WSDP Bulletin (11-08-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1.  Centre’s new Bill on Election Commission members’ appointments: How it plans to amend the process READ MORE
2.  Indian GPS NavIC to link to Aadhaar enrolment devices READ MORE
3.  Wildfire destroys Hawaiian town, leaving at least 36 dead READ MORE
4. Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) READ MORE
5. Northeast SEZs yet to start operations READ MORE
6. Rules — 267, 176 and 167 READ MORE
7. Govt. staff seek restoration of old pension scheme READ MORE
8. China’s deflation; a cause for concern? READ MORE
9. Floating rate loans: Why RBI wants proper lending conduct by banks READ MORE
10. Lok Sabha suspends Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: How Privileges Committee works READ MORE

Main

GS Paper- 1

1. Atlantic collapse: Q&A with scientists behind controversial study predicting a colder Europe READ MORE
2. Amazon nations to jointly fight deforestation READ MORE
3. Should there be a blanket ban on smartphones in schools? READ MORE
4. For first 300 yrs of their history, Ahoms were more Thai than Indian. Here’s how they changed READ MORE
5. Indigenous and tribal groups worry about loss of religious ethos over Uniform Civil Code READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Demolitions as state-sanctioned collective punishment READ MORE
2. S Y Quraishi on the Collegium bill: How to make Election Commission credible READ MORE
3. Cooperative to ‘coercive’ federalism READ MORE
4. Exercises in fraternal bonding and citizen vigilance READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Education for all is a State obligation READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India’s Myanmar quandary, its paradoxical policy READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Risky recourse: On the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee and policy rate READ MORE
2. MPC does a tightrope walk READ MORE
3. India should brace for a food inflation spike READ MORE
4. On track, warts and all READ MORE
5. Invisible, unenumerated and exploited: the informal workers of India READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Improving the habitat that sustains tigers is key to increasing their numbers READ MORE   
2. Effects of climate shocks on sectoral inequality READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Inter-services Bill: Set up integrated theatre commands on priority READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Floods in China and Slovenia: Can extreme flooding be prevented? READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Women shakti as a catalyst for change READ MORE  
2. Dangers of Cyberbullying READ MORE

CASE STUDY

1. Former IPS officer Basant Rath registers himself as BJP activist online; party says no place for indiscipline READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Abandoning the rule of law for ‘bulldozer justice’ is the first step towards an authoritarian society where ensuring a person’s safety, life and liberty will be at the whims and fancies of state officials. Examine.
2. Morality is simply utilitarian as far as society is concerned, but for the individual, it is not a utility, it is his joy. Comment.
3. Federalism creates a “dual manifestation of the public will” in which the priorities of the two sets of governments “are not just bound to be different, but are intended to be different”. Argue and justify with appropriate examples.
4. Collegium proposed by a new bill to select the election commissioner will be more effective if its decisions are unanimous. Critically examine.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Hatred is an affair of the heart; contempt that of the head.
• Abandoning the rule of law for ‘bulldozer justice’ is the first step towards an authoritarian society where ensuring a person’s safety, life and liberty will be at the whims and fancies of state officials.
• Morality, or moral behaviour, is simply utilitarian as far as society is concerned, but for the individual, it is not a utility, it is his joy.
• A society created by false morality is called a civilisation. A society consisting of men who have attained to real life is called a culture. This is the difference between civilisation and culture.
• Civilisation is based on utility; culture is based on inner joy and harmony.
• The governance and welfare of society to rise above their self-interest, bring justice to the wronged, and act in the interest of the common good, are signs of decadent times; these call for enlightened and righteous action for societal regeneration.
• The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21A, means that every child has a right to full-time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.
• Federalism creates a “dual manifestation of the public will” in which the priorities of the two sets of governments “are not just bound to be different, but are intended to be different”.
• Collegium proposed by a new bill to select the election commissioner will be more effective if its decisions are unanimous.
• The demolition of homes as a form of frontier justice (as a response to political violence) has become a standard feature of administration.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Civilisation is based on utility; culture is based on inner joy and harmony.

50-WORD TALK

• Government legislating to bring online betting, gambling, and gaming within the formal, legal system is a timely update of tax rules. One can quibble about the rates and incidence of tax, but widening the tax net was necessary. Now it’s up to states to bring their own enabling legislation quickly.
• The no-confidence motion finally persuaded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on Manipur. His assurances of peace to return soon, however, sounded rhetorical without a roadmap and acknowledgement of mistakes. Whataboutery suggests insincerity and cynicism. Centre’s argument that CM Biren Singh can’t be removed because he is cooperating is specious.

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.