General Awareness and Current Affairs
What this domain tests
The General Awareness and Current Affairs section checks whether you can place a fact correctly - who holds which office, which body is constitutional, which scheme belongs to which ministry - without confusing near-twins. Static polity, geography, economy, science-in-news and awards dominate; current affairs items usually look back over the previous 8–12 months, and a few carry a Bihar angle.
Core rules
- Classify before you recall: constitutional body (UPSC, Election Commission, CAG, Finance Commission) vs statutory body (NHRC, NGT) vs body created by executive resolution (NITI Aayog).
- Fix the office-holder chain: President, Governors and Chief Ministers, Chief Justice of India, Speaker, Chief Election Commissioner.
- Anchor organisations to headquarters: WHO–Geneva, IMF and World Bank–Washington DC, UNESCO–Paris, SAARC–Kathmandu, ASEAN–Jakarta.
- For schemes, memorise ministry + beneficiary group + launch year together, not the name alone.
Worked example
Question: Which one is not a constitutional body - UPSC, Finance Commission, NITI Aayog, Election Commission? Reasoning: Articles 315, 280 and 324 create the UPSC, Finance Commission and Election Commission respectively. NITI Aayog was set up in 2015 by a Cabinet resolution replacing the Planning Commission, so no constitutional article establishes it. Answer: NITI Aayog.
Traps that cost marks
- "First Indian" vs "first in India" (first Indian Governor-General vs first Governor-General of independent India).
- Award-category confusion: Nobel vs Oscar vs Bharat Ratna, and the field in which each is given.
- Mixing the date of a national day with the year of the event it marks.
- Quoting current affairs older than the exam cycle, or naming an office-holder who has since changed.