Latest Indian Economy General Knowledge(GK) Questions and answers

1 .

Retail inflation declined to a one-year low of _____ in December 2022.

A)

5.72%

B)

5.96%

C)

6.71%

D)

7.23%

Correct Answer : 5.72%

Retail inflation declined to a one-year low of 5.72 per cent in December 2022, mainly due to softening prices of food items, according to official data released on Thursday (12th Jan 2023).

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation was at 5.88 per cent in November 2022 and 5.66 per cent in December 2021.

As per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), inflation in the food basket was at 4.19 per cent in December as against 4.67 per cent in November.

After remaining above the Reserve Bank of India‘s upper tolerance threshold of 6 per cent since January 2022, retail inflation declined in November to 5.88 per cent and further in December 2022 to 5.72 per cent — its lowest level in one year..

Source : Financial Express

2 .

World Bank Predicts India's Economic Growth to Slow to _____ in FY23.

A)

6.3%

B)

6.9%

C)

7.4%

D)

7.8%

Correct Answer : 6.9%

A World Bank report has projected India’s economy to grow 6.9 per cent in FY23, much lower than the 8.7 per cent growth achieved by the country in the previous financial year.

“Growth in India is projected to slow from 8.7 percent in FY2021/22 to 6.9 percent in FY2022/23, the latter revised 0.6 percentage point lower since June,” said the World Bank in its latest Global Economic Prospects Report.

* India will be the fastest-growing economy among the seven largest emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), the report added.

* While India remains economically stronger in comparison to all other countries in the South Asian Region (SAR), the ongoing global financial slowdown could hit the nation’s growth in FY24.

* The World Bank noted that India’s goods trade deficit has more than doubled since 2019, while CAD stands at a nine-year-high at 4.4 per cent of the GDP.

* In view of the global challenges, the World Bank has projected India’s FY24 GDP growth to slow to 6.6 per cent before “falling back toward its potential rate of just above six per cent”.

* The World Bank expects global growth to decelerate sharply in 2023 to 1.7 per cent from the 3 per cent it predicted six months ago.

* The report further highlighted that policy tightening, high inflation, worsening financial conditions and continued disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have sharply dented global economic growth prospects..

Source : India Today

3 .

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

4 .

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

5 .

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

6 .

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

7 .

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

8 .

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

9 .

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

10 .

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