Expected Questions in International Organizations 2019 - IAS⟋NET (Part-2) (Set-3)
Please find below the most important expected topics for the upcoming UPSC Prelims exam 2019. Subscribe@Examrace YouTube Channel to get the complete series of expected questions. For practice and solutions visit - doorsteptutor. com. You can download the pdf by clicking the option “Download PDF” .
RBI, Bank of Japan sign Bilateral Swap Arrangement
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) & Bank of Japan have signed a bilateral swap agreement.
Bilateral Swap Agreement
- Agreement will provide India access to 75 billion US dollars against 50 billion dollars under earlier BSA.
- Under agreement, India can access 75 billion dollars for its domestic currency, for purpose of maintaining appropriate level of balance of payments or short-term liquidity at its discretion.
- Agreement will provide India to access reserves if at any point of time when need arises.
Benefits of Swap Agreement
- Currency swap makes it easier to improve liquidity conditions.
- Agreements help in saving for a rainy day when economy is not looking in good shape.
- Agreements contribute towards stabilising country՚s balance of payments (BoP) position.
- Agreement aids in improving confidence in Indian market.
- How does Swap Agreement work?
- As part of agreement, Bank of Japan (Japanese central bank) will accept rupees & give dollars to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) . RBI will take yen & give dollars to Bank of Japan to stabilize each other՚s currency.
- Since Japanese Yen is one of 5 currencies included in IMF՚s SDR basket & is counted as global hard currency, central part of agreement boils down to Japanese commitment to exchange US Dollar for rupee from India.
Al Nagah III Joint Military Exercise
Al Nagah III is 3rd in series of bilateral joint exercise b⟋w India & Oman.
Al Nagah III
- 14-day exercise will see both armies exchanging expertise & experience in tactics, weapon handling & firing.
- Exercise is aimed to enhance interoperability in counterterrorist operations in semi-urban mountainous terrain.
- Indian Army contingent is going to be represented by 10th Battalion of Garhwal Rifles. Similar strength is to be fielded by Jabel Regiment of Royal Army of Oman.
- Al Nagah I was held at Muscat, Oman in January 2015 & Al Nagah II at Himachal Pradesh, India in March 2017.
- India-Oman bilateral security ties have continued to evolve & joint military exercise will go a long way in enchaining understanding of capabilities & strengthening camaraderie b⟋w both Armies.
India gets first TIR shipment via Chabahar Port from Afghanistan
1st shipment under UN Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) convention arrived in India from Afghanistan thru Chabahar Port of Iran.
What is Transports Internationaux Routiers Convention?
It is international Convention aimed at harmonising administrative formalities of international road transport.
Goods being moved thru TIR convention requires goods to be outlined in TIR carnet & sealed in load compartments.
Benefits of the Convention
- Convention acts as strong catalyst for moving goods using multi-modal transportation route like Chabahar & International North-South Transport (INSTC) Corridor.
- Convention offers a great opportunity for landlocked countries by providing seamless border crossing facilitation & intermodal capabilities.
- Convention aids in implementation of Trade facilitation agreement of World Trade Organisation.
- In India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is appointed as National Issuing & Guaranteeing Association.
India extends Financial Grant for building educational campus in Nepal
India has extended a financial grant of 35.5 million Nepalese rupees for construction of educational campus in Nepal under Development Partnership Programme.
Development Partnership Programme
- Development Partnership Programme is administered by Development Administration Partnership division in Ministry of External Affairs.
- India has long history as a provider of development assistance & over years & India՚s development assistance has started to cover a large number of countries over last few years. For streamlining delivery of assistance & improving effectiveness of such efforts Development Administration Partnership was established in January 2012.
- India՚s provides development assistance in 1 of 3 forms:
- Grant assistance
- Lines of credit
- Capacity-building
- Development Administration Partnership under Ministry of External Affairs aims to provide for effective & efficient handling of all aid projects from stages of concept, launch, execution & completion for efficient implementation of projects, in close cooperation & facilitation of partner countries.
- India-Africa Health Sciences Collaborative Platform
- India & African Union have signed MoU to initiate & strengthen cooperation in health sector in a structured & organised manner by establishing India-Africa health sciences collaborative platform.
- Following deliberations at 1st India-Africa Health Sciences Meet in 2016, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had taken up mandate to initiate & strengthen cooperation in health sector in a structured & organized manner by establishing India-Africa Health Sciences Collaborative Platform (IAHSP) . MoU signed aims to formalise this partnership by establishing a framework.
- IAHSP would focus on training & strengthening capacity of health professionals, researchers, regulators & industry staff, support research collaborations for developing preventive tools & improved diagnostics for diseases which are regional priorities in India & Africa.
- African Union
- AU is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located in continent of Africa. AU was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia & launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa. AU replaced Organisation of African Unity (OAU) , established on 25 May 1963.
- AU was established for accelerating process of integration in continent to enable it to play its rightful role in global economy while addressing multifaceted social, economic & political problems compounded as they are by certain negative aspects of globalisation. All UN member states based in Africa & on African waters are members of AU.
India gains access to Bolivian Lithium Reserves
India & Bolivia have signed agreement for development & industrial use of lithium, a prime component used to power electric vehicles & cell phones.
Forging Partnerships
- India & Bolivia agreed to forge a mutually beneficial partnership to facilitate Bolivian supplies of lithium Carbonate to India & foster joint ventures for lithium battery⟋cell production plants in India. This agreement will make Bolivia, which is known to have 1⟋4th of world՚s lithium reserves, one of major provider of metal for India՚s e-mobility & e-storage needs.
- Agreement facilitates mechanisms for commercialization of Lithium Carbonate & Potassium Chloride produced in Bolivia by Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos Corporación (YLB - Corporación) .
- Why agreement can be a game changer?
- With MoU number of Indian companies setting up production capabilities in Bolivia goes up & import of lithium to India. Domestic production is set to see a boost, from automotive perspective. Arrival of hybrids & electric vehicles from as early as 2020 onwards, will force manufacturers to look at local production.
- This agreement could turn out to be backbone for recently launched FAME India policy (Faster Adoption & Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles) & will give a substantial push to India՚s ambition to have at least 30% of its vehicles run on electric batteries by 2030.
- Bolivia Joins International Solar Alliance
- Bolivia has signed framework agreement to join International Solar Alliance.
- International Solar Alliance
- ISA aims to provide a common platform to address specific solar technology deployment needs of solar resource-rich countries located b⟋w Tropic of Cancer & Tropic of Capricorn.
- Availability of abundance of solar energy in these countries can be utilised to generate cost-effective solar power to address challenges of lack of universal energy access, energy equity & affordability.
- ISA will not duplicate efforts that other bodies like International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) , Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) , International Energy Agency (IEA) , Renewable Energy Policy Network for 21st Century (REN21) , United Nations bodies, bilateral organizations etc.
- ISA has launched 3 major programmes: Scaling Solar Applications for Agriculture Use, Affordable Finance at Scale, & Scaling Solar Mini-grids to help in achieving overall goal of increasing solar energy deployment in ISA member countries for achieving universal energy access & speeding up economic development.
- ISA is planning to launch 2 programmes: Scaling Solar Rooftops & Scaling Solar E-mobility & Storage.
- ISA is 1st body that will have a secretariat in India. India plays a significant role in alliance in terms of being a host & major contributor for achieving target of 1 TW of solar energy by 2030 which would require $ 1 trillion to achieve w⟋target to produce 100 GW of solar energy by 2022, would account for a tenth of ISA՚s goal.
✍Examrace Team at Aug 21, 2021