LIC, Railway - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: Western Railway Zone

Explanation:
Indian Railway has over 30 thousand level crossings out of which nearly 40% are unmanned ones. The West-Central Railway (WCR) Zone, with its headquarters at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, became the first-ever zone of the Indian Railway to have eliminated all unmanned level crossings.

ANSWER: Life Insurance Corporation

Explanation:
Karnataka Bank has entered into an MoU with LIC for selling life insurance products.

The bank signed the corporate agency agreement with LIC in Mangaluru on 22 May.

The bank will be able to provide vast choice of life insurance products to its customers across all its 769 branches with this MoU.

LIC and Karnataka Bank are two great household names and both are time tested entities.

This tie-up will provide an opportunity to provide more effective life insurance solutions to the customers.

LIC will strive hard to create customized insurance solutions for the customers of Karnataka Bank, and is committed for reaching a new benchmark in claim settlement process, he said.

ANSWER: Vinay Shah

Explanation:
Life insurance Corp of India has appointed Vinay Shah as the new managing director and chief executive director of its mortgage loan arm and listed entity LIC Housing Finance, after government elevates Sunita Sharma to managing director of LIC earlier this week.

Shah was executive director.

Shah has been with LIC since 1983. Prior to this assignment, he was executive director marketing. He took over the business as ED in April 2015.

He has looked after areas of new product launches in the last two years. He was zonal manager western zone.

The housing finance company had grown profit by 19.2% during the third quarter.

It has strong asset quality. However, in the past few quarters, developer loan segment has been growing faster than the retail loan growth.

ANSWER: Hemant Bhargava

Explanation:
Hemant Bhargava was appointed as managing director of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.

He is at present LIC’s zonal manager, Delhi. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved Bhargava’s appointment to the post till his superannuation, i.e., 31 July, 2019.

The top LIC management consists of the chairman and three managing directors.

LIC already has Usha Sangwan as its managing director and Bhargava will join her as the second MD.

As per the LIC Act, the insurance corporation can have four MDs, apart from the Chairman, as part of its top management.

It is anticipated that one more MD will be appointed. In 2013, LIC functioned with its full strength of four MDs and one chairman after a long duration.

However, Sushobhan Sarkar and SB Mainak retired from the MD post after which two positions were lying vacant.

In 2016, former chairman SK Roy resigned from his post two years before completion of his term.

After this, LIC Managing Director VK Sharma was appointed as the Chairman.

All About LIC

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founder: Government of India
• Founded: 1 September 1956
• Owner: Government of India
• Revenue: 88.4 billion USD (2015)
• Total assets: 20.09 trillion INR (2016)
• Subsidiaries: LIC Cards Services, LIC Nomura Mutual Fund etc.

ANSWER: Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana

Explanation:
The scheme will be launched as part of Government’s commitment for financial inclusion and social security.

It will be implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) during the current financial year i.e. FY 2016-17.

It will be open for subscription for a period of one year from the date of launch. Features of Scheme

The aim of the scheme is to provide social security during old age and protect elderly persons aged 60 years and above against future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions.

It will provide an assured pension based on a guaranteed rate of return of 8% per annum for ten years.

It will also have an option to opt for pension on a monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annual basis.

The Union Government will bear the differential return i.e., the difference between the return generated by LIC and the assured return of 8% per annum as subsidy on an annual basis.

LIC: Know More

• Type: State-owned enterprise
• government corporation
• Industry: Financial services
• Founded: 1 September 1956
• Headquarters: Mumbai, India
• Chairman: V.K Sharma
• MD: Usha Sangwan
• Total assets: ₹2,009,119 crore (US$300 billion) (2016)
• Owner: Government of India
• Number of employees: 119,767

ANSWER: China

Explanation:
China on 28^th Dec 2016 commenced operations of Shanghai-Kunming line, the longest high speed railway in the world.

Link joins the prosperous east coast to the less developed southwestern part of the nation.

Launch of the Shanghai-Kunming line is an indication that China's high speed rail grid has taken shape and connects all provinces on most of the Chinese mainland.

The line is part of the China Railway High Speed's System of High Speed Rail Corridors, beginning in Shanghai and ending in Kunming.

China Railway High Speed is a high speed rail service operated by China Railway.

Hexie Hao is the designation for rolling stock operated for the service and CRH’s introduction was a major part of the sixth national railway speedup.

It was implemented on 18th April 2007 and every high speed train in commercial use in China is called CRH.

CRH1/2A/2B/2E/5 are expected to have a maximum speed of 250 km/h. CRH2C/3 have a maximum speed of 350 km/h.

The new trainsets CRH380A have a maximum test speed of 416.6 km/h. CRH380BL, the fastest trainset, attained a maximum test speed of 487.3 km/h.

Know More About the Shanghai-Kunming line

• Length: 2552 km
• Line is the longest east-west high speed railway in China.
• It passes through 5 provinces of Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Yunnn.
• It completes the journey from Shanghai to Kunming in 11 hours as compared to 34 hours.
• Maximum speed of the train is 330 km/hour.

ANSWER: VK Sharma

Explanation:
GoI has appointed V K Sharma as the chairman of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for five years.

Sharma, who is the managing director of LIC, was acting as chairman since September 16 when the then chairman S K Roy was relieved of his duties.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for appointment of VK Sharma, MD, LIC, as chairman, LIC in fixed pay of INR 80,000 (pre-revised) for a period of five years from the date of notification of his appointment or up to the date of his superannuation, or until further orders.

Sharma who joined the body as a direct recruit officer in 1981, served as the CEO of its mortgage subsidiary LIC Housing Finance and zonal manager in charge of the south zone.

LIC

• Stands for Life Insurance Corporation.
• Assets: 22 lakh crore
• Status: largest financial institution in the country.
• Estimated asset value of ?1,560,482 crore (US$230 billion).
• As of 2013 it had total life fund of INR1433103.14 crore with total value of policies sold of 367.82 lakh that year.
• Founded: 1956 through LIC Act

ANSWER: Both 1 and 2

Explanation:

• The presentation of separate Railway budget started in the year 1924, and has continued after independence as a convention rather than under Constitutional provisions.
• The advancement of budget presentation by a month and completion of Budget related legislative business before 31st March would pave the way for early completion of Budget cycle and enable Ministries and Departments to ensure better planning and execution of schemes from the beginning of the financial year and utilization of the full working seasons including the first quarter.
• This will also preclude the need for seeking appropriation through 'Vote on Account' and enable implementation of the legislative changes in tax; laws for new taxation measures from the beginning of the financial year.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• The Railways will continue to maintain its distinct entity -as a departmentally run commercial undertaking as at present; Railways will retain their functional autonomy and delegation of financial powers etc. as per the existing guidelines;
• The existing financial arrangements will continue wherein Railways will meet all their revenue expenditure, including ordinary working expenses, pay and allowances and pensions etc. from their revenue receipts;
• The Capital at charge of the Railways estimated at Rs.2.27 lakh crore on which annual dividend is paid by the Railways will be wiped off. Consequently, there will be no dividend liability for Railways from 2017-18 and Ministry of Railways will get Gross Budgetary support. This will also save Railways from the liability of payment of approximately Rs.9,700 crore annual dividend to the Government of India;
• The presentation of a unified budget will bring the affairs of the Railways to centre stage and present a holistic picture of the financial position of the Government.
• The merger is also expected to reduce the procedural requirements and instead bring into focus, the aspects of delivery and good governance.
• Consequent to the merger, the appropriations for Railways will form part of the main Appropriation Bill.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
The Union Cabinet has approved the proposals of Ministry of Finance on certain landmark budgetary reforms relating to

(i) the merger of Railway budget with the General budget,
(ii) the advancement of the date of Budget presentation from the last day of February and
(iii) the merger of the Plan and the Non-Plan classification in the Budget and Accounts.

• All these changes will be put into effect simultaneously from the Budget 2017-18.