2019 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2019 · GS Paper I

Question 87: Economy and Social Development

Consider the following statements : The Reserve Bank of India’s recent directives relating to ‘Storage of Payment System Data’, popularly known as data diktat, command the payment system providers that

  1. 1.they shall ensure that entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India
  2. 2.they shall ensure that the systems are owned and operated by public sector enterprises
  3. 3.they shall submit the consolidated system audit report to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India by the end of the calendar year

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a1 only
b1 and 2 only
c3 only
d1, 2 and 3

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).

Only statement 1 is correct. The RBI's April 2018 directive on Storage of Payment System Data requires payment system providers to store the entire data relating to payment systems they operate only in India. It does not require the systems to be owned and operated by public sector enterprises, and the system audit report is to be submitted to the RBI, not to the Comptroller and Auditor General.

  • 1. Payment data must be stored only in India.
  • 2. The directive does not require public sector ownership.
  • 3. The audit report goes to the RBI, not the CAG.

How you could have got this

  1. If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (c) goes: it leaves 1 out.

    What you needed to know: Payment data must be stored only in India.

    The red flag in statement 1 is “only”. In UPSC’s papers, statements with “only” were true 27% of the time (82 statements). A hint, not a rule.

  2. Then, if you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them includes 2.

    What you needed to know: The directive does not require public sector ownership.

Only (a) is left. You didn’t need statement 3.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Correct: only the local storage requirement is in the directive.
  • (b) Public sector ownership is not required.
  • (c) The audit report goes to the RBI, not to the CAG.
  • (d) Statements 2 and 3 are not in the directive.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2019, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.