RBI Grade B Officer Economic and Social Issues (ESI) Syllabus

What is the Gini coefficient?

A measure of income/wealth inequality ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (perfect inequality), derived from the Lorenz curve.

What does the Lorenz curve represent?

A graph plotting the cumulative share of income against the cumulative share of population; the farther it bows from the 45-degree line of equality, the greater the inequality.

What are the pillars of inclusive growth as emphasized in Indian planning?

Broad-based growth that reduces poverty and inequality, expands employment, ensures access to education, health, and basic services, and includes marginalized groups (gender, region, caste).

What is the Kuznets curve hypothesis on inequality?

As an economy develops, income inequality first rises and then falls, forming an inverted-U shape relative to per capita income.

What are the three main sectors of an economy by classification?

Primary (agriculture, mining, extraction), Secondary (manufacturing, industry, construction), and Tertiary (services).

What structural shift characterizes India's economy since the 1990s?

A direct transition from a primary (agriculture-dominated) economy to a services-dominated economy, with the services sector contributing the largest share of GDP, partly bypassing a manufacturing-led phase.

What distinguishes the organized and unorganized sectors in India?

The organized (formal) sector has registered enterprises, regular employment, social security, and regulation; the unorganized (informal) sector is unregistered, lacks job security and benefits, and employs the majority of India's workforce.

When did India launch its First Five-Year Plan and what was its focus?

1951, based on the Harrod-Domar model with a primary focus on agriculture and irrigation (including the Bhakra Nangal and Hirakud projects).

On which model was India's Second Five-Year Plan (1956) based and what was its emphasis?

The Mahalanobis model, emphasizing rapid industrialization with priority to heavy and basic capital goods industries in the public sector.

What were the three core components of India's 1991 economic reforms (LPG)?

Liberalization (reducing licensing and controls), Privatization (greater private-sector role, disinvestment), and Globalization (integrating with the world economy via trade and investment).

What was the 'Licence Raj' that the 1991 reforms dismantled?

The elaborate system of licences, permits, and regulations required to set up and run businesses in India before 1991, which restricted private enterprise and competition.

What replaced the Planning Commission in India and when?

NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) replaced the Planning Commission in 2015, serving as a policy think tank rather than an allocator of funds.

What is the Minimum Support Price (MSP)?

The price at which the government guarantees to purchase certain crops from farmers to protect them from price falls; recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

What was the Green Revolution in India?

The late-1960s adoption of high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers, irrigation, and modern techniques—chiefly for wheat and rice—that made India self-sufficient in foodgrains.

What does the term 'White Revolution' (Operation Flood) refer to?

The program led by Verghese Kurien that made India the world's largest milk producer through dairy cooperatives, launched in 1970.

What is the difference between food security and the Public Distribution System (PDS)?

Food security ensures all people have physical and economic access to sufficient food; the PDS is the government mechanism distributing subsidized foodgrains through fair-price (ration) shops to achieve it.

What was the New Industrial Policy of 1991's stance on industrial licensing?

It abolished industrial licensing for most industries (retaining it for a short list), reduced public-sector reservation, and opened many sectors to private and foreign investment.

What is the 'Make in India' initiative?

A 2014 government program to encourage domestic and foreign companies to manufacture in India, boost the manufacturing sector's GDP share, create jobs, and make India a global manufacturing hub.

Why is India's services sector significant relative to its share of employment?

Services contribute the largest share (over half) of India's GDP but employ a smaller proportion of the workforce than agriculture, reflecting higher productivity but limited mass job creation.

What is Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and how does it differ from FPI?

FDI is long-term investment to acquire lasting management interest/control in a foreign enterprise; FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investment) is investment in financial assets like stocks and bonds without management control and is more volatile.

What is the difference between the automatic route and government route for FDI in India?

Under the automatic route, no prior approval from the government/RBI is needed; under the government route, prior approval from the concerned ministry/department is required.

What are the two main components of the Balance of Payments (BoP)?

The Current Account (trade in goods and services, income, and transfers) and the Capital Account (capital flows like FDI, FPI, loans, and changes in reserves).

What is the difference between Balance of Trade (BoT) and Balance of Payments (BoP)?

BoT records only exports and imports of goods (visible trade); BoP records all economic transactions—goods, services, income, transfers, and capital flows—between a country and the rest of the world.

What is a current account deficit (CAD)?

A situation where a country's total imports of goods, services, and transfers exceed its total exports, meaning the nation is a net borrower from the rest of the world on current account.

What is the primary role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?

To ensure global monetary cooperation and exchange-rate stability, and to provide short-term financial assistance to member countries facing balance-of-payments problems.

What is the World Bank's primary function?

To provide long-term loans, credit, and grants for development projects and poverty reduction; its main arms are the IBRD and the IDA.

What is the main objective of the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

To regulate and promote international trade by administering trade agreements, reducing trade barriers, and settling trade disputes among member nations; it succeeded GATT in 1995.

What is the National Health Mission (NHM) and its two sub-missions?

A flagship health program comprising the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), aiming to provide accessible, affordable, quality healthcare.

What is the goal of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Right to Education Act?

SSA aims at universal elementary education; the RTE Act (2009) makes free and compulsory education a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14 years.

What is Ayushman Bharat - PM-JAY?

A national health protection scheme providing health insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalization to poor and vulnerable families.