International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

Notes:
The book “Army and Nation : The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence” has been authored by Steven Wilkinson, a professor of political science and International relations at Yale University. It is about Indian Army’s relationship with the civilian government after Independence. It is in news because Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has advised his officers to read the book “Army and Nation” to understand how India succeeded in keeping the military out of politics.

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Track IV Diplomacy involves socio-cultural, scientific, environmental and educational programmes between two states.

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The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that is aimed to promote and regulate regulation of international trade between nations. It commenced its operations on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement.

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The MIG series of super fighters, including the MIG-21 and MIG-29, were developed by the Soviet Union, which is now Russia. These aircraft were introduced to India in the 1960s and have been a important part of the Indian Air Force’s fleet. The MIG-21, in particular, became one of the most widely used fighter jets in the world, with over 11,000 units produced.

Notes:
International Bill of Human Rights consists of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted in 1948),
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) with its two Optional Protocols and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966).
The two covenants entered into force in 1976, after a sufficient number of countries had ratified them.

Notes:
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) developed the Transnationality Index (TNI). The TNI is used to rank multinational corporations. It is calculated as the average of three ratios:

1. The ratio of foreign assets to total assets
2. The ratio of foreign sales to total sales
3. The ratio of foreign employment to total employment

The TNI has been used since 1990 to rank the world’s 100 largest non-financial TNCs. It can be used for comparative analysis with similar surveys conducted in other countries.

The TNI has shown that the average index value for developing economies’ TNCs has increased over time.

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In the year 2011 the Election Commission of India launched the National Voters Day to be celebrated on 25 January every year as a part of the Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) Programme.

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Humayun-nama is a historical account of the life of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The book was written by Gulbadan Begum, who was Humayun’s half-sister. It is considered significant as it provides an in-depth reflection of life during the Mughal era, offering extensive details about the Emperor’s life and the sociopolitical atmosphere of the time.

Notes:
The famous Sufi poet, Amir khusro wrote a famous masnavi on the love story of Laila and Majnu, “Laila Majnu”. Excerpts of the works done by him are Tughluq Nama, Wast-ul-Hayat, Nuh Sipihr, Ashiqa, Khamsa, Baqia-Naqia, etc. He was the court poet of Alauddin Khilji and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi.

Notes:
Khwajah Nizamuddin Ahmed wrote “Tabuqat-i-Akbari” in the reign of Akbar, it was completed in 1593 AD. The book compiled the history of India from 986 AD to 38th year of Mughal emperor Akbar’s reign. It is a very important source for the history of the Sayyid and Lodi Sultans.