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Topic Foreign exchange reserves
Asked 3 times across 2 UPSC exams over 19 years (2005–2024), peaking in 2013.
Key insights
- Most tested in CSE — 2 of 3 PYQs
- Most asked in 2013
- Recurs across 3 years (2005–2024)
How it travelled across exams
First appearance in each exam — the same idea, reframed.
CSE 2005 → CDS 2024
How the concept evolved
Long-running — most appearances (2 of 3) predate 2016, and it still returns.
Related concepts
Ideas UPSC tests alongside this one — keep exploring.
Sample questions
You've seen the pattern — here are a few of the actual PYQs.
CDS2024
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
- Most of India's reserves is held in the form of foreign currency
- There is no cost of holding foreign currency as reserves by a nation
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A 1 only ✓
- B 2 only
- C Both 1 and 2
- D Neither 1 nor 2
✓ Correct answer: (A)
Economy › External Sector & Trade
CSE2013
Which one of the following groups of items is included in India's foreign-exchange reserves?
- A Foreign-currency assets, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and loans from foreign countries
- B Foreign-currency assets, gold holdings of the RBI and SDRs ✓
- C Foreign-currency assets, loans from the World Bank and SDRs
- D Foreign-currency assets, gold holdings of the RBI and loans from the World Bank
✓ Correct answer: (B)
Economy › External Sector & Trade
CSE2005
Consider the following statements
- During the year 2004, India's foreign exchange reserves did not exceed the 125 billion US Dollar mark
- The series of index numbers of wholesale prices introduced from April, 2000 has the year 1993-1994 as base year
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A 1 only
- B 2 only
- C Both 1 and 2 ✓
- D Neither 1 nor 2
✓ Correct answer: (C)
Economy › External Sector & Trade
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