Indian Economy Mixed Practice — MCQs with Answers (Set 17)

The correct answer is (c). Convertibility means freely permitting the conversion of rupee to other currencies and vice versa, without government restriction. India has had full current-account convertibility since August 1994, but only partial capital-account convertibility — see the Tarapore Committee reports of 1997 and 2006.

The answer is ₹5,035.5 crore. This was the cumulative turnover of FPOs under the scheme as on 30 June 2025, as given in a Rajya Sabha reply of 8 August 2025. The figure keeps growing. A reply of 7 August 2026 gave ₹20,358 crore as on 31 July 2026. Always check the date on a turnover figure.

The answer is that farmers remain full owners of a member-controlled entity that pools produce, inputs and market access. An FPO is a company or a cooperative society owned by its members. Members join by buying shares, and they keep their own land. Option (a) describes contract farming, where a sponsor agrees to buy the produce. Option (c) describes pooling of land, which an FPO does not do.

The answer is ₹2 crore credit guarantee and ₹15 lakh equity grant. Each FPO can get a credit guarantee on project loans up to ₹2 crore. It also gets a matching equity grant of ₹2,000 per farmer member, up to ₹15 lakh. The ₹15 lakh cap is reached at 750 members. The scheme also gives ₹18 lakh as management cost over 3 years.

The answer is SFAC, NABARD and NCDC. The CCEA release named these three as the implementing agencies. They hire Cluster Based Business Organisations (CBBOs) to form FPOs and guide them for five years. By February 2021 the list had grown to nine agencies. APEDA and FCI are not among the implementing agencies named in the release.

The correct answer is 2022-23. MoSPI released a new series of national accounts on 27 February 2026. Its base year is 2022-23, which replaces 2011-12. PIB says 2022-23 was chosen as a recent normal year after COVID. MoSPI says R&D was capitalised in the 2011-12 series. The MoSPI note does not say whether this was the first time.

The correct answer is SNA 2025. The MoSPI FAQ says India prepares GDP estimates under SNA 2008. It says the UN is moving to SNA 2025, and countries are expected to adopt it during 2029-30. It adds that India plans to shift to SNA 2025 in its next base-year revision. MoSPI’s second discussion paper says SNA 2025 is planned for implementation by 2029-30, citing IMF communication.

The correct answer is Expensed as incurred, never capitalised. IAS 38, as adopted in the EU, says internally generated brands, mastheads, publishing titles, customer lists and similar items shall not be recognised as intangible assets. The standard gives the reason. Such expenditure cannot be distinguished from the cost of developing the business as a whole. It also says internally generated goodwill shall not be recognised as an asset.

The correct answer is Only three. SNA 2008 names the specific forms of intellectual property products. They are R&D, mineral exploration and evaluation, computer software and databases, and entertainment, literary or artistic originals. Purchased goodwill is not one of them. SNA 2008 puts purchased goodwill and marketing assets in a separate group of non-produced assets. The 1993 SNA also gave computer software, artistic originals and mineral exploration as intangible fixed assets.

The correct answer is Intellectual Property Products. The UN says the 2008 SNA introduced the capitalisation of R&D output as an intellectual property product. The OECD says the old standards treated relevant R&D purchases as intermediate consumption. The new standards record them as investment. That raises value added, and thus GDP. R&D sits in this group with four other lines in the SNA asset table.

The correct answer is Intangible asset. IAS 38 defines an intangible asset as an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance. IAS 38 para 9 names patents among its common examples of intangible resources. Para 10 says an item must also meet the definition of an intangible asset. Under SNA 2008, the R&D behind a patent is the asset. The patent is the legal agreement on the terms of access to that R&D. SNA 2008 lists inventories as a separate group.

IRB InvIT Fund was India’s first listed InvIT. It listed on 18 May 2017 at Rs 103.25 on the BSE. Its assets are toll roads sponsored by IRB Infrastructure.

A sponsor that is a company needs a net worth of at least Rs 100 crore. An LLP needs net tangible assets of that size. Sponsors must also hold at least 15% of units for three years from listing.

An InvIT must distribute at least 90% of its net distributable cash flows. A public InvIT must pay at least once every six months. A private InvIT must pay at least once a year.

InvITs are governed by the SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014. SEBI notified them on 26 September 2014. The 2023 amended text sets the sponsor, payout and asset rules used in this lesson.

The official UPSC key gives option D. Statement I is incorrect. Interest from an InvIT is taxed in the unit holder’s hands under section 115UA. Dividend is the part section 115UA leaves out. Statement II is correct. Section 162 of the Finance Act 2021 added pooled investment vehicles to the SARFAESI definition of a borrower.

China’s paddy productivity is around 6.5 tonnes per hectare, roughly double India’s 3.1 tonnes per hectare.

The answer is China. About 66.3% of China’s people lived in cities in 2025. India’s share was about 35.7%. So India, ‘equal’ and ‘both above 70%’ are wrong. Memory hook: land India, GDP and cities China.

The answer is about 4 to 5 times. China’s GDP was about US$19.5 trillion in 2025 and India’s about US$3.96 trillion. That is about 4.9 times. On PPP the gap falls to about 2.4 times. So 1.5, 2 and 10 times are wrong. Memory hook: dollars 4.9, PPP 2.4.

The answer is 2023. The UN put India ahead of China in mid-2023, at about 1,428.6 million against 1,425.7 million. The UN did not name an exact day. China’s own peak came earlier, in 2021, so 2020 and 2021 are wrong. 2025 is too late. Memory hook: India passed China in mid-2023.

Statement 1 is correct: India is a member of the IGC, designated an exporting member based on its trade position in grains, rice, and oilseeds. Statement 2 is incorrect: no country needs IGC membership to export or import rice or wheat — the Council provides market analysis and policy dialogue, not trade licensing.

UPSC CSP 2024 GS Paper I, Q59.

The IGC oversees the Grains Trade Convention, 1995, and provides impartial analysis of grain and oilseed supply-demand fundamentals to improve market transparency.

The International Grains Council is headquartered in London, where it also hosts its annual Grains Conference.

The IGC was founded in 1949 as the International Wheat Council. It adopted its present name, the International Grains Council, in 1995.