BSEB Matric Economics flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Scarcity

The condition in which available resources are limited relative to unlimited human wants; it forces choice and is the central problem of economics.

Opportunity cost

The value of the next best alternative given up when a choice is made; it applies to individual, firm and government decisions alike.

Law of demand

Other things remaining constant, quantity demanded of a good falls when its price rises and rises when its price falls, giving an inverse price-quantity relation.

Production possibility frontier

A curve showing maximum combinations of two goods an economy can produce with given resources and technology; points inside show underutilisation and outside points are unattainable.

Zamindari system

A British-era land revenue arrangement in which zamindars collected revenue from cultivators and retained a share, often leading to peasant exploitation and absentee landlordism.

Deindustrialisation

The decline of Indian handicrafts and handloom industries under colonial rule as British machine-made goods entered India and raw materials were exported to Britain.

Green Revolution

A strategy from the mid-1960s using high-yielding variety seeds, irrigation, fertilisers and pesticides to raise foodgrain output, especially wheat, in selected regions.

NITI Aayog

A policy think tank set up on 1 January 2015 that replaced the Planning Commission and issues strategy documents and action agendas instead of Five-Year Plans.

Mahalanobis model

The planning framework behind India's Second Five-Year Plan, emphasising investment in heavy and basic industries to build capital goods capacity for future growth.

Indicative planning

A planning approach in which the state sets targets and guides the private sector through incentives rather than direct commands, typical of mixed and market economies.

Primary sector

The sector that produces goods directly from natural resources, including agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining; it employs a large share of India's workforce.

Disguised unemployment

A situation where more workers are engaged in a job than are required, so removing some workers would not reduce total output; common in Indian family farms.

Organised sector

Enterprises registered with the government and covered by laws on wages, safety and social security, giving workers regular terms of employment and benefits.

Gross domestic product

The money value of all final goods and services produced within a country's domestic territory during a year, used to measure economic output.

Minimum support price

A price announced by the government to protect farmers from a fall in market prices, fixed on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices.

Makhana

Fox nut, a water-grown crop for which Bihar, especially the Mithila region, is a leading producer; it supports rural income and food processing.

Land consolidation

The process of combining small, scattered plots of farmland into compact holdings to reduce boundary losses and make irrigation and mechanisation easier.

Public-private partnership

An arrangement in which government and private firms share investment, risk and returns in building or operating infrastructure and public services.

Economic infrastructure

Basic facilities that support production and trade, such as power, transport, communication, irrigation and banking, as distinct from social infrastructure like schools and hospitals.

Repo rate

The rate at which the Reserve Bank of India lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities; changes in it influence credit and inflation.

Cash reserve ratio

The share of a bank's net demand and time liabilities that must be kept as cash reserves with the Reserve Bank of India, reducing funds available for lending.

Credit creation

The process by which commercial banks expand deposits and lending from a given reserve base; total deposits equal initial deposit multiplied by one divided by the reserve ratio.

M3 money supply

Broad money, equal to M1 plus time deposits with banks; it is the most commonly used measure of the total money stock in India.

Poverty line

A consumption expenditure benchmark used to classify households as poor or non-poor, based on the cost of a minimum food and non-food basket.

Seasonal unemployment

Unemployment that occurs in particular months when work is unavailable, such as between harvesting and sowing seasons in agriculture and allied activities.

Human Development Index

A composite measure averaging indicators of health, education and standard of living, namely life expectancy, schooling years and per capita income.

Fiscal deficit

Total government expenditure minus total receipts excluding borrowings; it shows how much the government must borrow to meet its spending.

Direct tax

A tax whose burden cannot be shifted to another person, such as income tax and corporate tax, paid directly by the person or firm on whom it is levied.

Goods and Services Tax

A destination-based indirect tax on supply of goods and services introduced on 1 July 2017, with CGST, SGST and IGST components replacing many earlier taxes.

Balance of payments

A systematic record of all economic transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world in a year, covering current and capital accounts.

World Trade Organization

The international body established in 1995, succeeding GATT, that administers trade agreements, settles trade disputes and works to reduce tariffs and trade barriers.

Consumer rights

Entitlements of buyers including safety, information, choice, being heard, redressal of grievances and consumer education, protected under consumer protection law.