Six Simple Tips on How to Prepare Current Affairs for UPSC Civil Services Exam

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the UPSC Civil Services Examination every year, and it is widely regarded as India’s most challenging exam. Officers for the All India Services, Group A Civil Services, and Group B Civil Services categories are recruited through this exam. The All India Services include the Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Forest Service (IFoS), Indian Foreign Services (IFS), and other significant services.

The influence of current events in this prestigious Civil Services Examination is growing every year. Bulk questions that revolve around Current events/news are asked in both the UPSC CSE Preliminary and Main exams.

On that note, let’s go through a few simple yet powerful tips that will guide you to cover current affairs topics comprehensively.

Limit Your Sources

A common yet big blunder that most students make is referring to multiple study sources for current events. Stop buying many current events books in the mistaken notion that more volumes equaled better grades.

Running after too much information is counterproductive, leads to confusion, and wastes time. Make sure you buy books/study materials that include relevant, up-to-date, and trustworthy information written in plain English.

The Hindu newspaper, One monthly magazine of current affairs, All India Radio Spotlight, and the Internet are all good places to start.

Limit Your Time

Most students have the problem of exaggerating the importance of newspapers. Some people read newspapers for 3-4 hours each day, leaving them with little opportunity to read about other issues.

Current events are important, and newspapers are important, but not to the point where you dedicate too much time to them. Reading the day’s current events, in my opinion, should take no more than 2 hours. Devoting 3-4 hours per day to current events is excessive.

Focus on Issues, Not News

What exactly is the distinction between the two? While the news reports on an incident, issues are concerned with concepts.

So, to understand any current issue, use this framework:

  • Why is it making headlines in the first place?
  • Information about the Background — (Data, facts, authentic reports and more)
  • What has the government done thus far, and what has it failed to do?
  • Pros and Cons/Opportunities and Challenges on both sides of the tale
  • Your opinion on it.

For example, UPSC CSE aspirants should not just know that the mid-day meal scheme has been renamed to PM Poshan Scheme, but must also know about the brief history of the mid-day meal scheme, changes incorporated in the scheme after renaming and the objective of PM Poshan Scheme.

The topics covered in coaching resources are typically diverse. If it doesn’t, look for good content on the internet and take notes so you can comprehend each subject thoroughly.

Learn to Make Short Notes

From everyday newspaper reading, one should jot down extremely brief notes. Anything that comes to mind from a Prelims/Mains perspective should be put down in a notepad. Make your notes in such a way that you can quickly reach any topic without exerting too much effort.

Cover the Static Part Related to Current Events/News

It is insufficient to simply read articles from newspapers or any other stuff. The static part/backgrounder, as well as the connected social, political, and legal issues, must all be covered.

For example, While going through a new Government scheme like the PM Kusum scheme, one must not only know about the date of launch and its features but also socio/economic challenges and prospects way forward in detail.

Read. Revise. Execute.

The aforementioned recommendations will ensure that you cover 90-95 percent of current events in a way that is relevant to this exam. On the other hand, current events are an ever-evolving issue that is becoming increasingly essential by the day.

The best strategy to remember a topic is to review it frequently and put it into practise in the answers you write during your practise or test series. Simply stating the relevant issue in one or two phrases will significantly boost the worth of your responses.

 

 

 

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