Important Current Affairs Topics for UPSC

The syllabus of the civil services examination is vast and broadly covers subjects like history, polity, economics, geography, science and technology, environment and events of national and international importance. While the static syllabus is very important to cover to take the UPSC Exam, it is equally important to prepare for the dynamic portions as well. This article will help you learn a set of important topics that find their way in the news often and remain important from the IAS Exam’s point of view.

While a candidate should cover the syllabus verbatim, he/she should also know the importance of the current events that take place. Current Affairs make one of the most important sections of the UPSC Exam, hence a few very important current events-related topics will be mentioned here.

Quick Mention of the UPSC Syllabus

The Union Public Service Commission is the authorized body to design the syllabus for the civil services examination. The syllabus of both prelims and mains cover the following subjects and their broad sub-headings:

1. History – Questions from ancient, medieval, modern history are asked in the prelims examination; while in Mains, art and culture, modern history and world history are asked.
2. Polity – The broad topics covered under this subject are constitution, governance, international relations and welfare schemes.
3. Economy – Indian economic development and major economic terms and events are focussed for this subject.
4. Geography- Human, physical and world geography are the board topics under Geography for both prelims and mains.
5. Environment – Biodiversity, climate change, ecology are some of the important topics covered under the environment.
6. Science & Technology – Technological developments in different fields of sciences w.r.t different spheres of lives are covered under this subject.
7. Current Events – These are all the current happenings in and around the country that hold significance for the IAS Exam.

List of Important Current Affairs Topics

Newspapers are the best sources to get all the important information related to the current happenings. Usually, The Hindu newspaper is considered the best source of information for the IAS Exam preparation. A candidate should have an eye on all those topics that are relevant in the syllabus and arise in the newspapers often. Some important board topics that an aspirant should know about are mentioned below:

1. History – Against the very distinct belief that history syllabus is all static, it is important to note down some developments that envelope this subject. The few hot topics related to history, seen in the news are:
   1. Tipu Sultan – A new piece related to a state government removing Tipu’s history from the state textbooks lead to an important event.
   2. Paika Rebellion – It is often in the news related to India’s first war of struggle debate.
   3. Jallianwala Bagh massacre – Archbishop of Canterbury apologized personally for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
2. Polity – Current happenings in relation to the Indian Polity builds the most important section in both prelims and Mains GS-II. Some important topics that aspirants should know about:
   1. Codes on Wages
   2. Agricultural and Labour Bills
   3. Official Languages in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution
   4. Official Secrets Act
   5. Question Hour and Zero Hour
3. Economy – Again, this subject is also fuelled by the current events related to Indian economy and banking. A few important topics related to economy are:
   1. GST
   2. SEBI
   3. ESG Funds
   4. Long Format Audit Report
   5. Monetary Policy
   6. Money Market Instruments
4. Geography – Majorly the map-related questions concerning geography current affairs are asked. For example:
   1. Important places in the news
   2. Volcanoes
   3. Jet strings
   4. Oceanography, etc.
5. Environment – Some important issues related to environment that are seen cropping up in the news are:
   1. Environment Conventions
   2. Government acts, policies, bodies and initiatives related to environment conservation like, Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), National Green Tribunal (NGT), National Biofuel Policy, Tiger Reserves, National Parks etc.
   3. International Environmental Organisations and their reports

The right sources to cover current events are the newspapers and government websites like PIB official website. With preparation, aspirants should make a habit of taking current affairs quiz daily, weekly and monthly. These help aspirants build mastery over current events of national and international importance.

After prelims 2020 that took place on 4th October, aspirants should gear up for Mains examination. UPSC Mains GS II and GS III are more or less influenced by the current affairs. Following the right resources and tips will surely give you fair chance to crack the exam.