SMART Current Affairs Programme 2025

A catalyst to the Top Ranks!!

Embark on an empowering journey to the top ranks of the UPSC Civil Services exam with our SMART Current Affairs Programme 2025. Current affairs form an integral part of the UPSC syllabus, with questions related to current events appearing in both the Preliminary and Main Examinations. Therefore, staying updated about current events is essential to score well in these exams. As per the trend analysis of the Previous Year's Questions, more than 60% of the questions in both Prelims and Main Examination are directly or indirectly linked to current affairs.

S.M.A.R.T. Current Affairs Programme 2025 by Vajiram & Ravi is a comprehensive programme that aims to provide aspirants with a Strategic, Multi-dimensional, Assessment-based, Resourceful, and Targeted approach to their Current Affairs preparation. The programme aims to achieve the following for the aspirants:

• Comprehensive coverage of contemporary current affairs related issues.
• Correlation of current issues with the static syllabus for a holistic understanding.
• In-depth analysis of current issues with backward and forward linkages, varied perspectives, solutions and recommendations.
• Understanding the kind of questions that might be framed from current issues.
• Developing the skills to integrate current affairs in writing answers.

The programme follows a comprehensive and goal-oriented approach that is divided into three phases:

SMART Current Affairs Programme has been meticulously curated to redefine UPSC CSE preparation for aspirants. Thoughtfully created, it has the following distinguishing features:

Range of Coverage:

• Multisource Current Affairs Coverage:
  • Addresses significant news and contemporary developments sourced from various newspapers such as The Hindu, Indian Express, Economic Times and other content-rich resources like PIB, Yojana and Kurukshetra Magazine important for the UPSC CSE exam.
• Subject-Specific Focus:
  • Holistic coverage of subject-specific current affairs issues spanning Polity, Economics, International Relations, Social Issues, Geography and Environment, Science and Technology, Sports, Art and Culture, and other miscellaneous domains, aligning seamlessly with UPSC Exam requirements.
• Schemes and Indices:
  • All the updated and newly introduced National and International Schemes, Indices, Reports and Conventions will be covered in the classes.
• Economic Survey and Budget:
  • In-depth discussion and explanation of Economic Survey and Budget, along with detailed notes.
• Value Additional and thematic coverage:
  • The course will cover all the subjects thematically keeping it close to UPSC exam’s demand. Students will be provided with updated and newly introduced National and International Schemes, Committee recommendations, Data, Facts and Figures along with Case studies and Keywords to improve the quality of their answers and fetch more marks.

• Integrated Approach:
  • By correlating current affairs with the static portion, the programme enhances comprehensive understanding of the students, providing a strategic advantage for UPSC CSE exam preparation.
• Regular question practice sessions:
  • To test the aspirants' current affairs knowledge and their skill of using the same in the answers, regular Answer writing sessions and MCQ tests will be conducted within the class hours, as per requirement.
• Current Affairs Study Material:
  • Aspirants will be provided with our Current Affairs Monthly Magazine - The Recitals and handouts.
• Class Schedule:
  • Classes will be conducted ~2 times a week.
  • Class duration will be 2-3 hours.

Our goal is to make current affairs preparation SMART and less time-consuming for aspirants pursuing UPSC CSE and other competitive Examinations.

Both the Current Affairs Programme and the Daily Newspaper Analysis video are useful sources of information for UPSC exam preparation as they serve their own unique purposes. However, they have some differences in terms of their approach, interactivity, and mandate. Here are some of the main points of comparison:

• Accessibility: 
  • Our SMART Current Affairs Programme creates an active engagement through classroom and LIVE-Online classes within the institute’s premises or on the Vajiram & Ravi’s portal.
  • Daily Newspaper Analysis videos on the other hand follow a more indirect engagement by regularly reaching out to its viewers through recorded videos on YouTube.
• Approach:
  • SMART Current Affairs Programme 2025 follows a structured and dynamic approach to news, prioritising topics based on the UPSC CSE Exam pattern. It provides deeper analysis and contextual understanding than a newspaper.
  • Our daily newspaper analysis videos for UPSC preparation summarises key news articles relevant to the exam, helping the aspirants stay updated on a daily basis.
• Interactivity:
  • Our Current Affairs Programme is exam-oriented and creates active engagement with the students through regular MCQ Tests, Mains Answer Writing, feedback, and expert guidance. It also follows a fixed study schedule for current affairs preparation.
  • Daily newspaper analysis videos for UPSC preparation are informative, but may not directly engage the viewers, relying more on the viewer’s self-study schedule.
• Depth of Analysis:
  • The Current Affairs Programme explores issues in-depth, providing comprehensive analysis and multiple perspectives on a topic.
  • Daily newspaper analysis videos for UPSC preparation on the other hand focus more on brevity, summarising key points and covering a wide range of topics within a limited time.

For Example: In our coverage of a news article on Green hydrogen, our Current Affairs Classes would provide a comprehensive analysis, addressing its significance, types, applications, relevant government schemes and policies, international status, and potential UPSC Exam-related questions. Conversely, our Daily Newspaper Analysis Video offers focused coverage of the daily news, its context, various types of hydrogen, and other pertinent details for the day.

As a renowned coaching institute for UPSC CSE, Vajiram & Ravi recognizes that despite a solid understanding of the static syllabus, certain aspirants encounter challenges in effectively incorporating and correlating current affairs. Their struggle lies in seamlessly applying this knowledge during both the Prelims and Main Examination stages, hindering their ability to answer questions and discern how a current issue might be framed as a question.

Key Challenges faced by aspirants in current affairs preparation are:

• Identifying important current affairs for UPSC CSE Prelims and Main Examination.
• Avoiding the deluge of current affairs material and focusing on quality over quantity.
• Understanding the UPSC current affairs question pattern and the difference between news and issues. (News talks about an incident while Issues focus on ideas)
• Analyzing and establishing connections between the forward and backward linkages of a current affairs topic.
• Covering and connecting current affairs with the static syllabus.
• Adopting an active and engaging approach rather than a passive and superficial one.

Through a survey, we understood that students faced difficulties in recalling or remembering current affairs/news that they regularly watched on YouTube channels and other such sources. The SMART Current Affairs Programme by Vajiram & Ravi offers the solution to this problem. The program follows a multi-dimensional approach towards current affairs, which means that it covers all aspects of current affairs, including political, economic, and social events. This comprehensive approach ensures that you receive multi-level guidance that covers all aspects of your preparation, including time management and exam strategy.

• Structured Approach 
  • Divided into three separate phases, our Current affairs programme provides a structured and organised approach to cover the diverse range of Current Affairs for Prelims, Mains and Interview stages of examination.
• Focused Coverage
  • The programme focuses on the specific requirements of the UPSC exam, covering current affairs topics related to politics, economics, science, technology, environment, international relations, and more.
• Time Efficiency:
  • Scouring multiple newspapers, magazines, and online sources for current affairs information can be time-consuming. Our dedicated Current Affairs programme streamlines this process, saves time and ensures comprehensive coverage of current affairs under one single programme.
• Integration with Syllabus:
  • The programme adopts an integrated approach, correlating current affairs with the static portions of the UPSC syllabus. This helps aspirants understand the interconnections between current events and broader subjects.
• Regular MCQ Tests:
  • The regular MCQ tests within class hours will help aspirants assess their retention and knowledge of current affairs.
• Improve Main Answer Writing Skills
  • Our Current Affairs programme has been designed to impart the skill of seamlessly incorporating current affairs into the static syllabus when writing your answers in the UPSC Main Examination for GS Paper-I, II, III, and IV.
• Boosts Essay and Interview Preparation:
  • Being well-versed in current affairs is essential for essay writing and interview rounds. Our programme aims to help aspirants develop the depth of knowledge needed to tackle these stages effectively.
• Confidence and Clarity:
  • Regularly attending our current affairs classes will boost confidence in one's knowledge of current events and provide clarity on complex issues. This confidence is advantageous for all stages of the UPSC CSE Examination.
• Suitable for all Aspirants:
  • Tailored for both fresher and senior aspirants, our program is uniquely structured. It not only enhances understanding for freshers but also equips seniors with the skills to integrate current affairs seamlessly into problem-solving during exams. Therefore, ensures a comprehensive approach for all, addressing the specific needs of each aspirant.

• Classes will be conducted ~2 times a week
• Class/video duration will be 2-3 hours
• Includes regular in-class answer writing sessions to track progress for exam readiness.
• Dedicated Answer writing technique session with our faculty & All India Rank holders in UPSC.
• Prelims exam tests: Includes fortnightly sectional MCQ tests and 2 comprehensive full-length tests (in Phase II) for exam readiness.
• Mains exam tests: 4 comprehensive Full-length tests will be provided (in Phase III)