RRB & Co-operative Banks in India - Banking awareness questions on current affairs

ANSWER: Rushikulya Gramya Bank (RGB)

Explanation:
The Rushikulya Gramya Bank (RGB), a RRB operating in south Orissa, became the first RRB in the state to have placed all its branches on the Core Banking Solutions (CBS) platform.

In 2012, Rushikulya Gramya Bank (RGB) and Utkal Gramya Bank (UGB) were amalgamated to form a new RRB - Utkal Grameen Bank.

The Utkal Grameen Bank will function with its head office at Bolangir under the sponsorship of State Bank of India (SBI).

ANSWER: Both (A) and (B)

Explanation:
Co-operative banks are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and Banking Laws (Application to Co-operative Societies) Act, 1965

ANSWER: Primary Urban Co-operative Bank

Explanation:
The structure of cooperative network in India can be divided into 2 broad segments - Urban Cooperative Banks and Rural Cooperative Banks.

Urban Cooperatives can be further divided into scheduled and non-scheduled.

Both the categories are further divided into multi-state and single-state. Majority of these banks fall in the non-scheduled and single-state category.

Banking activities of Urban Cooperative Banks are monitored by RBI.

Registration and Management activities are managed by Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS).

These RCS operate in single-state and Central RCS (CRCS) operate in multiple state.

Rural Cooperatives

The rural cooperatives are further divided into short-term and long-term structures.

The short-term cooperative banks are three-tiered operating in different states -

• State Cooperative Banks - They operate at the apex level in states District.
• Central Cooperative Banks - They operate at the district levels.
• Primary Agricultural Credit Societies - They operate at the village or grass-root level.

• State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (SCARDS) - These operate at state-level.
• Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBS) - They operate at district/block level.
  
  All banking activities are regulated by RBI.
  
  All management and registration activities are managed by RCS.

ANSWER: RBI

Explanation:
Cooperative banks serve an important role in the Indian economy, especially in rural areas.

They are registered under the Cooperative Societies Act, 1912.

They are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and Banking Laws (Application to Co-operative Societies) Act, 1965.

ANSWER: 1889

Explanation:
Anyonya Sahakari Mandali was established in 1889 in the province of Baroda.

It is the earliest known cooperative credit union in India.

Anyonya Sahakari Mandali or Anyonya Co-operative Bank Limited (ACBL) is the first co-operative bank in India.

The Reserve Bank of India ordered the bank to stop most of its operations under Section 35 of the Banking Regulation Act, on 14 September 2007, and ACBL closed in March 2008.

ANSWER: Cooperative Societies Act, 1912

Explanation:
All banks registered under the Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 are considered co-operative banks.

These are banks run by an elected managing committee with provisions of members’ rights and a set of “communally developed and approved bylaws and amendments”.
Co-operative banks work on a “no profit, no loss” basis.

The cooperative banks are regulated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

These banks have a three-tier structure -

• Primary (agriculture or urban) credit societies
• District central co-operative banks
• State co-operative banks (at apex level).

ANSWER: Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank

Explanation:
Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank

S Ravindran, Chairman, KVGB, received the award from Sameer Kochhar, chairman of Skoch Group, in Hyderabad.

KVGB, which operates in nine districts of Karnataka covering 57 talukas, has brought 28 lakh people under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna, PM Suraksha Bima Yojna and PM Jan Dhan Yojna.

ANSWER: Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank

Explanation:
To promote and popularize cashless transactions in rural areas, the Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) has come out with an innovative method of employing women in villages.

The bank would appoint women business correspondents called “Bank Sakhi” in select villages where this scheme would be implemented.

To start with, the bank had hired 11 “Bank Sakhis” and plans to appoint more in near future.

A “Bank Sakhi” is someone who has been a member of a self-help group involved in conducting banking and book-keeping activities of the group.

ANSWER: 56

Explanation:
At present, there are 56 RRBs in India.

Currently, RRB's are going through a process of amalgamation and consolidation.

First phase of amalgamation was initiated Sponsor Bank-wise within a State in 2005,
and the second phase was across the Sponsor banks within a State in 2012.

All RRBs were originally conceived as low cost institutions having a rural ethos, local feel and pro poor focus.
However, within a short time, most banks were making losses.

This may be again merged in near future.

ANSWER: Chakrabarty Committee

Explanation:
The Government had constituted a Committee in September 2009 (Chairman : Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty) to study the current level of Capital-to-Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of RRBs.

The Committee submitted its Report to the Government of India on April 30, 2010.

The Committee was also required to suggest the required capital structure for RRBs given their business level, so that their CRAR is sustainable and provides for future growth and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), also k/as Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR), is the ratio of a bank's capital to its risk.

It is a measure of a bank's capital. It is expressed as a percentage of a bank's risk weighted credit exposures.