WSDP Bulletin (07-11-2023)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Supreme Court Collegium recommends names of three new judges for the apex court READ MORE
2. Governors should do a ‘little bit of soul-searching’, SC says on them holding back crucial Bills READ MORE
3. Chief Information Commissioner & two new Information Commissioners assume office READ MORE
4. GRAP Stage 4 implemented in Delhi-NCR amid severe air pollution: What does it mean? READ MORE
5. The double-whammy from India’s falling farm exports READ MORE
6. Pursuing Fusion Power READ MORE
7. Ultra-processed foods lead to $7 trillion in hidden health, environment costs globally: Report READ MORE
8. Soil degradation in India could spell disaster for food security and livelihoods READ MORE
9. Giraffes could go extinct — the 5 biggest threats they face READ MORE  
10. PM 2.5, Sulphur Dioxide, and more: Where the pollutants in our air come from, and how they impact health READ MORE

Main

1. Big Tech will always be bad for mental health READ MORE
2. Giving the urban Indian a better life READ MORE
3. Bad Kharif, Worse Monsoon: Inside India’s Food Security Doubts READ MORE
4. Apex Body Flags Deep Concern Over Land Allotment in new Industrial Policy READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. States in Court against their Governors READ MORE
2. It’s time to end the anonymous funding of all Indian elections READ MORE
3. A telco double dip attempt that threatens Net neutrality READ MORE
4. Can net neutrality survive market forces? READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Caution over caste census READ MORE
2. Meritorious students deserve subsidies READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India-Canada impasse: Ottawa must ensure fair probe in Nijjar case READ MORE
2. Multipolarity in the new world order READ MORE
3. China charms Bhutan with an eye on India: Xi is hell-bent on a Bhutan-China bilateral, bypassing India’s role as Thimphu’s ‘diplomatic navigator’. READ MORE
4. Muizzu as the Eighth President of the Maldives: Implications for India-Maldives Relations READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Extension of PMGKAY: Reinforcement of revdis, not welfare READ MORE
2. India works, look at the numbers: IMF executive director argues employment, in quantity & quality, has kept pace with growth READ MORE
3. Auditing the Blue Economy: An oceanic responsibility READ MORE
4. India’s job growth — rising numbers, falling wages READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Tiding over: On north India and its annual air quality inflection point in November READ MORE
2. Air Pollution: Why Delhi is country’s burning sensation READ MORE
3. The duplicity of developed nations READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Misuse of technology: An unrelenting threat READ MORE
2. Antimicrobial puzzle: Action and awareness is the key READ MORE

INTERNAL SECURITY

1. The cult of operational superiority, from Israel to India READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. In the Sikkim flood’s wake, a trail of hazards lie in wait READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. A public servant or his master’s voice? READ MORE
2. Simplicity: the essence of life READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. A well-informed social dialogue on the caste census can help challenge stereotypes, prejudices, and biases associated with caste. Critically examine.
2. In the current geopolitical and geostrategic competition in the Indo-Pacific, Maldives’ unbalanced relations with India will make the region more vulnerable to power competition. Discuss.
3. In light of the recent developments, discuss the emerging challenges in enforcing and regulating net neutrality.
4. Discuss the concept of a Blue Economy. How is Blue Economy emerging as a captivating notion in an environmentally concerned world?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• A well-informed social dialogue on the caste census can help challenge stereotypes, prejudices, and biases associated with caste.
• The renewed focus on the caste census is a pivotal step that advocates for proportionate representation and a shift toward social justice and progress.
• The need for socio-economic caste surveys has been established and reinforced time and again by political parties and civil society. A substantial body of data and analysis suggests that affirmative action may require refinement in light of the progress made in recent decades.
• At its core, simplicity isn’t just about minimalism or reducing material possessions; it’s a comprehensive approach to life that encompasses various aspects, including thoughts, actions, and lifestyle choices.
• In a world where environmental concerns and sustainability have taken centre stage, the concept of the Blue Economy emerges as a captivating notion.
• Enforcing and regulating net neutrality is not a straightforward task. Varying capacities to understand and adapt to technological changes make net neutrality a complex ecosystem to enforce.
• The introduction of OTT platforms has fundamentally transformed the way people experience Internet usage, further shaping the ongoing conversation around net neutrality and revenue sharing.
• A stronger and more competitive market might have obviated the necessity for specific net neutrality regulation.
• Unpaid female workers in rural areas are not only shouldering the responsibility of all the household work but are increasingly showing up as unpaid helpers in the PLFS, thereby boosting India’s workforce participation growth.
• Donations received by political parties through electoral bonds would have serious repercussions on the transparency aspect of political funding of political parties.
• The fluctuations seen in oil prices make it an interesting example of an economic variable—even if we understand it, we would be completely unable to predict.
• President Mohamed Muizzu will continue security and defence cooperation with India and unlikely to cancel ongoing infrastructure projects.
• In the current geopolitical and geostrategic competition in the Indo-Pacific, Maldives’ unbalanced relations with the competing stakeholders will make it vulnerable to emerge as a potential theatre of power competition.
• If the Age of Enlightenment marked the inception of philosophical insights, our current era of artificial intelligence is seemingly proceeding in an inverse direction.
• A profound transformation of the global order necessitates a significant global upheaval, and even then, the outcome remains uncertain.
• Extending free food for another 5 years rings the final death knell of farm laws and rules out entry of private sector.
• Sovereign Bhutan must remember that being located in a fragile ecological zone of the Himalayas, it cannot afford to open the floodgates to foreigners.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Many worlds: Multipolarity in the new world order

50-WORD TALK

• In a transforming India, where education and technology act as levelling forces, caste-based affirmative action, refined through caste numbers, can drive more extensive dialogues on aspiration, ambition, freedom, opportunity, and the necessity for a system where citizens are not unfairly privileged or confined by their identities. If a robust methodology were to be used, this effort would be vital in identifying and addressing fault lines to promote gender justice.
• Extending free food for another 5 years is an acknowledgement that the poor continue to need ample support for years ahead. The move also rings the final death knell of farm laws. If government grain procurement is going to be so high, then that rules out entry of private sector.
• Indian envoy in Ottawa describing Canadian police probe into Nijjar killing as tainted and wiretapping of diplomats as illegal shows Delhi is doubling down. But Canada is being duplicitous in citing Vienna Convention on parity even as it illegally tapped diplomats. G7 and Five Eyes can’t play by different rules.

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.