International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

Notes:
The book “Lincoln in the Bardo” has been authored by George Saunders, the Folio prize-winning author. The novel is a tale of death and beyond that captures the grief of Abraham Lincoln over the death of his 11-year-old son Willie while the Civil War raged on in the United States of America (USA). The book draws a parallel line between the lives of Willie’s ghost and a similar uncertain state of Lincoln, after the boy’s death. In simple words, the novel is a confrontation with the mysterious beyond the inevitable death, a question that has haunted humankind, and the way death can bring even the head of a nation to his knees.

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When a country faces serious medium-term balance of payments problems, International Monetary Fund assist the country with the adjustment process under its Extended Fund Facility.

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Every year June 20 is observed as World Refugee Day to raise awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world. The observance of the day seeks to draw attention to the plight of refugees and also to celebrate their courage and resilience and renew commitment to solve refugee problems

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Centre William Rappard is known as the first building in Geneva designed to house an international organization and was originally occupied by International labour Organization. ILO`s office was shifted to Grand Saconnex. Later it was occupied by GATT which was replaces by World Trade Organization in 1995.

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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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In 2009, Infosys came under the security blanket of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), becoming the first private firm to be protected by the force which usually guard government installations.

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The ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus) conference involves defense ministers from ASEAN and eight partner countries, focusing on regional security and defense cooperation. Established in 2010, it aims to enhance dialogue and collaboration on defense and security issues, addressing challenges like terrorism and maritime security. The “Plus” includes countries like the U.S., China, and India, emphasizing multilateral defense strategies.

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February 2nd is World Wetlands Day. This day is celebrated annually to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands and how to restore them. It also commemorates the Ramsar Convention, which was signed on February 2nd, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran.

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“Nomadic Elephant” is a joint military exercise focusing on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations between India and Mongolia. This exercise is part of a series of military cooperation activities undertaken by the Indian Army with various countries and is aimed at enhancing military cooperation and interoperability, particularly in areas related to counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism.

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.