WSDP Bulletin (03-06-2023)

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(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1.  IRDAI eyes insurance push in rural areas with ‘Bima Vahak’ READ MORE  
2. RBI issues draft on cybersafety for PSOs READ MORE
3. Mural in new Parliament shows Ashoka empire: govt. READ MORE
4. NDRF teams rush to crash site; many trains cancelled READ MORE
5. In first, Saudi naval cadets train with Indian Navy READ MORE
6. Just days to spare, Senate gives final approval to deal, sending it to Biden READ MORE
7. As Ajay Banga takes over as World Bank chief today, what is in it for India? READ MORE
8. Oil reserves in salt caverns: The potential in India READ MORE
9. Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV): Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Prevention READ MORE
10. Breakthrough NHS migraine medication ‘Rimegepant’ to provide hope to thousands in UK READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Climate impact: Rajasthan’s pre-monsoon rainfall was three times more than average this year READ MORE
2. Women are playing a vital role in millet push READ MORE
3. The multiple benefits of community-driven learning READ MORE  
4. The Inner and the Outer Domain of Caste READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Here’s how to make India’s health sector fighting fit READ MORE
2. Sedition law must go: Panel’s stand contrary to spirit of SC rulings READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Himalayan ties back on track READ MORE
2. Erdogan’s re-election could herald better ties with India READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Reset time: On GST revenue growth- The current revenue trajectory presents an opportunity to fix GST’s flaws READ MORE
2. GDP: What FY23 says about FY24 READ MORE
3. Indian economy far away from recovery: If Covid had never happened, the old 6.8% growth rate would have taken our GDP to Rs 300 lakh crore in 2030-31. READ MORE
4. India’s economic indicators telling a story—of growth, recovery, robustness READ MORE
5. Why Indian Banks Need to Adopt the Basel III Internal Ratings-based Approach READ MORE
6. Do Foreign Banks Affect Market Power, Efficiency, or Stability in India? READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. International trade has a carbon problem READ MORE
2. High road to Dubai COP28: Why discussions on carbon credits are important at upcoming Bonn climate conference READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Is India missing the graphene bus? READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Why India’s national security needs a 21 century refit READ MORE
2. Cracking down on fraud in cyberspace READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Good and bad: India needs to harness the benefits of AI while avoiding adverse effects READ MORE
2. Kabir says look for bliss within, not elsewhere READ MORE
3. Occam’s Razor READ MORE
4. The Moral Economist~II READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. As Indian banks are becoming bigger due to consolidation and through business expansion, it is necessary to adopt the advanced Basel III version for better utilisation of scarce capital and improve efficiency. Exxmine.
2. The sedition law, which is largely a tool used by the State to commit excesses, must be scrapped before it inflicts more damage on our constitutional framework. Critically examine.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.
• Confronting caste-based discrimination across space and time leads to substantialise caste in terms of making it effective across several fields.
• As Indian banks are becoming bigger due to consolidation and through business expansion, it is necessary to adopt the advanced Basel III version for better utilisation of scarce capital and improve efficiency.
• Greater foreign bank presence increases market power, reduces marginal cost of the production of bank output, increases price–cost margin, and reduces inefficiency, insolvency risk and net non-performing loan ratio of an individual bank. The findings have implications for a policy decision on foreign bank presence.
• Withdrawing caste into the private sphere under the guise of the right to privacy also offers an opportunity, like revealing other delicate details of life, which could cause a devastating damage to one’s reputation, should they become public, and hence are required to be kept within the zone of privacy.
• As long as global finance capital flow is unrestricted, there won’t be elbow room for any progressive State intervention.
• Learners band together in a supportive environment, pooling knowledge and focusing on growing personally as well as professionally.
• The sedition law, which is largely a tool used by the State to commit excesses, must be scrapped before it inflicts more damage on our constitutional framework.
• Despite China’s looming presence and thorny geopolitical issues, Nepal’s pragmatism and India’s accommodation have bolstered ties.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.

50-WORD TALK

• The Law Commission’s proposed tweaks to the sedition law could open a dangerous dimension. “Tendency” to incite violence, also described as “mere inclination to cause public disorder”, is too ambiguous a scope, leaving the provision exposed to misuse and weaponisation. It could deal a bigger body blow to civil liberties.
• It’s a cliché to say Indian politics is polarised and broken. But Rahul Gandhi’s comment on Russia in the US shows that India’s foreign policy consensus is intact. He was honest in admitting that a Congress government would do the same. His stature as a responsible opposition leader is rising.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit being held in virtual mode instead of a physical event with India as the Chair is an embarrassing setback to New Delhi’s diplomacy. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s refusal to come to India, which led to the change in format, shows how Beijing influences this grouping.

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.