WSDP Bulletin (01-11-2021)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelims and Mains:

1. PM launches Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 READ MORE
2. Punjab bats for conservation of Indus River dolphin READ MORE
3. Scientists find a mineral seen in the depths of the Earth in a meteorite READ MORE
4. NITI Aayog, in a joint effort with IFPRI, IIPS, UNICEF and IEG launch ‘The State Nutrition Profiles” for 19 States and Union Territories READ MORE
5. Four Gulf states including UAE pull diplomats from Beirut READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Indians have shrunk Sardar Patel to just 1947 integration. There was so much more to him READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. The Court’s order on Pegasus still falls short: Far too many cases have been diluted with the appointment of external panels, in turn compromising civil liberties READ MORE  
2. Why India needs a Ministry of Energy READ MORE
3. Is Arbitration Still Really an Alternative to Traditional litigation? READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Getting nutrition back on the school high table: COVID-19 or otherwise, educational institutions need to ensure that schoolchildren are nurtured and nourished READ MORE
2. Farmer suicides: Numbers tell story of financial and mental distress READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. G20 ends without time-bound promise on climate change READ MORE
2. India in a double bind: Episodic foreign policy comes with more problems than solutions READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Two paths of recovery READ MORE
2. How China Beat India in the FDI Game and How We Can Pull Ahead READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY  

1. How to decarbonize: Central planning in decarbonisation will impose excessive costs upon society READ MORE
2. With or without a net-zero deadline, India will have to make these policy changes to cut emissions READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Explained: How IRIS and CDRI work to strengthen critical infrastructure against climate change READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Welcome the light that can transform you READ MORE
2. Paradox of autonomy READ MORE
3. Epidemics End. Eventually. Sort Of. READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN Exam

1. ‘Episodic foreign policy comes with more problems than solutions’. In the light of the statement, discuss what should be India’s approach for its foreign policy?
2. State policy must work towards improving the courts system rather than pushing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at the cost of courts. How far do you agree with this view? Analyse your view.
3. Discuss how ‘the successful satyagraha in Bardoli in 1928 against the revised rates of land revenue catapulted Patel into national prominence’?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• When you live on a round planet, there’s no choosing sides.
• In order for arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms to become true ‘alternatives’ to the court system, State policy must work towards improving the courts system rather than pushing ADR at the cost of courts.
• COVID-19 or otherwise, educational institutions need to ensure that schoolchildren are nurtured and nourished.
• It would not alter the existing roles and responsibilities of the various ministries that oversee petroleum, coal, renewables and power, but would identify and handle all of the issues that currently fall between the cracks created by the existing structure.
• While the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) aims to climate-proof infra projects in member countries, the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) is its first major work that focuses on islands.
• Persistence of high demand for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme shows the crisis in the informal economy.
• Suicide is the ultimate sign of distress. Falling incomes and rising indebtedness are cited as trigger points, but such deaths can have complex causes.
• Despite the lack of clarity on distinguishing farmer suicide from death by suicide over reasons that may not be directly related to the occupation, the numbers only reveal the extent of agrarian distress and its tragic manifestation.
• The successful satyagraha in Bardoli in 1928 against the revised rates of land revenue catapulted Patel into national prominence.

50- WORD TALK

• Suicide is the ultimate sign of distress. Falling incomes and rising indebtedness are cited as trigger points, but such deaths can have complex causes. Preventing such extreme steps calls for an attitudinal change not only of the government, but also of those who care for farmers. That seeking mental healthcare is a sign of strength, and not weakness, needs to be driven home.

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.