WSDP Bulletin (31-03-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Drugs for rare diseases get customs duty relief READ MORE  
2. Spouses of H-1B visa holders can work in U.S., says judge READ MORE
3. Ancestry records to shed light on India’s past READ MORE
4. Scientists spot piezoelectric effect in liquids for the first time READ MORE
5. Explained | What are the issues with the new Quality Control Orders for fibres?   READ MORE
6. ISRO releases images of Earth captured by its EOS-06 satellite READ MORE
7. More than 90% of the world’s salt marshes may soon succumb to sea level rise: Study READ MORE
8. Rising Antarctic ice melt will dramatically slow global ocean flows, study says: Why this matters READ MORE
9. Airplanes face a growing risk of being hit by uncontrolled re-entries of rockets used to launch satellites READ MORE
10. Climate justice takes centrestage at UN, top European court in historic firsts READ MORE
11. Climate impact: Study finds juvenile black rockfish fared better than expected in unusually high ocean temperatures READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Vaikom, a satyagraha, and the fight for social justice READ MORE
2. While India’s population is growing, women’s participation in its workforce is shrinking READ MORE
3. Shrinking glaciers: Lack of govt data surprising; urgent action needed READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. ‘Guilt by association’ is problematic. Review it READ MORE  
2. How to tackle hate speech READ MORE
3. Disqualification of Rahul legal, trust judiciary READ MORE
4. Position on disqualification READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Healthcare in India has made great progress, but challenges remain READ MORE  
2. Digital divide: Internet access in govt schools vital to narrow the gap READ MORE
3. Why Isn’t India Doing its Best to Educate Children of the Poor? READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. ‘Russia Alone can Confront Entire West…’ READ MORE
2. Neighbours, big & small: Bhutan to Bangladesh, New Delhi must prepare to compete with China in the development space READ MORE
3. Bhutan’s about-turn: India needs to be wary of China’s Doklam ploy READ MORE
4. The Moscow declaration READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Banks and borrowers’ governance READ MORE
2. Building a case for the creative economies of the Global South READ MORE
3. Is the global economy deglobalizing? And if so, why? And what is next? READ MORE
4. Improving Global Food Security: The Impact of the Black Sea Grain Initiative READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Is the Khalistan movement reviving? READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. India’s heatwaves are testing the limits of human survival READ MORE

SECURITY

1. After failure of insurgency in Kashmir, Pakistan is working on Punjab once again READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Chasing happiness READ MORE
2. AI Ethics: Why You Should Care READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Good public policies spur economic growth and public welfare and improve ease of living for citizens. Comment.
2. Despite putting so many efforts for improving the skills of Civil Servents, governance is still perceived to be lagging behind private-sector management in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Analyse why many policymakers are under-equipped to develop effective policies? And how focus on Public Management would be an effective step to address this gap?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.
• Government policies are pivotal in deciding the future of a country. Good public policies spur economic growth and public welfare and improve ease of living for citizens.
• The Indian bureaucracy has many talented people working at various levels. However, governance is still perceived to be lagging behind private sector management, in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.
• The supply of formal education in public management is inadequate as compared to business management education.
• The proposed division of Delhi into an autonomous National Capital District and the State of Delhi will meet the twin objectives of keeping the national capital in the jurisdiction of the Central government while giving rest of the Union Territory much demanded full statehood.
• The fact that ecologically protective farming methods are at the same time strengthening the base of farming in the form of improved soil and water conservation holds out the promise of even better progress in years to come.
• Politics should learn the ethics and economics of people’s welfare, thus using the power it has gained to strive for purity, peace, and prosperity as a common goal.
• Russia, in turn, evidently understands that India’s defence cooperation with the US, together with its security links in groupings like Quad and I2U2 across the Indo-Pacific, are set to grow.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.

50-WORD TALK

• The Rajasthan High Court’s acquittal of four men sentenced to death for the 2008 bombings in Jaipur reveals egregious failings by police, prosecutors and trial courts. Evidence from other trials long ago established the men charged were not the Jaipur perpetrators. Those responsible for persecuting innocents must be held accountable.
• The RBI brought several regulations to improve NPA detection and resolution before the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was implemented. While there is no dispute that banks have every right to recover loans, they should also give borrowers a fair chance before taking punitive action with wider consequences.

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.