Current affairs is 7–9 marks every paper. A focused 30-day strategy to cover the last 14 months efficiently — without drowning in news.
7–9 marks per paper — the single biggest GK chunk. And it's the most learnable (no conceptual depth needed, just facts).
SSC asks about the last 12–14 months before the exam. For 2026 Tier-1, focus on Jan 2025 – March 2026.
1. Government schemes (launch dates, ministries, beneficiaries) — 1–2 Qs 2. Appointments (CMs, judges, heads of orgs) — 1–2 Qs 3. Sports (winners, venues, records) — 1 Q 4. Awards (Bharat Ratna, Padma, Nobel, sports) — 1–2 Qs 5. ISRO/Science (missions, payloads, dates) — 1 Q 6. Summits & treaties (G20, BRICS, bilateral) — 1 Q 7. Defence exercises (name, countries, location) — 1 Q 8. Days & themes (World X Day — date + theme) — 1 Q
Cover 1 month per day from a compendium (Pratiyogita Darpan, Vision IAS monthly) Make one-page notes per month Focus on the 8 categories above
Revise notes daily Take 1 CA quiz per day (30 questions) Track which categories you miss — drill those
Daily current affairs of the last week Re-revise your monthly notes Take 2 sectional mocks focused on GK
Monthly magazine (one — don't collect many) PIB (Press Information Bureau) for schemes SSCIntel's GK Topic Search for on-demand depth
Trivial news (celebrity gossip, sports beyond winners) International news unrelated to India (unless summit/treaty) Old current affairs (14 months)
Make a "firsts" list (first woman to X, first Indian to Y) Dates by month — cluster events by month for recall Acronyms & scheme names — link to beneficiary/ministry
Current affairs feels overwhelming because the news is infinite. But SSC asks finite, predictable things. Stick to the 8 categories and you'll bank 7+ marks.
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