WSDP Bulletin (06-12-2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. OBC sub-categorisation panel’s report in ‘final stages’ READ MORE
2. Jaishankar-Baerbock talks: India buys one-sixth of Europe’s consumption of Russian oil, says Jaishankar defending India policy READ MORE
3. India November services PMI hits three-month high of 56.4 on strong demand READ MORE
4. The 3 things to watch out for as RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee meets READ MORE
5. In first, Ajit Doval to host NSAs of Central Asian nations; meet to focus on Kabul situation READ MORE
6. Protecting 30% of Earth’s surface for nature means thinking about connections near and far READ MORE
7. UK: Six children die of Strep A, a common bacterial infection READ MORE
8. Number of people forcibly displaced crossed 100 million in 2022: UNDP READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. The COVID-19 pandemic, food and socialising READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Faith and freedom: On combating forcible religious conversion READ MORE
2. EWS quota: beyond the smokescreen READ MORE
3. Judiciary vs Executive READ MORE
4. Why are the Supreme Court and Modi government in a war of words over judicial appointments? READ MORE
5. To promote competition, CCI should not appear to punish better use of resources by a dominant enterprise READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Counting India’s poor: Numbers suggest the need for a welfare state READ MORE  
2. Why Human Rights Norms Need to Enter Higher Education and Pedagogy READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India’s G20 Presidency: Championing the Global South READ MORE
2. Atlantic ambitions READ MORE
3. G20 is India’s time under the sun. But only grand imagination, not realism, can transform it READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Nothing so great about free trade with Great Britain: India-UK FTA will increase our exports modestly but severely impact digital and climate sectors READ MORE
2. Is the time right for RBI to moderate rate hikes? READ MORE
3. Gas price holds key to slicing fertiliser subsidy READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Mauna Loa & Mount Semeru volcanoes erupted within a week. Will they impact global climate? READ MORE
2. Step to accountability? Revised draft of standards for firms to self-report environmental impact approved READ MORE
3. UN Summit Aims for Global Pact To Protect Nature and Wildlife READ MORE

INTERNAL SECURITY

1. Securing cyberspace: Safety audits, priority investment need of the hour READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Bhagwad Gita offers a roadmap for success READ MORE
2. The pursuit of learning READ MORE
3. The elegance of silence READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘Society is constantly evolving and therefore, there is a constant need to transform the constitutional idealism into reality by promoting inclusion of pluralism and abandoning the idea of alienation’. In light of the statement, discuss whether same-sex marriage should be included in the special marriage Act?
2. ‘India’s leadership of G20 can catapult the country to prominence but more importantly, give it a chance to work for lasting world peace’. Comment.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The road to the sacred leads through the secular.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) must develop standards, tests and clear criteria to guide its analysis in abuse of dominance cases, as is practiced in many jurisdictions globally.
• Price competition is one of the pillars of a competitive market and an important feature of competition in markets that benefit from network effects.
• Article 14 of the Constitution provides that every person is equal before the law and is entitled to equal protection by law. According to Article 14, everyone has the right to receive equal treatment under the law.
• Freedom of religion is protected only when state keeps away from matters of faith, marriage.
• The impact of the pandemic has been varied, as a study shows by determining the incidence of COVID-19 and the shares of food expenditure and socialising across urban and rural India.
• India now has the material power and political will to lead the Global South. However, a tailored Indian policy is needed to address concerns of different regions and the messy regional politics within the developing world.
• Those who entered politics preaching alternative politics and eradicating corruption had to adopt populist measures, and, as a result, election after election, actual issues are pushed further behind.
• Considering the tightening nationwide hold of cybercrime, much higher budgets need to be allocated to strengthen cyber cells across all districts of the country.
• The India’s leadership of G20 can catapult the country to prominence but more importantly give it a chance to work for lasting world peace
• The areas identified for closer coordination included sustainable development, climate change, maritime governance, and security.

ESSAY TOPIC

• The best social reform in the world is a job.

50-WORD TALK

• The ongoing meeting in Udaipur marks a good start to the 200-meeting agenda set for India’s Presidency of the G20. Policy tracks are clear, diverse, and inclusive. However, while the pomp and splendour can be forgiven since it’s the first meeting, the next 199 should keep substance at the fore.
• The enormous hardships caused to patients by the hacking of the AIIMS hospital-management system is the result of primitive data-security practices and infrastructure. Though computers can be restored, the harm to patient privacy and public confidence can’t. Every citizen of digital India must be served by secure and reliable technology.

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.