How To Read The Newspaper

THE HINDU/OR ANY NEWSPAPER – WHAT TO READ/AVOID
Newspaper reading is important. But many times, we are confused what to read and what to avoid in newspaper. In this
article, I have tried addressing this issues which might help you.
SECTIONS OF THE DAILY NEWSPAPER (TO BE FOCUSSED)

a. The Front page of newspaper
b. National News section of newspaper
c. Economy News section of newspaper
d. International News section of newspaper
e. Editorials (important for critical, conceptual and analytical approach)
TIPS TO READ THE HINDU NEWSPAPER FOR UPSC
a. It is important that you know your syllabus of UPSC. This will enable you to pick the articles while leaving out irrelevant ones. Infact, this is
one of the biggest mistakes many do – they do not keep referring to syllabus.
a. Do not focus on political news. E.g. Political remarks
b. Elections and Political issues (which does not have any constitutional and administrative significance) are not important. You can avoid them
c. Do not look for masala news like film reviews, celebrity interview etc.
d. Focus on socio-economic news. E.g. women issues, health issues, educational issues, policies or issues related to vulnerable section etc.
e. Read issues of national and international importance. We need to focus into the administrative/legislative aspects and not political opinions.
f. Focus on high court/supreme court verdicts. Generally they are important.
g. News related to Committees, Commissions, Bills, Acts etc are important.
g. In the sports section, simply know the main awards which are national and international and not the local level. Even in them, their basic
details you might need to google e.g. see the question that was asked in UPSC 2022 PRELIMS PAPER – they have asked about conditions of
Arjuna Award, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award etc. But local level news is not important.
JOIN ME IN TELEGRAM – UPSC PRELIMS WITH NEELESH, MENTORSHIP BATCH DOCUMENT, TELEGRAM SOCIOLOGY CHANNEL – SOCIOLOGY WITH NEELESH
WEBSITE – www.neeleshair442.com YOUTUBE – CIVIL SERVICES WITH NEELESH, WHATSAPP – 9310161970
Remember – initially, newspaper might seem tough to you, but believe me, making it a habit to read newspaper will
enable you at all levels
a. In prelims (GS) + CSAT (in comprehensive) – CSAT is getting tough but one reason for it is that – we are becoming too much dependent on
the coaching material but we are not reading the comprehension in newspaper. If you will read newspaper regularly, atleast for comprehension
part, you will face less problems.
b. Mains – In essay, all GS paper including ethics, and even in your optional – if not a scientific subject – it helps you
c. For Personality test/Interview, Newspaper is your biggest weapon.
Must Read
a. We must focus on news or editorials related to government schemes or programs, geographical issues, RBI's policy initiatives etc. Here, we
are mentioning few topics which should be given special attention in order to prepare important topics with newspapers. Read news related
to electoral reforms, Judicial reform or Political reform, country's social and economic indicators like GDP, Inflation, Poverty, flood, draught,
monsoon conditions etc.
b. Issues or problem between states, analysis of govt. policies etc.
c. For the International section you have to read news & events which have significant importance for the country. International part is basically
important for civil services prelims exam point of view and many questions are directly coming from these issues and events.
d. Business section is important but for civil services exam point of view we should give attention to macro-economy which is more important
for our syllabus. So read topics like Inflation, employment growth, demographic dividends etc. Do not leave news related to governmental or
constitutional bodies.
e. Science and Technology is especially important as far as prelims exam is concerned. For the sports section focus only on big/important events
like Olympics etc.
These are the few tips which I consider important to keep in mind while reading newspaper. Remember, there is no substitute to reading
newspaper. Your newspaper is the repository of immense knowledge for prelims, mains as well as personality test. Make sure, you must not
ignore the newspaper. If you wish to make notes, start making it only after you have spent atleast 30 days with newspaper. This will enable you
to differentiate properly from what is required to be kept and what is required to leave. So, I recommend you to make notes after 30 days are
over. It won’t put you at disadvantage in any way.
Now, let us understand the Hindu Page wise – Note – this may vary per day. But, it is broadly the same. Even most of the things suggested
are in general common to THE INDIAN EXPRESS too.
Front Page a. Most important news of the previous day are usually given in the front page.
b. Front page also contains some state specific news, read the articles which are relevant.
c. You can ignore political statements, allegations made by political leaders etc.
Life Page a. The articles on this page are not related to any specific subject. They may be related to environment, Science and
Technology etc.
b. You should read all relevant articles especially on Environment, Science and technology etc.
Sports Page a. Just have a glance on the important sports events happening in India and around the world.
b. Reading articles are not recommended as questions in prelims are minimal from this section.
c. If any new technology has been implemented in any of the major sports, such news should be referred to and
technology should be studied in depth.
In it, only national and international awards and events have importance. But that has the limited importance as per
the trend and that too in Prelims section e.g. In 2022 UPSC paper, UPSC asked about national sports conditions and also
about the chess Olympiad since it happened in India.
This is a general thing – if any international event happens in India – it becomes important. So, do not give overimportance
to sports section.
Business Page The articles of this page help in preparing for Economy Section of the Prelims as well sub-topics related to Economics in
General Studies III paper of Mains.
When we see past year question papers, we get to know that the questions from Economics sub-topic of Mains generally
come from the newspaper articles.
But, do not go for in-depth details. Only the important ones you should see. Keep referring to your syllabus while reading
articles – they are true guide for what to look for.
World Page a. This page gives you information regarding the important events happening around the world.
b. You should read all articles which are relevant for your exam.
c. The selection of articles to be read should be based on the syllabus of General Studies II paper, especially the sub –
topics related to International Relations.
d. Other events happenings around the world should only be read if such an article affects the relationship of that
particular country with India or it affects the Indian diaspora living in that country or in any manner directly or indirectly
affects India.
News Page a. This is a general page with topics of the articles covering almost all spheres.
b. The important articles of this page will be mainly related to the syllabus of General Studies II and General Studies III of
the Mains.
c. News page also provides articles related to appointment of commission, Passing of certain Bills / Acts in the parliament,
some important judicial pronouncements etc. Such articles are important for the exam and should be read carefully.
d. You can skip the political statements / news given on this page as they are not relevant for the exam.
Editorial Page a. Generally Editorial page depicts the most important topic in news. The articles of these two pages are written by senior
and OPED Page journalists and editors, subject experts, economists, senior Lawyers etc.
b. In main examination, questions asked are mainly opinion based. To answer such questions the in-depth analysis
provided in the editorial section will be helpful.
c. These pages provide important points regarding a particular issue. It also provides the pros and cons, innovative
solutions and futuristic suggestions about a particular issue. These points will be helpful in writing quality answers in
Mains as it will make your answer multi-dimensional, vibrant and different from others who are only dependent on
the notes.
d. These pages will also contribute towards your preparation for Essay paper and Interview/Personality Test.
e. These pages are also important for Preliminary exam as it also consists of facts.
f. It also helps in increasing your reading speed which will help in comprehension section of CSAT paper.
g. The FAQ section in OPED page is another important section as it discusses 360-degree analysis of a given issue.
Do make notes regularly from OPED and Editorial
Nation Page This page is general in nature as it covers articles from all spheres. Articles relevant to your syllabus should be read.
South/ West / a. These pages contain state and region-specific news.

North / East b. Sometimes an innovative Policy / Scheme or successful governance model for a particular State is provided.
Page and state / c. You should read these pages for your interview preparation as these pages focus on the issues and problems of the
city specific concerned State. In interview/personality test, questions are generally asked on these topics – so, read mainly about the
page state you are in e.g. If you are from HARYANA and any HARYANA Specific news has come – You may read it.
Most of the time, you can ignore this section since, they are state specific news. But if any state is doing something good
– you may read – and simply note as an example for best practices e.g. Himmat App for Women Safety by Delhi Police
Business Review a. This page provides detailed articles about recent economic problems.
Page (Every b. You should read those articles which affect the economy as a whole and ignore those which are related to a particular
Monday) business organisation or entity.
This page will be helpful for Mains General Studies -III Economy part and Prelims Economics.
Science and This page is very important as recent developments in science and technology are covered in this section.
Technology Page
.
Now let us understand which articles to read/avoid via the example
ARTICLE READ/AVOID Reason
Four Supreme Court judges air differences with Read The article comes under Indian Polity and Constitution / Judiciary in
CJI Mishra Prelims cum General studies 2 in Mains.
New US sanctions won’t affect Chahbahar project Read The article comes under current events of National and International
importance in Prelims and General Studies 2 in Mains.
Inflation quickens to 5.21 % on food costs Read It comes under Economics section in Prelims and under General
Studies 3 in Mains
Maharashtra clashes worry RSS Avoid This articles is political in nature and can be safely skipped
BJP MP Nana Patole joins Congress Avoid This articles is political in nature and can be safely skipped
70 killed in Odisha train accident Read Syllabus GS-3 – Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports,
Railways, etc. / Disaster Management
Read about Railway sector and problems faced in the sector
IRDAI eyes insurance push in rural areas with ‘Bima Read Syllabus – Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population
Vahak by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes;
mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the
protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Karnataka spells out timeline for poll guarantees Avoid Political
AAP gets SOREN Backing in Delhi services row Avoid Political
A GENERAL QUESTION IS ASKED ALL THE TIME.

Is Relying on PDF Files for Current Affairs Recommended?
News is a very important part of a UPSC aspirant’s preparation strategy. It helps them to keep up with what’s going on in the world and how it
affects us.
However, there are many people who don’t like reading newspapers and prefer the use of the internet. This is because they feel reading
newspapers is too time-consuming and boring.
But you should never skip reading newspapers as it helps you to keep yourself updated with the latest happenings around the world. In addition
to that, newspapers help you to improve your vocabulary and grammar skills as well as develop your critical thinking capabilities.
Although you might think of current affairs PDFs as substitutes for reading newspapers, they’re just supplements.
The problem with current affairs PDFs is that they don’t contain all the relevant information that you need in order to make up your mind about
an issue or event. You may think that reading a quick summary will do the trick but often it doesn’t.
All too often these summaries only scratch the surface of what’s actually going on and give little insight into why things happened. However,
newspapers give you a broad perspective on what’s happening around the world in a single glance.
Hence, you should not skip newspapers as PDFs are crisp and usually don’t contain all the relevant information. But it does not mean that you
should not consider PDFs or monthly magazines as they too will help you with revision.
BESIDES NEWSPAPER WILL HELP YOU IN YOUR PRELIMS INCLUDING CSAT, MAINS AS WELL AS INTERVIEW. REMEMBER NO MAGAZINE IS A
SUBSTITUTE TO NEWSPAPER. NEVER EVER NEVER DO THIS MISTAKE
Q. THE HINDU VS THE INDIAN EXPRESS? Which is better?

Answer - This is again the common query. Both the newspaper are good. You can safely follow any. But make sure, you should read – only one
newspaper.
Q. CAN I READ BOTH THE NEWSPAPER?

Answer - You will kill your time doing this – since you have your core syllabus, optional etc. So, it is better, if you stick to only one paper and do
not run behind both due to uncertainty. Know the limits of the human mind.
I hope, you might have found this pdf useful and would use this effectively to understand how to read THE HINDU or even the INDIAN EXPRESS
if you read it.
NEELESH KUMAR SINGH
AIR 442 UPSC CSE 2021

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THE HINDU/OR ANY NEWSPAPER – WHAT TO READ/AVOID

SECTIONS OF THE DAILY NEWSPAPER (TO BE FOCUSSED)

TIPS TO READ THE HINDU NEWSPAPER FOR UPSC

South/ West / a. These pages contain state and region-specific news.

Karnataka spells out timeline for poll guarantees Avoid Political

AAP gets SOREN Backing in Delhi services row Avoid Political

A GENERAL QUESTION IS ASKED ALL THE TIME.

Q. THE HINDU VS THE INDIAN EXPRESS? Which is better?

Q. CAN I READ BOTH THE NEWSPAPER?

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