Indian economy · Updated 29 September 2026
India's key numbers
The figures current-affairs questions keep asking for, each checked against the RBI, MoSPI, the Budget documents or the IMF and dated. Read them once, then switch on self-test and tap to reveal.
Monetary policy
RBI rates and reserve ratios
- 5.75%MSF Marginal Standing FacilityBanks borrow overnight from RBI against government securities, even from their SLR holdings. The ceiling of the corridor.
- 5.75%Bank rate Bank RateRBI's rate for rediscounting bills; now aligned with the MSF rate and used mainly as a penal-rate reference.
- 5.50%Repo Policy Repo RateThe policy rate the MPC sets: RBI lends to banks against government securities.
- 5.25%SDF Standing Deposit FacilityBanks park surplus funds with RBI without collateral. The floor of the corridor since April 2022.
- 3.35%Reverse repo Fixed Reverse Repo RateRBI absorbs funds against collateral. Kept at its own discretion below the SDF; no longer the floor.
Order to memorise, highest first
MSF 5.75=Bank rate 5.75>Repo 5.50>SDF 5.25>Reverse repo 3.35>CRR 3.00
Repo ± 25 bps gives the corridor: MSF above, SDF below. SLR (18%) is a ratio, not a rate, and sits outside the ladder.
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)
3.00%
Share of net demand and time liabilities banks keep as cash with RBI. Earns no interest.
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)
18.00%
Share of net demand and time liabilities banks hold in cash, gold or approved government securities.
MPC meeting of 5–7 October 2026: repo raised by 25 bps to 5.50%, stance changed to calibrated tightening. Previous change: cut from 5.50% to 5.25% in December 2025. Next meeting: 2–4 December 2026. Rates as displayed on the RBI website, 29 September 2026.
Output
GDP: size, rank, growth
Nominal GDP, 2026
$4.15 trillion
#6 in the world
Behind United States, China, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom.
GDP at PPP, 2026
$18.9 trillion
#3 in the world
Behind China and United States.
GDP per capita, 2026
$2,813
$12,801 at PPP
About 140th–150th of roughly 190 economies. Published lists differ by which territories they include, so treat any single rank with care.
Why '6th', when you may have read '4th'
IMF's April 2026 projections put India behind the UK and Japan in dollar terms. The rupee's fall (about ₹96 per dollar now) shrinks India's GDP measured in dollars even while it grows fast in rupees. In PPP terms, which removes exchange-rate swings, India is third.
Real GDP growth, 2025–26
7.8%
Nominal 8.6%. Nominal GDP ₹345.37 lakh crore. Provisional estimates, June 2026.
Latest quarter: Q1 2026–27 (April–June 2026)
7.8%
Real GDP growth. Real GVA 8.2%, nominal GDP 10.3%. Released 31 August 2026.
Size and ranks: IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2026 (projections for 2026). Growth: MoSPI, new series with base year 2022–23. RBI reference rate, ₹ per US$, as shown on RBI's website on 29 September 2026: ₹95.97.
Structure
Sectors: output vs jobs
Share of GVA, 2025–26Share of workers, 2025
Agriculture & allied
IndustryMining, manufacturing, utilities, construction
Services
The one fact behind a dozen questions
Agriculture holds about 43% of workers but produces about 18% of output: output per worker there is well under half the average. Services are the reverse: over half of output with under a third of workers.
GVA at current prices, 2025–26 provisional estimates (MoSPI, June 2026). Workers in usual status, PLFS Annual Report 2025. Within jobs: Manufacturing 12.1%, construction 12.0%, trade-hotels-restaurants 12.9%, transport-storage-communication 5.8%, other services 13.1%, utilities 0.7%, mining 0.3%.
Fiscal
Union Budget 2026–27: the totals
Total expenditure
₹53.47 lakh cr
Capital expenditure ₹12.22 lakh cr; effective capital expenditure ₹17.15 lakh cr.
Interest payments
₹14.04 lakh cr
The single largest item: about a fifth of all spending.
Net tax revenue to the Centre
₹28.67 lakh cr
Revenue receipts ₹35.33 lakh cr.
Deficits, % of GDP
4.3%
Fiscal deficit
₹16.96 lakh cr · RE 2025–26: 4.4%
1.5%
Revenue deficit
₹5.92 lakh cr · RE 2025–26: 1.5%
0.3%
Effective revenue deficit
₹1.00 lakh cr · RE 2025–26: 0.6%
0.7%
Primary deficit
₹2.92 lakh cr · RE 2025–26: 0.8%
Ascending: effective revenue deficit (0.3%) < primary (0.7%) < revenue (1.5%) < fiscal (4.3%). Fiscal deficit = total expenditure − (revenue receipts + recoveries of loans + other receipts); primary deficit = fiscal deficit − interest.
Five largest items after interest
- 1Transport₹5,98,520 cr
- 2Defence₹5,94,585 cr
- 3Subsidies (food, fertiliser, petroleum)Food ₹2,27,629 cr; fertiliser ₹1,70,781 cr; petroleum ₹12,085 cr₹4,10,495 cr
- 4Pension₹2,96,214 cr
- 5Rural Development₹2,73,108 cr
“Expenditure of Major Items”, Budget at a Glance 2026–27, Budget Estimates.
Fiscal
The rupee: where it comes from, where it goes
- Borrowings & other liabilities24p=
- Income tax21p−1
- Corporation tax18p+1
- GST & other taxes15p−3
- Non-tax revenue10p+1
- Union excise duties6p+1
- Customs4p=
- Non-debt capital receipts2p+1
- States' share of taxes22p=
- Interest payments20p=
- Central sector schemes17p+1
- Defence11p+3
- Centrally sponsored schemes8p=
- Finance Commission & other transfers7p−1
- Other expenditure7p−3
- Major subsidies6p=
- Civil pensions2p=
Watch out for
What the rupee charts catch people on
- Borrowing is the biggest single source (24 paise), ahead of income tax (21) and corporation tax (18).
- Income tax now beats corporation tax. 21 vs 18 paise in 2026–27.
- States' share (22 paise) is the largest outgoing, just ahead of interest (20). Defence is 11.
- These charts include the states' share of taxes, which the main budget table nets out, so the totals differ.
Practice
Check yourself
Numbers to know
1Arrange in ascending order (as of October 2026): A. MSF B. SDF C. CRR D. Repo E. Reverse repo
2Per the IMF's April 2026 projections, India's rank by nominal GDP is:
3The fiscal deficit target in the Union Budget 2026–27 (BE) is:
4In the 2026–27 'rupee comes from', the largest single source is:
5Agriculture's share of workers (PLFS 2025) and of GVA (2025–26) are closest to:
6Real GDP growth in Q1 (April–June) 2026–27 was:
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India: current rates (homepage)
- MoSPI: Press note on GDP estimates for Q1 2026-27 (31 Aug 2026)
- MoSPI: Provisional Estimates of GDP for 2025-26 (5 Jun 2026)
- MoSPI: PLFS Annual Report 2025 press note
- Ministry of Finance: Budget at a Glance 2026-27
- IMF: World Economic Outlook database, April 2026
Checked on 29 September 2026. Rates change at MPC meetings and GDP with each quarterly release; check the date before quoting.
Try it on real questions
Thirteen past-paper questions on these numbers
From UGC NET and CUET-PG. They use earlier years' figures, but the patterns (order the rates, the rupee shares, the deficits) are exactly the ones above.
These are questions from the TestStop bank. A free account answers 10 a day, each with its worked solution; All-Access opens every set with no daily limit.
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