WSDP Bulletin (04-07-2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

  1. Restoring the Sun temple’s exquisite carvings READ MORE
  2. Explained | The functioning of the National Investigation Agency READ MORE
  3. Celebrating the unknown, the unsung, and the underappreciated READ MORE
  4. With GI tag, Mayurbhanj’s superfood ‘ant chutney’ set to find more tables READ MORE
  5. NATO Invites Finland, Sweden to Join, Says Russia Is a ‘Direct Threat’ READ MORE
  6. La Niña Likely To Enter ‘Extremely Unlikely’ Third Year. What Must India Do? READ MORE
  7. UN Ocean Conference: 198 countries adopt Lisbon Declaration READ MORE
  8. Under the revised rule, individuals now have 90 days to inform the govt. if the amount exceeds READ MORE
  9. India’s Gig Economy to Expand to 2.35 Crore Workers by 2029-30: Niti Aayog READ MORE

Main Exam   

GS Paper- 1

  1. The Simla Agreement: An imperfect peace READ MORE
  2. Monsoon: Continued vigilance is needed READ MORE
  3. The post-pandemic global inequality boomerang READ MORE

GS Paper- 1

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

  1. Why is defection a non-issue for voters? Indian voters are divided on what kind of representatives they prefer voting for READ MORE
  2. Technology is no panacea for custodial deaths READ MORE
  3. Reimagining the post-pandemic world READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

  1. Inclusive social protection READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

  1. The West Asia pivot: India must persist in its attempt to experiment with policy changes READ MORE
  2. G7 infra plan a lifeline developing nations can’t ignore but first crack this code, like BRI READ MORE
  3. India, BRICS in Cold War Conditions READ MORE

GS Paper- 1

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  1. Dogged by inflation: Policymakers must focus on easing price pressures so as not to derail recovery READ MORE
  2. Why rice and wheat bans aren’t the answer to inflation READ MORE
  3. Farm reforms need a GST-like council READ MORE
  4. India faces sharp fiscal deficit slippage READ MORE
  5. Why the rupee’s ‘record low’ is not necessarily a cause for concern READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

  1. Plastic ban: There may be issues but the well-intentioned move to ban SUP mustn’t end up badly READ MORE
  2. Whither Justice: While COP26 had managed to achieve significant procedural and institutional outcomes, it had fallen short of achieving substantive outcomes which could reflect the imperative of climate justice. READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

  1. 10 Years of the Higgs Boson: How Far Have We Come, and What Next? READ MORE

GS Paper- 1

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

  1. Technology is no panacea for custodial deaths READ MORE
  2. How we sow and reap our samskaras READ MORE
  3. Gratitude is Beatitude READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

  1. ‘Technology may make policing more convenient, but it can never be an alternative for compassionate policing established on trust between the police and the citizens. Discuss the statement in light of the use of AI and Machine Learning in policing in recent times.
  2. ‘While COP26 had managed to achieve significant procedural and institutional outcomes, it had fallen short of achieving substantive outcomes which could reflect the imperative of climate justice’. Comment on the statement in light of COP 26 outcomes.
  3. ‘Fairness in governance is guaranteed only when there is a suitable constitutional climate’. Comment on the statement.
  4. ‘The Constitution works not merely through its institutions. It works through the people’. Discuss the statement.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

  • It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.
  • Evidence from the National Election study indicates that the views of Indian voters are divided on what kind of representatives they would prefer to vote for.
  • While COP26 had managed to achieve significant procedural and institutional outcomes, it had fallen short of achieving substantive outcomes which could reflect the imperative of climate justice.
  • Technology can never be an alternative to compassionate policing based on trust between the police and citizens.
  • Custodial deaths are common despite enormous time and money being spent on training police personnel to embrace scientific methods of investigation. This is because police personnel are humans from different backgrounds and with different perspectives.
  • Technology may make policing more convenient, but it can never be an alternative for compassionate policing established on trust between the police and the citizens.
  • Policymakers must focus on easing price pressures so as not to derail the recovery.
  • Abrupt export bans inflict high costs on poorer nations. India’s agri-trade policies need to be predictable, rather than a result of knee-jerk reactions.
  • The State and analysts must keep a keen eye on the monsoon because even a normal monsoon can be skewed in terms of geography and time, wreaking havoc on cropping patterns.
  • Global inequality has fallen over the last three decades, despite a rise in inequality within some countries.
  • India is not in the US scheme of things for the region and unless New Delhi pulls itself up by its bootstraps, its recent gains in the Arab world and Israel will gradually evaporate.
  • International crude and fertiliser prices disturbed Government’s budget calculations; welfare expenses are adding to fiscal stress.
  • Right to property, though not a fundamental right after deletion of Article 19(1)(f) of the Constitution, remains a constitutional right by virtue of Article 300A. In a demolition drive, it is also one’s right to equality, freedom and dignified life that is done away with.
  • Political power is often dangerously inhuman, and the Constitution aims to tackle this human destiny. Fairness in governance is guaranteed only when there is a suitable constitutional climate. The Constitution works not merely through its institutions. It works through the people.

Essay topic

  • Gratitude is Beatitude.

50 WORD TALK

  • The severe setback to the idea of the rule of law in contemporary India is essentially a setback to its constitutional culture. A house is not merely a property. It is life and livelihood. It hosts the wisdom of the old and the innocence of the children. It has, in it, the infiniteness of love, peace, and togetherness. A house is a unit of the nation. Therefore, every unfair demolition is a blow to our republic.