WSDP Bulletin (23-06-2023)

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(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Rethinking importance of cord blood in regenerative medicine READ MORE  
2. MPC stresses need for inflation vigil READ MORE
3. Eviden bags $100 mn supercomputer order from NCMRWF READ MORE
4. Nasheed quits ruling MDP months ahead of election READ MORE
5. Medicines Patent Pool deal to make cancer drug cheaper READ MORE
6. PM gifts U.S. First Lady a lab-grown diamond READ MORE
7. Manipur invokes RBI’s riot provisions to aid borrowers READ MORE
8. What is summer solstice and what causes it? READ MORE
9. Why inflation and WPI is down, but not (all) prices READ MORE
10. Kamakhya Temple is one way Assam shaped Sanskritic mainstream in medieval India READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Cyclone Biparjoy Is ‘Stealing’ the Monsoon and Bringing Heat Waves READ MORE
2. Extreme weather events led to 12 million displacements of children in 2022, estimates UNICEF READ MORE
3. In Africa, climate change has exacerbated modern slavery & government response is poor READ MORE
4. Kuki-Meitei conflict is more than just an ethnic clash READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Unedifying row: On panchayat polls in West Bengal and security- Shadow of poll violence justifies court orders for using central forces in West Bengal READ MORE
2. Law Commission’s report on Uniform Civil Code — undesirable and unnecessary READ MORE
3. Why UCC is Indian Muslim women’s only shot at justice READ MORE
4. Social media needs stronger regulation READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Opinion: Endemic Does Not Mean End of Disease READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Spiralling violence: On the West Bank- Without a freeze on Israeli settlements, violence in West Bank will continue READ MORE
2. NATO’s growing shadow over the Asia-Pacific READ MORE
3. The role of technology in India-US alliance READ MORE
4. Better relations with neighbours READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Job creation: A big challenge for the government READ MORE
2. A time for options READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. The good and bad of Blue Flag certification READ MORE
2. Closing the Gap Between Rhetoric and Action at COP28 READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Jailbreaking generative AI READ MORE

SECURITY

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

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Social connectedness vital to survive climate disasters READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Don’t blame yourself READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. The technological aspects of India and the USA are a new era of the India-US relationship, but both countries will have to travel together given changing geopolitics surrounding China and Russia. Critically comment.
2. Sustainable tourism cannot be seen only through the prism of tourism-specific policies; it requires a holistic understanding of the ecology and the people who are dependent upon this ecosystem. In light of the statement, discuss the pros and cons of the Blue Flag certification.
3. A NATO overreach to the Asia-Pacific poses a major challenge to India’s much-touted “strategic autonomy”. Evaluate.
4. What do you understand by the concept “ethical legalism? In what situation an legal action can be considered an ethical action?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
• The efficiency with which a single set of commands can flummox these models is genuinely surprising and gives us an abject lesson in the vulnerability of these systems.
• When considering options, it is important to recognise that as the options market is not as liquid as spot USD-INR and option prices are not readily available to most corporates, banks often build in unconscionable charges onto the spreads they charge for options.
• Apart from keeping the promises it makes to its neighbours, India must realise that domestic peace and progress are essential to achieve the geopolitical aim of countering China in South Asia.
• Sustainable tourism cannot be seen only through the prism of tourism-specific policies; it requires a holistic understanding of the ecology and the people who are dependent upon this ecosystem.
• Personal laws are mixed up with religions and their varying practices and cover a range of issues like divorce, succession, inheritance, adoption and guardianship.
• Mere existence of difference does not imply discrimination, but is indicative of a robust democracy.
• A NATO overreach to the Asia-Pacific will pose a major challenge to New Delhi’s much-touted “strategic autonomy”. The push to transform Quad into a security alliance focusing on China will also have the same effect.
• Although an Asian NATO remains a pie in the sky for now, an extended war over Ukraine will force India and the Asia-Pacific nations to bear the brunt of increasing big-power rivalry in the region.

Essay topic

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

50-WORD TALK

• The MoU on jet engine manufacturing between GE and HAL ushers in a new era of India-US relationship. While the path ahead may have speed breakers, residues of history, it will be a road that both countries will have to travel together given changing geopolitics surrounding China and Russia.
• Our epidemiological history has taught us that respiratory viruses (the ones which spread through coughing, sneezing, and talking) emerging from reservoirs in the wild, jumping over the species barrier to infect humans, and then sweeping the globe before settling into an endemic behaviour can cause outbreaks that can result in significant mortality and morbidity. Examples include the 1957 flu pandemic caused by an A/H2N2 influenza virus, the 1968 flu pandemic from an A/H3N2 influenza virus, and the 2009 “swine flu” pandemic, from an A/H1N1 influenza virus.

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.