Reading newspapers is a significant part of UPSC preparations. Reading newspapers will keep the candidates up to date with the happening all around the nation and world.
Reading newspapers is also important for current affairs subjects, so it is very important to read newspapers and make notes for UPSC preparations.
Many IAS coaching institutes help candidates with newspaper reading, making notes while reading newspapers, and other subject preparations for UPSC. There are many newspapers in the market, like The Hindu, The Indian Express, Times of India, Dainik Navajyoti, etc., but The Hindu is considered the best among them for UPSC aspirants.
Why The Hindu Newspaper for UPSC Preparation?
Every aspirant who has now become a successful government employee in a prestigious position always recommends The Hindu newspaper as this newspaper has higher standards, and it’s many times seen that many questions in UPSC exams, i.e., prelims and mains exam, are asked from The Hindu newspaper.
Candidates can also read side by side with the other recommended newspapers and magazines like Yojana. It depends on the candidates’ preparations, dedication, and concentration.
Tips To Read The Hindu Newspaper For UPSC Preparations
So, now the question arises: how to effectively read The Hindu newspaper for the UPSC preparations and make notes by saving more time.
Below are some points that can help readers and candidates effectively read The Hindu newspaper and save time without wasting much time on unnecessary news and articles.
Page 1: On the first page or the front page of The Hindu newspaper, you don’t have to waste much time reading on concentrating on it. You can just have a look at the news headlines and move on to the next page.
Page 2 To Page 6: Now, if we talk about pages 2 to 3, they are usually pages that carry news related to the region, which can vary from city to city. And if we talk about pages 4 to 5, they are only usual news of the respective states.
As this news is not that important from the UPSC examination point of view, candidates can skip these or just read the headlines.
Page 7: Now comes page 7, which we can say is important as page 7 in The Hindu newspaper covers the news that deals or relates with the nation. On this page, candidates must focus on verdicts of the Supreme Court and High Court, debates of parliament, government orders, government policies, etc.
Editorial Page or Page 8: Candidates can consider this Editorial page as one of the most important pages that candidates have to read, cover, and make notes on regarding the UPSC examination perspective.
Candidates must carefully and consciously read the editorials on the page’s left margin. Then they can move on to the lead article provided. This will help candidates with the subject of current affairs.
Perspective Page or Page 9: Now, candidates can move on to the perspective page, which is usually page 9 of The Hindu.
On this page, candidates will notice an op-ed that is short from opposite the editorial page and typically a prose piece written and published by the newspaper or a magazine that mainly expresses the named author’s opinions.
These articles are named as comments by The Hindu, and candidates can take this page as a different perspective on current affairs or issues.
Page 10 to 11: Pages 10 to 11 mainly deals with the general news. There is no need for candidates to go deep into political issues or news; they can take the knowledge superficial of what is happening around them.
Page 12, Which Is Usually Of World News: Now, candidates can move to page 12, or we can say news filled about the world.
Here, candidates should focus and carefully read as this is very important as international news is also covered in questions of the UPSC examination and international relations topics are also a part of the UPSC syllabus.
If candidates find any major or national, or international meetings, they should note it down as that could be important. Candidates must not skip this part of The Hindu newspaper at any cost.
Page 13 to 14: Page 13 to 14 usually covers business news. Candidates must focus on growth parameters, trends, and some business issues that affect the GDP of our country and other factors.
Candidates must focus and read the news that is connected or related to Fiscal & Monetary Policy. If candidates find any news, such as women, health, or education, that should be read in-depth. As these factors are also very important.
Last Page: Last pages are the sports and life pages. Candidates can skip this news as they are not important for the UPSC examination, but they will have to also read the sports news in case they have taken sports as a hobby and options subject.
Then, in this case, sports-related questions will also be asked.
As a UPSC aspirant, you should focus on your health and wellness as well.
What Should Be Focused On The Hindu Newspaper?
Candidates must focus on only the specific articles and news and ignore others. News that should be focused on is mentioned below:
1. Verdicts Of Supreme Court And High Court.
2. Issues or news that are connected or related to national and international importance.
3. Debates Of Parliaments.
4. Government policies, Government orders, etc.
5. Editorial Page or op-ed page, which gives a good analysis of current issues or affairs.
What Should Not Be Focused On The Hindu Newspaper?
Some news should be ignored as it is unimportant from the UPSC examination perspective. Reading these news will be time-wasting, so candidates must ignore these news or articles to save time. These are mentioned below:
1. Local news is to be ignored
2. Political news and political debates.
3. Masala news should be ignored that including film reviews about actors and actresses, movies, celebrity interviews, TV serials, etc.
4. Other trivial factors should be ignored, which include personalities in the news, awards, sports titles, etc.
How To Read The Hindu Newspaper Effectively In 60 Minutes Or Less Than 60 Minutes?
Candidates preparing for the UPSC examination always have very less time, so it is always recommended to spend less time reading a newspaper and making notes.
Aspirants who have passed UPSC say that they always spent only 60 minutes or less than 60 minutes reading newspapers. So, the question that arises here for new UPSC candidates is how to read a newspaper in 60 minutes or less than 60 minutes.
So, what new candidates have to do is only focus on the news that is important and in the syllabus of UPSC. They should only focus on the important areas and skip non-important news and articles.
Reading newspapers daily will also help them to read faster and more efficiently. So, candidates must keep a habit of reading newspapers daily for faster reading and more effective reading.
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