General Knowledge and Current Affairs
General Knowledge and Current Affairs tests how broadly you can place India and the world: polity and Constitution, geography, modern history, economy, science, awards, sports, and recent national and defence developments. The paper rewards precise recall and the ability to eliminate close options, not long essays.
What to prioritise
- Polity: Articles 12–35 (fundamental rights), 52–78 (Union executive), 124–147 (Supreme Court), 148–151 (CAG); schedules and amendments.
- Geography: Indian rivers, passes, monsoon, soils, national parks; map location of defence stations.
- Current affairs: last 12–18 months of appointments, summits, exercises, awards, and defence acquisitions.
- Economy/science: RBI functions, budget terms, basic physics/chemistry/biology applied to everyday life.
Worked example
Who is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha? Reasoning: the Rajya Sabha elects a Deputy Chairman from its members, but the presiding officer is the Vice President of India, who is not a member. So the answer is the Vice President. If an option says ‘Deputy Chairman’, it is a distractor.
Traps
- Mixing Attorney General (Union) with Advocate General (state).
- Treating a static fact as current: the Article 370 change is constitutional history, but its date and follow-up are current affairs.
- Ignoring ‘not’ and ‘except’ in the question stem.
- Guessing on awards: Bharat Ratna is civilian; Param Vir Chakra is wartime gallantry.