Current Affairs is an important part of your training for the UPSC CSE. It is included in the prelims syllabus. Although not specifically stated in the UPSC mains examination syllabus, specific questions about recent events are frequently asked during the examination. But one question that often emerges in the minds of aspirants is-“How to prepare current affairs for UPSC without reading the newspaper? You will get to know the answer later.
It should be noted that, unlike other exams, the UPSC does not ask for facts-based current affairs. On the opposite, the problems are more in-depth. For eg, just knowing the full name of the scheme and the ministry involved will not be sufficient. You should also be well versed with the offering of the scheme, its impact and complications, and things like budget allocation.
How to Prepare for Current Affairs Without Newspaper?
There is a good chunk of people who find reading newspaper and taking notes quite boring and time-consuming. It can be because they are working people or never developed a habit of reading the newspaper. Well, it is a fact that reading newspapers is neither mandatory nor sufficient to qualify with good marks for this test.
There are great free websites that collect and gather valuable points from diverse sources of current affairs. An aspirant can not read and make notes from all these sources on his own. Their compilations are better because they are formulated by specialists who know the exact requirements of this review. A fresh candidate may be unaware of this and may spend too much time scanning through newspapers and gathering material.
Also Read: How to Start Writing Practice? Preparation Tips for Answer Writing Practice
List of Alternatives to Newspaper
- Yojana Magazine
- Kurukshetra Magazine
- Pratiyogita Darpan
- Government publications such as India Year Book and Economic Survey
- All India Radio— Spotlight/Discussion
- RSTV’s Big Picture, PRS India and India’s World.
- Tv debates
Reading/ listening to the above-mentioned sources should be enough. If you want you can combine reading newspapers as well. If you need help with reading newspapers consider this.
Why to Revise The Current Affairs?
Revision is highly necessary as far as current affairs are concerned. While the static portion of the syllabus is minimal, current affairs are piled up by the day. So, if you have not been consistent with your revision, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for you to catch up with the current affairs for a whole year in the end. So keep reading current affairs regularly, so you never lose track of it. Incorporate them in response-writing and keep referring to current affairs while you study for static topics.
Conclusion
It has been noted that 60-70 per cent of the questions posed in the UPSC CSE Prelims are in some way related to current affairs. For example, if there is a bilateral dispute over the river in the press, static questions about the river or the countries concerned may be asked in the general studies paper. Logically, it can be argued that it does not belong specifically to the section on current affairs, but the motivation to ask those questions is certainly taken from the current cases.
It is therefore necessary to research Current Affairs thoroughly for the UPSC in all three phases. Also in UPSC mains, it has been found that the answers with the indicators of current events are marked higher, as it indicates that the candidate is aware of the developments in society. A detailed understanding of current affairs is therefore extremely necessary for UPSC applicants to ensure that they are well prepared on the issues regarding general knowledge in the UPSC exam.
