From Pocket Money to Mutual Funds: NCERT introduces Personal Finance and Entrepreneurship in Class 9 textbook
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, November 6, 2026: How much does a refrigerator actually cost when purchased on monthly instalments? Is it better to save pocket money or invest it? Why do investments offering higher returns also carry greater risks? These are some of the practical financial questions that Class 9 students in India will now encounter in their economics lessons.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced dedicated chapters on personal finance and entrepreneurship in its newly released Grade 9 Social Science textbook, Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Part 2.
The development was highlighted by economist Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, through a series of posts on X on November 3. He described the new content as an effort to equip students with practical life skills that extend beyond conventional classroom learning.
Titled ‘Managing Your Personal Finances’, the new chapter takes students through everyday financial situations, beginning with something familiar to most teenagers: pocket money and cash received from relatives during festivals.
Instead of treating money merely as something to spend, students are encouraged to understand how to divide it between immediate expenses, savings and longer-term financial goals.
The chapter introduces five key areas of personal finance: income, budgeting, saving, investing, and protection and risk management.
Students will also become familiar with financial instruments and concepts such as fixed deposits, government savings schemes, bonds, shares and mutual funds. The lessons explain inflation, compound interest and the relationship between investment risks and potential returns.
The idea is to help teenagers understand why different financial products behave differently and why higher potential returns often come with greater uncertainty.
One of the more relatable examples in the textbook explains the actual cost of buying household goods through instalments. A refrigerator carrying a price tag of Rs 30,000 could cost a buyer Rs 36,000 if purchased through 12 monthly instalments of Rs 3,000.
Through such examples, students are introduced to equated monthly instalments (EMIs), credit purchases, borrowing costs and the importance of assessing repayment obligations before taking a loan.
The chapter also covers insurance, responsible borrowing and the financial risks associated with accumulating excessive debt.
Income Tax and GST Become Part of School Economics
The revised curriculum also introduces students to the taxation system, including the distinction between direct and indirect taxes.
Income tax and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are explained through practical examples. Students will also learn about progressive taxation, under which tax rates increase across higher income brackets.
Examples of income tax calculations under the new tax regime are included to familiarise students with concepts they may encounter when they eventually enter the workforce.
From a School Lemonade Stall to Understanding Startups
Personal finance is accompanied by another chapter, ‘From Ideas to Startups’, which introduces entrepreneurship through simple business situations.
One example asks students to imagine setting up a lemonade stall at a school festival. They must calculate the cost of ingredients, decide the selling price and determine whether the business makes a profit or incurs a loss.
The lesson gradually introduces more formal business concepts, including business plans, profit and loss accounts, costs, pricing and the process of establishing an enterprise.
Students are also introduced to four major business functions: management and operations, finance and accounting, human resources, and marketing and sales.
Sanyal has welcomed the emphasis on entrepreneurship, innovation and risk-taking, contrasting it with what he described as the earlier textbook focus on subjects such as hoarding and black markets.
The new chapters form part of the wider revision of school education under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, which emphasise practical, experiential and vocational learning.
The inclusion of these subjects does not mean that teenagers are expected to start investing or running businesses immediately. Rather, it introduces them to financial vocabulary and decision-making at an age when they can begin developing responsible money habits.
From understanding the real cost of an EMI to recognising how inflation affects savings, the lessons seek to connect classroom economics with decisions students and their families encounter in everyday life.