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UPSC Prelims Economy PYQs (previous year questions), topic wise: we tagged 211 Economy questions from 11 official UPSC Prelims papers (2016–2026). The topics asked most are Money, Banking and Macroeconomy (91), Growth, Sectors, Budget and Trade (67), Agriculture (53). Open any topic for every question it has had with the official answer.
Economy topics ranked by questions
- Money, Banking and Macroeconomy PYQs: 91 questions; most asked: Payment Systems
- Growth, Sectors, Budget and Trade PYQs: 67 questions; most asked: Intellectual Property
- Agriculture PYQs: 53 questions; most asked: Plantation Crops
Economy questions by year
| Topic | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | All questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 91 |
| Growth, Sectors, Budget and Trade | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 67 |
| Agriculture | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 53 |
Most-asked Economy concepts
| Concept | Topic | Questions | Papers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment Systems | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 5 | 4 |
| Capital Markets | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 5 | 4 |
| Monetary Policy | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 4 | 4 |
| Bond Markets | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 3 | 3 |
| Exchange Rate | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 3 | 3 |
| Public Sector Banks | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 3 | 3 |
| Money Supply | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 3 | 3 |
| Intellectual Property | Growth, Sectors, Budget and Trade | 3 | 3 |
| Digital Payments | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 4 | 2 |
| Financial Markets | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 3 | 2 |
| Reserve Bank of India | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 3 | 2 |
| Inflation | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 3 | 2 |
| Fiscal Deficit | Growth, Sectors, Budget and Trade | 3 | 2 |
| Taxation | Growth, Sectors, Budget and Trade | 3 | 2 |
| Bonds | Money, Banking and Macroeconomy | 2 | 2 |
How to use UPSC Prelims Economy PYQs
- Start with the topics at the top of the ranking. They carry the most questions.
- For each topic, solve its PYQs year by year from the official PDFs, then check the answers.
- Log misses by concept. When a concept repeats in your log, go back to that topic’s concept table.
- Finish with full UPSC Prelims papers from the year pages to practise timing.
Other UPSC Prelims subjects
- UPSC Prelims History and Culture PYQs
- UPSC Prelims Geography PYQs
- UPSC Prelims Science and Technology PYQs
FAQ
Which Economy topics are most important for UPSC Prelims?
By questions in the official papers we tagged (2016–2026): Money, Banking and Macroeconomy (91), Growth, Sectors, Budget and Trade (67), Agriculture (53). The table on this page ranks every Economy topic.
How many Economy questions are in these UPSC Prelims PYQs?
211 Economy questions across 11 official UPSC Prelims papers from 2016–2026, spread over 3 topics.
Are these UPSC Prelims Economy PYQs official?
Yes. Every question is from an official UPSC Prelims paper hosted on our year pages. Summaries are ours; the full question is in the official PDF linked beside it.