Basic Economics — Demand, Supply, Market Types, Elasticity & Price Control

What should you study in Basic Economics?

• GDP — expenditure, income, production methods
• Real vs nominal GDP; GDP deflator vs CPI
• GNP, NNP, NNI, per capita income calculations
• GDP vs GVA; base year revisions (2011-12)

How often is Basic Economics asked in UPSC Prelims?

Asked in 5 of 10 years, including 2 of the last 5. Highlighted years below are the ones it appeared in.

1. 2016: asked
2. 2017: not asked
3. 2018: asked
4. 2019: not asked
5. 2020: asked
6. 2021: not asked
7. 2022: asked
8. 2023: not asked
9. 2024: asked
10. 2025: not asked

About the Prelims GS Paper I paper

General Studies Paper I is the Prelims paper that decides the cut-off: 100 multiple-choice questions for 200 marks, with negative marking for wrong answers. See all 88 Prelims GS Paper I topics.

Related topics to study next

• National Income — GDP, GNP, GVA, NNP, Growth Models & MeasurementHigh-yieldasked 5/10 yrs
• RBI, Monetary Policy, Banking System & Financial Sector ReformsHigh-yieldasked 6/10 yrs
• Fiscal Policy, Budget, Deficit Types, FRBM & Public FinanceHigh-yieldasked 4/10 yrs
• Inflation — Types, Causes, Price Indices (CPI/WPI), Phillips CurveHigh-yieldasked 4/10 yrs
• Poverty, Unemployment, Inclusive Growth & Welfare Schemes (MGNREGA, PM-KISAN etc.)High-yieldasked 4/10 yrs
• International Trade, BoP, Exchange Rate, IMF, WTO & Trade AgreementsHigh-yieldasked 3/10 yrs
• GST, Direct/Indirect Taxes, Tax Reforms & Resource MobilisationHigh-yieldasked 4/10 yrs
• Financial Markets — Capital Markets, SEBI, Insurance, Pension & NBFCsasked 2/10 yrs