UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) revised base year of the Consumer Price Index from 2012=100 to 2024=100

Q1. With reference to the revised Consumer Price Index series on base 2024=100, consider the following statements: 1. The revised series was released on 12 February 2026. 2. Inflation data under this series are available from January 2026 onwards. 3. The series it replaced had derived its item basket and weights from the household consumption pattern of 2011-12. 4. The series it replaced carried 2010=100 as its base. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The revised series was released on 12 February 2026.
  2. Inflation data under this series are available from January 2026 onwards.
  3. The series it replaced had derived its item basket and weights from the household consumption pattern of 2011-12.
  4. The series it replaced carried 2010=100 as its base.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q2. Under the revised Consumer Price Index series on base 2024=100, monthly urban price collection is carried out across how many towns?

  • A. 310 towns spread over the States and Union Territories
  • B. 434 towns spread over the States and Union Territories
  • C. 1,395 towns spread over the States and Union Territories
  • D. 1,465 towns spread over the States and Union Territories

Q3. With reference to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24, whose results supplied the weights for the CPI 2024=100 series, consider the following statements: 1. The survey was conducted over the period August 2023 to July 2024. 2. It was carried out by the National Statistical Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. 3. The average monthly per capita consumption expenditure estimated for 2023-24 was about Rs. 4,122 in rural India and Rs. 6,996 in urban India. 4. Primary data were canvassed entirely through paper schedules, a digital instrument having been ruled out for a survey of this scale. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The survey was conducted over the period August 2023 to July 2024.
  2. It was carried out by the National Statistical Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
  3. The average monthly per capita consumption expenditure estimated for 2023-24 was about Rs. 4,122 in rural India and Rs. 6,996 in urban India.
  4. Primary data were canvassed entirely through paper schedules, a digital instrument having been ruled out for a survey of this scale.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 3 and 4
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 2 and 3

Q4. In the weighting structure of the CPI 2024=100 series derived from the latest consumption survey, which one of the following carries the single largest weight in the all-India basket?

  • A. Food and beverages, at about 36.75 per cent of the basket
  • B. Transport, at about 36.75 per cent of the basket
  • C. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, at about 36.75 per cent
  • D. Miscellaneous goods and services, at about 36.75 per cent of the basket

Q5. With reference to COICOP 2018, the classification adopted for India's revised Consumer Price Index, consider the following statements: 1. It was endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its forty-ninth session in 2018 and recommended as a statistical standard. 2. It is arranged in four hierarchical levels, namely divisions, groups, classes and subclasses. 3. Its purpose is to classify general government outlays by function, and it is the framework used for compiling India's Index of Industrial Production. 4. It was approved along with three other purpose-based functional classifications of the System of National Accounts — COPNI, COFOG and COPP. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It was endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its forty-ninth session in 2018 and recommended as a statistical standard.
  2. It is arranged in four hierarchical levels, namely divisions, groups, classes and subclasses.
  3. Its purpose is to classify general government outlays by function, and it is the framework used for compiling India's Index of Industrial Production.
  4. It was approved along with three other purpose-based functional classifications of the System of National Accounts — COPNI, COFOG and COPP.
  • A. 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4

Q6. Consider the following statements regarding the hierarchical structure of COICOP 2018 and its application in India's CPI 2024=100 series: 1. COICOP 2018, as published, comprises 15 divisions at its first level. 2. The Indian CPI 2024 series maps its basket to 12 divisions and 43 groups. 3. The Indian CPI 2024 series has 92 subclasses and 162 classes. 4. The lowest level of the CPI 2024 hierarchy consists of 358 items. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. COICOP 2018, as published, comprises 15 divisions at its first level.
  2. The Indian CPI 2024 series maps its basket to 12 divisions and 43 groups.
  3. The Indian CPI 2024 series has 92 subclasses and 162 classes.
  4. The lowest level of the CPI 2024 hierarchy consists of 358 items.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q7. Of the weighted items at the all-India level in the CPI 2024=100 basket, how many are services items?

  • A. 40 services items out of the total weighted item basket
  • B. 50 services items out of the total weighted item basket
  • C. 58 services items out of the total weighted item basket
  • D. 308 services items out of the total weighted item basket

Q8. Regarding the composition of the weighted item basket of the CPI series on base 2024=100, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. Goods form the larger part of the weighted item basket, even as the number of services items has risen over the previous series
  • B. Services items now outnumber goods items, the count of goods having been cut to below half of the weighted basket
  • C. The number of weighted items at the all-India level is unchanged from the previous series, only the weights having been revised
  • D. The basket consists exclusively of goods, services being captured entirely through the separately compiled food price index

Q9. The provisional All India CPI inflation rate of 2.75 per cent reported for January 2026 under the new series is, in precise terms, a measure of which one of the following?

  • A. The change in the combined index for January 2026 over the combined index for January 2025, both on the 2024=100 base
  • B. The change in the combined index for January 2026 over that for December 2025, expressed at an annualised rate
  • C. The change in the combined index for January 2026 over the average index level of the base year 2024
  • D. The simple average of the reported rural and urban inflation rates for January 2026, weighted by their population shares

Q10. The new series of the Wholesale Price Index on base 2022-23, released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, covers how many items?

  • A. 463 items, against a smaller number in the preceding series
  • B. 697 items, against a smaller number in the preceding series
  • C. 957 items, against a smaller number in the preceding series
  • D. 1,042 items, against a smaller number in the preceding series

Q11. Consider the following statements about India's official statistical machinery: 1. The National Statistical Office was formed in May 2005 by merging the then Central Statistical Organisation and the National Sample Survey Organisation. 2. The National Statistical Commission was set up by a Government of India resolution of 1 June 2005 and was constituted with effect from 12 July 2006. 3. The creation of a National Statistical Office headed by a National Statistician was recommended by the Rangarajan Commission, which reviewed the Indian statistical system. 4. The Wholesale Price Index is compiled by the National Statistical Office, while the Index of Industrial Production is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The National Statistical Office was formed in May 2005 by merging the then Central Statistical Organisation and the National Sample Survey Organisation.
  2. The National Statistical Commission was set up by a Government of India resolution of 1 June 2005 and was constituted with effect from 12 July 2006.
  3. The creation of a National Statistical Office headed by a National Statistician was recommended by the Rangarajan Commission, which reviewed the Indian statistical system.
  4. The Wholesale Price Index is compiled by the National Statistical Office, while the Index of Industrial Production is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 4 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Q12. Consider the following statements regarding India's flexible inflation targeting framework, for which the CPI is the anchor: 1. The inflation target is set by the Central Government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India once every five years. 2. In its review of March 2026, the Central Government retained the 4 per cent target with a tolerance band of +/-2 percentage points for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031. 3. The statutory basis for the framework was created by amending the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 in 2016. 4. The notified target is expressed in terms of the Wholesale Price Index, the CPI (Combined) being used only to compute real interest rates. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The inflation target is set by the Central Government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India once every five years.
  2. In its review of March 2026, the Central Government retained the 4 per cent target with a tolerance band of +/-2 percentage points for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031.
  3. The statutory basis for the framework was created by amending the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 in 2016.
  4. The notified target is expressed in terms of the Wholesale Price Index, the CPI (Combined) being used only to compute real interest rates.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3 only