RBI Current Affairs Quiz: 9 October 2026

The correct answer is about 36%. The Ministry of Coal said that daily supplies of coal to the power sector have climbed roughly 36% from the low point reached in September, and that the October average is around 9% higher than the September average. That rise, together with stronger rail movement, is the ministry's main answer to reports of a looming power shortage. Option A, about 12%, is far below the stated improvement and matches no figure given. Option B, about 24%, is also invented and would understate the recovery the ministry described. Option D, about 48%, overstates it; no such number appears anywhere in the clarification. Candidates should keep the pair of percentages apart: the 36% figure measures the gain over the September trough, while the smaller 9% figure compares the whole of October with the whole of September.

The correct answer is 2022-23. The National Statistics Office has prepared the draft guideline for compiling Gross State Domestic Product estimates from the expenditure side with 2022-23 as the base year, and the whole framework is described as working under the revised base year arrangement. Options A, B and D are wrong because the release names only one base year for this exercise and it is not any of these; they are offered as plausible distractors drawn from the way base years are usually revised. For the examination, hold three things together: the body that issued the document (the National Statistics Office), the ministry it belongs to (Statistics and Programme Implementation) and the base year 2022-23. Also note that comments from stakeholders were invited until 28 October 2026 through the ministry website.

The correct answer is the 57th meeting. The backgrounder states that the process reforms covering registration, return filing, refunds, input tax credit and dispute resolution were recommended at the 57th meeting of the GST Council, held in October 2026. Option B, the 56th meeting, is wrong because that meeting dealt with rates rather than process: it replaced the earlier four-tier structure with two main rates of 5 and 18 per cent, keeping a special 40 per cent rate for a select list of goods and services. Option A, the 55th meeting, is wrong because the paper nowhere credits it with these recommendations. Option D, the 58th meeting, is wrong because it had not been held when the paper was issued on 9 October 2026. A useful way to remember the pair is that the 56th Council simplified rates and the 57th Council simplified procedure.

The correct answer is 470 rakes a day. Rail loading of coal has averaged more than 465 rakes a day during October, and the ministry noted that the 470-rake target was met on three days running, which it treated as a sign that logistics had strengthened alongside production. Looking ahead, the ministry said loading held in the band of 465 to 475 rakes a day should support further stabilisation and then allow stocks to be rebuilt. Option A and option B name lower daily figures that the clarification never mentions, and both sit below even the monthly average already achieved. Option D names a figure well above the band the ministry wants sustained, so it cannot be the target that was reached. The number to memorise is the target of 470, distinct from the monthly average of more than 465.

The correct answer is Private Final Consumption Expenditure, usually shortened to PFCE. The release states plainly that while some States and Union Territories do put together estimates of Gross Fixed Capital Formation and Government Final Consumption Expenditure, no State or Union Territory is compiling PFCE at present. That is why options A and B are wrong. Option D is wrong because net exports is listed as one of the components the framework covers, not as the component singled out as missing everywhere. The draft guideline therefore supplies the concepts, coverage, data sources and estimation methods needed to build these components at the State level, and recommends allocation methods and indicators wherever direct State-level data are not available. Remember also that the draft guideline works with 2022-23 as the base year and that stakeholders were asked to send their comments by 28 October 2026 through the official website of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, while the compilation itself will rest with the State Directorates of Economics and Statistics.

The correct answer is 1.70 crore. The backgrounder records that the taxpayer base widened from roughly 60 lakh when the tax began to about 1.70 crore in September 2026, which is close to a threefold increase over nine years. Option A, 60 lakh, is wrong because that was the count in 2017, the year GST was introduced, and not the current figure. Options B and D, 1.20 crore and 2.50 crore, are wrong because neither number appears anywhere in the paper; they are plausible-looking values placed to test whether a candidate recalls the exact total. Two companion figures are worth memorising with it: the network had handled 3,053 crore invoice uploads and 833.82 crore e-way bills as on 30 September 2026, and gross collections for April to September 2026 were close to ₹12.46 lakh crore.

The correct answer is 0.116 MT a day. The Ministry of Coal reported that the rate at which coal stocks at power stations were being drawn down slowed sharply, with the daily drawdown dropping by more than half from 0.243 MT a day in September to 0.116 MT a day in October. The ministry called the position one that is stabilising, while admitting that the rebuilding of stocks has not yet started. Option A, option C and option D are invented levels that appear nowhere in the clarification; option C would also imply a fall of far more than half, and options A and D would imply a much smaller slowdown than the one reported. For the examination hall the useful anchor is the comparison itself: a drawdown of 0.243 MT a day in September against 0.116 MT a day in October, a reduction of more than fifty per cent.

The correct answer is the National Statistics Office, which functions under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. It prepared and released the draft guideline for compiling Gross State Domestic Product estimates from the expenditure side and placed the document on the ministry website for wider dissemination and feedback. Option A is wrong because NITI Aayog is the government’s policy think tank and does not compile national accounts. Option C is wrong because the Reserve Bank of India is the central bank and monetary authority, though it publishes State finance studies of its own. Option D is wrong because the Finance Commission recommends the sharing of taxes between the Union and the States. The actual compilation work under the new guideline will be done by the State Directorates of Economics and Statistics.

The correct answer is 10 days. One of the measures meant to speed up refunds is a shorter acknowledgement window: the period comes down from 15 days to 10 days, and where no response is issued within it the claim is treated as acknowledged by deeming. Option C, 15 days, is wrong because that is the older period being replaced, a classic trap that rewards reading the direction of the change. Options A and D, 7 days and 30 days, are wrong because no such period is proposed in the paper. Along with the shorter window, the reforms make refunds of surplus cash ledger balances automatic and expect about 90 per cent of a claim to be sanctioned on the system's own risk assessment, for claims arising from zero-rated supplies and from the inverted duty structure.

The correct answer is ₹5 crore. To build a trust-based tax system while keeping a deterrent against fraud, the Council recommended lifting the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore and withdrawing certain powers of arrest under GST. Option A, ₹1 crore, is wrong because that is the old threshold being raised, not the new one. Options B and D, ₹2 crore and ₹10 crore, are wrong because neither figure is mentioned in the recommendations. Related numbers from the same set are worth learning together: no show cause notice will be issued where the tax involved is below ₹10,000, the maximum general penalty falls from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000, the minimum penalty of ₹10,000 goes in non-fraud cases, and a reduced penalty of 5 per cent applies when tax and interest are paid within the time allowed after the adjudication order.