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?

  • A. 5,482
  • B. 6,906
  • C. 8,331
  • D. 9,570

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)?

  • A. Five times
  • B. Six times
  • C. Seven times
  • D. Eight times

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?

  • A. Prof. Ramesh Chand, then Member, NITI Aayog
  • B. Dr. Saumitra Chaudhuri
  • C. Dr. Bibek Debroy
  • D. Prof. Abhijit Sen

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?

  • A. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
  • B. Consumer Price Index (Combined)
  • C. GDP deflator
  • D. Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)

Q5. 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?

  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.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 3 only

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?

  1. Primary Articles
  2. Fuel & Power
  3. Manufactured Products
  4. Services
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

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?

  1. Primary Articles — 22.62%
  2. Fuel & Power — 13.15%
  3. Manufactured Products — 64.23%
  4. Primary Articles — 13.15%
  • A. 1 and 4
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 2 and 3
  • D. 3 only

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%)?

  • A. Two months
  • B. Three months
  • C. Four months
  • D. Five months

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?

  • A. Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry
  • B. National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
  • C. Monetary Policy Department, Reserve Bank of India
  • D. Central Statistics Office under NITI Aayog

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?

  • A. 2004-05 series
  • B. 2011-12 series
  • C. 1993-94 series
  • D. 2022-23 series

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?

  • A. 23 commodities
  • B. 78 commodities
  • C. 435 commodities
  • D. 697 commodities
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