General Studies
BRICS Nations — Remember "BRICS" itself: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. Recently expanded to BRICS+ with UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran (2024).
Nobel Prize Categories — Physics Chemistry Medicine Literature Peace Economics = "Please Come My Love, Please Eat" (6 categories total).
Five-Year Plan Eras — 1st Plan (1951) focused on Agriculture, 2nd on Industry, 3rd on self-sufficiency. Remember: A-I-S (Agriculture → Industry → Self-reliance) for the foundational plans.
Fiscal vs Monetary Policy — Fiscal = Finance Ministry (taxes, spending); Monetary = Money Supply (RBI controls interest rates, CRR, SLR). Different controllers, different tools.
Development Indicators — HDI has 3 components: Health (life expectancy), Education (schooling years), Income (GNI per capita). Remember HEI = Height of development.
External Sector Terms — CAD (Current Account Deficit) = Trade + Services + Transfers. FAD (Fiscal Deficit) = Government spending minus revenue. CArs go outside (external), FAmily stays home (internal budget).
Indian Economy
CRR vs SLR — CRR = Cash with RBI (liquid, no interest); SLR = Securities in government bonds (earns interest). CRR is Cash Reserve, SLR is Securities/Liquid Ratio.
Direct vs Indirect Tax — Direct tax: burden cannot shift (income tax, wealth tax). Indirect tax: burden shifts to consumer (GST, customs). "Direction" matters—direct stays, indirect moves.
Repo vs Reverse Repo — Repo = RBI lends to banks (banks repurchase); Reverse Repo = Banks lend to RBI (RBI repurchases). Repo increases liquidity, Reverse Repo absorbs it.
Agricultural Seasons — Kharif = Khan (monsoon, June-Oct): rice, cotton. Rabi = Rain-after (winter, Oct-March): wheat, mustard. Zaid = Zest/summer (March-June): cucumber, watermelon.