UPSC Prelims 2026 Question:

Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India:

1. The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from  Gujarat (AD 595-596). 
2. In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India. 
3. The place-values have been found in Sanskrit inscriptions in South-east Asia as early as the seventh  century.
   
   

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Explanation: 

The place-value system or positional number system is a system in which the value of a digit depends on both the  digit itself and its position in the number. India played a major role in the development and spread of the decimal  place-value system, later known as the Hindu-Arabic numeral system.  

• The earliest secure epigraphic evidence of the decimal place-value notation in India is found in the  Mankani copper plates (also called Sankheda plates) from Gujarat dated 595–596 CE. The date in  the inscription is written using positional decimal notation. So, statement 1 is correct.
  
  
• By the ninth century CE, the use of positional decimal notation and place-values had become  widespread in inscriptions across India. Inscriptions from this period show the regular use of decimal  numerals and zero. So, statement 2 is correct. 
  
  
• The place-value system also spread beyond India to South-east Asia through cultural and commercial  contacts. Sanskrit inscriptions in regions such as Indonesia and Cambodia from the seventh century CE  contain evidence of Indian decimal numerals and positional notation. So, statement 3 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (4) is the correct answer.