Crack Prelims
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Financial markets & instruments

Economy9 of 11 papers22 questionsRising

What UPSC asks

  1. Money or capital marketCommercial paper, CDs, call money, T-bills, CBLO
  2. Who regulates market playersRating agencies, AIFs, options trading
  3. New instruments in the newsMasala Bonds, P-Notes, InvITs, sustainability bonds, tokenisation, crowdfunding

Asked again and again

Money market vs capital market202020232024Which instruments belong where
How bonds work2016202220252026Rupee bonds abroad, convertibles, bondholders vs shareholders
Who can access which market20192024 Q422024 Q43P-Notes, FIIs in G-Secs, retail and insurers
Which regulator covers it20222025 Q12025 Q8Regulator for a market player or product

How to study it

  1. Build one instrument table: issuer, term, money or capital market, regulator.
  2. Add one feature each: secured or not, interest or discount, rupee or foreign.
  3. Add each new instrument from the news as a new row.

Hardly ever askedMarket figures such as index levels or trading volumes

Written by AI from this area's own questions; not yet reviewed by a person. Counts come straight from the questions.