WSDP Bulletin (26-09-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Banks told to display information on borrowers linked to SARFAESI Act READ MORE
2.  Southwest monsoon begins its withdrawal READ MORE  
3. Eight institutes give an array of reasons for Joshimath sinking READ MORE
4. ISRO tests engine for Gaganyaan mission READ MORE
5. Speaker to hear pleas against Shiv Sena MLAs on October 13 READ MORE
6. Centre rebuffs Moody’s Aadhaar report; says a billion Indians trust it, no breach of database READ MORE
7. Why the Northeast cannot be treated as a ‘single homogenous’ territory READ MORE
8.  What are the findings of the Parliament panel on NEP? READ MORE
9. What House panel report on ASI says about ‘rationalising’ protected monuments, and rules governing them READ MORE

Main

GS Paper- 1

1. It’s a long road to women’s equality READ MORE
2. Children, a key yet missed demographic in AI regulation READ MORE
3. Rivers in peril: Battling pollution for a brighter and sustainable tomorrow READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Cut legal jargon: Simple language a must for better decision-making READ MORE
2. Women’s reservation Bill: A pathbreaking achievement READ MORE
3. The desecration of parliament READ MORE
4. Problem With CEC & ECs Bill is a Potential Overreach of the Selection Committee READ MORE
5. Implementation of ‘one nation, one election’: Legal and practical challenges READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. New school education for emerging new India READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. G-20 diplomacy and a shifting world order READ MORE
2. War in Caucasus: On Azerbaijan’s recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh READ MORE
3. UN’s burden: A crowded agenda, a divided world READ MORE
4. India-Canada rift needs careful handling READ MORE
5. China’s WeiQi geopolitics READ MORE
6. Why the India-Middle East-Europe corridor is a geopolitical game-changer READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. There is a better way to capture the growth picture READ MORE
2. Improving India’s women labour force participation rate READ MORE
3. Digital medium and new economic paradigm READ MORE
4. Food Security in Troubled Times READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Waste to wealth: Challenges India needs to overcome to use biosolids for improving soil health, meeting SDGs READ MORE
2. Scaling up climate-resilient agriculture in South Asia READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. New science awards to unearth fresh talent READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Unseal and pause: NDMA finding that Joshimath has overshot carrying capacity was expected READ MORE
2. Ladakh’s Vulnerability to Flash Floods: Adaptation and Mitigation Measures READ MORE

INTERNAL SECURITY

1. Manipur conflict rages on amid Myanmar civil war READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Ability to perform READ MORE
2. Embracing Life… the utmost need READ MORE
3. Facing ethical dilemmas: Public safety vs individual privacy continues to vex facial recognition technology READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Farmers need support to adapt to the changing climate in South Asia, which has been adversely affecting agricultural production year after year. Discuss the statement in light of recent climate changes in South Asia.
2. The ocean plays a vital role in determining weather and climate and it is imperative to understand the causes of variability in the ocean state across different time scales through data collected. Discuss how the physical and chemical state of the ocean is key to determining marine habitats and the health of marine lives?
3. Apart from the qualms of photographers, the ubiquitous nature of facial recognition technology has thrown up ethical implications which vary depending on a country’s political, social, and legal milieu. Comment.
4. China’s expansionist strategy represents a multifaceted approach aimed at establishing China as a global power. Critically analyse how China’s recent expansionism threatens the current global order and how India’s proposed IMEC can play an active in safeguarding of India’s interests.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.
• Farmers need support to adapt to the changing climate in South Asia, which has been adversely affecting agricultural production year after year.
• Women’s contribution is immense throughout the rapidly transforming food systems—right from production to providing nutrition.
• The ocean plays a vital role in determining weather and climate. The physical and chemical state of the ocean is key to determine marine habitats and the health of marine lives.
• It is imperative to understand the causes of variability in the ocean state across different time scales through data collected by in-situ ocean observation platforms.
• As global temperatures rise and glaciers recede in response to a changing climate, India’s delicate ecological equilibrium is disrupted, triggering a cascade of events that culminate in devastating flash floods.
• Coinciding with growing demand for food is the phenomenon of climate change which has already begun to threaten food output and reduce the amount of food available.
• Significant geopolitical and geo-economic consequences will flow from the IMEC. It will trigger an infrastructure boom in sea terminals, railways, roadways and undersea cables for green energy.
• The positive impact of the IMEC corridor on the Indian economy is indisputable. Apart from enhancing India’s position as a logistical hub for the Middle East and Western Europe, the spin-off benefits to the Indian economy will come in several other ways.
• The reuse of biosolids from sewage and septage treatment plants in India presents a remarkable opportunity to transform waste into a valuable resource.
• India would need a roadmap for growth and decarbonisation that considers granularity at the plant level. Although micromanagement using any single criterion should be avoided, a broad set of criteria could be made clear.
• Apart from the qualms of photographers, the ubiquitous nature of facial recognition technology has thrown up ethical implications which vary depending on a country’s political, social, and legal milieu.
• The lack of a national regulatory framework means that the ethical guidelines surrounding facial recognition remain fragmented and inconsistent across the country.
• While there are clearly local nuances to how this technology is used, there is a need for a nuanced approach to the deployment and regulation of facial recognition technology worldwide.
• Finding a balance between benefiting from the opportunities of the attention economy while safeguarding our well-being is a complex challenge. It requires a combination of individual responsibility, societal awareness, and ethical practices from tech companies.
• GDP estimates based on an outdated base would not adequately capture new activities being undertaken in the economy.

ESSAY TOPIC

• The opposite of poverty is not wealth, but justice.
• All that we are is a result of what we have thought.

50-WORD TALK

• The much-hyped visit of Nepali Prime Minister Prachanda to China and the statements emerging from it shows Beijing’s continued wooing of India’s neighbours it shares borders with. This isn’t a surprise. But just because Prachanda has visited India twice in the past year shouldn’t lull New Delhi into complacency either.
• 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.
• China’s expansionism threatens the current global order. Its assertiveness in territorial disputes, use of debt-trap diplomacy, and establishment of strategic outposts raise concerns about the erosion of sovereignty, the potential for military conflict, and the shifting balance of power in critical regions. This expansionist strategy by China represents a multifaceted approach aimed at establishing China as a global power.

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.