WSDP Bulletin (16-07-2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. IIT-M ranked India’s top higher education institute READ MORE
2. FM: Public capex key to India’s long-term growth READ MORE
3. Why indigenous HPV vaccine has the potential to drastically bring down the incidence & deaths caused by cervical cancer in India? READ MORE
4. Monsoon revives: Kharif crop area rises, but rice, arhar remain concern READ MORE
5. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam sign pact to resolve border dispute READ MORE
6. Govt launches “Jagriti” mascot for empowering consumers and generating awareness towards their rights READ MORE
7. Kerala becomes first state to have own internet service READ MORE
8. Rajnath Singh launches Project 17A stealth frigate ‘Dunagiri’ READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. The population question: India will soon be the world’s most populous country. This, however, calls for a reasoned response READ MORE
2. Women suffer violence silently across the world READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. A trust deficit in Parliament READ MORE
2. India’s judiciary wants a new bail law – but wouldn’t be implementing existing rules do the job anyway? READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. What’s missing in govt’s plan to secure ‘accessibility’ for persons with disabilities READ MORE
2. Inequalities in School Education READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The Ukraine war and the return to Euro-centrism READ MORE
2. I2U2 and the Middle power great game: the US is key to West Asian Quad but India, Israel, UAE have their own plays too READ MORE
3. I2U2 reflects new geopolitical realities for all four nations READ MORE

 GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Deficit doubts: Fretting about current account deficit is warranted; fiscal space must be reassessed READ MORE
2. Govt betrayal over MSP fuelling farmers’ anger READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Himalayan challenge: Vehicular emissions are causing Ladakh glaciers to melt and retreat at an alarming rate READ MORE
2. No one-size-fits-all approach to human-crocodilian conflict globally: Delegates at IUCN meet READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Time for vigilance: Increased testing and building awareness, not stigmatisation, can stop the spread of monkeypox READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Master the technique of choosing wisely READ MORE
2. Listen With Compassion READ MORE
3. MANAGING SELF is KEY TO SUCCESS IN LIFE READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘In the current era of more flexible partnerships, I2U2 could emerge as a platform for shaping responses to global challenges’. Critically examine.
2. With the help of the relevant examples, discuss how India shed its Cold War mindset of non-alignment in recent times?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.
• The online trolling of the judiciary is a new low, highlighting a sustained and organised campaign of intimidation.
• The National Achievement Survey shows that students from disadvantaged social groups lag behind.
• Holding the executive and judiciary accountable for illegal arrests will go a long way in ensuring compliance with the law.
• To understand why the world’s only Jewish state would be keen on ties with a Sunni Muslim theocratic kingdom is important to make sense of US diplomacy in the region.
• With the sustained spread and a few cases already detected in women, the possibility of spreading into the general community cannot be dismissed. Increased testing, contact tracing, building awareness, and not stigmatising infected people can stop the spread.
• The key message from the European narratives about the Ukraine war is that European states would want to see their wars and conflicts as threatening international stability and the ‘rules-based’ global order.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Truth is beyond the rational mind.
• The best way to address challenges is through cooperation and dialogue

50 WORD TALK

• The Centre must ensure a legal guarantee of MSP, and a Bill in this regard should be tabled in Parliament during the coming Monsoon Session. Buying farm produce at a rate less than MSP should be punishable by law. MSP calculations should be made per the C2 formula and the committee’s recommendations headed by MS Swaminathan. The lack of accountability over MSP is painful.
• The emergence of the I2U2 grouping is clearly an outcome of the Abraham Accords of Aug 2020 and the possibilities that they have created for Israel and the UAE to be on the same platform as India and the US. As President Biden moves to Saudi Arabia for the second leg of his visit to West Asia, we are likely to see a push towards integrating Israel through trade, technology, direct flights and people-to-people contact, even with countries where full diplomatic ties may take some time to mature.

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 is in the news, you should do map work (marking those areas on maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby, including mountains, rivers, etc.) 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.