Class 12 Economics Syllabus 2024-25 for CBSE & ICSE Boards

Overview: The CBSE and ICSE boards have reduced 30% of the economics syllabus since last 2 years. Get insights into the revised Class 12 Economics syllabus, marking scheme, project work details and deleted topics to score 100/100 in the exam. 

The CBSE and ICSE boards have Economics Paper for 100 marks. Of these 100 marks, 80 marks are for theory paper and 20 for the project work. The important highlights of Class 12 Economics syllabus are: 

• CBSE Economics syllabus has 8 units divided in 2 parts. For CBSE, there's only 1 project work. 
• ICSE Economics syllabus has 6 units divided in 2 parts. For ICSE, there are 2 project work for 10 marks each.

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CBSE Class 12 Economics Syllabus 2024-25

In the Economics syllabus for class 12, the theory paper holds a weightage of 80 marks, and the project work holds a weightage of 20. The revised syllabus of class 12 economics is divided into three parts:

• Part A: Macroeconomics has a weightage of 40 marks. 
• Part B: Indian Economic Development has a weightage of 40 marks. 
• Part C: Project Work for 20 marks. 

Enhance your preparation by solving ​​​​​​ Class 12 Economics Sample Papers every week. Also, this will help you know the difficulty level of the paper and the type of questions asked in the exam. Part A: Introductory Macroeconomics

Part A of class 12 Economics Syllabus has 5 units. Go through the sub-topics in detail for each mentioned below: 

Unit 1: National Income and Related Aggregates

• 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 and Welfare 

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Unit 2: Money and Banking

• Money - meaning and 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, the Government bank, the Banker's Bank, the Control of Credit through Bank Rates
• CRR, SLR, Repo Rates and Reverse Repo Rates, Open Market Operations, and Margin requirements

Unit 3: Determination of Income and Employment

• Aggregate demand and its components
• The 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 the changes in government spending, taxes, and money supply

Unit 4: Government Budget and the Economy

• Government budget - meaning, objectives, and components.
• Classification of receipts - revenue receipts and capital receipts; classification of expenditure – revenue expenditure and capital expenditure.
• Measures of government deficit - revenue deficit, fiscal deficit, primary deficit their meaning.

Unit 5: Balance of Payments

• Balance of payments account - meaning and components; the balance of payments deficit meaning.
• Foreign exchange rate - meaning of fixed and flexible rates and managed to float.
• Determination of exchange rate in a free market.

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Part B: Indian Economic Development 

Part B of class 12 Economics Syllabus has 3 units. Go through the sub-topics in detail for each mentioned below: 

Unit 6: Development Experience (1947-90) and Economic Reforms since 1991

• A brief introduction of the state of the 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
• Features and appraisals of liberalization, globalization, and privatization (LPG policy)
• Concepts of demonetization and GST 

Unit 7: Current challenges facing the Indian Economy

• Poverty: absolute and relative; Main programs for poverty alleviation: A critical assessment. 
• 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 - the role of cooperatives; agricultural diversification; alternative farming - organic farming
• Employment: Growth and changes in the workforce participation rate in formal and informal sectors; problems and policies
• Infrastructure: Meaning and Types: Case Studies: Energy and Health: Problems and Policies- A critical assessment
• Sustainable Economic Development: Meaning, Effects of Economic Development on Resources and Environment, including global warming

Unit 8: Development Experience of India

• A comparison with neighbors: India and Pakistan, India and China
• Issues: economic growth, population, sectoral development, and other Human Development Indicators

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Part C: CBSE Class 12 Economics Syllabus (Project Work)

The CBSE Class 12 Economics project work is one of the main components of Class 12 Economics Syllabus.

• You have to complete only ONE project in each academic session. 
• The project should be 3,500-4,000 words (excluding diagrams & graphs), preferably hand-written. 
• It will be an independent, self-directed piece of study. 

CBSE Class 12 Economics Project Work PDF 2024-25

• At the end of the stipulated term, you will present the research work in the Project File to the External and Internal examiner.
• The questions will be asked from the Research Work/ Project File of the learner.
• The Internal Examiner should ensure that the study submitted by you is your own original work.
• In case of any doubt, authenticity should be checked and verified.

Marking Scheme: Marks are suggested to be given as: 

Heading	Marks
The relevance of the topic	3
Knowledge Content/Research Work	6
Presentation Technique	3
Viva - voce	8
Total	20

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CBSE Class 12 Economics Marking Scheme

Let us have a look at the table below to know the marking scheme of the Class 12 Economics syllabus: 

Units	Marks	Periods
Part A: Introductory Macroeconomics	Total - 40	Total - 100
Unit-1: National Income and Related Aggregates	10	28
Unit-2: Money and Banking	6	15
Unit-3: Determination of Income and Employment	12	27
Unit-4: Government Budget and the Economy	6	15
Unit-5: Balance of Payments	6	15
Part B: Indian Economic Development	Total - 40	Total - 100
Unit-6: Development Experience (1947-90) and Economic Reforms since 1991	12	28
Unit-7:Current Challenges facing Indian Economy	22	60
Unit-8: Development Experience of India - A Comparison with Neighbors	06	12
Theory Paper (40 + 40 = 80 Marks)
Part C: Project Work	20	20

Deleted Portions in CBSE Class 12 Economics Syllabus

Few topics have been removed from the Economics syllabus. The deleted syllabus of economics class 12 CBSE are listed below:

Part A: Introductory Macroeconomics

• Unit 2: Money and Banking - Control of Credit through Bank Rate, CRR, SLR, Repo Rate, and Reverse Repo Rate, Open Market Operations, Margin requirement.
• Unit 5: Balance of Payments - Balance of payments deficit-meaning. Determination of exchange rate in a free market.
• Unit 7: Current challenges facing Indian Economy - Growth of Education Sector in India alternative farming - organic farming; Infrastructure: Energy

Best CBSE Class 12 Economics Books 2024-25

You can refer to the following Class 12 Economics books while preparing for the class 12 Economics syllabus.

Supplementary Reading Material in Economics, CBSE

Book Name	Author
Statistics for Economics	NCERT
Indian Economic Development	NCERT
Introductory Microeconomics	NCERT
Supplementary Reading Material in Economics	CBSE
CBSE Chapter-wise solved papers	Arihant

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Revised ICSE Class 12 Economics Syllabus 2024-25

ICSE Class 12 Syllabus emphasizes more on your analytical and practical approach. It is difficult to score in ICSE as compared to CBSE board examinations.

Marks are allotted in three different parts : 

1. Part I (20 Marks) will consist of compulsory short answer questions testing knowledge, application, and skills relating to elementary/fundamental aspects of the entire syllabus.
2. Part II (60 marks) will consist of eight questions out of which you will be required to answer five questions, each carrying 12 marks. 
3. Part III (20 Marks) will consist of Project Work. 

Note: Part I and Part II will combine to form the theory exam. 

Part - I & II (Theory) Class 12 Economics Syllabus

Unit-1: Micro Economic Theory 

(i) Demand

• Meaning, factors affecting demand; Demand function
• Law of Demand; derivation of demand curve; movement and shift of the demand curve; exceptions to the Law of Demand
• Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, Law of Equimarginal Utility, consumer’s equilibrium through utility approach (Cardinal), and indifference curve analysis (Ordinal)
• The concept of demand: meaning. A demand function to be specified incorporating the determinants of demand.
• Diagrams should be used in explaining the Law of Demand, reasons for the downward slope of the demand curve, its derivation using demand schedule
• Derivation of the market demand curve from the individual demand curve
• Cardinal Utility Analysis: the meaning of utility, total utility, marginal utility, the relationship of TU and MU
• Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility (schedule and diagram, Only assumptions to be taught, criticisms not required)
• Ordinal Utility Analysis: Indifference Curve – it is meaning and properties (including MRS and DMRS), indifference map, consumer’s budget line
• Consumer’s equilibrium – condition (to be explained with the help of a diagram)

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(ii) Elasticity of demand

• Meaning, types of elasticity of demand, measurement of elasticity of demand
• Factors affecting elasticity of demand
• Various methods of measurement of the elasticity of demand: point method - percentage method, expenditure method, and geometric method. (Numerical required on percentage method only).
• The cross and income elasticity of demand must be explained.
• Degrees of elasticity of demand to be explained. Diagrams to be used wherever necessary.

(iii) Supply

• Meaning; the difference between stock and supply; determinants of supply
• Law of Supply; movement and shift of the supply curve; elasticity of supply
• Difference between stock (intended supply) and supply (actual supply) with the help of relevant examples
• A supply function should 83 be specified and explained. Law of Supply, supply schedule, and supply curve
• Derivation of the market supply curve from individual supply curve. Movement and shift of the supply curve, exceptions to the Law of Supply
• The elasticity of Supply: Meaning and measurement of elasticity of supply by percentage method and geometric method

(iv) Market Mechanism

• Equilibrium and disequilibrium; Equilibrium price and effect of changes in demand and supply on the equilibrium price
• Simple applications of tools of demand and supply. A basic understanding of the concept of equilibrium
• The effects of changes in demand and supply - both along the curves and shift of the curves to be explained
• Basic understanding of Price control, rationing, Price ceiling, and Floor price with the help of demand and supply curves

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(v) Concept of production and production function

• Short-run and long-run production function, returns to a factor, total, average, and marginal physical products
• Law of Variable Proportions and its three stages
• A production function (concept only)
• Law of Variable Proportions: statement, assumptions, schedule, diagram, and explanation to the three stages

(vi) Cost and revenue

• Basic concepts of cost; fixed cost, the variable cost, total cost, marginal cost, and average cost – their relationships; opportunity cost; short-run and long-run cost curves.
• Revenue: meaning; average revenue, marginal revenue, and total revenue and their relationships under perfect competition and imperfect competition
• Producer’s equilibrium. Basic concepts – private cost, economic cost, social cost, money cost, real cost, explicit cost, implicit cost.
• Cost concepts – Fixed cost, the variable cost, total cost, marginal cost, the average cost with schedule and diagram; the relationship between average cost, marginal cost, total cost (derivations not required).
• Opportunity cost – meaning only. Difference between accounting cost and opportunity cost.
• Revenue – Average revenue, marginal revenue, total revenue – concepts, and relationships under perfect competition and imperfect competition.
• Producer’s equilibrium (Profit maximization goal) – meaning; conditions: (a) TR and TC approach along with diagram (b) MR and MC approach along with a diagram

(vii) Main market forms

• Perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, monopoly, monopsony
• Characteristics of the various market forms; equilibrium of a firm in perfect competition under the short run and long run
• Features of perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, monopoly, and monopsony (meaning only)
• Equilibrium of a firm in perfect competition under short-run (explanation and diagram, shut down point and break-even point) and long-run (diagram not required)

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Unit-2: Theory of Income and Employment

• Basic concepts and determination of Income and Employment
• The concept of demand (ex-ante) and effective (export) demand
• Aggregate demand and its components, propensity to consume and propensity to save (average and marginal), equilibrium output
• Investment multiplier (it is meaning and mechanism)
• Meaning of full employment
• Problems of excess demand and deficient demand; measures to correct them

Unit-3: Money and Banking

• Money: meaning, functions of money, the supply of money. Meaning, kinds of money, functions of money (primary, secondary, and contingent)
• Supply of money (the only meaning of M1, M2, M3 & M4)
• Banks: functions of the commercial bank; high powered money, credit creation by commercial banks
• Central Bank: functions. Basic understanding of the functions of commercial banks, credit creation process with limitation
• The regulatory role of the Central Bank, its functions, and the way it controls the flow of credit needs
• Quantitative CRR, SLR, Bank Rate policy (repo rate and reverse repo rates), and Open Market Operations) and qualitative methods.

Unit-4: Balance of Payment and Exchange Rate

• Balance of Payment – meaning, components
• Foreign exchange – meaning, determination of exchange rate (Flexible).
• Balance of Payment - Meaning and components
• Causes of disequilibrium and how the disequilibrium can be corrected;
• Foreign Exchange Rate – meaning, meaning of fixed and flexible exchange rate,
• Determination of exchange rate in a free market.
• Concepts of depreciation, appreciation, devaluation, and revaluation (meaning only).

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Unit-5: Public Finance

• Fiscal Policy: meaning and instruments of fiscal policy.
• Meaning and instruments of fiscal policy – Public Revenue: Meaning, taxes (Meaning and types), the difference between direct and indirect taxes
• Public Expenditure: Meaning and importance; Public Debt: Meaning and redemption; Deficit Financing: meaning.
• Government Budget: meaning, types, and components.
• Meaning and types of Government budget – union, state; components – revenue and capital.
• Concept of deficit budget: revenue deficit, fiscal deficit, primary deficit – their meaning and implications.

Unit-6: National Income

• Circular flow of Income. A simple model explaining the circular flow of income with two, three, and four sector models with leakages and injections
• Concepts and definition of NY, GNP, GDP, NNP, private income, personal income, personal disposable income, National Disposable Income, and per capita income; the relationship between the income concepts
• GDP and Welfare, GDP as an indicator of economic welfare
• (Methods of measuring National Income: product or value-added method; income method and expenditure method
• Simple numerical based on all the methods, precautions and difficulties of measuring National Income for each method

Paper-III (Project Work) 

• You will be expected to complete two projects from any topic covered in the theory syllabus.
• Mark allocation for each Project is 10 marks. 
• No question paper for Project Work will be set by the Council.
• The practical work will be assessed by the teacher and a Visiting Examiner appointed locally and approved by the Council. 

Marks are suggested to be given as: 

Heading	Marks
Overall Format	1
Content	4
Findings	2
Viva-voce based on project	3

Download ICSE Class 12 Economics Syllabus PDF   

ICSE Class 12 Economics Books 2024-25

Let us have a look at the table below to know the important books for the preparation of class 12 Economics Syllabus ICSE. 

Understanding ISC Economics Class 12	B L Gupta
ISC Economics Chapter wise Solved Papers Class 12	Arihant Publications
Concepts of Economics: ISC Class 12	Crystal John, David Jayalakshmi Sathyabhartha Kr. Sushil Gupta

Key Takeaways 

The Class 12 Economics syllabus is very detailed and requires thorough preparation. To prepare well for your boards, you must: 

• Solve numerous numerical problems and practice past papers to improve your understanding and problem-solving skills.
• Visualize the mentioned concepts through diagrams and graphs.
• Don't hesitate to ask your teacher or classmates for help when you find any difficult topics.
• Create a balanced study plan that has enough time allocated to each unit.