Notes:
Japan and the US are the only two countries with which India is currently holding 2+2 Ministerial dialogue. It is held between the countries’ foreign and defence ministers. This year, Japan and India held its first ever 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

Notes:
India, Japan and the US are part of the trilateral naval exercise Malabar. Initiated in 1992, it was originally a bilateral exercise between the US and India. Japan became a permanent member in 2015. It includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.

Notes:
Article 5 to 11 (Part II) of the Indian constitution deals with the citizenship in India. The legislation related to this is the Citizenship Act, 1955. It has been amended many times and the most recent of it is in 2019 to provide path to citizenship to certain religious minorities from several Muslim countries.

Notes:
Korean War (1950-53) took place when North Korean military invaded South Korea. The UN force led by the US intervened to defend the south and rapidly advanced into North Korea. Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea. No peace treaty was signed but an armistice in 1953 led to the restoration of the original boundary of the two nations.

Notes:
Agriculture Policy 2020, SAMRIDHI was approved by the Odisha Cabinet recently. It is based on 8 components – Science and Technology, Adaptation to Climate Change, (Markets) Domestic and Global, Physical and financial, Resource use efficiency and higher productivity and Creating appropriate Infrastructure.

Notes:
In 2017, Arunachal Pradesh became the first North East state to implement e-cabinet solution. The solution allows the ministers to prepare, conduct and review the cabinet meetings without the use of papers. It gives remote access to the Ministers to view and circulate Cabinet notes in advance for the proper analysis and feedback. It has also reduced the time consumed during the cabinet meeting.

Notes:
The foundation stone for the Bharat Vandana Park was recently laid at Dwarka in New Delhi. The park is to serve as a major tourist attraction upon completion. It is to be developed at the cost of 550 crore INR.

Notes:
The Incirlik Air Base is located in Turkey. Turkey is planning to close down this strategically important air base. The United States air force makes use of this base to launch air raids on Islamic State/ IS forces in Syria.

Notes:
The first ever Global Refugee Forum meeting was recently organised by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland in December. The UNHCR organised the meeting a year after the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees by the United Nations General Assembly.

Notes:
The Abraham Koshy Committee is an eight member panel that serves as an advisory body for the SEBI/ Securities and Exchange Board of India. It was recently revamped to look into the issues of investor education and protection. It is headed by Abraham Koshy who is a former professor of IIM Ahmedabad.