WSDP Bulletin (19-05-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Credit cards put under LRS to check excess forex spends: govt. READ MORE  
2. Centre pushes vaccination as lumpy skin disease ravages cattle again READ MORE
3. What are RBI regulations on green deposits? READ MORE
4. Hiroshi F Suzuki: ‘India is a critical partner in the ultimate goal of creating a world without N-arms’ READ MORE
5. Supreme Court upholds Tamil Nadu law allowing jallikattu: What is this decade-old case? READ MORE
6. Andhra Pradesh begins freeing 2 lakh acres of ‘dotted lands’: What are these disputed lands, which will now go to their tillers? READ MORE
7. 25 years of Kudumbashree: How this Kerala women’s collective intervened to empower women, fight poverty READ MORE
8. WWF confirms the presence of gharials in Pakistan’s Punjab READ MORE
9. Oxford University’s WildCRU, Panthera join forces for Africa’s lions; appoint joint programme director READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Why a normal monsoon is key READ MORE  

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. ED overreach: Central agency should pay heed to SC observation READ MORE
2. Avoid regulatory overdrive: Trai’s recent moves run counter to its track record of light-touch regulation READ MORE
3. The regulation imperative: When we regulate medicines, airplanes, food, money, and travel, why wouldn’t we regulate artificial intelligence? READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Apathy of family and high costs hinder maternal healthcare READ MORE
2. Foundational learning outcomes: More recovery than loss READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. A long-drawn test for India’s diplomatic skills: Walking the tightrope seems to have paid off for India, but the multilateral challenges it faces will multiply READ MORE
2. India-Maldives defence cooperation: Partnership and partisanship READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. New deal. Green innovation, a major driving force READ MORE  
2. View: A $5 trillion Indian economy is possible. The real challenge is something else READ MORE
3. Needed: A sustainable blue economy READ MORE
4. All you need to know about ONDC: The UPI of e-commerce in India READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. With India as G20 president, where do the country’s climate and emission goals figure? READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Comprehensive legal framework a must to curb cybercrime READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Warming warning: On the World Meteorological Organization projections for temperature trends READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. The dilemma of truths & half-truths READ MORE
2. To Jesus, good or bad, all are God’s family READ MORE
3. Resilient and Determined READ MORE
4. Things to be desired READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. In state administration, the bureaucracy, which serves as the executor of government policy, needs to be answerable only to the state’s legislative assembly. Comment on the statement in the light of recent Supreme Court judgement.
2. It is imperative for India to not only form and engage with new frameworks but also strengthen old ones, which will increase its options and influence among both developing and developed countries. Comment on the statement in the light recent geo-political developments.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.
• The need for young civil servants to get things done rather than letting them linger is very important. It is critical to our entire development process. Similarly, the need for transparency in appointments is important in our democracy.
• Capitalism is facing multifaceted challenges due to the problem of policy-making based on incorrect data. Governments and international agencies like the World Bank that depend on faulty official data cannot correctly analyse and help resolve the problems facing the world and its poor.
• To be effective, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation needs to come out of Chinese influence and push its own cherished goals.
• The hidden nature of caste atrocities indicates that the problem is more pervasive and deeply rooted than official records may suggest!
• Our steps for sustainable groundwater management are in the right direction and these are bringing a paradigm shift towards positive change.
• India’s increasing engagement with Africa has largely been through bilateral channels, with limited participation in multilateral forums.
• India’s engagement with the Commonwealth should not be treated as a subset of its relationship with the UK. India–UK bilateral ties could face divergences due to variety of domestic and structural factors.
• It is imperative for India to not only form and engage with new frameworks but also strengthen old ones, which will increase its options and influence among both developing and developed countries.
• Data is the next big chasm for regulators to cross, with its growing importance in the financial system and the challenges in its management.
• In the geoeconomic domain, there is growing convergence of interests between India and the US. A model less driven by market fundamentalism presents an opportunity for India.

ESSAY TOPIC

• In our changing world, nothing changes more than geography.

50-WORD TALK

• The Jallikattu matter should have never gone to a constitution bench. Time has been wasted. The court said whether a law to “preserve cultural heritage” is a debatable issue has to be concluded in the House of people. The legislature had already taken a call on the animal rights-tradition conflict.
• The killing of a 23-year-old doctor in Kollam by her patient is disturbing. Kerala’s approval of an ordinance prescribing imprisonment for perpetrators of violence against healthcare workers is a step in the right direction. However, the state must take measures to protect its medical community before the crime is committed.
• Supreme Court has rightly faulted Manipur High Court for its factually incorrect verdict on ST status for Meiteis. The power to modify the ST list is with the President, the HC does not have the remit. Having disapproved of it in strong words, the Supreme Court should have stayed it.

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.