Yojana and Kurukshetra Magazine for UPSC

This section brings to the IAS aspirants the summarised versions of Yojana and Kurukshetra magazines published by the Government of India (GoI). Given that these magazines have articles on some single topic every month, there will be duplication of content across articles. Legacy IAS team refines this content after careful perusal

Importance of yojana and kurukshetra

Yojana and Kurukshetra are amongst the leading resources referred to by many experts and IAS toppers. It is important for an aspirant to include these in the preparation for UPSC Exam. Many a IAS aspirant expresses doubts over the utility of  Yojana and Kurukshetra for IAS Exam Preparation. If they agree on importance, the next question that pops up is “how to read it?”. Read this to understand the relevance of Yojana for UPSC Exam.

What are Yojana and Kurukshetra?

These are monthly magazines published by the Government of India which cover socio-economic issues that are relevant to India. The latter focuses on Rural Sector and associated issues.

Why Yojana and Kurukshetra should be a part of UPSC Exam Preparation?

• Yojana and Kurukshetra are the best magazines suggested by many experts as they cover social and economic issues briefed in the newspapers in an extensive manner by integrating enough detail. These magazines give data and facts that pertain to these socio-economic issues
• Yojana and Kurukshetra, with all the important points, are of great significance for UPSC Prelims, Mains and Interview Preparation. For the most part these magazines are helpful for General Studies Paper 2 and Paper 3 as well as Essay paper
• They provide unbiased view on various issues i.e., both pros and cons
• The wide range of topics they cover include Governance, Federalism, International Relations, Budget and more
• The Yojana and Kurukshetra Summaries we provide at Legacy IAS, the best IAS academy in Bangalore, are to be read by keeping in mind the previous years’ question papers of General Studies Papers of Mains Exam and Essay Paper. This will give enough idea as to how questions have been framed by the UPSC.
• This exercise makes Legacy IAS as the best IAS coaching centre in Bangalore as well as in South India.

UPSC IAS exam has a vast syllabus of which many topics will be related to the debates and issues going on during that period. The period is not limited a year, but past 1 to 3 years. There are always questions lingering in the minds of the aspirants regarding the coverage of these many areas. The questions that pop up include: What should be the source for data related to such topics? How to present those insights?

Why should an IAS aspirant study these Magazines?

• They bring out the government’s point of view on various issues and also provides data and analyses.
• Engages you to read an issue from multiple perspectives. This is going to come as a great aid even as write Essays, which require analyses from various perspectives
• In a year, with 12 issues of Yojana and 12 issues of Kurukshetra, a candidate can have a solid hold on 35-40 topics. This is equivalent to 20% of preparation for GS main papers.
• A better analysis of recent schemes, initiatives and policies also gets featured in these magazines. This info comes in handy for prelims and Main
• Mere reading of Yojana and Kurukshetra books would help you get enough quality data for Main examination

How to study them?

• You can read it fully or some prefer a short summary of Yojana and Kurukshetra by Legacy IAS, the Top IAS coaching in Bangalore, and other just buy them
• Don’t give much importance to the government schemes if you are following them from the PIB otherwise read about them briefly too 
• If possible read the summary of last 2-3 years of these magazines and make 4-5 pages notes out of it. 
• Ultimately, what matters is your own note upon these magazines, it does not matter how you have prepared it. Finally, revise, re-revise and repeat the same process till you become Exam ready. 

Given that the UPSC IAS Exam preparation requires lots of patience and hard work, the task can to an extent be eased by the power of audio-visual learning. The “All India Radio” AIR broadcasts most significant programs daily which emphasises topics for IAS prelims Examination. The News, Spotlight, Countrywide are the programs that need to be followed. Spotlight takes up an ongoing issue and gets experts’ opinions on it for 15 mins. This would enrich a student’s knowledge about that particular issue, alongside get some fodder to provide practical suggestions in Mains GS papers.