Official syllabus
CBSE Class XII Economics Syllabus 2026 – 27
Explore the official topics, exam pattern and source PDF in one place.
Overview
Purpose: Economics develops economic reasoning, sensitivity to national economic issues, competence with analytical tools and the ability to examine differing viewpoints logically as citizens, workers and consumers.
Class XII focus: The course combines Introductory Macroeconomics—national income, money and banking, income and employment, government budget and balance of payments—with Indian Economic Development, including post-independence experience, reforms, current challenges and comparison with neighbouring economies.
Full syllabus
Rationale and Objectives instruction
Rationale
Economics is one of the social sciences, which has great influence on every human being. As economic life and the economy go through changes, the need to ground education in children’s own experience becomes essential. While doing so, it is imperative to provide them opportunities to acquire analytical skills to observe and understand the economic realities.
At senior secondary stage, the learners are in a position to understand abstract ideas, exercise the power of thinking and to develop their own perception. It is at this stage, the learners are exposed to the rigour of the discipline of economics in a systematic way.
The economics courses are introduced in such a way that in the initial stage, the learners are introduced to the economic realities that the nation is facing today along with some basic statistical tools to understand these broader economic realities. In the later stage, the learners are introduced to economics as a theory of abstraction.
The economics courses also contain many projects and activities. These will provide opportunities for the learners to explore various economic issues both from their day-to-day life and also from issues, which are broader and invisible in nature. The academic skills that they learn in these courses would help to develop the projects and activities. The syllabus is also expected to provide opportunities to use information and communication technologies to facilitate their learning process.
Objectives:
- Understanding of some basic economic concepts and development of economic reasoning which the learners can apply in their day-to-day life as citizens, workers and consumers.
- Realisation of learners’ role in nation building and sensitivity to the economic issues that the nation is facing today.
- Equipment with basic tools of economics and statistics to analyse economic issues. This is pertinent for even those who may not pursue this course beyond senior secondary stage.
- Development of understanding that there can be more than one view on any economic issue and necessary skills to argue logically with reasoning.
Course Structure instruction
ECONOMICS (Subject Code 030)
Class - XII (2026-27)
Theory: 80 Marks
3 Hours
Project: 20 Marks
| Units | Marks |
|---|---|
| Part A: Introductory Macroeconomics | |
| National Income and Related Aggregates | 10 |
| Money and Banking | 06 |
| Determination of Income and Employment | 12 |
| Government Budget and the Economy | 06 |
| Balance of Payments | 06 |
| Total | 40 |
| Part B: Indian Economic Development | |
| Development Experience (1947-90) and Economic Reforms since 1991 | 12 |
| Current Challenges facing Indian Economy | 20 |
| Development Experience of India – A Comparison with Neighbours | 08 |
| Theory Paper (40+40 = 80 Marks) | 40 |
| Part C: Project Work | 20 |
Unit 1: National Income and Related Aggregates unit
Part A: Introductory Macroeconomics
What is Macroeconomics?
Basic concepts in macroeconomics: consumption goods, capital goods, final goods, intermediate goods; stocks and flows; gross investment and depreciation.
Circular flow of income (two sector model); Methods of calculating National Income - Value Added or Product method, Expenditure method, Income method.
Aggregates related to National Income:
Gross National Product (GNP), Net National Product (NNP), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Net Domestic Product (NDP) - at market price, at factor cost; Real and Nominal GDP
GDP Deflator, GDP and Welfare
Unit 2: Money and Banking unit
Money – meaning and functions, supply of money - Currency held by the public and net demand deposits held by commercial banks.
Money creation by the commercial banking system.
Central bank and its functions (example of the Reserve Bank of India): Bank of issue, Govt. Bank, Banker's Bank, Control of Credit through Bank Rate, Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), Repo Rate and Reverse Repo Rate, Open Market Operations, Margin requirement.
Unit 3: Determination of Income and Employment unit
Aggregate demand and its components.
Propensity to consume and propensity to save (average and marginal).
Short-run equilibrium output; investment multiplier and its mechanism.
Meaning of full employment and involuntary unemployment.
Problems of excess demand and deficient demand; measures to correct them - changes in government spending, taxes and money supply.
Unit 4: Government Budget and the Economy unit
Government budget - meaning, objectives and components.
Classification of receipts - revenue receipts and capital receipts;
Classification of expenditure – revenue expenditure and capital expenditure.
Balanced, Surplus and Deficit Budget – measures of government deficit.
Unit 5: Balance of Payments unit
Balance of payments account - meaning and components;
Balance of payments – Surplus and Deficit
Foreign exchange rate - meaning of fixed and flexible rates and managed floating.
Determination of exchange rate in a free market, Merits and demerits of flexible and fixed exchange rate.
Managed Floating exchange rate system
Unit 6: Development Experience (1947-90) and Economic Reforms since 1991 unit
Part B: Indian Economic Development
A brief introduction of the state of Indian economy on the eve of independence.
Indian economic system and common goals of Five Year Plans.
Main features, problems and policies of agriculture (institutional aspects and new agricultural strategy), industry (IPR 1956; SSI – role & importance) and foreign trade.
Economic Reforms since 1991:
Features and appraisals of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation (LPG policy);
Concepts of demonetization and GST
Unit 7: Current challenges facing Indian Economy unit
Human Capital Formation: How people become resource; Role of human capital in economic development; Growth of Education Sector in India
Rural development: Key issues - credit and marketing - role of cooperatives; agricultural diversification; alternative farming - organic farming
Employment: Growth and changes in work force participation rate in formal and informal sectors; problems and policies
Sustainable Economic Development: Meaning, Effects of Economic Development on Resources and Environment, including global warming
Unit 8: Development Experience of India unit
A comparison with neighbours
India and Pakistan
India and China
Issues: economic growth, population, sectoral development and other Human Development Indicators
Marks & examination pattern
| Assessment | Marks | Weightage |
|---|---|---|
| Theory | 80.00 | |
| Project | 20.00 | |
| Suggested Question Paper Design | 80.00 |
Theory
- Duration
- 3 hours
Theory: 80 Marks; 3 Hours
Project
Project: 20 Marks
Suggested Question Paper Design
- Duration
- 3 hours
Remembering and Understanding: 32 marks (40%); Applying: 24 marks (30%); Analysing, Evaluating and Creating: 24 marks (30%); Total: 80 marks (100%).
Paper pattern and choice
March 2026 Examination
Practical & Projects
Project in Economics
Guidelines for Project Work in Economics (Class XI and XII)
The objectives of the project work are to enable learners to:
- probe deeper into theoretical concepts learnt in classes XI and XII
- analyse and evaluate real world economic scenarios using theoretical constructs and arguments
- demonstrate the learning of economic theory
- follow up aspects of economics in which learners have interest
- develop the communication skills to argue logically
The expectations of the project work are that:
- learners will complete only ONE project in each academic session
- project should be of 3,500-4,000 words (excluding diagrams & graphs), preferably hand-written
- it will be an independent, self-directed piece of study
Role of the teacher:
The teacher plays a critical role in developing thinking skills of the learners. A teacher should:
- help each learner select the topic based on recently published extracts from the news media, government policies, RBI bulletin, NITI Aayog reports, IMF/World Bank reports etc., after detailed discussions and deliberations of the topic
- play the role of a facilitator and supervisor to monitor the project work of the learner through periodic discussions
- guide the research work in terms of sources for the relevant data
- educate learner about plagiarism and the importance of quoting the source of the information to ensure authenticity of research work
- prepare the learner for the presentation of the project work
- arrange a presentation of the project file
Scope of the project:
Learners may work upon the following lines as a suggested flow chart:
Choose a title/topic
Collection of the research material/data
Organization of material/data
Present material/data
Analysing the material/data for conclusion
Draw the relevant conclusion
Presentation of the Project Work
Expected Checklist:
- Introduction of topic/title
- Identifying the causes, consequences and/or remedies
- Various stakeholders and effect on each of them
- Advantages and disadvantages of situations or issues identified
- Short-term and long-term implications of economic strategies suggested in the course of research
- Validity, reliability, appropriateness and relevance of data used for research work and for presentation in the project file
- Presentation and writing that is succinct and coherent in project file
- Citation of the materials referred to, in the file in footnotes, resources section, bibliography etc.
Mode of presentation/submission of the Project:
At the end of the stipulated term, each learner will present the research work in the Project File to the External and Internal examiner. The questions should be asked from the Research Work/ Project File of the learner. The Internal Examiner should ensure that the study submitted by the learner is his/her own original work. In case of any doubt, authenticity should be checked and verified.
Marking Scheme:
| Relevance of the topic | 3 |
| Knowledge Content/Research Work | 6 |
| Presentation Technique | 3 |
| Viva-voce | 8 |
| Total | 20 Marks |
List of Projects for Class XII
- Micro and Small Scale Industries
- Food Supply Channel in India
- Contemporary Employment situation in India
- Disinvestment policy of the government
- Goods and Services Tax Act and its Impact on GDP
- Health Expenditure (of any state)
- Human Development Index
- Inclusive Growth Strategy
- Self-help group
- Trends in Credit availability in India
- Monetary Policy Committee and its functions
- Role of RBI in Control of Credit
- Government Budget & its Components
- Trends in budgetary condition of India
- Exchange Rate determination – Methods and Techniques
- Currency War – reasons and repercussions
- Livestock – Backbone of Rural India
- Alternate fuel – types and importance
- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – Cost Ratio Benefits
- Golden Quadrilateral- Cost ratio benefit
- Minimum Support Prices
- Relation between Stock Price Index and Economic Health of a Nation
- Waste Management in India – Need of the hour
- Minimum Wage Rate – Approach and Application
- Digital India- Step towards the future
- Rain Water Harvesting – A solution to water crisis
- Vertical Farming – An alternate way
- Silk Route- Revival of the past
- Make in India – The way ahead
- Bumper Production- Boon or Bane for the farmer
- Rise of Concrete Jungle- Trend Analysis
- Organic Farming – Back to the Nature
- Aatmanirbhar Bharat
- e-Rupee (e- ₹)
- Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)
- Environmental Crisis
- Comparative Study of Economies (Maximum three economies)
- New Education Policy (NEP) 2020: A Promise for a New Education System
- G-20: Inclusive and Action Oriented
- Amrit Kaal: Empowered and Inclusive Economy
- Cashless Economy
- Any other newspaper article and its evaluation on basis of economic principles
- Any other topic
Prescribed Books
- Statistics for Economics, NCERT
- Indian Economic Development, NCERT
- Introductory Microeconomics, NCERT
- Macroeconomics, NCERT
- Supplementary Reading Material in Economics, CBSE
Note: The above publications are also available in Hindi Medium.