts backed by other specialized services.
3. What are Nostro & Vostro Accounts ?
   A nostro account is maintained by an Indian Bank in the foreign countries for a facility of easy clearing of their transactions. For instance, if the bank pays a demand drawn on it by its correspondent bank, there is no delay because the foreign corresponded bank would already have credited the nostro account of the paying bank while issuing the demand draft.
   A vostro account is maintained by a foreign bank in India with their corresponding bank.
4. What is Gold Standard?
   A system of setting currency values whereby the participating countries commit to fix the prices of their domestic currencies in terms of a specified amount of gold.
5. What is a Free Float Exchange Rate system?
   An exchange rate system characterized by the absence of government intervention. Also known as a clean float.
6. What are Special Drawing rights SDR?
   SDR are new form of international reserve assets, created by the International Monetary Funds in 1967. The value of SDR is based on a portfolio of widely used currencies and they are maintained as accounting entries and not as hard currency or physical assets like Gold.
7. What is concept sustainable Development?
   Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs is called sustainable development. This concept is popular in present context of development.
8. What is the meaning of Financial Inclusion?
   Today is is well recognized that large population of India is out of reach of the formal banking services. Financial inclusion is the concept which has been floated to bring the most of the rural population / area under the net of the financial and banking services.