Significance Of Current Affairs In UPSC CSE - 2023

 

Current Affairs Plays an important role not only in Prelims but in Mains and Interview stage of UPSC CSE as well. IF we refer UPSC CSE syllabus for Preliminary Exam then the first line that  is mentioned is “Current Events of National & International Importance “. Its significance can be understood from it. Also the syllabus provided by UPSC has to be deciphered as it mentions it very briefly. The depth of the Question can be understood by going through previous year Questions only.

In this blog we will cover important sources for Current Affairs, its importance in Preliminary, Mains & Interview, role of Current Affairs in Optional Subjects, allocation of time for Current Affairs.

The number of Question pertaining to Current affairs in General Studies Paper of UPSC CSE Preliminary Examination is significant. Various Coaching Institutes came up with their analysis of UPSC CSE Prelims as soon as the Exam gets over. Their analysis about number of Question from Current Affairs asked in General Studies may have variation of 2-3 Questions from One coaching to other.

Know About The Importance of Current Affairs

One may observe the number of Question form Current Affairs section in General Studies Paper of Prelims varies as per the analysis of different Coaching Institute. Why it happens? Let us discuss first about the subject matter of Current affairs. As we know current affairs is nothing but it is simply the day to day events that are important.

The subject matter of Current Affairs could be Economy, Polity, Geography (Catastrophic or Natural Disaster / calamities , border disputes), History ( ancient India if some recent development with respect to Archaeological Survey of India or some Ancient Civilization that are in News ) , Government Schemes, International Organization , Reports of Important National & International Organization , Science & Technology & Environmental & Ecology.

As the nature of Question in UPSC CSE Prelims is objective. In few Question of Current Affairs UPSC incorporate some static Portion as well (it may be in the form of option) to check intelligence and analytical skills .As the Preliminary Exam has the objective of screening Candidates for the second stage i.e. Mains. It rarely asks fact based Question as usually asked in some state PCS Examinations of BPSC, RPSC, UPPCS & others. Rather UPSC CSE asked Questions that are analytical in nature and required some intelligence and deep observation.

Current Affairs Questions Ask in UPSC

In the Year 2017, maximum number of Questions in General Studies paper of Prelims was from Polity Section. Some Questions were static and others were from Current Affairs and few Questions were integrated having both the static & current affairs aspects.

Polity & Economy has major dominance in Current affairs. In order to understand News Pertaining to Polity we need to understand some Static or fundamental concepts. For Example few Months back there was series of News Pertaining to President Election. So, we cannot expect UPSC to ask Question like who get elected as President of India. In recently held Election for the President of India rather we must go through every aspect with respect to President.

The Question may be pertaining to Presidential Election, Impeachment of President, Power of President, Important articles in the Indian Constitution with respect to President of India & others. The Syllabus of General Studies is vast and so is that of Current Affairs. Let us see the trend of number of Questions Pertaining to Current Affairs asked in Prelims year wise below.

	CURRENT AFFAIRS QESTIONS ASKED IN PRELIMINARY EXAM OF UPSC CSE YEAR WISE
	( 2016 -2022 )
YEAR	NO. OF QUESTIONS IN GENERAL STUDIES  (PRELIMINARY)
2016	21 -23
2017	17 -19
2018	16 -18
2019	13 -15
2020	8 -9
2021	5 -7
2022	09 -10

It is evident from the above data that the number of Questions from Current affairs was maximum in the year 2016.Also Current Affairs share in the total number of Questions were significant from 2016 to 2019. Post this the number of Question from Current Affairs has declining trend. But this trend must not influence us to avoid Current affairs as in the upcoming Examinations the number of Questions may be more and may have its share of 20 % or more.

Role of Current Affairs in Mains General Studies Papers:

As mentioned above that Current affairs have diverse areas from Economy, Polity, Science & Technology, and Environment & Ecology to Geography & History as well. One is expected to supplement one’s answer in UPSC CSE Mains with some relevant and important event that are in NEWS with respect to Economy , Polity , Geography ,Science & Tech & Society in their General studies Papers of UPSC CSE Mains which is descriptive . This will definitely distinguished one’s answer from others and may fetch more marks.

Significance in Optional Papers:

If someone has opted Public Administration & Political Science as optional Subjects in UPSC CSE then sincere preparations of Current affairs will help a lot in securing good marks. As one can supplement or incorporate recent important events of national and international importance in their answers. For these papers Current affairs is inevitable and cannot be overlooked.

For Optional Subjects like Mathematics & Engineering one cannot supplements their answer with current events as that is not the demand of Questions. But still students having these Subjects as their Optional Subjects cannot overlook Current affairs.

Significance of Current Affairs in Interview:

As we know Interview of UPSC CSE is the third and the final Part of Exam Process where Personality of Candidate is evaluated. Although in the First two stage of Examinations knowledge of candidate has already been checked. But still in Interview the Board usually asks questions from their DAF, optional Subjects and current affairs. The Board tries to know their opinion and their articulating skills about some important issues in News .One can form his/ her idea only when aware about that event. Hence Current affairs cannot be ignored and must be given serious Preparation.

IMPORTANT SOURCES FOR CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Daily News Paper

Current Affairs Magazine of IAS Coaching Discussion on subjects of national and international importance in Rajya Sabha TV.

Time Allocation for Current Affairs:

One must allocate one’s 1 Hour for Preparation of Current Affairs on a daily basis. One can escape making daily notes from News Paper as all the important events are covered in monthly magazine of Coaching Institutes.

Now let me conclude the theme on Current Affairs. As it is evident from the above content that Current Affairs has its importance & relevance not only in Prelims but in General Studies of Mains & some Optional Subjects as well as in Interview hence we cannot undermine its Preparation and must prepare seriously, religiously and sincerely.

Avoid reading from too many sources. It would be waste of time to read the same thing from two or more than two sources for Current Affairs. Choose one good Newspaper (The Hindu / The Indian Express), one Magazine of any Coaching Institute, and refer important discussion of Rajya Sabha TV. These will help you in forming an opinion on any issue.

Each Coaching Institutes has their own Magazine. Take 2-3 magazines of different Coaching Institutes and read it and then decide yourself which Magazine has covered all important News from UPSC CSE point of View. Which Magazine you find easy to understand and assimilate. You may go through the Magazine of GS SCORE which has also been popular among students aspiring for UPSC CSE. Some features of this Magazine like easy and simple language of content enable student to read & assimilate the Current Affairs easily.

One most important thing that you must not forget is Revision of Current Affairs and daily allocation of one hour for Current Affairs in study Time Table.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER:

• CURRENT AFFAIRS INEVITABLE FOR PRELIMS, MAINS & INTERVIEW
• DAILY ALLOCATION OF 1 HR FOR CURRENT AFFAIRS
• ONE NEWSPAPER & ONE MAGAZINE IS MUST
• REFER DISCUSSION ON ISSUES OF NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE ON RAJYA SABHA TV
• MAKE A SMALL GROUP OF 4-5 STUDENTS & HAVE REGULAR DISCUSSION ON IMPORTANT ISSUES.

Craze around- IAS coaching in Delhi

 Delhi- a city of culture, power, and history has established itself as a maker of thousands of dreams. One such dream is the dream to become an IAS officer. Delhi has successfully catered to the needs of the aspirants and helped them in realizing their dreams. Over the past few decades, Delhi has become a Mecca for Ias aspirants. 

Every year flocks of students come to this city to turn their dream into reality. This city has certain pockets which have customized themselves around the UPSC preparation cycle. There are various coaching centers have mushroomed in the city.

 It should be mentioned here that coaching centers are there in other cities as well like Bangalore, Jaipur, and Bhopal but the craze of Delhi has not subsided. Aspirants believe that Delhi gives them that sense of preparation and environment that is needed for clearing the examination.

 In this blog, we will discuss about how Delhi has created this craze among UPSC aspirants, and different coaching institutes in Delhi and which the best one is if you think of preparing this blog will give you an idea of how to begin your Upsc journey. We shall deliberate on the following questions in this blog:

1. Is coaching Essential in the first place?

2. Why does Delhi have this craze?

3. Best Coaching Institute in India?

There is no second thought about the aura and prestige that the Indian Administrative Service holds. And that’s the reason it has kind of created a rage among the budding talent of this country. This examination is considered the toughest examination in our country and this is because of the fact that the brightest minds of the nation strive to become a part of the permanent executive of India. When the competition is so tough, one should prepare for the war.

And here the dilemma of whether coaching is essential or not comes into the picture.

So answering it straight, It Depends. There are various instances where people have cleared the examination without any coaching and we all are witness to the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of aspirants who couldn’t clear the examination despite taking coaching at the best institutes. So taking coaching or preparing without it is not a deal breaker in clearing the examination. But yes, we cannot ignore the advantages one gets if she/he takes coaching. A few benefits are listed below:

In present times we are surrounded by gazillions of distractions and it becomes a bit difficult to stay on track. So coaching helps us to be on track and avoid diversions in our preparation

The syllabus of UPSC is humungous. And if we don’t have proper guidance, chances are that we might drown in the sea of information.

Coaching helps in channelizing the preparation.

It makes your preparation journey organized, disciplined, and put together.

It also helps you during the low phase of your preparation when you think of quitting. At this point mentors in the coaching, institutes act as rays of hope which can guide you to sail through tough times.

However, success in the examination will always be the manifestation of your hard work.

Why does Delhi have this IAS fever?

Delhi has always been a magnet for all UPSC aspirants. Whoever thinks of Upsc, wants to be in Delhi for preparation. The reason for such a craze is the availability of guidance, resources, and ambiance. In Delhi, Karol Bagh and Mukherjee Nagar are known as the ias pockets. 

The entire economy of these two places is dependent on UPSC aspirants and coaching institutes. While Karol bagh caters to English medium students, Mukherjee Nagar deals with the bright Hindi-speaking minds of this nation. If we talk about coaching institutes, there are many institutes like GS Score, Vision IAS, Next IAS, and Vajiram & Ravi just to name a few in the English medium. Sanskriti IAS & Drishti has a big name among Hindi medium aspirants.

 Some of these coaching institutes have opened their branches in different cities but couldn’t create the atmosphere that Delhi provides to an aspirant. Every material whether in English or Hindi is easily available In Delhi and because all the IAS Coaching centers are situated here, aspirants can go and have a one-on-one discussion with the mentors whenever they want or whenever they feel fixed in their preparation journey.

Best IAS Coaching in Delhi 

There are many coaching centers in Delhi. It becomes a tough decision to zero down on which is the best coaching for IAS preparation. Vajiram & Ravi have tried to give results every year but now there is a reshuffle in the faculties.

 Next, IAS is trying to create a name for itself. Vision IAS is another name that has expertise in test series. Sanskriti IAS is a one-stop destination for Hindi medium aspirants. But if we see the overall performance in terms of faculties, results, and test series, GS SCORE has created a mark in every field. It has exceptional faculty, Test series on UPSC patterns, great mentoring, and an environment that will help in bringing the best out of a candidate.

UPSC preparation is a journey that teaches you a lot. This journey will become exciting when you have good guidance and mentoring. Because at the end of the day it is the journey that makes you a person of grit and value and success becomes the byproduct of the hard work that you put in.

IAS Coaching in Delhi for UPSC CSE 2023-24

 

The role of IAS Coaching in Delhi (India), which Provides Guidance to these Civil services Aspirants cannot be undermined. At the same time, I would like to say there have been Candidates who qualify for this prestigious Examination without Coaching as well. They may have someone in the family who could guide them for this Examination.

In addition to it, there are so many factors about UPSC CSE that attracts the young mind. A few factors which attract Students across this Country include - it gives opportunity to serve the nation, the Social respect that this Service hold, Job security, the opportunity to solve challenging Problems of Daily life faced by People, Perks and other allowances and so many other things that this service offers.

In general approx. 9 -10 lakhs of Candidates apply to appear in this Prestigious UPSC CSE and nearly half of them appear in Preliminary Examination, the First stage of UPSC CSE.

Again there may be so many reasons for students who wanted to appear but did not appear in this Examination. One reason may be a lack of Guidance to crack this Exam. These Candidates may be put in the category of non-Serious Candidates. However, not all who appear in Preliminary Exam are serious Students.

Pertaining to Civil Services Coaching Two Questions that CSE Aspirant generally wants to Know are, Is it inevitable to take guidance from any Civil Services Coaching? If yes then Which Coaching is best for the Preparation for this Prestigious UPSC CSE?

As mentioned above the role of Coaching cannot be undermined though few candidates may have qualified for this Exam without the guidance of any Coaching. The simple reason for this is UPSC CSE is highly competitive in nature.

Article Source:- https://iasscore.in/blog/miscellaneous/ias-coaching

Will I Qualify For UPSC CSE If I Enroll In Coaching At Delhi?

 If you go to the temple its ambiance would be different than that of a Meat shop. The ambiance of the Temple would give you Peace of Mind. At Temple People assemble together and Pray to GOD on the other hand the ambiance at Butcher’s shop would have negative vibes as animals or birds are being killed. Just visit these two places and experience your stimulus-response.

If one visits Karol Bagh (Delhi) & Mukherjee Nagar (Delhi), one may witness the crowd of UPSC aspirants. These CSE aspirants enable these two Places in Delhi a hub for CSE Preparation. There is No Doubt that Delhi has Good Coaching Institutes and Excellent faculties in addition to the ambiance that it provides.

IAS COACHING IN DELHI

There are various IAS Coaching in Delhi. Each coaching Institute is claimed as the Best IAS Coaching for UPSC CSE Preparation. This puts students in a dilemma about which coaching they should enroll in. It is really difficult for students to select the right coaching Institute. Before discussing how to select the right Coaching, let us discuss first the Importance of Coaching in UPSC CSE Preparation.

IMPORTANCE OF COACHING IN UPSC CSE PREPARATION

In the year 2019 I went to IIT – Gandhinagar, Gujarat as we scheduled one seminar pertaining to UPSC CSE Aspirants. The speaker was an IRS. During the seminar One student asked him, Sir, is it inevitable to enroll in Coaching in order to Qualify for UPSC CSE? I will quote his reply, he said not inevitable if you have someone in your family who can guide you and keep motivating you throughout the preparation for this Exam. The Syllabus is so vast and comprehensive that student needs Proper guidance under the right Mentor.

The role of coaching is not merely confined to teaching only rather evaluating your gradual progress and keep motivating you so that you give your 100 %.One need not search for what to Read & were to read. These are the Jobs of Coaching Institutions and your Job is to STUDY with devotion only.

Once you join any Coaching You must have faith in the Coaching and all the faculty members. Do whatever sorts of inquiries at different Institutions but once enrolled in coaching do not have any doubt in MIND.

At last, I would like to mention that even Arjun, a great warrior required Guidance from Shree Krishna. Had Shree Krishna not guided him the result of Mahabharata would have been different as Arjun initially put his bows & arrows in Chariot and said to Shri Krishna that he did not want to fight the battle. His decision not to fight the battle may be because of his ignorance and impurities of Mind. Although Arjun was a great warrior but still Guidance was inevitable for him to be victorious in the battle of Mahabharata.

So irrespective of their intelligence, UPSC CSE Aspirants need guidance from a Good Mentor in order to become successful in the Examination of UPSC CSE.

HOW TO SELECT BEST COACHING INSTITUTE FOR UPSC CSE

Let me share some key aspects that students must enquire about while visiting coaching in Delhi in order to select good coaching for them.

Do You Know in Reputed World class Institutions one of the significant parameters for being listed in top-notch Institutes is the student- Teacher ratio? It refers to the number of students per Faculty. This ratio should be optimum. In some coaching Institutes, the class strength is 250 – 400. Please calculate this Student- Teacher Ratio. Can you put these coaching Institutes in Good Ranking??

Healthy Interactive discussion would be missing due to the huge class size and a fixed duration of 2hrs 30 minutes. One may not get his doubts clear if not interacting with the faculty.

Some other parameters that should be noticed before enrolments include – Faculty Experience, duration of completion of syllabus, Mentor Support, Test series to evaluate students & others.

If someone has qualified for this Exam then it means he has gradually improved himself over a period of time as per the expectation of UPSC. In order to have gradual improvement, one must know one’s weaknesses and then strive to eradicate these weaknesses with the help of a Right Mentor. If you have not visited GS SCORE you may plan to visit it for inquiry pertaining to courses offered at Institute, where there is optimum class strength and each student is nurtured under the guidance of M.K Jha Sir. Here Student has the opportunity to interact with the faculty as the class strength is optimum.

LIVE / ONLINE CLASSES & OFFLINE CLASSES

If it is not possible for someone to come to Delhi for Civil services Preparation due to any reason (maybe in Job, or family issue), one may enroll for Live / Online classes. People have qualified for this Exam with their Preparation through live/online mode. But if someone is not in Job, and do not have any family issue; one may plan for Offline classes in Delhi.

 We witness, during the Pandemic of COVID students do not have the choice of offline classes. The only option was Live / Online classes. When one plans to prepare through Live / Online Classes one must have self-discipline. Today many coaching is providing Live / Online classes. One must clarify oneself the mode of discussion the Institute Provides. For example, some Institutes do not provide live Interaction of students with Faculty. The students are advised to ask their doubts after classes. Under online classes, the classes may be live or recorded. Few students think both are the same but that is not the case.

 UPSC SYLLABUS

UPSC CSE is held every year to recruit for All India Services & other allied services. This Exam has three stages - Prelims, Mains & followed by Interviews. One of the common aspects among all three stages is Current Affairs. From Prelims to Mains and subsequently, to Interviews the significance of Current Affairs cannot be undermined.

UPSC CSE Prelims Exam has two Papers: General Studies & CSAT

In General Studies, the total number of Questions would be 100 and each Question carries 2 marks. The marks secured in this GS Paper determine whether one is Qualified for stage 2 i.e., UPSC Mains or not.

CSAT is merely qualifying and marks secured are not considered for qualifying in Mains. The total number of Questions is 80. Each Question carries 2.5 marks mounting to full marks of 200.In order to Qualify for CSAT, one must secure 33 % marks or 66 marks.

There is a negative marking of 1/3 applicable to both Papers GS & CSAT.

Please note UPSC Prelims Exam has the objective to eliminate nonserious candidates and filter the serious aspirants for the second stage i.e., UPSC Mains.

 

Stage II: UPSC Mains:

 Under Mains the objective of UPSC is to check whether the candidate is aware of the subject matter or not, his thought process, analytical skills, and proper articulation way of writing answers.

Paper	Subject	Duration	Total marks
Paper A	Compulsory Indian language	3 hours	300 (Qualifying)
Paper B	English	3 hours	300 (Qualifying)
Paper I	Essay	3 hours	250
Paper II	General Studies I – Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society	3 hours	250
Paper III	General Studies II – Governance, Constitution, Welfare Initiatives, Social Justice & International Relations	3 hours	250
Paper IV	General Studies III – Technology, Economic Development, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management	3 hours	250
Paper V	General Studies IV – Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude	3 hours	250
Paper VI	Optional Subject – Paper I	3 hours	250
Paper VII	Optional Subject – Paper II	3 hours	250

 

UPSC Syllabus does not define itself. Kindly refer to the microanalysis of the UPSC syllabus provided at the Coaching Institutes. One may visit the GS SCORE website for the same and go through the microanalysis of the syllabus. This will help students in deciding the boundary of Information and its depth.

STAGE III:

This is the last stage of the UPSC CSE Exam. The maximum mark allotted for the Interview is 275 marks. Through Interviews, UPSC judges one's overall Personality. The way the student responds to the answer is in fact what he is inside. The Panel members are experts and they observe the student in the Interview Process very comprehensively. One cannot make the Board fool.

Also, Personality development cannot be done in 1 or 2 months rather it requires much time. Although it is the last stage of the Exam one must start its preparation along with the preparation of Prelims.

 

Now we have discussed the above UPSC CSE examination and its different stages, UPSC CSE coaching in Delhi, Live / Online classes, Best UPSC Coaching, and Parameters to select the right coaching for oneself. Still, one thing I have left and did not mention is whether one will definitely qualify for UPSC CSE if one enrolls oneself in coaching at Delhi. Please note merely enrolling at coaching will not suffice for the purpose. There must be zeal inside to crack this exam. The flame must be kept burning till one qualify this Exam under the right guidance.

More than 1500 thoughts arise in our mind every hour. So; one can calculate the number of thoughts that arise in one mind in one day, in one year. These thoughts are so subtle but at the same time, these subtle thoughts are immensely powerful. If one picks up Right and Positive thoughts it will definitely help one in whatever task one wishes to accomplish. So, be positive while preparing for this reputed Examination of UPSC CSE.

 

All the Best!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current Affairs: What You Need to Know on a Daily Basis

Keeping up with the news is not easy. There are so many sources, and so much news, that it can be difficult to know what's important at any given time. This is where current affairs come in. It’s the shortened name for ‘current affairs’ - the things that are happening in the world around us right now. In this blog post, we'll give you a brief overview of what current affairs is, why it matters, and how you can start learning about it regularly. Keep reading to find out more!

What are Current Affairs?

The word ‘current’ in current affairs refers to the flow of events that are taking place in the world right now. The words “affairs” and “news” are both used as shorthand for “what’s happening in the world”. Current affairs is a field of journalism that focuses on the political and economic events that are taking place in the world right now. It’s also sometimes called “pop-current-affairs” because it’s written in a way that’s easy for non-specialists to understand.

Why are current affairs important?

New events are constantly shaping the world around us. They can affect us on a personal level – maybe you don’t have a job, or maybe you’re worried about a loved one abroad. They can also affect us on a wider scale – maybe there’s an economic crisis, or maybe there’s a disease outbreak. Because things are always happening, we need to keep up with current events as they happen – and we also need to keep an eye on long-term trends that are developing over time. This is why it’s so important to be up-to-date with current affairs

The latest in India’s current affairs

There are a few trends in India’s latest news that have been prevalent across the past year or two, and that seem likely to continue in the future. These include - Demographic shifts: India is experiencing a “demographic dividend” as its population ages. This has implications for the economy, as well as pensions and healthcare. - Infrastructure investment: To support its economic growth, India is putting a lot of money into new infrastructures, such as roads and railways. - The rise of farmers’ protests: As well as infrastructure, India is also experiencing a rise in the number of protests by farmers. - The environment: India is also experiencing a rise in awareness about the need to protect the environment.

Daily newspapers and their newsletters

Newspapers often have sections dedicated to current affairs, where they will provide a short summary of the latest news. The biggest newspapers in the country, including The Hindu and the Hindustan Times, also publish regular newsletters that are focused on current affairs and offer a more in-depth look at what’s happening in the country. If you’re not in India, you might not have access to these publications. But you can still stay up to date with what’s happening in the world by using online news publications.

Other resources for keeping up with current events

- Online news publications: Some newspapers, such as The Hindu and the Hindustan Times, offer regular newsletters that are focused on current affairs and can be a great way to get a more in-depth look at what’s happening in the country. - Podcasts: You can also find podcasts that focus on current affairs. Some of the most popular podcasts in India include The Inside (from The Hindu)

The Indian Express, and the News Hour. - Websites and social media: There are plenty of websites that cover the latest news, including news websites and blogs. You can also keep up with what’s happening in the world by following social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Why Current Affairs Play an Important Role for UPSC Aspirants

We can say that UPSC demands candidates who have awareness of their cities, countries, and the world, what’s going on in their cities, countries, and world, so that’s why current affairs are important for UPSC aspirants. And there are many coaching provide best UPSC books for their preparation.

Conclusion

Keeping up with current affairs is crucial if you want to understand what’s happening in the world around you. It’s also a great way to stay informed about what’s going on in your country and the wider world. If you want to make sure you’re up-to-date with what’s happening in the world, it’s important to find a way to make it a part of your daily routine. And remember, the more you practice, the easier it will get!