WSDP Bulletin (29-12-2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Inaugurates Sammakka Saralamma Janjati Pujari Sammelan at Bhadrachalam READ MORE  
2. President of India lays foundation stone for PRASHAD project in Bhadrachalam and UNESCO World Heritage Site at Rudreshwar Temple (Ramappa), Mulugu in Telangana READ MORE
3. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launches 2 key initiatives to take India’s Urban Rejuvenation journey to next level READ MORE
4. IT Minister launches G-20 campaigns for online safety, digital innovation READ MORE
5. ‘Govt’s manufacturing push not yielding results; FDI continues to chase less-complicated services sector’ READ MORE
6. How are disputes between states resolved in India? READ MORE
7. India is all set to go for its first waste-to-hydrogen project READ MORE
8. Power Ministry, DRDO Sign MoU For Early Warning System For Hydro Projects READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Rapidly warming Arctic linked to extreme cold weather in the US: What a new study says READ MORE      
2. El Nino is coming; are we ready? READ MORE
3. Recalling Revolts READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Drug regulation: Consolidated course correction needed READ MORE
2. Why the HC verdict on abortion beyond 24 weeks is progressive jurisprudence READ MORE
3. The Constitution and the idea of India READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. How the New Free Grain Scheme Will End up Increasing Poverty READ MORE
2. Growth and Equity READ MORE
3. The importance of affordable healthcare for all and other key lessons from the pandemic READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Why ethnic tensions are flaring again in northern Kosovo READ MORE
2. Where China is headed and what it means for India READ MORE
3. View: India-Australia FTA a big deal for both amid new global trade order READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Trade agreements with Australia, UAE to help boost exports, say export promotion councils READ MORE
2. Laboured wages: On MGNREGS payments to States READ MORE
3. Fishing for wealth: With some tweaks, new fisheries scheme can work READ MORE
4. Gene-based tech can bolster food security READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Loss of biodiversity and the new Global Biodiversity Framework READ MORE  

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. A law won’t end marital rape – but it’s needed all the same READ MORE
2. HUMANITY OUGHT TO REDISCOVER UNITY READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘India’s civil services are getting a much-needed upgrade and the steel frame is shedding its status quoism’. Examine the statement with the help of recent initiatives taken by the government in recent times.
2. Discuss the need for an urban unemployment scheme like MGNREGA to enhance demand-driven work allocation intact.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• No nation was ever ruined by trade.
• With the emerging axis of a cultural revanchism, a dominant executive and a partial media, the Supreme Court and high courts are going to find themselves more and more in the eye of a storm.
• A greater engagement with Constitution in our everyday workplaces and social conversations will go a long way in refining our understanding of the Constitution – so that in this upcoming cultural collision, if you will, there is a collective sense of the constitutional idea of India.
• The idea of India is not the idea of a government or the idea of a high-powered elite. What the commonest of our citizens aspires for as a haven of compassion and opportunity where dignity pervades – that is the idea of India.
• Suppose the persistence of certain species and their habitats are considered critical. In that case, range shifts will have to be accounted for and spaces that are not currently within Protected Area management will have to be secured ex-ante.
• The pandemic showed that India’s health system is in tatters. Despite having a doctor-population ratio that exceeds the World Health Organization’s recommendation, the Indian health system is overburdened and overworked.
• The lack of proper implementation of welfare measures, and the unclear nature of social, economic and health-related decisions help understand the bigger picture of what can go wrong during a crisis.
• The true development of a community involves a transformation of the state of a human being.
• It is time to begin afresh and re-instill in ourselves the culture of connecting with each other through purity and love, respecting the laws of nature and be honest to our original values that bring us together.
• After more than three decades of research, GM mustard, developed by Deepak Pental’s team at Delhi University, is the first food crop approved for environmental release. This technology boosts agriculture will benefit farmers.
• Laws are an imperfect solution to social problems, but to clearly, loudly and unambiguously say something is not okay, signifies something beyond itself. Some lines must be drawn, even if in the sand.
• As India debates the latest border clashes with China, Delhi should keep in mind that China has moved to a security over economics mode, making a Chinese compromise less likely.
• A scheme such as MGNREGS needs to evolve while keeping its core idea of a demand-driven work allocation intact. Treating it as a burden will only hurt genuine beneficiaries.

50-WORD TALK

• The Election Commission’s decision to start delimitation of Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies in Assam is curious. It’s long overdue but urgency to do it with 2001 census data defies logic. Next assembly election is in 2026 and NRC’s fate remains uncertain. Central government whose request prompted EC must come clear.
• India’s civil services are getting a much-needed upgrade. Under Modi, training of future officers now includes global inputs and corporate-style, performance-driven governance templates. There is no resistance either. First, the incorporation of lateral entrants brought fresh ideas. Now, the steel frame is shedding its status quoism.

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.