Supreet Singh Gulati (AIR 2) Important Current Affairs topics the most important part- Current Affairs - India

and World; International Affairs; current topics in Economy and Polity; National, Social and Environment issues; Science and Technology. I was regular with The Hindu - took clippings daily, underlined important points in them right away (so that I didn't have to read the article all over again later) and arranged them topic wise once every fortnight or so. I also read Chronicle and important topics from Frontline (20 pages in each issue out of 130 pages). By August mid I had a list of important issues from all topics. This includes:

Relations with about 10-12 countries (Russia, US, Pakistan, Nepal, Brazil, South Africa, China, Japan, ASEAN, SAARC, G8, Italy, Germany; any country important for that year). I arranged the clippings topic wise and wrote answers for relations with each country. For example: In IndiaRussia relations I divided answer into 6 sections (Energy, Defence, International affairs, Economy/Trade, Cultural, Miscellaneous). There would be about 5-10 points of recent developments under each heading. Nearly 10-15 topics each from International Affairs, National issues, Polity issues and current Economy, Science and Technology.

I prepared and practiced answers for these important topics. Atleast 3-4 revisions are must to get the best out of this effort. Many of the 2 markers were covered from these news clippings. Also, I practiced to write maximum information in minimum words. This is a must to do well in 2 markers. Tackling the exam: For me time is a big issue in exam. I write quite slowly. So I would answer all the questions I knew first and leave all the flukes for the last (around 30-40 marks detailed questions). This way I could give my best in the questions I was thorough with. Moreover, before writing the answer Id think on it for a few minutes and prepare a basic framework. This is a must. I wrote

to the point answers. Moreover, if I could write only good 150 words for a 250 words answer, Id leave it at that rather than trying to stretch my answer to required word limit. I left 2 markers which I didn't know rather than attempting flukes in them.

Prepare answers (facts + analysis + organise answer) in your own words for them and treat them as a part of syllabus. India and World ============ Indo - US relations (due to nuclear deal) Indo - Pak relations (due to recent political developments in Pakistan and firing across LoC) Indo - China (Tibet issue and boundary talks) Indo - France (Visit by Sarkozy) Steps by India to get civilian nuclear cooperation Energy Security (due to Nuclear deal) SAARC International Affairs =============== Developments in Nepal Developments in Pakistan Developments in West Asia Peace Process Developments on Iran nuclear issue (do mention turnabout in US policy) G8 summit Lisbon Treaty

Economy ======= Inflation WTO and Agriculture Global recession and oil price rise FAO summit on food crisis WIPO and its Development agenda

Science and Technology ================= DNA, its structure and functions (A pioneer in the field - Gunther Stent - died recently) Genetic Engineering Chandrayaan/India's space programme (it was postponed from February this year to sometime next year) India's three stage nuclear programme Polity ==== Trust Vote Role of Speaker Parliamentary control over executive 2 markers on Rule 184 and Rule 192 Trial by Media (Arushi murder case). See some points from P M Bakshi for this topic.

National, Social and Environmental issues ============================= Climate change and India's Climate Change Action Plan Project Tiger Internal Security

Try to add relevant points from Current Affairs even in traditional questions. For example: (1) On Parliamentary control over executive make a reference to current govt. taking trust vote on a deal with foreign country even though no law has been passed for it yet. (2) In Project Tiger give the recent developments on it (National Tiger Conservation Authority has been formed recently for Project Tiger areas. Give its functions too) (3) In Internal Security give reference to recent blasts and steps taken by govt.

Making notes(Shubhra Saxena) (Air1)

This is a very important process. You have millions of books and they seem intimidating at times. It's always a good idea to make notes.

First, do not ever make notes in your first reading. I would go for notes maybe in 2nd or better in 3rd read.

There are many kind of notes that you can make.

1) If you select certain most important topics in your optionals, eg distt administration, RTI in pub ad, then select the best books for that topic and write all of that on A4 sized sheets. select such 50 60 topics from your optionals by looking at the pattern of paper and make the best notes possible. Initially it seems like a lot of hard work. But it really helps. I made such notes for about 80-90 topics in Pub ad. Remember, you can not afford to leave the rest of the syllabus. because even in the best case scenaro you might get questions outside this list. So finish your syllabus thoroughly and these notes will work as add ons.

2) Chapter-wise notes- I did this in both psychology and Pub ad. take an A4 sheet and fold it in between so that it has 2 parts. write synoptical notes just the gist that is relevant to you. write it in condensed form so that it doesnt take much space. Also, use highlighters and red/pink/green pens to highlight imp stuff.

You must be wondering why I a stressing on A4 sheets. They are easy to handle and you can classify the notes whenever you want. You don't have to carry a big notebook at the time of exam.

3) Post-it notesSuppose you have GS notes from a coaching class. They are good. But they are huge. Also, you have already spent enough time on optionals notes. So there's a short cut for these notes. Buy Post-it notes, the yellow coloured stickies. When you have studied a topic, just write the +ves, -ves, anything on that post it and stick it onto that page. When you are revising the stuff, just look at the post-its. That will save your time and stick better in head.

Just before the exam, you can just glance at these notes for the last time. Remember you should have done this many times before. But the last revision is the most crucial. Psychology students would understand why. When you write your paper this year, you would understand the significance of this last look you gave your notes.

Also understand that the note making exercise is a tedious one and you might think you are wasting a lot of time. rather you could study from books. but for a single topic you will have to open 4 5 books at a time. That's even more tedious. Plus it will be difficult to retrieve the stuff. Get it all in one place and you are all set.