If you’ve just passed Class 12 and are aiming to pursue a degree in Economics, it’s important to begin with the CUET UG Economics syllabus. The syllabus is based on key topics from Class 12 NCERT, covering Microeconomics and Macroeconomics—like demand, supply, national income, government budget, and banking.
Understanding the full CUET syllabus for Economics will help you study the right topics and prepare more effectively for the exam. In this article, we’ve presented the CUET UG 2026 Economics syllabus in a simple and student-friendly way. It’s a great starting point to plan your preparation, manage time wisely, and improve your chances of getting into a top university
CUET Economics Syllabus 2026
Students who wish to get admission into UG programs like B.A. Economics, B.Sc. Economics, B.Com (Hons.), etc., through CUET should go through the CUET Economics syllabus thoroughly. This subject is among the most popular CUET choices, especially for commerce stream students. The syllabus includes key topics like consumer behavior, income and employment, national income, money and banking, and more.
It is divided into 10 main units from both Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. The National Testing Agency (NTA) will likely hold the CUET UG 2026 exam in the second week of May in online Computer-Based Test Mode (CBT). Students can find the official syllabus and sample papers on the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) official CUET website — cuet.nta.nic.in.
- Microeconomics – This focuses on individuals and businesses, like how people make choices and how companies set prices.
- Macroeconomics – This looks at the bigger picture, like the overall economy, government policies, and international trade.
CUET UG Economics Syllabus: Overview
- Introduction to Microeconomics
- Consumer Behaviour and Demand
- National Income and Related Aggregates — Basic Concepts and Measurement
- Determination of Income and Employment
- Money and Banking
- Government Budget and the Economy
- Balance of Payments
- Development Experience (1947-90) and Economic Reforms since 1991
- Current challenges facing the Indian Economy
- Development Experience of India
CUET UG Detailed Unit-Wise Economics Syllabus
Students preparing for CUET UG 2026 must go through the latest Economics syllabus that will soon be shared by NTA on its official website. Till then, they can refer to the syllabus below and start their prep. For the CUET 2025 exam, the Indian Economic Development section was removed from the syllabus. So, it's important to check the updated topics carefully. To make things easier, we’ve provided a detailed syllabus overview in the table below. Knowing the right topics will help you plan your preparation smartly and score better.
Unit 1: Introduction to Microeconomics
- What is microeconomics?
- Central problems
Unit 2: Consumer Behaviour and Demand
- Consumer’s Equilibrium: meaning and attainment of equilibrium through the Utility
- Approach: One and two-commodity cases.
- Demand: market demand, determinants of demand, demand schedule, demand curve, movement along and shifts in the demand curve, price elasticity of demand, measurement of price elasticity of demand – percentage, total expenditure, and geometric methods
Unit 3: National Income and Related Aggregates — Basic Concepts and Measurement
- Macroeconomics: meaning.
- Circular flow of income, concepts of GDP, GNP, NDP, NNP (at market price and factor cost).
- Measurement of National Income –Value Added method, Income method, and Expenditure method.
Unit 4: Determination of Income and Employment
- Aggregate demand, aggregate supply, and their components
- Propensity to consume and propensity to save (average and marginal)
- Meaning of involuntary unemployment and full employment
- Determination of income and employment: two-sector model
- Concept of investment multiplier and its working
- Problems of excess and deficient demand
- Measures to correct excess and deficient demand – availability of credit, change in government spending
Unit 5: Money and Banking
- Money: meaning, evolution, and functions
- Central Bank: meaning and functions
- Commercial banks: meaning and functions
Unit 6: Government Budget and the Economy
- Government budget – meaning and its components
- Objectives of the government budget
- Classification of receipts – revenue and capital; classification of expenditure – revenue and capital, plan and non-plan, and developmental and non-developmental
- Balanced budget, surplus budget, and deficit budget: meaning and implications
- Revenue deficit, fiscal deficit, and primary deficit: meaning and implications; measures to contain different deficits.
Unit 7: Balance of Payments
- Foreign exchange rate – meaning (fixed and flexible), merits and demerits; determination through demand and supply
- Balance of payments accounts – meaning and components
- A brief analysis of recent exchange rate issues
Unit 8: Development Experience (1947-90) and Economic Reforms since 1991
- A brief introduction to the state of the Indian economy on the eve of independence. Indian economic system and the common goals of the 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.
Unit 9: Current challenges facing the Indian Economy
- Poverty – absolute and relative; Main programmes for poverty alleviation: A critical assessment;
- Human Capital Formation – How many people become resources; Role of human capital in economic development;
- Rural development: Key issues – credit and marketing – role of cooperatives; agricultural diversification;
- Employment: Growth and changes in workforce participation rate in formal and informal sectors, problems, and policies
- Infrastructure: Meaning and Types: Case Studies: Health: Problems and Policies – A critical assessment;
- Sustainable Economic Development: Meaning, Effects of Economic Development on Resources and Environment, including global warming
Unit 10: Development Experience of India
- A comparison with neighbours
- India and Pakistan
- India and China
- Issues: economic growth, population, sectoral development and other Human
- Development Indicators
CUET Economics Question Paper Pattern 2026
The CUET UG Economics exam includes 50 questions, and students must complete them within 60 minutes. The total marks for this section are 250. If you’re aiming for admission to an Economics course through CUET UG 2026, make sure to check the table below for a quick overview of the exam pattern. It will help you understand the structure and prepare more effectively.
CUET UG Economics Exam Pattern 2026 | |
Name of Examination | CUET Economics Exam 2026 |
Conducting Body | National Testing Agency (NTA) |
CUET Full Form | Common University Entrance Test for Economics 2026 |
Conducted for | Admission to various central/private/deemed/state universities |
Examination Mode | Computer-based test mode (CBT) |
Total Marks | 250 |
Total Questions | 50 |
Number of Questions to be answered | 50 |
Duration of the Exam | 60 Minutes |
Marking Scheme | +5 marks for each correct answer -1 for each incorrect answer |
Unanswered questions | No marks will be deducted for unanswered questions |
Best Books for CUET Economics Exam Preparation
To prepare well for the CUET UG Economics exam, choosing the right books is key. The NCERT Economics Class 11 and 12 books are a must for building strong basics. These books help boost your confidence and score higher. Other books to which students can refer while preparing for the CUET UG Economics exam have been mentioned below:
- NCERT Economics (Class 11 and 12)
- Introductory Microeconomics and Macroeconomics - by Sandeep Garg
- Indian Economy - by Ramesh Singh
- CUET Economics Guide - by Arihant
- CUET UG Question Bank - by Oswaal
- Go to the Guide for CUET UG Economics - by Disha Experts
Topper's Study Plan for CUET Economics Exam Prep
All the students who have finally made up their minds to get admission to the top central, deemed, state, or private universities/colleges must now be looking for the toppers' study plan to get their seat in their dream university. No worries! Here we have shared the detailed CUET UG Preparation plan for economics.
- NCERT (Class 11 & 12) books cover almost the entire CUET Syllabus 2026. Read each chapter properly and don’t skip examples or diagrams.
- Before you begin, check the latest CUET Economics syllabus. It helps you stay focused and avoid wasting time on removed topics.
- Understand terms like demand, supply, inflation, GDP, etc. These are basic but very important.
- Write short summaries of each chapter, especially formulas and definitions. Use them to revise quickly before the exam.
- Economics involves graphs and data interpretation. Practice drawing and understanding them—it boosts your accuracy in the exam.
- Mock tests help improve time management. Solving CUET previous year question papers gives an idea of the question types.