UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Provisional Estimates of Wholesale Price Index (Base Year 2022-23) for the month of August 2026

Question 1

Consider the following statements comparing the price indices currently released in India:
1. The Wholesale Price Index is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, whereas the Consumer Price Index is released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
2. Provisional WPI figures are released on the 14th of every month with a lag of about two weeks, and the index is finalised after ten weeks and frozen thereafter.
3. The Service Producer Price Index, like the WPI, is released every month, but with a lag of fifty-five days from the reference month.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 2

With reference to the statistical products compiled and released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, consider the following:
1. Trial Input Producer Price Index for the manufacturing sector
2. Index of Eight Core Industries
3. Consumer Food Price Index
4. Output Producer Price Index
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 and 4

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the Wholesale Price Index series on base 2022-23 as compared with the series on base 2011-12:
1. The total number of items in the basket has risen from 697 to 957.
2. Elementary indices in the revised series are compiled using the long-term formulation, replacing the chain-based short-term formulation used in the earlier series.
3. Every commodity that figured in the 2011-12 basket has necessarily been retained in the revised basket, the revision being confined exclusively to additions of new items.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 4

Consider the following features of India's price indices:
1. Derivation of the weighting diagram from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24
2. Classification of the basket under COICOP 2018 into twelve divisions at the first level
3. Derivation of the weighting diagram from the Gross Value of Output
4. Extension of monthly price collection to online markets in twelve towns each having a population above 25 lakh
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as features of the revised Consumer Price Index series and not of the revised Wholesale Price Index series?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4

Answer

1 and 3

Answer

2 and 3

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 5

Consider the following statements about the Wholesale Price Index and the Consumer Price Index in India:
1. The WPI basket on base 2022-23 does not cover services, service prices being tracked separately through the Service Producer Price Index for seven services.
2. The weighting diagram of the WPI on base 2022-23, like that of the CPI on base 2024=100, is drawn from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24.
3. The statutory inflation target that the Central Government determines in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India is expressed in terms of the WPI.
4. Provisional WPI estimates are released monthly and are revised into final estimates about ten weeks later, after which they are frozen.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

3 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Question 6

Consider the following statements regarding the provisional estimates of the Wholesale Price Index for August 2026 as compared with July 2026:
1. The All Commodities index rose from 110.0 to 110.8.
2. Year-on-year inflation in the Fuel and Power group rose from 20.05 per cent to 22.93 per cent.
3. Year-on-year inflation in the Primary Articles group rose from 7.76 per cent to 8.52 per cent.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 7

According to the provisional estimates for August 2026, in how many of the three major groups of the Wholesale Price Index was the year-on-year inflation rate higher than the rate recorded in July 2026?

Accepted Answer

Two

Answer

One

Answer

Three

Answer

None

Question 8

Consider the following statements regarding the Producer Price Indices introduced alongside the revised Wholesale Price Index:
1. The Service Producer Price Index covers seven services, including Banking, Insurance, Railways and Telecom, and is released quarterly, whereas the Wholesale Price Index is released monthly.
2. The Input Producer Price Index for the manufacturing sector has been introduced on a trial basis, while the Output Producer Price Index forms part of the regular monthly release.
3. The Service Producer Price Index is compiled by the National Statistical Office, while the Output Producer Price Index is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 9

As announced with the release of the revised series, for how many years is the Wholesale Price Index to continue being released alongside the Producer Price Index before it is discontinued?

Accepted Answer

Five years

Answer

Three years

Answer

Four years

Answer

Seven years

Question 10

In the revised Wholesale Price Index (base 2022-23), the weights assigned to commodities are derived from the Gross Value of Output. Which one of the following best describes what this basis measures, as against the Net Traded Value used in the 2011-12 series?

Accepted Answer

The value of output of a commodity by domestic producers, whether or not it entered wholesale trade, reflecting its significance from the producer's perspective

Answer

The value of a commodity that actually changed hands in bulk transactions, net of goods moving between units of the same enterprise

Answer

The value of a commodity retained for final consumption by households, net of intermediate use by industry

Answer

The value of domestic output of a commodity plus imports, net of exports and of changes in producers' inventories

Question 11

Consider the following statements regarding the use of price indices in India's monetary policy framework:
1. Under Section 45ZA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Central Government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank, determines the inflation target in terms of the Consumer Price Index once every five years.
2. Failure to achieve the inflation target is deemed to have occurred when average inflation breaches a tolerance level for two consecutive quarters.
3. The continued release of the Wholesale Price Index even after the introduction of the Producer Price Index has been justified by its wide usage in price escalation clauses.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Provisional Estimates of Wholesale Price Index (Base Year 2022-23) for the month of August 2026

Q7. According to the provisional estimates for August 2026, in how many of the three major groups of the Wholesale Price Index was the year-on-year inflation rate higher than the rate recorded in July 2026?

Q9. As announced with the release of the revised series, for how many years is the Wholesale Price Index to continue being released alongside the Producer Price Index before it is discontinued?

Q10. In the revised Wholesale Price Index (base 2022-23), the weights assigned to commodities are derived from the Gross Value of Output. Which one of the following best describes what this basis measures, as against the Net Traded Value used in the 2011-12 series?