India's foreign exchange reserve at the end of December, 2024 was:

Question

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Correct — B, USD 640.3 billion. The Economic Survey 2024-25 records India's foreign exchange reserves at USD 640.3 billion as at end-December 2024, an import cover of about 10.9 months and enough to cover roughly 90 per cent of the country's external debt. The figure comes after a sharp swing during 2024: reserves had climbed to an all-time high of about USD 705 billion in late September 2024 and then fell over October-December as the rupee came under pressure and the Reserve Bank sold dollars to smooth the move.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) A digit-shuffle of 640.3 — the 4 and the 0 exchanged. Not the end-December 2024 figure reported by the Economic Survey.  (c) Another rearrangement of the same three digits; no official release puts reserves at this level at end-December 2024.  (d) Close enough to look right but still a shuffle. The Survey's figure is 640.3, not 630.4 — a ten-billion-dollar decoy for anyone recalling the number loosely.

Concept: Foreign exchange reserves are the external assets held by the Reserve Bank of India and reported weekly. They have four components: foreign currency assets (by far the largest), gold, Special Drawing Rights allotted by the IMF, and India's Reserve Tranche Position at the IMF. Reserves are not government income; they are a buffer that lets the country pay for imports, service external debt and absorb capital-flow shocks, and they give the RBI room to steady the rupee. Their adequacy is judged not in absolute dollars but in ratios — months of import cover, and reserves as a share of external debt.

State PCS 2026 Q85 — Economy PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2026 Q85 — Economy PYQ with Answer