Business Data Management Quiz 1: 19 July 2026 (May 2026 term)

What is the primary definition of 'needs' in economics?

Which of the following best describes the term 'insatiable wants'?

Economics is best described as:

Which of the following is an example of a 'free good' in economics?

Microeconomics focuses on:

Which of the following goods would most likely have inelastic demand?

Amazon prime raises subscription prices and many subscribers cancel. This is an example of:

In which of the below mentioned context is purchase volume is a better yardstick to differentiate than purchase value

The committee for IIT M BS Cultural Fest Paradox 2027 was formed. They decided to order newer hoodies, since there were a lot of student complaints on the product quality of hoodies that was sold earlier. A demand of 2000 hoodies was forecasted based on prior estimates. Each hoodie was to roughly cost 2000 rupees. Brand ASA was chosen as the new supplier. However, they were unable to make the customizations. Each customization (Name, Hoodie Number and IIT M logo) cost 200 rupees/ hoodie. AJB was selected as vendor to customize them. Given the expenses involved a committee was involved that monitored the purchases made. The buying situations here are

If the price of petrol increases by 10% and quantity demanded falls by only 3%, the PED ratio is approximately:

Which of the following correctly distinguishes 'wants' from 'desire' in economics?

Suppose conflict escalates between the US and Iran. This conflict leads to a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical transit route through which 20% of the world's crude oil passes. At the same time, widespread panic drives regular consumers and commercial airlines to stockpile fuel out of fear that supplies will dry up by the following week. This sudden surge in panic buying, happening along with the supply disruption, creates a severe oil shortage.
How do these two events happening at the exact same time affect the global equilibrium price (P*) and equilibrium quantity (Q*) of crude oil?

Assume, Apple launches its latest flagship iPhone-17. Simultaneously, two market forces occur: First, a global semiconductor microchip shortage severely limits manufacturing output due to trade deal tariff issues. Second, Google launches an aggressive marketing campaign during 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, that successfully convinces millions of premium smartphone users to switch to Android devices.
Assuming the drop in iPhone consumer demand is identical in magnitude to the drop in production supply, what will happen to the equilibrium price (P*) and quantity (Q*) of the new iPhone?

Use the above diagram as your geometric guide for the Question below
The student-run night canteen at IIT Madras faces a sudden supply shock due to a harvest failure in villages near Chennai, causing onion prices to rise. Baseline Equilibrium E is indicated by a green dot in the figure. Based on the graph, what is the initial equilibrium price (P*) per kilogram and the total baseline revenue generated by the onion suppliers?

Which of the following correctly distinguish microeconomics from macroeconomics?
i) Microeconomics studies the impact of Trump tariffs on individual Indian businesses; Macroeconomics studies the impact on India's overall GDP and employment rate. ii) Microeconomics uses a top-down approach; Macroeconomics uses a bottom-up approach. iii) Macroeconomics focuses on how an IPL franchise allocates its budget across players. iv) Both micro and macroeconomics involve constrained choices and optimization under resource limitations. v) Micro refers to small or makro and Macro refers to large or mikro.

Agreements and contracts are higher in B2B mainly in comparison to B2C since

A farmer's association argues that 'good news for farming' (a bumper crop/excellent harvest) can sometimes be 'bad news for farmers' financially. Which economic concept best explains this paradox?

Mini Case Study
The Economics of a Campus Mess: How Price Controls Create Shortages In the IIT Madras campus
In the IIT Madras campus, "R-Goura's" is a private contract student dining mess that serves approximately 400 to 500 students per semester. At the beginning of each academic term, students register their preferences among 10 available campus messes. Due to high demand for certain dining options, a computerized random selection process finalizes students’ allocation. R-Goura's distinguishes itself by offering a dynamic, rotating menu for a standard 4-course meal that is high in demand.
The Economic problems for R-Goura's Mess:
To provide financial predictability for students, the institute mandates that subscription rates are strictly fixed for the entire semester. R-Goura's cannot alter its prices in between semester (Price inelastic), regardless of fluctuations in commodity prices, supply chain disruptions, or shifts in student preferences .
Let us assume that at the start of the semester, the equilibrium price for a semester-long premium mess subscription under normal market conditions is calculated to be ₹15,000 per student. At this rate, exactly 450 students want to join, matching the mess’s optimal operational capacity.
However, the student senate and administration cap the maximum allowable semester rate at ₹12,000 per student. Midway through the semester, a sudden surge in gas prices, wholesale vegetable and fuel prices happened due to US-Iran geopolitical tensions, resulting in a shift in the operational cost structures across campus.
Answer the subquestions based on your understanding of how supply, demand, and market equilibrium principles apply to this case study.

Prior to the price cap, what was the natural equilibrium price (P*) and equilibrium quantity (Q*) of students that R-Goura's would host without administrative intervention?

Mini Case Study
The Economics of a Campus Mess: How Price Controls Create Shortages In the IIT Madras campus
In the IIT Madras campus, "R-Goura's" is a private contract student dining mess that serves approximately 400 to 500 students per semester. At the beginning of each academic term, students register their preferences among 10 available campus messes. Due to high demand for certain dining options, a computerized random selection process finalizes students’ allocation. R-Goura's distinguishes itself by offering a dynamic, rotating menu for a standard 4-course meal that is high in demand.
The Economic problems for R-Goura's Mess:
To provide financial predictability for students, the institute mandates that subscription rates are strictly fixed for the entire semester. R-Goura's cannot alter its prices in between semester (Price inelastic), regardless of fluctuations in commodity prices, supply chain disruptions, or shifts in student preferences .
Let us assume that at the start of the semester, the equilibrium price for a semester-long premium mess subscription under normal market conditions is calculated to be ₹15,000 per student. At this rate, exactly 450 students want to join, matching the mess’s optimal operational capacity.
However, the student senate and administration cap the maximum allowable semester rate at ₹12,000 per student. Midway through the semester, a sudden surge in gas prices, wholesale vegetable and fuel prices happened due to US-Iran geopolitical tensions, resulting in a shift in the operational cost structures across campus.
Answer the subquestions based on your understanding of how supply, demand, and market equilibrium principles apply to this case study.

Suppose the initial market demand function for the R-Goura's mess subscription per semester is given by Qd = 750−0.02P, and the market supply function is Qs = −150+0.04P, where P is the price in Rupees. If the administration sets a fixed price ceiling of ₹12,000 per semester, what is the resulting shortage (excess demand) of student slots?

Mini Case Study
The Economics of a Campus Mess: How Price Controls Create Shortages In the IIT Madras campus
In the IIT Madras campus, "R-Goura's" is a private contract student dining mess that serves approximately 400 to 500 students per semester. At the beginning of each academic term, students register their preferences among 10 available campus messes. Due to high demand for certain dining options, a computerized random selection process finalizes students’ allocation. R-Goura's distinguishes itself by offering a dynamic, rotating menu for a standard 4-course meal that is high in demand.
The Economic problems for R-Goura's Mess:
To provide financial predictability for students, the institute mandates that subscription rates are strictly fixed for the entire semester. R-Goura's cannot alter its prices in between semester (Price inelastic), regardless of fluctuations in commodity prices, supply chain disruptions, or shifts in student preferences .
Let us assume that at the start of the semester, the equilibrium price for a semester-long premium mess subscription under normal market conditions is calculated to be ₹15,000 per student. At this rate, exactly 450 students want to join, matching the mess’s optimal operational capacity.
However, the student senate and administration cap the maximum allowable semester rate at ₹12,000 per student. Midway through the semester, a sudden surge in gas prices, wholesale vegetable and fuel prices happened due to US-Iran geopolitical tensions, resulting in a shift in the operational cost structures across campus.
Answer the subquestions based on your understanding of how supply, demand, and market equilibrium principles apply to this case study.

If the administration decides to eliminate the random allocation and allows R-Goura's to adjust its price to clear the market after the commodity price inflation (Qs2 =−270+0.04P), what will be the new equilibrium price (Pnew*) to match the demand (Qd =750−0.02P)?

Saturn solutions decided to replace their existing computing systems with high-speed computing devices. Their purchase department conducted market research and identified the top 4 vendors- ABC, DEF, GHI and JKL, each being asked to submit their quotes also known as RFQ. This quote is based on

The finance department of Saturn solutions had a total budget of 50 lakhs. They wanted a total of 50 laptops. All the vendors gave their best prices and there was no scope for further negotiation. While ABC quoted a price of 70,000 INR/ laptop, DEF, GHI and JKL quoted INR 95,000, 1 lakh and 1.1 lakh/ laptop respectively. Which vendor got eliminated and the role played by finance department was

The DMU of Saturn solutions now had a tough job to do. They had to select one vendor out of the three choices they had (ABC or DEF or GHI). They decided to rate the three vendors. A total of 4 CSF/ KSF were chosen. Brand Image, Product Quality, Service Quality, and Market feedback. Equal weightage was allocated across the 4 KSFs. While GHI scored high on brand image, product quality and market feedback, they did poorly on service quality. DEF scored high on service quality but had moderate scores on the rest. ABC had moderate scores throughout. You need to rate them on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is the least score, 5 being the highest and 3 being moderate.
The final scores of ABC, DEF and GHI are