Importance of Current Affairs to Clear Government Exams

“Current Affairs” is the most dynamic and boundless component of the government exams today. Due to its varied nature, students are always confused regarding the approach to be followed while preparing for it. Nevertheless, its importance is paramount in almost all government exams. You just cannot afford to ignore current affairs while preparing for competitive exams. Be it any government exam or any stage of the exam, current affairs will have a say in it.

Before understanding the importance of Current Affairs in the actual exam, let us see what type of questions are asked in current affairs. 

Types of Current Affairs Questions

Different government exams have a different set of expectations from the candidates. The Banking Exams like IBPS PO, RRB PO are inclined toward asking more number of factual questions. The following types of questions are asked.

National News

Any current news of national importance, relevant to the exam is asked in the exam. For e.g. questions could be asked on recently concluded Gujarat & Himachal Pradesh elections- their current governors or the total number of seats contested, etc.

Government Schemes

It is considered as the most important topic in the current affairs, as almost all sorts of government exams ask questions on the schemes. The banking exams tend to have relatively difficult questions as compared to UPSC or State PSC exams. This is because of the factual & detailed nature of questions asked in Banking Exams.

For e.g. Banking exams emphasise more on the allocation of the money or detailed provisions in the scheme, whereas UPSC would not necessarily go into that much detail.

Financial Awareness

As mentioned explicitly in SEBI Grade A, the financial awareness section is significant in the preparation of banking and other regulatory bodies’ exams. The content here coincides with the static part of the syllabus as well. So, it becomes important to be well versed with the static concepts.

For e.g. questions on RBI Monetary Policy or questions on the Budget, Economic Survey are asked in this part.

Reports & Indices

Various reports & indices such as World Innovation Index, World Happiness Report are published throughout the year. The banking exams ask questions related to India’s ranking or the publishing agency or Indicators used to determine the scores etc.

Miscellaneous

There are other components such as Important Days in the month & themes associated with it. Also, questions are aslo asked on the important Appointments of various departments or government agencies such as CBI, NITI Aayog, NABARD Chairperson, etc.

Having understood the different types of questions, let us now see why it is important to study current affairs while preparing for the government exams.

Importance of Current Affairs

Almost all the government exams are conducted in 3 phases today. i.e. Phase 1 (Prelims), Phase 2 (Mains) and the Interview. It is not enough to clear phase 1 or phase 2, but clearing the whole exam is the ultimate goal of any candidate. We’ll see how current affairs will help you in all the 3 phases of any government exam.

Current Affairs in Phase 1

Banking & other Regulatory Bodies’ exams such as RBI, NABARD have a good chunk of current affairs questions in phase 1. Different questions are asked on the types mentioned above. Financial & Banking awareness questions are emphasized more in the higher level exams like RBI, SEBI to check the understanding of economic issues.  

Similarly, UPSC & other State PSCs are never short of current affairs questions. In fact questions here could have relation to the static parts in the syllabus as well. For e.g. UPSC would ask questions on the concept of cyclone as well as the name of current cyclone in news and where did it emerge.

Current Affairs in Phase 2

In phase 2, questions are more difficult in nature. Exams such as RBI Grade B, NABARD Grade A ask questions based on Banking & Financial Awareness. Here, the questions on other miscellaneous topics are lesser or nil and more emphasis is given on the domain of the exam concerned. For e.g. NABARD would have more current-based questions related to rural development or agriculture.

Recognizing the importance of current affairs, even SSC CGL has changed its phase 2 pattern. It has introduced the General Awareness section in phase 2. Here again, questions based on current affairs will be asked with the general static questions.

For the exams like UPSC or State PSCs, current affairs is the game changer in the Mains. The questions here are largely analytical in nature. For you to analyse anything, a basic knowledge of current events is imperative, without which you cannot fetch good marks.

Current Affairs in the Interview

Even after clearing the phase 1 & phase 2, there is no guarantee that you’d clear the exam. The marks in the interview could be decisive in the final selection.     

The interview is a test of our personality with the expectation of having basic knowledge about the organisation we intend to work in. It is but obvious that the questions will be based on current events. For e.g. in an RBI interview, the panel may ask questions related to current RBI circular or Monthly Bulletin. Similarly, the NABARD interview panel would ask about current schemes which NABARD is working for. An IBPS PO interview would have questions related to the current NPA crisis in the banks.

In UPSC interviews, the questions could be based on hobbies. For e.g. IF someone has written “Reading” as a hobby, he or she would be asked about any current author or book which is in controversy or which has been praised.

The questions in the interview could have no limits. It is also important to note that you cannot start preparing for the “Current Affairs or Events” after clearing phase 1 or phase 2. It is a continuous learning process which must be started right at the beginning of the preparation.

Current Affairs in the Descriptive Section

There has been a trend of introduction of a Descriptive Section in the banking and regulatory bodies’ exams. You’re expected to write a 400 to 600 word answer in the phase 2 of these exams. To be able to write good answers, you must be aware of some of the schemes or reports that you can use in your answers. This will make your answers stand out from others. However, only a good hold on current affairs can help you in this regard.

Moreover, the Essay component in the descriptive English section is largely based on current events. For e.g. there were questions based on Mental Health, Pandemic related essays have been asked in different exams. You can also add various current events’ inputs in your letter writing, which may help you gain a few extra marks.

From the above points, it is clear that we cannot take current affairs for granted. Almost all the government exams today know the importance of current affairs and they expect the same from the candidates appearing for these exams.

So how should one go about current affairs preparation?

How to Prepare for Current Affairs?

There are different types of candidates appearing for the government exams. One section could be called Freshers and the other as Experienced.

Freshers

It is important that the freshers understand the demand of the exam that they want to appear in. For Banking exams such as IBPS or RRB, they can rely on the current affairs magazines or videos in the market. You can refer to Beepedia for a holistic coverage of current affairs that are necessary for all these exams. BeePedia is also not a lengthy document unlike others in the market. This will help you to revise it multiple times, which is the key to improve your retention capacity in the exam. 

For other higher level exams such as RBI, NABARD or even UPSC or State PSCs, it is important to read the Editorials at least if not the whole paper. For RBI, SEBI more editorials on economic issues must be read on a daily basis to get a grasp over current happenings.

This will also help you build your vocabulary and improve your English writing skills as well.

Experienced

These candidates have already given 1 or 2 attempts of the exams. Now, they could be lacking in the revision or the sources they are referring to. Try to identify better monthly magazines which could be helpful for all the exams that you are preparing for. BeePedia is a concise magazine which covers all the important issues required for the exam. Its size will also help you to revise it multiple times before going to the exam.

Experienced candidates are also advised to read editorials on different issues to build an understanding of various topics. This will also help them improve their analytical mindset while answering the descriptive questions in the exam.

Importance of Current Affairs in a Nutshell

1.     Important in Phase 1 objective & factual questions

2.     Important in Phase 2- Both descriptive and objective questions. Also helps in Analytical or integrated questions asking both from static & dynamic components.

3.     Important in the Interview- To tackle various current events-based questions.

4.     It can be used as value addition in descriptive English or Essays.

5.     Improves our overall awareness & critical mindset.

Conclusion

Students find studying for current affairs very tiresome. Its vast nature & unpredictable questions make it hard for students to get a good hold over it. However, students must understand that the current affairs in the exam is to test their general awareness about the various issues in the country and abroad. The exams expect a candidate who is up to date in terms of current events. Thus, students must decide their resources for studying current affairs, according to the exams that they want to appear for. This will make things simpler overall.

All the Best.