Economy syllabus for UPSC Prelims and Mains (2020)

Today In this article I want to walk you through the complete Economy syllabus for UPSC Prelims and Mains.

As you know, the Economy comes under GS Paper-3 in UPSC Syllabus. Almost 18-29 questions are coming in the UPSC Prelims exam every year, from this part only.

So without further ado let’s start our discussion from Economy syllabus for UPSC Prelims and Mains as per UPSC notification.

General Studies – III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management)

250 Marks

Economy syllabus for UPSC

According to UPSC notification, these are the topics that are given.

• Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development, and employment.
• Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.
• Government Budgeting.
• Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
• Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers
• Economics of animal-rearing.
• Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management.
• Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions
• Land reforms in India.
• Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
• Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways, etc.
• Investment models.

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Micro topics syllabus

1. Role of Agriculture in Indian Economy

• Land resource
• Land-use pattern and Land capability classification
• Causes and Impact of Land Degradation
• Sustainable Land Management
• Steps were taken by GOI

2. Land Reforms

• Objectives of Land Reforms in India
• Progress of Land Reforms in India
• NITI Aayog Report on Land Leasing

3. Agriculture Finance

• Features of Agricultural Finance
• Criteria for Agricultural Credit
• Need for Agricultural Finance
• Sources of Agricultural Finance
• Problems of Agricultural Finance
• Measures are taken to improve credit flow to agriculture
• Co-operative Credit Societies in India

4. Agricultural Credit Institutions

• Multi-Agency Approach
• Commercial Bank
• Lead Bank Scheme
• Regional Rural Banks
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
• Reserve Bank of India
• Kisan Credit Card Scheme
• Bank Linkage Programme
• Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF)
• Government Policy For Agricultural Credit
• Farmers Service Societies (FSS)

5. Crop Insurance in India

• Issues Related to Crop Insurance
• Pradhan MantriFasalBimaYojana
• Comparison with Earlier Crop Insurance Schemes

6. Agriculture Marketing

• Process of Agricultural Marketing in India
• Structure of Agricultural Marketing in India
• Importance of Proper Agriculture Marketing
• Government Measures to Improve Agricultural Marketing in India
• Analysis of the APMC Act

7. Subsidies

• Objectives of subsidies
• Transfer of resources from gainers from economic policies to losers from economic policies
• Farm Subsidies
• Fertilizer subsidies
• Subsidy on power
• Subsidy on irrigation
• The rationale of Minimum Support Price
• Impact of MSP on inflation
• Public Distribution System: Objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping, evolution from universal PDS to targeted PDS, Targeted PDS, a critical analysis of cost and benefit of PDS
• Buffer Stock policy and government’s intervention in the food market to keep prices under reasonable limits to help consumers
• Food Security bill, questions of resource mobilization for the FSB, criticism of the FSB
• Important questions on the future of subsidies

8. Agricultural Revolutions in India

• Green Revolution
• White Revolution – Operation Flood
• Yellow Revolution
• Blue Revolution
• Golden Fibre Revolution: Jute

9. Food Processing

• Processed Foods Scenario with respect to Specific Sectors
• Infrastructure Development in Food Processing Sector
• Issues in Food Processing Sector
• FDI Policy in Food Processing
• Notable Trends in the Indian Food Processing Sector
• Strategies Adopted in Budget
• New foreign and domestic investment
• Sector-specific government policies

10. Industrial policy and industrial development: Main Issues

• Mahalanobis strategy and India’s industrial policy-Discussing Industrial policy resolution 1948 and 1956 critically
• New Economic Policy and Industrial policy under the policy of liberalization, privatization, and globalization
• Phases of Industrial development since independence

11. Main features of industrial development in India

• Roles of the private sector and public sector, Investment in the industrial sector, employment, productivity, profit, etc.
• Strategies for disinvestment and privatization
• Role of Small, Medium, and Micro enterprises, Government Policy, main problems, effects of globalization
• New Manufacturing Policy
• Industrial disbursal and Industrial corridors
• SEZs- Main issues like land use, relocation of same industries that exist, exports earnings vs loss of tax income
• Industrial sickness, an institutional mechanism to support the sick industries, exit policy issues
• Main constraints in the industrial development of India
• Effects of globalization on industries, Sub-prime crisis, and sovereign debt crisis on Industry in India
• Industrial Finance in India: Role of development banking, commercial banking, venture capital, angel capital in industrialization and promotion of entrepreneurship.
• Make in India achievements

12. Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning

• Role and objectives of Indian Planning
• Planning Experience at the Centre and State level.
• Regulatory Role of the State
• Development Strategy in India’s Five Year Plan
• Mahalanobis’ Four-Sector Growth Model and Employment Generation
• Tackling the Problems of Poverty and Unemployment
• Vital Role of the Public Sector
• Analysis of India’s Economic Performance in Development Planning
• Trends in Saving and Capital Formation since Independence
• Role of NITI Aayog in Cooperative federalism

13. Resource Mobilization

• Types of Resources: Physical and Financial
• Need for Resource Mobilization- Police State and Democratic Welfare State policies
• Sources of Resource Mobilization: Public Sector and Private Sector
• Taxation and Mobilization of Resources for Economic Growth
  • Direct Taxes and Mobilisation of Resources
  • Agricultural Taxation & Resource Mobilisation
  • Role of Indirect Taxes in Resource Mobilisation
• Mobilization of financial resources through Government Revenues
• Role of Public Debt in resource mobilization and effects: Market borrowing, loans, grants, etc.
• Role of Fiscal and Monetary policies in resource mobilization
• Role of Foreign investment in resource mobilization: Desirability and Consequences
• Multi-lateral agencies and resource mobilization
• Challenges to Resource Mobilization

14. Inclusive Growth and issues arising from it

• Meaning and concept of Inclusion
• India’s experience of Inclusion
• Why India’s growth is not inclusive?: Rural economy based growth, Need for Sustainable agriculture, food security and resilience for growth
• What are the solutions?
• Inclusion process through Social sector flagship schemes and Ground realities
• Public distribution schemes: Can it be the way to inclusive growth
• Financial inclusion as an instrument of inclusive growth
• Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation as a strategy for inclusive growth
• Social sector development as an instrument for inclusive growth
• Public-private partnership for inclusive growth
• Industrial Integration for inclusive growth
• Sectoral and regional diversification as a tool for inclusive growth

15. Government Budgeting

• Budget terminology
• Types of budget
• Features of Outcome budgeting, Gender Budgeting
• Benefits of budgeting
• Flaws in the budgeting process
• The merger of Railway and General Budget
• Budget analysis

16. Investment models

• Measures of Investment
• Factors affecting investment
• Classification of Investments: FDI
• Angel Investors and Start-ups
• Investment Models
• Role of State
• PPP (Public-Private Partnership)
• Savings and Investment Trends

17. Fiscal policy

• Fiscal Concept and Fiscal Policy in India
• Government Revenues & Spending Trends
• Impact of deficits on economic growth
• Twin Balance Sheet syndrome
• Types of Deficit

18. Taxation

• Objectives and Principles of Taxation
• Taxation for Mobilization of Resources
• Taxation System in India
• Tax Reforms
• GST and its impact on different sectors
• Subsidies and its Impact

19. Monetary policy in India

• Instruments of Monetary Policy
• Monetary policy in the Pre-Reform Era (1948 – 1991)
• Monetary Policy in Post-Reform Era (Since – 1991)
• Urjit Patel Committee Report
• Monetary Policy Committee and Inflation Targeting

20. Financial system

• Money Market and Capital Market in India
• Regulatory Framework in Indian Capital Market
• Primary Market Reforms in India
• Secondary Market Reforms in India
• Current and capital account convertibility
• Risks of the financial system

21. Banking

• Indian Banking System
• Terminologies/Concepts Related to Banking in India
• Nationalization of Banks in India
• Functions of Commercial Banks
• Challenges Faced by Commercial Banks in India
• Banking Reforms in India
• New Bank License Criteria
• Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks Criteria
• Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC)
• Financial Inclusion
• Issue of NPAs
• Bills related to Banking

22. Foreign trade & International Organizations

• Trends in International Trade
• Foreign Trade Policy
• Balance of Payments and Foreign Capital
• Impact of Globalization on Indian Economy
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• World Trade Organisation (WTO)
• World Bank Group AIIB and NDB

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CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

• Budget & Taxation
• Banking & Finance
• Schemes & Policies
• External Sector
• Industry & Labour
• Agriculture
• Infrastructure

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Also, read

• Polity Syllabus For UPSC
• Governance Syllabus for UPSC
•  International relations syllabus for UPSC
• Everything about UPSC
• Insightsonindia Vs IASbaba

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Reference: UPSC website for Syllabus & GS SCORE

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