General Knowledge and Current Affairs for Punjab Patwari
This domain mixes fixed facts about Punjab's administration and symbols with a rolling twelve-month news window. The paper is Punjab-first; national and international items form the smaller share.
Static anchors worth memorising
- Punjab Vidhan Sabha: 117 seats, of which 34 are reserved for Scheduled Castes; the state sends 13 members to the Lok Sabha and 7 to the Rajya Sabha.
- 23 districts grouped into 5 divisions - Jalandhar, Patiala, Firozpur, Faridkot and Rupnagar.
- State symbols: blackbuck (animal), northern goshawk or baaz (bird), shisham (tree).
- Institutions: Punjab Public Service Commission at Patiala; Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board; Vidhan Sabha at Chandigarh.
How current affairs is framed
Revise the state budget's headline allocations, newly notified districts or tehsils, awards won by Punjabi achievers, sports results (hockey, kabaddi, athletics), and state schemes. For every scheme keep one line: who launched it, the year, and the beneficiary group.
Worked example
Question: 'Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana is associated with which of the following?' The options name a central ministry, a state government, a private insurer and an NGO. Reason it out: the scheme gives cashless cover to Punjab families and is run by the state health department, so 'state government' is the answer. Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) is the centrally run counterpart and is not the same scheme.
Traps that cost marks
State schemes are frequently renamed versions of central ones, so read the exact name rather than the gist. Watch for 'not' and 'except' questions, where the correct option is the odd one out. Do not confuse the Assembly seat count with the Lok Sabha count - both are small numbers and both appear in options.