Why “The Hindu” :
The Hindu is undeniably one of the staple newspapers for every UPSC aspirant. It is an indispensable resource because of its clear distinction between news and opinions. It not only focuses on topics of national significance, but also its rich editorial content offers sufficient depth information.
Moreover it provides structured content which indirectly guides students in building vocabulary and in writing content [ which you may find useful in Mains examination].
If you are ready to invest your time in a disciplined way in reading “The Hindu” , you can easily acquire all the essential skills for succeeding in Prelims, Mains and Interviews.
Reading an entire newspaper may take four or five hours per day which is not recommended by experts. As the experts and aspirants who cracked UPSC their advice is to limit newspaper reading to less than 60 minutes daily. Moreover, it’s crucial to cover only priority sections, as you may waste good time in other useless areas.
You will get a sustainable reading habit that becomes sharp, focused and habitually effective with practice.
Also Read : Give equal importance to sleep and study
Section-Wise Reading Blueprint : The Hindu
Here is how you can navigate The Hindu efficiently:
Front Page
Skim headlines only and avoid deep dives unless it directly pertains to UPSC syllabus like court rulings or major policies;
Pages 2-6 (Local/Regional) Skip, as these may not be relevant.
(National Page 7) :
Read at least the headlines and summaries, with special attention paid to Supreme Court verdicts, parliamentary debates, key policies and administrative developments, such as Supreme Court verdicts or administrative changes (Supreme Court, Parliamentary Debates etc).
[Editorial Page (Page 8)]:
Reading editorials, lead articles, and even letters to the editor for different viewpoints helps develop analytical thinking and sharpen analytical thinking skills.
Page 9 (Perspectives/Op-Ed) :
Explore alternative angles–ideal for deepening and diversifying your answers– General News (10-11 pages).
World Page 12 : Browse quickly or dive deeper into topics with direct relevance such as environment, governance, or citizen rights
(Pages 13-14) : Read carefully in order to remain current for the International Relations (IR) portion of UPSC
Focusing on macrotrends, fiscal/monetary policy shifts, socio-economic issues such as health care and education for vulnerable groups as well as science & technology (especially Thursdays).
Thursday editions feature in-depth science & tech content–packed with value for both Prelims and Mains in plus sports/lifestyle/miscellaneous items.
These sections may be skipped–UPSC rarely prioritizes them unless there’s a major event that requires attention.. Align Reading with UPSC Syllabus
Effective reading begins by understanding your battleground: memorize both the Prelims and Mains Syllabi to effectively narrow in on what matters while filtering out irrelevant material.
Previous Year Questions (PYQs) also aid in identifying topics with high exam relevance – these can also serve as useful Note-Making Strategies (NMT).
Begin with selective note taking: Instead of writing notes for every article you come across, choose 2-3 important issues each month and focus your notes accordingly. Make bullet point summaries easier to digest and save time wasting
Establish Your Analytic Angle: Understand Changing Issues : not simply memorize them.
Use AI tools like ChatGPT to summarize articles into structured bullet points for easier comprehension and retention; just make sure that you engage critically without replacing your own analysis with automatic summarizations.
Gain Advice from fellow aspirants who share similar goals.
Aspirants should emphasize prioritizing editorial, national, international and economy sections while forgoing city pages to maximize memory retention.
Repeated exposure strengthens recall of key topics that remain pertinent over time, thus reinforcing memory retention through repeated exposures.
Shakti Dubey, 2024 UPSC topper, underscored the significance of consistency, strong fundamentals and daily current affairs to her success. She suggested reading newspapers daily as one way of developing clarity – not short cuts – without risk of shortcuts delivering results