The following four labelled sentences P, Q, R and S, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph about Indian savers, banks and debt options. Select the most logical order.

Introduction / Context:
This para-jumble presents a short analysis of how Indian savers have shifted from real to financial assets, the menu of options they face, and how banks have behaved with deposit interest rates. The sentences talk about the savers' shift, the rise of equity-linked choices, the lack of debt options, and banks' responses to changing market rates. A logical paragraph should start with the broad trend among savers and then discuss the product landscape and bank behaviour.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- Q: Indian savers have made a decisive shift from real to financial assets in recent years prompted by policy nudges and sluggish gold and property markets.
- S: But while umpteen new equity-linked options have sprung up on their menu – MFs, NPS, market-linked insurance plans – there’s a notable dearth of debt options.
- P: Banks, which garner the lion’s share of retail debt allocations, pegged down their term deposit interest rates with alacrity by 200-250 basis points between 2014 and 2016 as market rates fell.
- R: But they have been tardy in passing on the rate increases of the past year.
- We want an order that first states the savers' shift, then the product mix, then bank action when rates fell, and finally bank inaction when rates rose.

Concept / Approach:
The narrative begins logically with Q, which sets up the main background: savers moving from real assets like gold and property to financial assets. S follows with “But while…”, which describes the resulting menu of financial products, highlighting many equity-linked options but few debt options. P then zooms in on banks, the main providers of retail debt products, and explains how they quickly cut deposit rates when market rates fell. R adds the contrasting point that banks have been slow to pass on more recent rate increases. This yields the coherent order Q–S–P–R.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Start with Q, which provides the big picture: a shift in Indian savers' preferences from real to financial assets.
Step 2: Add S, which, using the connector “But while…”, discusses the composition of financial options now available, stressing a lack of debt choices despite many equity-based ones.
Step 3: Insert P next, focusing on banks as the main providers of debt products and describing how they quickly reduced deposit rates when overall market rates fell.
Step 4: Conclude with R, which contrasts P by stating that banks have been slow (“tardy”) to pass on recent rate increases, completing the argument about banks' asymmetric behaviour.

Verification / Alternative check:
Read QSPR in one go. First, you learn about savers' shift; next, the equity-heavy but debt-light menu they face; then, the banks' quick rate cuts; finally, their slow rate hikes. This forms a coherent economic commentary. If you start with P or S, you suddenly talk about banks or product menus without explaining why savers are important in this context, which weakens coherence.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- SRQP and SPQR: These begin with “But while…” or banks' behaviour without first describing the underlying shift in saving patterns, which is like starting in the middle of the story.
- QRSP: Places the description of banks' slow rate hikes too early, breaking the clear contrast with their earlier quick rate cuts.

Common Pitfalls:
In economics-themed para-jumbles, look for a sentence that describes the broad trend or background, then sentences that begin with connectors like “But while”, “However”, or “But they” that introduce contrasts or additional details. Keeping an eye on these discourse markers will help you place sentences in the correct argumentative sequence quickly.

Final Answer:
The most logical order of the sentences is QSPR.