Economics: Introduction

Apr 2021|🟡Review|6 min read|76 entries

Key Takeaway

This post briefly introduces the topic "Economics" for various upcoming PSC exams such as degree level preliminary exams, KAS, and other competitive exams.

Last verified: 12 Feb 2026·Source: www.pscarivukal.com·Next review: Review recommended

Economics: Introduction(2)

Study of Wealth
Aphnology
Father of Economics
Adam Smith

- Books -(14)

Wealth definition was propounded by
Adam Smith
Father of Welfare Economics
A. C. Pigou
The concept offunctional financewas first stated by
John Maynard Keynes
The Labor Theory of value was developed by
David Ricardo
Book
Principles of Political Economy And Taxation
Developer of Human Development Index
Mahbub ul Haq(Pakistan, 1990)
First Industrial Revolution was in
England
First country to introduce a carbon tax
New Zealand
First country to introduce VAT(Value Added Tax)
France
First country that introduced fat taxes
Denmark
The country in which the salt tax was imposed for the first time
China
The first central bank in the world
Central bank of Sweden
"Essay on Population" Is the famous work of
Thomas Malthus
"Communist Manifesto & Das Capital" the famous work of
Karl Marx

- "The Organizer" is the work of – Saint Simon(2)

"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon" are the famous words of
Milton Friedman
"Economics is what Economist do" are the famous words of
Jacob Viner

Indian Economics(6)

Financial Capital of India
Mumbai
Financial Year / Fiscal Year in India
1stApril to 31stMarch
India is considered as a
Developing economy
The backbone of the Indian economy
Agriculture
Father of Indian Economics
Chanakya, Dadabhai Naoroji(for the drain of wealth theory),Mahadev Govind Ranade***
Father of Indian Budget
James Wilson

- Founder of the famous business magazine "The Economist."(40)

Father of Indian Statistics
Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
Publication started by PC Mahalanobis
Sankhya(1933)
Official publication of Indian Statistical Institute
Sankhya, the Indian Journal of Statistics
Mahalanobis Distance
a measure of comparison between two different data sets
National Statistics Day
June 29(Birthday of PC Mahalanobis; named by then PM Manmohan Singh in 2006)
Father of Indian Economic Planning
M. Vishweswaraiah
Book
Planned Economy in India
A group of rich and influential businessmen in Bombay drew up a plan for the economic development of India
Bombay Plan(January 1944; J. R. D. Tata, G. D. Birla, Dr. John Matthai, Sir Shri Ram, P. Thakurdas, Ardeshir Dalal,A. D. Shroff & Kasturbhai Lalbhai)
Leader
Ardeshir Dalal
Malayali industrialist involved in the Bombay Plan
Dr. John Matthai
Father of Indian Economic Reforms
P.V. Narasimha Rao
Father of Indian Five Year Plan
Pandit Jawaharlal Lal Nehru
First Prime Minister to present the budget*
Pandit Jawaharlal Lal Nehru(1958)
Father of National income accounting in India
V. K. R. V. Rao
First person to calculate the national income in India
Dadabhai Naoroji
Book
Poverty and un-British rule in India
First person to calculate the national income in independent India
PC Mahalanobis
First person to scientifically calculate the national income in India
V. K. R. V. Rao
The first National Income calculation on a scientific basis was done in India in the year
1931-32
The national income committee was appointed in 1949 under the chairmanship of
PC Mahalanobis
The body which compiles the national income of India
Central Statistics Office(CSO)
Formed on
May 2, 1951
Headquarters
New Delhi
First country to introduce an official family planning programme
India
The term Gandhian economics coined by
J. C. Kumarappa
ThePlanning Commissionwas set up in
1950(March 15)
Dissolved in
August 17, 2014
Headquarters
Yojana Bhavan, New Delhi
Chairman of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee of Indian Trade Union*
M.N. Roy
The People’s Plan was authored by
M.N. Roy(1945)
Sarvodaya Plan(1950)was drafted by
Jaiprakash Narayan
The Wage Good Model was put forward by
P. R. Brahmananda & C. N. Vakil
The Gandhian plan was formulated by
ShrimanNarayan Agarwal(1944)
Committee constituted by Planning commission to estimate poverty in India
Y. K. Alagh Committee(1979)
The state-specific(urban & rural)poverty lines were recommendedby
Lakdawala Committee(1993)
The First Industrial Policy of Independent India was announced on
April 6, 1948
Presented by
Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
Who appoints the Finance Commission
President of India
The final approval to the five-year plans of India was given by
National Development Council(NDC)
National Development Council was set up in the year
1952

* Time-sensitive data — verify for latest information

- Three basic sectors of the Economy –(6)

Primary sector
extraction of raw materials(Agriculture, Farming, Fishing, Forest & Mining)
Secondary sector
manufacturing sector(Energy & Cloth production, Construction)
Tertiary sector
service industry – offering services to consumers(Banking & Insurance, IT, Entertainment, Storage, Trade, Transportation, Tourism & Retail)
The largest share of India's national income comes from which sector
Service Sector
Economics is mainly divided into
Macro Economics & Micro Economics
The terms microeconomics and macroeconomics were coined by
Ragnar Frisch

Macro Economics(4)

Also known as
Aggregate economics
Founding Father of Macroeconomics
John Maynard Keynes
Based on
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money(by John Maynard Keynes, 1936)
Macroeconomics
the study of the factors affecting the economy ie, performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making, as a whole rather than the individual factors

Micro Economics(2)

Also known as
Price Theory
Microeconomics
the study of the individual units such as individuals, households, etc within the economy

For Further Reading

- Reserve Bank of India.

📝SideNotes

- Engineer's Day– September 15(Birthday of M. Visvesvaraya)