WSDP Bulletin (17-08-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. To remove gender stereotypes from the law, a new SC handbook READ MORE
2. ‘Centre plans to sell stake in IRFC via OFS’ READ MORE
3. The importance of the Sulina Channel to Ukraine grain trade READ MORE
4. Centre and WHO to launch Global Initiative on Digital Health READ MORE
5. ‘Vishwakarma scheme will aid 30 lakh artisan families’ READ MORE
6. Understanding the MoEFCC’s U-turn READ MORE  
7. Chandrayaan-3 lander separates from propulsion module: What happens next? READ MORE
8. Who was Madan Lal Dhingra? READ MORE

Main

GS Paper- 1

1. A necessary brake: On altered weather patterns and infrastructure development READ MORE  
2. Indian govt still doesn’t know what a ‘forest’ is. FCA amendment takes us back to British era READ MORE
3. Impact of climate change on tribals READ MORE
4. The Complex Legacy of Muslim Modernism READ MORE
5. Climate change and women in agriculture: Navigating challenges and fostering resilience READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Explained | Why is Bihar’s caste-based survey facing a challenge in the Supreme Court? READ MORE
2. An Act to cement digital authoritarianism READ MORE
3. New Bills and a principled course for criminal law reforms READ MORE
4. Facilitating risk-sharing through self-help groups in Bihar READ MORE
5. CAG audit findings: Need to probe irregularities in health scheme READ MORE
6. Irregularities: CAG report points at lapses in Ayushman Bharat and expressway projects READ MORE
7. The problem of one-party democracy, and its solution READ MORE
8. Address problems in working of PM-JAY READ MORE
9. Worldcoin vs data security: National data paramount in shaping a secure and privacy-first future READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. India’s TB problem and the right to treatment READ MORE
2. Decentralise human development READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Implications of USA’s downgrading READ MORE
2. Unorthodox spin to India’s diplomacy READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Waste management can turn it into national asset READ MORE
2. Rupees for UAE oil, but Russia prefers payment in hard currencies to fund its ongoing war in Ukraine READ MORE
3. An economic strategy for India: Many bottlenecks and challenges that India faces require deeper integration across levels of govt READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. The future will not forgive the government READ MORE  

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. India can become high-tech leader with hardware READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Redraft the disaster management law: India should drive a concerted regional effort towards climate-proofing and building resiliency READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Chemistry behind our moods and happiness READ MORE  
2. Are you ready? READ MORE
3. India’s challenges: Peace and harmony vital for all-round growth READ MORE
4. Matter of freedom 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

• Dictatorships are one-way streets. Democracy boasts two-way traffic.
• The idea of a roadmap for India’s social and economic progress is nothing new, of course, and has many previous incarnations.
• Proper use of plastic waste could take India to new heights. But do not forget that there are many Brahmapurams all over India which could cause irreparable damage to the population and natural resources including air and water. There is enough “gold” to be made out of these Wastelands.
• In a democracy, transparency, accountability and effective governance are the cornerstones of a thriving society.
• 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

• The dialling-down of China-India tensions suggests President Xi Jinping and PM Narendra Modi are looking to move beyond the military impasse on the LAC. Agreement on the sprawling Depsang Plains in Ladakh, though, has eluded military negotiators. The two leaders will now need to give the process a political push.
• It’s about time that the courts updated themselves and did away with outdated, sexist, and charged words from their lexicon. The Supreme Court’s ‘Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes’ is a good first step in a longer process. Now, they should carry the spirit of these changes to the judgments too.
• Prime Minister Modi might have been correct if he’d said India’s inflation was “imported” last year when oil was above $100 a barrel. This year, data indubitably shows, domestic vegetable prices are driving inflation. It might be politically expedient to externalise the cause, but government policy needs a fact-based approach.

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.