WSDP Bulletin (12-03-2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Innovative tech creating unprecedented disruption in banking sector: Khara READ MORE
2. Govt tightens IPO valuation scrutiny, jolts startups eyeing listings: Report READ MORE
3. India, China hold 15th round of military talks READ MORE
4. India, Canada to reboot trade agreement talks READ MORE
5. Border, forest officials seize live pangolins, deer horns on Bihar-Nepal border READ MORE
6. US officially designates Qatar as a major non-NATO ally READ MORE
7. Kerala Budget: New IT park proposed in Kannur, 4 IT corridors READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS Paper- 1

1. The mystery of an ancient Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Malay Peninsula READ MORE
2. Alternatives for Secure Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Electoral democracy vs constitutional democracy: Post-poll lessons READ MORE
2. Seeking Succour READ MORE
3. Critical Importance of Cooperative Federalism READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Explained: What is manual scavenging, and why is it still prevalent in India? READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Double trouble: Nato and the EU are not overly excited about granting membership to Ukraine READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. More jobs can shock-proof the Indian economy. Unemployment allowance can be cushion for now READ MORE
2. India is making a mistake by increasing contract labour instead of quality jobs READ MORE  
3. Behind India’s Lowest Female Labour Force Participation Rates in the World READ MORE
4. Negotiating Disciplines on Fisheries Subsidies at the WTO: Sustaining the Blue Economy READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY  

1. India used more coal power in 2021 than 2020, which could delay its climate goals: IEA READ MORE
2. The Irreversibility of Change in Climate READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Shutdown this misguided energy policy: The vulnerabilities of reactors and their high costs are strong reasons why India must cancel its nuclear expansion plans READ MORE
2. Towards a composite tech evolution: Technology impacts life anywhere and everywhere READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Arms lobbies rip S Asia with forced weaponry sales READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Is it easier to be unhappy than to be happy? READ MORE
2. Rebalancing ecology, economics & ethics READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Our economy is a subset of ecology, and therefore, to save ecology, we must be ethical in our economic activities. In the light of the statement, discuss how our activities can be balanced between ecology, economics, and ethics?
2. ‘In urban India, India should empower local governments to meet their adaptive capacities and support them in preparing their disaster atlas to ensure minimum damage to lives and assets’. Discuss the statement.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• True humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.
• The women here have taught the entire society to live with harsh natural challenges, taught to fight and taught to win.
• It is imperative that to achieve sustainable development, the broken harmony between economy, ecology and ethics be restored.
• Understanding that our economy is a subset of our ecology is critical. It is therefore vital that human behaviour toward nature be modified and corrected. To achieve this, ecology and ethics need to work in tandem.
• Climate-resilient development should be commensurate with social justice.
• Strengthening the “cooperative” element of our federal structure is the key factor in formulating the fiscal relationships in the Indian economy.
• India needs to revisit its urban planning strategy, which should be people-centric. Simultaneously, it should empower local governments to meet their adaptive capacities and support them in preparing their disaster atlas to ensure minimum damage to lives and assets.
• This indicates a severe ‘time poverty’ for women who in the process of balancing might be required to give up on rest and leisure, with severe consequences for their physical and emotional well-being.
• The existing policies in India are not universal across all sectors of the economy and are dogged by exclusions. A commitment to gender equality, after all, is the nazariya that is most needed now and ever.
• Presidential intervention shapes and defines that vital ‘consequential disturbance’, just as the lack of it signifies the waste of that power and more importantly, responsibility.

50-WORD TALK

• New Delhi’s admission that a malfunction led to the firing of a cruise missile into Pakistan will cause justified global concern. In nuclear-weapons environments, annihilation is just one accident or misperception away. Full, transparent investigation is necessary. India and Pakistan must begin a serious dialogue to reduce nuclear risks.

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.