UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India's Services Exports Rise to USD 421.3 Billion in FY 2025-26, Led by Telecommunications, Computer and Information Services and Business Services
Q1. Which one of the following sub-sectors contributed the single largest share (about 49%) to India's services exports in FY 2025-26?
- A. Travel- and tourism-related services
- B. Transportation and freight-logistics services
- C. Financial and insurance-linked services
- D. Telecommunications, Computer and Information Services
Q2. The USD 421.3 billion figure for India's services exports in FY 2025-26, as placed before Parliament, was based on data compiled by which one of the following?
- A. The Reserve Bank of India, through its Balance of Payments statistics
- B. The National Statistical Office, under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
- C. The Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, under the Department of Commerce
- D. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Q3. Consider the following statements regarding India's services exports over FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26:
1. Services exports rose in every one of these years, without any intervening decline.
2. Services exports crossed the USD 400 billion mark for the first time in FY 2025-26.
3. The largest year-on-year increase in absolute terms occurred between FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23.
4. Services exports exactly doubled between FY 2021-22 and FY 2025-26.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- Services exports rose in every one of these years, without any intervening decline.
- Services exports crossed the USD 400 billion mark for the first time in FY 2025-26.
- The largest year-on-year increase in absolute terms occurred between FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23.
- Services exports exactly doubled between FY 2021-22 and FY 2025-26.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 only
- D. 4 only
Q4. Consider the following statements comparing years in India's services-export series (FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26):
1. Services exports in FY 2025-26 exceeded those in FY 2024-25 by roughly USD 34 billion.
2. Services exports in FY 2025-26 were more than 1.6 times the FY 2021-22 level.
3. The absolute increase from FY 2022-23 to FY 2023-24 was larger than that from FY 2023-24 to FY 2024-25.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Services exports in FY 2025-26 exceeded those in FY 2024-25 by roughly USD 34 billion.
- Services exports in FY 2025-26 were more than 1.6 times the FY 2021-22 level.
- The absolute increase from FY 2022-23 to FY 2023-24 was larger than that from FY 2023-24 to FY 2024-25.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q5. Under the Reserve Bank of India's Balance of Payments statistics, consider the following:
1. Travel
2. Transportation
3. Software services
4. Private transfers (remittances from Indians working abroad)
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as component(s) of 'services' in India's Balance of Payments?
- Travel
- Transportation
- Software services
- Private transfers (remittances from Indians working abroad)
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 1 and 4
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q6. India's Balance of Payments, including its services account, is compiled following the standardised methodological framework prescribed by which one of the following?
- A. The International Monetary Fund, through its Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual
- B. The World Trade Organization, through its General Agreement on Trade in Services
- C. The World Bank, through its International Debt Statistics framework
- D. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, through its trade-and-development reports
Q7. Consider the following statements about the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC):
1. It was set up in 2006.
2. It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
3. It is mandated to promote exports of India's services sector.
4. It is a statutory body established under a specific Act of Parliament.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- It was set up in 2006.
- It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- It is mandated to promote exports of India's services sector.
- It is a statutory body established under a specific Act of Parliament.
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 4 only
- D. 1 and 4
Q8. Consider the following functions:
1. Acting as a platform between the government and the services industry and providing policy inputs.
2. Designing and organising market-oriented promotional events and exhibitions for services exporters.
3. Being the sole authority responsible for compiling India's official Balance of Payments services data.
4. Facilitating global business opportunities for India's services sector.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as function(s) of the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC)?
- Acting as a platform between the government and the services industry and providing policy inputs.
- Designing and organising market-oriented promotional events and exhibitions for services exporters.
- Being the sole authority responsible for compiling India's official Balance of Payments services data.
- Facilitating global business opportunities for India's services sector.
- A. 1, 2 and 4
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q9. The negotiations for the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), including its services and professional-mobility chapters, were led on the Indian side by which one of the following?
- A. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- B. The Ministry of External Affairs
- C. The Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs)
- D. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Q10. Consider the following statements about the components of the Government's four-pronged approach to promoting exports:
1. One prong is negotiating Free Trade Agreements to expand market access for Indian exporters.
2. One prong is holding stakeholder consultations to address domestic bottlenecks faced by exporters.
3. One prong is the setting of binding export targets and allocation of foreign-exchange quotas by the Reserve Bank of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- One prong is negotiating Free Trade Agreements to expand market access for Indian exporters.
- One prong is holding stakeholder consultations to address domestic bottlenecks faced by exporters.
- One prong is the setting of binding export targets and allocation of foreign-exchange quotas by the Reserve Bank of India.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q11. As per the WTO's World Trade Statistics (as cited in the Economic Survey 2025-26), which one of the following best describes India's position in world commercial services exports around 2024?
- A. Among the top seven exporters, with about a 4.3% share of world commercial services exports
- B. The single largest exporter, with more than a 10% share of world commercial services exports
- C. The second largest exporter, with about a 7% share of world commercial services exports
- D. The third largest exporter, with about a 2% share of world commercial services exports
Q12. Within the Government of India, which one of the following is the nodal department for services-export promotion, under which bodies like the SEPC operate?
- A. The Department of Commerce
- B. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
- C. The Department of Economic Affairs
- D. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology