UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — West Asia crisis: India’s exports plunge 7.44% in March; trade gap narrows

Q1. India's official monthly and annual merchandise (goods) foreign trade statistics are primarily compiled by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry
  • B. Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
  • C. National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
  • D. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)

Q2. In external-sector accounting, the term 'balance of trade' (trade balance) most precisely refers to:

  • A. The difference between a country's exports and imports of goods (merchandise)
  • B. The difference between exports and imports of goods as well as services combined
  • C. The net of all current and capital account transactions in a year
  • D. The change in a country's foreign exchange reserves over a year

Q3. In March 2026, India's merchandise exports to which single region registered the steepest region-specific decline, cited as the largest shock that dragged down overall exports?

  • A. The Middle East / West Asia region
  • B. The European Union
  • C. Sub-Saharan Africa
  • D. Latin America

Q4. By approximately what percentage did India's merchandise exports fall on a year-on-year basis in March 2026?

  • A. 6.51%
  • B. 7.44%
  • C. 4.22%
  • D. 57.95%

Q5. India's all-time-high FY 2025-26 merchandise exports of about US$ 441.78 billion were officially reported by which one of the following?

  • A. The Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry
  • B. The Reserve Bank of India
  • C. NITI Aayog
  • D. The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance

Q6. India's FY 2025-26 'merchandise trade deficit' of about US$ 333 billion is best defined as:

  • A. The excess of goods imports over goods exports during the year
  • B. The excess of combined goods-and-services imports over exports during the year
  • C. India's current account deficit for the year
  • D. The net outflow recorded on India's capital account for the year

Q7. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a connectivity initiative through West Asia now under strain from regional conflict, was launched on the sidelines of which event?

  • A. The G20 Summit in New Delhi (2023)
  • B. The BRICS Summit in Johannesburg (2023)
  • C. The SCO Summit in Samarkand (2022)
  • D. The Quad Summit in Hiroshima (2023)

Q8. As envisaged in its Memorandum of Understanding, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is to consist of how many corridors?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Six