How much time is left, and how much of the syllabus have you studied? Choose the timetable closest to your situation.
- 24 weeks: for studying some subjects again or for the first time.
- 12 weeks: for revising a syllabus you have already studied, with time to work on weaker areas.
- 8 weeks: for a revision round when you already have notes and have solved some PYQs.
All three include Paper I, Economics, PYQs and full mocks. In the shorter plans, use our PYQ analysis to help divide your revision time. Give more time to frequently tested topics and your weaker areas, while covering every unit. The percentages in that analysis are based on past year papers; the mix in your upcoming exam may differ.
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How much time do you need each week?
These are hours per week, including reading, practice and checking answers. You can move time from a stronger subject to one you find difficult.
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| Study activity | 24-week plan: hours per week | 12-week plan: hours per week | 8-week plan: hours per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economics reading and solving examples | 8 hours | 10 hours | 10 hours |
| Economics PYQs and subject tests | 4 hours | 4 hours | 7 hours |
| Paper I study and practice | 3 hours | 4 hours | 5 hours |
| Revision and checking mistakes | 2 hours | 4 hours | 5 hours |
| Time for unfinished topics | 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours |
| Total study time per week | 18 hours | 24 hours | 30 hours |
Across six study days, these totals work out to 3, 4 and 5 hours a day, respectively. Choose the plan you can fit around college or work.
A full mock covers Paper I and Economics together. Allow 3 hours for the test and 2–3 hours to check it, within the weekly total above. Replace some regular reading and practice with this work. Two mocks need 10–12 hours, including review.
Before you begin
Try a mixed PYQ set without notes before choosing a timetable. You may find that some subjects need a fresh reading, while others only need practice. The syllabus has the full topic list; the book and chapter list gives the reading references.
Before consumer and producer theory, revise equations, derivatives and optimisation with a constraint. You should be able to find marginal cost from a cost function, and set up a utility-maximisation problem with a budget constraint. Start with an example from your notes if either is unfamiliar.
For statistics, learn probability, expectation and variance before sampling and hypothesis tests. Revise matrix algebra before starting econometrics.
Paper I and Indian economy run alongside the weekly subjects. Within the Economics reading hours, keep about two hours a week for Indian economy. Begin with growth and the agriculture, industry and services sectors; then cover rural and urban development, infrastructure, reforms, foreign trade, Centre–State finances, poverty and employment. Add relevant Survey, Budget and RBI updates to those topics. The dedicated Indian economy week is for bringing this work together.
24-week study plan
This plan assumes you have some background in Economics, but may need to study some subjects again or learn them for the first time. The order builds the basics first: maths before its applications in microeconomics, and statistics before econometrics.
There are 21 weeks of subject work and three weeks for catch-up and final revision. Reading and PYQs go together from the first week. Use part of each week’s revision time for a subject you studied earlier.
| Week | Economics topics to cover | Practice alongside the reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algebra, simultaneous equations, functions and graphs; sets, limits and continuity | Rearrange equations, sketch functions and calculate slopes. Try a short mixed PYQ set to see which subjects you remember. |
| 2 | Derivatives, partial derivatives, maxima and minima; Lagrange method for a simple constraint | Find marginal values, check maximum/minimum conditions and solve a two-variable problem with one constraint. |
| 3 | Consumer theory and elasticity | Work out demand from a utility function and budget. Compare income and substitution effects and check corner solutions. |
| 4 | Production, costs and market structures | Derive cost and revenue measures, then solve price and output under different market structures. |
| 5 | Games, factor pricing, general equilibrium, welfare and asymmetric information | Find best responses in payoff tables. Compare private and social outcomes, and distinguish adverse selection from moral hazard. Include questions from weeks 3–4. |
| 6–7 | National income; classical and Keynesian models; consumption, investment, multiplier and accelerator; IS–LM, inflation, expectations and cycles | Solve income and interest-rate changes, then explain the result using the model’s assumptions. Compare fiscal and monetary policy effects. |
| 8 | Money supply, central and commercial banks, monetary instruments, financial institutions and capital markets | Work through the money-supply mechanism. Take a combined mock in place of some reading and practice; allow time to check both papers. |
| 9–10 | Descriptive statistics, index numbers, probability, distributions, sampling and inference | Calculate expectation and variance, then apply expected utility to microeconomics questions on risk. Move on to sampling distributions and hypothesis tests. |
| 11 | Matrices and vector spaces; input-output models, linear programming, sequences, series and dynamic equations | Solve matrix systems and small programming problems. Follow how a difference or differential equation describes change over time. |
| 12–13 | Regression and estimator properties; identification, simultaneous equations, discrete choice and time series | Interpret coefficients and test results. Separate assumptions about errors from properties of estimates. Take a combined mock in week 13. |
| 14–15 | Trade theories and trade policy; balance of payments, exchange rates, arbitrage and international institutions | Work through comparative advantage and tariff questions, then exchange-rate and payments adjustments. Connect the policy topics with India’s trade. |
| 16 | Public goods and externalities; regulation, taxation, expenditure, budgets and debt | Build on the welfare topics from week 5. Solve tax-incidence and budget-multiplier questions; compare public-revenue and debt concepts. |
| 17–18 | Growth models, technical progress, development theories, poverty, inequality and social development | Compare the assumptions and results of growth models. Calculate development measures and distinguish the theories behind statement questions. Take a combined mock in week 18. |
| 19 | Environmental economics: public goods, valuation, cost-benefit analysis and policy | Use the externality diagrams from public economics. Compare valuation methods by the information each requires. |
| 20 | Demography: population theories, fertility, mortality, morbidity, age structure, life tables and migration | Calculate population measures with the correct denominator. Read a life table and distinguish rates from absolute numbers. |
| 21 | Indian economy consolidation | Bring together the topics studied each week. Fill missing syllabus areas, then attempt a mixed Indian economy set. |
| 22 | Catch-up in both papers | Finish the topics that overran their allotted weeks. Take one full mock and use its review to choose the remaining revision. |
| 23 | Revision across subjects | Take one full mock. Between tests, solve questions from earlier subjects as well as the ones you find difficult. |
| 24 | Final revision | Revise short notes, diagrams and difficult questions. Keep any final mock early in the week, with time to check it. |
Aim to finish all ten Paper I units by week 16, using its three weekly hours. Later sessions can focus on mixed questions and the units that still need work. The Paper I guide gives a sample routine.
Use the week 8 mock to practise managing both papers in three hours. You will still have some subjects left to study.
12-week revision plan
This plan assumes you have already studied the syllabus once. The focus is on revising all units, with more practice on topics that recur in PYQs and those you find difficult.
Begin Paper I and Indian economy in week 1, alongside the Economics subjects below.
| Week | Economics topics to revise | Practice alongside revision |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maths refresher first: equations, derivatives and constrained optimisation; then consumer and producer theory | Begin with the maths methods, then apply them to utility, elasticity, production and costs. If these need a fresh study, use more of the week here and adjust week 2. |
| 2 | Markets, games, factor pricing, welfare, uncertainty and information | Attempt a mixed microeconomics set, including the topics from week 1. Draw the equilibrium or write the payoff table before comparing options. |
| 3 | Macroeconomics; money and banking | Revise macro models and their policy results, then banking, money supply and financial markets. Solve the model-based questions before reading the answers. |
| 4 | Statistics; matrix-algebra refresher | Revise probability before sampling and inference. Practise matrix operations needed for regression. Take a combined mock, allowing 5–6 hours for the attempt and review. |
| 5 | Econometrics | Cover regression, estimator properties, identification, simultaneous equations, discrete choice and time series. Work through interpretation and test questions as well as calculations. |
| 6 | International economics | Compare trade models, then revise tariffs, exchange rates, balance of payments and institutions. Use questions on both trade theory and international finance. |
| 7 | Public economics; remaining mathematical economics | Revise taxation, spending, budgets and debt. Complete input-output analysis, programming, sequences, series and dynamic equations. |
| 8 | Growth and development | Cover growth models and technical progress, then development theories and indicators. Take a combined mock; use the week’s revision hours for its review. |
| 9 | Environment and demography | Cover environmental valuation and policy, then population theories, measures, life tables and migration. Practise both halves of the unit. |
| 10 | Indian economy consolidation; unfinished topics | Finish gaps in the Indian economy work done each week. Use the remaining time for topics that took longer than planned. |
| 11 | Full papers and revision | Take one combined mock. A second is optional only if you can also check both papers within your weekly hours. |
| 12 | Final revision | Revise short notes and questions you still cannot solve independently. Keep any final mock early in the week. |
Revise all ten Paper I units during weeks 1–8, then use weeks 9–12 for mixed questions and unfinished work. The combined macro/money and public/maths weeks assume prior study. If either needs substantial relearning, move it into week 10 or allow more weeks.
8-week revision plan
This plan assumes you have already studied the syllabus, have notes ready and have attempted some PYQs. With only eight weeks, use PYQs to prioritise revision and practice across all units. There is little time for learning a subject from the beginning.
Revise mainly from your notes, and return to the textbook when you cannot follow a solution. Allow about 30 hours a week, including practice and review.
| Week | Economics topics to revise | What to work on in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maths refresher, followed by microeconomics | Take a combined mock early in the week to see where you need work. Refresh derivatives and constrained optimisation before equilibrium calculations; then revise diagrams, games, uncertainty and information. |
| 2 | Macroeconomics; money and banking | Practise policy changes across macro models and money-demand theories. Check whether a wrong answer came from using the wrong model or misunderstanding the change. |
| 3 | Statistics and econometrics | Refresh matrix operations, then revise probability and inference before regression. Include identification, simultaneous equations, discrete choice and time series. Take a combined mock. |
| 4 | Remaining mathematical economics; international economics | Revise matrices, input-output analysis, sequences, series, programming and dynamics. Compare trade models and revise exchange rates, payments and institutions. |
| 5 | Public economics; growth and development | Work through public-goods, externality and taxation questions. Compare growth models and development theories. Take a combined mock. |
| 6 | Environmental economics and demography; Indian economy | Revise valuation, cost-benefit analysis, population theories, measures, life tables and migration. Finish the Indian economy topics missing from your weekly notes. |
| 7 | Remaining weak topics in both papers | Take one full mock, or two if review time allows. Work on repeated errors and questions left because of slow calculations; practise those calculations separately. |
| 8 | Final revision | Read short notes, formulas and diagrams; check the years attached to Indian economy figures. Reattempt questions whose methods you still find difficult. Keep any final mock early in the week. |
Revise all Paper I units during weeks 1–6. Keep the last two weeks for mixed sets and difficult units. Study Indian economy each week from the start; week 6 is for finishing and revising those notes.
If a week does not go as planned
Use the catch-up hours for unfinished topics. If you are stuck on IS–LM numericals because of simultaneous equations, go back to the algebra before attempting another set.
If the unfinished work keeps growing for two weeks, reduce the number of new topics and extend the timetable where possible. Keep time for checking a mock you have already taken.
Practice resources and guided revision
You can find questions on the Xaptiq free resources page. The mock-review article explains how to go through each attempt.
If you would like guided revision before the exam, see EcoNiti's Economics crash course. The course page has the current schedule, coverage and options.