How to Prepare for Current Affairs Section of GK?

Current Affairs and Static GK broadly form the two major divisions within the study of GK for entrance examinations. A look through the trends over the years suggests that while the Static content used to be paramount in earlier times, the last few years have seen a change in pattern. More and more entrance exams are embracing current affairs thus this is a part that cannot be ignored at all. The timeline for current affairs typically remains the 12 months prior to the date of the exam. The curriculum also depends on whether the paper concerned is of an online nature or pen-and-paper. In case of the former, the risks are higher for the candidate, as latest data can be updated anytime and questions can even crop up from incidents chronologically very close to the date. For the latter kind of papers though, candidate may safely assume that papers need to get printed about 2 months before the due date of exam, so current affairs would only include till that period.

While current events may seem infinite, there are certainly tactics recommended to deal with this topic. The specified tactics are as follows:
• In case one is preparing with a year in hand, newspaper reading is a very good habit. A lot of students make the mistake of jumping straight to a newspaper like The Hindu which is possibly the best source, but uses somewhat complicated language for someone not attuned to long reading. So a traditional non-reader must start off with any common usage paper such as The Times of India or The Hindustan Times for up to 2 months before moving on to either The Hindu or The Indian Express. The sub-segments within newspapers to be read are as follows:
o First page first 2 articles in detail.
o Editorial in detail.
o Sports, business and international pages focus on highlights.
o No need to read local city based news unless for personal interest.
• Magazines may prove to be another great source of information with the best ones being Business World (highly recommended for management aspirants) and The Week.
• Television News needs to be viewed with a focus on facts rather than opinions so DD News is the best source.
• One needs to be extremely careful of the internet these days as fake news is an industry by itself. There are also several forums that promote self-interest content which entrance exam aspirants must clearly avoid as they need crisp facts. Thus reliable websites such as http://www.gktoday.in/ can prove to be a great resource. They even have monthly archives so students may prepare month-wise.
• Some of the best coaching institutes in the country also have their monthly GK supplements which are of great value. Many have even expanded to create online Apps. The concept of Webinars is fast catching up with such institutes delivering online sessions to students on monthly GK basis.