Frameworks, indices and policy instruments that explain the economic news. 283 concepts, each with its definition, key details and a timeline of every news story that touched it.
The Economic Capital Framework is the methodology the RBI uses to determine its appropriate capital level (risk buffers) and, by residual, the surplus...
Large-scale energy storage is essential for integrating intermittent renewable sources (solar and wind) into the grid. India requires an estimated 411.4 GWh...
The Export Promotion Mission is a unified export support framework approved by the Union Cabinet with an outlay of Rs 25,060 crore over six years (FY26 to...
The FSDC is India's apex inter-regulatory coordination body for the financial sector. Chaired by the Union Finance Minister, it was set up in December 2010...
India's Foreign Trade Policy 2023, released on April 1, 2023 (for 2023-28), provides the overarching framework for India's trade promotion efforts. Key...
India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is compiled and published by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme...
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Value Added (GVA) are related but distinct measures of economic output. GVA measures the value added by all resident...
India's Goods and Services Tax, introduced on July 1, 2017, replaced a complex, cascading multi-tax system (central excise, service tax, VAT, etc.) with a...
International experience shows that inflation targeting frameworks must balance credibility (low, stable inflation) with flexibility (space to respond to...
Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water through electrolysis powered by renewable energy (solar or wind), resulting in zero carbon emissions (unlike...
A critical distinction for UPSC examinations: Gross FDI = Total fresh equity inflows into India from abroad (includes reinvested earnings and intra-company...
India's agricultural export policy has been characterised by frequent changes — switching between export promotion (when there is surplus), export...
India is structurally import-dependent for key fertiliser nutrients. While domestic urea production covers most consumption, potash (MOP) is 100% imported...
India's foreign trade is governed by the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, with the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) providing the...
India's GDP growth in recent years has been driven by: (1) government capital expenditure — the Union Budget 2025-26 allocated ₹11.21 lakh crore for capex...
India's IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector is one of the country's largest export earners, employing approximately 5.4 million people and...
Governor Malhotra's assertion that India's fundamentals are stronger than in previous crisis episodes refers to several structural improvements since the...
India is the world's second-largest steel producer, with an annual output exceeding 140 million tonnes. The sector contributes approximately 240 million...
India's sugar sector is one of the most heavily regulated in the world, reflecting the political salience of sugarcane farmers (approximately 5 crore...
The textile and apparel sector is India's second-largest export earner (after IT services) and the second-largest employer (45+ million, including 70%...
India receives nearly 75% of its annual precipitation during the June-September southwest monsoon. The remaining months depend on stored surface water...
The IndiaAI Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2024 with a budget outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore over five years. It is structured around...
MKSP is a sub-component of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), launched to improve the status of women in...
The MSP is the minimum price announced by the government at which it will procure select crops from farmers, providing a price floor that insulates them...
In India's monetary policy framework, the policy stance communicates the MPC's forward-looking bias and operational intent regarding future interest rate...
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was established on July 12, 1982, on the recommendation of the Shivaraman Committee...
NICRA is a flagship network project launched by ICAR in 2011 with four components: (1) strategic research on adaptation and mitigation, (2) technology...
The Government of India launched NMEO-OP in 2021 with an outlay of Rs 11,040 crore to expand oil palm cultivation, particularly in northeastern states and...
The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), announced in August 2021, is the Central Government's framework for unlocking value from brownfield public assets...
The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 was notified by the Government to promote use of biofuels in the energy and transportation sector. Its original...
India's installed nuclear capacity is approximately 7,480 MW (as of 2025), contributing about 3% of total electricity generation. With targets of 100 GW...
PM-AASHA (Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan) is the umbrella scheme for MSP-based market intervention in pulses, oilseeds, and copra. It was...
PMBJP was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, to provide quality generic medicines at affordable prices...
PMKVY is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation...
PLI schemes incentivise domestic manufacturing by offering cash incentives — typically 4–6% on incremental sales — to eligible companies over 5–7 years. As...
The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935, under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, as a private shareholders' bank. It was nationalized...
A windfall tax is a one-off or periodic levy on extraordinary profits earned by producers or exporters due to external events rather than business effort or...
Women's contribution to Indian agriculture is vast yet structurally undervalued. This gap — between economic contribution and formal recognition — is a...
The World Bank Group is an international financial institution that provides loans, grants, and technical assistance to developing countries for development...
The relationship between AI and employment is a critical policy question globally. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report projects that AI and...
The International Labour Organization (ILO) and World Economic Forum (WEF) have both projected that AI will create significant job displacement in...
Article 41, part of the non-justiciable Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV), directs the State to make effective provision, within its economic...
Asset monetisation — recycling existing public infrastructure assets to raise fresh capital — is a core component of India's infrastructure financing...
Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India), launched in May 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic's supply chain disruptions, is not about autarky...
The Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (Act No. 33 of 1962) is the primary legislation governing India's nuclear programme. It grants the Central Government exclusive...
AB PM-JAY is the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme. It provides health insurance coverage of ₹5 lakh per family per year for...
The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020 extended the RBI's supervisory powers over cooperative banks, including urban and multi-state cooperative...
A Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) stores electrical energy electrochemically (typically in lithium-ion cells) and releases it on demand. BESS is...
BEL is a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Defence, specializing in defence electronics, radar systems, communication...
The Brahmaputra is one of India's largest river systems, originating as the Tsangpo in Tibet near Lake Manasarovar (at approximately 5,150 m altitude)...
Bt cotton, approved in India in 2002, was the country's first and to date only commercially cultivated GM crop. It contains genes from the soil bacterium...
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is India's national standards body, established under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 (which replaced the BIS...
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is the apex body under the Ministry of Finance responsible for administering indirect taxes — customs...
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. It is the apex body for the...
The Central Water Commission (CWC) is a premier technical organisation in India in the field of water resources, functioning under the Ministry of Jal...
The Central Water Commission is a statutory body established in 1945 under the Ministry of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development and...
The vulnerability of Kashmiri saffron mirrors a broader pattern across Indian agriculture: climate-sensitive specialty crops and horticulture are...
The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and subsequent MMDR amendments opened commercial coal mining to the private sector for the first time since...
Cold chain refers to the temperature-controlled supply chain from farm to consumer, including pre-cooling units, cold storage, refrigerated transport...
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, such as food, medical care, education...