WSDP Bulletin (15-09-2021)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. PM lays the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University in Aligarh READ MORE
2. SVAMITVA will play a vital role in making rural India Aatmanirbhar, Says Shri Giriraj Singh READ MORE
3. Explained: How was the Quad formed, and what are its objectives? READ MORE
4. Gauhati HC says citizenship is an important right, sets aside order declaring man as foreigner READ MORE
5. Unusual frogs and red pandas: Genetic science is identifying more species in the Himalayas READ MORE
6. India, Singapore announce project to link UPI and PayNow READ MORE

Main Exam  

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Behind the great Indian Internet shutdown: The tag of the world’s Internet shutdown capital stems from a lack of compliance with Supreme Court guidelines READ MORE
2. Instead of denying slide in democratic values, India must work to fix it READ MORE
3. More questions on Pegasus: India needs more transparent checks and balances READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Tackling mental health: Do the huge numbers warrant OTC anti-depressants? READ MORE
2. Humane touch: The SC correctly favours suicide by COVID-19 patients to be treated as medical deaths READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Partners in the Indo-Pacific: The ‘2+2’ dialogue between India and Australia will provide substance to an already meaningful partnership READ MORE
2. Quad unity: Biden’s ‘shift of focus to China’ must show at the Quad Summit if he means business at all READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. The big lesson from the small nation: Import substitution cannot deliver “Make in India for the World” READ MORE
2. All pain, no gain for farmers: NSO report indicates that average Indian farmer fares worse than a labourer READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Positive climate: On India engaging the U.S.: Engagement with the U.S. should help India expand mitigation, adaptation action READ MORE
2. Why India Needs Coal-Ash Pond Design Standards ASAP READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. For Success & Greatness READ MORE
2. Can we perform karma in a yogic way? READ MORE
3. Living a ‘good’ life READ MORE

Questions for the Main Exam

1. ‘The ‘2+2’ dialogue between India and Australia will provide substance to an already meaningful partnership’. Comment on the statement.
2. ‘Citizens will remain vulnerable until there is legislative action on privacy, and transparent checks and balances need to be created to prevent unnecessary and unjustified surveillance’. Analyse the statement.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• No race can prosper till it learns there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.
• The tag of the world’s Internet shutdown capital stems from a lack of compliance with Supreme Court guidelines.
• The ‘2+2’ dialogue between India and Australia will provide substance to an already meaningful partnership.
• India-Australia relations have deepened in the last few decades owing to the alignment of strategic interests driven by a common value system.
• The geo-political and geo-economic churning in international affairs makes it imperative for India and Australia to forge a partnership guided by principles with a humane approach.
• India, meanwhile, needs to get all States to mitigate emissions and help them adapt to climate-linked extreme weather and atmospheric pollution caused by fossil fuels.
• The high-profile case of suicide by Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020 did serve to highlight and spread awareness about mental health issues being as important to address as physical diseases.
• The increasing pace of urbanisation will lead to faster economic growth, keeping agriculture impoverished and forcing farmers to abandon farming and move out.
• The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) was formed with an aim to contain China’s growing influence in Asia and ensure territorial integrity in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Citizens will remain vulnerable until there is legislative action on this front, and transparent checks and balances are created to prevent unnecessary and unjustified surveillance.
• The humanitarian aspect of the law needs to be popularised to blunt indifference to circumstances that lead to suicides and encourage rehabilitation of survivors or families of victims.

50-WORD TALK

• Protests in Karnataka against ‘Hindi Diwas’, Tamil Nadu politicians going to court over central government communication in Hindi are reminders of the lingering north-south linguistic divide. The BJP government needs to keep these sensitivities in mind while pushing its cultural agenda. India is all about its wonderful diversities. Celebrate it.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked tough questions at the House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting. For India, three points stood out — Blinken’s statement that Washington’s engagement with Delhi on terror was so deep he’d rather not discuss publicly; his realistic assessment of Pakistan, and the friendly view on India.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.