International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

Notes:
The book titled “Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji” is based on the on the social and political life of former Prime Minister of India Atal Bhihari Vajpayee. It is authored by Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank”, who is the BJP MP and former Uttarakhand chief minister. Recently, Pokhriyal has officially handed over the first copy of the 450-page book to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Though, the book will be launched soon in the market for all.

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SAARC is regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union in South Asia. It promotes development of economical and regional integration. 
Member Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan (joined in 2007
The first SAARC summit was held in Dhaka (Bangladesh) in December 1985.

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In 1988, World Health Assembly of WHO had passed a resolution calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on May 31. Since then WHO has supported the observance of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) every year.

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Nuclear Suppliers Group was formed by  seven countries viz. Canada, West Germany, France, Japan, the USSR, the United Kingdom, and the United States in response to the ‘Smiling Buddha’ (Pokharan-I) of India in 1974. 

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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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UNFPA supports programs in140 countries in four areas, the Arab States and Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the sub-Saharan Africa

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The Special Service Bureau (now Sashastra Seema Bal) was conceived in November 1962 and eventually created in March 1963 with the sole objective of achieving ‘Total security preparedness’ in the remote border areas for performing a ‘stay-behind’ role in the event of a war. SSB was started in North Assam, North Bengal, hill districts of Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), Himachal Pradesh, part of Punjab and Ladakh area of J&K.

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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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ECB is the central bank of Eurozone which was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998. Its headquarters is in Frankfurt. Frankfurt is a city n Germany.

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In the 9th century, a Digambara Jain monk, Jinasena composed a Sanskrit poem “Adipurana” that deals with the story of the first Jain Tirthankar Rishabha Deva and his sons Bharata and Bahubali. It consists of 12 thousand shlokas and divided into 12 parvas.