Current Affairs - International

On 25^th January 2022, International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its World Economic Outlook report.

It is a survey by the IMF staff usually published twice a year. It presents IMF staff economists' analyses of global economic developments during the near and medium term.

India is ranked 85 out of 180 countries on the global Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021.

The Report on India

• According to the report, the case of India is particularly worrying. While the country’s score has remained stagnant over the past decade, some of the mechanisms that could help reign in corruption are weakening. There are concerns over the country’s democratic status, as fundamental freedoms and institutional checks and balances decay.

On 17th January, 2022, Oxfam International released the report titled- Inequality Kills: The unparalleled action needed to combat unprecedented inequality in the wake of COVID-19.

Major Highlights

• Inequalities have been deepened in the midst of the pandemic, as a result of violent economic policies contributing to thousands of deaths a day.

At the India-Sri Lanka 5th Joint Committee on S&T Cooperation held on January 20, 2022, India and Sri Lanka extended the existing cooperation in science and technology.

Key Highlights

• Both countries mutually agreed to extend the Programme of Cooperation (POC) for another 3 years and identified new areas such as waste-water technologies, industry and biotech, sustainable agriculture, aerospace engineering, robotics, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence to be included in the POC.

In 2021, the bilateral trade between India and China stood at 125.66 billion USD, up 43.3% from 2020.

• China’s exports to India were 97.52 billion USD while China’s imports from India were 28.14 billion USD in 2021.

On 22nd December, 2021, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopte resolution 2615 (2021) permitting a carveout in sanctions against the Taliban to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Resolution 2615

• The carveout covers urgently needed humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan.

The 3rd meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 19th December 2021 under the chairmanship of the External Affairs Minister of India.

• Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan took part in the meeting.

Recently, India voted against a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) linking climate to security. The resolution was sponsored by Ireland and Nigeria.

Key Highlights

• Niger (the UNSC presidency for December) organised a debate on 9th December, 2021, titled ‘Maintenance of international peace and security: security in the context of terrorism and climate change.’

Recently, Sydney-based Lowy Institute released the Asia Power Index 2021. It is being published annually since 2018.

• About the Index: The index measures resources and influence to rank the relative power of states in the Indo-Pacific.

World Inequality Report 2022” was recently released by France-based World Inequality Lab.

Key Findings (Global)

We are still there where we were at the 20th Century

• Global inequalities today are as much as they were at the peak of Western imperialism in the early 20th century.