Indian Economy Previous Year Questions – Topic Wise
| Sr. No. | Topic Name | Previous Year Questions |
|---|---|---|
| A) | Macroeconomy | Click Here |
| B) | Government Budgeting and Govt. Accounts | Click Here |
| C) | Taxation System in India | Click Here |
| D) | Functions of RBI – Money Supply, Monetary Policy, Forex Mgt. & Balance of Payment | Click Here |
| E) | RBI and Indian Banking and Finance System | Click Here |
| F) | Capital Market, Money Market and FDI | Click Here |
| G) | Industries | Click Here |
| H) | International Trade | Click Here |
| I) | International Economic Organizations | Click Here |
| J) | Population and Demography | Click Here |
| K) | Poverty, Development, Health and Education | Click Here |
| L) | Employment and Skill Development | Click Here |
| M) | Agriculture | Click Here |
| N) | Economic Institutions, Laws and Policies | Click Here |
| O) | Five Year Plans | Click Here |
Topic-Wise Analysis of Indian Economy PYQs
| 5. Indian Economy | No. of Questions (2011-2023) | No. of Questions (1995-2023) | % Weightage (2011-2023) | % Weightage (1995-2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A) Macroeconomy | 20 | 44 | 7% | 8% |
| B) Govt. Budgeting and Govt. Accounts | 18 | 38 | 6% | 7% |
| C) Indian Taxation System | 8 | 20 | 3% | 4% |
| D) RBI Functions – Money, forex, BoP | 42 | 66 | 15% | 12% |
| E) RBI and Indian Banking and Finance System | 41 | 59 | 15% | 11% |
| F) Capital Market, Money Market and FDI | 17 | 34 | 6% | 6% |
| G) Industries | 22 | 56 | 8% | 10% |
| H) International Trade | 6 | 24 | 2% | 4% |
| I) International Economic Organisations | 23 | 29 | 8% | 5% |
| J) Population and Demography | 6 | 42 | 2% | 8% |
| K) Poverty, Development, Health and Education | 24 | 45 | 9% | 8% |
| L) Employment and Skill Development | 9 | 16 | 3% | 3% |
| M) Agriculture | 22 | 39 | 8% | 7% |
| N) Economic Institutions, Laws and Policies | 17 | 31 | 6% | 6% |
| O) Five Year Plans | 2 | 12 | 1% | 2% |
| Total | 277 | 555 | 100% | 100% |
About Indian Economy PYQs
This is the most important of all the subjects in the UPSC Prelims exam. The subject-wise analysis suggests that around 22 questions are asked about Indian Economy each year. And in years 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 UPSC has consistently asked 25+ questions from Indian Economy.
Again, similar to Indian Polity, only 3-4 questions are from current affairs. Rest of the questions are from static and conceptual topics. As you can see below, there is a lot of emphasis on RBI functions like inflation management, money supply, balance of payment etc. including Indian banking system. Every year, around 6-8 questions are from these few topics alone. So it must be done very well.
Once again, economy is the most important of all the Prelims subjects. Do it very well. Having good understanding of economy is a great advantage, and being poor at economy is just not recommended.
Indian Economy-Detailed Topic Wise Syllabus Based on PYQs
A) Macroeconomy
Indian economy, macroeconomic concepts, growth, GDP, GNP, PPP, supply-demand, recession and other related terms etc.
B) Government Budgeting and Govt. Accounts
Government budget and economic survey, govt. expenditure, deficit, govt. debt and debt financing, other issues related to Indian public finance, various govt. accounts related to finance etc.
C) Taxation System in India
GST and previous taxation systems for goods and services, various tax slabs, the impact of GST, corporate tax, income tax, tax evasion etc.
D) Functions of RBI – Money Supply, Monetary Policy, Forex Mgt & Balance of Payment
Various functions of RBI – particularly – money supply, currency management, management of inflation and associated monetary policy, various monetary policy tools (SLR, CRR, OMO, Repo and other related rates etc. ), various inflation indices in India, forex reserve management, convertibility of rupee and exchange rate management, current account and capital account (Balance of Payment)
E) RBI and Indian Banking and Finance System
Internal working of RBI, posts, appointments, tenure, history of RBI etc., Banking, finance and insurance sector, various issues and initiatives related to the banking/finance/insurance sector, financial inclusion, management of banking and finance sector by RBI, associated laws, guidelines, international initiatives e.g. BASEL guidelines etc., Payment ecosystem in India.
F) Capital Market, Money Market and FDI
Capital market and money market in India, various instruments of capital/money market e.g. govt. Bonds, T bills, participatory notes, equity etc., their meanings, provisions etc. Indian stock market, SEBI, Foreign Direct Investment, govt. provisions/guidelines related to FDI.
G) Industries
The industrial sector in the Indian economy including minerals, power and electricity, public sector enterprises, other terms and acts related to the management of industries and companies, various indices, govt. Bodies or acts regarding the Industrial sector etc. SEZ
H) International Trade
International trade, import and export, the volume of trade, various components of trade, major items of import-export, India’s EXIM policy – associated bodies, acts/ regulations etc.
I) International Economic Organizations
WTO, IMF, World Bank, ADB, AIIB, G20, ILO, UN-CTAD and other international organizations/groupings dealing with economic and developmental issues.
J) Population and Demography
Population, census data, various demographic indicators e.g. literary rates, male: female ratio, mortality rates etc. other population-related policies and significant issues.
K) Poverty, Development, Health and Education
Poverty and its alleviation, health and sanitation, food security, subsidies, issues related to gender, education, inclusive growth and development
L) Employment and Skill Development
Employment and unemployment, skill-development-related initiatives, rozgar yojana etc.
M) Agriculture
Agriculture and production, land reforms, MSP and food grains procurement, govt. schemes/initiatives for agriculture and allied activities.
N) Economic Institutions, Laws and Policies
The topic deals with govt. bodies/institutions dealing with economic and developmental issues, laws and policies related to the same and recent developments in these.
O) Five Year Plans
Various five-year plans, their objectives, achievements etc.
We’re in the process of posting all the questions from 1995-2023. The tentative date of completion is 16 Dec 2023. We highly recommend purchasing our UPSC Prelims PYQ Book (2024 Edition) to access all questions in a single PDF.
UPSC Prelims PYQ Book (2024 Edition)
- Last 29 year questions (1995-2023)
- All answers according to UPSC Official Answer Key
- Subject-wise distribution of questions
- Topic-wise classification of each subject PYQs
- Graphs and tables to illustrate subject and topic-wise weightage
- More than 3200 questions across all subjects
- At a price that is affordable for all