General Knowledge and Current Affairs
The General Knowledge and Current Affairs domain tests static GK - polity, geography, history, economy, awards, sports - alongside events from roughly the twelve months before the notification, with a clear tilt towards Jharkhand and central government schemes.
What to lock down
- Polity: Preamble, Fundamental Rights (Articles 12–35), the three lists of the Seventh Schedule, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha composition, landmark amendments.
- Geography: states and capitals, major rivers and tributaries, national parks, standard meridian.
- Economy and schemes: RBI functions, budget vocabulary, flagship central schemes and the ministry running each.
- Current affairs: appointments, Bharat Ratna and Padma awards, sports champions, summits, newly launched schemes.
Worked example
How many elected members sit in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly? The Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 fixed the House at 81 elected seats; a nominated Anglo-Indian seat existed until that provision lapsed in 2020. If the options are 14, 6, 81 and 243, eliminate 243 (Bihar's assembly), 14 (Jharkhand's Lok Sabha seats) and 6 (its Rajya Sabha seats). Answer: 81. Recognising where each distractor comes from is faster than pure recall.
Traps that cost marks
- Swapping the Santhal Hul (1855–56) with Birsa Munda's Ulgulan (1899–1900).
- Mixing the launch year of a scheme with the year it was expanded.
- "First in India" questions - confirm the category (first woman, first tribal, first from a state) before choosing.
- Using stale current affairs; the cut-off is the exam notification date, not today.