WSDP Bulletin (09-01-2023)

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(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. World’s longest river cruise ‘Ganga Vilas’ to unlock River Cruise tourism in India: Shri Sarbananda Sonowal READ MORE  
2. IISER Pune’s new material removes pollutants from water READ MORE
3. Bird species count up in Deepor Beel, Assam’s lone Ramsar site READ MORE
4. Indian Navy signs contract for autonomous armed boat swarms under SPRINT scheme READ MORE
5. Roots connect a Meghalaya village READ MORE
6. Green Bonds out Jan 25: What they are, what they mean for investors, environment READ MORE
7. What should the government do to correct the worsening nutrient imbalance from over-application of urea and DAP READ MORE
8. New investment proposals up 71% in 2022 as economy strengthens READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. That sinking feeling: Politicians & people ignored geological facts of Joshimath, and now it is fire-fighting mode READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. UGC guidelines on foreign universities: The University Gimmicks Commission READ MORE
2. The superbugs are here – and they are resistant to antibiotics READ MORE
3. Driving to despair: Poor maintenance, poor policing, poor traffic rules enforcement, too much wrong with India’s roads READ MORE
4. Store data responsibly, not necessarily locally READ MORE
5. Democracy not synonymous with `reasonable nexus’ or `good intentions’ READ MORE
6. Dissecting the demonetisation verdict READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Avoid further delay in conducting the Census READ MORE
2. Gender equitable world by 2030 is a distant dream READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Explained | The escalation on the India-China border READ MORE
2. G20 & the politics of optics READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Gig jobs, green jobs … How output and employment are bucking the global contraction in India READ MORE
2. RBI’s compliance audit of NBFCs will be challenging READ MORE
3. Fiscal focus: Govt must aim for faster consolidation READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Draconian, Toothless~II READ MORE
2. How increasing tourism in Antarctica threatens its unique ecosystems READ MORE

SECURITY

1. China cyberwar: Beijing’s dominance in IoT & smart technology & vulnerabilities for India READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Freedom of speech misused to peddle hate READ MORE
2. Aggregative, derivative, creative: Generative AI and human creativity READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘A nation that wants to emerge as an economic power and a political force on the world stage ought to have a more responsive and imaginative administration’. Comment on the statement in light of the recent sinking crisis in Joshimath.
2. ‘A flawed process led to an erroneous policy which is counterproductive and which resulted in not only damage to democracy but to huge adverse impact on the public, especially the poor’. Critically analyse the statement in light of recent judgement on demonetization.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Attitude is greatly shaped by influence and association.
• The Census alone can provide population data for every village and town, data for the delimitation of constituencies and for determining the quantum of reservation, and validate or reject estimates.
• The first Census after 2026 would be used for delimitation of parliamentary and Assembly constituencies and for apportionment of parliamentary seats among the States. Due to the disparity in growth rates between the States, there could be changes in the distribution of seats in Parliament.
• Anti-microbial resistance is an impending health catastrophe and requires a multi-disciplinary approach and investment in R&D.
• India’s fundamentals remain strong even when the world is facing economic turbulence caused by a devastating public health crisis and geopolitical complexities.
• Data localisation calls for building a demanding infrastructure, rather than mandating a requirement to store data locally.
• A nation that wants to emerge as an economic power and a political force on the world stage ought to have a more responsive and imaginative administration.
• The industry, with the motive of cashing in on its profits the maximum, wants the Government to bear the expenses that it should ideally have done itself
• A lot of challenges might make diversity a difficult task to include in clinical trials, but there are many ways through which diversity can be promoted and provide benefits to all sections of society.
• Diversity is necessary for clinical research, because it secures the results that constitute all the groups of people in the world. The generalisation of the result is important, and ethical, and should be able to find the different ways in which treatment might affect the people of all groups.
• Greater ambition in terms of fiscal consolidation will pay dividends in the medium-term future. It will reduce inflationary pressure, increase the space for private investment, and induce economic growth dynamism. Policymakers in the finance ministry should not miss this opportunity.
• Global efforts must counter such regressive trends in policy framework and implementation process by involving multiple actors from community leaders and civil society to governments.
• Even as democratic Europe confronts the strategic fallout and human distress caused by Russia’s warmongering, it should step up its economic contribution to the well-being of Asia – and the rest of the developing world.
• A flawed process led to erroneous policy which is counterproductive and which resulted in not only damage to democracy but to huge adverse impact on the public, especially the poor.

50-WORD TALK

• Ministers are not ordinary citizens; people elect them to unimaginable and uncontrollable power; they dominate our collective lives and manipulate multitudes. As far as the holders of a public office are concerned, there is no right to privacy. One call to violence in the public domain by someone who belongs to the ruling party wipes out scores of lives. We saw this happen in February 2020 when communal riots shook northeast Delhi.

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 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.