Money and Credit — Class 10 Economics (CBSE) explained

What you’ll learn

1. 1

   Lesson 1: Money, Exchange and Banks

   6 min
   • Changing Currency and Ways of Paying
   • Barter Requires Double Coincidence of Wants
   • Money Acts as a Medium of Exchange
   • The Forms of Money Change Over Time
   • Government Authorisation Makes Currency Acceptable
   • Bank Deposits Can Be Withdrawn on Demand
   • A Cheque Transfers Money Between Accounts
   • Banks Link Depositors and Borrowers
2. 2

   Lesson 2: When Credit Helps—and When It Hurts

   5 min
   • The Interest Difference Provides Bank Income
   • Credit Helps Salim Complete an Order
   • Crop Failure Pushes Swapna into a Debt-Trap
   • The Usefulness of Credit Depends on Risk
   • Collateral Provides Security to the Lender
   • Megha's Loan Shows the Terms of Credit
   • Easy Terms Make Borrowing Less Difficult
3. 3

   Lesson 3: Credit Arrangements and Sources

   5 min
   • Shyamal's Trader Loan Has an Additional Condition
   • Arun Has Access to a Bank Loan
   • Rama Depends on Her Employer for Credit
   • Cooperatives Use Pooled Resources to Provide Loans
   • Rural Credit Comes from Formal and Informal Sources
   • The RBI Supervises Formal Sources of Loans
   • Expensive Credit Can Reduce Income and Increase Debt
4. 4

   Lesson 4: Affordable Credit for Everyone

   6 min
   • Formal Credit Shares Rise from Poor to Rich Households
   • Formal Credit Must Expand and Reach the Poor
   • Collateral and Documentation Can Limit Bank Access
   • Self Help Groups Pool Savings and Provide Small Loans
   • Group Responsibility Helps Overcome Lack of Collateral
   • Grameen Bank Reaches Poor Borrowers
   • Use Evidence to Evaluate a Credit Decision
   • Recap: Explain Exchange, Compare Credit and Practise

Key concepts

Changes in currency and payments

People are asked to surrender them within a specified period and receive new currency notes.

Loan activities of banks

The cash held is only a small part of the total deposits.

Bank income

A bank pays interest to depositors and charges interest to borrowers.

Swapna's credit situation

The crop is normal, but the earnings cannot cover the old loan. She sells part of her land to pay off the debt.

Arun's credit arrangement

Arun's rate is annual, while Shyamal's trader rate is monthly. Their arrangements also give them different conditions for selling and storing crops.

Credit and development

A higher borrowing cost means a larger share of the borrower's earnings goes towards repaying the loan.

Expanding formal credit

Expanding loans is not enough if richer households continue to receive the cheaper credit while poorer households depend on expensive lenders. Formal credit needs a more equal distribution.

Barriers to bank credit

Lack of collateral is one major reason poor people cannot obtain them. Moneylenders often know borrowers personally and may lend without collateral.

Exam focus

Board exam

CBSE assesses this chapter in the 2026-27 year-end board examination.

Syllabus

Money and Credit. Learning outcomes: enumerate how money plays as a medium of exchange in all transactions of goods and services from ancient times to the present times; analyse and infer various sources of credit; summarise the significance and role of self-help groups in the betterment of the economic condition of rural people/women.

Exam note

Board-assessed in full. sample paper: money as a medium of exchange, terms of credit, 3-mark SHGs and collateral-free loans.

Paper pattern

Social Science (087): 80 marks, 3 hours, 38 questions, all compulsory, in four sections of 20 marks each (A History, B Geography, C Political Science, D Economics); internal assessment 20. Section D Economics 20 marks from Development, Sectors of the Indian Economy, Money and Credit, and Globalisation and the Indian Economy (subtopics "What is Globalisation?" and "Factors that have enabled Globalisation" only); Consumer Rights is project work. 2026-27 sample paper Section D: 6 MCQs (including data/table and assertion-reason), 3 SA (3), 1 LA (5, data-table analysis). No map items. Word limits: VSA 2 marks <=40 words, SA 3 marks <=60 words, LA 5 marks <=120 words, case-based 4 marks (three sub-questions) <=100 words. Whole-paper type weightage: MCQs 20x1 (inclusive of assertion-reason, differentiation and stem), 2-mark 4x2, 3-mark 5x3, case study 3x4, 5-mark 4x5, map pointing 5. Internal choice in a few questions only.

Question style

Weightage to competency levels (whole paper): Remembering and Understanding 24 marks (30%); Applying 11 (13.25%); Analysing, Evaluating and Creating 40 (50%); Map skill 5 (6.25%).

Practice in the app

105 board-pattern questions with marking schemes: 30 multiple choice (1 mark), 14 assertion–reason (1 mark), 20 very short answer (2 marks), 24 short answer (3 marks), 5 long answer (5 marks) and 12 case-based (4 marks).

Sample questions with marking points

Board-pattern questions from the AI Lessons practice set for this chapter. The marking points show what an examiner looks for; full model answers are in the app.

1. Very short answer2 marks

   A weaver wants grain, but the grain seller does not want cloth. Explain how money allows the weaver to obtain grain.

   Marking points

   • Explains selling cloth for money and then using money to purchase grain.1
   • Explains that the grain seller need not want cloth, eliminating double coincidence of wants.1

2. Short answer3 marks

   A farmer says, "My cultivation loan has been approved, so my income is certain to rise." Assess this claim using three arguments.

   Marking points

   • Loan repayment depends on income from farming after the harvest, not merely on loan approval.1
   • Crop failure can prevent repayment and lead to growing debt or a debt trap.1
   • The usefulness of credit depends on risks and support available in case of loss.1

3. Long answer5 marks

   A depositor argues: 'Once my money is deposited, it stops being money. Also, the bank must keep every deposited rupee as cash.' Evaluate both claims using five points about demand deposits and bank lending.

   Marking points

   • Demand deposits can be withdrawn on demand.1
   • Demand deposits function as money because payments can be settled through cheques without cash.1
   • Banks hold only a small proportion, about 5 per cent of deposits, as cash for withdrawals.1
   • Only some depositors normally withdraw on a given day, enabling banks to manage with a small reserve.1
   • The major portion is lent to borrowers, linking surplus funds with the need for funds.1

Frequently asked questions

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