The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is conducting the Class 12 board exam 2026 from February to April in the traditional pen-and-paper format. As part of the ongoing CBSE board exams 2026, students appeared for the Economics paper on 18 March 2026.
The three-hour exam commenced at 10:30 am and concluded at 1:30 pm. Students were given an additional 15 minutes, from 10:15 am to 10:30 am, to read the question paper before beginning the exam.
As per estimates, over 45 lakh students are appearing for the board exams across India and abroad this year.
Format of the Question Paper
The question paper was of 80 marks, with a duration of three hours, and was divided into 2 sections.
Section A – Macroeconomics
Section B – Indian Economic Development
The paper contained 20 multiple-choice questions of 1 mark each.
It included 4 short answer questions of 3 marks each, to be answered in 60–80 words.
There were 6 short answer questions of 4 marks each, to be answered in 80–100 words.
The paper also included 4 long answer questions of 6 marks each, to be answered in 100–150 words.
Teacher Analysis
According to Dr Kavita Shetty, PGT Economics, Apeejay School, Nerul, the overall difficulty level of the paper was moderate, with straightforward questions. She noted that the number of numerical questions was relatively low and they were simple to handle.
She further shared that the question paper was well-balanced, with all topics from the syllabus adequately covered.
“The paper was a mix of conceptual, numerical, and application-based questions,” she said. “There were more concept-based questions, followed by a smaller number of numericals. Around three to four questions were application-based.”
Highlighting the nature of the paper, Dr. Shetty mentioned that while most questions were direct, one or two questions tested basic concepts in a slightly different manner, making them mildly tricky.In terms of scoring, she observed that both sections were manageable, though Indian Economic Development (IED) was comparatively easier and more scoring for students.