GK,IMPORTANT ORGANIZATION IN THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
BODIES
UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION
The United Nations grew out of
the alliance of nations throughout the world against Nazi Germany in World War
II. In the summer of 1941, a meeting between Franklin D. Roosevelt, President
of the United States, and Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain,
resulted in the phrasing of the Atlantic Charter – a set of principles for
world peace and Cupertino among nations. Two years later (October 1943), the
leaders again conferred – this time with Joseph Stalin, Premier of Russia – in
Teheran (Iran) and agreed on the need for an effective instrument for
maintaining international peace.
At the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington, D.C., in 1944 (in which
for the U.S. played a leading part), the first blueprints were formulated for
organising the UN. The leaders of the three powers met again in February 1945
at Yalta and established a voting procedure for the UN.
In 1945, representatives from 50 nations met in San Francisco to phrase
the basic charter for a world organisation which would “save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war ……” The aims of this organisation, as
stated in the Charter, were to keep peace and through collective action,
eradicate illiteracy, poverty, disease and chronic ill-health-often the causes
of war.
Preliminary drafts of the Charter, which had been worked by
specialists, were drafted in the final form at San Francisco. Ratified by 29
nations - the necessary majority, including the five permanent members of the
Security Council it became effective on October 24, 1945. This day is now the
official birthday of the UN and celebrated each year as United Nations Day in
countries throughout the world.
The specific purposes of the UN, as outlined in the Charter, are to:
1. Maintain international peace and security.
2. Work towards improved relations among nations, based on respect for
the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
3. Cooperate in finding a solution for international, social, economic,
cultural and humanitarian problems and in advancing respect for human rights
and basic freedoms.
4. Serve as a base for co-ordinating the actions of nations to attain
these common goals.
To maintain peace and security in the world, the UN adopts various
measures such as (i) appointing body of persons to help in bringing about an
agreement between the opposing nations in their dispute; (ii) sending
investigation missions to troubled areas to gain first hand information; (iii)
securing agreements to reduce armaments and work for disarmament; and (iv)
preventing genocide by appealing to member countries to observe principles
enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
UN HEADQUARTERS
The United Nations headquarters are located in New York, N.Y., between
First Avenue and E. 42nd Street and E. 48th Street. The General Assembly
Building
UN FLAG
UN emblem in white centred on a light blue ground.
LANGUAGES USED BY THE UN
There are six official working languages recognised by the United
Nations. These are (1) Chinese, (2) English, (3) French, (4) Russian and (5)
Spanish, (6) Arabic which have been in use since the world body was organised.
A sixth language i.e. Arabic was added by the General Assembly in 1973 and the
Security Council in 1982.
UN STRUCTURE
1. General Assembly: The General Assembly is the discussion body of the United Nations and
consists of all members of the UN. While each member-nation can send five
delegates and six alternates to the Assembly, each nation has only one vote. A
two-thirds of majority is needed to pass resolution on important questions such
as recommendation to peace and security, new members, electing members to the
councils, budget considerations, and so forth. Other questions are decided by a
simple majority vote. No nation in the General Assembly has a veto power.
The Assembly meets regularly once a year (beginning on the third
Tuesday of September) and also holds special or emergency sessions whenever
necessary. As the “town meeting” of the world, the General Assembly can discuss
any issue in any area except those issues on the Security Council agenda. When,
however, the Security Council is unable to reach a decision on political
action, under the “Uniting for Peace” resolution, on a simple majority vote,
the Security Council can drop the issue from its agenda. The General Assembly
can then deal with the problem and make its recommendations.
The Assembly receives and makes recommendations on reports from the
Economic and Social Council and Trusteeship Council. In this capacity, the
General Assembly can begin studies on, and offer plans for, international
Cupertino in politics, law, economics, social welfare, education, health and
human rights. On the recommendation of the Security Council, the General
Assembly elects the Secretary-General. Voting separately the Security Council
and the General Assembly elect the judges of the International Court of
Justice. The Assembly votes on new members approved by the Security Council and
can also expel or suspend member-countries. The Assembly also elects the
non-permanent members of the Economic and Social Council, as well as certain
members of the Trusteeship Council.
2. Security Council: The Security Council has the basic responsibility for the maintenance
of peace and security. It is also responsible for the functions of the UN in
trust territories classed as “strategic areas”. Although originally made up of
11 members, the strength of the Council by an amendment of the Charter, has been
raised to 15 members, five of which are permanent: the United States , Britain ,
China , France and the Russia
Each member of the Security Council has one vote. In voting on
substantive rather than procedural measures, all permanent members must vote
“yes” if the measure is to pass. A single negative vote (veto) by a permanent
member automatically prevents the proposals from being passed. “Substantive”
measures are those which require action by member-states, thus involving
political decisions; “procedural” measures pertain to decisions on the internal
functioning of the Council’s work. The ten non-permanent members of the
Security Council do not have the veto power. Members of the Council must always
be represented at UN headquarters since the Council can be called into session
at any time in a matter of hours.
When a complaint is brought before the Security Council, the Council
usually recommends negotiation or mediation as a means of settling the dispute.
If this fails and fighting breaks out, the Security Council has the power to
take collective action in recommending diplomatic and/or economic sanctions.
Armed forces, supplied by member-nations, may be called to repel the aggressor
or act as a buffer until the issue is settled. The Security Council also
recommends (to the General Assembly) new nations for membership and names its
candidate for Secretary-General. With the General Assembly, it elects judges to
the International Court of Justice.
3. Economic and Social Council: The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), reporting
to the General Assembly, works on economic, social, cultural and humanitarian
problems. It is made up of representatives of 54 member-states (elected by a
two thirds majority of the General Assembly). Any country, not a member of
ECOSOC, involved in a problem under discussion is invited to participate
without the right to vote. A least two regular sessions of ECOSOC are held each
year-one at UN headquarters in New York and the other in Geneva, Switzerland.
Special meetings are called, if needed. Each member of ECOSOC has one vote and
resolutions are passed by a majority vote.
ECOSOC has established five Regional Economic Commissions. These are
ECE (Economic Commission for Europe-Geneva); ESCAP (Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific Bangkok); ECLA (Economic Commission for
Latin America-Santiago, Chile); ECA (Economic Commission for Africa – Addis
Ababa); ECWA (Economic Commission for Western Asia-Baghdad). These Commissions
have been established to enable the nations of the major regions of the world
to cooperate on common problems and also to produce economic information.
Additional functional commissions deal with such matters as statistics,
population, human rights, economics and employment, status of women,
transportation and communication and control of narcotic drug traffic. The
Council helps co-ordinate the activities of the inter-governmental specialised
agencies.
4. Trusteeship Council: The Trusteeship Council prepares people for self-government or
independence. Membership consists of permanent members of the Security Council
plus those nations which administer trust territories, and the needed
additional members to maintain an equal balance between administering and
non-administering nations. The latter are elected by the General Assembly. The
Trusteeship Council supervises the administration of various territories
governed by nations designated by the UN as trustees. The administrative power
and the Council see to it that social, economic and educational progress is
made and that the territories are prepared for effective self-government. The
Trusteeship Council receives reports from missions, administering authorities
and individuals. Any person with a complaint, in a trust territory, may make
suggestions for improvement. The Council, however, does not determine or
enforce a country’s laws. Regular meetings of the Trusteeship Council are held
twice a year. Each member has one vote and decisions are made by a simple
majority.
5. International Court of Justice: The International Court of Justice, established by
the UN Charter, settles international legal problems. All members of United
Nations come under the rules of this Court although they are not required to
bring cases before it. The Court is made up of 15 judges, chosen without regard
to nationality, who are elected by the General Assembly and the Security
Council. No two judges may represent the same country, but judges can, when
their nine-year term expires, be re-elected.
Cases may be referred to the Court by member-nations involved in a
dispute, in which case the Court’s decision is binding upon them. Advisory
opinions may be requested by the UN itself, in which case the Court’s opinion
must be accepted by a two-thirds majority vote. All questions are decided by a
majority vote of the judges present. Where votes are equal, the President of
the Court casts the deciding vote.
The President and Vice-President of the Court are elected for three
years and may, when their term expires, be re-elected. The Court is permanently
in session at The Hague, in Holland, but may hold its meeting elsewhere, if
necessary.
6. Secretariat: The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General. He is appointed by
the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council, for a term
of five years and is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. He
also has the political responsibility to carry out the aims of the Charter. The
Secretary-General may bring any matter before the Security Council which he
considers a threat to international peace. He presides are Secretary-General,
or authorises a deputy to do so, over all meetings of the General Assembly and
other major UN organs. He must also carry out all functions entrusted to him by
these organs and submit an annual report to the General Assembly on the work of
the UN.
Offices of the Secretary-General consist of the Executive Office;
Under-Secretary for General Assembly Affairs; Under-Secretaries for Special
Political Affairs and Legal Affairs; Offices of the Controller of Personnel.
The Secretariat is organised into administrative units, each of which is headed
by an Under-Secretary. These include the following: Department of Political and
Security Council Affairs; Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Department
of Trusteeship and Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories; Office of
General Services of UN Office at Geneva.
The secretary-general is assisted by 12 Under-Secretaries General and
over 12 Assistant-Secretaries General. The first Secretary-General was Trygve
Lie (Norway) – 1946 – 53; the second, Dag Hammarskjoeld (Sweden) – 1953-61; the
third, U Thant (Burma) – 1961-71; the fourth, Kurt Waldheim (Austria) –
1972-81; the fifth, Javier Perez de Cuellar (Peru) – 1982-1991. The present
incumbent is Dr. Boutros Ghali of Egypt who was appointed on January 1, 1992,
for a five-year term.
MEMBER STATES OF THE UNO
Of the de facto sovereign states of the world, 185 are now member of
the United Nations. The new members added to the World body during 1994 is newly independent Pacific nation
of Palau
Czech and Slovak Republics were admitted to the UN on January 19, 1993,
increasing the number of members to 180, after Czechoslovakia ceased to exist.
The Czech and Slovak Republics were born out of voluntary dissolution.
South Africa, whose membership was suspended, has been readmitted in
1994.
To become a member of the UN, the country (i) must be peace loving and
willing to accept the aims, objects and rules of the UN charter, (ii) must be
judged by the UN as being able to carry out the aims and objects, (iii) must be
recommended by the UN Security Council for the membership, and (iv) the
membership must be confirmed by the UN General Assembly by a two-thirds
majority vote.
UN ASSOCIATED AGENCIES
Working in partnership with the United Nations in various economic,
social, scientific and technical fields is a group of inter-governmental
organisations related to the United Nations by special agreement. Among these
agencies are:
|
S. No.
|
Name of Agency
|
Abb.
|
Year
|
Headquarter
|
Purpose
|
|
1.
|
International
Labour Organisation
|
ILO
|
1919
|
Geneva
|
To promote social justice,
improve conditions and living standards of and promote economic stability
workers
|
|
2.
|
International
Atomic Energy Agency
|
IAEA
|
1957
|
Vienna
|
To promote peaceful uses of
atomic energy
|
|
3.
|
Food
and Agriculture Organisation
|
FAO
|
1945
|
Rome
|
To raise nutritional levels,
living standards, production and distribution of food and agricultural
products, improve living conditions of rural population
|
|
4.
|
United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation
|
UNESCO
|
1946
|
Paris
|
To promote collaboration among
nations through education, science and culture in order to further justice,
human rights and freedom
|
|
5-
|
World
Health Organisation
|
WHO
|
1948
|
Geneva
|
Attainment of highest possible
level of health by all people
|
|
6.
|
International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development
|
IBRD
|
1945
|
Washington
|
Development of economies of
members by facilitating investment of foreign capital and providing loans
|
|
7.
|
World
Meteorological Organisation
|
WMO
|
1950
|
Geneva
|
Promoting international
exchange of weather reports and other weather related services
|
|
8.
|
Inter-governmental
Maritime Consultative Organisation
|
1MCO
|
1958
|
London
|
Promotes cooperation on
technical matters, maritime safety, navigation and encourages anti-pollution
measures
|
|
9.
|
United
Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
|
UNICEF
|
1946
|
New
York
|
Children's welfare all over the
world
|
|
10.
|
General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (from 1994 it is known as World Trade
Organisation)
|
GATT
(WTO)
|
1948
|
Geneva
|
Treaty setting rules for world
trade to reduce tariffs and eliminate other barriers to international trade
|
|
11.
|
United
Nations Development Programme
|
UNDP
|
|
New
York
|
Help developing countries
increase wealth producing capabilities of their natural and human resources
|
|
12.
|
United
Nations Environment Programme
|
UNEP
|
1972
|
Nairobi
|
Promotes international
cooperation in matters relating to human environment
|
|
13
|
United
Nations Population Fund
|
UNFPA
|
1969
|
New
York
|
Promotes population related
programmes
|
|
14.
|
United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
|
UNHCR
|
1951
|
Geneva
|
Provides international
protection to Refugees
|
|
15.
|
United
Nations Industrial Development Organisation
|
UNIDO
|
1966
|
Vienna
|
Extends assistance to LDCs for
development and modernisation of Industries
|
|
16.
|
International
Development Association IDA
|
|
1960
|
Washington
|
An affiliate of the World Bank
which aims to help underdeveloped countries raise living standards
|
|
17.
|
International
Finance Corporation
|
IFC
|
1956
|
Washington
|
Promotes economic development
by encouraging private enterprise in its member-countries
|
|
18.
|
International
Monetary Fund
|
IMF
|
1945
|
Washington
|
Promotes international monetary
cooperation and expansion of international trade
|
|
19.
|
International
Civil Aviation Organisation
|
ICAO
|
1947
|
Montreal
|
Promotes safety in
international aviation and establishes international standards and
regulations
|
|
20.
|
Universal
Postal Union
|
UPU
|
1947
|
Berne
|
Improves various postal
services and promotes international collaboration
|
|
21.
|
International
Telecommunication
|
ITU
|
1947
|
Geneva
|
Sets international regulations
for radio, telegraph, telephone and space radio communications
|
|
22.
|
International
Fund for Agricultural Development
|
IFAD
|
1977
|
Rome
|
Finances agricultural projects
to introduce, expand and improve food production and raise nutritional levels
|
|
23.
|
United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development
|
UNCTAD
|
1964
|
Geneva
|
Promotes international trade
with a view to accelerate economic growth of developing countries
|
|
24.
|
United
Nations Institute for Training and Research
|
UNITAR
|
1965
|
New
York
|
Provides high priority training
and research projects to help facilitate the UN objectives of world peace and
security and of economic and social progress
|
|
25.
|
United
Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees.
|
UNRWA
|
1949
|
New
York
|
Provides food, health services,
education, and vocational training for those displaced in Arab-Israel wars
|
THE COMMONWEALTH
Commonwealth: The Commonwealth, originally called the British
Commonwealth of Nations, is an association of 52 nations and dependencies
loosely joined by a common interest based on having been parts of the old British empire . The British monarch is the symbolic head
of the Commonwealth. By tacit agreement,
the name British Commonwealth of Nations has been shortened to the
Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is an evolving organisation. Almost all
Britain’s former colonies and dependencies have come to independence in a
generally smooth and orderly manner, and these countries make up the family of
Commonwealth. member nations as a October 1995 were: Antigua and Barbuda,
Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Britain, Brunei,
Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica,
Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius,
Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and
Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,
Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and
Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Countries, which seceded from the Commonwealth, are Ireland (1959),
South Africa (1961), and Pakistan (1972). Fiji was expelled from the
Commonwealth in October 1987. Pakistan was, however, re-admitted to the
Commonwealth fold after 17 years.
The Commonwealth is the only international grouping outside the United
Nations to form a microcosm of the World community by bringing together
developed and developing countries from across the globe. Commonwealth members
belong to other international bodies, regional, political and economic, as well
as to the world assembly of the United Nations. Yet in all their international
relationships, the Commonwealth is a link between them and complements other
forms of co-operation.
Membership of the Commonwealth is compatible with the freedom of member
governments to be non-aligned or to belong to any other grouping, association
or alliance. Within this diversity all members of the Commonwealth hold certain
principles in common. It is by pursuing these principles that the Commonwealth
is able to influence international society for the benefit of mankind.
The Commonwealth Secretariat is an international body at the service of
all member countries. It provides the central organisation for joint
consultation and co-operation in many fields. It disseminates information on
matters of common concern, organises services, meetings and conferences,
coordinates Commonwealth activities and provides expert technical assistance
for economic and social development through the multilateral Commonwealth Fund
for Technical Cooperation.
The Secretariat organises biennial meetings of
Commonwealth Heads of Government, annual meetings of Finance Ministers of
member countries and regular meetings of Ministers of Education, Law, Health
and others as appropriate. The meetings are held in different cities and
regions within the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meet-CHOGM
has now acquired international significance. India hosted the 24th Commonwealth
summit at New Delhi in 1983, which was presided over by the then Prime
Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The 25th summit was held in Nassau, the capital
of Bahamas, in 1985. Canada hosted the 26th summit in 1987 at Vancouver. The
27th summit was held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in October 1989, the 28th in
Harare (Zimbabwe) in October 1991 and the 29th in Limassol (Cyprus) in October
1993. The 30th CHOGM was held in Auckland (New Zealand) in November 1995.
Secretary-general: Emeka Anyaoku.
Headquarters: London.
THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT (NAM)
The NAM, which is a movement of the Third World countries, is an
alternate bloc of nations which aims at keeping these countries away from the
Super Power rivalry. Based on the principles of “Panch Sheel” as enunciated by
the then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, at a conference at Bandung
(Indonesia) in April 1955, the Non-Aligned Movement was born in September 1961
with the first summit meeting of the non-aligned countries at Belgrade in
Yugoslavia. President Tito of Yugoslavia, Prime Minister Nehru of India and
President Nasser of Egypt were the founding fathers of the movement. Among the
other founder members of the NAM were Archbishop Nukrumah of Ghana, Emperor
Baile Sellasie of Ethiopia, and King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. The
basic principles of Non-Aligned Movement are to keep away, as far as possible,
from the power blocs or the group of countries aligned against each other, to
keep close terms of friendship with all countries and to have friendship and
co-operation with both America as well as the Russia. The NAM meetings discuss
problems of mutual interest and exchange views on issues facing the world at
large.
The first meeting of NAM was attended by 25 member countries, viz.,
Afghanistan, Algeria, Burma, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iraq,
Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen and
Yugoslavia. With the emancipation of more nations from the colonial yoke, NAM
gained wide acceptance and now it has 109 members, besides guests and observers
who are invited to these meetings. Thailand and Honduras were admitted as full
members in October 1993 after being given on observer status. South Africa took
its seat as the 109th member on May 31, 1994. The NAM celebrated its Silver
Jubilee at its meeting at Harare in 1986. Despite the over fourfold enlargement
in its membership, the NAM has retained its basic thrust in favour of world
peace, disarmament, development and freedom. Indonesia is the current chairman
of Non-Aligned Movement. The summit meetings of NAM held so far are Belgrade
(Yugoslavia), 1961; Cairo (Egypt), 1964; Lusaka (Zambia), 1970; Algiers
(Algeria), 1973; Colombo (Sir Lanka), 1976; Havana (Cuba), 1979;l New Delhi
(India), 1983; Harare (Zimbabwe), 1986; Belgrade (Yugoslavia), 1989; Jakarta
(Indonesia), 1992 and Cartagena (Colombia), 1995.
SOUTH ASIAN ASSOCIATION FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION (SAARC)
The first South Asian summit held in Dhaka (Bangladesh) in December
1985, culminated in the formation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Describing it as the ‘beginning of a new dawn’, then Prime Minister of India
Rajiv Gandhi said that SAARC points the way to collective self-reliance in
order to overcome problems of poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and disease in
this area. SAARC has seven member States, viz., India, Bangladesh, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives. The charter of SAARC provides annual
meetings of the Heads of States and Governments and a six-monthly meeting of a
Council of Ministers, which is the organisation’s highest policy-making body.
Beginning with the historic summit at Dhaka (Bangladesh) in December 1985, such
summits have been smoothly organised every year. The second summit was held at
New Delhi in 1986, the third at Kathmandu (Nepal) in 1987, the fourth at
Islamabad (Pakistan) in 1988, the fifth at Male (Maldives) in 1990, the sixth
at Colombo (Sri Lanka) in 1991, the seventh in Dhaka (Bangladesh) in 1993 and
the eighth in New Delhi in May 1995.
A permanent secretariat of the SAARC has been set up at Kathmandu in
Nepal. Mr. Yadav Kant Silwal is the current Secretary-General of SAARC. The
chairmanship of the organisation remains with the country, which had hosted the
last summit and is transferred to the new host at the time of the next summit.
OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO): Headquarters: Brussels,
Belgium
European Free Trade Association: (EFTA): Headquarter: Geneva,
Switzerland
European Space Agency: Headquarter: Paris
Organisation of American States (OAS): Headquarters: Washington, D.C.,
U.S.A.
Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO): Headquarters: Ankara, Turkey
Warsaw Treaty Organisation (Warsaw Pact): Headquarters: Moscow, Russia
South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO): Headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand
League of Arab States (The Arab League): Headquarters: Cairo
Organisation of African Unity (OAU): Headquarters: Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN): Headquarters: Jakarta,
Indonesia
Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD):
Headquarters: Paris, France
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): Headquarters: Vienna , Austria
An international oil cartel originally
formed in 1960.
Other 12 members are: Saudi Arabia ,
Kuwait , Iran , Iraq ,
Venezuela , Qatar , Libya ,
United Arab Emirates , Algeria , Nigeria ,
Ecuador and Gabon
Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC):
Headquarters: Kuwait
Andean Group: Headquarter: Lima, Peru
ANZUS Council: Headquarters: Canberra, Australia
BENELUX Economic Union: Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
Colombo Plan: Headquarters: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON): Headquarters: Moscow,
Russia
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland
International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol): Headquarters:
Lyons, France
Group of Seven: G-7 consists of the seven wealthiest nations of the
world: the United States of America, Japan, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy
and Canada. The heads of governments of these seven countries meet annually at
different venues to discuss economic matters and world political problems.
South Commission: Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland
Amnesty International: Headquarters: Manila
World Trade Organisation: Headquarters: Geneva
G-15
The ninth summit of G-15 nations was held at Montage Bay, Jamaica, for
three days form February 10, 1999. Earlier the group had 15 members but with
the inclusion of Kenya and Sri Lanka its strength has gone upto 17, though the
Group is still called G-15. The summit called for urgent reforms in the global
financial system to safeguard the interests of the poor and developing
countries. The IMF was sharply criticized for its bias against the developing
nations. A joint communiqué of G-15 countries stressed on a need for a rule
based monitoring mechanism to supervise large financial market players and said
that there should be coherence between the World Trade Organisation and the
international financial institutions in decision making, to avoid imposition of
additional or cross-conditional ties.
G-8
Established: February 20,
1999, in Bonn , Germany
Aim: Debt Relief to 36 poorest countries of the World.
Members: US, UK , Japan , Germany ,
France, Italy and Canada and Russia
NOTE: Formerly G7 (excluding Russia
Last Meeting Japan North Koreas
D-8
The second summit of D-8 was held at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 1-2,
1999. the summit focussed on finding ways to expand trade between the member
countries. The leaders warned of increased instability between developed and
developing countries brought about by the inherent flaws in the ongoing
globalisation. The Developing Eight (D-8) comprise eight populous members of
the Organisation of the Islamic conference (OIC) Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and
Bangladesh. Its first summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1997.
NATO
In its 50th anniversary summit held at Washington on April
26, 1999. NATO assumed the role of a
global cop by pledging a larger and more flexible militant force to engage in
boundaries of its members. NATO was originally formed to defend Europe from the
threat of communism. Its military offensive in Yugoslavia showed that it has
expanded its role. the Czech Republic , Hungary
and Poland
WTO
In the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), held
from November 30 to December 4, 1999, at Seattle, USA all efforts to launch a
new round of trade negotiations collapsed with the members of the developing
nations protesting against the lack of transparency, imposition of the view of
the rich on the poor countries in the negotiating process and the linking of
labour environment standards to trade.
ASEAN
The annual ASEAN summit was held in Manila, Philippines, in the last
week of November, 1999. The summit was also attended by China, Japan and South
Korea. The main agenda of the summit was to make efforts for economic recovery,
and move towards a powerful common market in east Asia with a common East Asian
currency. The ten members of ASEAN Indonesia, Malaysia ,
Myanmar , the Philippines , Singapore ,
Thailand and Vietnam
NATIONAL BODIES
NABARD
NABARD (National Bank of
Agriculture and Rural Development) came into existence on 12 July, 1982. It was
established for providing credit for promotion of agriculture, small scale
industries, handicrafts ad other allied economic activities in rural areas with
a view of promoting integrated rural development and securing prosperity of
rural areas
EXIM
Exim Bank (Export-import
Bank of India) is the principal financing institution of India for coordinating
working of institutions engaged in financing export and import trade. Exim Bank
was established on 1 January 1982 for financing, facilitating and promoting foreign
trade in India.
SIDO
SIDO stands for the Small
Industry Development Organisation. SIDO has been recognised as the nodal agency
to support small scale industries in export promotion
IDBI
IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India), established under the IDBI
Act 1964 is the principal financial institution for providing credit and other
facilities for development of Industry, coordinating working of institutions
engaged in financing, promoting or developing industries and assisting
development of such institutions.
[SIDBI – Small Scale Industrial
Development Bank of India
LIC
Although LIC & GIC are
engaged in life and general insurance business, both have huge funds at their
disposal part of which is invested in shares and debentures of Industrial concerns
and bonds of public sector enterprises. Both have, thus, become an important
source of Industrial finance and have contributed to the industrial development
of the country.
RBI
The RBI was established in 1935 under RBI Act as a private shareholder’
bank and nationalised in 1949. Apart from its traditional functions of a
central Bank, the RBI has helped in developing and strengthening the India
financial system in order to accelerate the process of economic growth. The
traditional central banking operations of the RBI are:
The bank of issue with the sole right of note issue
The banker to the government
The bankers’ bank and their supervisors
The custodian of foreign exchange reserve, and
The controller of credit
Atomic
Energy Commission: India recognised the
importance of atomic energy quite early and the atomic energy commission was
set up in August 1948 to look after atomic energy activities in the country.
The functions of the atomic energy Commission are
to organise research in atomic energy for peaceful purposes
to train atomic scientists in the country
to promote nuclear research I commission’s own laboratories as well as
in universities and research institution in India
to undertake prospecting of atomic minerals in India
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices: The commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which was
earlier known as Agricultural Prices Commission, advises the government on a
continuing basis, about the minimum support prices for the agricultural
produced. The Government fixes the procurement or sport prices for important
crops on the basis of the recommendations of the CACP. While recommending the
support price for a particular commodity, the Commission makes comprehensive
analysis of the costs, changes in input prices, relative prices of the price of
other commodities and the effect of the price of this commodity on the rest of
the economy.
Census
Commission: Census in India is a
massive operation. The particle in the country is about hundred years old.
Census commission functioned on temporary basis till 1964. It was in that year
that the office of the Register General and Census Commissioner of India was
established. the first all India
Central
Forestry Commission:
The Central Forestry Commission, with the Inspector General of Forests
as its chairman, was set up in 1965 for effecting technical co-ordination,
collection and dissemination of information on forestry. the commission also
acts as technical sub committee servicing the Central Board of forestry.
Central
Water Commission:
It is responsible for initiating and co-ordinating, in consultation
with State governments, schemes for control, conservation and utilisation of
water resources for purpose of irrigation, navigation, flood control throughout
the country.
Election
Commission:
The functions of the Election Commission a statutory body established
under Article 324 of the Constitution are superintendence, direction and
control of the preparation of the electoral rolls for, and the conduct of all
elections to Parliament and the State legislatures and all elections to
Parliament and the State legislatures and all elections to the offices of the
President and Vice President. The election commission has also
1. to lay down general rules for election
2. to determine constituencies and to prepare electoral rolls
3. to give recognition to the political parties
4. to allot election symbols to political parties and individuals
contesting the elections and
5. to appoint election tribunals to decide disputes and doubts arising
as a result of election to Parliament and State legislatures.
Electronics
Commission
The electronics Commission, which came into being in 1971, is the nodal
agency responsible for the healthy growth of the electronics industry in India.
It is assisted by the Department of Electronics for executive duties.
Energy
Commission:
The Government on March 12, 1981 announced the constitution of a Commission
for Additional Sources of Energy (CASE). It formulates policies and programmes
for development of new and renewable sources of energy. It co-ordinates and
intensifies research and development activities in new and renewable sources of
energy. It also ensures implementation of government’s policies in regard to
all matters concerning new and renewable sources of energy.
Finance
Commission
Under Article 280 of the Constitution, a Finance commission is to be
constituted every fifth year or at such earlier time as the president considers
necessary to make recommendations to President as to the distribution between
the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes as enumerated in the
constitution and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of
such proceeds the principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the
revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India; and any other
matter referred to the Commission by the President in the interest of sound
finance. The recommendations of the Commission together with any explanatory
memorandum as to the action taken thereon are laid before each House of
Parliament.
Floods
Commission
The Government of India constituted a national floods commission in
July 1976. The commission is known as Rashtriya Barth Ayog and has been
entrusted with the task of conducting a study in depth of the present approach
and programmes of flood control measures and evolve a co-ordinated, integrated
and scientific approach to the flood control problem and draw up a national
plan fixing priorities.
Staff
Selection Commission
Earlier known as SSC, the Staff Selection Commission on the lines of
the Lines of the Union Public Service Commission, was constituted for the
purpose of recruitment to non-technical Class III posts in different
departments of the Government of India and in subordinate offices. The
Commission has its headquarters in New Delhi and its regional offices are
located at Mumbai, Calcutta, Guwahati, Chennai and Allahabad. It has one sub-regional
office at Raipur.
The Commission was set up on July 1, 1976, on the recommendations of
the Administrative Reforms Commission. The major examinations held by the
Commission are
Clerks’ Grade, Examination
Auditor/Junior Accountants’ Examination
Inspectors of income tax, Central Excise, etc. examination
Sub-Inspectors (Executive), Delhi Police Examination
Test for selection of candidate for the post of Sub-Inspectors of
Police in the CBI and Central finger Prints Bureau,
Stenographers Examination
Assistants’ Examination
Investigators, Etc, Examination
Hindi Teachers and Hindi Translators Examinations
Transmission Executives Examination, and
Limited Departmental Competitive Examinations for Upper Division Grade,
Grade ‘C’ Stenographers and Clerks’ Grade (from Group ‘D’ staff). The
Commission does not deal with the recruitment to posts for which recruitment is
made by the Railway Recruitment Boards and Industrial establishments
Union
public Service Commission
For recruitment to civil services and posts under the Union Government,
the constitution provides for an independent body known as the Union Public
Service Commission are appointed by the President. To ensure independence of
the Commission, the Constitution debars its chairman from further employment either
under the government of India or the government of a State. A member of the
Commission is, however, eligible for appointment as chairman of that Commission
or of a State Public Service Commission.
Air
India
Air India Limited was formed as a public limited company on July 29,
1946 and took over Tata Airlines with all its aircraft, equipment, engineering
facilities, trained personnel, etc. Air India International Limited, a new
company was formed in 1948 after the Government approved the scheme for operation
of air service between India and the U.K. The government decided on complete
nationalisation and in March 1953, the Air Corporation Act was passed and Air
India International Limited was nationalised as a public sector corporation
from August 1, 1953. Air India was thus established as a statutory corporation
on June 15, 1953 and took over the operations of Air India International
Limited from August 1, 1953. The Corporation operates air services to the five
continents. India has bilateral air services agreements with 90 countries.
The Corporations is a service organisation in the field in air
transport with the primary objective of providing safe, efficient, adequate,
economical and properly co-ordinated international air services and to develop
such services to the best advantage for transportation of passengers, cargo,
mail, etc. The corporation also provides handling services, both technical and
commercial, to other airlines. Due to huge recurring losses. Air India together
with Indian Airlines, is being privatised.
Indian
Oil Corporation
The corporation was established on September 1, 1964 with the merger of
Indian Refineries Limited and Indian Oil Company Limited. In addition, it
acquired the refining and distribution operations of the Assam Oil Company
Limited on October 14, 1981. The Corporation has three divisions, viz.
Refineries and Pipelines,
Marketing,
Assam
oil
The market share of the corporation by April 1994 was 56.8 percent of
the total oil industry’s sales. The IOC has six refineries, viz., Guwahati
Refinery Barauni Refinery, Koyali Refinery, Haldia Refinery, Mathura Refinery
and Digboi Refinery.
Industrial
Credit and Investment Corporation of India
It was established in 1955 as a public sector undertaking to encourage
and assist industrial organisation in India. It is a privately owned and
privately managed joint stock company. It is essentially designed to mobilise
international finance to develop and extend private enterprise in the country.
Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation
The Oil and Natural Gas Directorate set up in 1956 under the Government
of India was converted later on October 15, 1959 into “Oil and Natural Gas
Commission’, by an Act of Parliament with headquarters at Dehra dun and
project/units all over the country . Its main objectives are exploring and
exploiting of hydro-carbons and transportation of crude oil and gas so as to
achieve self-sufficiency. In 1993, the ONGC was converted into a public limited
company under the companies Act and names as the “Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
National
Thermal Power Corporation
National Thermal Power Corporation was constituted as a generating
company in November 1975 for the purpose of construction, operation and
maintenance of super thermal power stations and associated EHV transmission
lines.
Steel
Authority of India Limited
The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) was established as a
holding company for the management of the public sector steel plants. The steel
producing units under the ownership and management of the SAIL are Bhilai Steel
Plant, Durgapur Steel Plant, Rourkela Steel Plant, Bokaro Steel Plant and the
Indian Iron and Steel Company. The SAIL has also one Alloy Steel Plant at
Durgapur under it. Salem Steel Plant in Tamil Nadu is the latest plant under
the steel Authority of India.
Unit
Trust of India
The Unit Trust of India (UTI) was established in 1964 as a public
sector investment institution for mobilising the savings of the community and
for providing to the investors, particularly small and middle income groups, and
a medium of investment in industrial securities. The trust aims at encouraging
small savings by providing facilities to various classes of investors for
investment in Units of the face value of Rs. 10 and Rs 100. The trust invests
money in various types of shares and securities. Not less than 90 percent of
the net income on the investment is distributed to the shareholders.
Reserve
Bank of India
Established in 1935, the RBI is the Central Bank of India. Its main
function is to regulate the issue of bank notes and keep reserve for securing
monetary stability. The bank is the sole authority for the issue of currency in
India other than one rupee coins/notes and subsidiary coins. It acts as banker
of the Government of India, State governments, commercial banks and to some of
the financial institutions including state co-operative banks.
The RB was originally constituted as a shareholders institution. The
entire share capital owned by private shareholders was acquired by the Central
Government against compensation and form January 1949 it became a State-owned
institution.
ART AND
MUSIC
National
Academies
Lalit
Kala Akademi: was set up in October
1954. It is devoted to the promotion of the study and research in painting,
sculpture, architecture and the applied arts
The Akademi (i) co-ordinates the activities of the regional or State
Academies, (ii) encourages exchange of ideas among various schools of arts,
(iii) publishes literature and fosters inter –regional and international
contact through exhibitions, exchange of personnel and of art object
Sangeet
Natak Akademi: was inaugurated in January
1953. Its main task is the survey of and research in different art forms of
India. It records and films the art forms. It organises and sponsors seminars
and festivals to develop art. It also establishes new art institutions.
Sahitya
Akademi: was inaugurated in March 1954.
It seeks to achieve improved standards in the field of literature. It aims at
fostering and co-ordinating literary activities in all the Indian languages to
create among the people the consciousness of the basic unity of the literatures
in various Indian languages and thus to promote through them the cultural unity
of the country.
Classical
Dances and Music
There are two classical Schools of Indian Music
1. Hindustani School of the North and (2) Karnatic School of the South
Classical
Schools of Dancing: Bharatnatyam, a dance
style of classical dancing in Tamil Nadu, Manipuri, a dance style of Manipur.
Kathak, a dance style which has its origin in northern India
National
Book Trust of India
The National Book Trust of India was set up in 1957. It seeks to (i)
encourage the production of good literature and make available such literature
at moderate prices to all institutions and the public, (ii) the Trust aims at
publishing standard works on education, science and culture
(iii) It also aims at publishing classical Indian literature,
translation of foreign classics and of Indian classics from one regional
language to another.
The publication of all such work of the Trust is undertaken by the
publications Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
RADIO
AND TELEVISION
Radio broadcasts started in India in 1927 with two privately owned
transmitters at Mumbai and Calcutta. The Government of India took them over in
1930 and started operating them under the name of Indian Broadcasting Service.
In 1936, the name of the service was changed to All India Radio Since 1957, it
is known as Akashvani.
At the time of Independence in 1947, All Indian Radio’s network
consisted of six radio stations. It s network now comprises 185 broadcasting
centres consisting of 177 full fledge stations, four relay centres, one
auxiliary centre and three exclusive Vividh Bharati Commercial centres.
AIR has played a vital role to bring awareness in listening of India
music classical, light, folk, tribal and western music. AIR is broadcasting 40%
of the total broadcast for music.
The AIR’s external services broadcasts are meant to project a true and
objective image of the country to listeners abroad and to explain the country’s
point of view on matters of national and international importance. These
broadcasts also try to acquaint foreign listeners with the working of the
democratic system in India and stimulate interest abroad in the rich heritage
of our art, culture and traditions and to highlight the progress achieved in different
spheres of life.
Vividh Bharati, which is a popular entertainment programme, is
broadcast from 35 centres in India including four short wave transmitters at
Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Guwahati. Commercial broadcasting centres are at
Chandigarh, Kanpur and Vadodara and two studio centres are at Bhubaneshwar and
Shantiniketan. The programmes are transmitted from 293 transmitters, of those
148 are medium wave, 51 short wave and 94 FM transmitters. The present national
coverage is 90% by area and 97.3 per cent by population. Commercial
broadcasting on radio has become very popular I India. Introduced in November
1967 as an experimental measure, it is now carried by 30 centres.
Advertisements and sponsored programmes are relayed through the commercial broadcasting
service.
AIR has now been provided with Audio refurbishing facilities for old
& degraded archival material on discs and tapes and their transfer into
official discs for long term preservation have been provided under a UNDP
assisted project. AIR network has now uplinking facilities from Delhi and state
capitals. Interactive broadcasts like the phone-in-programme, Radio bridge and
voice mail, apart from people’s forum programme, are recent innovations in
broadcasting. AIR is also now hooked to INTERNET for on-line information
service. Six super power short wave transmitters of 500 kW each have been
commissioned at Bangalore to strengthen the external services of All India
Radio for covering Latin American and European countries.
Another important service of the AIR is Yuva Vani which gives
programmes for the youth from 74 stations. This service provides a forum for
the youth to present their viewpoint by participating in talks, discussions,
interviews, plays, features and music. It is a service of the youth, by the
youth and for the youth.
DOORDARSHAN
India’s first television centre came into being on August 15, 1959 as a
pilot project. It was a modest beginning of an hour twice a week experimental
service organised as a part of AIR. It was in August 1965 that the first
general service started from Delhi on a regular basis. Thereafter a number of
television centres became operational from October 1972 onwards in quick
succession. These wee located at Mumbai, Srinagar, Jalandhar, Calcutta, Chennai
and Lucknow. In 1976, television set up was delinked from the AIR and given a
separate status and name of ‘Doordarshan’. The Asian Games in 1982 saw the next
spurt when 20 low power transmitters were installed at different State capitals
and important towns. August 15, 1982 saw another landmark in the history of
Doordarshan when colour television was introduced in India. After INSAT-IA
became operational, common national programmes were started for the entire
network and Doordarshan utilised INSAT to extend its service to backward and
remote rural areas. Now, Doordarshan has grown into one of the biggest
television networks in the world. Through its 700 transmitters, television has
brought within its reach an estimated 85% of India’s population.
National Programme: A common ‘National Programme’ is telecast from
Delhi each evening which is carried by all transmitters in the country. The
programme aims at fostering social, economic and cultural awareness, promoting
the spirit of national integration, and projecting the progress made by the
country in various fields. The items in the National Programme include art,
music dance and programmes based on literary works in various Indian languages,
features and discussions on important events programmes of entertainment films
and film based programmes and two news bulletins, one in Hindi and the other in
English.
Commercial Programmes: Doordarshan introduced commercial programmes
with the introduction of ‘spots’ from January 1976. Now besides ‘sports,
sponsored programmes and family serial are being telecast.
Channel II: In September 1984, Channel II of Doordarshan was started in
Delhi. Mumbai followed it in May 1985. Now Chennai and Calcutta also have
second channel. This channel known as DD2 metro entertainment channel has now
been extended to many other cities and over 75 million people can receive
programmers on this channel terrestrially. Channel II provides programmes for
alternate viewing and primarily caters to the local viewing needs. The
production of some programmes on this channel has been given to private
companies.
Regional Language Channels: To provide additional software in the major
languages of the country, Doordarshan started ten Regional Languages Satellite
Channels. The programmes on these channels include the regional service, which
is available terrestrially in the concerned state and additional programmes
which cold be received through the use of a dish antenna. As the footprints of
the INSAT Satellite cover the whole country, the regional language programmes
are now available for all people in the country, irrespective of their place of
residence.
FILMS
Feature films found their place in India in 1912 when the first film
Pundalik was made by R.G.Torney and N.G. Chitre. This was followed by Raja
Harishchandra in 1913 by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke.
The era of talkie films began in 1931 when the first talkie film Alam
Ara was produced by Ardeshir Irani.
India tops in the world in respect of production of feature films.
Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they have been certified by
the Central Board of Film Certification. The Board examines films for
certification in accordance with the provision contained in the Cinematoraph
Act, 1952, Cinematography (Certification) Rules, 1983 and the guidelines issued
by the Central government in this regard. The Film Certification Appellate
Tribunal hears appeals against the decision of the Central Board of Film
Certification.
National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is the central agency to
promote good cinema in the country. The aim of the corporation is to plan,
promote and organise the integrated development of the country’s film industry.
Services provided by NFDC are
1. to give loans for production of feature films and documentaries
2. to finance cent percent projects to be directed by eminent
personalities in the field
3. Co-producing with Doordarshan
It also exports Indian films and acts as a
canalising agency for import of foreign films. In 1998, Central Board of Film
Certification certified 693 Indian and 180 foreign feature films. During the
same period, the Board certified 365 foreign and 934 Indian short films, 684
Indian Video films and 198 foreign Video films
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