Current Affairs and General Knowledge
Current Affairs and General Knowledge rewards a structured reading habit, not last-minute cramming. The paper mixes national schemes, appointments, awards, sports, defence exercises and international organisations with power-sector developments. Because news dates, build a monthly one-page file under fixed headings: schemes, appointments, awards, summits, sports and energy.
How to make facts stick
- Link the name to its purpose: 'Surya Ghar' = rooftop solar for households; 'KUSUM' = solar pumps for farmers; 'UJALA' = LED bulbs.
- For organisations, learn the headquarters and one headline fact: the International Solar Alliance headquarters is in Gurugram, Haryana, India.
- For power-sector current affairs, track capacity additions, hydro projects, discom reforms and renewable targets, not just headline numbers.
- For appointments, remember the institution first, then the person; questions often test the office rather than the individual.
- Revise from one compact monthly digest and one yearbook; multiple sources create conflicting versions.
Worked example
A scheme named 'PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana' most likely deals with (a) cooking gas (b) rooftop solar (c) crop insurance (d) rural roads. 'Surya' signals solar and 'Ghar' signals households; the scheme, launched in 2024, promotes rooftop solar with a target of one crore households. Answer: (b).
Traps
Choosing a familiar but different scheme with a similar name; mixing capitals of UN bodies; remembering a person but not the post; and trusting an abbreviation without checking its full form.