International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

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The book “From Inside the Steel Frame: The Memoirs of an Administrator” has been authored by Dr. Ashok Pandey, a retired IAS officer. This is an account of his journey from a small village in Bihar to the corridors of powers in Delhi.

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World leprosy day is annually observed around the world on the last Sunday of January. It was initiated in 1954 by French philanthropist and writer, Raoul Follereau. The day was chosen to coincide with the death anniversary of Indian freedom fighter and Father of nation Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination on January 30 1948.
Leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease) is one of the oldest diseases known to humankind. It is caused by a slow-growing type of bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae). It is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT)

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The Indian Army Day is celebrated on 15 January every year in India. It is celebrated in recognition of Lieutenant General K. M. Cariappa who took over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India, on January 15, 1949.

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The Integrated Test Range (ITR) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is located in Balasore, Odisha. It provides safe and reliable launch facilities for performance evaluation of rockets, missiles and air-borne weapon system.

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General Assembly is the principal deliberative and policymaking organ of the United Nations. It is composed of representatives from all member states, and each member state has one vote. The General Assembly discusses and makes decisions on a wide range of international issues, including peace and security, development, human rights, and international law. It serves as a forum for member states to express their views, negotiate agreements, and work together to address global challenges. While other UN organs, such as the Security Council and the Secretariat, have specific roles, the General Assembly is the central body where all member states come together to discuss and shape the policies and priorities of the United Nations.

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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 37 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is headquartered at Paris, France. The OECD publishes and updates a model tax convention that serves as a template for allocating taxation rights between countries.

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5 operational commands and 2 functional commands

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Flexible Credit Line (FCL) is a lending scheme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The FCL was created in 2009 after the 2007 Financial Crisis. It was designed to meet the demand for crisis prevention and crisis mitigation lending for countries with strong policy frameworks and track records in economic performance. The FCL is useful for both crisis prevention and crisis resolution.
The FCL is a precautionary credit line that lasts one or two years. The repayment period is the same as for the Stand by Arrangement (SBA). Only Mexico, Colombia, and Poland have subscribed to the FCL.

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he Akash missile is considered the Indian Patriot. The Akash is India’s first indigenously produced medium-range surface-to-air missile. It can target aircraft up to 30 km (19 mi) away. The Akash can neutralize aerial targets such as fighter jets, cruise missiles, air-to-surface missiles, and ballistic missiles. It is in operational service with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.
The Akash was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The Akash’s technology is close to the system of American patriot missiles.
The Patriot is an American missile system that was used successfully in neutralising the Iraqi Skud missiles during the first Gulf War in the 90s.

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The famous Sufi poet, Amir Khusrau was the author of the poem “Ashiqa”, a tragic love story of Khizr Khan (son of Alauddin Khilji) and Deval Rani (Princess of Gujarat). Excerpts of the works done by him are Tughluq Nama, Wast-ul-Hayat, Nuh Sipihr, Laila Majnun, etc. He was the court poet of Alauddin Khilji and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi.