Introduction
Do you read news daily?
Reading about the latest budget amendments, financial condition of our country, understanding the geo-political scenario is interesting right? Then why not make it habit and use it as a mantra to crack major civil services exams like PCS.
Just like other government exams, PCS too has three stages namely – prelims, mains, and interview, which require deep knowledge about what is going on around you. In such cases, student need to read and analyze newspapers, gazette, and general knowledge magazines like Yojana and Kurukshetra. Reading these, help students get a deeper understanding of their surroundings and also in cracking the currents affairs questions in PCS exams.
Hence, we need to understand what are topics required to cover in daily current affairs for PCS. But before that we need to understand the significance of daily current affairs in PCS.
Significance Of Daily Current Affairs In PCS
A current event forms a substantial part of the PCS test, more precisely, the General Studies subject. Since this test has a dynamic nature, a candidate is required to be abreast with current events pertaining to socio-economic issues, economic policies, happenings at the national and international levels, and scientific inventions or discoveries.
This will give you a broad knowledge base, and at the same time, it’s going to make you understand the events of everyday current happenings and their impacts on public administration and government. This is necessary for answering exam questions that require more than just simple knowledge.
Essential Topics To Cover in Daily Current Affairs
1.National and International Affairs: Keep oneself informed about the latest happenings regarding governmental policies, court judgments, legislative initiatives, and important political shifts on several key national affairs. Make a note related to India’s dealings with other nations, global entities like the UN, WTO, IMF, and any other major happening on the globe’s canvas.
2. Economy and Banking: Significant economic parameters like GDP, inflation, jobless rates, fiscal restraints, and alterations to tax laws and economic policies- all can be discussed. In this respect, one should keep in touch with the changes in the banking industry: new regulations as published, guidelines by Reserve Bank of India, and initiatives for including in financial services.
3. Ecology, Environment – The central issues would be biodiversity, climate change, conservation efforts, and environmental policies. The main current issues are initiatives geared to reducing pollution, enhancing dependence upon renewable sources of energy, and participating in international environmental treaties like the Paris Agreement.
4. Science and Technology – Keep an eye out for breakthroughs, space missions, scientific research, and technological breakthroughs. Government initiatives in the field of science and technology, for example, Digital India campaign or developments in the IT industry, also fall under its ambit.
5. Government initiatives and social problems – The socio-economic issues confronting the country have to be understood and how the government is trying to overcome those challenges through various programmes. Emphasis shall be given on programmes for poverty alleviation, women’s and children’s health, education, and development. The same should also share contemporary happenings concerning welfare, human rights, and social justice.
6. Heritage, Culture, and Art – Keep track of news relating to Indian heritage, culture, and major policy in the cultural field. These include festivals, awards to arts and culture, monument preservation projects.
7. Sports – News regarding major sporting events, achievements of Indian players, and governmental initiatives for the promotion of sports are relevant. There is also a need to keep an eye on what policies govern the country’s sporting development.
8. State-specific Current Events – PCS needs to be abreast with the Punjab-specific current events. It includes cultural events in Punjab, regional economic growth, and state government policy.
Guidelines To Prepare Yourself For Current Affairs
1. Continuity and Regularity: Handling current affairs requires consistency. Develop the habit of reading newspapers regularly, follow up with new editions that are brought out by leading and credible news sources. Siddhi Punjab Academy advises the students to spend at least an hour on this exercise every day. Regularity makes recalling easier for you and ensures that no big development escapes your notice.
2. Note Sources of Relevance: Not all news is relevant to the PCS exam. Quality takes more importance than quantity. Some of the recommended sources include, but are not limited to, The Hindu, Indian Express, and PIB – Press Information Bureau. These books provide information on various diverse subjects that relate to the examination. Keeping track of websites by the government for plans and policies is equally important.
3. Note-Down: It won’t be enough just to glance through the news. One has to make compact notes for revision. Bring out what, why and how of news. Siddhi Punjab Academy suggests creating a different notebook or word document for daily current affairs, which further could be divided into subjects such as Economy, Environment, Science & Technology, International Relations, etc.
Conclusion
Learning daily current affairs for PCS is a continuous process and requires dedication and a systematic approach. You will considerably enhance your preparation if you follow the tips and revise the highlights, which were mentioned earlier.
Our commitment at Siddhi Punjab Academy is to assist students in every possible way with professional guidance and study material in this very crucial component of the PCS exams. Practice frequently, review, and keep up with reliable sources. You’ll definitely have the edge on the test.
