UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — RBI okays Emirates NBD Bank buying up to 74% RBL stake

Question 1

Under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and notwithstanding the actual equity stake held, what is the maximum proportion of total voting rights that a single shareholder can exercise in an Indian private sector bank — the ceiling the RBI applied to Emirates NBD in the RBL Bank case?

Accepted Answer

26%

Answer

15%

Answer

49%

Answer

74%

Question 2

The permission allowing Emirates NBD Bank to acquire up to a 74% equity stake in RBL Bank — the approval central to this foreign-ownership case — was granted by which one of the following authorities?

Accepted Answer

Reserve Bank of India

Answer

Securities and Exchange Board of India

Answer

Competition Commission of India

Answer

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Question 3

The definitive investment agreement between Emirates NBD and RBL Bank, under which Emirates NBD agreed to acquire its majority stake, was originally entered into in which year?

Accepted Answer

2025

Answer

2022

Answer

2024

Answer

2026

Question 4

In the Emirates NBD–RBL Bank transaction, clearances were sought from the Competition Commission of India, the Reserve Bank of India and the market regulator. Counting these, how many distinct statutory regulators feature in the deal's approval chain?

Accepted Answer

3

Answer

2

Answer

4

Answer

5

Question 5

At its founding in 1943 as Ratnakar Bank, the entity now known as RBL Bank commenced operations in Maharashtra with how many branches?

Accepted Answer

2

Answer

1

Answer

5

Answer

10

Question 6

In the context of FDI in Indian private sector banks, the term 'automatic route' most precisely refers to which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

FDI permitted without prior government approval, with the investor required only to comply with post-investment reporting to the RBI

Answer

FDI that requires prior approval of the concerned administrative ministry before the investment is made

Answer

FDI that is entirely prohibited once foreign holding crosses 26%

Answer

FDI routed exclusively through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board

Question 7

The India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which frames the deepening India-UAE economic engagement of which the Emirates NBD–RBL deal is a part, holds which one of the following distinctions?

Accepted Answer

It was India's first Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with a country in the West Asia/Gulf region

Answer

It was India's first-ever free trade agreement with any country

Answer

It was the first trade agreement India entered into after independence

Answer

It was India's first trade agreement covering only trade in goods

Question 8

Emirates NBD Group, the Dubai-based acquirer of the RBL Bank stake, was formed in which year through the merger of Emirates Bank International and the National Bank of Dubai?

Accepted Answer

2007

Answer

1963

Answer

1943

Answer

2022

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — RBI okays Emirates NBD Bank buying up to 74% RBL stake

Q1. Under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and notwithstanding the actual equity stake held, what is the maximum proportion of total voting rights that a single shareholder can exercise in an Indian private sector bank — the ceiling the RBI applied to Emirates NBD in the RBL Bank case?

Q2. The permission allowing Emirates NBD Bank to acquire up to a 74% equity stake in RBL Bank — the approval central to this foreign-ownership case — was granted by which one of the following authorities?

Q3. The definitive investment agreement between Emirates NBD and RBL Bank, under which Emirates NBD agreed to acquire its majority stake, was originally entered into in which year?

Q4. In the Emirates NBD–RBL Bank transaction, clearances were sought from the Competition Commission of India, the Reserve Bank of India and the market regulator. Counting these, how many distinct statutory regulators feature in the deal's approval chain?

Q5. At its founding in 1943 as Ratnakar Bank, the entity now known as RBL Bank commenced operations in Maharashtra with how many branches?

Q6. In the context of FDI in Indian private sector banks, the term 'automatic route' most precisely refers to which one of the following?

Q7. The India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which frames the deepening India-UAE economic engagement of which the Emirates NBD–RBL deal is a part, holds which one of the following distinctions?

Q8. Emirates NBD Group, the Dubai-based acquirer of the RBL Bank stake, was formed in which year through the merger of Emirates Bank International and the National Bank of Dubai?