General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Oct 28, 2023

CCI Becomes Member of International Competition Network's Steering Group

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) became a part of the prestigious 18-member steering committee of the International Competition Network (ICN) after consistent efforts.
The Competition Commission of India was established on October 14, 2003 and became fully functional in May 2009 with Dhanendra Kumar as its first chairman.
The steering committee is the ICN's apex body. The ICN, comprising 140 competition agencies, typically provides antitrust authorities with a specialised, yet informal, venue for maintaining regular contacts and addressing practical competition concerns.
The ICN is the only global body devoted exclusively to competition law enforcement and its members represent national and multinational competition authorities. Members produce work through their involvement in flexible project-oriented and results-based working groups.

US House of Representative Elects its New Speaker

Republican Congressman from Louisiana Mike Johnson was elected as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, bringing an end to three weeks of uncertainty in US politics. The position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is one of the most powerful political chairs in the country and is third in the line of succession after the US President.
Johnson was elected by 220 to 209 votes in a bitterly divided Congress, three weeks after his predecessor Kevin McCarthy was unceremoniously voted out of the seat for the first time in US history. In the 435-member House, the Republicans hold a slender majority with 221 seats against 212 of the Democrats.

Oct 27, 2023

Slovakia's Fico Appointed Prime Minister for Fourth Time

Leftist leader Robert Fico was appointed Slovakia's Prime Minister for the fourth time, after pledging in his election campaign to end military support for Ukraine and criticising sanctions on Russia.
President Zuzana Caputova appointed Fico and his cabinet after his SMER-SSD party won the September election and formed a coalition with the centre-left HLAS and nationalist SNS parties.
Fico quit as Prime Minister in 2018 amid mass public protests against corruption after a journalist was murdered.

UN Chief Appoints 39-member Panel to Advise on International AI Governance

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of a 39-member global advisory panel to report on international governance of artificial intelligence and its risks, challenges and key opportunities.
The U.N. chief said that the gender-balanced, geographically diverse group which spans generations will issue preliminary recommendations by the end of the year and final recommendations by the summer of 2024. The recommendations will feed into the U.N. Summit of the Future, which world leaders will attend in September 2024.
Among the members of the advisory body are the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology Amandeep Singh Gill; co-founder of iSPIRT Foundation, a non-profit technology think-tank that has conceptualised India Stack, Health Stack, and other digital public goods, Sharad Sharma; and Lead Researcher at Hugging Face, India, Nazneen Rajani.

India Ranks Third in Fintech Unicorns

According to global research firm Statista, India secured the third position worldwide in the number of financial technology (fintech) unicorns. The United States and the United Kingdom continued to dominate the field, holding the first and second positions, respectively, both in terms of quantity and overall value.
In 2023, India has secured the third position in the global fintech landscape with 17 fintech unicorns. This significant achievement underscores the country's growing influence in the world of finance and technology. India's top profitable companies include Zerodha, Billdesk, Paytm, and others. Fintech giants like Paytm have exhibited impressive financial growth, with Paytm recording a 32 percent growth in revenue during the second quarter of fiscal year 2023-24.
The US is home to an impressive 134 fintech unicorns, producing the highest value in the industry. Visa, Paypal, and Mastercard are among the dominant players, collectively contributing to a market capitalization of $1.2 trillion. Meanwhile, the UK ranks second with 27 fintech unicorns, making a substantial mark on the global fintech stage.

Oct 26, 2023

Piyush Goyal Attends 7th Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, attended the 7th Edition of Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The theme for the 7th Edition of FII, 'The New Compass', focused on the new global order. The event witnessed participation from the world's leading investors, business leaders, policymakers, inventors and explorers.
FII Institute is a global non-profit foundation launched by Saudi Arabia, which aims to gather global government and business leaders to discuss new pathways for investment with the goal to create a global impact on humanity, with the following four areas of focus: Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Robotics, education, healthcare and sustainability.

Ireland Looks to Refresh Age-old cultural, Political Ties with India

As Ireland prepares to ramp up its diplomatic footprint in Asia and the Pacific, the leadership in Dublin is looking to build on age-old cultural and political ties with India by forging closer cooperation in trade, investment and the digital transition.
At the same time, Ireland is clear-eyed about its relationship with China, with plans to cooperate on global challenges such as climate change while not hesitating to raise issues on which there are differences, as well as challenges posed by Beijing's border disputes across the region.
India figures prominently in an updated Asia-Pacific strategy unveiled by deputy Prime Minister Micheál Martin at the Global Ireland Summit, a conclave of ambassadors and top foreign policy officials. The strategy, originally finalised in 2020, was refreshed in view of geopolitical challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.

WHO Appoints ISB Faculty Prof. Sarang Deo to its TB Advisory Group

World Health Organisation (WHO) appointed Prof. Sarang Deo, Professor of Operations Management, Deputy Dean of Faculty and Research; and Executive Director of Max Institute of Healthcare Management at the Indian School of Business (ISB) as a member of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) for Tuberculosis.
Known for his pioneering research in private sector engagement models for TB control and eradication in addition to effective management of healthcare delivery systems, Prof. Deo's appointment will boost India's fight against the disease. He works closely with global organisations and partners to understand some of the critical gaps in tuberculosis care and management in India and how they can be plugged.
Prof. Deo will be part of a 15-member group of global experts who will provide WHO's Director-General with an independent evaluation of the strategic, scientific, and technical aspects of the organisation's work on eradicating TB.

Russian House Rescinds Ratification of Nuclear-test Ban

The Upper House of the Russian Parliament revoked the ratification of a global nuclear test ban in what Moscow described as a move to establish parity with the US. The Federation Council voted to endorse a bill rescinding the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the CTBT. The Lower House approved the bill. It was now sent to President Vladimir Putin for final approval.
The vote follows a statement from Putin, who warned earlier this month that Moscow could revoke its 2000 decision to ratify the bill to mirror the stand taken by the US, which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban.
The CTBT, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world but the treaty was never fully implemented.

Oct 25, 2023

Qatar Positions Itself as Intermediary in Gaza War

The gas-rich nation of Qatar became a key intermediary in the fate of the 220 hostages currently held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the terror group's deadly attack on Israel, once again putting the small Arabian Peninsula country in the spotlight.
The negotiations have also thrust Qatar into a delicate international balancing act as it maintains a relationship with those viewed as terrorist groups by the West, while trying to preserve its close security ties with the United States.

Britain Abandons Decade Old Restriction on Banker Bonuses

The United Kingdom abandoned a decade-old restriction on banker bonuses that had been adopted from the European Union. This move marked a distinct shift in financial regulations post-Brexit, separating the UK from the 27-country bloc it exited in 2020.
Back in 2014, the United Kingdom found itself on the losing side of an EU decision that introduced a cap on bankers' bonuses. The cap was conceived as a safeguard to prevent the sort of reckless financial behaviour that had triggered the global financial crisis of 2008, leading to massive taxpayer-funded bailouts of lenders.

Asian Development Bank Approves USD 400 Million Loan to India

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $400-million policy-based loan to India for sub-programme 2 of the Sustainable Urban Development and Service Delivery Programme.
The programme aims to support the government's reform agenda for improving the quality of urban life through the creation of high-quality infrastructure, assured public services, and efficient governance systems as part of as part of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0.
While sub-programme 1, approved in 2021, established national-level policies and guidelines to improve urban services, sub-programme 2 is supporting investment planning and reform actions at the state and urban local body (ULB) levels.

Heman Bekele Named America's Top Young Scientist

A 14-year-old boy was named America's Top Young Scientist for developing a bar of soap that treats skin cancer. A ninth grader at W.T. Woodson High School in Annandale, Virginia, Heman Bekele won after competing with nine other finalists in the 2023 3M Young Scientists Challenge. He won the $25,000 grand prize.
Bekele reportedly made the affordable soap by infusing medicinal soap with three ingredients. The ingredients reactivate dendritic cells that generate an immune response to fight the deadly disease.

Indians Top the List of those Seeking Citizenship in Wealthy OECD Nations

India maintained its top position as the country of origin of new immigrants to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations in 2021. According to OECD's International Migration Outlook: 2023 report, 407,000 Indians moved to OECD nations in 2021. It was 86 per cent higher than 220,000 Indians in 2020.
China and Romania followed India, with 283,000 and 215,000 immigrants, respectively.
OECD is a group of 38 countries, most of which are high-income and ranked very high on the Human Development Index (HDI).
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; French: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, OCDE) is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, France. India is not a member of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) because it is not a member of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

Oct 24, 2023

Sri Lanka Approves Free Visa Scheme for Seven Countries

The Sri Lanka cabinet approved granting free visas to travellers from seven countries - India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand for five months, Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry announced. According to Sabry, the free visa travel has begun with immediate effect as a pilot project and will continue till March 31, 2024.
According to the tourism ministry of Sri Lanka, the purpose of this move is to attract more tourists to the country.

Erdogan Signs Sweden's NATO Membership Application

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially submitted Sweden's NATO membership application to the Turkish parliament, bringing closer the possible end of a 17-month standoff.
Turkey and Hungary are last two NATO members which are yet to ratify Sweden's membership application. Sweden moved away from its long-standing policy of non-alignment after Russia invaded Ukraine and made an application to join the alliance.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

July GK, June GK, May GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26