Computer and Business Awareness: Hardware, Software, Money and Markets
Computer basics
Hardware is the physical machine; software is the set of instructions. The CPU has an arithmetic logic unit and a control unit, and works with primary memory (RAM, volatile) and secondary storage (hard disk, SSD, pen drive, non-volatile). Memory units: 8 bits = 1 byte; 1 KB = 1024 bytes; 1 MB = 1024 KB; 1 GB = 1024 MB. Input devices include the keyboard, mouse and scanner; output devices include the monitor, printer and plotter. System software such as Windows or Linux manages hardware; application software such as a word processor or spreadsheet serves the user. A URL identifies a resource on the internet, HTTP or HTTPS is the transfer protocol, and a browser renders web pages.
Business terminology
Assets are what a firm owns, liabilities what it owes, and equity = assets − liabilities. Current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilities and measures short-term solvency. An IPO is a company's first sale of shares to the public; a bull expects prices to rise, a bear expects them to fall. GDP measures output within a country's borders; inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level, and the repo rate is the rate at which the central bank lends to banks. FDI brings control; FPI is portfolio investment without control. GST is a destination-based indirect tax on supply.
Worked example
A firm has current assets of ₹5 lakh and current liabilities of ₹2 lakh. Current ratio = 5 ÷ 2 = 2.5, meaning ₹2.50 of current assets for every ₹1 of current liability - comfortably liquid against the conventional 2:1 benchmark.
Traps
- Treating RAM as permanent storage.
- Confusing a liability with an expense.
- Assuming a high current ratio is always healthy; idle inventory inflates it.
- For volatile current-affairs items such as mergers, policy rates and appointments, verify the latest figures before the exam, since printed question banks go stale quickly.