How to approach 'Indian Economics' paper

How to approach 'Indian Economics'  Paper*

1. *Your Handwritten Notes – Both Paper 1 and Paper 2  -- Most Important
2. *Focusing on the activity in Class, Discussions, PPTs, Q & A from Class.
3. Learning the relevant content properly from Paper 1.
   

   Concerned Textbooks:

   
   

   • Ahuja for Microeconomics
   • Jhingan for Macroeconomics
   • SB Gupta for Monetary Economics
   • Mannur for International Economics
   • Jhingan for Growth and Development
   • Bhatia for Public Finance
4. Reading Textbooks about Indian Economics:
   

   Preferred book –
   
   
   Dutt and Sundaram (Other books – Uma Kapila, PD magazine booklet on Indian Economics, Ramesh Singh – in the decreasing order of preference)
5. (Must) Economics Optional - Previous Year Question papers  – Vishal Publishers
6. If you are an aspirant of Civil Services Exam (CSE), conducted by UPSC, then you must read, digest, analyse and criticise Economic Survey of atleast past two years. Skimming is not just enough ! 
7. Blogs of Toppers with Economics Optional (Gaurav Agarwall, Harshita Singh, Neeraj Singh)
   

   
   

   1. UPSC / IAS Preparation: Economics Optional | Khelo India
   2. UPSC / IAS Preparation Notes: Gaurav Agrawal | Khelo India
   3. UPSC First Ranker Gaurav Agrawal gives preparation tips
   4. Strategy for Economics by Ms Harshika Singh (AIR-8) | Prince Dhawan's Blog
   5. [Toppers Interview] Neeraj Kumar Singh (AIR 11/CSE11) shares his Preparation strategy and Success Story
   6. Strategy for Economics optional in CSE - by Neeraj Kumar Singh, AIR 11 (2011).docx
   7. Raveesh Gupta 2011 16 Rank - Economics Optional

8. News Papers : 
   

   • Business Standard (Takes highly Capitalist approach, Futuristic, Public Policy articles are very pressing)
   • Business Line (Has leftist-Socialist editorials, Other opinion articles are very good)
9. IGNOU Material (MEC 105) (You can even try out their Masters Programme, if deeply interested)
10. Government Websites:

    • PIB – Sections for Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce. 

    • Make in India – very interactive website. 

    • RBI Website – Speeches of Governors of RBI and other policy directives.
11. Yojana and Kurukshetra & EPW – Economics worthy articles.
12. List of Economics related Non-fiction books, Movies, Documentaries, Online Videos.
    

    Movies -
    
    (Inside Job, Margin Call, Too Big to fail, IOUSA, All Presidents Men, Capitalism - A love story)

13. Other online websites:
    

    • Mrunal Economics Articles,

    • InsightsEconomics test series,

    • 'Civil Services Guide' aggregator of articles - on Indian Economy .

    • Jagaran Josh – for their lucid coverage of Current Affairs on Indian Economics.

14. *Writing every assignment/exam seriously and completing it responsibly.
15. *Practising previous year's - Economics questions from Mains GS papers. (Punch bag for Indian Economics Questions)

Welcome Aboard, dear economist !

And dont forget to keep a track of Current events, and your errors & doubts - however small they might be. 

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility ! 

Write back to me, in the comments box, your perspectives. Would you like to add something else to my list ?

All the best,

Regards,

Vivek Sarma R

*This article is written for 'Indian Economics'  Paper of "Economics Optional" for UPSC's Civil Services Exam. As the content is general, it may as well be applicable for pursing any other exam / course on Indian Economy.

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