WSDP Bulletin (22-10-2021)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Konkan Shakti exercise: India-U.K. to launch phase of high-level exchanges READ MORE
2. Pakistan to remain on FATF Grey List, Turkey new entrant READ MORE
3. A distant dead star is offering us a glimpse into the future of our Solar System READ MORE
4. Global agricultural productivity not growing as fast as food demand: Report READ MORE
5. Indian Railways likely to become world’s first ‘net-zero’ carbon emitter by 2030 READ MORE
6. Cabinet approval sets the implementation of PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) in motion READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS Paper- 1

1. For change: On same-sex relations and society READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Responding to adversity with achievement: India’s success in its landmark vaccination drive belongs to Team India, demonstrating that democracy can deliver READ MORE
2. The police losing power to the BSF? The Government has increased the jurisdiction of the BSF in border States to 50 km, which the Opposition parties haven’t received well READ MORE
3. Gender Stereotypes, Misinformation Cloud Indian Courts’ Rulings on HIV+ Sex Workers READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Dengue: Another crisis in the making READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The geopolitics of the Arctic: What it means for the EU, Russia and India READ MORE
2. The West Asian quad, as they say! For the first time, India to have a dialogue with the UAE and Israel on the same platform READ MORE
3. UK-India ties need strategic investment. Carrier Strike Group in Bay of Bengal good start READ MORE
4. Three Strategic Challenges in the Asia Pacific Region States READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. International trade is not a zero-sum game READ MORE
2. Towards a global minimum tax READ MORE
3. Explained | Why do governments want a global minimum corporate tax rate? READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY  

1. Climate change in Third Pole: As glaciers melt, two lakes grow larger; NASA releases images READ MORE
2. What is CoP26? Here’s how global climate negotiations work and what’s expected from the Glasgow summit READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Kerala disaster and the lessons learnt and ignored READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. How to determine your minimum requirements READ MORE
2. A murder most foul: Fanaticism is a disease that affects the less devout READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘India has a federation with a strong centralising tendency’. Comment.
2. How far do you agree with this view that the centre decision to increase the jurisdiction of the BSF is against the spirit of federalism? Analyse your view.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Where love stops, power begins, and violence, and terror.
• India’s success in its landmark vaccination drive belongs to Team India, demonstrating that democracy can deliver.
• UK Carrier Strike Group will participate in a bilateral exercise with the Navy.
• The global survey has only confirmed what we already knew about a worsening of India’s position.
• Cooperation in researching the melting permafrost in the Arctic region can bring together the EU, Russia and India.
• Cleaning up areas of stagnant water bodies; clearing drains; covering water tanks; treating water sources where mosquitoes breed and fogging may mitigate the situation.
• A true believer who has imbibed the core values of love, charity, mercy and forgiveness, common to all religions, will never think of resorting to violence for perceived wrongs. Fanaticism is a disease that affects the less devout!
• The best way to increase the jurisdiction of the BSF in a democratic country is to take the States in confidence and convince them of the need for taking the required action in the interest of the country.
• There is an exciting universe between Britain and India that needs to be discovered and re-discovered by economic, technological, cultural, and political interlocutors in both countries.
• The recent flooding in Uttarakhand will recur across the biodiversity-rich Himalayas; respecting the landscape is the only way to conserve it.

50- WORD TALK

• India’s decision to stay engaged with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and promise aid to its people is pragmatic. There’s obviously a realisation in New Delhi that it can’t abandon its stakes in Afghanistan and rightly so. This can also help ensure Afghanistan doesn’t become a base for forces inimical to India.
• India deserves to congratulate itself for touching the 100 crores Covid vaccination mark. It’s an achievement for governments, the healthcare and pharma sector and the public. The job, however, isn’t done. More second doses need to be pushed, speed sustained and the entire country covered sooner to banish the virus.

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 main 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.