The CUET UG Economics syllabus for 2026 is designed to assess students’ grasp of both microeconomics and macroeconomics, with a strong focus on key economic principles and real-world applications drawn from the Class 11–12 NCERT curriculum.
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In microeconomics, topics include the meaning and scope of microeconomics, central economic problems, consumer behaviour and demand, producer behaviour and supply, elasticity of demand and supply, cost and revenue concepts, forms of market such as perfect competition, and price determination using demand–supply tools. The macroeconomics portion covers national income and related aggregates, determination of income and employment, money and banking, government budget and the economy, foreign exchange and balance of payments, helping students build both theoretical understanding and analytical skills needed for the entrance test conducted by the National Testing Agency.
Course I Introductory Microeconomics
Unit I: Introduction, Theory of Consumer Behaviour
- What is microeconomics?
- Central problems of an economy
- Consumer’s Equilibrium: meaning and attainment of equilibrium through Utility Approach: One and two commodity cases, Consumers Budget and Optimal choice of the consumer.
- 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, factor determining price elasticity of demand for a good.
Unit II: Production and Costs
- Production function: Short run and Long run production function
- Shapes of TP, MP and AP curves
- Cost and Revenue: Concepts of costs; short-run cost curves (fixed and variable costs; total, average and marginal costs); concepts of revenue – total, average and marginal revenue and their relationship. Producer’s equilibrium – with the help of MC and MR.
Unit III: The Theory of the firms under perfect competition
- Features of perfect competition
- Profit maximization.
- Price determination under perfect competition – equilibrium price, effects of shifts in demand and supply.
- Supply: market supply, determinants of supply, supply schedule, supply curve movement along and shifts in supply curve, price elasticity of supply, measurement of price elasticity of supply.
Unit IV: Market Equilibrium and Simple Applications
- Market equilibrium, excess demand, excess supply,
- Applications: Price ceiling and Price flooring.
Course II Introductory Macroeconomics
Unit I: Introduction and National Income Accounting
- What is macroeconomics?
- Basic concepts in macroeconomics:
- Circular flow of income; Methods of calculating National Income – Value Added or Product method, Expenditure method, Income method
- Aggregates related to National Income: Factor Cost, Basic Prices and Market Price. GDP and Welfare
Unit II: Money and Banking
- Meaning and functions, supply of money – Money Creation and Money Multiplier.
- Central bank and its functions (example of the Reserve Bank of India)
- Policy tools to control money supply.
Unit III: Determination of Income and Employment
- Aggregate demand and its components.
- Determination of Income in two sector model.
- Problems of excess demand and deficient demand; measures to correct them – changes in government spending, taxes and money supply
- Multiplier mechanism.
Unit IV: Government Budget and the Economy
- Government budget – meaning, objectives and components
- Classification of receipts – revenue receipts and capital receipts;
- Classification of expenditure – revenue expenditure and capital expenditure.
- Balanced, Surplus and Deficit Budget – measures of government deficit.
Unit V: Open Economy Macroeconomics
- Balance of payments account – meaning and components;
- Balance of payments – Surplus and Deficit
- Foreign exchange rate – meaning of fixed and flexible rates and managed floating. Merits and demerits of exchange rate regimes.
- Determination of exchange rate.
- Managed Floating
Course III: Indian Economic Development
Unit I: Development Policies and Experience (1947-90)
- A brief introduction of the state of Indian economy on the eve of independence.
- Indian economic system and common goals of 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 II Economic Reforms since 1991
- Economic Reforms since 1991
- Features and appraisals of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation (LPG policy);
Unit III: Current challenges facing the Indian Economy
- Human Capital Formation: How people become resource; Role of human capital in economic development; Growth of Education Sector in India
- Rural development: Key issues – credit and marketing – role of cooperatives; agricultural market system, Agriculture diversification; alternative farming – organic farming
- Employment: Growth and changes in work force participation rate in formal and informal sectors; problems and policies
- Environment and Sustainable Development: Definition and Functions, State of India’s environment, Strategies for sustainable development.
Unit IV: Development Experiences of India: A comparison with neighbours.
- A comparison with neighbours.
- Issues: economic growth, population, sectoral development and other Human Development Indicators.
- Development Strategies.