WSDP Bulletin (23-09-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. ‘India g-secs to attract $30 bn on entry into JPM’s indices’ READ MORE
2. Quad Ministers hold talks on rules-based order, UN reform READ MORE  
3. Panel calls for revising rules of construction around protected ASI monuments READ MORE
4. SC declines to consider plea for independent audit of ‘source code’ of EVM system READ MORE
5. Battle of Haifa: How the Jodhpur Lancers helped liberate the city during WWI READ MORE
6. India-Canada stand-off: What is the Five Eyes Alliance for intelligence-sharing? READ MORE
7. Humans breach most of the planetary boundaries: What does it mean — and why it is significant READ MORE
8. Madhya Pradesh CM unveils Adi Shankaracharya statue at Omkareshwar: Its story, significance READ MORE

Main

GS Paper- 1

1. Why Gandhi opposed caste-based separate electorates READ MORE
2. ‘The suicide cluster in Kota is a public health emergency…’ READ MORE
3. My Intergenerational, Interfaith Family and an Instagram Love Project READ MORE
4. Water storage in major reservoirs less than average of last 10 years READ MORE
5. Climate Change Leading to Erratic Agriculture in India READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. People count: On the Census and the shadow of politics READ MORE
2. A clear message to industry on dispute resolution READ MORE
3. In these times, what meaning could a new Parliament have? READ MORE
4. Forest Rights Act: An account of contradictory conservation laws READ MORE
5. Quota in SC quota: Need to ensure fair distribution of benefits READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. On hypertension and the first WHO report on the subject READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India and the great power contest in West Asia READ MORE
2. Prachanda, the US, and China READ MORE
3. View: G20 summit charts a path from past to future amid new challenges and opportunities READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. India in global bond indices: pros and cons READ MORE
2. Creative industries can boost economies READ MORE
3. American economy’s shadow over India READ MORE
4. Cooperatives can end Punjab’s agriculture woes READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. G20 Called for ‘Gender-Inclusive Climate Action’. Is it Another Empty Rhetoric in India’s Context? READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. NASA releases UFO report, says new science techniques needed to better understand them READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Learning from Himachal floods READ MORE

INTERNAL SECURITY

1. Weigh security risks before enforcing data protection act READ MORE
2. Why New Delhi must closely watch Maoists reaching out to insurgents in North East READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. When a chai mishap inspires life wisdom READ MORE
2. Seekers and masters READ MORE
3. A call for faith, peace, and unity READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. In recent years, India’s presence in Middle east countries has been seen as a legitimate recognition of India in the region and the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor will enhance India’s standing. Critically examine the statement.
2. The idea of ‘One nation, one election’ cuts at the very root of the dialectical relation between states and the Centre. Critically comment.
3. Universal health coverage is incomplete without ensuring the efficient working and presence of a well-equipped primary health care centre. How would you justify this statement?
4. Political empowerment of women is rightly perceived as a powerful and indispensable tool for eliminating gender inequality and discrimination. Comment.
5. The USA is bolstering its alliances in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China, which puts India’s strategic autonomy to the test. In light of this statement, analyse how it can maintain its strategic autonomy while countering China in Indo-Pacific region?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.
• Revising laws, holding simultaneous polls, and changing the nation’s name go against federalism. It is a call for a different Constitution rather than amending the one we have.
• India’s agricultural sector is of utmost importance as it provides livelihood to almost three-fifths of the country’s population and contributes over a fifth of its gross domestic product.
• Studies have shown that women are disproportionately affected by climate change. In the case of India, this is even more stark given that household responsibilities, which are climate sensitive, largely fall on women.
• India’s presence in a grouping of the Abraham Accords countries was seen as a legitimate recognition of India’s presence in the region. The India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, announced at the G-20 summit (referred to in the first paragraph), enhances New Delhi’s standing.
• For India, the U.S.-China competition in West Asia opens new avenues of engagement. The U.S. sees India, with its size, the size of its economy and the legacy of its historical engagement and cultural connect with the region, as an important partner in its bid to continue to shape West’s Asia’s geopolitics.
• With or without the U.S., or irrespective of China’s presence in the gulf region, India should strive to play a major geopolitical role in West Asia, its extended neighbourhood, without upsetting its traditional balance.
• The Mediation Act, 2023 aims to foster a link between the mediation and the arbitration of commercial disputes, thus reducing the burden on Indian courts.
• Arts and culture exchanges between India and the UK contribute to economic growth and foster understanding between cultures.
• The proposal for simultaneous elections is not merely one for limiting the number of elections. It will reduce voters’ freedom of expression and every vote is an expression.
• Digital agriculture in India will not only benefit farmers but also contribute to the country’s economic growth. Its success will depend on access to and affordability of technologies, ease of operation, maintenance of systems, and supportive government policies.
• Inclusion of Indian government bonds in JP Morgan’s emerging markets index is another sign of India’s growing prominence in the global financial mainstream.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Democracy requires courtesy in political dialogue and tolerance of policy dissent.

50-WORD TALK

• Inclusion of Indian government bonds in JP Morgan’s emerging markets index is another sign of India’s growing prominence in the global financial mainstream. Cheaper government borrowing should ease fiscal pressure. Ripple effects on corporate bonds will also lower borrowing costs for foreign companies looking to invest in India’s growth story.
• The killing of gangster Sukhdool Gill in Winnipeg graphically illustrates Indian charge that Canada is a safe haven for extremists and their organised crime partners. Trudeau’s electorally-driven free pass to ethnic-Punjabi criminals is turning Toronto into another Chicago—or rather Wasseypur. The Canada-India crisis won’t end until his politics does.

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.