Newspaper Reading - Reluctant Economist
Newspaper Reading - Reluctant Economist
Reluctant Economist
UPSC CSE preparation guide
Newspaper reading
Firstly, as a lot of people say, you should memorise the syllabus. I don’t suggest
that you sit down and learn it by rote. If you’re just starting your preparation,
I’m sure you already Google a lot of the keywords from the syllabus. Over time,
with a little bit of e韞�ort, you will automatically start remembering the sub-
topics for each paper.
The 韺�rst question while reading any newspaper article, then, is: can the article
I’m reading be mapped to any sub-topic in the syllabus? If yes, continue
reading. If not, stop and move on to something more useful. This rule of thumb
will help you bypass extraneous content. For example, straightaway skip the
following stories:
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2/9/2017 Newspaper reading – Reluctant Economist
My approach:
I read two newspapers: The Hindu, and Business Standard. I read Business
Standard because I thought it would be useful for Economics Paper 2. If
your optional subject is di韞�erent, I think The Hindu is su韉�cient
I didn’t read any magazines (I used EPW for Economics Paper 2, but I didn’t
read it every week. I just used the online search function to get articles on a
few topics)
I preferred making online notes, so I read both of these papers online/ on the
phone
Every morning, while still in bed/ at the time of breakfast, I would try and
韺�nish reading the editorials from both newspapers on the phone apps. I read
only the editorials I thought were useful for UPSC, and it usually took me
about 30-45 minutes to get through these. Anything I thought I needed to
include in my e-notes, I would copy-paste on the ‘Keep’ app on my android
phone (and later transfer to my laptop)
I’d get into work slightly early, and 韺�nish reading the rest of the newspapers
(apart from editorials). Again, I’d copy-paste exam relevant stu韞� onto a
single word 韺�le
Here’s the most important part: I realised that to be able to revise e韞�ectively,
I needed a good 韺�ling system. I’d tried reading the word 韺�le where I was
maintaining e-notes, and I noticed that it was hard to revise
e韞�ectively because my notes jumped from topic to topic. For example,
I might be reading something about foreign a韞�airs, and then the next item in
my notes would be on a new bill in the Parliament
To avoid this, I decided to make separate 韺�les for a few sub-topics. I made a
dedicated 韺�le for GS 1 (very little current a韞�airs are relevant for GS 1 anyway),
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and divided the GS 2 and GS 3 syllabus into three broad buckets, each of which
got its own separate 韺�le. These broad buckets (notes included in links) were:
GS 2:
GS 3:
1. Economy
2. Environment and Disaster Management
3. Security, and Science and Technology
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However, this means that the current a韞�airs on the website are very detailed.
This is great for developing an understanding, but it doesn’t lend itself to easy
revision. So, I culled most topics given on insights that I’d missed from
newspapers to about 20-30% of their original length, and only then included
them in my notes.
This website is also helpful for when and if you miss out on reading
newspapers for any reason. Please don’t go back and try to read a pile of
newspapers that you didn’t/ couldn’t read last week. Just read insights for the
days that you missed the newspaper, and start catching up on newspaper from
that day onwards.
While preparing these online notes, I always had one eye on revision- this
helped me avoid the temptation of including everything that looked
important. Due to this vigilance, at the end of the year I had notes that did
not go above 25-30 pages for any of the broad buckets indicated above (I
think economy current a韞�air notes were longer, but that’s because I had to
prepare this topic in great detail for my optional subject)
Consequently, I could revise the entire year’s worth of current a韞�airs, topic-
wise, several times before the exam
Hence, whatever you do, I would strongly recommend having a good 韺�ling
system, and ensuring that you have a plan for how to revise your notes close to
the exam.
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2 bloggers like this.
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2/9/2017 Newspaper reading – Reluctant Economist
Kushal
January 20, 2017 at 5:48 pm
Hi Abhimanyu,
Any other suggestion for a late starter. (This is my 韺�rst and last attempt – age
wise!:)) God!)
Like
abhimanyugahlaut
January 21, 2017 at 2:50 pm
Better to just follow insights on India if you don’t have time. It’s not ideal, but
if you don’t have time, do just that.
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Astha Singh
January 11, 2017 at 6:29 pm
Hey! I have been following your blogs for sometime now and it is quite
inspiring. I am Aiming for 2017, and doing masters in computer science
simultaneously, hence Time constraint is there. I just wish to know if current
a韞�airs from Dec to Jun’17 are enough to get through the Pre or should I be
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abhimanyugahlaut
January 18, 2017 at 5:12 pm
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Garima
December 25, 2016 at 7:34 pm
Hello Sir,
I must say your blog is really helpful..
I’m aiming CSE 2017, I’m a commerce graduate and this is my 韺�rst attempt.
Due to various reason I started making notes of THE HINDU pretty late. My
question is how I must cover Current A韞�airs’ (old) topics now that I’ve missed
like 3-4 months. Though I’m considering reading old newspapers all over
again(at least from September). I feel like there is no substitution for it and I
should read them again. Please DO REPLY…what you would’ve done if you’re
stuck in such a situation?
Thank you.
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abhimanyugahlaut
December 26, 2016 at 9:20 am
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2/9/2017 Newspaper reading – Reluctant Economist
I would just read the insights compilation. It doesn’t make sense to go back
and read all the old papers now.
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Garima
December 26, 2016 at 9:28 am
Sure Sir,
I’d do the same..
After sifting through insights.. I feel like it’s detailed enough..
Honestly thank you very much Sir.
Like
Srijana Chhetri
December 18, 2016 at 2:46 pm
Hello sir,
This is Srijana. Would like to congratulate you on you success.. I am a civil
servant aspirant and being from a remote area I am having a lot of trouble with
regards to newspaper reading. As my father is posted in a remote area of West
Bengal I don’t have access to The Hindu.
Though I get a regional newspaper but that I feel is not helpful. Now I have
started referring to online monthly news compilations from insight and also the
monthly news compilations magazine from RAUs institute which my friend
sends me through post. These do have all the news and editorials and I have
been using these only.
I would like to know if this method of preparation is a good way forward as the
recent trend of upsc has been leading towards current a韞�airs which needs
thorough preparation.
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abhimanyugahlaut
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2/9/2017 Newspaper reading – Reluctant Economist
I think the hindu is a must. You can always use the e-paper.
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abhishek garg
December 13, 2016 at 9:17 am
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abhimanyugahlaut
December 13, 2016 at 1:23 pm
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abhishek garg
December 14, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Sir, you mentioned copy pasting relevant notes from the paper. Which
format did you read it in – pdf, text or image?
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abhimanyugahlaut
December 14, 2016 at 4:10 pm
Text, usually
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Shyam Saha
December 4, 2016 at 3:03 pm
Hello Sir,
Shyam myself(a civil service aspirant)
congratulation for your success.
I really thankful to you for providing your notes which you made with a great &
persistent e韞�ort.
Sir I have few issues regading my prep. Viz-
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abhimanyugahlaut
December 13, 2016 at 1:30 pm
Hi shyam, from reading what you’ve written, I can see that you need some
work on improving your writing skills, but it doesn’t look like you’re an
absolute beginner. Don’t worry too much about having a great vocabulary; you
don’t need 韺�owery prose In UPSC. Just aim at getting up to par with normal,
everyday English and that should be okay.
Sorry, I didn’t have geohrapjy optional, so can’t help here. I’ve also outlined
my sources for polity.
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Debasmita Padhi
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2/9/2017 Newspaper reading – Reluctant Economist
Hi, I am preparing for UPSC 2017 and have chosen Economics as an optional. Do
you recommend Business Standard for taking notes on Economics or will The
Hindu su韉�ce?
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abhimanyugahlaut
December 13, 2016 at 1:31 pm
Business standard is certainly helpful, but I don’t think it’s a absolute must.
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ashish
August 30, 2016 at 7:07 pm
Dear Sir,
Can you please share one set of Current a韞�airs notes made by you .
Please advise !
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abhimanyugahlaut
August 31, 2016 at 5:20 pm
Hi, the notes are already included in the links on the page above.
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Anonymous
August 3, 2016 at 9:33 am
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2/9/2017 Newspaper reading – Reluctant Economist
Hello Sir,
I am a UPSC aspirant.Have been following your blog.
Sir,i have query about C.A
I read The Hindu and then make crisp notes from INSIGHTS on a notebook as
notebooks are more comfortable to me.
People suggest just following and may be highlighting the C.A in pdf’s.
Do you think it is nice approach to just highlight them in computer considering
on day of revision the compilation itself wud be scarry to look over.
Like
Sanjana rao
July 24, 2016 at 5:15 am
Hyi sir ,,,congrts …thank you so much for sharing the information. it is really
helping alot..
Sir can u please tell me if u made any segregation for editorials too?
Like every day there are editorials for di韞� topics from di韞� gs papers..
So does this section require any segregation or we just need to write under a
broad category that is gs 2 and gs 3…?
Thank you so mch:)
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abhimanyugahlaut
July 24, 2016 at 11:00 am
Sanjana, I treated editorials like I would the rest of the news, and made notes
as per the di韞�erent buckets I’ve mentioned above, within each GS paper.
Like
Sanjana rao
July 30, 2016 at 8:43 am
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abhimanyugahlaut
July 30, 2016 at 8:49 am
No. There is nothing in the syllabus that can be asked only in the prelims
phase. Both so called ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ portions can be asked at either
stage. No, I didn’t take coaching for anything.
Like
Sanjana rao
July 30, 2016 at 9:20 am
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Sanjana rao
July 30, 2016 at 8:45 am
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Shamayal Raza
July 20, 2016 at 8:14 am
2.) After putting all important stu韞� from newspaper into the master doc, when
you transferred the clippings to separate buckets under di韞�erent subjects, is it
then when you did the analysis and made structured notes?
3.) From mains point of view, we can focus on just issues but when it comes to
prelims, it seems to me that small facts in many articles are important. So, I
end up reading a lot of articles. Should I just focus on mains while reading The
Hindu or is there any other way out of this ?
Thanks in advance.
Like
abhimanyugahlaut
July 21, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Hi Shayamal,
1. No, 1 hour doesn’t include analysis. But as you go along, you’ll 韺�nd that
there are not that many news stories everyday for which you need deep
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3. That’s a judgement call you need to make for yourself. I tried remembering
everything I thought was important.
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Pankaj Gangwar
July 19, 2016 at 1:40 am
Hello Sir,
I’m a working man. I can hardly study 6 to 8 hours a day including 1 -2 hours in
the o韉�ce time. So I am unable to join any coaching institute. I have to prepare
for CSE by myself only.
Also I’ve done with all NCERTs ans some other standard books. Now how can
push myself? I’ve no idea about the study material. Should I purchase standard
books for respective sections or should I purchase any coaching institute
material?
Thank you sir
Like
abhimanyugahlaut
July 19, 2016 at 5:18 am
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Aman
July 15, 2016 at 4:59 pm
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2/9/2017 Newspaper reading – Reluctant Economist
Hello Sir First of all congrats , Sir i came to know you preparing for this exam
while your are working as ecnomist sir being a working professional how would
you manage.
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abhimanyugahlaut
July 16, 2016 at 8:06 am
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Shubathraa
July 15, 2016 at 12:42 pm
Sir , I started my preparation for june 2017 prelims….. From which month
current a韞�airs should be updated?
Like
abhimanyugahlaut
July 16, 2016 at 8:04 am
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Shubathraa
July 17, 2016 at 2:51 pm
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Prejitha
July 14, 2016 at 9:43 am
How did you prepare for the Analysis part of Current A韞�airs as newspapers
wont be having much of that portion?
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abhimanyugahlaut
July 14, 2016 at 12:41 pm
Not sure I understand what you mean, but usually supplementing newspaper
stories with insightsonindia was more than enough.
Like
Swati Dwivedi
July 13, 2016 at 5:44 am
Hello sir,
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2/9/2017 Newspaper reading – Reluctant Economist
I have started my preparation for upsc 2017 and have been truly inspired by
your note making ability.
Sir, I have started preparing notes on MS word while I 韺�rst read and mark in
the hard copy of The hindu as it feels more comfortable to read the hard copy.
My concern is that this process of reading understanding and typing is taking
hell lot of time around 4 hrs.
At this point of time i can manage but after starting my optional prep. Within a
week ,paucity of time will mismanage everything.
Also, since i type, i won’t be accustomed to writing with pen ( i have a notion
that note making improves writing speed as well)
Will it back me in any way in a long run?
Guide me How to tackle these factors?
Like
abhimanyugahlaut
July 13, 2016 at 11:13 am
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Swati Dwivedi
July 14, 2016 at 6:19 am
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Like
abhimanyugahlaut
July 14, 2016 at 6:58 am
Hi Swati, there’s no set time. It usually varied between 1 to 2 hours for me,
to get through two newspapers. I guess as you become familiar with the
topics in vogue, it will be easier and less time consuming for you to read
the papers.
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aarav
July 12, 2016 at 3:00 pm
Dude how much time you had in a day for studying while you were working
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abhimanyugahlaut
July 12, 2016 at 5:02 pm
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aarav
July 12, 2016 at 5:06 pm
ohhh cheers mate….. seriously helpful guidance you have provided on your
blog .. shukriya
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j.p.sharma
July 12, 2016 at 12:35 pm
Liked by 1 person
abhimanyugahlaut
July 12, 2016 at 1:04 pm
Hi J.P., unfortunately I’m not very aware of how people writing the exam in
languages other than english prepare. If not The Hindu, you de韺�nitely need a
good hindi newspaper. Also, I’m sure some coaching centres come out with
good current a韞�airs compilations- I’ve heard Drishti IAS is good (but I can’t
personally vouch for them).
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Rahul
July 11, 2016 at 11:17 pm
Hello Sir,
Thank you for the detailed description. It’s really bene韺�cial for starters like me.
I just have two questions regarding current a韞�airs on insightsonindia.com:
1) How to pick some of the articles? (because I found all the articles there to be
useful)
2) How to cut short the content of an article? (as the details seem important to
me)
Like
abhimanyugahlaut
July 12, 2016 at 4:16 am
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Kaushik Debnath
July 7, 2016 at 5:20 am
Sir, i want to know if one year newspaper reading su韉�cient for gs mains.
Like
abhimanyugahlaut
July 11, 2016 at 6:38 am
Hi Kaushik,
Yes, I think it’s enough. There might be questions that are from outside this
time horizon; for example, this year’s GS 2 exam had multiple questions that
related to events that happened 3-4 years ago. You cannot hedge against such
questions, so please concentrate on what you can actually cover before the
exam.
Like
bell
June 3, 2016 at 1:42 pm
sir, please tell me how is civilsdaily blog for depending current a韞�airs.
Like
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abhimanyugahlaut
June 10, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Hi, I never read the blog, so can’t really say how good it is. Best of luck!
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insanelybizarre
June 3, 2016 at 9:51 am
Hello sir! Congrats for your success. I was having some doubt regarding
preparation. And I want to know how you dealt with it. My problem is that I am
not consistent in my studies. I am not able to follow schedule. When I read for 5
to 6 days nearly 8 hours a day , then for next two days I,m not able to do 4hours
studies. And then after wasting two days I again do my studies according to
schedule and this cycle keeps repeating itself.
So i would like to ask is it normal or I am only one who is facing this problem?
And according to you what is solution?
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abhimanyugahlaut
June 10, 2016 at 12:06 pm
Liked by 1 person
insanelybizarre
July 3, 2016 at 11:03 am
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Like
Venkatarao
May 28, 2016 at 5:39 pm
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Ravi
May 28, 2016 at 10:29 am
Congrats!! What is striking is your notes making ability. Could you please
upload an example of making notes from any editorial so that we novice know
what to be included in notes as a general rule. Regards.
Like
abhimanyugahlaut
June 1, 2016 at 12:18 pm
Hi Ravi, all my newspaper notes are included in links on this page. There is no
set formula that I followed, so uploading an isolated example might be
somewhat misleading. Just try and remember details that you think are
important, and can revise quickly.
Like
Manish Choudhary
May 25, 2016 at 2:37 pm
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bell
May 24, 2016 at 8:57 pm
super sir
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espritd
May 24, 2016 at 9:36 am
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abhimanyugahlaut
May 24, 2016 at 10:34 am
As mentioned, I mostly just made chapter-wise questions for most books used
in GS preparation. You can see the 韺�les in the relevant sub-topics.
Aside from CSE, I’ve been an avid reader for a long time, and I enjoy reading
contemporary 韺�ction.
Like
Priya A
May 23, 2016 at 7:58 pm
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