QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 2 August 2021 – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: b)

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021, passed by Lok Sabha has proposed ‘pre-packs’ as an insolvency resolution mechanism for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The Bill will replace The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.

A pre-pack envisages the resolution of the debt of a distressed company through a direct agreement between secured creditors and the existing owners or outside investors, instead of a public bidding process.

One of the key criticisms of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) has been the time it takes for resolution. The pre-pack in contrast, is limited to a maximum of 120 days with only 90 days available to stakeholders to bring a resolution plan for approval before the NCLT.

Another key difference between pre-packs and CIRP is that the existing management retains control in the case of pre-packs; in the case of CIRP, a resolution professional takes control of the debtor as a representative of financial creditors. Experts note that this ensures minimal disruption of operations relative to a CIRP.

The pre-pack mechanism does however, allow for a ‘Swiss challenge’ to any resolution plan that provides less than full recovery of dues for operational creditors.

Under the Swiss challenge mechanism, any third party would be permitted to submit a resolution plan for the distressed company, and the original applicant would have to either match the improved resolution plan or forego the investment.

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Solution: a)

A space station is essentially a large spacecraft that remains in low-earth orbit for extended periods of time. It is like a large laboratory in space, and allows astronauts to come aboard and stay for weeks or months to carry out experiments in microgravity.

For over 20 years since its launch, humans have continuously lived and carried out scientific investigations on the ISS under microgravity conditions, being able to make breakthroughs in research not possible on Earth.

The ISS is a pathbreaking collaborative effort between five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada).

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Solution: c)

Which banks are insured by the DICGC?

• Commercial Banks: All commercial banks including branches of foreign banks functioning in India, local area banks and regional rural banks are insured by the DICGC.
• Cooperative Banks: All State, Central and Primary cooperative banks, also called urban cooperative banks, functioning in States / Union Territories which have amended the local Cooperative Societies Act empowering the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to order the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of the State / Union Territory to wind up a cooperative bank or to supersede its committee of management and requiring the Registrar not to take any action regarding winding up, amalgamation or reconstruction of a co-operative bank without prior sanction in writing from the RBI are covered under the Deposit Insurance Scheme. At present all co-operative banks are covered by the DICGC.

Primary cooperative societies are not insured by the DICGC.

Solution: b)

• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental economic organisation, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.
• It is a forum of countries describing themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.
• Generally, OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries.
• The OECD is an official United Nations observer.
• Although the OECD does not have the power to enforce its decisions, which further require a unanimous vote from its members, it is recognised as a highly influential publisher of mostly economic data through publications as well as annual evaluations and rankings of member countries.

Solution: a)

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) organisation is an attached office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is headed by Director General of Foreign Trade. DGFT is responsible for implementing the Foreign Trade Policy with the main objective of promoting India’s exports. Keeping in line with liberalization and globalization and the overall objective of increasing of exports, DGFT has since been assigned the role of “facilitator”. The shift was from prohibition and control of imports/exports to promotion and facilitation of exports/imports, keeping in view the interests of the country.