RAS question
What was India's approximate retail inflation rate during April-December 2025 as reported in the Economic Survey 2025-26?
Correct answer: (B) 1.7%.
India's retail inflation averaged about 1.7% during April-December 2025, as reported in the Economic Survey 2025-26.
Explanation
The Economic Survey 2025-26 reported that India's April-December 2025 average headline inflation was 1.7%, the lowest rate since the start of the CPI series. This confirms option B. The fall was sharp when read against the 2024-25 retail inflation figure of 4.6%. The Press Information Bureau backgrounder links this moderation to a broad disinflationary trend in food and fuel prices, and notes that monetary conditions had become supportive, with the repo rate at 5.25% as of December 2025. In exam terms, the important point is not just the number, but the macroeconomic implication: lower retail inflation gave room for monetary easing.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 3.5% is too high for the April-December 2025 period, for which the cited Economic Survey figure was 1.7%.
- (C) 2.9% does not match the Economic Survey's reported April-December 2025 average headline inflation of 1.7%.
- (D) 4.6% refers to the earlier 2024-25 retail inflation level, not the April-December 2025 figure.
Concept
This tests inflation measurement and macroeconomic policy signals in the Indian Economy syllabus. RAS often asks such Economic Survey figures because they connect current data with monetary-policy reasoning.