Which is Better for UPSC, The Hindu or Indian Express?

Newspapers are an important source of learning current affairs and gaining knowledge on various other important national and international events. UPSC exam demands in-depth knowledge of socio-economic issues, current affairs, government policies etc. The present trend shows that the weightage of current affairs is high in all three stages(prelims, mains and the interview) of the UPSC CSE examination. Therefore newspaper reading is very important for all UPSC aspirants.

There are many popular newspapers in India like The Hindu, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Deccan Herald etc. But only a few are important from UPSC’s perspective. The IAS aspirants usually prefer Indian Express and The Hindu for UPSC preparation. Both the newspapers are important for UPSC. But usually, the candidates don’t have too much time to cover both the newspapers while preparing for UPSC CSE. So it is better to follow one standard newspaper along with current affairs magazines provided by the reputed institutes.

This article gives the pros and cons of Indian Express and The Hindu to give you a better idea of a more suitable newspaper for your UPSC preparation.

The Hindu newspaper

Most UPSC faculty and senior candidates recommend “The Hindu” for UPSC preparation because of its high standards and comprehensive coverage. The Hindu newspaper reading has become an important part of UPSC preparation. Pros and cons of reading The Hindu newspaper are given below.

Pros 

• The Hindu newspaper is very suitable for UPSC preparation. The issues are comprehensively covered.
• The editorial section of the Hindu is of a very high standard and covers the issues very comprehensively that the points can be directly used in the main examination.
• Most of the UPSC coaching institutes prepare current affairs PDFs based on The Hindu newspaper. The candidate who reads The Hindu and then refers to any current affairs materials will find it easy to read and revise.

Cons

• The language used in The Hindu is complicated and difficult to understand. The candidates who are not well versed in English may find it difficult to grasp the concept/knowledge.
• The issues of non-south states will not be comprehensively covered. This will not help the non-south candidates while preparing for the interview because questions on their home state will be asked in the interview.

Indian Express

In recent years the Indian Express newspaper has improved its standards and has become helpful for UPSC aspirants in their preparation. The pros and cons of the Indian Express newspaper are given below.

Pros

• The language used is easy to understand by the readers. The UPSC aspirant who is not well versed in the English language can go for the Indian Express newspaper as it covers the news comprehensively in a simpler language.
• The Issues related to Economics are covered very comprehensively in the Indian Express.
• For candidates from a few north Indian states like Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat etc, the Indian express will be helpful at the time of the interview as it covers the issues of these states comprehensively.

Cons

• It is less useful for the UPSC aspirants from the southern states at the time of the interview.

Therefore both the newspapers are maintaining goods standards as far as the UPSC preparation is concerned. Both the newspapers are good as a source of information. The candidate has to choose the newspaper that is convenient for him. Do not waste time reading many newspapers. Follow one newspaper, make notes and revise multiple times.

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