Economy MCQs for UPSC Prelims — March 2026

Q1. Since the inception of India's APA programme in 2012, which financial year recorded the highest-ever number of APAs signed in a single year?

  • A. FY 2025-26
  • B. FY 2023-24
  • C. FY 2022-23
  • D. FY 2024-25

Q2. How many methods are prescribed for the computation of the Arm's Length Price under Section 92C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (read with the Income-tax Rules)?

  • A. Four
  • B. Five
  • C. Six
  • D. Three

Q3. In FY 2025-26, the CBDT signed Bilateral APAs pursuant to Mutual Agreements with how many of India's treaty partners?

  • A. 11
  • B. 13
  • C. 9
  • D. 15

Q4. The record 219 Advance Pricing Agreements signed in FY 2025-26 were entered into by the CBDT, which functions under which Union Ministry?

  • A. Ministry of Finance
  • B. Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • D. Ministry of Law and Justice

Q5. Bilateral and Multilateral APAs are negotiated on India's behalf by its 'Competent Authority'. Which body discharges this function?

  • A. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
  • B. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)
  • C. The Authority for Advance Rulings
  • D. The Dispute Resolution Panel

Q6. In the context of the APA scheme, Section 92CD of the Income-tax Act, 1961 deals specifically with which one of the following?

  • A. Filing of a modified return of income to give effect to an APA already entered into
  • B. The power of the CBDT to enter into an APA with a taxpayer
  • C. The choice of the most appropriate method for determining the arm's length price
  • D. Imposition of penalty for failure to maintain transfer-pricing documentation

Q7. Including the rollback provision, what is the maximum number of years of price certainty an Advance Pricing Agreement under the Income-tax Act, 1961 can provide to a taxpayer?

  • A. 7 years
  • B. 9 years
  • C. 5 years
  • D. 11 years

Q8. The full basic customs duty exemption on 17 life-saving drugs announced in Budget 2026-27 was aimed primarily at easing the treatment burden of patients suffering from which condition?

  • A. Rare diseases
  • B. Cancer
  • C. Tuberculosis
  • D. Diabetes

Q9. With reference to the Quick Estimate and revision cycle of the IIP, which of the following statements are correctly identified?

  1. The Quick Estimate is normally released on the 28th of every month (or the next working day).
  2. Along with each month's Quick Estimate, the previous month's index undergoes its first revision.
  3. The index for the month two months prior undergoes final revision in the same release.
  4. Once released, a Quick Estimate is treated as final and is never revised thereafter.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 4
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q10. Regarding the historical evolution of the IIP, which of the following statements are correctly identified?

  1. The base year of the IIP was revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in the year 2017.
  2. The current series classifies industrial output under the National Industrial Classification (NIC) 2008.
  3. The base-year revision to 2011-12 raised the number of broad sectors from three to six.
  4. The IIP was first compiled in India in the 1950s.
  • A. 1, 2 and 4
  • B. 1 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q11. For the purpose of macroeconomic analysis, the Index of Industrial Production is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A volume index measuring changes in the real output of industry
  • B. A value index measuring changes in the nominal turnover of industry
  • C. A price index measuring changes in wholesale prices of industrial goods
  • D. A composite index measuring changes in industrial employment

Q12. With reference to the role and nature of the IIP in macroeconomic policy, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It is a high-frequency indicator used as an input in the estimation of Gross Value Added (GVA)/GDP.
  2. It is one of the indicators considered by the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee in assessing industrial activity.
  3. It is a volume index that measures changes in real output and does not directly measure price changes.
  4. Being a comprehensive index, it is the sole and exclusive basis on which the Monetary Policy Committee fixes the policy repo rate.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 4 only
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 2 only

Q13. With reference to the Quick Estimate of IIP for February 2026, consider the following statements on year-on-year growth. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Overall IIP grew by 5.2 percent.
  2. Manufacturing grew by 6.0 percent.
  3. Mining grew by 3.1 percent.
  4. Electricity grew by 4.3 percent.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 1 and 4
  • D. 4 only

Q14. In the Quick Estimate of IIP for February 2026, how many of the 23 NIC 2-digit manufacturing industry groups recorded positive year-on-year growth?

  • A. 14
  • B. 12
  • C. 18
  • D. 23

Q15. Which of the following are correctly identified as use-based categories of the IIP (base 2011-12)?

  1. Primary Goods
  2. Capital Goods
  3. Export-Oriented Goods
  4. Consumer Non-Durable Goods
  • A. 1, 2 and 4
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q16. In the use-based classification of the IIP, which category was specially created to classify finished goods used primarily as inputs in the infrastructure or construction industry that could not be placed under consumer durables or intermediate goods?

  • A. Infrastructure/Construction Goods
  • B. Intermediate Goods
  • C. Capital Goods
  • D. Primary Goods

Q17. In the IIP (base 2011-12), what is the weight assigned to the Manufacturing sector?

  • A. 77.63 percent
  • B. 75.53 percent
  • C. 14.37 percent
  • D. 7.99 percent

Q18. In the current IIP series (base 2011-12), the items are clubbed into how many item groups across the three sectors taken together?

  • A. 407
  • B. 405
  • C. 397
  • D. 682

Q19. The all-India Index of Industrial Production is compiled as a fixed-base index using which one of the following index-number formulae?

  • A. Laspeyres' formula
  • B. Paasche's formula
  • C. Fisher's ideal formula
  • D. Marshall-Edgeworth formula

Q20. Under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, what is the green hydrogen production capacity that India targets to develop per annum by 2030?

  • A. At least 5 MMT (million metric tonnes)
  • B. At least 1 MMT
  • C. At least 10 MMT
  • D. At least 50 MMT

Q21. With reference to the green ammonia agreements exchanged under the NGHM, consider the following four entities identified as green ammonia suppliers (producers). Which one is NOT correctly identified as a supplier?

  1. ACME Cleantech
  2. NTPC Renewable Energy Limited
  3. Jakson Green
  4. IFFCO
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4

Q22. Which company secured the single largest green ammonia supply allocation (about 3,70,000 TPA) under the SECI offtake agreements exchanged in March 2026?

  • A. ACME Cleantech
  • B. NTPC Renewable Energy Limited
  • C. Jakson Green
  • D. Oriana Power

Q23. Under the SIGHT programme of the NGHM, the Government enhanced its allocation primarily to make which sector the lead demand anchor for green ammonia/green hydrogen?

  • A. Fertilizer sector
  • B. Petroleum refining sector
  • C. Iron and steel sector
  • D. City gas distribution sector

Q24. In which year was the National Green Hydrogen Mission approved by the Union Cabinet?

  • A. 2021
  • B. 2022
  • C. 2023
  • D. 2024

Q25. In India's mineral policy framework, the term 'critical mineral' is best defined as a mineral that is:

  • A. Essential for economic development and national security, with a high risk of supply-chain disruption
  • B. Found only in offshore and deep-seabed deposits within India's Exclusive Economic Zone
  • C. Any mineral whose royalty rate is fixed exclusively by the State Government concerned
  • D. A mineral classified as radioactive and reserved solely for the Department of Atomic Energy

Q26. Under the MMDR Act, 1957, the power to notify or declare a particular mineral as a 'minor mineral' rests with which authority?

  • A. The Central Government
  • B. The concerned State Government
  • C. The Indian Bureau of Mines
  • D. The Geological Survey of India

Q27. In the context of the Ministry of Mines' 2025 reform to fast-track auctioned blocks, what do the prescribed 'intermediate timelines' refer to?

  • A. Fixed clearance milestones between the grant of a block at auction and the start of production
  • B. The minimum gap that must elapse between two successive auction tranches of the same mineral
  • C. The validity period of an exploration licence before it lapses
  • D. The interval after which the national critical minerals list must be revised

Q28. Which financial year recorded the highest-ever number of mineral block auctions in a single year - the first time the 200-block mark was crossed, with 212 blocks auctioned?

  • A. FY 2025-26
  • B. FY 2024-25
  • C. FY 2023-24
  • D. FY 2022-23

Q29. The National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) was established under which section of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957?

  • A. Section 9C
  • B. Section 9B
  • C. Section 9A
  • D. Section 18

Q30. Funds collected under the District Mineral Foundation are channelled primarily for the implementation of which flagship welfare scheme for mining-affected areas?

  • A. Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana
  • B. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
  • C. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
  • D. Aspirational Districts Programme
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