DU Personal Financial Planning (SEC): Most Repeated Questions from 23 PYQ Papers

Personal Financial Planning (UPC 2416000004) is a Skill Enhancement Course open to students from many programmes. Colleges set their own papers, so it is hard to guess what will come.

We collected every paper we have for this code, removed duplicate scans (the same paper uploaded by several colleges), and counted what keeps coming back. That left 23 distinct question papers, from 2023 to the May–June 2026 exams.

All of them are free on the Personal Financial Planning SEC PYQ page. Open a few alongside this post.

A note on the counts: colleges set different papers, so "15 of 23 papers" means 15 of the 23 distinct papers asked about that topic, not 15 exam sittings.

---

The topics that came back most often

If you have to prioritise, start with financial planning (steps and goals), tax planning, insurance and retirement/reverse mortgage. Between them they cover the bulk of what has been asked.

The numerical that keeps coming back

Most of this paper is theory, but there is one calculation. A two-security portfolio problem (find the expected return and the risk of a portfolio of two securities) appeared in at least one paper in each of the last three main sessions:

• Nov–Dec 2024: "Calculate risk and return of the portfolio for Mr. D who wishes to construct an equal-weight portfolio of security R and security S", given market conditions and probabilities.

• Nov–Dec 2025: a portfolio of Security X and Security Y, given expected return, standard deviation and a coefficient of correlation of 0.8.

• May–June 2026: "Vidhi wishes to construct an equal weightage portfolio with securities of A Ltd. and B Ltd.", given probabilities of Bad, Good and Very Good market conditions.

So there are two versions to practise: probability-based (Nov–Dec 2024, May–June 2026) and correlation-based (Nov–Dec 2025).

Other patterns worth knowing

• Tax regime comparison. "Critically evaluate Section 115BAC (new tax regime) vis-à-vis the old tax regime. Under what conditions is the new regime more beneficial?" was in a May–June 2026 paper. A 2024 paper asked a close variant: "the new regime provides simplicity, while the old regime offers flexibility".

• Tax evasion vs avoidance. "Why is tax evasion considered illegal?" (May–June 2025) and "Is tax evasion illegal? … how does it differ from tax avoidance?" (2025).

• Question length varies. Most 2025 and 2026 papers use 10-mark questions with an either/or choice. The 2023–2024 papers, and at least one 2025 paper, also have 5-mark questions, and 13 of the 23 papers include "write a short note on any two".

• Topics that showed up as 5-mark questions: SIP, credit life insurance, commodity derivatives, offshore banking and international investment avenues.

---

Answer pointers

These are revision prompts, not full answers. Write the full answer from your class notes and textbook.

Two-security portfolio (correlation version). Use equal weights of 50% unless the question gives others.

• Portfolio expected return: Rp = w₁R₁ + w₂R₂

• Portfolio risk: σp = √( w₁²σ₁² + w₂²σ₂² + 2·w₁·w₂·ρ·σ₁·σ₂ )

Illustration (our own numbers, not from a paper): R₁ = 12%, R₂ = 18%, σ₁ = 8%, σ₂ = 12%, ρ = 0.5, weights 50/50. Rp = 15%. σp² = 0.25×64 + 0.25×144 + 2×0.25×0.5×8×12 = 16 + 36 + 24 = 76, so σp ≈ 8.7%, which is lower than the 10% average of the two risks. That gap is the benefit of diversification, and it is worth a line in your answer.

Two-security portfolio (probability version). First find each security's expected return, E(R) = Σ p × R. Then find the covariance, Σ p × (R₁ − E(R₁)) × (R₂ − E(R₂)). Put that into σp² = w₁²σ₁² + w₂²σ₂² + 2·w₁·w₂·Cov.

Financial planning steps. The usual sequence: set goals → collect and analyse your financial position → develop a plan → implement it → monitor and revise. Keep the same five headings for every "steps" question.

Tax planning. Tax planning uses deductions and exemptions the law allows. Tax avoidance uses loopholes that are legal but against the spirit of the law. Tax evasion is illegal (hiding income or making false claims). The new regime (Section 115BAC) has lower rates but allows few deductions, so it tends to suit people with few deductions to claim. The old regime has higher rates but allows deductions and exemptions, so it can win when you claim a lot of them.

Reverse mortgage. A senior citizen who owns a house mortgages it to a lender and receives regular payments instead of paying EMIs. They keep living in the house, and the loan is recovered from the property later. It helps retirees with property but little income. Reasons often given for its low take-up in India include reluctance to give up the family home and concern about what is left for heirs. Use the points from your own notes where they differ.

Time value of money. A rupee today is worth more than a rupee tomorrow. Compounding moves money forward: FV = PV(1 + r)ⁿ. Discounting moves it back: PV = FV ÷ (1 + r)ⁿ. Add one worked example.

---

How to use this for your exam

1. Prepare the portfolio numerical. It is the one question where you can lose marks by not practising. Do both versions once.

2. Write one answer each for financial planning steps, tax planning, insurance and retirement.

3. Learn reverse mortgage properly. It has appeared in 9 papers, and one question was repeated almost word for word between 2024 and 2026.

4. Check your own college's recent paper. Mark scheme and style differ between colleges.

Past repetition does not guarantee what comes next. Use this list to decide what to revise first.

Get the papers: Personal Financial Planning SEC PYQs · all Skill Enhancement Course papers

Also read: Social Media Marketing (SEC): most repeated questions · Business Communication (SEC): most repeated questions