WSDP Bulletin (06-09-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. ‘President of Bharat’ on G20 invite triggers row; govt. sources dismiss talk of name change in upcoming Parl. session as ‘rubbish’ READ MORE
2. Explained | The global push to make ecocide a crime READ MORE  
3. FM flags threats to financial system from crypto, tax havens READ MORE
4. August services PMI shows momentum sustaining, tad slower READ MORE
5. President Murmu honours 75 teachers with national awards on Teachers’ Day READ MORE  
6. Indo-Pacific, China map on agenda as PM leaves for Jakarta READ MORE
7. In second action by ISTRAC, Aditya-L1 enters new orbit READ MORE    
8. India, that is Bharat: how the Constituent Assembly chose READ MORE
9. Black grain deal will be restored ‘soon’, says Turkey’s Erdogan: What is the agreement; its significance READ MORE
10. UPI QR Code-Central Bank Digital Currency interoperability: How does it work and how do customers benefit? READ MORE

Main

GS Paper- 1

1. Resuscitation READ MORE  
2. Laws governing forests of the Northeast READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Decoding the Nyaya Sanhita Bill READ MORE
2. The case for elections in Jammu and Kashmir READ MORE
3. A ‘distraction’ balloon in the winds of federalism READ MORE
4. Tiers apart: On the ‘one nation, one election’ trial balloon READ MORE
5. Simultaneous polls may hurt federalism READ MORE
6. ‘One nation, one election’ an undemocratic idea READ MORE
7. Dangerous idea, false premises READ MORE
8. The idea of a new Constitution is extremely dangerous. India doesn’t want dictatorship READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Why education should be a means of empowerment READ MORE

 INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The implications of the expansion of BRICS READ MORE
2. KPMG CEO writes: India is the bridge that connects the world READ MORE
3. At G20, the end of old multilateralism – and the beginning of a new order READ MORE
4. How East-West polarisation will impact India’s G20 agenda READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Opportune moment: Despite a minor deceleration, GST inflows create room to expedite tax rates’ rejig READ MORE  
2. Problem posed by converging nominal, real GDP READ MORE
3. Forecasting long-run Indian GDP using high-dimensional big data READ MORE
4. Infrastructure boost is driving India’s economic growth READ MORE
5. Stable economy, unstable deals—How Modi govt’s well-intended sudden bans hurt India globally READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Emerging countries need women-led climate action READ MORE   
2. G20 nations must act fast to reduce carbon emissions READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. India to become a space superpower READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Time to decide: On the Himalayan region, its carrying capacity READ MORE
2. Mountains are a fragile ecosystem, need care & upkeep READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. S Radhakrishnan on how to educate to transform READ MORE  
2. The role of an administrator READ MORE
3. Life lessons of Bhagavad Gita READ MORE
4. Symphony of the heart READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea presents many constitutional, conceptual and practical problems and most important among them is elections are a problem and the stability of the government is more important. Critically comment.
2. Applying a scientific understanding of mountain geology with local ecological wisdom is the way to preserve the hills and protect the life that thrives there. How would you justify this statement?
3. The expansion of BRICS not only opens new opportunities for India but there are many challenges that are waiting for new Delhi in future. Analyse the statement.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The eviction of the last Kuki families from Imphal shows the basic values of our republic have completely collapsed in Manipur.
• The very idea that we were framing a Constitution for a Union of India derives from an administrative and political legacy going back to 1773.
• The 1935 Act was used as a foundation precisely because it was an extremely well-thought-out document. Accepting this “colonial legacy” was not seen as a sign of disrespect to our own ancient traditions in India.
• Modi govt needs to own its globally disruptive policies taken in India’s interest. The suddenness of export bans hurt India’s friends and go against its vishwa guru ambitions.
• The money spent by the State on elections is only a fraction of the money misspent on other matters and what political parties and candidates spend on them.
• There is a very dangerous idea underlying these arguments. It is that elections are a problem and the government is more important. It is a wrong and undemocratic idea. Free and fair elections are essential and basic to democracy.
• The federal system of government and reflects a unitary and presidential system which is at odds with the country’s political and social reality.
• It is the key to the physical, mental, intellectual, spiritual, and social development of an individual and frames various aspects of our collective life. It helps to establish one as a self-reliant and independent human being.
• Education is characterized as a learning cycle for a person to achieve information and comprehension of the higher explicit topics and implicit meanings of a given subject matter.
• The inclusion of imaginative and aesthetic subjects in the curriculum can enable students to have a more realistic view of the world around them.
• Digital transformation and automation require upskilling to meet these challenges.
• Applying a scientific understanding of mountain geology with local ecological wisdom is the way to preserve the hills and protect the life that thrives there.
• With key projects implemented and innovative ones set in motion, India’s infrastructure growth remains an instrumental force in propelling the nation’s economic prosperity.
• Only a spiritually oriented administrator can maintain the much-needed balance between humility and dignity or tenderness and toughness, love and law and cheer and care.
• An administrator, who is also called a bureaucrat, manager or executive, has to set up goals and targets and maintain the work schedule as well as the efficiency of the team that is working under him.
• The idea of ‘one nation, one election’ is fundamentally undemocratic; it is an argument against democracy itself. Both diversity and democracy stand to lose from this exercise.
• The ‘one nation one election’ proposal, premised on flimsy grounds, is politically unfeasible, administratively unworkable and constitutionally unviable.

ESSAY TOPIC

• The best education is not given to students; it is drawn out of them.

50-WORD TALK

• The eviction of the last Kuki families from Imphal shows the basic values of our republic have completely collapsed in Manipur. The tragedy is the outcome not of incompetence but of ethnic partisanship. The Centre must discharge its duties to citizens and the Constitution by dismissing the dysfunctional state government.
• The absence of Putin and Xi weakens this G20 meeting and underlines the deep contradictions in a grouping so large. It also brings the India-China global competition out in the open. It promises to become an enduring rivalry. The LAC, with cold peace or hot, will be a mere sideshow.

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.