How to crack current Affairs questions like a pro in government exams!

Current Affairs is an integral part of government exam preparation. It is clearly mentioned in the ssc cgl syllabus and all other similar exam syllabi that current affairs pertaining to national and international domain would be asked in the paper.  A lot of times it is included in the syllabus of mains exam while some exams have a weightage for it in the preliminary exam also.

Even the exam patterns tend to differ for certain exams based on this. Eg. in the SSC CGL exam pattern, fact-based current affairs are asked. But, in recent times the pattern is seen to be changing and some conceptual questions are also asked. For example, you might not be asked the name of a minister recently appointed but about the department or a scheme that he is about to implement or the state in which he implemented a particular scheme.

Here we have some tips to learn and retain current affairs in a better manner:

Use  Authentic Resources

Following resources are the most authentic and accurate for government exam preparation:

Newspaper:

The Hindu newspaper

Indian Express

Economic Times

Websites and portals:

PIB website

Departmental websites of different ministries

Magazines:

Daily and monthly compilation of Current Affairs by Testbook

Yojana Magazine

Kurukshetra Magazine

Pratiyogita Darpan

Other Publications:

Manorama India Year Book

Economic Survey of India

Sync with the syllabus

Skim through the newspaper and go in-depth with articles that are relevant to the syllabus of your target exam. You need to focus on what is more important. For example, if you are prepping for a banking exam, you must focus more on finance and business news like major takeovers, mergers, acquisitions, rates etc.

Focus on one set of resources:

The internet and market are flooded with so many resources to read. Do not be distracted or fall for non-authentic resources. Focus on a few resources only that you are comfortable with and concentrate on them only.

Time Allocation:

You must make sure that you devote ample time for reading current affairs on a daily basis. This time should be spread equally across the week and not be left just for the weekend. The weekend should be the time for you to read, revise and summarise whatever you read all throughout the week. Read the newspaper when your mind is fresh and active, else you will not be able to absorb the information well. If you are an evening person, take up the newspaper in the evening.

Making Notes:

It is advisable that you make small and summarized notes in a diary on a daily basis and summarize those notes on a monthly basis. You must also try to summarize the editorial articles in your own language. This makes learning more effective and fast. Also, while reading online, you can leverage online notes making tools available these days or simply copy-paste the important information in a document. You can refer to this doc whenever you need and it will help to revise.

Discuss and Discover:

Knowledge is best retained when discussed and expressed. In order to get a better understanding and in-depth knowledge, you must indulge in healthy discussions and debates on current events with your friends and peers. This will help you get a different perspective on an event or issue. Along with this, it will also help to practise for the interviews. In the interviews for government exams, the panellists often ask candidates about current affairs related to their stats, hobbies, company and interests.

Hope you gained something from this short read?

Be aware, be confident and come out with flying colours in all the exams that you write.