WSDP Bulletin (21-12-2021)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Delimitation Commission proposes six additional seats for Jammu, one for Kashmir valley READ MORE
SEBI suspends futures trading in key farm crops READ MORE
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan READ MORE
Nai Manzil Scheme READ MORE
Deaths linked to PM2.5 2nd highest in India: Study READ MORE

Himalayan glaciers melting at ‘exceptional rate’ READ MORE
Climate crisis in North East India: How geography, rainfall variations define calamity course READ MORE
Raising marriage age won’t lead to women’s empowerment READ MORE

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

Amid vaccine booster talk, context matters a lot READ MORE
Law seeks to give dam safety a new thrust READ MORE
Power politics: Violence in politics is gaining a dynamic of its own READ MORE
Like Patel, Bose, Nehru, Indian MPs & MLAs must start at the bottom: in civic, panchayat bodies READ MORE
From checks and balances to compliance: How the judiciary has responded to government pressure READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

A strategic bulwark: India must redouble efforts towards Central Asia to counter the ‘Great Game’ rivalries READ MORE
Why the Russia-West equation matters to India READ MORE

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Need a new, decentralised look at agriculture READ MORE
Fiscal correction: Govt should not delay the consolidation process READ MORE
India’s FTA ambitions in perspective READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

In Punjab, sacred forests are shrinking due to encroachments and invasive species READ MORE

TECHNOLOGY

SECURITY

Another drug haul: Kutch emerging as a favourite transit point for smugglers READ MORE
Terror in the Valley: Centre needs to move towards a practical strategy to restore normalcy in J&K READ MORE

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

‘When democracy has come to mean much more than free and fair elections, the public monitoring and restraint of arbitrary exercises of power by bodies such as independent courts is vital for the freedom, equality, and well- being of citizens’. Comment.
‘As Courts are dependent on governments for the implementation of their orders, the impacts of their ruling sometimes remains invisible on ground realities’. In the light of the statement, how far do you think that counts role should be increased in the implementation of their orders? Analyse your view with relevant examples.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

Wanton killing innocent civilians is terrorism, not a war against terrorism.
After Independence, ministers with a vastly different set of values and perspectives came to wield authority. Civil servants realised that circumspection rather than pure efficiency was needed to make things work.
Tensions between the executive and judiciary are to be expected and welcomed in a democracy where those who exercise power.
When democracy has come to mean much more than free and fair elections, the public monitoring and restraint of arbitrary exercises of power by bodies such as independent courts is vital for the freedom, equality, and well-being of citizens.
If institutional checks and balances are intended to keep the executive and the judiciary on their toes and to prevent arbitrary exercises of power, tensions between the two should serve democracy in good stead.
Resistance to decentralisation does not come much from All-India Service officers but from state-level political leaders who know their powers of patronage will be curtailed.
Large municipal corporations and Zilla panchayats, aided by a complement of IAS, IPS, and IFS officers along with their counterparts from the state services, can provide governance and development interventions at the district level, and also raise necessary resources for carrying out the services.
The country should rather begin a new discussion on agriculture and crops, creating diverse food grain habits and sustaining ecology.

ESSAY TOPIC

50-WORD TALK

Experts opine that agritech, without doubt, is relooking at the way food has been grown and distributed in the country. But technological innovations are also being triggered by critical factors such as climate change, reduction in water availability, tolerance of pests, decrease in quality of soils and labour shortages. Funding, therefore, specifically for on-farm management and precision agriculture, they suggest, has to be increased.
The Dam Safety Act is probably the most futuristic and the best dam safety law in the world. It advises dam owners to carry out risk assessment at regular intervals, prepare an emergency action plan to assess the level of disasters that may unfold and makes obstruction or refusal to comply with instructions to ensure dam safety a punishable offence.

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.