Civil Services and its Charm
Civil services are all about authority, power, responsibility and decision making. It is a favorite career choice for people who love to be at the center stage. The salary might be less when compared to a similar position in private sector but the status, power, authority and job security which a civil servant commands, compensates for the gap. No wonder every year a huge number of aspirants take the civil services examination, taking into account all these factors combined.
About the Current Affairs Section
Current Affairs section in this exam has the broadest scope. No one really knows what topic can be asked. All one can do is to keep a tab on current affairs on a consistent basis. Generally, questions will be asked on a topic (which is in news) linked to a subject. So, one doesn’t have to just read and be aware of the current affairs but has to come out with its linkage with different subjects. While there were around 25-30 such questions asked in 2014-15, the number of such questions had gone up to 55-60 questions in 2016.
Acing the Current Affairs Section
More focus on current affairs implies that UPSC wants to allow those aspirants who firstly, have complete command on current affairs and secondly, can think of its practical application with different subjects. And why not! After all, UPSC wants to hire the best aspirants in the country. One thing is for sure! Only bookish knowledge won’t help an aspirant ace this section. The reading has to be beyond books and broad enough. Let’s focus on building a strategy so as to get maximum marks out of the current affairs section. Also read, Tips to Cracking IAS 2018 in the Very First Attempt.
Read the newspaper objectively and on a daily basis
This is one of the traditional ways to prepare for current affairs. However, reading a newspaper is an art. You don’t have to scour the complete newspaper. You have to be selective. Select a good newspaper (for eg. The New Indian Express/The Hindu) and focus on all the important event happening on regional, national and international fronts. You may like to focus more on editorials which generally provides the newspaper’s opinion on a particular event. These editorials will generally have facts and figures and have a solid foundation for the reasoning they are vouching for. You don’t have to agree with what the editorial says but you can definitely form your viewpoint based on your understanding. These viewpoints on certain events will also help you in your UPSC interview. Newspaper reading on a daily basis should not take more than one hour although, in the beginning, it may take a little more time.
Surf and Read
Almost everybody has an internet enabled phone nowadays. You can use the phone to read about the news and current affairs on the go. With all kind of news websites mushroomed on the internet, try sticking to a credible news website. You can search for any topic and have multiple viewpoints on that.
Organize your study material
Whether your reading source is a newspaper, books or a website, keep making small notes and organize them topic wise. You can keep revising them on the go if you convert them in soft copies. This organization will come very handy in your final revision.
Generally, current affairs section takes the least time. This is because either you know the answer or you don’t know it. Therefore, you can score maximum marks in less time in this section when compared to other sections.
Check out Ethics, Integrity & Civil Services.
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