Page 5 - VIS - Newsletter

October/2023
ECONOMICS FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS
DR. V. SANJEEVI - DIRECTOR, VIS.
As children, you may have heard of the economy
being mentioned in the news or being discussed
amongst adults and felt curious about what it
really is. Let me explain this to you.
The economy largely consists of three aspects:
People making things.
People using things.
People selling and buying things.
Anyone can be a buyer or a seller depending on
the circumstances at any given time. One can sell
tangible assets as well as provide services,
knowledge and even time! From a small setup, like
a family, right up to a big setup, like a country, the As the future of the country will be laid by young
economy is concerned with the creation,
consumption and transfer of wealth. The study of
the economy is called Economics.
In an ideal world, the economy would be a stable,
continuous process, but in the real world, this is
not so.
The economy is usually influenced by four factors:
Resources and their availability.
People and their availability.
Political and social events in a country.
Advances in technology.
How does Economics affect us and the world
around us? Economics gives us the framework for
the choices we must make about work, leisure,
consumption and saving. This in turn is influenced
by factors like inflation (price increase), interest
rates and economic growth of the country and the
world.
India, for instance, is the fifth largest country by
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the third
largest by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). India
is expected to become the third largest country by
GDP by 2027. India is now at USD 3 trillion (about
INR 246 lakh crores). Only the American and
Chinese economies, then, are larger than that of
India. In fact, as per estimates, the Indian economy
will overtake the US economy in 2048.
India has a mixed economy with the right balance
of government intervention and freedom given to
private ownership to make business decisions.
This leads to greater efficiency, greater
productivity and greater stability for the future.
minds such as yourselves, understanding
economics will help you as an adult to contribute
to the country and the world! An interest in
Economics is the first big step towards this!