Table of Contents
(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)
Prelim and Main
1. Oil falls more than 1% as Angola decides to exit OPEC READ MORE
2. Budget 2024: Will India meet its fiscal deficit target of 5.9% of GDP for this year? READ MORE
3. India’s forex reserves hit 20-month high; jump $9.112 billion to $615.971 billion: RBI READ MORE
4. Centre exploring one-stop health sector regulator READ MORE
5. China bans exports of rare-earth magnet technologies READ MORE
6. Gujarat allows liquor consumption in GIFT City READ MORE
7. 2024 will have more seven-judge Benches hearing crucial matters in Supreme Court READ MORE
8. Why has the Indian government criticised the methodologies of global credit rating agencies? READ MORE
9. Macron for Republic Day 2024: How India chooses its Republic Day chief guest READ MORE
10. 13 feared dead due to cholera in Rourkela READ MORE
Main
GS Paper- 1
1. Marital rape exception must go READ MORE
2. The Role of Gender and Caste in Accessing Livelihood Opportunities in India READ MORE
3. Parched Punjab: Groundwater extraction rate remains alarming READ MORE
GS Paper- 2
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Telecom law upgrades for a digital authoritarian state READ MORE
2. New Bill casts a cloud over EC appointments READ MORE
3. Theatre of the absurd READ MORE
4. The Sixteenth Finance Commission: Correcting the state fiscal imbalances should be the top priority READ MORE
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. Death of merit or social equality? READ MORE
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
1. Foreign policy on precarious perch despite claims READ MORE
2. Why despite deft diplomacy, India did not get a seat at the UNESCO table READ MORE
3. Present and future of India-US ties READ MORE
4. Election time in India and its neighbourhood READ MORE
GS Paper- 3
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1. CEA’s concerns apart, India needs better data READ MORE
2. Dubious ways of rating agencies READ MORE
3. Port acquisitions vital for expanding India’s maritime footprint READ MORE
4. The Most Significant COP since ‘Paris’? READ MORE
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. COP28: High on rhetoric, less on action READ MORE
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Security risk management for a secure future READ MORE
INTERNAL SECURITY
1. Terrorists and miscreants are far more motivated than we think READ MORE
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
1. Turbulence in south: On the heavy rain in southern Tamil Nadu, weather forecasting and preparedness READ MORE
GS Paper- 4
ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY
1. Revering the Inanimate READ MORE
2. Punish the inhuman teachers READ MORE
Questions for the MAIN exam
1. The Election Commissioners Bill has missed the spirit of the Supreme Court order that sought to protect the autonomy of the Election Commission. Examine.
2. Control over the appointment process is directly connected with institutional independence and constitutional democracies do not grant the executive the power of ECs appointments. In light of this statement, how far do you agree the New Bill does not address the issue of Autonomy of Election Commission?
3. Reverence plays an important role in making a person expansive in his thinking and strengthening his belief in truth, justice, and dharma – right conduct. Justify the role of religious text in a right conduct and rational thinking.
4. A stable reliable democratic partner is India’s best bulwark against an aggressive, money-pushing autocratic dragon and to secure its strategic borders. Discuss why Bangladesh’s geographic location and proximity provide hope for India.
5. While the persistence of security risk, GenAI proposes improved threat detection and predictive capabilities. Analyze the statement.
6. In recent times, the Cooperative Economic Framework marked a significant shift, renewing the Social Contract between the government, the masses, and other stakeholders. Analyse how this sector presents a comprehensive vision of inclusive development.
7. While the last four finance commissions increased states’ grants from one-third to 40%, it is still tilted towards the centre and making states vulnerable to borrowings and thus creating a challenge for the fiscal sustainability of states. Comment.
QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS
- Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.
- It has missed the spirit of the Supreme Court order that sought to protect the autonomy of the Election Commission.
- The EC is one of a set of institutions popularly known as “fourth branch institutions”, or “integrity institutions”.
- Control over the appointment process is directly connected with institutional independence.
- Control over the appointment process is directly connected with institutional independence. This is why, across the world, constitutional democracies do not grant to the executive the power of EC appointments.
- Reverence towards all things makes us expansive in our thinking; it strengthens our belief in truth, justice and dharma – right conduct.
- GenAI is a dual-edged sword. On the one hand, it is a security risk, on the other it promises improved threat detection and predictive capabilities.
- While the industry works to address the risks of GenAI, it holds promise to become an ally in cybersecurity, opening avenues to help better protect organizations in the face of threats.
- GenAI brings a paradigm shift in cybersecurity, with its capabilities to emulate human understanding, and learnings and the promise of both enhancing IT security and preventing new potential vulnerabilities.
- Bangladesh geographically sits in a critical part of the Indian Ocean serving as an important port of transit.
- Its geographic location and proximity to many Indian northeastern states allow it to provide a crucial land route for trade, and human movement connecting the northeastern part of India to South East Asia and beyond.
- India’s visionary cooperative economic framework catalyses inclusive development, global integration, and social prosperity.
- COP 28 was big on rhetoric but little in terms of ‘credible’ action. On meeting the ‘funding gap’, sans a token amount for LaDF, there was nothing to show.
- The Cooperative Economic Framework marks a significant shift, renewing the Social Contract between the government, the masses, and other stakeholders. With 290 million Cooperative Members in India, this sector is poised to embrace a comprehensive vision of inclusive development, challenging traditional economic forecasts.
- Cooperatives can play a crucial role in the profitable and social development of emerging markets, and their competitiveness needs strengthening through legal, non-supervisory, and executive support, access to finance, and human capital development.
- The Indian Constitution, under Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), allows affirmative action provisions for backward and marginalised communities.
- While the last four finance commissions increased states’ grants from one-third to 40%, it is still tilted towards the centre and creating a challenge for the fiscal sustainability of states.
- Despite the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the poorest and poor women of other social groups are minimally covered with health insurance compared to the rest of the social groups.
ESSAY TOPIC
- Reverence plays an important role in making a person expansive in his thinking.
50-WORD TALK
- The bickering between the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government over who’s contributed what to flood relief is the opposite of what is needed. The two governments need to come together and help the beleaguered people of the state. Able leadership is knowing when to back political grandstanding with action.
- The tragic loss of four Army personnel on Thursday is yet another bloody reminder that something is really amiss in the Rajouri-Poonch area. It has been one debacle after another this year, with too many precious lives lost. Political bosses should step in and demand accountability from the Army leadership.
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.