International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

Notes:
National Handloom Day is celebrated annually on August 7 to honor the handloom weaving community of India and to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement. On this day in 1905, the formal proclamation of the Swadeshi Movement was made in a meeting at the Calcutta Town hall.

Notes:
The World Meteorological Day (WMD) is observed every year on 23rd March to mark establishment of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on this day in 1950.

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“A Brief History of Time” is a book written by physicist Stephen Hawking. It was first published in 1988, and it covers a wide range of topics in cosmology and theoretical physics. The book became a bestseller and has been translated into over 40 languages.

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Treaty of Portsmouth ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The treaty was signed on September 5, 1905 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. The treaty was signed by Japanese and Russian diplomats after negotiations from August 6 to August 30. The treaty ended the war that began in 1904. The war was caused by Russian and Japanese expansionism in the Far East. The war contributed to domestic unrest in both countries, which led to the Russian revolution of 1905. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in the negotiations and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Notes:
International Women’s Day is observed on March 8 each year. This date was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, although its roots trace back to the early 20th century, with the first official celebration occurring in 1911. The day highlights women’s achievements and advocates for gender equality globally.

Notes:
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) developed the Transnationality Index (TNI). The TNI is used to rank multinational corporations. It is calculated as the average of three ratios:

1. The ratio of foreign assets to total assets
2. The ratio of foreign sales to total sales
3. The ratio of foreign employment to total employment

The TNI has been used since 1990 to rank the world’s 100 largest non-financial TNCs. It can be used for comparative analysis with similar surveys conducted in other countries.

The TNI has shown that the average index value for developing economies’ TNCs has increased over time.

Notes:
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) is a joint venture between India and Russia. The plant is located in the coastal state of Tamil Nadu. Construction began in March 2002.
The reactors were built by India’s Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and Russia’s Atomstroyexport company, a subsidiary of Rosatom. The reactors are based on Russian technology and are pressurised water reactors (PWR).
The plant has two 1,000 megawatt (MW) PWR units. An additional four units are under construction.
Russia is supplying all the enriched fuel for the plant. India will reprocess the fuel and keep the plutonium for civil use.

Notes:
The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is a joint venture between India and Russia. The plant is located in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. It is the largest nuclear power station in India.
The plant was built as a result of an inter-governmental agreement signed in 1988 by then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The agreement called for the construction of two reactors of 2 GW. The first concrete for unit 1 was poured in March 2002, and for unit 2 four months later.
The reactors are pressurised water reactors of Russian design. The thermal capacity is 3,000 MW, the gross electrical capacity is 1,000 MW, and the net capacity is 917 MW.

Notes:
Around 44 African countries are entering into an agreement to set up AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) to remove barriers to trade, like tariffs and import quotas, allowing the free flow of goods and services between its members. The agreement will still have to be ratified at a national level, and is only due to come into force in 180 days. This is touted to be biggest free trade agreement since establishment of WTO.

Notes:
World Conference on Disaster Reduction is a United Nations conference bringing together government officials, non-governmental experts and other specialists from around the world to discuss the growing trend of people affected by natural disasters. The first WCDR conference was held in Kobe, Japan January 10- 22, 2005. The outcome of this conference was Hyogo Framework for Action. The HFA suggests five specific priorities for action:

1. Making disaster risk reduction a priority;
2. Improving risk information and early warning;
3. Building a culture of safety and resilience;
4. Reducing the risks in key sectors;
5. Strengthening preparedness for response.