Best Websites for Current Affairs (2026): Free Sites for UPSC, SSC, Banking and State PCS

The best website for current affairs depends on your exam and your language, and most aspirants need two sites, not one: an official source for facts and one exam site that picks what matters. For UPSC and State PCS, pair PIB with Drishti IAS, InsightsIAS or Vajiram & Ravi. For SSC and railway exams, use GKToday, Testbook or Adda247's current affairs site; for bank exams, AffairsCloud or GKToday, with RBI's own press releases to check figures. In Hindi, Drishti IAS Hindi covers UPSC and State PCS, and GKToday Hindi covers the one-liner exams.

Every site we recommend here is free to read in a browser. We opened each one on 28 September 2026 as a logged-out visitor and noted its newest dated post, what is free, what is paid or behind a login, and whether it has Hindi.

We make RetainIt, a current affairs app, and we run a free web reader that comes up in one section and one FAQ below, marked as ours. We checked it the same way as the other sites, we don't name it the best for any exam, and its limits sit beside everyone else's. No site paid to be listed, and none of the links are affiliate links.

Best website for current affairs: the short answer by exam and language

If you can open only one site a day, open the exam site for your row and check any number you'd bet marks on at PIB.

How we checked these websites

On 28 September 2026 we searched the English and Hindi queries people use to find current affairs websites, then opened each candidate's current affairs page directly as a logged-out visitor. For every site we noted the same things: the newest dated item, the languages offered, any daily quiz or monthly PDF listed, and any price or wording such as "Premium" or "paid users only". For a few we went deeper: a full Drishti IAS daily page, a full Vision IAS News Today article, a GKToday daily quiz and its PDF shop, and AffairsCloud's August 2026 monthly page and Hindi section. Later the same day we re-opened the pages to re-check the facts here, and updated any date that had moved.

We didn't create accounts, log in, pay, install apps or download PDFs, so we can't tell you how good any PDF is, or whether a download needs a sign-up where the page doesn't say. We didn't measure accuracy or compare exam results either. Our picks rest on what each site offers, how current it was on the day, whether it is free to read, and its language.

The dates here are the newest dated items we saw, and they will move. 28 September 2026 was a Monday morning, and Drishti IAS, InsightsIAS and ForumIAS say they don't publish on Sundays, so a newest date of Saturday 26 September is normal for them. Sites that didn't load or show readable content are under "Sites we left out".

What "free" means on current affairs websites

Nearly every site here calls itself free. On the day we checked, "free" came in three kinds:

• Free to read, with no login. The daily pages of every site we recommend opened in full without signing in. InsightsIAS also says every daily post includes a free PDF download.
• Free, with a push to sign up or install. PWOnlyIAS shows forms asking for your details, AffairsCloud's weekly tests are in its app (CareersCloud) only, Adda247 pushes its app in a banner, and GKToday shows register and login prompts.
• Paid extras. AffairsCloud's monthly PDF is for paid "CA 2026 Plan" subscribers only. GKToday's monthly "Top 200 MCQs" PDFs cost ₹150 each, and its full 20-question daily series is ₹999 a year in its Android app (the web quiz gives 5 questions a day free). Vision IAS marks Weekly Focus, its Monthly Current Affairs Workbook, Quarterly Revision Documents and its Union Budget, Economic Survey and Year End Review documents "Premium", and runs an "Upgrade to Premium Today" banner.

Money comes in at the monthly PDF and the full question bank, and a free weekly compilation or your own notes can often stand in for both.

Start with a primary source

Coaching sites write their notes from official releases and newspapers: Drishti IAS marks many items "Source: PIB", and InsightsIAS says it filters PIB for exam relevance. One official source beside your exam site lets you check numbers and names where they started.

PIB (Press Information Bureau)

PIB publishes the Government of India's press releases, from every ministry, the PMO and the Cabinet, plus Explainers, fact sheets, features, e-books and a Fact Check section. The site has English and Hindi versions. Its homepage showed a "last updated" date of 28 September 2026 when we checked, and the newest Explainers included World Tourism Day 2026 and India International Water Week 2026.

The catch: it is raw government output, not filtered for exams, much of it routine or ceremonial, with no quizzes or exam notes.

Best for: every exam, as the place to check a scheme's numbers, an appointment or a Cabinet decision. For UPSC, the Cabinet decisions and Explainers are the most compact parts to read.

PRS Legislative Research

PRS summarises and tracks bills in Parliament and the states, writes notes on draft bills and publishes a Monthly Policy Review. The August 2026 review was on the homepage, and the newest dated item was a 28 September 2026 page on The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026. There is a "Switch to Hindi" option.

The catch: it covers legislation and policy only, not sports, awards, appointments or general news, and it has no quizzes.

Best for: UPSC Polity and Governance, and State PCS. The Monthly Policy Review works as a ready-made monthly revision of what government and Parliament did.

RBI press releases

The Reserve Bank's press release page is the official record for banking awareness. The newest release when we checked was dated 28 September 2026 (the result of that day's overnight VRRR auction), and the site has a Hindi link.

The catch: most releases are technical notices on auctions and money-market operations, several a day. It is a place to check a figure, not a daily read.

Best for: bank aspirants (RBI Grade B, SBI and IBPS PO) checking a rate, a figure or a regulatory action they read about elsewhere.

NewsOnAir (All India Radio News)

NewsOnAir is All India Radio's news site, with text news, national and regional audio bulletins, news in regional languages and podcasts. Its "Morning News" audio bulletin was up at 8:15 AM on 28 September 2026, and the site lists Hindi bulletins (Samachar Prabhat, Dopahar Samachar and Samachar Sandhya).

The catch: it is general news, not picked for exams, with no quizzes or notes.

Best for: revising by ear on a commute, in Hindi, English or a regional language.

Best websites for UPSC and State PCS current affairs

UPSC needs exact facts for Prelims and the argument behind the news for Mains. All the sites below were updated in the week of our check, and most draw on the same newspapers and PIB, so one is enough; they differ in format, focus and language. Our guide on how to remember current affairs for UPSC shows how to turn one story into Prelims facts and Mains points.

Drishti IAS (English and Hindi)

Drishti IAS publishes Daily Current Affairs (news analysis) and Important Editorials, with daily MCQs, weekly revision MCQs, a PIB current affairs section, notes on Sansad TV discussions, State PCS sections and monthly consolidations of current affairs, editorials and MCQs. Each item is tagged "For Prelims" or "For Mains" and carries a source line such as "Source: PIB". Drishti says it picks daily news from The Hindu, The Indian Express and LiveMint, plus PIB, BBC and CNN.

The newest daily page was 26 September 2026, and it loaded in full without a login. Drishti calls its monthly consolidations free downloads, but the main monthly consolidation pages (current affairs, editorials and MCQs) asked us to log in; its State PCS monthly PDFs opened without one. The catch: no daily news on Sundays and national holidays (Drishti picks up missed topics on the following weekdays), long pages, and courses and test series sold alongside.

Best for: UPSC and State PCS aspirants who want one site, in English or Hindi, with every item tagged for Prelims or Mains.

InsightsIAS

InsightsIAS says its daily current affairs filters news from The Hindu, PIB and The Indian Express and is updated every day except Sundays. It has subject filters (such as Environment, Polity and Economy), a daily current affairs quiz, a static quiz, a monthly magazine (August 2026 was listed) and Mains answer writing. Its FAQ says every daily post includes a free PDF download. The newest post was dated 26 September 2026.

The catch: it is in English, and we couldn't confirm a Hindi edition. It is built for UPSC, so it gives SSC and bank aspirants more than they need.

Best for: English-medium UPSC aspirants who want a Mains-oriented daily page with a free PDF.

Vajiram & Ravi

Vajiram & Ravi's current affairs hub was among the most up to date UPSC sites we checked, with a Daily Editorial Analysis dated 28 September 2026, Prelims Pointers and Mains Articles dated Sunday 27 September, and a UPSC Daily Quiz dated 26 September. It also lists monthly PDFs and its monthly magazine, The Recitals. We saw no login wall on the hub.

The catch: the daily current affairs is in English (we couldn't confirm a Hindi version), and it is written for UPSC only.

Best for: UPSC aspirants who like Prelims facts and Mains articles kept separate.

Vision IAS

Vision IAS publishes News Today daily articles and downloads, a Daily News Summary, a daily quiz, its monthly magazine, and PT 365 and Mains 365. The site offers English and Hindi. The News Today article we opened (24 September) loaded in full without a login, and the newest News Today listed was 25 September 2026, three days before our check.

The catch: free and paid sit side by side. Several menu items are marked "Premium" and a banner says "Upgrade to Premium Today", so it isn't always clear what is free until you click.

Best for: UPSC aspirants, in English or Hindi, who already revise from Vision's monthly material.

ForumIAS 9 PM Brief

The ForumIAS 9 PM brief sifts four to five newspapers into one evening page of important articles for UPSC, posted Monday to Saturday. The newest was dated 26 September 2026, and a weekly compilation for the third week of September 2026 was up for download. The menu also lists weekly and monthly PDFs and a 10 PM daily quiz.

The catch: English only, UPSC only, and no Sunday edition.

Best for: UPSC aspirants, especially for Mains, who want one short read at the end of the day.

Shankar IAS Parliament

Shankar IAS Parliament, from Shankar IAS Academy, posts daily Prelim Bits and news, UPSC current affairs one-liners, and a daily current affairs quiz, plus a monthly download (August 2026 when we checked). Its page was dated 28 September 2026, and one-liners were up for Sunday 27 September.

The catch: English only, and the page layout is busy.

Best for: UPSC Prelims aspirants who revise from short daily facts.

Also updated this week

• Next IAS: Daily Current Affairs (newest 26 September 2026), Editorial Analysis and a short Headlines of the Day (newest 28 September), with an archive 171 pages deep. The site has a Hindi version, but we didn't check its current affairs in Hindi.
• PWOnlyIAS: daily articles tagged by GS paper and subject, News In Shorts (newest 26 September 2026), Editorial Analysis and a monthly magazine, Monthly Current Wallah. It has a Hindi-medium series, and forms on the page ask for your details.
• IASbaba: free daily current affairs, a daily quiz and a free English monthly magazine (newest issue July 2026; its Hindi monthly stops at March 2024). Its newest daily post was 24 September 2026, four days before our check.

For State PCS aspirants

State PCS papers mix national current affairs with state news, which national sites cover only now and then. Drishti IAS has State PCS sections and, in Hindi, a PCS quiz; Dhyeya IAS and Sanskriti IAS write for UPPCS, BPSC and other commissions in Hindi (see below); IASbaba also runs courses for Karnataka's KAS. Add your state government's own press releases for state schemes and appointments.

Best websites for SSC and railway current affairs

SSC and railway General Awareness asks short, exact questions, so a site with brief daily posts and a quiz suits it better than long UPSC analysis. Static GK needs its own book alongside; our guide on how to prepare current affairs for SSC CGL shows how to fit both into your day.

GKToday

GKToday posts short current affairs items by category and was among the fastest-updated sites we checked: its English and Hindi sections both had posts dated 28 September 2026, the day we looked. A daily quiz of 5 MCQs, with answers and notes, is free on the web.

The catch: the full daily series of 20 MCQs is in GKToday's Android app for ₹999 a year, its monthly "Top 200 MCQs" PDFs cost ₹150 each, and the site shows register and login prompts.

Best for: SSC, railway and bank aspirants who want short same-day facts in English or Hindi.

Testbook

Testbook's current affairs page has daily pages (the newest was 28 September 2026), a daily quiz, monthly current affairs, a current affairs questions PDF for January to December 2025, and separate current affairs pages in Hindi, Marathi and Bengali. Testbook says its daily and monthly current affairs PDFs are free; we didn't check whether downloading needs a login.

The catch: it sells test series and coaching on the same pages.

Best for: SSC and railway aspirants who want daily current affairs and a quiz in English, Hindi, Marathi or Bengali.

Adda247 Current Affairs

Adda247's current affairs site had posts dated 28 September 2026, a weekly one-liner roundup for 21 to 27 September 2026, and menu links to a one-liner PDF, monthly one-liner questions and an RBI circular PDF. It is aimed at bank, SSC, railway and state exams.

The catch: a banner at the top pushes its app, and its monthly PDFs (August 2026 was the newest) are handed out through a Google Form rather than a direct link. Its separate Hindi site was months behind when we checked (see the Hindi section).

Best for: SSC, railway and bank aspirants who revise from weekly one-liners.

Best websites for bank exam current affairs

Bank exams tilt current affairs towards banking awareness: RBI, the economy, banks and financial schemes. So look for a site with a banking section, and take any RBI figure from RBI's press releases (above) rather than from a summary. Our guide on how to remember current affairs for bank exams shows how to date and revise those figures. GKToday and Adda247, covered above, carry banking news too.

AffairsCloud

AffairsCloud posts daily current affairs across national, international, banking, sports and state news, with banking, computer and marketing awareness quizzes, a state-wise current affairs section and YouTube videos. Its English side was same-day when we checked, with a post for 27 and 28 September dated 28 September 2026.

The catch: the monthly PDF is for paid "CA 2026 Plan" subscribers only, and weekly tests are in its app only. The newest post on its Hindi team's page was dated 6 April 2026.

Best for: English-medium bank and insurance aspirants who want a banking-heavy daily feed.

BankersAdda

BankersAdda, from Adda247, posts Daily Current Affairs and GK Updates (the newest was 26 September 2026) and a daily current affairs quiz for banking (newest 25 September), and lists a monthly PDF. It overlaps with Adda247's current affairs site, so use one or the other.

Best for: bank aspirants who want a daily quiz aimed at bank exams.

Others we saw

• BankExamsToday posts current affairs one-liners for bank exams (newest 24 September 2026) and sells paid courses on the same page.
• Jagran Josh's Current GK section says it is updated daily, but it mixes trending stories with exam GK, and we couldn't find a dedicated current affairs page (its old /current-affairs address redirected to the homepage).
• StudyIQ had current affairs articles dated 26 September 2026, but its daily quiz list stopped at 6 May 2026 and its Hindi daily PDF archive at 29 August.

Best websites for current affairs in Hindi

Several Hindi current affairs sites that rank on Google hadn't been updated for weeks or months when we checked, so look at the newest date before relying on one. These were current in the week of 28 September 2026:

• Drishti IAS Hindi for UPSC and State PCS. Its newest daily page was 26 September 2026, and it runs Hindi quizzes on the web: a daily current affairs quiz (newest 24 September), a daily editorial quiz, a PCS quiz and a Yojana and Kurukshetra quiz. There is no edition on Sundays and national holidays. It was the most complete Hindi daily source for UPSC and PCS we found.
• Dhyeya IAS for UPSC, UPPCS and BPSC, in Hindi and English. Its Hindi Daily News Analysis came every two or three days in the second half of September (newest 26 September), and its daily MCQs were up for 28 September. The menu also lists Brain Booster, Info Pedia, daily news videos, Yojana and Kurukshetra gists and a magazine, Perfect 7.
• Sanskriti IAS Hindi for UPSC and UPPSC, with Hindi articles dated 26 September 2026, such as one on the Global Cities Index 2026. We didn't check its monthly PDF or quizzes.
• GKToday Hindi for SSC, railway and bank one-liners, with posts dated 28 September 2026.
• Testbook Hindi for SSC and railway, with a daily list starting at 28 September 2026 and a free daily quiz link.
• Official sources in Hindi: PIB has a Hindi version, PRS a Hindi switch, RBI a Hindi link, and NewsOnAir Hindi audio bulletins. Vision IAS also offers Hindi. IASbaba's Hindi monthly magazine, still listed on its site, stops at March 2024.

Sites that came up for Hindi searches but looked behind on 28 September 2026: Adda247's Hindi current affairs site (newest dated item 18 June 2026), AffairsCloud's Hindi team page (newest post 6 April 2026) and StudyIQ's Hindi daily PDFs (newest 29 August).

Current affairs websites compared

Every site in this table let us read its daily pages without logging in on 28 September 2026. "Listed" means we saw it in the site's menu or list but didn't open it; the last column is the newest dated post we saw that day.

Where can I read current affairs for free?

If you want a free current affairs website you can read without login, these gave us full daily pages on 28 September 2026:

• Official: PIB, PRS, RBI press releases and NewsOnAir.
• UPSC and State PCS: Drishti IAS (English and Hindi), InsightsIAS, ForumIAS's 9 PM brief and Vajiram & Ravi.
• SSC, railway and banking: GKToday (including its 5-question daily quiz), Adda247's current affairs site and AffairsCloud's daily posts.

What usually costs money or needs an account is the layer on top: monthly PDFs, full question banks and weekly tests.

One more no-login option is ours, so weigh this paragraph accordingly. The RetainIt current affairs reader needs no sign-in, comes in English and Hindi, and has every date back to 1 July 2025, by date or by topic. Each story has a summary, key points and "Exam Points". It carries only a handful of AI-written stories a day (2 to 13 on the September days we looked at, and none on some days, such as 26 September), not full news coverage. The summaries have no source links, there are no quizzes on the web, and the Hindi is AI-translated, so check key facts on PIB.

How to use a daily current affairs website in 30 to 45 minutes

1. Pick one exam site in the language of your paper, from the short-answer table, and keep it for at least a month before judging it.
2. Read that day's page (20 to 30 minutes). Note only exam facts: names, numbers, dates, bodies and places, and for UPSC one line on why the story matters.
3. Check what you'd bet marks on (5 to 10 minutes). For a scheme's numbers, a bill's provisions or an RBI figure, open the PIB, PRS or RBI release and correct your note.
4. Recall before you close the tab (5 minutes). Write three facts from memory, check them, then take the site's daily quiz.
5. Once a week, do the site's weekly quiz or compilation instead of reading anything new. At month end, revise from your own notes or the site's monthly consolidation rather than starting a fresh PDF.

If your site doesn't publish on Sundays, use Sunday for the weekly revision; you haven't fallen behind. Our guide on how to remember current affairs explains why recalling what you read beats rereading it.

Where newspapers, YouTube, magazines and apps fit

• Newspapers. For UPSC Mains and the essay, editorials still matter. Newspaper websites such as The Hindu and The Indian Express are a different kind of source, covered in the best newspaper for current affairs.
• YouTube. Daily video analysis suits people who learn by listening; see the best YouTube channels for current affairs.
• Monthly magazines and PDFs. For month-end revision, see the best current affairs magazines.
• Apps. If you read on your phone and want quizzes in one place, see our comparison of current affairs apps.

Sites we left out, and why

• Couldn't load or read. DD News and Sansad TV didn't load; Utkarsh and Guidely showed no readable content, and TodaySprint timed out. We'd rather say nothing than guess.
• Not a daily feed. ClearIAS's current affairs page is a set of topic notes, not dated daily updates.
• Newer sites. Current Affairs Pulse says its articles, quizzes and PDFs are free with no registration, and had a post dated 27 September 2026, but we couldn't verify who runs it.
• Not enough seen. Khan Global Studies had daily current affairs dated 28 September 2026, but we couldn't confirm Hindi. For Oliveboard we saw only a PDF landing page with Login and Signup buttons, not a daily current affairs page.

Common mistakes with current affairs websites

• Following five sites. They draw on the same newspapers and PIB releases, so a second exam site mostly repeats the first. One exam site plus one official source is enough.
• Collecting PDFs you never revise. A downloaded monthly PDF feels like progress, but only what you can recall counts. Revise from one set.
• Trusting the year in a page title. A title can carry "2026" while the posts stopped months earlier. Look at the newest dated post, especially on Hindi sections.