Indian Economy (Pre + Mains)
No prior knowledge of economics is needed to join the course- students will learn everything in the course- right from basics to applications in public policy!
ABOUT THE COURSE:
It covers the Economics part of the General Studies, Essay and Interview. Today, it plays a deciding role in the selection—up to 50% questions in Prelims (GS Paper 1), over 60% questions in Mains (GS paper 3) and invariably one essay besides numerous questions in Interview are asked from it. Closer analysis informs that over half of the 4 papers of GS in Mains is applied Economics—the reason why it is said, Economics is the Gateway of GS.
COURSE COVERAGE:
The course covers the whole Prelim & Main syllabi. The details are given below—the topics printed in BOLD are prescribed by the UPSC for GS Paper- 3 while the rest of the topics (printed in NON-BOLD) are covered as extra topics to make the course get complete:
- Introductory Class—inclusive of strategy for preparation, books & references.
- Growth, Development, Human Development & Happiness; India’s ide of inclusive growth & the issues arising from it.
- Economic policies of India—a Review.
- Changes in Industrial policies & their impact (Industry).
- Effects of Liberalisation on the economy (Economic Reforms).
- Infrastructure—energy, ports, roads, airports, railways, etc.
- Indian economy and issues relating to Planning (including NITI Aayog), Mobilization of Resources, Investment Models, Development & Employment; Poverty, Population, Education, Health, Skill, Demographic Dividend, etc. (Social Sector/Human Development).
- Land Reforms, PDS, Buffer Stock, Food Security, Storage, Transportation, Marketing, Food Processing Industries, Upstream & Downstream requirements, Supply Chain Management, Technology Missions, e-Technology, Animal Rearing, Cropping Patterns, Irrigation, Farm Subsidies and MSP (Agriculture).
- Economics of Inflation & its dynamics in India (Price Management).
- Banking, Insurance, Mutual Funds, Security & Forward Markets (Financial Sector).
- Forex Reserves, External Debt, Export, Import, Current & Capital accounts, Exchange Rate, BoP, IMF, WB, WTO, OECD, BRICS Bank (NDB), AIIB, Deglobalisation, Protectionism, Currency War, etc. (External Sector).
- Tax Reforms, VAT, GST, and related issues (Tax Structure).
- Government Budgeting—fiscal policy, public finance management & emerging challenges (Public Finance).
GS Paper-1 syllabus prescribed by the UPSC for the Preliminary Examination is fully covered by the course:
Economic and Social Development, Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
As the course aims to develop an applied understanding of Economics & Indian Economy among the students, the classes keep connecting to a wide area of knowledge (which gives students an insight into all 4 papers of the GS). This makes it easier for students to handle the course without having any prior knowledge of Economics.
MENTORING: Mentoring is based on the “Integrated Approach to GS”—a strategy for the preparation of the civil services exam developed by the faculty. Under this approach students learn to use their ‘same’ knowledge at all levels of the examination—GS (Prelim & Main), Essay and the Interview.
