UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Cabinet approves scheme to overhaul statistical system

Q1. With reference to the distribution of legislative power over statistics in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Parliament has exclusive power to legislate on inquiries, surveys and statistics for the purposes of matters in the Union List.
  2. Census is placed in the Concurrent List, so both Parliament and State Legislatures can provide for conducting a population census.
  3. Vital statistics, including the registration of births and deaths, is a subject on which both Parliament and State Legislatures can legislate.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The National Statistical Commission can be restructured by the Union executive without Parliament amending any law.
  2. The National Statistical Commission was constituted under the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. In 2026, MoSPI shifted the base year of India's national accounts to 2022-23. With reference to the effects of such base-year revisions, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Rebasing can change the measured growth rate of a past year even though that year's actual production is unchanged.
  2. Rebasing can alter the measured shares of sectors in GDP because weights and coverage are updated to reflect the current structure of the economy.
  3. A year marked by major economic disruptions is generally avoided as a base year because it would give an unrepresentative structure of the economy.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q4. Suppose a rebased Consumer Price Index gives food a smaller weight than the old series did, reflecting a change in household consumption patterns. Other things remaining equal, a sharp rise in food prices would now:

  • A. raise headline inflation by more than it would have under the old weights
  • B. raise headline inflation by less than it would have under the old weights
  • C. lower core inflation, since the fall in weight moves food into the core basket
  • D. leave headline inflation unchanged, since weights affect only the index level

Q5. With reference to the IMF's data dissemination standards, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) is the most stringent of the IMF's data dissemination tiers.
  2. Subscription to the SDDS is mandatory for every member country of the IMF.
  3. A country that subscribes to the SDDS must pre-announce the release dates of the prescribed data categories through an advance release calendar.
  • A. 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q6. Consider the following assertion: Publishing a pre-announced advance release calendar, as MoSPI does for each financial year, strengthens the credibility of official statistics. Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

  1. Fixing release dates in advance limits the scope to time releases for political convenience.
  2. A public calendar means that all users get the data at the same announced time, so no select group gets it early.
  3. A release calendar guarantees that the published estimates are free from sampling and non-sampling errors.
  4. A release calendar allows outside bodies to check a country's actual dissemination against the dates it announced.
  • A. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • B. 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4