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RAS question

India's forex reserves for the week ending December 19 stood at approximately:

Correct answer: (A) $693 billion.

India's foreign exchange reserves stood at about USD 693.32 billion for the week ending December 19.

  1. (A)

    $693 billion

  2. (B)

    $705 billion

  3. (C)

    $625 billion

  4. (D)

    $650 billion

Explanation

RBI data reported by The Economic Times placed India's forex reserves at USD 693.32 billion for the week ending December 19, a rise of USD 4.36 billion from the previous week. That matches option A's approximate figure of USD 693 billion. The point of the question is precision: the reserve level was close to, but below, the all-time high of USD 704.89 billion mentioned in the explanation. The source also notes that the reserves include components such as foreign currency assets, gold reserves, SDRs and India's reserve position with the IMF, and that RBI monitors the foreign exchange market to preserve orderly conditions rather than target a fixed exchange rate.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (B) USD 705 billion rounds to the all-time high of USD 704.89 billion, not the reported reserve level for the week ending December 19.
  • (C) USD 625 billion is too low because the source reported the December 19 reserve level at USD 693.32 billion.
  • (D) USD 650 billion understates the figure; the cited report places the reserves more than USD 40 billion higher, at about USD 693.32 billion.

Concept

This tests the external-sector indicator of foreign exchange reserves and RBI's role in monitoring the forex market. It recurs in RAS because weekly reserve data is commonly asked as an approximation-based Indian Economy current-affairs point.

Source

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