UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — ALL-INDIA CONSUMER PRICE INDEX NUMBERS FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL LABOURERS – DECEMBER, 2025

Q1. The All-India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers are compiled and released under the administrative authority of which one of the following Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Labour & Employment
  • B. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
  • C. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
  • D. Ministry of Rural Development

Q2. The CPI-AL and CPI-RL are used primarily for which one of the following purposes?

  • A. Revising the minimum wages of agricultural and rural labourers and measuring rural cost-of-living changes
  • B. Fixing the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of principal agricultural crops
  • C. Deriving the GDP deflator for the primary sector in national accounts
  • D. Determining the repo rate under the Reserve Bank's inflation-targeting framework

Q3. In the revised CPI-AL/RL series, the notation 'Base: 2019=100' means which one of the following?

  • A. The average price level of the year 2019 is taken as the reference and assigned a value of 100
  • B. The index can never fall below 100 in any month after the year 2019
  • C. The average retail price of the consumption basket in 2019 was exactly 100 rupees
  • D. The year 2019 is the only year for which actual price data were collected

Q4. With respect to the 2019=100 revision of the CPI-AL/RL series, consider the following statements: 1. It replaced the earlier series based on 1986-87=100. 2. The number of sample villages was raised from 600 to 787. 3. The geographical coverage was expanded from 20 States to 34 States/UTs. 4. The consumption weights were updated to the 2022-23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It replaced the earlier series based on 1986-87=100.
  2. The number of sample villages was raised from 600 to 787.
  3. The geographical coverage was expanded from 20 States to 34 States/UTs.
  4. The consumption weights were updated to the 2022-23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey.
  • A. 1 and 4
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 1, 2 and 4

Q5. The December 2025 CPI-AL (137.12) and CPI-RL (137.03) figures were compiled and released by which one of the following agencies?

  • A. Labour Bureau
  • B. Price Statistics Division of the National Statistical Office
  • C. Field Operations Division of the National Statistical Office
  • D. Central Statistics Office

Q6. In the December 2025 release, the decline of the headline CPI-AL to 137.12 is attributed primarily to a movement in which one of the following?

  • A. A fall in the Food Index
  • B. A cut in the Fuel & Light index announced by the Labour Bureau
  • C. A reduction in dearness allowance ordered by the Ministry of Labour
  • D. A repo-rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India

Q7. In the price-collection methodology of the CPI-AL/RL, a 'Haat' day refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The fixed periodic market day on which prices are collected in non-daily rural markets
  • B. The day of each month on which the Labour Bureau publishes the index
  • C. The reference day of the base year against which prices are compared
  • D. The day on which agricultural wages are disbursed to labourers

Q8. Under the CPI-AL/RL methodology, the retail prices collected from sample villages are cross-verified with the field offices of which one of the following organisations?

  • A. National Statistical Office (NSO)
  • B. Reserve Bank of India
  • C. Food Corporation of India
  • D. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)

Q9. Consider the following statements comparing the weight bases of the CPI-AL/RL series: 1. The 2019=100 series derives its consumption weights from the NSS 68th Round (2011-12) Consumer Expenditure Survey. 2. The earlier 1986-87=100 series derived its weights from the NSS 38th Round (1983) survey. 3. The 2019=100 series derives its weights from the 2022-23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The 2019=100 series derives its consumption weights from the NSS 68th Round (2011-12) Consumer Expenditure Survey.
  2. The earlier 1986-87=100 series derived its weights from the NSS 38th Round (1983) survey.
  3. The 2019=100 series derives its weights from the 2022-23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. Among India's price indices, which one is the principal headline measure of retail inflation, covers both goods and services, and is released for Rural, Urban and Combined categories by the National Statistical Office?

  • A. CPI (Combined)
  • B. CPI for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL)
  • C. CPI for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)
  • D. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

Q11. The All-India CPI-AL/RL numbers — such as the December 2025 index released on 21 January 2026 — are published at which one of the following intervals?

  • A. Monthly, with a lag of about 20 days
  • B. Weekly, with no time lag whatsoever
  • C. Quarterly, invariably on the first day of every quarter
  • D. Annually, only at the close of the financial year