Newspapers are an essential part of UPSC Civil Services preparation since they keep candidates up to date on recent issues and events in the country and throughout the world. Importance of reading the newspaper for the IAS Exam can not be emphasised more to cover the Current Affairs, which holds a significant weightage in all rounds of the exam. “The Hindu” and “The Indian Express” are the two best and most recommended newspapers for UPSC preparation. Some aspirants read only one while others prefer to read both the newspapers.
However, many aspirants are confused at the beginning of their journey as to whether they should read one newspaper or both, to cover all current events. In this article, we shall discuss whether or not reading The Hindu or The Indian Express is sufficient for preparing for the UPSC Exam.
| The following articles can be helpful if you are preparing for the IAS Exam- |
Why Read a Newspaper Everyday?
Reading a newspaper everyday is very important if you are an aspirant of the civil services exam. The reason that reading a newspaper everyday is important because of the following reasons-
- Newspaper reading keeps you updated on the recent happenings of the country and the world.
- The Editorial/ Op- Ed and other columns help an aspirant to understand a particular issue from various points of view. This helps to build an analytical aptitude which is extremely important if you wish to join the bureaucracy.
- These opinions and various points of view help one to write a holistic answer and also essay in their UPSC Mains examination.
- Moreover, reading the newspaper everyday increases your vocabulary and sentence formation, hence improving your communication skills, which are tested in the final round of the examination.
Reading One Newspaper vs Reading Both
Majority of the aspirants follow The Hindu to prepare for the exam, on the other hand some find The Indian Express better. However, there are aspirants who read both the newspapers for the preparation of the examination. But the question is, If it is important to read both the newspapers to prepare well for the IAS Exam? The answer is NO!
Though it is very important to follow one newspaper everyday, it is not necessary for an aspirant to read both the newspapers. Reading a newspaper involves going through the front page, national news, international news, economy section, some major sports news and the Editorials. If an aspirant is reading one newspaper everyday religiously (any- The HIndu or The Indian Express), he/she may not need to read the second newspaper. The reason is the news is always the same. So an aspirant doesn’t need to waste 2 more hours going through the same news. If at all an aspirant is keen to read both the newspapers, the right strategy would be to read one newspaper exhaustively and just take out the Editorial/ Op-Ed page of the second newspaper and read that. This will help an aspirant to cover more topics and also to develop various perspectives on a particular issue.
So it is not important to read both the newspapers when you have started your preparation for qualifying for one of the toughest examinations in the country. One newspaper is more than enough to qualify the exam with flying colours. The most important thing in the preparation of the UPSC Examination is Time Management. An aspirant must not waste their time to look for multiple resources but rather focus on limiting them. Rather than reading two newspapers, aspirants can always supplement their newspaper reading with one Current Affairs Magazine. This will not only help to save time but also to cover a wide variety of information from the sources not covered by the candidates.
We hope that the above article gave you a clarity on your doubt about reading two newspapers everyday. You can visit the Website of BYJU’S if you need more information on similar topics.
Note– With prelims 2022 around the corner, IAS aspirants can follow our Daily News Analysis and keep up-to-date with the current affairs.
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