UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Economy resilient with downside risks from West Asia conflict: RBI bulletin

Q1. The 'State of the Economy' article carried in the Reserve Bank of India's Bulletin of August 2026 reported that India's foreign exchange reserves, as on 14 August 2026, were adequate to cover how many months of imports of goods and services taken together?

  • A. About 6.2 months of imports of goods and services
  • B. About 8.7 months of imports of goods and services
  • C. About 11.0 months of imports of goods and services
  • D. About 13.4 months of imports of goods and services

Q2. The staff-authored 'State of the Economy' article, which reads growth, inflation, external and financial conditions, appears as the lead article in which one of the following Reserve Bank of India publications?

  • A. The Annual Report of the Reserve Bank of India, its statutory report to the Central Government
  • B. The Financial Stability Report, which presents the collective assessment of the sub-committee of the FSDC
  • C. The monthly Bulletin of the Reserve Bank of India, which also carries speeches and regulatory notifications
  • D. The Monetary Policy Report, which accompanies the bi-monthly monetary policy resolution

Q3. The underground crude oil storage facilities built at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur to cushion India against an import supply shock are owned and operated by which one of the following?

  • A. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited, a company under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
  • B. The Oil Industry Development Board, which alone finances and owns all crude oil storage in India
  • C. The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, which exclusively fixes retail prices of all petroleum fuels
  • D. The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, which regulates every crude oil import contract signed by India

Q4. Consider the following statements comparing the Consumer Price Index series with base 2024=100 and the series it replaced: 1. The item basket and the corresponding weights of the new series are derived from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24. 2. The number of weighted items at the all-India level has been reduced from 358 to 299, yielding a leaner basket than the earlier series. 3. The new series adopts the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018, replacing the earlier structure of six broad groups with 12 divisions. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The item basket and the corresponding weights of the new series are derived from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24.
  2. The number of weighted items at the all-India level has been reduced from 358 to 299, yielding a leaner basket than the earlier series.
  3. The new series adopts the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018, replacing the earlier structure of six broad groups with 12 divisions.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. Under the revised all-India Consumer Price Index series, which one of the following carries the largest weight in the basket?

  • A. Fuel and light, which carries the largest weight and is entirely excluded from core inflation
  • B. Transport and communication, which by itself accounts for more than one-third of the basket
  • C. Housing, which is the single largest division and is compiled only for the urban sector
  • D. Food and beverages, whose share has declined from the earlier series yet remains the largest

Q6. Official data on the size of India's foreign exchange reserves are compiled and placed in the public domain every week through which one of the following?

  • A. The Weekly Statistical Supplement of the Reserve Bank of India
  • B. The Monthly Economic Review of the Department of Economic Affairs
  • C. The statistical bulletin of the National Statistical Office, MoSPI
  • D. The external debt statistics of the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics

Q7. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee is constituted by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette under which one of the following provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934?

  • A. Section 45ZA
  • B. Section 45ZB
  • C. Section 45ZI
  • D. Section 45ZL

Q8. Consider the following statements regarding the official estimates for the first quarter of 2026-27 as compared with the corresponding quarter of 2025-26: 1. Gross Fixed Capital Formation at constant prices recorded a growth of 11.9 per cent, against 5.8 per cent a year earlier. 2. GDP at current prices is estimated at Rs 88.27 lakh crore against Rs 80.00 lakh crore a year earlier, a growth of 10.3 per cent. 3. The primary sector grew by 8.6 per cent at constant prices while the secondary sector grew by 2.9 per cent. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Gross Fixed Capital Formation at constant prices recorded a growth of 11.9 per cent, against 5.8 per cent a year earlier.
  2. GDP at current prices is estimated at Rs 88.27 lakh crore against Rs 80.00 lakh crore a year earlier, a growth of 10.3 per cent.
  3. The primary sector grew by 8.6 per cent at constant prices while the secondary sector grew by 2.9 per cent.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q9. As reported in the RBI's August 2026 Bulletin, by approximately how many basis points did the yield on the 10-year Government of India security move between 31 July 2026 and 21 August 2026?

  • A. About 26 basis points
  • B. About 11 basis points
  • C. About 1 basis point
  • D. About 44 basis points

Q10. Consider the following statements comparing the two phases of India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve programme: 1. The Phase I facilities have a combined capacity of 5.33 MMT, made up of Visakhapatnam (1.33 MMT), Mangaluru (2.5 MMT) and Padur (1.5 MMT). 2. Phase II, approved in 2021, provides for two additional commercial-cum-strategic facilities of 6.5 MMT in all, at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka, on public-private partnership mode. 3. Phase I capacity is estimated to meet about 9.5 days of India's crude oil requirement, while storage held by oil marketing companies takes total national cover to about 74 days. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Phase I facilities have a combined capacity of 5.33 MMT, made up of Visakhapatnam (1.33 MMT), Mangaluru (2.5 MMT) and Padur (1.5 MMT).
  2. Phase II, approved in 2021, provides for two additional commercial-cum-strategic facilities of 6.5 MMT in all, at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka, on public-private partnership mode.
  3. Phase I capacity is estimated to meet about 9.5 days of India's crude oil requirement, while storage held by oil marketing companies takes total national cover to about 74 days.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 2 and 3 only