Latest Indian Economy General Knowledge(GK) Questions and answers

1 .

By how many billions did India's international financial assets decline between July-September 2022?

A)

$46.1 billion

B)

$48.6 billion

C)

$52.2 billion

D)

$56.5 billion

Correct Answer : $56.5 billion

The net claims of non-residents on India increased by $34.3 billion during Q2 of FY23 and stood at $389.6 billion in September 2022, data released by Released Bank of India (RBI) on India’s International Investment Position (IIP) indicate.

* As per the data, India’s international financial assets declined by $56.5 billion during July-September 2022 with valuation losses accounting for a major part. Reserve assets remained the dominant component (62.9% share) of India’s international financial assets, the RBI said.

* The fall in India’s foreign liabilities during Q2 was attributed primarily to direct investment (net) outflows; portfolio and other investments also recorded marginal decline on a net basis, barring trade credit which increased by $5.1 billion.

* Variation in the exchange rate of rupee vis-a-vis other currencies also impacted the change in liabilities, when valued in U.S. dollar terms, the RBI said..

Source : The Hindu

2 .

India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed a record _______billion transactions in December 2022, worth a total of INR 12.82tn ($174.6bn).

A)

7.82 Billion

B)

8.51 Billion

C)

9.35 Billion

D)

9.87 Billion

Correct Answer : 7.82 Billion

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) closed the year 2022 on a high note as the number of transactions reached a record 7.82 billion in December 2022 and totalled Rs 12.82 trillion, also a record high.

The volume of transactions in December increased by 7.12 per cent when compared to November, while the value of transactions increased by 7.73 per cent during the same period, according to data issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the country's regulatory authority for retail digital payments.

According to NPCI data, approximately 74 billion transactions worth Rs 125.94 trillion were conducted using UPI in calendar year 2022.

The platform handled more than 38 billion transactions totalling Rs 71.54 trillion in 2021. As a result, nearly 90 per cent more transactions took place on the platform in a year, and their average value increased by 76 per cent..

Source : Outlook India

3 .

India's goods and services tax receipts increased _____% year over year in December 2022 to Rs 1.49 lakh crore ($18.07 bn).

A)

7%

B)

9%

C)

12%

D)

15%

Correct Answer : 15%

India's goods and services tax receipts in December rose 15% year-on-year to Rs 1.49 lakh crore ($18.07 billion), a government statement said on 1st Dec 2022, reflecting strong economic activity during the festive season.

* Goods and services taxes brought in Rs 1.46 lakh crore in November 2022.

* The gross GST revenue collected during December 2022 is Rs 1,49,507 crore, of which CGST is Rs 26,711 crore, SGST is Rs 33,357 crore, IGST is Rs 78,434 crore (including Rs 40,263 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 11,005 crore (including Rs 850 crore collected on import of goods).

* The Government has settled Rs 36,669 crore to CGST and Rs 31,094 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement.

* The total revenue of Centre and the States after regular settlements in the month of December 2022 is Rs 63,380 crore for CGST and Rs 64,451 crore for the SGST.

* Finance ministry statement, during the month, revenues from import of goods was 8% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 18% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

* "During the month of November, 2022, 7.9 crore e-way bills were generated, which was significantly higher than 7.6 crore e-way bills generated in October, 2022.".

Source : Economic Times

4 .

India's April-November Fiscal Deficit Widens on-year to ____% of FY23.

A)

52.3%

B)

54.72%

C)

58.9%

D)

61.37%

Correct Answer : 58.9%

The Centre’s fiscal deficit for the April-November period of the current fiscal year (FY2023) came in at Rs 9.78 trillion, or 58.9 per cent of the Budget Estimate (BE) of Rs 16.6 trillion, compared with Rs 6.96 trillion or 46.2 per cent for the same period last year.

The fiscal deficit widened as a percentage of full-year target year-on-year due to lower tax and non-tax revenue and much higher capital expenditure outlay.

In fact, in November, the fiscal deficit widened by Rs 2.2 trillion, the highest ever in any month this financial year.

“In April-November FY23, the fiscal deficit widened considerably, with net tax revenues reporting moderate growth of 8 per cent, amidst an 11 per cent contraction in non-tax revenues, 11 per cent rise in revenue expenditure, and high 63 per cent expansion in capex,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist with ICRA.

Net tax revenue for the April-November period was Rs 12.25 trillion or 63.3 per cent of the full-year target, compared with 73.5 per cent for the same period last year(2022).

Non-tax revenue came in at 73.5 per cent compared with 91.8 per cent for the same period last year, while non-debt capital receipts (primarily divestment proceeds) stood at 52.3 per cent compared with 11 per cent, primarily on the back of proceeds from LIC’s IPO earlier in the year..

Source : Business Standard

5 .

India's overall trade deficit for goods and services down at ________ in November 2022.

A)

$9.42 billion

B)

$10.03 billion

C)

$11.11 billion

D)

$13.15 billion

Correct Answer : $11.11 billion

India’s overall trade deficit for goods and services in November 2022 fell to $11.11 billion, lower than last year(2021), data released by the Commerce Ministry showed. The overall trade deficit was $13.19 billion in November 2021.

Exports (merchandise and services combined) grew 10.97 per cent y-o-y to $58.22 billion, while the import in November grew 5.60 per cent to $69.33 billion.

India’s overall exports in the April-November period grew 17.72 per cent y-o-y to $499.67 billion..

Source : The Hindu Businessline

6 .

Wholesale price-based inflation declined to a 21-month low of _____ per cent in November 2022.

A)

5.73%

B)

5.85%

C)

5.93%

D)

6.24%

Correct Answer : 5.85%

The wholesale price-based inflation declined to a 21-month low of 5.85 per cent in November 2022 on easing prices of food, fuel and manufactured items.

* After remaining in double digits for 19 months, the wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation declined to 8.39 per cent in October. The inflation was 14.87 per cent in November 2021.

* "Decline in the rate of inflation in November 2022, is primarily contributed by fall in prices of food articles, basic metals, textiles, chemicals & chemical products and paper & paper products as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year," the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Wednesday(14th Dec 2022).

* A lower level of inflation recorded in November 2022 was last seen in February 2021, when WPI inflation printed at 4.83 per cent..

Source : India Today

7 .

What is the percentage of retail inflation in November 2022?

A)

5.88%

B)

5.95%

C)

6.21%

D)

6.46%

Correct Answer : 5.88%

The country’s retail inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased to an 11-month low of 5.88 per cent last month, down from 6.77 per cent in October 2022.

Separately, India’s factory output, measured through the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), witnessed a contraction of (-)4.0 per cent in October, two separate data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed Monday(12th Dec 2022).

The retail inflation print has come to its lowest level since December 2021. The CPI has come below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper margin of 6 per cent for the first time in the calendar year 2022.

The government has mandated the central bank to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side for a five-year period ending March 2026..

Source : Indian Express

8 .

How many crore gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collected for November 2022?

A)

Rs 1,45,867 crore

B)

Rs 1,65,867 crore

C)

Rs 1,71,324 crore

D)

Rs 1,76,125 crore

Correct Answer : Rs 1,45,867 crore

The government on Thursday(1st Dec 2022) said that gross GST revenue collected in the month of November 2022 is Rs 1,45,867 crore, an increase of 11 per cent over last year’s corresponding month. The government collected Rs 1,31,526 crore as gross GST revenue in November 2021.

* Rs 25,681 crore is of central goods and services tax, Rs 32,651 crore is of state central goods and services tax, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance.

* It also included Rs 77,103 crore (including Rs 38,635 crore collected on import of goods) which is of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) and Rs 10,433 crore (including Rs817 crore collected on import of goods) of Cess.

* According to the statement, the government has settled Rs 33,997 crore to CGST and Rs 28,538 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement.

* The total revenue of Centre and the states after regular settlements in November 2022 is Rs 59,678 crore for CGST and Rs 61,189 crore for the SGST. In addition, Centre had also released Rs 17,000 crore as GST compensation to states/Union Territories in November 2022.

* The revenues for November 2022 are 11 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year, which itself was Rs 1,31,526 crore. During the month, revenues from the import of goods was 20 per cent higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) 8 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year..

Source : The Print

9 .

S&P Global Ratings cut India's growth forecast for FY23 by what percentage?

A)

6%

B)

6.2%

C)

6.6%

D)

7%

Correct Answer : 7%

S&P Global Ratings on Monday(28th Nov 2022) cut India's economic growth forecast for current fiscal year to 7%, but said the domestic demand-led economy will be less impacted by the global slowdown.

* S&P had in September projected the Indian economy to grow 7.3 percent in 2022-23 and 6.5 percent in next fiscal year (2023-24).

* "The global slowdown will have less impact on domestic demand-led economies such as India... India's output will expand 7 per cent in fiscal year 2022-2023 and 6 per cent in the next fiscal year," S&P Global Ratings Asia-Pacific chief economist Louis Kuijs said.

* The Indian economy grew 8.5 per cent in 2021. In its quarterly economic update for Asia-Pacific, S&P said in some countries the domestic demand recovery from Covid has further to go and this should support growth next year in India.

* It projected inflation to average 6.8 per cent in the current fiscal year and RBI's benchmark interest rate to rise to 6.25 per cent by March 2023. To control the price rise, RBI has already hiked the interest rate by 1.9 percentage points to a 3-year high of 5.9 per cent..

Source : The Hindu Businessline

10 .

The central government has released ________ crore GST compensation to States on November 24, 2022.

A)

₹26,000

B)

₹20,000

C)

₹17,000

D)

₹15,000

Correct Answer : ₹17,000

The central government on Friday(25th Nov 2022) said it has released ₹17,000 crore to states and union territories towards the balance Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation for the April-June 2022 period.

* The funds were released on Thursday(24th Nov 2022). The total amount of compensation released to states and union territories so far this fiscal, including the latest tranche, is ₹1.15 trillion, the ministry said.

* This is despite the fact that total GST cess collection till October was only ₹72,147 crore and the balance of ₹43,515 crore is being released by the Centre from its own resources.

* With this release, the Centre has released, in advance, the entire amount of cess estimated to be collected this year till March-end available for payment of compensation to states.

* This decision was taken to help states manage their resources and ensure that their programmes, especially the expenditure on capital, is carried out successfully during the financial year, the ministry said.

* In May this year, the central government had released ₹86,912 crore as provisional GST compensation to states for the February-May 2022 period despite the fact that there was only about ₹25,000 crore in the GST compensation fund, by arranging around ₹62,000 crore from its own resources..

Source : Mint

Indian Economy - General Knowledge Questions