Statements 2 and 3 are correct and 1 is incorrect.
Commercial papers:
• CP is a short-term debt instrument issued by companies to raise funds generally for a time period up to one year. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It is an unsecured money market instrument issued in the form of a promissory note and was introduced in India in 1990. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The minimum maturity period of commercial paper is for 7 days and a maximum of 1 year. Hence statement 3 is correct.
Certificate of Deposit (CD:
• Certificate of Deposit (CD) is an agreement between the depositor and the bank where a predetermined amount of money is fixed for a specific time period. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It is issued in dematerialised (Demat) form.
• When it matures, the principal amount along with the interest earned is available for withdrawal.

• Option 1 is correct. Options 2 and 3 are incorrect.
• Net borrowing at home includes that directly borrowed from the public through debt instruments (for example, the various small savings schemes) and indirectly from commercial banks through Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR). The gross fiscal deficit is a key variable in judging the financial health of the public sector and the stability of the economy.
• Disinvestment of Public Sector Undertakings means sale or liquidation of assets by the government, usually Central and state public sector enterprises, projects, or other fixed assets. Unlike borrowings, it does not create liabilities for the government but reduces the financial capital of the government.

• Statements 1 and 3 are correct and 2 is incorrect.
• Unlike bonds, debentures are unsecured investment options. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Debentures are long-term financial instruments that are issued by companies to borrow money.
• There are two types of NCDs-secured and unsecured.
• A secured NCD is backed by the assets of the company. If the company fails to pay the obligation, the investor holding the debenture can claim that through liquidation of those assets. Contrary to this, there is no backing in unsecured NCDs if company defaults.
• Consequently, they are not backed by any asset or collateral.
• Here, lending is entirely based on mutual trust, and, herein, investors act as potential creditors of an issuing institution or company.
• In the case of Bond, Bondholders are considered as creditors concerning such an entity and are entitled to periodic interest payment.
• Furthermore, bonds carry a fixed lock-in period. Therefore, issuers of bonds are mandated to repay the principal amount on the maturity date to bondholders. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.
• Some debentures have a feature of convertibility into shares after a certain point of time at the discretion of the debenture holder. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Types of Shape of Economic Recovery:
o Economic recovery can take many forms, which is depicted using alphabetic notations. For example, a Z-shaped recovery, V-shaped recovery, U-shaped recovery, elongated U-shaped recovery, W-shaped recovery and L-shaped recovery.
o The alphabets generally denote the graph of growth rate, which resembles the shape of the letter.
o The fundamental difference between the different kinds of recovery is the time taken for economic activity to normalize.
o The time taken is often a factor of multiple things such as the depth of the economic crisis. e.g deeper the recession, longer is the time to get back to normal.
• Z-shaped recovery:
o It is the most-optimistic scenario in which the economy quickly rises after an economic crash.
o It makes up more than for lost ground before settling back to the normal trend-line, thus forming a Z-shaped chart.
o In this economic disruption lasts for a small period wherein more than people’s incomes, it is their ability to spend is restricted.

Gold Import in India:
• Statement 2 is incorrect. Statement 1, 3 and 4 are correct.
• India reported a record $55.7 billion on gold imports in 2021. India bought more than double tonnage, as compared to previous tonnage, as a price drop favoured retail buyers.
• In the year 2020, demand was robust because lot of weddings were postponed to 2021 amid the covid-19 pandemic. Strict lockdown during the first wave of covid-19 pandemic in 2020 had hit the gold demand.
• In India, there is a high demand for gold and negligible indigenous production. This result in high gold imports, which in turn lead to drastic devaluation of Indian rupee and depletion of foreign exchange reserves. Thus, India has its gold import policy with the aim of curbing gold imports to a manageable legal restriction.
• Restrictions on gold imports:
o Indian entities are mandated to import gold in the form of gold bars(not coins and medallions). Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have prohibited the form of coins and medallions.
o Imports of the yellow metal can be routed only through custom bonded warehouses. One entity is prohibited to import more than 10 kg of gold (including ornaments) per passenger. Hence statement 2 is incorrect. And hence statement 4 is correct.
• Switzerland is the largest exporter of gold to India followed by Saudi Arabia. India also imports Gold from Dubai. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Indian Parliament had repealed the “Gold (Control) Act, 1968” and was enacted to control sale and holding of gold in personal possession. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Adjusted Gross Revenue:
• Statement 1 is correct. statement 2 is incorrect.
• Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) is the usage and licensing fee that telecom operators are charged by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Statement 1 is correct.
• It is divided into spectrum usage charges and licensing fees, pegged between 3-5 % and 8 % respectively.
• As per DoT, the charges are calculated based on all revenues earned by a telco – including non-telecom related sources such as deposit interests and asset sales. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect.
• Telcos, on their part, insist that AGR should comprise only the revenues generated from telecom services.
• The dispute between DoT and the mobile operators was mainly on the definition of AGR. The DoT argued that AGR includes all revenues (before discounts) from both telecom and non-telecom services.
• The definition of AGR has been such a contentious issue because it has huge financial implications for both telcos and the government.
• The revenue shared by telcos with the government goes into the consolidated fund of India.
• It was estimated, after the SC’s judgment, that the telecom operators owe the government about Rs.92,000 crore in back charges, interest and penalties on license fee alone.

• Statement 1 is incorrect. Statement 2 is correct.
• Statement 1 is incorrect. India borrowed SDR 3.9 billion during the period 1981-84. Again during 1991 to 1993, India borrowed an amount of SDR 3.56 billion (SDR 1351.98 million under the Compensatory and Contingency Financing Facility and SDR 2207.925 million under Standby Arrangement).
• Statement 2 is correct. Repayment of all the loans taken from International Monetary Fund has been completed on May 31, 2000. India is now a contributor to the IMF.
• Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is termed as the Fiat Money of the IMF. It is a potential Claim on Underlying Currency Basket.

• Statement 1 and 2 are correct and statement 3 is incorrect.
• Gujarat has been named India’s top State in terms of export preparedness for the second year in a row as per the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2021 released by the NITI Aayog. Hence statement 3 is incorrect.
• Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu were ranked second, third and fourth in the index, as coastal States with higher industrial activity and access to sea ports account for a majority of India’s exports.
• Aim: To identify challenges and opportunities, enhance the effectiveness of government policies and encourage a facilitative regulatory framework for export. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The EPI is a data-driven effort to identify the core areas crucial for export promotion at the sub-national level (states and union territories). Hence statement 2 is correct.

• Both statement 1 and 2 are correct.
• New Development Bank (NDB) is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
• It was agreed to by BRICS leaders at the 5th BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa in 2013. It was launched in 2015, at the 6th BRICS Summit at Fortaleza, Brazil. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Considering the increasing instances of global financial crisis, BRICS nations signed BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) in 2014 as part of Fortaleza Declaration at Sixth BRICS summit. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The BRICS CRA aims to provide short-term liquidity support to the members through currency swaps to help mitigating BOP crisis situation and further strengthen financial stability.

• Option A is correct.
• A fixed exchange rate is a regime applied by a country whereby the government or central bank ties the official exchange rate to another country’s currency or the price of gold. The purpose of a fixed exchange rate system is to keep a currency’s value within a narrow band.
• Fixed rates provide greater certainty for exporters and importers. Fixed rates also helps the government maintain low inflation, which, in the long run, keeps interest rates down and stimulates trade and investment. Most major industrialized nations have had floating exchange rate systems since the early 1970s, while developing economies continue with fixed-rate systems.