General & Banking Awareness — Quick Reference
Every specific figure below (rates, percentages, limits) is exactly the kind of content that changes over time. This page deliberately does not state specific current numeric values for RBI rates, scheme benefit amounts, or similar time-sensitive figures — verify all of those against a current official source (RBI's website, a current-affairs compilation from the last few weeks) before an exam. What's listed below is the stable, structural/definitional knowledge.
Monetary policy tools — what each does structurally
| Tool | Function |
|---|
|---|---|
| Repo rate | Rate RBI lends to banks — raising it cools inflation, lowering it stimulates borrowing |
|---|---|
| Reverse repo rate | Rate RBI borrows from banks — absorbs excess liquidity |
| CRR | % of deposits banks must hold as cash with RBI, earns nothing |
| SLR | % of deposits banks must hold in approved liquid assets, held by the bank itself |
Payment systems — structural comparison
| System | Settlement | Typical use |
|---|
|---|---|---|
| RTGS | Real-time, individual/gross | High-value transactions |
|---|---|---|
| NEFT | Batched at intervals | Any transaction size |
| IMPS | Instant, 24x7 | Smaller, time-sensitive transfers |
(Specific minimum/maximum amounts and operating-hour rules: verify current — see note above.)
Inflation indices
| Index | Measures | Relevance |
|---|
|---|---|---|
| CPI | Retail/consumer price basket | RBI's formal inflation-targeting benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| WPI | Wholesale/producer prices | Producer-level trend indicator, not the monetary-policy target |
NPA resolution mechanisms
| Mechanism | Scope |
|---|
|---|---|
| SARFAESI Act | Direct seizure/sale of secured collateral, without court intervention for that action |
|---|---|
| IBC | Time-bound, multi-creditor insolvency resolution process |
Types of banks in India, quick categories
•Scheduled Commercial Banks (public sector, private sector, foreign, regional rural)
•Cooperative Banks
•Payments Banks / Small Finance Banks (newer, more limited permitted activities)
Study-prep checklist for this section specifically
•[ ] Maintain a rolling, monthly-updated current-affairs notes sheet (per Overview) — don't rely on a static, one-time-written sheet
•[ ] Verify current repo rate, CRR, SLR, RBI Governor, and any scheme figures within the final week before an exam, not months in advance
•[ ] Prioritize the last 3-6 months of banking/finance-sector news specifically over generic national news
•[ ] Know scheme objectives, not just names — this is what the actual question style tests