How did recent UPSC toppers approach current affairs preparation?

Verified Topper CA Approaches: CSE 2021–2025

Shruti Sharma — AIR 1, CSE 2021

Optional: History | Attempts: First attempt

Shruti Sharma is documented as following The Hindu as her primary newspaper throughout preparation. With History optional and a heavy focus on GS1 and GS2, The Hindu's editorial depth on international relations, society and polity suited her preparation style. Her CA approach was integration-first: every news item was immediately linked to a GS paper and topic before it was noted. In post-result interviews she emphasised that answer writing practice with current affairs enrichment was more important than collecting information.

Key CA habit: Linked every CA story to her History optional chapters where relevant — creating a dual-use note system that served both GS and optional preparation simultaneously.

Ishita Kishore — AIR 1, CSE 2022

Optional: PSIR (Political Science and International Relations) | Attempts: First attempt

Ishita Kishore is documented as prioritising the Indian Express Explained section as a core part of her CA routine. With PSIR optional, IE's policy and governance analysis was directly relevant to both her optional and GS2. She maintained structured notes organised by GS paper, which she revised multiple times before Mains. Her approach illustrates the 'depth over breadth' strategy — fewer events analysed deeply rather than many events noted superficially.

Key CA habit: Notes organised by GS paper from Day 1, never by date. This meant her pre-Mains revision was a topic-by-topic review rather than a chronological scroll through months of dated notes.

Aditya Srivastava — AIR 1, CSE 2023

Optional: Electrical Engineering | Attempts: Second attempt

Aditya Srivastava (IIT Kanpur, B.Tech and M.Tech in Electrical Engineering) is documented as reading both The Hindu and Indian Express as daily CA sources. Newspaper reading was the first activity of his day. He supplemented with monthly CA magazines and current affairs websites. His GS scores reflect thorough CA-static integration (GS2: 132, GS3: 95 — among the stronger GS performers of his cohort).

Key CA habit: Newspapers as the day's first activity, before any static study. This ensured CA was never 'squeezed in' at the end of a long day. Every CA story was linked to a GS paper and topic before moving on.

Shakti Dubey — AIR 1, CSE 2024

Optional: Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) | Attempts: Fifth attempt

Shakti Dubey (Prayagraj, post-graduate in Biochemistry from BHU) reached AIR 1 on her fifth attempt. Her CA approach was disciplined: daily newspaper reading was a non-negotiable fixed habit, accompanied by monthly current affairs compilations. She emphasised using mobile strictly for study and CA purposes, minimising distraction. Her preparation philosophy was quality over quantity — limited standard materials, repeated revision, rather than expanding sources.

Key CA habit: Monthly compilations used alongside the daily newspaper — the magazine filled systematic coverage gaps that daily reading may have missed. Her fifth-attempt success illustrates that CA consistency over time, not any single year's intensive coverage, is what matters.

Anuj Agnihotri — AIR 1, CSE 2025

Optional: Medical Science | Attempts: Third attempt

Anuj Agnihotri, a 26-year-old MBBS graduate from AIIMS Jodhpur and a DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service) probationer, secured AIR 1 in CSE 2025 with a score of 1071 marks — without any classroom coaching. He studied for 13 hours daily, beginning preparation during his MBBS internship in 2022.

For current affairs, Anuj enrolled in NEXT IAS's CA-VA (Current Affairs Value Addition) online course — a structured online-only CA preparation resource — rather than following an unstructured daily newspaper reading routine. His CA approach was described as integrated: linking static syllabus with current affairs at the point of study, not retrospectively. He prepared General Studies in an integrated manner that combined static knowledge with contemporary examples for better retention and answer quality.

Key CA habit: Structured online CA course (CA-VA by NEXT IAS) used as an organising framework for current affairs, rather than daily newspaper as the primary CA source. Daily newspaper reading was part of his routine but used in conjunction with the structured course rather than as a standalone CA method.

UPSC significance of Anuj's approach: He demonstrated that a self-study candidate without classroom coaching can achieve AIR 1 by combining a structured online CA course with disciplined static preparation and answer writing. The specific newspaper or coaching brand mattered less than the consistency and integration of the system.

Patterns Across All Five Toppers (CSE 2021–2025)

The universal finding: Consistency of daily reading + GS-tagging + systematic revision mattered in every case. The specific newspaper, coaching brand, or note format was secondary.

The Warning All Toppers Give

Every documented account from CSE 2021–2025 toppers emphasises that consistency over 18 months matters more than the specific sources chosen. A candidate who reads one newspaper every day for 18 months with honest syllabus linkage will cover more ground than a candidate who follows 5 sources for 4 months before burning out and switching systems.

The implication: choosing a CA system you can sustain for 18 months is more important than choosing the 'best' system theoretically. If you can only sustain 45 minutes per day of newspaper reading, choose a paper you can read consistently for 45 minutes — not one that is supposedly superior but that you will abandon after 3 months.