CLAT Current Affairs & GK Mastery
Section anatomy
- Question count: 28 (largest section)
- Passages: 6 to 8, each 450 words
- Content mix: 65% current affairs, 20% static GK triggered by passage, 15% legal awareness
Coverage window
For CLAT 2026 (December 2025 exam), the reliable window is January 2025 to October 2025 with cushion coverage of November highlights.
Source stack
Tier 1 (compulsory, daily)
- The Hindu — read National + International + Editorial + Explained daily
- PIB (pib.gov.in) — Cabinet decisions, MoU highlights, scheme launches
- Ministry press releases in high-frequency areas (Law, Finance, External Affairs)
Tier 2 (compulsory, weekly)
- Rajya Sabha TV / Sansad TV summary videos
- The Print's "Long Read" on Fridays
- Weekly compilation from a reputed CLAT coach
Tier 3 (monthly)
- Monthly CA magazine (Vision IAS or GKToday)
- Yojana / Kurukshetra for government-scheme summaries
Topic buckets to master
1. Governance & polity
- Supreme Court verdicts (last 12 months): note case name, bench, ratio decidendi
- Constitutional amendments & bills passed
- Election Commission news (state polls, symbol allotment, MCC breaches)
2. Economy
- Budget key numbers: fiscal deficit target, capital expenditure allocation
- RBI monetary policy: repo/CRR changes, MPC composition
- International reports: World Bank, IMF, Ease of Doing Business
3. International relations
- Bilateral summits (India–US 2+2, India–UAE CEPA update)
- Multilateral: G20, BRICS, SCO, QUAD outcomes
- India's stance on major crises (Israel–Palestine, Russia–Ukraine)
4. Defence & security
- Missile / satellite launches
- Joint exercises with country/exercise name pairs
- Defence procurement (Rafale, Tejas Mk-2 etc.)
5. Awards & personalities
- Nobel Prize winners with rationale
- Bharat Ratna / Padma awards
- Booker / Jnanpith / Man Booker International
6. Environment
- Global climate summits (COP updates)
- India's renewable milestones
- Endangered species / Ramsar sites
7. Sports
- ICC and FIFA outcomes; captain-title mapping
- Olympic / Asian Games medal position
- Grand Slam winners
Passage-answering algorithm
- Read the passage headline & first paragraph.
- Identify the news event and the "static hook" (e.g., mentions of Article, Section, past incident).
- For direct fact questions, scan the passage.
- For static GK questions (year, article number, first person to X) — rely on memory. Never guess an obscure date unless 2 options can be eliminated.
- Inference questions test whether the option is supported by the passage; discard options with outside claims.
Static GK triggers to memorise
Every CA passage in CLAT is paired with a static-GK question. Memorise these before the exam:
- Preamble keywords and their history (42nd amendment additions)
- Fundamental Rights and Duties article numbers (12 to 35, 51A)
- Prime Ministers (name → tenure → notable achievement)
- Supreme Court landmark judgments (Kesavananda, Vishaka, Puttaswamy, Sabarimala, Shayara Bano)
- Bill vs Act stages, ordinance route (Article 123, 213)
Revision cadence
| Timeline | Activity |
|---|---|
| Daily | 45 min newspaper + 15 min compilation |
| Weekly | 30-question quiz on the week's news |
| Monthly | Read the previous compilation cover to cover |
| −60 days | Static GK deep dive using previous CLAT PYQs |
| −15 days | Only error log + top 20 hot topics |
| −3 days | Speed drills — 6 passages in 40 min |
| Day 0 | Nothing new — mental rest |
Hot topics for CLAT 2026 (illustrative)
- Uniform Civil Code debate
- Digital Personal Data Protection Act implementation
- New Criminal Laws (BNS, BNSS, BSA)
- India–Bangladesh political shift and diplomatic recalibration
- ISRO's Gaganyaan uncrewed test flight
- Supreme Court ruling on Article 370 review petitions
- India's chairing of the SCO summit
Common mistakes
- Memorising dates without context — CLAT rarely asks pure dates.
- Ignoring international news — 5+ questions per year.
- Skipping legal news assuming it's "Legal Reasoning" — it's actually CA.
- Over-relying on one YouTube channel; diversify sources.
Sample question dissection
Passage (200 words) about a Supreme Court judgment on the Right to Repair.
- Q1 Direct fact: which bench delivered the verdict? → find in text.
- Q2 Inference: what does the verdict imply for e-commerce platforms? → apply logic.
- Q3 Static: which article was cited (Art 21 read with Art 19)? → memory.
- Q4 Author's tone: cautiously optimistic → adjectives around "welcome step but…"
- Q5 Vocabulary: "constitutional right" in context.
Practice 3 such passages per week.
Practice MCQs — CA & GK
Q1. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act was passed in: A) 2021 B) 2022 C) 2023 D) 2024
Q2. India's first Chief of Defence Staff was: A) M.M. Naravane B) Bipin Rawat C) Anil Chauhan D) V.K. Singh
Q3. G20 2023 Summit was hosted by: A) Indonesia B) India C) Brazil D) Italy
Q4. UNCLOS deals with: A) Outer space B) Law of the Sea C) Trade tariffs D) Cyber law
Q5. Fundamental Duties were added by which amendment: A) 42nd B) 44th C) 73rd D) 86th
Answers: 1-C, 2-B, 3-B, 4-B, 5-A.
More Practice MCQs (Q6–Q10)
Q6. New Parliament building of India was inaugurated in: A) 2021 B) 2022 C) 2023 D) 2024
Q7. Chandrayaan-3 landed on the Moon in: A) July 2023 B) August 2023 C) September 2023 D) October 2023
Q8. ICJ is headquartered at: A) New York B) Geneva C) The Hague D) Vienna
Q9. Article 21 protects: A) Freedom of religion B) Right to life & personal liberty C) Equality D) Free speech
Q10. BRICS in 2024 added new members including: A) Pakistan B) Egypt & UAE C) Turkey D) Mexico
Answers: 6-C, 7-B, 8-C, 9-B, 10-B.
MCQ Metadata — Difficulty & Topic Tags
| Q# | Difficulty | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy | Indian legislation — DPDP Act |
| 2 | Easy | Defence — CDS |
| 3 | Easy | International summits — G20 |
| 4 | Medium | International law — UNCLOS |
| 5 | Medium | Constitutional amendments |
| 6 | Easy | Indian polity — Parliament |
| 7 | Easy | Space — Chandrayaan-3 |
| 8 | Easy | International organisations — ICJ |
| 9 | Easy | Fundamental Rights |
| 10 | Medium | International groupings — BRICS |
Split: Easy 7 · Medium 3 · Hard 0
