UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Index Numbers of Wholesale Price in India for the Month of February, 2026 (Base Year: 2011-12)

Question 1

In the current Wholesale Price Index series (Base Year 2011-12), how many price quotations are used to compile the index?

Accepted Answer

8,331

Answer

5,482

Answer

6,906

Answer

9,570

Question 2

Since the Wholesale Price Index was placed on a regular footing in 1942, the base year of its basket has been revised exactly how many times (up to and including the 2011-12 series)?

Accepted Answer

Seven times

Answer

Five times

Answer

Six times

Answer

Eight times

Question 3

The Working Group constituted by the Office of the Economic Adviser to provide technical guidance for the WPI series with base year 2011-12 was chaired by whom?

Accepted Answer

Prof. Ramesh Chand, then Member, NITI Aayog

Answer

Dr. Saumitra Chaudhuri

Answer

Dr. Bibek Debroy

Answer

Prof. Abhijit Sen

Question 4

Under India's flexible inflation-targeting framework, which one of the following indices is the headline measure to which the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy is anchored?

Accepted Answer

Consumer Price Index (Combined)

Answer

Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

Answer

GDP deflator

Answer

Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)

Question 5

With reference to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in India, consider the following statements:
1. It captures the prices of both goods and services.
2. It measures prices at the wholesale/producer stage of transaction.
3. It serves as a deflator in the computation of GDP.
4. In its 2011-12 series, indirect taxes are excluded from the price quotations.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

1 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 4 only

Answer

3 only

Question 6

Consider the following:
1. Primary Articles
2. Fuel & Power
3. Manufactured Products
4. Services
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as a major commodity group of the WPI 2011-12 series?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4 only

Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

Question 7

Consider the following group–weight pairings in the WPI 2011-12 series:
1. Primary Articles — 22.62%
2. Fuel & Power — 13.15%
3. Manufactured Products — 64.23%
4. Primary Articles — 13.15%
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

3 only

Question 8

Including February 2026, for how many consecutive months had headline WPI inflation accelerated (Dec 2025: 0.96%, Jan 2026: 1.81%, Feb 2026: 2.13%)?

Accepted Answer

Three months

Answer

Two months

Answer

Four months

Answer

Five months

Question 9

The revision of the WPI base year to 2022-23 and the introduction of the new Producer Price Indices is operationalised by which body?

Accepted Answer

Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry

Answer

National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

Answer

Monetary Policy Department, Reserve Bank of India

Answer

Central Statistics Office under NITI Aayog

Question 10

In which revised series of the WPI were indirect taxes first excluded from the price quotations so as to align the index with the producer-price concept?

Accepted Answer

2011-12 series

Answer

2004-05 series

Answer

1993-94 series

Answer

2022-23 series

Question 11

The first regular Wholesale Price Index in India, computed from January 1942 (Base: week ended 19 August 1939), was based on the prices of how many commodities?

Accepted Answer

23 commodities

Answer

78 commodities

Answer

435 commodities

Answer

697 commodities

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Index Numbers of Wholesale Price in India for the Month of February, 2026 (Base Year: 2011-12)

Q1. In the current Wholesale Price Index series (Base Year 2011-12), how many price quotations are used to compile the index?

Q2. Since the Wholesale Price Index was placed on a regular footing in 1942, the base year of its basket has been revised exactly how many times (up to and including the 2011-12 series)?

Q3. The Working Group constituted by the Office of the Economic Adviser to provide technical guidance for the WPI series with base year 2011-12 was chaired by whom?

Q4. Under India's flexible inflation-targeting framework, which one of the following indices is the headline measure to which the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy is anchored?

Q6. Consider the following: 1. Primary Articles 2. Fuel & Power 3. Manufactured Products 4. Services Which of the above is/are correctly identified as a major commodity group of the WPI 2011-12 series?

Q7. Consider the following group–weight pairings in the WPI 2011-12 series: 1. Primary Articles — 22.62% 2. Fuel & Power — 13.15% 3. Manufactured Products — 64.23% 4. Primary Articles — 13.15% Which of the above is/are NOT correctly matched?

Q8. Including February 2026, for how many consecutive months had headline WPI inflation accelerated (Dec 2025: 0.96%, Jan 2026: 1.81%, Feb 2026: 2.13%)?

Q9. The revision of the WPI base year to 2022-23 and the introduction of the new Producer Price Indices is operationalised by which body?

Q10. In which revised series of the WPI were indirect taxes first excluded from the price quotations so as to align the index with the producer-price concept?

Q11. The first regular Wholesale Price Index in India, computed from January 1942 (Base: week ended 19 August 1939), was based on the prices of how many commodities?