WSDP Bulletin (03-04-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

  1. Poor testing of pashmina shawls still poses a problem READ MORE  
  2. Pinarayi, Stalin open Vaikom Satyagraha centenary fete READ MORE
  3. Bandipur completes 50 years as Project Tiger reserve, traces legacy to Maharajas READ MORE
  4. ‘Small savings to nudge up govt. interest cost’ READ MORE
  5. Centre to expand definition of ‘political risk’ under export guarantee scheme READ MORE
  6. In a first, Eravikulam National Park gets a fernarium READ MORE
  7. UN to start allowing deep sea mining operations from July: What are the concerns? READ MORE
  8. Azerbaijan, Tajikistan reach malaria-free milestone READ MORE
  9. India has registered a global first of a plant fungus infecting humans; climate change, AMR will exacerbate it READ MORE
  10. Intriguing water source found on the Moon, piezoelectric effect found in liquids and more READ MORE
  11. What is H3N8 or bird flu? China reports first case of 2023, here’s all you need to know READ MORE
  12. New India Literacy Programme launched to cover target of 5 crore non-literates in age group of 15 years and above READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

  1. Caste is hardly past: Kerala, TN govts’ celebration of a social reform movement is part politics, part a mirror to current reality READ MORE
  2. Societal needs stretch beyond skill formation READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

  1. India needs a national programme on autism READ MORE
  2. Disrespecting India’s sovereignty READ MORE
  3. Position on disqualification READ MORE
  4. Will Retired Supreme Court Judges Stand Up and Be Counted? READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

  1. No ‘sayonara’ for Japan in Indo-Pacific geopolitics READ MORE
  2. What Bhutan is telling India via Doklam READ MORE
  3. Going strong with Russia: Recent visits by Putin’s top associates indicate strengthening of ties READ MORE
  4. Can India Become Vital to China’s Plans to Dismantle the US-Centred World Order? READ MORE
  5. China’s ‘package deal’ for Bhutan that worries India READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  1. The curious case of monetary policy’s impact on inequality READ MORE
  2. Can policy rate hikes alone control inflation? READ MORE
  3. India’s G20 presidency: A key driver for inclusive growth READ MORE
  4. Indian economy in a ‘bright spot’ but challenges emerging READ MORE
  5. Bank failures: Why the developing world must demand accountability from Western financial regulators READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

  1. Explained | Why is India taking 6G seriously? READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

  1. 170 trillion plastic particles are afloat in the oceans: What a new study says about microplastics READ MORE
  2. Pollution hotspots: Focus on NCR to curb harmful emissions READ MORE
  3. Address climate change with urgency READ MORE

SECURITY

  1. Theatre commands will help optimise resources READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

  1. Re-educate yourself READ MORE
  2. Befriend Contentment READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

  1. The current overemphasis on acquiring skills at the cost of compromising life fundamentals would be counterproductive in the long run and needs a relook. Discuss how work-life balance can be maintained?
  2. To achieve its long-term goal of stable inflation and growth, RBI needs to look at different instruments to reduce the impact of supply shock-induced inflation volatility. Critically examine.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

  • Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.
  • As with the shrinkage of Russian space globally, the country that benefits most from this outcome is China, which is able to successfully portray itself as “the leader speaking on behalf of the Global South”.
  • India may be face-to-face with China over its Himalayan borders, and it may even be a part of the Quad, a visibly anti-China alliance, but these only matter if the conflict comes to a head.
  • Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, China is playing its cards tactically to expand its own influence at the expense of Russia, its ‘closest ally’.
  • Developed, rather than emerging markets, have been the source of financial and economic instability since the 2008 global financial crisis.
  • The future of employment might lie, counter-intuitively, in agriculture if India can adopt higher-value, employment-intensive farming practices that will increase productivity, jobs, and wages.
  • For success in world-beating manufacturing, India has to invest in firm-level R&D and innovation.
  • Integration into joint formation structures is a very important issue professionally impacting the functioning of the armed forces to best meet national security challenges.
  • In such a complex scenario, where geoeconomics and geopolitics intersect, Chekunkov’s visit signifies Kremlin’s prioritisation of India as a key partner for the development of Russian Far East, although China is manifestly keen to connect the Arctic to its Belt and Road Initiative.
  • The current overemphasis on acquiring skills at the cost of compromising life fundamentals would be counterproductive in the long run and needs a relook.
  • In the recent times, there have been many challenges in managing the wildlife. A fresh innovative approach is required to manage the life on the planet.
  • The first principle of democracy is to have deference for the views and feelings of others. Without this, democracy cannot endure.
  • To achieve its long-term goal of stable inflation and growth, RBI needs to look at different instruments to reduce the impact of supply shock-induced inflation volatility.

ESSAY TOPIC

  • Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.

50-WORD TALK

  • Integration into joint formation structures is a very important issue professionally impacting the functioning of the armed forces to best meet national security challenges. Given the commitments on the borders necessitating the primacy of operations by the Army, with units and formations being deployed around the year, unified command structures have to be viewed in terms of our current challenges rather than through the seductive prism of a superpower with expeditionary forces.

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.