Minimalist IAS
Economy & social development

Prelims · Economy & social development · 24 questions

National income, growth & inflation

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

National income, growth & inflation questions per year: 2016: 0, 2017: 0, 2018: 2, 2019: 2, 2020: 2, 2021: 2, 2022: 1, 2023: 0, 2024: 2, 2025: 0, 2026: 0 Asked in 6 of 11 years · most in 2024 (2)

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UPSC syllabus: “Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा, राजकोषीय नीति के संदर्भ में ‘निजी निवेश के बहिर्गमन का प्रभाव’ (‘Crowding Out Effect’) का सर्वोत्तम वर्णन करता है ?

Read this question in English

Which one of the following best describes the ‘Crowding Out Effect’ in the context of fiscal policy?

(a) A situation where private investment increases due to increased Government spending · (b) A situation where Government borrowing leads to higher interest rates, which reduces private investment · (c) A situation where an increase in taxes leads to increased private sector investment · (d) A situation where Government spending has no impact on aggregate demand

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) एक ऐसी स्थिति जहाँ सरकारी उधार के परिणामस्वरूप ब्याज दरें उच्च हो जाती हैं, जिससे निजी निवेश घट जाता है

Crowding out happens when heavy government borrowing absorbs the available savings and raises the cost of funds, leaving less credit and lower investment for the private sector. Option (b) states exactly this.

  • ✓ (b) Government borrowing competes with private borrowers for savings and credit; the RBI’s Urjit Patel Committee report notes government market borrowing crowding out funds to the private sector.
  • ✗ (a) This is the opposite, called crowding in, where government spending raises private investment.
  • ✗ (c) Higher taxes reduce, not raise, private disposable income and do not describe crowding out.
  • ✗ (d) Crowding out is about the effect on private investment; government spending does affect aggregate demand.

Remember · Crowding out: government borrowing pushes up interest rates or absorbs credit, so private investment falls. Opposite: crowding in.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The Syllabus X-Ray of this topic

2 of its 9 sub-topics are High

0 Core · 2 High · 2 Steady · 5 Rare

  • HighSectors, capital & planning basics · 5 questions
  • HighInflation & price indices · 3 questions

The X-Ray ranks all 928 sub-topics of the UPSC syllabus by what UPSC has asked since 2016. The 60 Prelims Core sub-topics are behind 51% of Prelims questions.

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