WSDP Bulletin (26-07-2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. SC collegium recommends 35 names for appointment as judges in six HCs READ MORE
2. A year on, only four States adopt Model Tenancy Law READ MORE
3. Direct tax collection rises by 41% to ₹3.54 lakh cr. in Q1 FY23 READ MORE
4. Droupadi Murmu takes oath as 15th President of India READ MORE
5. Telling Numbers: Toll of human-animal conflict on tigers, elephants and people READ MORE
6. Explained: India’s plan to bring cheetahs from Africa to Madhya Pradesh READ MORE
7. Study sheds light on prey-predator relationship in Himachal READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. India’s Population Prospects: Demographic constraints will continue to weigh down on growth and development. READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Reform bail law, but make the right diagnosis first: Any reimagination of the law needs to examine the exact nature of what is causing large-scale undertrial incarceration READ MORE
2. Democratise Radio News in India READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Hope for Hungry READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. A global order caught up in a swirl of chaos: The Ukraine-Russia conflict is only one of the many strands altering the contours of world governance READ MORE
2. Russia is Gaining an Indo-Pacific Foothold Through Myanmar READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. What a Potential US Recession Will Mean for the Indian Economy READ MORE
2. Resist Neo-liberal Offensive of New Labour Codes READ MORE
3. The sinking rupee and its fallout READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Backsliding on climate action: Western nations have started reinterpreting the Paris deal and look to downgrade their commitments READ MORE
2. India new home for the cheetah READ MORE
3. Freshwater plunge~II READ MORE
4. Mangroves are unique, extraordinary and under threat. ‘Floating plantation’ can save them READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Theatre of reform: India needs joint commands & it needs a CDS. The two are linked, & both are much-delayed READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. How to curb AI-driven human rights risks READ MORE
2. FLUX AND CONSTANCY OF HUMAN NATURE READ MORE
3. Trial by media: Justice Ramana’s concerns are valid READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘Population growth has both opportunities and challenges for Indian policy makers’. Comment on the statement and suggest how India can avoid those challenges and cash opportunities?
2. ‘Businesses must make AI and its actions more transparent, and ensure adequate human intervention and oversight’. In the light of this statement discuss why there is need to curb AI-driven human rights risks?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Some of the brightest minds in the country can be found on the last benches of the classroom.
• The government’s control over the program content on radio is a major obstacle to achieving an independent media ecosystem.
• The digital revolution is a reality, resulting in umpteen online media platforms. The free flow of information is considered one of the characteristics of the internet age.
• Using colonial laws to run media in modern democracy is a severe concern.
• The slowdown and decline in population growth over the century will be a major gain for India but the huge population density and the ageing population will weigh down development efforts.
• The NHRC accreditation is a serious process and only if it becomes more effective, more trust will be built in these NHRIs by Indian civil society.
• AFSPA is a child of Parliament and the parent of violence aimed at enabling the armed forces to protect India from its enemies.
• The comity of nations must now hope that hunger and starvation will eventually be addressed amidst the clash of shields and wartime rhetoric.
• A responsible, independent media is an indispensable tool of democracy that makes elected representatives and public servants accountable.
• Businesses must make AI and its actions more transparent, and ensure adequate human intervention and oversight.
• Related to the eradicated smallpox virus, monkeypox is suspected to have amplified due to reduced immunity against the smallpox virus.
• The power to grant bail is largely based on the court’s discretion and depends on the facts of each case. The Supreme Court has time and again laid down principles for guiding the exercise of such discretion by courts in deciding bail applications.
• There is an urgent need for bail reform but it would be counterproductive to undertake a reform exercise without first developing the empirical basis to understand and diagnose the problem at hand.

ESSAY TOPIC

• The trust between the government and its people is the core of modern democracy.
• Democracy is government by discussion.

50 WORD TALK

• The right to be forgotten, also known as the right to erasure, was established in the European Union in 2014. In India, the Personal Data Protection Bill provides for a mechanism to implement this concept, though it is by no means an absolute right. Such a law will go a long way in addressing genuine cases, but only with sound evaluation guidelines in place.

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.