Subject:IR Context: The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General has announced that the UN is unable to convene the Middle East Quartet to discuss the potential Israeli plan to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank. The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights described the annexation of occupied territory as a serious violation of the Charter of […]
Subject: IR/Economy Context: Japan and Chinese Taipei is planning to set up a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against New Delhi’s customs duties on imports of certain information and communications technology (ICT) products. Concept: Both alleged that imposition of import duties on certain electronic products by India infringes WTO norms as […]
Subject: IR Context: According to a report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), energy transition-related technologies can add 5.5 million jobs globally by 2023, on June 24, 2020. It highlighted that energy transformation could be a key to novel COVID-19 economic recovery. Concept: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries […]
Subject: IR/Geography Context: Ishigaki city assembly, a local council in Japan has approved change of name of an area containing Senkaku Islands from Tonoshiro to Tonoshiro Senkaku. Concept: The Senkakus are administered by Japan, but claimed by China and Taiwan, which refer to them as Diaoyu Dao and Diaoyutai, respectively. Japan annexed the archipelago following China’s defeat in […]
Subject: IR/Economy Context: HSN code is in news over debate over GST rate for roti and Parotta. Concept: HSN is a six-digit code that classifies more than 5000 products, arranged in a legal and logical structure. To achieve uniform classification, the HSN is supported by well-defined rules and is accepted worldwide. HSN classification is widely […]
Subject: IR Context: China made intrusion into Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Pangong Tso areas in Eastern Ladakh. This is seen as Chinese ‘salami slicing’ attempt to shift the Sino-India LAC further west in the disputed region Concept: In military terms, salami slicing is described as a strategy that involves divide and conquer process of […]
Subject: IR Context: U.S. President has issued an executive order authorizing sanctions against individuals involved in an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation over U.S. forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan Concept: The International Criminal Court (“the ICC” or “the Court”) is a permanent international court established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing […]
Subject: IR Context: UNESCO has released 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report with theme “Inclusion and education – All means all”. Concept: This year’s report is the fourth annual UNESCO GEM Report to monitor progress across 209 countries in achieving the education targets adopted by UN Member States in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It […]
Subject: IR Context: Ministry of External Affairs has announced that it will participate in the virtual meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping scheduled to be held on 23rd June, 2020. Concept: RIC is a strategic grouping, conceived by the then Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov in 1998. But the idea of meeting at the leader’s level on a more […]
Subject: IR Context: US government has extended the 60-day ban on immigration and non-immigrant worker visas till the end of 2020. The suspension of H-1B and other work will likely to have a severe impact on majority of Indian IT companies Concept: The lottery-based H-1B visas allow US companies to employ foreign workers temporarily in specialised occupations […]