Capital Market, Insurance and Pension, Planning, Budget and GST
Capital Market, Insurance and Pension, Planning, Budget and GST
The last part of the economy chapter covers how companies raise money (stock markets and SEBI), how people are protected (insurance and pension regulators), how India planned its growth (Five-Year Plans and NITI Aayog), and how the Government raises revenue (the budget and GST).
1. Capital Market
| Item | Facts |
|---|---|
| SEBI | Set up in 1988; statutory powers in 1992 (SEBI Act); headquarters Mumbai; regulates the capital (securities) market |
| BSE | Bombay Stock Exchange, 1875, Asia's oldest; index Sensex (30 companies) |
| NSE | National Stock Exchange, 1992; index Nifty 50 |
| Primary and secondary market | Primary: new issues (IPO); secondary: trading of existing shares |
| Bull and bear | Bull: expects prices to rise; bear: expects prices to fall |
2. Insurance and Pension
| Item | Facts |
|---|---|
| IRDAI | Insurance regulator, under the IRDA Act 1999; headquarters Hyderabad |
| LIC | 1956 |
| PFRDA | Pension regulator; statutory under the PFRDA Act 2013 |
| National Pension System | Introduced 2004 for new government employees, opened to all citizens in 2009 |
3. Planning
| Item | Facts |
|---|---|
| Planning Commission | 1950; replaced by NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015 |
| First Five-Year Plan (1951-56) | Focus on agriculture; based on the Harrod-Domar model |
| Second Plan (1956-61) | Industry; Mahalanobis model |
| Twelfth Plan (2012-17) | Last Five-Year Plan |
4. Budget and GST
| Item | Facts |
|---|---|
| Budget | Annual Financial Statement under Article 112; presented on 1 February since 2017; railway budget merged with the general budget in 2017 |
| Direct taxes | Income tax, corporation tax |
| Indirect taxes | GST, customs duty |
| GST | Introduced on 1 July 2017 by the 101st Amendment; an indirect, destination-based tax; GST Council under Article 279A chaired by the Union Finance Minister |
| GST slabs | Rationalised in September 2025 (effective 22 September 2025) into two main slabs of 5% and 18%, with 40% for luxury and sin goods |
✗ GST is a direct tax | ✓ GST is an indirect tax on the supply of goods and services
✗ The First Five-Year Plan focused on heavy industry | ✓ It focused on agriculture; the Second Plan (Mahalanobis) focused on industry
हिंदी नोट: सेबी 1988 में बना और 1992 में वैधानिक दर्जा मिला; यह पूँजी बाज़ार का नियामक है। बीएसई (1875) एशिया का सबसे पुराना शेयर बाज़ार है। पहली पंचवर्षीय योजना (1951-56) कृषि पर केंद्रित थी। जीएसटी 1 जुलाई 2017 से लागू हुआ और यह अप्रत्यक्ष कर है।
Exam Pointer: Verified NTPC patterns: SEBI's statutory year and role (April 2021 CBT-1, June 2022 CBT-2), the focus of the First Five-Year Plan (August 2025 UG CBT-1) and GST as an indirect tax and its start date (December 2020 and January 2021 CBT-1). The GST slab facts were checked on 7 October 2026.
Pariksha Pattern: Every Way NTPC Asks This Topic
Pattern 1: SEBI and stock markets
[PYQ: NTPC CBT-1 8-Apr-2021 Shift-2 | NTPC CBT-2 16-Jun-2022 Shift-2]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. In which year did SEBI become a statutory body?
1992, under the SEBI Act.
Answer: 1992
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Which area does SEBI regulate, and which is Asia's oldest stock exchange and its index?
The capital (securities) market. The Bombay Stock Exchange (1875), with the Sensex of 30 companies.
Answer: Capital market; BSE, Sensex
Pattern 2: Five-Year Plans and planning bodies
[PYQ: NTPC UG CBT-1 22-Aug-2025 Shift-1]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. What was the main focus of India's First Five-Year Plan?
Agriculture.
Answer: Agriculture
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Which model was the Second Five-Year Plan based on, and which body replaced the Planning Commission?
The Mahalanobis model; NITI Aayog, on 1 January 2015.
Answer: Mahalanobis; NITI Aayog
Pattern 3: GST and taxes
[PYQ: NTPC CBT-1 29-Dec-2020 Shift-1 | NTPC CBT-1 5-Jan-2021 Shift-2]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. What kind of tax is GST?
An indirect tax.
Answer: Indirect tax
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. When did GST come into force, by which amendment, and who chairs the GST Council?
1 July 2017, by the 101st Amendment; the Union Finance Minister chairs the GST Council.
Answer: 1 July 2017; 101st; Union Finance Minister
Pattern 4: Insurance, pension and the budget
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Which body regulates insurance in India?
IRDAI.
Answer: IRDAI
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Under which article is the Union Budget presented, and in which year was the railway budget merged with it?
Article 112 (Annual Financial Statement); the merger took place in 2017.
Answer: Article 112; 2017
60-Second Revision
- SEBI 1988, statutory 1992; BSE 1875 (Sensex 30); NSE 1992 (Nifty 50).
- IRDAI (1999 Act), LIC 1956, PFRDA (2013 Act), NPS 2004.
- First Plan agriculture (Harrod-Domar); Second Plan industry (Mahalanobis); NITI Aayog 2015.
- GST 1 July 2017, 101st Amendment, indirect; budget Art 112, rail budget merged 2017.
Next Step: Economy done. Practise the economy set in the ExamAtlas RRB NTPC 2026 mock tests; learn each term with its definition and one example.