Economy for UPSC Prelims 2025: Important Topics, Sources, Trends and Tips

Economy is one of the most challenging subjects for UPSC Aspirants due to its requirement of high conceptual clarity and understanding of micro and macro economic terms. This blog is a one-stop solution for all your Economy doubts regarding Prelims 2025 – listing important topics, sources, trends in the last few years and some extra tips for Economy.

Important Topics of Economy for Prelims 2025

Static Topics

National Income and Related concepts
- GDP, GNP, NNP, NDP – what is included and excluded
- Real and Nominal GDP
- GDP Deflator
- Per Capita Income
Indian Economy – Background
- Situation after Independence
- Economic Plans – Bombay Plan, Peoples’ Plan, etc.
- Five Year Plans
- Economic Reforms – LPG Reforms
Banking and Financial System
- RBI: Functions
- Commercial Banks and NBFCs
- Monetary Policy, Instruments (Repo, Reverse Repo, SLR, CRR) – and their effects on economy
- Basel Norms
- Digital Banking, UPI, CBDC (Digital Rupee)
- Financial Inclusion: PMJDY, Mudra, SIDBI
- Money Market vs. Capital Market
Inflation
- Different types – Deflation, Disinflation, Skewflation, Stagflation, etc.
- CPI and WPI + their components
- Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy + their tools to control inflation
External Sector of India
- Balance of Payments
- Capital Account Vs Current Account
- FDI Norms
- Foreign Exchange Reserves and Regimes
- International Organisations and India
Government Budgeting and Fiscal Policy
- Revenue and Capital – Expenditure and Receipts
- Components of Budget
- Fiscal Policy – Taxation and Expenditure
Sectors of Indian Economy
- Agriculture – Status, share in GDP and employment, Government Schemes, PDS, etc.
- Industry/Manufacturing – IPR resolutions and provisions, current status and schemes
- Services sector – current status and schemes
Budget and Economic Survey
Government Schemes in News

Current Affairs Topics (since January 2024)

Variable Repo Rate
RBI Surplus Transfer
RBI Integrated Ombudsman
Revised PSL Norms
InvITs
Syndicated Loan
Project Nexus
Angel Tax
Unified Pension Scheme
Green National Highway Corridors Project
Offshore Areas (Existence of Mineral Resources) Rules, 2024
SAARC Currency and Swap Arrangement
Sovereign Credit Ratings
Global Innovation Index 2024
Nobel Prize in Economics

Best Sources for Economy for Prelims 2025

For Static

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
Indian Economy by Vivek Singh
NCERT – Macroeconomics and Indian Economy
Economy Blue Book (Pre-Vail) by UnderStand UPSC (Includes PYQs)

For Current Affairs

PIB – Ministry of Finance
Budget Document and Economic Surveys released by Government
One Stop Solution in FocUS Current Affairs Magazine for Economy by UnderStand UPSC (Freely available on our app)
Budget and Economic Survey Summary Document by UnderStand UPSC (Freely available on our app)

Trend Analysis in Prelims – Economy

Economy is consistently contributing 15-20 questions (30-40 marks) in Prelims.
UPSC is moving away from direct factual questions to application-based ones.
RBI policies, monetary tools, and financial inclusion remain core areas.
Budget, Economic Survey, and flagship schemes are asked almost every year.

Tips for Preparing Economy for UPSC Prelims 2025

Ensure you have a strong foundation and conceptual clarity of economic concepts such as GDP, Inflation, Monetary Policy (repeatedly asked), etc.
Make sure you understand economic effects very well. Like – What happens when RBI reduces Repo Rate? What happens when Indian Rupee is depreciated?
UPSC very frequently asks questions on Reports released by International Organisations like UN, WTO, UNCTAD, etc. Be aware of them.
Basic conceptual clarity is a must in economy preparation – do not ignore it at any cost, no matter how much time it takes.
Practice a lot of questions
Solve at least 10 years PYQs of Economy.

All the Best!

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