How old is the news UPSC interview boards ask about?
How many months after an event UPSC boards ask about it, the long-running stories they return to, and the issues of 2026 to prepare.
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How old the news is when a board asks about it. Each news question was matched by reading to the event behind it, and the event's month compared with the interview date.
How old the news was
One count per interview and event.
- Not yet happened4%
- 0 to 2 months62%
- 3 to 5 months17%
- 6 to 11 months12%
- 12 to 17 months4%
- 18 to 23 months1%
- 2 years or more1%
By exam year
Share of each year's event questions.
| Year | Not yet | Under 6 months | 6 to 11 months | A year or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSE 2021 | 11% | 67% | 15% | 7% |
| CSE 2022 | 2% | 82% | 12% | 5% |
| CSE 2023 | 4% | 83% | 8% | 4% |
| CSE 2024 | 5% | 80% | 8% | 8% |
| CSE 2025 | 2% | 74% | 17% | 7% |
What this means for CSE 2026 interviews
- Most news questions are about the last few months. 82% of the time the event was under six months old, and the typical gap was 1 month.
- For interviews in January to April 2027, that points to news from about July 2026 up to the week of your interview as the core, and the year before it as the outer ring (94% fall within a year).
- Boards also ask ahead: 4% of event questions were about something still to happen, such as a coming budget or summit.
Most-asked news events
Click one to see the questions.
| Event | Happened | Kind | Interviews | Median months later |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | Long-running | 274 | 13 | |
| Oct 2023 | Long-running | 69 | 6 | |
| Apr 2022 | Long-running | 64 | 1 | |
| Feb 2025 | Long-running | 57 | 2 | |
| Feb 2023 | One event | 50 | 0 | |
| Aug 2024 | Long-running | 45 | 7 | |
| Nov 2024 | One event | 39 | 2 | |
| May 2023 | Long-running | 38 | 10 | |
| Dec 2022 | One event | 37 | 3 | |
| Feb 2025 | One event | 35 | 0 | |
| Jan 2025 | Long-running | 34 | 12 | |
| Sep 2023 | Long-running | 33 | 17 | |
| Jan 2024 | One event | 30 | 1 | |
| Feb 2025 | Long-running | 30 | 12 | |
| Jan 2023 | One event | 27 | 2 |
Running themes
News questions with no single date behind them. Click one to see the questions.
Issues from 2026 to prepare
Major issues from January to early October 2026, collected on 2026-10-08 from news reports. Check each against its source before relying on it.
Issues from 2026 news to prepare
45 issues collected, each with what happened and board-style questions. A few of them:
- US-Israel war on Iran
- Strait of Hormuz crisis
- LPG shortage in India