RAS question
India's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation in April 2026 rose to a 42-month high of which of the following levels?
Correct answer: (C) 8.3 percent.
India's Wholesale Price Index inflation rose to 8.3 percent in April 2026, its 42-month high.
Explanation
The key is to identify the headline WPI inflation number, not a sub-index or a separate retail inflation figure. The PIB release for the April 2026 WPI says the annual rate of inflation based on the All India Wholesale Price Index stood at 8.3 percent, provisional, for April 2026. The exam-relevant comparison is that this was a 42-month high and a rise from 3.9 percent in March 2026. That is why 8.3 percent is the correct answer. The nearby figures are traps: 3.9 percent belongs to the previous month, 3.48 percent is CPI retail inflation, and 24.71 percent refers only to the Fuel and Power group within WPI.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 3.9 percent was the WPI inflation figure for March 2026, while the question asks for the April 2026 level.
- (B) 3.48 percent refers to retail CPI inflation, not Wholesale Price Index inflation.
- (D) 24.71 percent is the inflation rate for the Fuel and Power group, not the overall WPI inflation rate.
Concept
This tests the inflation indicators part of Indian Economy, especially the distinction between headline WPI, CPI and WPI sub-groups. It recurs in RAS because current economic data questions often use closely placed official figures as distractors.