UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — RBI and State Bank of Vietnam Sign MoU on May 5, 2026 to Strengthen Digital Payments and Financial Innovation
Q1. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of Vietnam in May 2026 on digital payments falls under the administrative purview of which of the following Indian nodal ministries?
- A. Ministry of Finance
- B. Ministry of External Affairs
- C. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
- D. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Q2. With reference to the 2026 RBI–State Bank of Vietnam MoU on digital payments, consider the following statements:
1. The MoU was signed on 5 May 2026, whereas it was publicised through the Press Information Bureau on 29 May 2026.
2. It is a central-bank-to-central-bank arrangement rather than a government-to-government treaty.
3. The State Bank of Vietnam, being the counterparty, is a commercial bank distinct from Vietnam's central bank.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The MoU was signed on 5 May 2026, whereas it was publicised through the Press Information Bureau on 29 May 2026.
- It is a central-bank-to-central-bank arrangement rather than a government-to-government treaty.
- The State Bank of Vietnam, being the counterparty, is a commercial bank distinct from Vietnam's central bank.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. With which of the following countries had India operationalised a live cross-border UPI/QR-based payment arrangement as of 2025?
1. France
2. United Arab Emirates
3. Japan
4. Bhutan
Which of the above are correctly identified?
- France
- United Arab Emirates
- Japan
- Bhutan
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q4. Consider the following country–arrangement pairs concerning India's cross-border retail payment linkages:
1. Singapore — UPI-PayNow person-to-person (P2P) linkage
2. France — first European country to accept UPI QR merchant payments
3. United Arab Emirates — UPI accepted for merchant payments
4. Nepal — first country with which a cross-border UPI-PayNow P2P facility was launched
Which of the above pairs is NOT correctly matched?
- Singapore — UPI-PayNow person-to-person (P2P) linkage
- France — first European country to accept UPI QR merchant payments
- United Arab Emirates — UPI accepted for merchant payments
- Nepal — first country with which a cross-border UPI-PayNow P2P facility was launched
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 only
- C. 3 only
- D. 4 only
Q5. As of 2025, in which one of the following countries is UPI NOT live/operational for cross-border payments?
1. Mauritius
2. Qatar
3. Germany
4. Nepal
Which of the above is NOT correct?
- Mauritius
- Qatar
- Germany
- Nepal
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 only
- C. 3 only
- D. 4 only
Q6. With reference to India's cross-border digital payment linkages, consider the following statements:
1. The India–Singapore linkage connects UPI with PayNow and was the first to enable cross-border person-to-person transfers.
2. The India–UAE arrangement is a UPI-PayNow style real-time linkage identical to the Singapore model.
3. UPI's acceptance in France marked its first entry into the European market.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The India–Singapore linkage connects UPI with PayNow and was the first to enable cross-border person-to-person transfers.
- The India–UAE arrangement is a UPI-PayNow style real-time linkage identical to the Singapore model.
- UPI's acceptance in France marked its first entry into the European market.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q7. Which of the following are correctly identified as features of the State Bank of Vietnam?
1. It is the central bank of Vietnam and issues the national currency, the dong.
2. It functions as a ministerial-level agency of the Government of Vietnam.
3. It is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City.
4. It carries out the state management of monetary, banking and foreign-exchange activities.
Which of the above are correctly identified?
- It is the central bank of Vietnam and issues the national currency, the dong.
- It functions as a ministerial-level agency of the Government of Vietnam.
- It is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City.
- It carries out the state management of monetary, banking and foreign-exchange activities.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 1, 2 and 4
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q8. Within Vietnam's institutional structure, who is empowered to decide on the use of instruments — such as interest rates, compulsory reserves and open-market operations — for implementing the national monetary policy?
- A. The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam
- B. The Prime Minister of Vietnam
- C. The Minister of Finance of Vietnam
- D. The National Assembly of Vietnam
Q9. In the context of India's foreign relations, the term 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' with Vietnam is best described as which one of the following?
- A. The highest tier of bilateral partnership, spanning the full spectrum of defence, security, economic, science-and-technology and cultural cooperation
- B. A defence-only pact restricted to arms sales and military training
- C. A preferential trade agreement negotiated under the World Trade Organization framework
- D. A bilateral currency-swap and central-bank liquidity arrangement
Q10. In which year were India–Vietnam relations elevated to the level of a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'?
- A. 2007
- B. 2016
- C. 2020
- D. 2022
Q11. The Reserve Bank of India derives the statutory basis for its functioning as India's central bank — including entering into cooperation arrangements with foreign central banks — from which one of the following?
- A. The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
- B. The Banking Regulation Act, 1949
- C. The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1935
- D. The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
Q12. As per official Government of India information, India has signed MoUs/agreements for cooperation on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) with how many countries?