WSDP Bulletin (11-08-2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Silent marches to recall Partition Mexico president wants PM Modi in panel for ‘global truce’ READ MORE
2. Corbevax gets nod as booster after Covishield, Covaxin shots READ MORE
3. Union Cabinet approves extension for PMAY-Urban READ MORE
4. Digital lending norms: Direct credit to a/c, sans third party READ MORE
5. Explained: Flying abroad, why Customs wants your PNR data READ MORE
6. Air pollution will harm brain development, 9 of 10 people breathe polluted air READ MORE
7. Thousands More Species at Risk of Extinction Than Currently Recorded: New Study READ MORE

Main Exam

1. Demographic benefit waning: India will start ageing soon, with average age slated to reach 38.1 years in 2050 READ MORE

 GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. State-level OBC groups must be included in central list READ MORE
2. Handle personal data with care READ MORE
3. Illegal mining, indeed: Government’s admission must spur regulatory change READ MORE
4. In the Supreme Court of Erehwon: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. COVID-19, arguably, has become endemic in India READ MORE
2. Closing the learning gaps left by Covid READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. A new global vision for G20: A shift is required from commitments on aid and trade to collaboration around science and technology READ MORE
2. SCO summit: as a researcher with the Mumbai[1]based think-tank Gateway House has pointed out in a recent article, there were two anomalies this time around. READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. India must spend more on agri research READ MORE
2. Some economic hurdles crossed, many ahead READ MORE
3. Fair share: Dependence on cess and surcharge must come down READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Wetlands must form part of biodiversity framework READ MORE  
2. India’s new climate targets make no mention of some of the commitments made to the world in Glasgow READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. ‘A multi-sectoral approach to adaptation finance would help strengthen allied sectors’ READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. ETHICS CANNOT BE SEEN IN BLACK AND WHITE READ MORE
2. Festival of destroying vices, earning virtues READ MORE
3. Opinion: How some people die before dying READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. With the help of the relevant examples discuss why India has a golden opportunity to leverage a favourable geopolitical moment into a long-term economic opportunity?
2. ‘Ethics is not something that can be seen in black and white. It is the conscientiousness that is the final arbiter’. Comment.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• We can’t always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.
• A shift is required from commitments on aid and trade to collaboration around science and technology.
• A Global Financial Transaction Tax, considered by the G20 in 2011, needs to be revived to be paid to a Green Technology Fund for Least Developed Countries.
• The G20 plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.
• It is time to deal with COVID-19 just like any other health condition and integrate interventions in general health service.
• Before the government thinks of any sub-categorisation among the OBCs, it should give proportional representation to the OBCs after conducting an extensive caste census.
• But it must first end the discriminatory non-inclusion of hundreds of state-level OBC groups in the central OBC list.
• Investment in research delivers higher returns than any other form of support to farmers, including subsidies.
• The substantive figures presented by the state government to show its seriousness in checking illegal mining negate its contention that there is no organised illegal mining activity in Haryana, but only stray incidents which are being dealt with strictly as per law.
• India needs a healthier and more educated workforce so that those seeking jobs can handle modern technology without which the economy cannot become more productive.
• India will also need to ensure that its economic strategy is environmentally sustainable and does not risk running into an ecological dead-end.
• The outcome of the act is not the sole determinant. In one word, it is the conscientiousness that is the final arbiter. This is the reason why even the actions of Gods are interpreted differently. Lord Ram’s killing of Bali or Lord Krishna’s actions in Mahabharata war can all be open to interpretation. Ethics is not something that can be seen in black and white.

50 WORD TALK

• Government has done well to remove the regressive caps on airfares. It should also rationalise taxes and levies on the sector to make it more competitive and allow airlines to invest in growing the pandemic-hit business and safety. Civil aviation is no longer a luxury but a critical public-facing service.

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.