The need to emphasize current affairs for the HCS exam preparation

by Richard James Brian Team Lead

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "Change is the only constant." His words have been applicable to every sphere of life as we see the world changing around us every day, every moment. The only way to keep up with this rapidly changing world is to be aware of the most impactful changes and news.

Keeping up with the important events happening in the state, the country, and the world at large is the goal of the questions on current affairs in the Haryana Civil Service (HCS) Exam. This group of questions is very dynamic since they demand the candidate's awareness of their surroundings. Usually, students prepare from General Studies notes for HCS Exam available from many websites and publications besides reading newspapers.

Lakhs of aspirants appear for the HCS Exam every year for only a handful of job openings in the Haryana state administration. All of these candidates have been stressed about their current affairs topics at some point in their preparation. After all, one simply cannot know everything that is happening around them all the time.

At Abhipedia, we believe that nothing is impossible. While it is true that gaining knowledge is a process that has no end, with our daily current affair notes HCS Exam, one can maximize their preparation.

Let's see why current affairs are such an essential part of HCS Exam preparation.

Why are current affairs important for the HCS Exam?

Weightage of current affairs questions in HCS:

In the HCS Exam, current affairs play a significant role. Candidates are quizzed on topics of current relevance in all three levels of the examination HCS Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The questions are mainly about the current development of the other subjects covered by the HCS Exam syllabus.

There is no fixed weightage of current affairs questions in the HCS Exam. But recent trend analyses of previous years' question papers show an increase in the weightage allotted to such questions. They are often related to the topics covered in the General Studies notes for HCS Exam in the Prelims.

State reforms and developments that an aspiring State civil servant should know:

An aspiring civil servant of the state of Haryana, the candidate should know the reforms and policies being adopted by the Haryana Government. It is their responsibility to not only learn about these things, but as civil servants, they should be able to improvise on these reforms and suggest constructive changes. They must keep current affairs in mind to work in the task force effectively, and the whole process of the HCS Exam will be testing them on their capability to do so.

In-depth questions:

Haryana Civil Service Examination usually does not set questions solely on just simple fact-based current affairs. The questions may be objective ones, but they are heavily invested in the correct reiteration of the events or issues. For example, the mere knowledge of a particular scheme's name and date of effect is not sufficient. The candidate should also be knowledgeable and well-informed in the details of the same scheme – what it offers, what its possible effects are, and it's the budget allocation that a top channel to subscribe for HCS Exam can help with.

Such questions are not uncommon in the paper, and if the candidate does not know precisely what the answer should be, guesswork will only earn their negative marking in case of a wrong answer. To avoid that, they will have to leave the question unanswered even though they have read up on the topic. They should gear up for a detailed question rather than a lost opportunity.

Current affairs in descriptive questions:

It is usually assumed that the HCS Exam tests on current affairs topics only in the form of multiple-choice questions. However, any top channel to subscribe for HCS Exam will tell you that this is not true. Current affairs topics can most likely come for objective questions, but this does not guarantee their exemption from descriptive questions in the Mains paper.

For example, the essays for English or Hindi language papers may ask the aspirant to write on a topic related to current affairs. If they do not know sufficient information on such a topic, they will not be able to fare very well there. Knowing this will help the candidates approach current affairs topics with the right strategy from the beginning of their preparation.

Embellishing answers with current affairs:

A quick tip for maximizing your score in the HCS Exam is to supplement your descriptive answers with recent pointers to one-up your fellow examinees. This extra step shows the examiner that the candidate has read up on current affairs and is efficient enough to apply them in other subjects. Such an impression can be created only when a recent topic is applied correctly, and to do that, the candidate must go through the current affairs topics in detail.

Current affairs during the final interview stage:

The HCS Exam tries to determine how an aspirant will adapt to the sector they will work in for the state. The exam process is thus an assessment of their knowledge as well as the ability to tackle real-life situations with their learning. The candidate should have an innovative approach, which is tested most rigorously in the final interview stage.

Being a civil servant is an application-based job. Not only should the candidate know various topics of regional, national, and international concern in theory, but they should also have the presence of mind and critical thinking skills to apply them to a problem posed before them. The interview round thus involves questions that demand the candidate to have credible knowledge of current events, new scientific discoveries, space missions, disaster management programs, and technological developments.

Important Links For HCS Exam

HCS Prelims Test Series
HCS Test Series
HCS Video Course
HCS Subject wise Course