WSDP Bulletin (05-04-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. ONDC will lead to democratisation of e-commerce in India: Nandan Nilekani READ MORE  
2. World Bank lowers India’s growth forecast to 6.3%, says labour market needs to be more inclusive READ MORE
3. Finland joins NATO in major blow to Russia over Ukraine war READ MORE
4. Seven dead, 27 rescued after avalanche hits Sikkim’s Nathu La READ MORE
5. Explained | What was the U.N. water conference and what happened there?  READ MORE
6. India a step closer to developing reusable launch vehicle as RLV LEX mission test a success READ MORE
7. Liquidity condition eases on higher govt spending READ MORE
8. Key question in space-comms race: to auction or allocate? READ MORE
9. A megafauna bias in India’s carnivore research is hampering the country’s conservations efforts READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. A case for marriage equality READ MORE
2. El Nino on its way, will likely impact monsoon: Experts READ MORE
3. How the Arctic has wielded influence on India’s monsoon for at least 1,000 years READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Tackling graft in a federal system READ MORE
2. A long-winded road to disqualification READ MORE
3. Judicial Independence And The Ability To Question READ MORE

Social issues

1. Equality and justice, for and beyond queer and trans community READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. C Raja Mohan writes: Russia and China’s plan is to divide and rule the West READ MORE
2. A common agenda for the Global South READ MORE
3. Triumph of India’s foreign policy READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. A new economics for a new world READ MORE
2. How India can minimise the damage from OPEC+ production cuts READ MORE
3. Good signs: The economy is resilient though there are issues that need to be resolved urgently READ MORE
4. Impending slowdown: Global uncertainty will affect economic growth READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Food security: Climate change is affecting the seeds that India depends on READ MORE
2. Summer resolution: On the IMD’s heat wave forecasts READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Should India make tactical nukes to counter China? Delhi’s no-first-use rule has no room for it READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. For better policing, focus on quality of personnel READ MORE
2. Chandana’s offering READ MORE
3. Moral Progress 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

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

• There is novelty about attempted opposition unity on Stalin’s social justice platform. A South Indian leader is nucleus against a majority government with electoral base north of Vindhyas. Such pre-poll fronts worked in 1977 and 1989 because they had rallying points in Emergency and Bofors. Opposition is missing one today.
• The World Bank has again said deeper reforms are needed in India to spur private investments. Government tried to spend its way into encouraging corporates to invest. That’s clearly not enough. Low-hanging ease of doing business reforms done, now it’s time for tougher ones on land, labour, and capital markets.
• New place-names published by China for locations in Arunachal Pradesh—the third tranche since 2017—are black-and-white evidence Beijing means to keep up pressure along the frontier. Invented names don’t change the reality of Indian sovereignty over Arunachal. But India has to prepare itself for long-term volatility on the LAC.

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.