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ClearIAS » Civil Services Prelims » How Should You Read ‘The Hindu’ Newspaper for IAS Exam Preparation?

How Should You Read ‘The Hindu’ Newspaper for IAS Exam Preparation?

Last updated on October 22, 2020 by Alex Andrews George

The Hindu NewspaperThe Hindu is the most recommended newspaper for UPSC aspirants. However many are confused about how should they finish ‘The Hindu’ in minimum time covering the priority areas.

Almost every IAS aspirant know the importance of reading newspapers for UPSC Civil Services Exam preparation.

Among the newspapers in the market, ‘The Hindu’ is the most recommended newspaper, primarily for its high standards. You can either read the paper version OR the digital version (e-paper).

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Why is reading ‘The Hindu’ important?

‘The Hindu’ distinguishes between news and opinion very well.

Also, it gives priority to areas of national concern and usually avoids trivial issues/masala items.

But reading ‘The Hindu’ completely may require at least 4-5 hours daily. With plenty of other books and materials to complete, devoting this much time daily for newspaper reading is not a good idea.

Then, how should an aspirant proceed?

How to read ‘The Hindu’ effectively in less than 60 minutes?

By the proper practise of effective reading you can capture everything necessary for UPSC exam from the ‘The Hindu’ in less than 60 minutes. This is by focusing on important areas and just skimming over non-priority pages.

Tips for Effective and Faster Reading of the ‘The Hindu’ newspaper

Here are the tips for effective reading. Practice the below tips daily. You will see that your speed of reading and comprehension improves.

  1. Page 1: You just need to skim through the news headlines. Don’t waste too much time on the front page.
  2. Pages 2-6: Pages 2 – 3 usually carry only regional news (which varies from city to city) while pages 4-5 deals with news from respective states. As these are not so important from the UPSC exam point of view, you can skip these.
  3. Page 7: Page 7 is important as this deals with the nation. Focus on Supreme Court and High Court verdicts, Parliamentary debates, Government orders etc. here.
  4. Editorial Page (Usually Page 8): This is the most important page of ‘The Hindu’ newspaper from UPSC Exam perspective. Carefully read the two ‘editorials’ given on the left margin. Then move to the ‘Lead‘ article. This usually would be an excellent analysis of a current issue. Finish this page, by reading the ‘Letters to the editor‘ as this would give different opinions on the same issue. But don’t get biased. Note: Try to finish everything up to this page within 30-40 minutes.
  5. Perspective Page (Usually Page 9): This is where you see the op-ed. An ‘op-ed’ (originally short for “opposite the editorial page”) is a written prose piece typically published by a newspaper or magazine which expresses the opinion of a named author usually not affiliated with the publication’s editorial board. ‘The Hindu’ names these articles as ‘comment’. Read this to get a different perspective on current issues.
  6. Page 10-11: These pages deals with news in general. There is no need to go deep into political news or issues, just have a superficial knowledge of what is happening around.
  7. World (Page 12): This page would be useful for the International Relations topic which is part of UPSC syllabus. Spend some time here, if you find any major happenings.
  8. Business (Pages 13-14): Focus on trends, growth parameters and issues here. Read issues connected with Fiscal and Monetary Policy. If you find socio-economic issues related to women, education or health, read in-depth.
  9. Sports Page and Life Page: Ignore. Sports news are not generally asked in UPSC CSE.

Extra Tip: Don’t miss Thursday’s edition of Hindu Science and Technology. It covers many questions both in prelims and in mains exam as well.

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What should be focused?

  1. Good analysis of current issues (Editorial page or Op-Ed page).
  2. Supreme Court and High Court verdicts.
  3. Issues of national and international importance.
  4. Parliamentary Debates.
  5. Government policies and orders.

Extra Tip: Make notes on the hot topics (See sample notes on GST, Paris Agreement etc. You may make notes on all recent bills, recent Supreme Court orders etc)

What should not be the focus?

  1. Local news.
  2. Political news.
  3. Masala items like film reviews, wardrobe malfunctions (which you won’t find in ‘The Hindu), celebrity interviews etc.
  4. Trivial facts like sports titles, awards, personalities in news etc.

Extra Tip: Beginners may keep UPSC mains syllabus in front of you while reading the newspaper. This would help you concentrate on areas of importance (Eg: NGOs, Self-Help Groups etc. as they are mentioned in UPSC CSE syllabus)

Can an aspirant succeed in the IAS exam without reading ‘The Hindu’ newspaper?

The Hindu

The answer is yes. There are always substitutes – other newspapers, magazines, current affairs capsules, mobile apps and so on.

But we advise 1 hour reading of ‘The Hindu’ newspaper as a daily exercise for all aspirants as this has multiple benefits. Most important of the benefits would be the ‘pictorial memory’ which would be of immense help in Prelims, Mains, and Interview.

Also, there would be a lot of improvement in your vocabulary and communication skills.

Conclusion

The importance of reading the newspaper for Civil Services has increased tremendously.

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The crux of these tips is not to waste time over trivial issues (unimportant for UPSC exam) and focus on areas where it matters.

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About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training, Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped thousands of aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bhawna sharma says

    January 11, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    Very useful tips. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Aarav mehta says

      April 17, 2019 at 12:30 pm

      I need a help

  2. Akash Sharma says

    January 11, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    Thanks a lot

    Reply
    • Vinay vader says

      September 2, 2020 at 12:54 pm

      Tq u sir, bt beginers shall make note from the hindu news paper in starting time?

  3. Ankit Choudhaay says

    January 12, 2017 at 9:37 am

    Thanks a lot.

    Reply
  4. Anuradha Patel says

    January 12, 2017 at 10:21 am

    Thank u so much sir ,it ‘s a very useful tips

    Reply
  5. jibran says

    January 12, 2017 at 11:07 am

    Thanks alot @Clear IAS

    Reply
  6. Arupa says

    January 12, 2017 at 3:47 pm

    Thanks a lot. Very useful tips.

    Reply
  7. madhumitha says

    January 12, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    very useful tips.thank you.

    Reply
  8. Pradeep Tiwari says

    January 12, 2017 at 4:42 pm

    Thank u very much for this….

    Reply
  9. sanjay patni says

    February 5, 2017 at 8:35 am

    Hey thanks a lot for this valuable guidance

    Reply
  10. Chirom Bronson singh says

    February 6, 2017 at 9:47 pm

    Good to see all days news nand update.Thanks

    Reply
  11. Rigzen Yangdol says

    February 7, 2017 at 3:12 pm

    I thank u so much from the innermost core of my heart. I used to spend a lot of time to read The Hindu newspaper. Finally I got the solution. ☺

    Reply
  12. Ashok lamani says

    February 8, 2017 at 1:44 pm

    thank you so much sir. It’s really helpful to like us rural and self prepare aspirants

    Reply
  13. Peeyush says

    February 16, 2017 at 10:04 pm

    Thankyou
    I was really confused about reading hindu
    Ran into this super useful article today
    Thankyou once again. must read

    Reply
  14. sureka says

    February 22, 2017 at 11:23 am

    Very nice sir

    Reply
  15. Nikita says

    March 3, 2017 at 12:56 pm

    Thanks for these tips I m very tens abt news reading what to read or what to not but now its easy to read news paper….

    Reply
  16. Satpal says

    March 7, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    Sir/Mam I am going to apper for IAS exam in 2021. Currently I am going through NCERT books, Is making notes from “The Hindu” worth now ? or I should start making notes from 2 years before the exam and focus on building habit to read “The Hindu” and NCERT. Is there anything else for which I should prepare from now ?

    Reply
    • Dharma says

      July 18, 2018 at 8:55 am

      I think it’s better to go on from now with already a vast syllabus at hand and if added with previous it surely is a real back pain … It’s up to you…but just in case u can find various important facts all over the net n u don’t need to go through all the trouble of going back for two years.

    • Khushi bairagi says

      January 6, 2021 at 5:06 pm

      Its sufficient

  17. Shaikh Altaf says

    March 18, 2017 at 8:07 am

    Hindu news paper iz in MY opinion most important to any IAS kas aspirant

    Reply
  18. Cibino Pearlsy Ross says

    March 18, 2017 at 10:22 am

    Very helpful diversification of the Hindu..

    Reply
  19. Arunima dey says

    June 27, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    Very very thank u

    Reply
  20. Somnath Chakraborty says

    September 6, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    Thanxxx a lot

    Reply
  21. Irshad sheikh says

    September 8, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    My various confusions gets clear . It is very good and useful app . Good job hats off to u …

    Reply
  22. Manish Patel says

    September 18, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    I am very inspired these tips which will make our goal very skillful and steady

    Reply
  23. VISISTA says

    September 21, 2017 at 9:00 am

    All i can say is thank you as it worked as an amazing guide.THANK YOU

    Reply
  24. Pratyojana says

    September 23, 2017 at 12:24 pm

    Thanks alot sir. This will be really helpful!

    Reply
  25. Akash says

    October 1, 2017 at 9:26 am

    Cool and worth methods…

    Reply
  26. Karan says

    February 18, 2018 at 10:02 am

    Physics honours wale ISA ka tyari kr skte h

    Reply
  27. Rubi Rajput says

    March 4, 2018 at 3:28 pm

    Sir, Please suggest the best news paper for a hindi medium student for upsc exam preparation.

    Reply
  28. Shri Debajit Kaita says

    June 10, 2018 at 8:35 am

    Nice suggestion for all the civil service aspirents.Thanks & need your blessings and further guidance in this regard.

    Reply
  29. sachin says

    July 12, 2018 at 9:02 pm

    So much helpful thanks a lot for this

    Reply
  30. Mary Preethi says

    July 24, 2018 at 12:32 pm

    Nice tips! I hope it will help everyone to read newspaper effectively. Thank you very much!

    Reply
  31. cherry says

    August 22, 2018 at 9:53 am

    thanks u very much

    Reply
  32. Jim says

    December 10, 2018 at 9:54 am

    Thank you so much sir for giving the right suggestions to all IAS aspirants as most candidates get confused to select the right newspaper…..

    Reply
  33. Anas k says

    January 4, 2019 at 9:17 pm

    Hi, it is very useful for beginners like me .it helps to improve our both communication and vocabulary skills as well.many thanks .

    Reply
  34. Sindhu says

    January 5, 2019 at 10:58 pm

    Thank you very much sir……I was just confused what to read n what not, but now got to know the correct way….!!

    Reply
  35. Shiv shankar says

    January 25, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    very very thanks sir

    Reply
  36. soubhagya says

    July 26, 2019 at 11:28 am

    Is it possible , A person having privarte job with engineering back ground can success in UPSC ? If yes ,please hep how?

    Reply
  37. Hamedonhi Manner says

    September 14, 2019 at 5:05 pm

    Thanks alot for your advice

    Reply
  38. Rahul kumar says

    November 11, 2019 at 11:49 am

    thank you so much sir for guide

    Reply
  39. anup says

    November 16, 2019 at 5:53 pm

    tips really works thanx.

    Reply
  40. Pooja Giri says

    May 2, 2020 at 6:33 pm

    Reallly i am so grateful to u thank u so much.

    Reply
  41. Jaswant says

    June 19, 2020 at 6:48 pm

    now i am not confused in whole page of the news paper

    Reply
  42. Sakshi says

    July 13, 2020 at 9:33 am

    Does they require any charges for the tips ?

    Reply
  43. Yerrapureddy Kumar says

    July 27, 2020 at 8:43 am

    Thank you so much for your guidence

    Reply

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