CA Foundation economics important questions: ICAI repeats
The CA Foundation economics important questions for January 2027 are the MCQ types ICAI set in every one of its three 2026 papers: price elasticity and cost-table numericals, MR and elasticity, lagging indicators, equilibrium income, budget deficits, the inflation target, non-tariff measures, FDI types and government schemes. On top of those, eleven ideas came back within the same year, some in almost the same words. Below is each type with the questions where ICAI set it, the concept to learn, and three numericals worked step by step.
Business Economics is Paper 4: 100 MCQs of one mark each in 2 hours, from 2 PM to 4 PM, with no reading time. ICAI's January 2027 schedule (PDF) (opens in a new tab) puts the four Foundation papers on 3, 5, 7 and 9 January. The September 2026 question booklet states the rule for every answer: one mark for a right answer, a quarter of a mark off for a wrong one, and zero for a blank. Two circles darkened for one question count as wrong.
Where these important questions come from
We read all 300 questions of ICAI's three 2026 Economics papers, one by one:
| Attempt | ICAI file | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | Suggested answers (PDF) (opens in a new tab) | ICAI's answer key |
| May 2026 | Suggested answers (PDF) (opens in a new tab) | ICAI's answer key |
| September 2026 | Question paper (PDF) (opens in a new tab) | Ours (ICAI hasn't published them) |
ICAI's Foundation suggested answers page (opens in a new tab) still showed May 2026 as the newest on 20 October 2026, so every September 2026 answer below is our own working. Grouping a question under a type is also our reading.
Marks per chapter are in our CA Foundation Jan 2027 Economics mock test post (ICAI kept the same chapter split all year), along with its formula sheet. This post goes one level down: the questions inside those chapters.
CA Foundation economics important questions: the types ICAI set every time
Each type below came in January, May and September 2026. The question numbers let you open ICAI's papers and practise the real thing.
| Chapter | MCQ type | Jan 26 | May 26 | Sep 26 | What to learn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Nature and scope | Capitalist, socialist, mixed economy features | Q1, Q52 | Q51, Q53 | Q55, Q57 | Merits and demerits of each system, as listed in the study material |
| 2. Demand | Price elasticity numerical | Q4 | Q4, Q54 | Q2, Q61 | %ΔQ ÷ %ΔP, and working back to the new quantity |
| 2. Demand | Cross elasticity | Q8 | Q5 | Q60 | Sign: positive = substitutes, negative = complements, zero = unrelated |
| 2. Demand | Indifference curve properties | Q56 | Q58 | Q59 | Slopes down, convex, never intersect, never touch an axis |
| 3. Production and cost | Cost table | Q57–58 | Q59–61 | Q10–11 | TFC = TC at zero output; AFC, AVC, ATC, MC |
| 3. Production and cost | Law of variable proportions | Q59 | Q13 | Q66 | Increasing, diminishing, negative returns; a rational firm stays in Stage II |
| 4. Price determination | MR, AR and elasticity | Q63 | Q64 | Q16 | MR = AR × (e − 1)/e |
| 4. Price determination | Oligopoly | Q14, Q66 | Q15–18, Q69 | Q72 | Interdependence, kinked demand, cartels, game theory |
| 4. Price determination | Classifying markets | Q20 | Q67 | Q14, Q67, Q69 | By area, time, volume, regulation and nature of transaction |
| 5. Business cycles | Lagging indicators | Q21 | Q21 | Q22 | Unemployment, corporate profits, labour cost per unit of output |
| 6. National income | Equilibrium income | Q73 | Q75 | Q84 | S = I or Y = C + I |
| 6. National income | GDP, NDP, GVA aggregates | Q22, Q26–27 | Q71, Q74 | Q77–78 | Market price = factor cost + net indirect taxes |
| 7. Public finance | Deficit numericals | Q83–84 | Q84 | Q85–86, Q88 | Revenue, fiscal, primary and budgetary deficit |
| 8. Money market | Inflation target and the Monetary Policy Framework | Q88 | Q35, Q88 | Q91 | Who sets the target (Government of India with RBI) and the 4% CPI target for 2016–21 |
| 9. International trade | Non-tariff measures | Q41 | Q42, Q44 | Q92 | Technical (SPS, standards) versus non-technical (quotas, embargo, safeguards) |
| 9. International trade | FDI types | Q46, Q98 | Q97 | Q44 | Horizontal, vertical, conglomerate, brownfield, two-way, and what does not count as FDI (external commercial borrowing) |
| 10. Indian economy | Government schemes | Q43–44 | Q46–48 | Q46–47, Q98–100 | Each scheme's purpose in one line |
| 10. Indian economy | 1991 reforms | Q94 | Q93 | Q95, Q97 | Why the crisis came and which reform falls under which head |
What stands out: all ten chapters have at least one type that never missed a 2026 paper. Six of the eighteen are mostly numericals, and they need only a handful of formulas. The other twelve are one-line recall, where the trap is usually an option that sounds right but belongs to a different idea.
CA Foundation economics most important questions: 11 that came back within a year
These ideas came twice in 2026, often in almost the same words. If ICAI repeats this way in January, these are free marks.
| # | Question idea | First asked | Again | The concept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phase where "actual demand stagnates" | Jan Q68 | Sep Q18 | Peak (ICAI's January key) |
| 2 | Duty that offsets exporters' subsidies | Jan Q97 | Sep Q89 | Countervailing duty |
| 3 | MPC from a rise in income and investment | May Q25 | Sep Q28 | Multiplier k = ΔY/ΔI, then MPC = 1 − 1/k |
| 4 | How the multiplier moves with MPC and MPS | May Q79 | Sep Q82 | Higher MPC, bigger multiplier; k = 1/MPS |
| 5 | Internal versus external causes of business cycles | May Q23 | Sep Q74 | Natural factors are external (ICAI's May key) |
| 6 | NITI Aayog initiatives: Shoonya, E-Amrit, Methanol Economy | Jan Q43 | Sep Q46 | E-Amrit is the electric vehicle portal |
| 7 | Which cost is recorded in the books | Jan Q7 | Sep Q63 | Outlay costs are; opportunity costs are not |
| 8 | Consumer surplus | Jan Q2 | Sep Q7 | What you are ready to pay minus what you pay; the triangle under demand, above price |
| 9 | Kinked demand curve | Jan Q66 | Sep Q72 | Rivals follow a price cut, ignore a price rise |
| 10 | Redistribution function of government | Jan Q29 | Sep Q31 | "For whom" question; dead weight loss from disincentives |
| 11 | Enterprise objectives | May Q7 | Sep Q64–65 | Economic, social, human and national objectives |
Lagging indicators deserve a special note. ICAI used the same examples (unemployment and corporate profits, with labour cost per unit of output in January and May) in all three papers, once as "which is not lagging", once as "these are examples of" and once in a match-the-following. In January, changes in stock prices were the odd one out.
Important MCQ formats and how to handle each
The concept is often easy; the format is what costs marks.
- "Which is NOT…". Circle "NOT" first. Three options are true lines from the study material; you want the one that isn't.
- Statements and assertion-reason. Judge each line on its own, true or false, before reading the options. In September's Q31, statement 2 says redistribution works "only through progressive taxation"; that "only" makes it false, by our reading.
- Match the following. Fix the pair you're surest of and strike out every option that disagrees. September 2026 had five (Q22, Q25, Q30, Q75, Q87).
- Diagrams. September's Q1 showed a vertical demand curve: elasticity zero. Know the extreme shapes: vertical, horizontal, rectangular hyperbola.
Our CA Foundation Jan 2027 chapter wise weightage shows how these chapters compare with Accounts, Law and Maths when you plan revision.
Three CA Foundation economics numericals, worked step by step
1. New quantity from price elasticity (September 2026, Q2)
Question: A consumer buys 120 units at ₹10. Price elasticity of demand is 1.25. How many units at ₹15? Options: 45, 75, 55, 60.
- Change in price = (15 − 10) ÷ 10 = +50%.
- Change in quantity = 1.25 × 50% = 62.5% fall.
- Fall in units = 62.5% × 120 = 75, so new quantity = 120 − 75 = 45 (our working; ICAI hasn't published a September key).
The trap is 75: the fall, not the new quantity. Re-read what the question asks before you mark it.
2. Marginal revenue in two markets (January 2026, Q63)
Question: A monopolist sells at ₹60 in two markets. Elasticity is 5 in market A and 6 in market B. Find MR in each and say which market should get more output.
- MR = AR × (e − 1)/e.
- Market A: 60 × 4/5 = ₹48.
- Market B: 60 × 5/6 = ₹50.
- More output goes where MR is higher: market B. ICAI's key is option (A): MR 48 and 50, output to B.
The idea behind it: the more elastic market has the higher MR at the same price, and a discriminating monopolist moves output until MR is equal in both.
3. MPC from the multiplier (September 2026, Q28)
Question: Investment rises by ₹150 crore and national income by ₹600 crore. Find the MPC. Options: 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.75.
- Multiplier k = ΔY ÷ ΔI = 600 ÷ 150 = 4.
- k = 1/(1 − MPC), so 1 − MPC = 1/4 and MPC = 0.75 (our working).
The trap is 0.25, which is the MPS. May 2026's Q25 asked the same thing with ₹2,000 crore and ₹1,600 crore: k = 1.25, so MPC = 0.20 (ICAI's key).
Every formula ICAI used in 2026 is on the sheet in the Economics mock test post.
Where to practise more important questions
Go through ICAI's own papers first, in this order.
- The three 2026 papers above, each in 2 hours, checked against ICAI's keys where they exist. Older attempts are on our CA Foundation past papers page.
- ICAI's RTP. The September 2026 Paper 4 RTP (PDF) (opens in a new tab) has 25 MCQs with answers, all theory, and they touch the same ideas: cross elasticity, consumer surplus, external causes of business cycles, non-tariff measures and the 1991 reforms. More are on our CA Foundation RTP page.
- ICAI's MTPs. ICAI's notice of 21 October 2026 fixes the January 2027 Paper 4 MTPs on Wednesday 9 December (Series I) and Monday 21 December 2026 (Series II), 2 PM to 4 PM (ICAI announcement, PDF (opens in a new tab)). All four papers' dates are in our CA Inter and Foundation MTP Jan 2027 schedule. Earlier MTPs are on our CA Foundation MTP page.
- The study material. For January 2027, Paper 4 is the August 2024 edition (Reprint August 2025 onwards), with no RTP listed for it (ICAI notice, PDF (opens in a new tab)). Theory options use its wording. It is on our CA Foundation study material page.
Write the important questions in a full paper
Our CA Foundation Business Economics mock tests are full-syllabus Paper 4s: 100 MCQs in 2 hours with the same quarter-mark penalty. Every attempt gets new papers with a fresh set of questions, set at the real ICAI exam standard on the latest pattern. Every chapter comes up across the mocks, with more weight on what ICAI asks most.
You mark your answers on paper, scan them and upload one PDF. Your checked copy comes back within 24 hours, and the suggested answers give the reasoning for every MCQ. When to write each mock before January is in our CA Foundation Jan 2027 mock test plan, and how to pass CA Foundation Jan 2027 works out when a guess pays under negative marking.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most important chapters in CA Foundation Economics?
Price determination in different markets and determination of national income: 15 questions each in every 2026 paper. Demand and supply, production and cost, public finance, money market, international trade and Indian economy carry 10 each, and nature and scope and business cycles 5 each, by our count.
Are CA Foundation economics important questions repeated?
Ideas repeat more than exact questions. In 2026, eleven ideas came back within the year, and two questions (the phase where actual demand stagnates, and the countervailing duty) came back in almost the same words. Practise ICAI's past papers before anything else.
How many numericals come in CA Foundation Economics?
Between 15 and 22 in ICAI's 2026 papers, by our count. Most need one formula and one or two steps: elasticity, a cost table, MR and AR, equilibrium income, the multiplier and deficits.
Is there negative marking in CA Foundation Economics?
Yes. A quarter of a mark comes off for each wrong answer, a blank scores zero, and two circles darkened for one question count as wrong, as the September 2026 booklet's instructions say.
Where can I get CA Foundation economics important questions PDF?
ICAI's suggested answers for January 2026 and May 2026 print all 100 questions with the answer key, and its September 2026 question paper and RTP are free on ICAI's site (all linked above).
Your next step
Take ICAI's September 2026 Paper 4, attempt only the eighteen types in the first table, and time yourself. Every miss tells you which concept to reread. Then move to full CA mock tests under the clock: our CA Foundation test series covers all four papers, and the CA test series home page has every level.