WSDP Bulletin (27-07-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Lok Sabha Speaker accepts the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the Modi government READ MORE  
2. Citing FATF, Centre urges Supreme Court to let S.K. Mishra continue as Enforcement Directorate chief READ MORE
3. Lok Sabha passes Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill READ MORE
4. Centre moves Bill to nominate 2 Kashmiri migrants to J&K Assembly READ MORE
5. Blinken visits Tonga; slams China’s actions READ MORE
6. 530 districts reported as free of manual scavenging: Centre READ MORE
7. What is the Biodiversity Act? What changes has the Lok Sabha cleared in the law? READ MORE
8. Cases for climate justice more than doubled globally since 2017, finds UNEP READ MORE

Main

GS Paper- 1

1. Egypt and Ethiopia are finally working on a water deal — what that means for other Nile River states READ MORE
2. Caste has no place in a modern democracy READ MORE
3. Opinion: UCC undermines autonomy of Scheduled Tribes READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Resolving the gig paradox READ MORE  
2. Double standards: Supreme Court shows Centre the mirror READ MORE
3. No confidence motion will not bring solace to Manipur READ MORE
4. Mediation Bill, 2021: A welcome legislation: Mediation will help reduce the case burden on courts READ MORE
5. Pending cases cross 5-crore: Justice delayed is justice denied READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Indian education system creating new forms of inequality. Caste, class lines now more defined READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The SCO is a success story that can get better READ MORE
2. Expansion of five-nation BRICS faces diverse challenges READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Resilient, but just: On the IMF’s economic outlook and lopsided growth READ MORE
2. Shedding more light on the debt dilemma READ MORE
3. EU’s green rules will derail trade READ MORE
4. Power sector remains a work in progress READ MORE
5. India can’t lead the Global South and not feed it READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Combating climate change & its horrific impact READ MORE
2. The eco collapse we were warned about has begun READ MORE

DISASTER

1. Explained | Himachal floods: a man-made disaster? READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Let your work speak for your personality READ MORE
2. The death penalty: a breach of human rights and ethics of care READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Despite India’s consistent efforts in implementing nutrition programmes such as the ICDS, mid-day meals, and Poshan Abhiyaan over the years, malnutrition remains a persistent challenge for the country. How would you justify this statement?
2. The powers to promulgate regulations with respect to Union Territories rest with the President, undermining the role of parliament in rule-making. Critically examine.
3. Having only one elected Member of Parliament from each Union Territory does not compensate for the absence of local governance. In the light of the statement critically analyse the constitutional justification for Union Territories and their centralised administrative system.
4. As India finds common ground with the US in advancing a regional approach for addressing shared development challenges, it has to continue to maintain its independent strategic vision of its extended neighbourhood in West Asia. Comment.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.
• Huge tuition fees and increased living costs in major urban centers where these desirable educational institutes are located are segregating student bodies along caste and class lines.
• Despite India’s consistent efforts in implementing nutrition programmes such as the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), mid-day meals, and Poshan Abhiyaan over the years, malnutrition remains a persistent challenge for the country.
• As the economy and population surge forward, the need for comprehensive judicial reforms becomes increasingly urgent.
• India’s power sector is on the path to better financial health, efficiency, and productivity, and political will has clearly been a major factor for this revival.
• Having only one elected Member of Parliament from each Union Territory does not compensate for the absence of local governance.
• The unelected bureaucratic system is operating with a sense of entitlement, as if they have been given free rein over the archipelagos, disregarding their history, nature, and the local population’s sensibilities.
• The policies of successive governments in recording land rights have broken down customary land governance systems, intensified their marginalisation and created social conflict amongst the tribals.
• As India finds common ground with the US in advancing a regional approach for addressing shared development challenges, it will continue to maintain its independent strategic vision of its extended neighbourhood in West Asia.
• An inclusive policy demands that disability’s impact on poverty be addressed and includes a capabilities approach.
• The conventional growth strategy will take longer to remove poverty. The alternative strategy will do the job faster, provided it can keep inflation at bay.
• Political dispensation has little impact on crime rates, highlighting the need for effective prosecution to combat caste crimes.
• With growing need for a ‘reduce-reuse-recycle’ model, India’s G-20 presidency has focused on adopting resource efficiency and moving to a circular economy.

ESSAY TOPIC

• A secure and reliable cyber space is the key to national security.

50-WORD TALK

• Indian Navy gearing up for the maiden trials of India’s indigenously developed ocean-going multirole unmanned surface vessel is a huge step. This project is of extreme strategic interests and a successful completion would open up the Navy to a new paradigm in changing warfare, visible in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• The fact that just 1-2% Indians pay income tax is a stark indicator of how skewed our tax system is. Although compliance is improving, the tax base isn’t widening fast enough. Such a small proportion of taxpayers in a growing economy implies rampant evasion. The answer is lower tax rates.

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.