The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has brought out a new Class 9 Social Science textbook, “Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Social Science Textbook for Grade 9, Part 2.” It includes chapters and sections on income tax, startup entrepreneurship and the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, among other topics.
NCERT is issuing new textbooks under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023. Textbooks for Classes 1 to 9 have been released so far.
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The book teaches students to calculate income tax slab by slab under the new tax regime. The chapter “Managing Your Personal Finances” carries the tax slabs along with worked examples, and presents paying taxes as a civic responsibility. It describes paying taxes “honestly and on time” as an important duty of citizens and connects tax revenue to national development. The chapter cites Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY) as an example of financial protection for low-income households. It discusses health insurance, taxation and personal financial management as part of citizens’ wider economic responsibilities.
The chapter “From Ideas to Startups” focuses on entrepreneurship. It cites the growth of Lijjat Papad, from seven homemakers in Mumbai who pooled ₹80 in 1959 to a cooperative with 45,000 members and a reported turnover of ₹1,600 crore by 2023. It also profiles Padma Bhushan hotelier Mohan Singh Oberoi, starting from his job as a hotel desk clerk earning ₹50 a month and following his rise to the founder of one of India’s largest hotel chains. The chapter also brings the Chettiar community’s historical trading, banking and trust-based lending networks into its discussion of India’s local economy.
In referring to the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and Atmanirbhar Bharat, the textbook uses a quote from Swami Vivekananda: “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached”. This leads into a discussion of India’s 120-plus unicorns, with entrepreneurship presented in the context of the country’s development.
The textbook lists six contributions of business: creating employment and income, producing goods and services, paying taxes, promoting innovation, improving quality of life and undertaking corporate social responsibility.