How to Prepare Economy for UPSC – Prelims and Mains
If you looking for how to prepare economics for UPSC you come to the right place. Here we discuss How to Prepare Economy for UPSC. After reading this all your doubts regarding how to study economy for UPSC are solved.
Booklist to Prepare Economy for UPSC
There are a lot of books and coaching notes available in the market for economics. Some of them are
- NCERT- 9th to 12th ( you can ignore class 12th microeconomy)
- Ramesh Singh
- Indian Economy by Nitin Singhaniya
- Shankar IAS Notes
- Mrunal Sir Handout etc
You can also check the economics book for upsc
General Advice to Students to Prepare Indian Economy for UPSC
General advice to students for how to study economics for upsc.
- Must read the Economy syllabus for UPSC
- Must read Economy PYQ for Prelims and Mains
- Economy questions are asked in both prelims and Mains exams so it is better to prepare the Economy section for prelims and mains at once.
- Do revision on a regular basis.
- Attempt chapter-wise quiz
Economy + Govt Schemes: Cumulative Weightage
Weightage in Prelims
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Question | 29 | 29 | 25 | 28 | 23 | 14 | 21 |
Weightage in Mains. Although economy as a subject is given in GS Paper 3 in the UPSC exam pattern questions are also asked in GS Paper 1 and Paper 2 from economic concepts.
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Marks | 175 | 140 | 180 | 180 | 200 | 185 |
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How to Study Economics for UPSC – Strategy
To Prepare Economy for UPSC for Prelims and Mains we can divide the entire UPSC Economy Syllabus into 6 Pillars ( how to prepare economy for upsc mrunal )
Pillar 1 – Money, Banking, Finance and Insurance
Weightage in Prelims
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Question | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 |
Weightage in Mains
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Marks | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 |
What to study
- Money, Legal tender, Digital payment
- RBI: monetary policy, Autonomy, function, power, dividend
- The banking sector includes evolution, types, challenges, NPA/TBS, PCR, BASEL, etc.
- Basics of financial- Capital market, Companies Act, CSR
- Pension, Insurance, and Financial inclusion schemes
What not to study
- RBI, SEBI, IRDAI etc. technical/regular guidelines
- Share Market in detail
- Other statik gk like HQ, Chairman etc
Pillar 2 – Budget, Taxation, Subsidies, Disinvestment Public Finance
Weightage in Prelims
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Question | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Weightage in Mains
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Marks | 12.5 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 20 |
What to study
- Theory: budgeting, taxation, subsidies.
- Deficit Finance, FRBM, PSU-Disinvestment.
- Latest Budget & Economic Survey 2021, 2 0 2 2 + Atmanirbhar PACKAGE etc
- GST, 15th FC, Black Money- Demonetization
What not to study
- CA-like interpretation of tax laws- how much TI on EPF withdrawals.
- Trivial GK like which FM presented max. number of budgets…how much fridge &
washing machine got expensive or cheap?
Pillar 3 – International Trade, Balance of Payment, IMF, WTO
Weightage in Prelims
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Question | 11 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
Weightage in Mains
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Marks | 25 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 15 | 15 |
What to study
- BoP- CAD, Exchange rate, Currency convertibility
- Oil price, currency manipulation, protectionism, trade war etc.
- Notable intl. organizations, summits, treaties,, WTO, IMF, SDR etc.
- Agreements RCEP, TATIP etc
What not to study
- Trivial figures – monthly up and down of Rs vs. $ or crude price. Only the trend should be known.
- International Economic Issues which are not affecting India.
Pillar 4 – Sectors of Economy, GDP, Inflation, Unemployment.
Weightage in Prelims
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Question | 4 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Weightage in Mains
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Marks | 25 | 60 | 50 | 65 | 55 | 60 |
What to study
- Schemes, policies for agri, mfg, service: incl. latest budget, subsidies, loan waivers.
- GSM3: food processing sector
- Planning Commission, NITI Ayog etc.
- GDP, unemployment, inflation, WP
What not to study
- Trivial figures &petty announcements.
- MIF brings down the forecast of India’s growth rate to _ % India’s tourism sector is estimated to be _ – billion$ industry.
Pillar 5 – Infrastructure
Weightage in Prelims
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Question | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Weightage in Mains
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Marks | 37.5 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 30 |
What to study
- Transport, Energy, Communication, Rural & Urban Infrastructure- Issues, Policies & Schemes & APPs
- PPP & Investment models for Mains /GSM3
What not to study
- Railway Budget – because there is no such thing. OR even how many new train routes are announced in the new General budget.
- TRAI’s technical consultation papers for
spectrums, call drops. Only basics should be known from a sci-tech point of view.
Pillar 6 – Human Resources Development
Weightage in Prelims
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Question | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Weightage in Mains
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Marks | 50 | 40 | 60 | 75 | 85 | 45 |
What to study
- Gender, Education, Skill, Poverty, Health, Hunger,
population etc. issues, policies &schemes, portals &APPs - Budget & Economic Survey, schemes
- Notable Global reports, indices
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
What not to study
- Trivial figure pursuit. We should know IMR, MMR, BPL %etc. figure but every small figure, ranking & report is not important.
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