Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• The Paris Agreement (COP21) is a landmark environmental accord that was adopted by nearly every nation in 2015 to address climate change and its negative impacts.
• The Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• The Agreement opened for signature on 22 April 2016 – Earth Day, at UN Headquarters in New York. It entered into force on 4 November 2016.

Significance

• It provides a pathway for developed nations to assist developing nations in their climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, and it creates a framework for the transparent monitoring, reporting, and ratcheting up of countries’ individual and collective climate goals.

Explanation :

• The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8^th December, 1985.
• It consists of eight Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17^th January, 1987.

Objectives

• To promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life
• To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potentials
• To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia
• To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields

Explanation :

• Chabahar Port, the only oceanic port in Iran, is located in the Gulf of Oman on the south-eastern coast of Iran.
• The port features two different complexes namely ShahidKalantari andShahidBeheshti.
• Chabahar Port commenced operations in 1983 and has become an important port for Iran and Middle East.
• It serves as the transport gateway between the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and Europe.
• It plays an important role in the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC) and also serves as a gateway to the eastern development route of the country.
• A trilateral transit agreement was signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan for the development of two berths of the port in May 2016. The agreement will allow the western coasts of Indiato be linked withChabahar and provide access for Indian goods to pass through Iran into Afghanistan and beyond.

Strategic Importance of port for India

• The development of the Chabahar Port has huge strategic importance for India as it would allow India to bypass Pakistan and give it to access to markets in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
• India is also developing a rail link connecting Iran to Afghanistan to help facilitate connectivity.

International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC)

• INSTC is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
• Russia, Iran and India signed the agreement for the NSTC project on the 16th of May 2002. All three countries are founding member states on the project.
• Member states in the NSTC project: India,  Iran,  Russia,  Turkey,  Azerbaijan,  Kazakhstan,  Armenia,  Belarus,  Tajikistan,  Kyrgyzstan,  Oman,  Ukraine,Syria.
• Observer member - Bulgaria

Explanation :

• An individual is designated as an SDGT by the US Department of State or the Department of the Treasury in consultation with the Department of Justice under the provisions of Executive Order 13224.
• It was issued by President George W. Bush on September 23, 2001, and which has been renewed annually thereafter.
• Individuals or entities designated as SDGTs have either already taken part in terrorist activities or are believed to be potential threats.
• Executive Order 13224, issued in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, aimed at blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism.

Explanation :

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is aneight-member multilateral organization, established on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group, formed on 26 April 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions.
• SCO has two Permanent Bodies — (i) SCO Secretariat in Beijing and (ii) Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. The Chairmanship of SCO is by rotation for a year by Member States. Presently Kyrgyzstan is the Chair of SCO for 2018-19.
• At the July 2005 Astana Summit, India, Iran and Pakistan were granted Observer status.
• In July 2015 in Ufa, Russia, the SCO decided to admit India and Pakistan as full members. India and Pakistan signed the memorandum of obligations in June 2016 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, thereby starting the formal process of joining the SCO as full members. On 9 June 2017, at the historic summit in Astana, India and Pakistan officially joined SCO as full-fledged members.

Explanation :

• The Eurasian Economic Union is an international organization for regional economic integration. It has international legal personality and is established by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union.
• The Agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the presidents of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation on May 29, 2014.This Agreement came into force on January 1, 2015.
• The Member-States of the Eurasian Economic Union are
• The Republic of Armenia
• The Republic of Belarus
• The Republic of Kazakhstan
• The Kyrgyz Republic
• The Russian Federation

Significance

• The Union is being created to comprehensively upgrade, raise the competitiveness of and cooperation between the national economies, and to promote stable development in order to raise the living standards of the nations of the Member-States.
• It provides for free movement of goods, services, capital and labor, pursues coordinated, harmonized and single policy in the sectors determined by the Treaty and international agreements within the Union.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The member countries of the World Health Organisation (WHO) from the South-East AsianRegion have resolved to eliminate two diseases-Measles and Rubella by 2023.
• The target to eliminate both the diseases will leverage the existing momentum and a strong political commitment, which is being demonstrated through unprecedented efforts, progress and successes in recent years.
• Five countries in the South-East Asia region - Bhutan, DPR Korea, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste have eliminated measles, but India continues to grapple with 39,299 cases, ranking fourth among 194 countries in the number of measles cases registered between July 2018 and June 2019.
• Currently, six countries have controlled rubella - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste.

Rubella

• Also known as German measles.
• It is a contagious disease that occurs most often in children and young adults.
• In pregnant women it causes congenital defects known as Congenital Rubella Syndromewhich in causes irreversible birth defect.

Measles

• It is a highly contagious viral disease particularly dangerous for poor children as it attacks and reduced immunity.
• It can cause serious complications, including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea, ear infection and

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• Recently, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has released its flagship report, ‘State of the World Population 2019’.
• According to the report – India,
• Accounts for over one-sixth of the world’s population in 2019
• Grown at an rate 1.2% per year between 2010 and 2019
• India’s life expectancy at birth is 69 to 72 years (lower than the world’s)
• 86% of births in India (2006 and 2017), were attended by skilled health personnel ( which is 79% across the world)
• India’s MMR in 2015 was 174 deaths per lakh live births (global MMR in 2015 was 216)
• The report includes, for the first time, data on Women’s ability to make decisions over 3 key areas,
• Sexual intercourse with their partner
• Contraception use
• Health care

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The idea of NDB was conceived at the fourth BRICS Summit held in New Delhi (2012).The group leaders considered the possibility of setting up a new Development Bank to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies, as well as in developing countries.
• During the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014), the leaders signed the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).
• As of now, NDB’s approved loan proportion to India is 28%, the second highest after China amongst the BRICS countries.

New Development Bank(NDB)

• Headquartered: Shanghai
• The NDB is the first Multilateral Development Bank established by developing countries and emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa(BRICS). The mandate of the Bank is to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. India is one of the founding members, holding 20% stake in the Bank.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The SDDS is a global benchmark for disseminating macroeconomic statistics to the public, launched by the IMF in 1996 to guide members to enhance data transparency and help financial market participants with adequate information to assess the economic situations of individual countries.
• It comprises 20 data categories in order to capture a nation’s economic health including national accounts (GDP, GNI), production indices, employment, and central government operations.
• India subscribed to the SDDS on December 27, 1996 and not 1997.

Significance

• Data dissemination standards enhance the availability of timely and comprehensive statistics, which contributes to sound macroeconomic policies and the efficient functioning of financial markets.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online