WSDP Bulletin (13/01/2024)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. 100 million Indians to be affluent by 2027: Report READ MORE

2. Indo-US satellite NISAR to study Earth’s cryospheric changes, will help in natural resource, hazard management READ MORE

3. Jharkhand declares drought in 17 districts READ MORE

4. WHO certifies Cabo Verde malaria-free; third African country to do so READ MORE

5. In 2023, global ocean heat content doubled or tripled since the late 1980s, shows study READ MORE

6. Prepare Coastal Zone Management Plans without delay, NGT tells coastal States and Union Territories READ MORE

7. Assam’s Kaziranga National Park records 27% increase in waterbirds READ MORE

8. SC refuses to stay new law excluding CJI from panel picking CEC, ECs READ MORE

9. PM Modi to inaugurate India’s longest sea bridge ‘Mumbai Trans Harbour Link’ tomorrow | See Pics READ MORE

Main

GS Paper- 1

1. Ustad Rashid Khan’s legacy of perfection READ MORE

2. Revisit Tagore to revive higher ed READ MORE

3. Why is child marriage still high in West Bengal? READ MORE

4. Snow cover across Northern Hemisphere has declined in last 4 decades due to changing climate: Study READ MORE

5. Global warming, sea level rise, ageing flood defence systems: Why European countries have been flooded READ MORE

6. A looming crisis: How India can balance its water demand and supply across sectors? READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Respecting SEBI’s mandate, expertise, functional freedom READ MORE

2. Maharashtra Speaker’s verdict in Shiv Sena MLA disqualification case stirs up political controversy READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. On the Swachh Survekshan awards: Factors that hinder general improvement in sanitation must be overcome READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Halfway to 2030:Unravelling Global food security challenges READ MORE  

2. Muizzu’s Maldives is missing the ‘Geo’ in geopolitics READ MORE

3. India in the South Asian neighbourhood: Friendship or friction? READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Robust revenues: On direct tax collection target and fiscal consolidation READ MORE

2. Watering the seeds of the rural economy: Evidence from groundwater irrigation in India READ MORE

3. India needs a new automobile policy READ MORE

4. Effect of FDI Inflows on the Export Performance of India READ MORE

5. Shoots of change: India’s agritech revolution READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. To combat climate challenges, the Finance Commission needs to step up READ MORE

2. India’s climate goals: Navigating a complex dilemma READ MORE

3. Environmental Impact Assessments: Ex post facto clearances of violations will only serve to weaken the regulatory regime. READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Are antibiotics over-prescribed in India? READ MORE

2. Direct mobile broadcasting is a gamechanger READ MORE

INTERNAL SECURITY

1. Cybersecurity Threats in Online Gaming: Learnings for India READ MORE  

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Awareness and deterrence key to reducing fire hazards READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Divine acts in us when we act in the divine READ MORE

2. Arise, Awake, Vivekananda Has A Message For You READ MORE

3. Viksit Bharat: Youth to play a pivotal role READ MORE

4. Is there a hidden purpose to our existence? READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. The country requires a fiscal blueprint that harmonises economic growth with environmental imperatives and the 16th FC is the best-placed institutional mechanism to fulfil this critical need. Comment.

2. Indian diplomacy in the neighbourhood lacked both the economic and the military resources to deliver on its policy objectives that it inherited as the successor state to British India. Examine.

3. As long as defection disputes are in the hands of Speakers, and not any independent authority, political considerations will undoubtedly cast a shadow on the power to disqualify. Argue in the light of recent developments.

4. The lack of access to timely and accurate information always remained a hurdle for farmers in India. Discuss how the agri-tech startups are bridging this information gap through mobile applications and digital platforms?

5. In the global effort to feed a growing population sustainably, technological advancements and innovation in agriculture are more critical than ever. Discuss how in recent years, the Indian agricultural landscape has witnessed a transformative wave driven by the Agri-Tech startup ecosystem to increases the yield in Agriculture?

6. In a world where almost every economic asset of a nation, including scenic natural tourist spots is being weaponised, a strategic balance is required with neighbours. Comment on the statement in the light of recent developments in India’s neighbourhood.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

  • We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion.
  • Strong direct tax receipts create a fiscal cushion and room for more reforms.
  • For civic sanitation to remain a sustainable movement, it is high time that the government intervenes and prevents it from being a numbers game.
  • The Finance Commission needs to metamorphose from a conventional fiscal arbitrator to an orchestrator of India’s climate readiness. The country requires a fiscal blueprint that harmonises economic growth with environmental imperatives.
  • Conservation of standing forests and increasing forest cover density helps lock carbon underground contributing to mitigation of global warming.
  • The Finance Commission (FC), responsible for fiscal federalism in the country, has in the past provided incentives to states to maintain and improve their forest cover.
  • The country requires a fiscal blueprint that harmonises economic growth with environmental imperatives. The 16th FC is the best-placed institutional mechanism to fulfil this critical need.
  • Innovations to tackle the seemingly intractable problem of crop burning will require funds. So will mangrove restoration, a key necessity given the weather vagary-induced floods in recent times.
  • India needs a new urban imagination that will facilitate not just augmenting infrastructure in old cities but also building new urban spaces.
  • The Maldives Government should realise that their economy is dependent on tourism and in the business of hospitality, one needs to be humble and not arrogant.
  • A significant improvement in agricultural production accompanied with modest consumption gains, as well as a substantial increase in population density.
  • The impact of foreign direct investments on the expansion of export-based foreign trade in emerging economies is explored.
  • Indian agritech is making impressive strides and expanding its global footprint, but it is still at a nascent stage and has penetrated only 1 percent of its potential market value.
  • To end the intergenerational cycle of poverty and eradicate all types of malnutrition, policymakers must intensify their efforts.
  • Indian diplomacy in the neighbourhood lacked both the economic and the military resources to deliver on its policy objectives that it inherited as the successor state to British India.

ESSAY TOPIC

  • The truly happy ones, understand life.

50-WORD TALK

  • Maharashtra assembly speaker Narwekar ruling in favour of Shinde faction in MLAs’ disqualification case was on expected lines. His interpretation of Sena’s leadership structure and SC’s observation on legislative majority was ingenious and convenient. Anti-defection law has become ineffective. SC’s suggestion for independent tribunal for disqualification petitions must be implemented.
  • The islands remain largely inaccessible, tourist connectivity cumbersome and facilities limited. It’s time to unlock Lakshadweep’s potential. This round has gone to India; Maldives is busy controlling the damage after its ministers’ remarks on PM Modi’s Lakshadweep visit. But what comes next is an inconvenient truth: we haven’t leveraged the tourism potential of our archipelago.

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.
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