WSDP Bulletin (09-06-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. RBI holds rates, vows to keep price stability READ MORE  
2. EV two-wheeler firms send SOS to FM, flag rising financial stress READ MORE
3. RBI lets banks issue RuPay prepaid forex cards to help widen usage READ MORE
4. DRDO successfully tests ballistic missile ‘Agni Prime’ READ MORE
5. ‘Chandrayaan-3 to be launched in mid-July’ READ MORE
6. What was the requirement for limits on UPI transactions? READ MORE
7. What is the ‘onset’ of the monsoon, and why the delayed onset is not necessarily bad news READ MORE
8. Cyclone Biparjoy to intensify in next 36 hours: IMD READ MORE
9. Blue carbon: could a solution to the climate challenge be buried in the depths of fiords? READ MORE
10. How G20 can build a future-ready vision for digital health READ MORE

 Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Cyclone’s effect on monsoon onset READ MORE
2. Why melting glaciers are causing both drought and floods in the Himalayas READ MORE
3. An unfinished task of social justice politics READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Centre’s ordinance over Delhi government services is anti-Constitution READ MORE
2. Sedition law report: A regressive step by Law Commission READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Prioritise education to become globally competitive READ MORE
2. Advancing sustainable health with ‘Shree Ann’ READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The US-China thaw READ MORE
2. Amid Chinese challenge, India-US ties on the upswing READ MORE
3. The India factor in the Indo-Pacific READ MORE
4. Question ahead of Modi’s US visit—Will India abandon multipolarity, become a camp follower? READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Do production-linked incentives for manufacturing work? READ MORE
2. Inflation is down – but RBI remains vigilant READ MORE
3. A soft landing on the horizon? READ MORE
4. Why RBI chose not to pivot to growth READ MORE
5. MSP hike: Don’t spare those who give farmers a raw deal READ MORE
6. RBI chooses status quo to balance inflation and growth READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Climate action plan and Indian cities READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Is India missing the graphene bus? READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Preventing landslips: NHAI initiates action on Parwanoo-Solan stretch READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Busting drug cartels: Combating crime on darknet a challenge READ MORE
2. The grammar of Naxal violence READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. OpenAI’s Sam Altman meets Modi, discusses global regulation of AI READ MORE
2. Privacy: UNESCO to develop ethical framework on neurotech devices READ MORE
3. Get rid of envy, count your blessings READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Democratic values are enshrined by the functioning of constitutional and legal institutions. Comment.
2. ‘An accurate estimate of India’s disabled population would help strengthen their case in Parliament and local elected bodies such as Panchayats’. Discuss the statement in light of the government’s decision to drop disability-related questions from the National Family Health Survey-6.
3. Decentralising power and empowering local governments can enhance accountability and promote citizen participation in matters of national importance. Justify the statement.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent.
• The commission’s report on the sedition law is neither unbiased nor does it protect human rights.
• The Law Commission’s report is neither well researched nor balanced. On the contrary, it is partisan and can have a devastating impact on India’s very idea of human rights.
• To imply that the sedition law is a concession for not invoking more draconian laws like the UAPA does not sound good. Ideally, the law panel should have been more concerned about the rampant misuse of all oppressive laws.
• Granted legislative competence, it is not sufficient to declare merely that the decision of the Court shall not bind for that is tantamount to reversing the decision in exercise of judicial power which the legislature does not possess or exercise.
• Power through an ordinance is unthinkable in a democracy.
• The legislative power of the President under Article 123 of the Constitution has been invoked to take away the routine powers of the local government to transfer and post officials working under it.
• Since climate change will impact cities worldwide, ULBs will play a crucial role in addressing the climate-related challenges.
• The RBI is unwilling to raise the repo rate to meet the ideal. It seems that while the RBI remains concerned about inflation, it does not want to sacrifice growth at the altar of the inflation mandate.
• Consumers need to be educated about the nutritional and ecological benefits of millet and encouraged to incorporate them into their diet.
• Merely hiking the MSP is not good enough; the challenge is to ensure that every farmer gets a fair price. The agencies or traders who shortchange the toiling cultivators must be taken to task.

50-WORD TALK

• Canada’s condemnation of a tableau celebrating the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi means little as long as its government doesn’t act against violent Sikh extremism. Abetted by ethnic vote-bank politics, Sikh extremists have incited hate with impunity. Canada is letting its strategic ties with India become hostage to terror.
• Granted legislative competence, it is not sufficient to declare merely that the decision of the Court shall not bind for that is tantamount to reversing the decision in exercise of judicial power which the legislature does not possess or exercise. A court’s decision must always bind, unless the conditions in which it is based are so fundamentally altered that the decision could not have been given in the altered circumstances.
• A declaration that an order made by a Court of Law is void is normally a part of the judicial function. Legislature cannot declare that a decision given by the Court is not binding or is of no effect. It can change the basis on which a decision is given by the Court, but it cannot review and set at naught such a decision.

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.