General Awareness and Current Affairs
Where the marks come from
Indian polity and constitutional bodies, economy and budget terminology, science and technology with a defence tilt, space and nuclear programmes, awards and honours, sports, books and authors, organisations and their headquarters, and the last twelve months of national and international news. For BEL specifically, know the company: a Government of India defence electronics enterprise under the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, headquartered in Bengaluru, producing radars, electronic warfare suites, communication and C4I systems, naval and avionics electronics, besides civilian lines such as EVMs and solar products.
Anchors worth memorising
- Missile classification by role: Akash (surface-to-air), BrahMos (supersonic cruise), Prithvi (short-range ballistic), Nag (anti-tank), Astra (air-to-air), Pinaka (multi-barrel rocket launcher), Varunastra (torpedo).
- DRDO develops; DPSUs such as BEL, HAL and BDL produce. ISRO sits under the Department of Space.
- Constitutional bodies include the Election Commission, CAG, UPSC and Finance Commission; NITI Aayog and the NHRC are not constitutional.
Worked example
Which is a surface-to-air missile: BrahMos, Akash, Varunastra, Pinaka? Classify each by target and role - BrahMos is a cruise missile for land and ship targets, Varunastra is an underwater torpedo, Pinaka is an artillery rocket system. Akash intercepts aircraft and incoming missiles in the air, so it is the surface-to-air missile.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing ballistic with cruise: BrahMos is ramjet-powered and cruise; Prithvi is ballistic.
- Mixing headquarters (BEL: Bengaluru; DRDO: New Delhi; ISRO: Bengaluru).
- Treating current-affairs answers as permanent - verify officeholders, award winners and mission names against the exam year rather than a stale list.
- Assuming every organisation named in the news is a PSU; regulators and autonomous bodies differ.