(b) EXPLANATION : ■ Windfall Tax: Governments, typically, levy a one-time tax over and above the normal rates of tax on such sudden profits due to economic expansion and such tax is called windfall tax. Some individual taxes, such as inheritance tax or taxes on lottery or game show winnings, can also be construed as a windfall tax. Tax is not part of the input or output cost, but levied only on profit. ■ Pigovian tax: It is a tax assessed against businesses that engage in activities that create negative side effects, such as environmental pollution. ■ Sin taxes: A subset of excise taxes, are imposed on commodities or activities that are perceived to be unhealthy or have a negative effect on society, such as cigarettes, gambling, and alcohol.

(c) EXPLANATION : ■ Angel Funds bridge the gap between start-ups and angel investors, who are instrumental in providing mentoring, and resources to the start-ups. ■ Angel investment is a form of equity financing where the investor supplies funding in exchange of taking an equity position in the company. So, statement 1 is correct. ■ Angel funds invest in very early-stage businesses providing capital for start-up or expansion. Angel investment is much more risky than debt financing as unlike a loan, invested capital does not have to be paid back in the event of the business failing. ■ Angel funds in India are regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under the umbrella regulations for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). So, statement 2 is not correct. ■ The angel fund will have a say in how the business is run and will also receive a portion of the profits when the business is sold. So, statement 3 is correct.

(a) EXPLANATION: ■ Payment aggregators are the entities which act as intermediaries in the handling of funds. They enable merchants and e-commerce websites to accept payments from customers by integrating the payment service into the merchant’s payment system. The payment aggregator receives payments from customers and then transfers them to the merchants. So, statement 1 is correct. ■ The Reserve bank of India (RBI), under Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, decided to regulate the Intermediaries (Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways) that facilitate payments in the online space. So, statement 2 is correct. ■ According to the guidelines issued by RBI, neither the authorized Payment Aggregators (PAs) nor the merchants on-boarded by them can store customer card credentials within their database or server. So, statement 3 is not correct.

(d) EXPLANATION : ■ India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) is India’s first International Bullion Exchange in International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). ■ IIBX is only the 3rd exchange of its kind in the world with its technology-driven solutions. It was established with the vision of making India an influencer of the global bullion prices. So, statement 1 is not correct. ■ It will facilitate the transition of the Indian bullion market towards a more organized structure by granting Qualified Jewellers direct access to import gold through the exchange mechanism. The IIBX will facilitate efficient price discovery and ensure standardization, quality assurance and sourcing integrity in addition to providing impetus to financialisation of gold in India. So, statement 2 is correct. ■ Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL-IFSC) has been designated as the Bullion Depository for the Bullion Exchange responsible for managing the Vault Manager. So, statement 3 is correct. Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

(d) EXPLANATION : ■ The Mekong-Lancang initiative is a Chinese-led initiative that includes countries of the Mekong delta. ■ Mekong delta region is a potential source of regional tensions due to increasing number of hydroelectric projects that are raising concerns of ecological damage. So, statement 1 is not correct. ■ India is not part of the grouping as an Member State. ■ The member countries are China and Mekong Delta nations (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam). So, statement 2 is not correct.

(d) EXPLANATION : ■ The Directorate of Enforcement or the ED is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of economic crimes and violations of foreign exchange laws. The origin of this Directorate goes back to 1st May, 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed in the Department of Economic Affairs for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA ’47). In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’. Thus, ED was not set-up under the PMLA. So, statement 1 is not correct. ■ Whenever any offence is registered by a local police station, which has generated proceeds of crime over and above ₹1 crore, the investigating police officer forwards the details to the ED. Alternately, if the offence comes under the knowledge of the Central agency, they can then call for the First Information Report (FIR) or the chargesheet if it has been filed directly by police officials. This will be done to find out if any laundering has taken place. So, statement 2 is correct. ■ In 1960, the administrative control of the Directorate was transferred from the Department of Economic Affairs to the Department of Revenue. For a short period of 04 years (1973 – 1977), the Directorate remained under the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms. Presently, the Directorate is under the administrative control of Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. So, statement 3 is correct.

(d) EXPLANATION : ■ A vostro account is an essential part of correspondent banking in which a foreign bank acts as an agent providing financial services on behalf of a domestic bank. Vostro accounts enable domestic banks to provide international banking services to their clients who have global banking needs. ■ Vostro, along with Nostro, is a term used to describe a bank account. In fact, both terms are used to describe the same bank account. These terms come into play when one bank has another bank’s money on deposit. Typically, this is related to international trade and financial transactions. ■ Bank A will use the term Nostro account to refer to “our” account held by Bank B. Basically, Nostro is shorthand for “our money that is on deposit at your bank”, Bank B, where bank A’s money is deposited, will use the term Vostro account to refer to “your money that is on deposit at our bank”. ■ The Nostro account is the record maintained by the bank that has money deposited with another bank. They enable simplified trade settlements and foreign exchange transactions. Nostro accounts are denominated in foreign currencies.

(c) EXPLANATION : ■ National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-for-profit organization under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013, and works under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. NIXI was set up for peering of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) among themselves for the purpose of routing the domestic traffic within the country. NIXI is managed and operated on a Neutral basis, in line with the best practices for such initiatives globally. So, statement 1 is not correct. ■ NIXI helps in spreading the internet technology to the citizens of India through the following activities : 1 . Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is exchanged amongst Internet Service Providers (ISP)s and between ISPs and Content Delivery Network (CDN). So, statement 2 is correct. 2 . Selling, managing and operation of .IN country code domain and . भारत IDN domain for India. So, statement 3 is correct. 3 . Selling, managing and operating Internet protocol (IPv4/IPv6) as authorized by APNIC, Australia. So, statement 4 is correct.

(c) EXPLANATION : ■ A soft landing, in economics, is a cyclical slowdown in economic growth that avoids recession. Soft landing may also refer to a gradual, relatively painless slowdown in a particular industry or economic sector. So, statement 1 is correct. ■ A soft landing is the goal of a central bank when it seeks to raise interest rates just enough to stop an economy from overheating and experiencing high inflation, without causing a severe downturn. So, statement 2 is correct.

(c) EXPLANATION : ■ The Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rate (MCLR) is the minimum interest rate below which financial institutions can’t lend. It acts as an internal reference rate for banks. To put it simply, it is the lowest rate at which banks are permitted to give loans to their customers. So, statement 1 is not correct. ■ MCLR is a tenor-linked internal benchmark, which means the rate is determined internally by the bank depending on the period left for the repayment of a loan. MCLR is closely linked to the actual deposit rates and is calculated based on four components: the marginal cost of funds, negative carry-on account of cash reserve ratio, operating costs and tenor premium. So, statement 2 is correct. ■ Since MCLR is the minimum interest rate that a bank can lend at, any increase in it will have an adverse impact on the consumer. Thus, as a result of the increase in MCLR, borrowers who have taken home, vehicle, and personal loans will find their equated monthly instalments (EMIs) rising in the upcoming time period. So, statement 3 is correct.