WSDP Bulletin (17-08-2022)

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(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. WPI inflation eases to 5-mth low of 13.9% READ MORE
2. Child mortality has dipped to 35 per 1,000 live births: Minister READ MORE
3. Understanding ethanol blending READ MORE
4. Explained: All about F-INSAS, Nipun mines, LCA — the new defence systems handed over to Army READ MORE
5. The pesky problem of offshoring pollution READ MORE
6. SBI opens its first dedicated branch for startups in Bengaluru READ MORE
7. Government unveils Manthan, a platform to drive R&D collaboration with the industry READ MORE
8. What is in the Climate & Health Bill signed into law by Joe Biden? READ MORE
9. Why has FIFA banned India, and what happens to Indian football now? READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. A workforce less diverse: Muslim presence is declining in public sector and even in the self-employed. They are overrepresented among the unemployed. READ MORE
2. Dwindling dividend: Demographic advantage will not last forever READ MORE

 GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Remission without reform: Premature release of prisoners must be done with discretion and wisdom READ MORE
2. Supreme Court’s contradictory verdicts reinforce the need for a Bail Act READ MORE
3. Our Constitution, Our People READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Monkeypox is a chance to fix inequities in the global health system READ MORE  

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. History of strategic thinking on the Indo-Pacific READ MORE
2. Common Security: New Cold War and the Global South READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Power, a reality check: Failing to fully integrate discom operations in the analysis of state government finances obscures the true picture of loss. READ MORE
2. Hedging wheat imports can pay off READ MORE
3. Adopt a pragmatic policy on inflation READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Stepping back from an ecological abyss: There is a need to balance India’s developmental needs with the sustenance of its ecological foundations READ MORE   
2. Ecological marvel READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. The coming 75 years: A higher standard of living is possible if India shifts its focus to science and technology READ MORE
2. High points in science, technology and innovation READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. A true master focuses on your state of being READ MORE
2. It Doesn’t Follow READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘Unless global health inequities are addressed, national health security will continue to be illusory, regardless of any amount of economic and political clout’. Analyse the statement.
2. ‘Greatness is not a genetic trait, but a dream that is achieved with courage and strength’. Comment.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Each step in the right direction allows you to see further in that direction.
• A higher standard of living is possible if India shifts its focus to science and technology.
• Entrepreneurship will only succeed in India if it is backed by a funnel of ideas and a liberal process of taking those ideas out of our university labs.
• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has undertaken its mission effectively since Independence.
• The local democracy heralded 30 years ago with great hopes to build India on a plank of economic development, and social justice from the grassroots level faces utter neglect.
• Failing to fully integrate discoms operations in analysing state government finances obscures the true picture of loss.
• Muslim presence is declining in the public sector and even in the self-employed. They are overrepresented among the unemployed.
• With domestic wheat stocks falling and prices rising, it’s time to secure supplies through derivative contracts on foreign bourses.
• Unless global health inequities are addressed, national health security will continue to be illusory, regardless of economic and political clout.
• Legal provisions were put in place to ensure the continuity of this ecosystem by dedicating an entire Act to its governance.
• Civil society and social movements must continue putting pressure to collectively show that the existential threats for all peoples are global warming, destruction of ecosystems, and the increasing social inequity between and within nations.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Each step in the right direction allows you to see further in that direction.
• India@75: Looking back to move forward.
• Greatness is not a genetic trait but a dream that is achieved with courage and strength.

50 WORD TALK

• It will be a make-or-break effort in the next decade and a half for India to catch up with China while India still has the potential for a demographic dividend. So, out-of-the-box thinking is vital or else the present, all-round asymmetry with China will become permanent. This will drive India into the arms of the US, a declining global power, and New Delhi’s strategic autonomy will be lost.

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 the news, you should do map work (marking those areas on 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 main 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.