UPSC CSE 2025 Economy Previous Year Questions

With reference to investments, consider the following:

I. Bonds

II. Hedge Funds

III. Stocks

IV. Venture Capital

How many of the above are treated as Alternative Investment Funds?

Which of the following are the sources of income for the Reserve Bank of India?

I. Buying and selling Government bonds

II. Buying and selling foreign currency

III. Pension fund management

IV. Lending to private companies

V. Printing and distributing currency notes

Select the correct answer using the code given below

Consider the following statements:

I. The Reserve Bank of India mandates all the listed companies in India to submit a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR).

II. In India, a company submitting a BRSR makes disclosures in the report that are largely non-financial in nature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements:

Statement I: In India, income from allied agricultural activities like poultry farming and wool rearing in rural areas is exempted from any tax.

Statement II: In India, rural agricultural land is not considered a capital asset under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements:

I. India has joined the Minerals Security Partnership as a member.

II. India is a resource-rich country in all the 30 critical minerals that it has identified.

III. The Parliament in 2023 has amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 empowering the Central Government to exclusively auction mining lease and composite license for certain critical minerals.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following statements:

Statement I: As regards returns from an investment in a company, generally, bondholders are considered to be relatively at lower risk than stockholders.

Statement II: Bondholders are lenders to a company whereas stockholders are its owners.

Statement III: For repayment purpose, bondholders are prioritized over stockholders by a company.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements:

I. India accounts for a very large portion of all equity option contracts traded globally thus exhibiting a great boom.

II. India's stock market has grown rapidly in the recent past even overtaking Hong Kong's at some point of time.

III. There is no regulatory body either to warn the small investors about the risks of options trading or to act on unregistered financial advisors in this regard.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following statements:

I. Capital receipts create a liability or cause a reduction in the assets of the Government.

II. Borrowings and disinvestment are capital receipts.

III. Interest received on loans creates a liability of the Government.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following statements about the Rashtriya Gokul Mission:

I. It is important for the upliftment of rural poor as majority of low producing indigenous animals are with small and marginal farmers and landless labourers.

II. It was initiated to promote indigenous cattle and buffalo rearing and conservation in a scientific and holistic manner.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following launched the 'Nature Solutions Finance Hub for Asia and the Pacific'?

Consider the following activities:

I. Production of crude oil

II. Refining, storage and distribution of petroleum

III. Marketing and sale of petroleum products

IV. Production of natural gas

How many of the above activities are regulated by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board in our country?

Suppose the revenue expenditure is ₹80,000 crores and the revenue receipts of the Government are ₹60,000 crores. The Government budget also shows borrowings of ₹10,000 crores and interest payments of ₹6,000 crores. Which of the following statements are correct?

I. Revenue deficit is ₹20,000 crores.

II. Fiscal deficit is ₹10,000 crores.

III. Primary deficit is ₹4,000 crores.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Consider the following statements:

Statement I: Of the two major ethanol producers in the world, i.e., Brazil and the United States of America, the former produces more ethanol than the latter.

Statement II: Unlike in the United States of America where corn is the principal feedstock for ethanol production, sugarcane is the principal feedstock for ethanol production in Brazil.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

A country's fiscal deficit stands at ₹50,000 crores. It is receiving ₹10,000 crores through non-debt creating capital receipts. The country's interest liabilities are ₹1,500 crores. What is the gross primary deficit?

Which of the following statements with regard to recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission of India are correct?

I. It has recommended grants of ₹4,800 crores from the year 2022–23 to the year 2025–26 for incentivizing States to enhance educational outcomes.

II. 45% of the net proceeds of Union taxes are to be shared with States.

III. ₹45,000 crores are to be kept as performance-based incentive for all States for carrying out agricultural reforms.

IV. It reintroduced tax effort criteria to reward fiscal performance.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Consider the following statements in respect of RTGS and NEFT:

I. In RTGS, the settlement time is instantaneous while in case of NEFT, it takes some time to settle payments.

II. In RTGS, the customer is charged for inward transactions while that is not the case for NEFT.

III. Operating hours for RTGS are restricted on certain days while this is not true for NEFT.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following countries:

I. United Arab Emirates

II. France

III. Germany

IV. Singapore

V. Bangladesh

How many countries amongst the above are there other than India where international merchant payments are accepted under UPI?