HIGH OUTPUT THEMES ECONOMY for UPSC Prelims 2024

The following list of High Output themes and sub themes are going to be one stop destination for your UPSC Prelims 2024 Economy preparation. Questions from these themes are repeatedly asked in Prelims. Take printout of the themes pdf, keep marking the themes that you have prepared and you will surely clear UPSC Prelims 2024.

View all high output themes here

To practice the themes you have covered, you can download theme wise PYQs compilation pdf below.

Download Economy Theme Wise PYQs Compilation PDF

Basics of Economy: Themes

1. HUMAN & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Concepts: Inclusive growth, Human Capital Formation & Demographic Dividend, Productivity, Poverty, Unemployment, Social Capital etc.
2. BASIC ECONOMICS CONCEPTS
1. Market Dynamics: Demand & Supply, Price, Elasticity, Opportunity cost etc.
2. Types of Goods: Substitute/Complements Goods, Inferior Goods etc.
3. Economic Sector: Financial & Real sector
3. NATIONAL INCOME, GDP & MACROECONOMIC CONCEPTS
1. Concepts & Trends: GDP (Real/Nominal), National Income, Per Capita Income, Savings, Capital Formation, Consumption expenditure, Economic recession etc.

Monetary Policy and Inflation: Themes

1. INFLATION
1. Measurement of Inflation - Inflation indices – Composition, weightage of sub components, Publishing Authority, Utility/Function, Comparative analysis among various indices.
2. Causes of Inflation/Types of Inflation – Demand Pull, Cost Push, Monetary/Fiscal policy induced etc.
3. Impact of Inflation – On various segments ie. Debtors, Creditors, Inflation & Cost of Living/Poverty etc.
4. Inflation Control/Management – Nodal authority (RBI Vs GoI), Methods to control inflation (Monetary/Fiscal Policy tools) etc.
5. Inflation Trends – Causes for recent increase/decrease in inflation.
6. Concepts in News – Base Effect
2. MONETARY POLICY
1. MONEY: BASIC CONCEPTS - Definition, Types of Money (Legal Tender,Token Money, Bitcoin etc), Demonetisation etc.
2. MONEY SUPPLY & CIRCULATION - Measures of Money Supply, Types of Deposits, Liquidity of Assets, Money Supply & Credit Creation, High Powered Money (H), Money Multiplier, Velocity of Money etc.
3. MONETARY POLICY
1. Monetary Policy Authorities: MPC, RBI – Related Acts, Functions, Powers, Relations with GoI.
2. Objectives of Monetary Policy: Inflation Targeting, Monetary Policy Process, Types of Monetary Policy etc.
3. Recent Trend & Effectiveness: Monetary Policy Transmission, Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rate (MCLR) etc.
4. TOOLS OF MONETARY POLICY - Quantitative Tools & Qualitative Tools (BR, OMO, CRR, SLR, Int . Rate): Types Functions, Impact etc.

Taxation and Fiscal Policy: Themes

1. TAXATION
1. Types of Taxes – Sales tax, GST (impact, items covered under GST etc.)
2. Causes & Impacts of various Tax related variables – Tax/GDP ratio, Black money (Tax Evasion) etc.
3. Concepts in News – Base Erosion & Profit Shifting, Equalisation levy etc.
4. Trend Analysis – Tax/GDP ratio
2. FISCAL POLICY & BUDGET
1. Fiscal Deficit & Deficit Financing – Definition, causes, impact, measures to reduce deficit, trends etc.
2. Budget – Components (Plan Vs. Non Plan expenditure, Capital Vs. Revenue), Budget Documents, etc.
3. Fiscal consolidation – FRBM
4. Finance Commissions – Composition, recommendations etc.
5. Applied concepts – Public investment, Fiscal Policy & Recession etc
3. FIVE YEAR PLANS
1. Objective & Details of 5 Year Plans
2. Post Liberalisation Trends: on Economy, agriculture, employment & Productivity etc

Banking: Themes

1. BANKING OPERATION
1. Bank Balance Sheet - Asset & Liability of Banks
2. Types of Banks - Payment Banks, Cooperative banks (District Central Cooperative Banks [DCCBs], Urban Cooperative Banks etc), Small Finance Banks etc.
3. Salient features of different banks - Their Roles, objectives, functions, area of operations & restrictions, eligible promoters, etc.
4. Comparative analysis between different types of banks (For eg. DCCBs Vs. Cooperative banks).
5. Concepts Related to Banks - ‘Terms in News’ – Priority sector lending, MCLR, Banking Correspondents, BASEL, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Interest Coverage Ratio, 'Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)', Inter creditor Agreement (Project Sashakt) etc
2. BANKING REGULATION & GOVERNANCE
1. RBI – Role, functions, powers etc.
2. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) – Roles, functions, powers, products/services etc.
3. Banking Governance reforms - Bank mergers, Capital infusion, Bank Board Bureau etc."
3. FINANCIAL INCLUSION
1. Financial Inclusion sub themes
4. DIGITAL ECONOMY
1. Digital Payments & FinTech: Payment System, UPI, Merchant Discount Rate, BHIM, Core Banking System etc.

Financial Market and Instruments: Themes

1. FINANCIAL MARKET
1. Capital & Money Market
2. Institutions/Organisation - Central Depository Services Ltd, Negotiated Dealing System-Ordering Matching, etc
2. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT
1. Types, objectives, features, functions, issuers/investors: For eg. Venture capital, Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme, Gold Monetization Scheme, IFC Masala Bonds, Treasury bills, Certificate of Deposit, Commercial Paper, Promissory Note, Participatory Note, ‘Call Money’, “Zero-Coupon Bonds’, Inflation Indexed, Convertible Bonds etc.
2. Concepts – Non-financial debt, factors influencing govt. bond yield etc.

Balance of Payments and External Sector: Themes

1. BALANCE OF PAYMENT
1. Basic concepts & definitions – Balance of Payment
2. BoP Composition – For eg. components of BoP Capital/current account, foreign exchange reserves, IMF SDR currency basket, External debt, FDI/FPI etc.
3. Ranking based questions – largest exporter of rice, etc.
4. Trend based questions:
1. Composition of Trade – Textile as key export item to Bangladesh, trends in import & exports of merchandise/Services, Agriculture commodities export/import, edible oil imports etc.
2. Direction of Trade – India & its neighbours (Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh etc.)
5. CURRENCY & FOREIGN EXCHANGE
1. Basic Concepts: Exchange rate, Devaluation/Revaluation & its impact, Rupee convertibility, PPP, Currency risk, etc.
2. measures to stabalise Indian Rupee
3. Impact of Internaional measures on Indian Rupee
6. INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES
1. WTO, IMF, WORLD BANK, AIIB, Gold Tranche, TRIMS

Agriculture and Land Reforms: Themes

1. AGRICULTURE
1. Agriculture Inputs
1. Seeds - Seed Replacement Rates, Seed Village Concept etc.
2. Fertilisers & Pesticides - Neem-coated Urea, types & inputs in chemical fertilizers, fertilizer pricing etc.
3. Irrigation - Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme, Command Area Development Programme, micro-irrigation, drip irrigation (Benefits) etc.
2. Agri marketing – APMC, National Agriculture Market (Advantages) etc.
3. Agri Distribution - Economic cost of food grains to FCI, PDS,Subsidies etc.
4. Pricing related - MSP (Key features, MSP Fixing Authority, Crops covered, open/close ended procurement etc), Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane, factors affecting crop prices etc.
2. CROPS RELATED
1. Crops Related - Rabi Vs Kharif crops, Features of crops, agro-climatic/soil/rainfall conditions required, (For eg. Sugarcane, maize, rice, Palm oil etc.)
2. Agri Trends related – Area under various crops, production trends (pulses) etc.
3. Comparative Ranking - Area under various crops (Rice, Jowar, Cotton) etc.
3. AGRICULTURE INITIATIVES
1. Agriculture initiatives/schemes – Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative, Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion, Soil Health Card Scheme, Kisan Credit Card scheme etc.

Industry and Service Sector: Themes

1. BASIC CONCEPTS, ORGANISTIONS AND RELATED INITIATIVES
1. Public Sector Undertakings, Industrial Revolutions, Types of Industries, Raw Material, Index of Eight Core Industries etc.