WSDP Bulletin (22-06-2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. US Navy, Iran have tense encounter in Strait of Hormuz READ MORE
2. Explained: The anti-defection law and why it still remains a toothless tiger READ MORE
3. Explained: India’s emerging twin deficit problem READ MORE
4. Explained: Russia has cut gas supplies to Europe; what happens now? READ MORE
5. How a noxious aquatic weed was used to make eco-friendly products, generate employment in rural Bengal READ MORE
6. Spain, Germany battle wildfires amid unusual heat wave READ MORE
7. PM Modi will attend the 14th BRICS summit in virtual format on June 23-24 READ MORE

Main Exam   

GS Paper- 1

1. Caste or biradari? How ‘privilege and descent’ plays out among Indian Muslims READ MORE
2. India Society: Its journey from traditional to modern READ MORE
3. Monsoon 2022: The North East may be deluged, but the west coast is dry; here is why READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. A wish list for reform in India’s higher judiciary READ MORE
2. Will the Aadhaar fiasco pave the way for a stronger Data Protection Bill? READ MORE
3. Inter-State Council can help bolster state-centre bond READ MORE
4. SC’s Judgment on Compulsory Vaccination Addresses Executive Accountability READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India and Australia: Partners with shared interests and entwined destinies READ MORE
2. Going bigger with BRICS-Plus: The strained India-China relations need to ease off to make it more effective READ MORE
3. IPEF Challenges READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Why the communication gap between the MPC and RBI is troubling READ MORE
2. Regional inequalities and resource transfers READ MORE
3. Why the revival of the World Trade Organisation depends on US and China READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Climate and Us | An inequitable status quo remains in climate action READ MORE
2. No single-use plastic: There is no case for extending the deadline READ MORE
3. Climate change: How can India’s concretised, dangerously hot cities be cooled down sustainably? READ MORE
4. Improving India’s Poor Environmental Performance READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Analysing spectrum auction: The reserve price is expected to dominate the minds of bidders in the months to come READ MORE
2. A new global standard for AI ethics READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. A new global standard for AI ethics READ MORE
2. Offer yourself to the fire of purification READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘It is important to align the currency with the financial strength and economic requirements of a country, an overvalued currency can have disastrous consequences’. Comment on the statement.
2. How far do you agree with this view that even after the 25 years of its establishment, BIMSTEC remains fragmented, and no lesson has been learned from the failures or constraints of SAARC? Justify your view.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The UIDAI’s failed advisory on use of photocopies of Aadhaar cards highlights the need for a tough data protection law, which the new Data Protection Bill was meant to be. However, in its present form it privileges a free and fair digital economy over informational privacy.
• If the objective is to induce trust in digital markets to enable their growth at the cost of informational privacy, accepting the draft Bill in its current form will be problematic.
• From an Indian perspective, the Act East Policy can be best realised if BIMSTEC and ASEAN are seen to be working more closely in identified areas.
• The slow evolution of the institutional framework of BIMSTEC has been fashioned along that of SAARC. No effort seems to have been made to learn from the failures or constraints of SAARC.
• Although there is talk of BIMSTEC being a bridge between South and Southeast Asia, any effort towards building such a link remain invisible. Thus, the prospects of having BIMSTEC move ahead on trade and cooperation with ASEAN is missing.
• As machine-learning models grow in complexity and improve their ability to mimic feelings, they are also becoming more difficult, even for their creators, to understand.
• War against the Covid pandemic has to embrace all the three critical dimensions—testing, tracking, and treatment. Apart from the vaccine, diagnostics and therapeutics too need to be supplied at affordable rates.
• The India-ASEAN upgraded FTA could be a game-changer within the Indo-Pacific region.
• Reduce the IBC’s regulatory cholesterol and court delays if it’s to be the saviour it was conceived as.
• The possibility of Section 66A coming back on the statute book is bleak unless a bigger Supreme Court bench overrules Shreya Singhal.
• It is really important to align the currency with the financial strength and economic requirements of a country, an overvalued currency can have disastrous consequences.
• Gig work in India remains a distressing tale of long work hours, isolation and stagnant careers.

50 WORD TALK

• 22 FIRs and 34 days in jail for Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale for sharing one nasty Facebook post shows how a state can go overboard to crush social media nuisance. And then we complain of overcrowded jails and judicial pendency. High time the higher judiciary ends this petty political vindictiveness.

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 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.