Current Affairs plays a major role in all stages of UPSC Preparation.
In Prelims, roughly 30% to 40% questions every year are asked based on current issues either directly or indirectly.
In Mains, the majority of the questions in GS Paper 2 and GS paper 3 are asked from the current affairs and recent development.
So clearly, one cannot ignore current affairs and newspaper reading in UPSC civil service preparation.
You need to be updated with important current affairs.
For Prelims Exam, you should follow one year's current affairs - from the last prelims exam to the current prelims exam.
If you are preparing for UPSC exams, then you would need to remember and recall a minimum of the last one and half years' news analysis.
Though it looks difficult in the initial stage, it is a simple task if you develop a daily habit of making newspaper notes.
In current affairs, there are two significant aspects.
One is fact-based - for example, 'Agni missile tested', 'Nobel Prize awards', 'people in the news' etc. are factual data. For this, you make regular short notes and revise before the exams.
The other kind of news are ongoing and debatable - for example, 'Right to privacy', 'Euthanasia', 'WTO talks' etc. Every month there will be some update on this topics. For such kind of issues, first, you should understand the historical background and what is the issue all about. Once you know the issue, then you just need to read and update the recent development in your current affairs notes. You can draw flowcharts tracing the latest developments to help you retain and understand better.
Many aspirants start their newspaper reading with note-making, but as time progress they ignore and start following some current affairs material or magazines. But the best practice is making your notes as you read.
To recall the current affairs in your exam, there should be proper revision before the exam. So have an adequate revision plan before your UPSC exam and try to revise at least two times.
