WSDP Bulletin (22-06-2023)

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(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Assam Rifles plans to secure lifelines of Manipur hills READ MORE  
2. Climate breakdown: the Arctic Ocean could beice-freeby the 2030s READ MORE
3. NaBFID eyes ₹60,000 crore loan book by March 2024 READ MORE
4. Telecom regulator suggests norms for undersea cables READ MORE
5. Childline 1098 to be merged with 112 line in 9 States READ MORE
6. Nearly 2,300 babies adopted in nine months READ MORE
7. Tribal mat art woven into Yoga Day this time READ MORE
8. Hard to restore Internet while blocking social media websites, Manipur tells HC READ MORE
9. Heatwave deaths: Why a heat stroke kills, and how to stay safe READ MORE
10. More robust measures needed to minimise disaster impact in Lake Victoria Basin: Study READ MORE
11. Scientists find link between surges of cosmic radiation from space and earthquakes READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Heat and state: On a heatwave being only one half of the issue READ MORE
2. Extreme weather events led to 12 million displacements of children in 2022, estimates UNICEF READ MORE
3. Caste census needed, but with a plan READ MORE
4. Integration of minds still a challenge READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Rethink the retention of sedition READ MORE
2. Opposition is wrong in resisting UCC. It’s poor politics, runs against Constitution spirit READ MORE
3. The Case for Restorative Justice: A Compassionate Approach to Eradicating Crime READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Finding the indiscernible poor: Community knowledge as a targeting approach READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. More HIT than miss in India-Nepal ties READ MORE
2. PM Modi’s US visit: Why America needs India READ MORE
3. A new chapter in India-US relations READ MORE
4. Holding sway READ MORE
5. US and India need to deal with their trust issues READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. India must recalibrate its chips strategy: For strategic autonomy, the country must acquire indigenous capacity in chip manufacturing READ MORE
2. How India’s telecom sector fares in a 5G world READ MORE
3. Decoding decarbonization READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Strive to achieve Net Zero emission READ MORE
2. Closing the Gap Between Rhetoric and Action at COP28 READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Phonons on the chopping block: Are ‘sound particles’ quantum too? READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Need to understand data both as a strength and vulnerability READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Shimla in danger: Construction in green belts would be disastrous READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Attitude of selflessness READ MORE
2. Comfortable life and a little progress READ MORE
3. Be conscious of your conscience READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. Justify.
2. We face many challenges in life and the way we handle them speaks volumes about our character. In the end, our character embodies our values and is the sum of our behaviors. Comment.
3. ‘Values are basic and fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate attitudes or actions’. Argue.
4. Ethics is about creating an environment that supports the expression of ethical values while keeping in check non-ethical values. Discuss.
5. Ethics is not relative to an individual’s desires and beliefs. It is not what one thinks or feels is right or wrong. Justify with suitable example.
6. What do you understand by the concept “ethical legalism? In what situation, an legal action can be considered an ethical action?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The cost of a semiconductor chip fabrication plant doubles every four years.
• The national integration of minds depends on the emergence of strong national leaders with the political-intellectual-spiritual capacity to unite people while keeping their rich diversity intact.
• Indian intellectuals, the media, religious ideologues, and the youth should create a conducive environment for the integration of minds with rich diversity.
• A comprehensive analysis incorporating the social costs of environmental damage and climate change disasters reveals that fossil fuel-based energy is costlier than renewable alternatives.
• Tensions over values impose hard constraints on the Indo-US relationship. Unfortunately, the very things we expected would bring us together are now driving us apart.
• Directly or indirectly, the issue of human rights is sure to come up again during Modi’s visit. It is what PM Modi conveys in his address to the US Congress that will indicate what his government’s priorities are.
• Strategic dissonance has been at the core of US-India engagement especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the open strategic embrace between Russia and China.
• The global community is urgently required to operate within the environmental limits to keep humanity safe.
• Forest Conservation Amendment Bill 2023 (FCAB) reiterates India’s commitment towards realising ‘Net Zero Emission’ by 2070.
• The desire of the political leadership of the USA-India to build a strong relationship is based on regional, domestic, and strategic factors.
• Repairing the relationship of India and Nepal has been a slow process but the results are now quite visible with a rebuilding of trust

Essay topic

• Take the diplomacy out of war and the thing would fall flat in a week.

50-WORD TALK

• China’s decision to stall United Nations blacklisting of Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Sajid Mir insults the victims of 26/11, and undermines the global effort against terrorism. After years spent claiming he was dead, Pakistan jailed Mir last year to avert international sanctions. There is no explanation for Beijing’s action, bar pure malice.
• Punjab government’s decision to change the rules of appointment of the police chief and the university vice-chancellors is another example of a non-BJP ruled state defying the central government. It also underlines how the fragile federal structure between the centre and the states is breaking down amid growing political mistrust.

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.