Consider the following statements with respect to World Customs Organization (WCO)
1. It was established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC).
2. It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
3. It is the only intergovernmental organization specialized in Customs matters.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a. 1 and 2 only
b. 1 and 3 only
c. 2 and 3 only
d. 1, 2 and 3
2)Consider the following statements with respect to Govind Ballabh Pant
1. He was the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, post-Independence.
2. He was awarded India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1957.
3. Together with Chandra Shekhar Azad, he started a weekly paper called ‘Shakti’.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a. 1 and 2 only
b. 1 and 3 only
c. 2 and 3 only
d. 1, 2 and 3
3)The Inequality Virus Report is released by which of the following organization?
a. World Health Organization
b. Doctors without Borders
c. Oxfam International
d. Oxford Health Alliance
1)January 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day:- The International Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed on January 27 at the Bengaluru International Centre.
A small ceremony was organised and memorial candles were lit by clergy of various religious communities to mark the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The ceremony was organised in accordance with the UN’s theme: “Facing the Aftermath: Recovery and Reconstitution after the Holocaust”.
About International Holocaust Remembrance Day
• It is an international Memorial Day that is observed to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.
• Holocaust refer to the genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany during 1941-1945.
• January 27 was chosen to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army in 1945.
2)United Nations have released its report titled ‘Ageing water infrastructure: An emerging global risk’ on the ageing of the dams in India. The report was compiled by compiled by United Nations University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health. The analysis was done on the dam decommissioning or ageing from the USA, Canada, France, Japan, India, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Findings of the report
• The report highlights that, some thousand large dams in India will be around 50 years old in 2025.
• It warns that such aging structures across the world pose a growing threat.
• The report also notes that, by 2050 most people on Earth will live downstream of the thousands of dams that were built in the 20th century.
Mullaperiyaru Dam :-
It is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in Kerala. It is located 881 m above mean sea level. It stands on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Idukki District of Kerala.
The dam was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick.
The Periyar National Park is alsp located around the dam’s reservoir. It is built at the confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers. The dam is located on the river Periyar in Kerala but is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu.
3)Uttar Pradesh wins best tableau award :- Uttar Pradesh was adjudged the best tableau among the 32 tableaux, 17 from States and Union Territories (UTs), nine from various Ministries, departments and paramilitary forces and six from Defence Ministry, that participated
in the Republic Day parade, the Defence Ministry said.
The tableau of Uttar Pradesh was based on the theme Ayodhya: Cultural Heritage of Uttar Pradesh.
Besides the proposed Ram temple replica, the tableau displayed Valmiki composing the Ramayana along with murals on either side depicting scenes from the epic.
The theme song of the tableau was composed by singer Virendra Vatsa, in which he talked about how Uttar Pradesh depicts different ideologies, art and culture – right from Ram, Sita, Gorakhnath, Tulsi, Kabir to Bismillah Khan; and how Buddha gave his first sermon on the soil of Uttar Pradesh.
News:- Way Forward for India – China ties :- Firstly Shri. Jaishankar pointed out some issues in the India-China relations :-
- China blocking India’s bid to enter into the NSG
- China Blocking India’s bid for permanent membership to UNSC
- China blocking resolutions for Pakistani terrorists
- China moving ahead with CPEC Prog. and violating sovereignty of India.
Solutions and way forward :- External Affairs minister has suggested 3 Mutuals and 8 Propositions.
3 Mutuals are : = Mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests.
8 Propositions are :-
- Agreements already reached must be adhered to in their entirety, both in letter and spirit.
- Both sides also needed to strictly observe and respect the LAC, and any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo was completely unacceptable.
- Peace and tranquillity in border areas was the basis for the development of the relationship in other domains. If that was disturbed, he said, the rest of the relationship would be too.
- The fourth proposition, he said, was that while both remain committed to a multipolar world, they should recognise that a multipolar Asia was one of its essential constituents.
- While each state had its interests, concerns and priorities, sensitivities to them could not be be one sided and relations were reciprocal in nature.
- As rising powers, neither should ignore the other’s set of aspirations, he added.
- While there “will always be divergence and differences”, their management is essential to ties.
NEWS:- FIRST Sitting of the Supreme Court :- 28 January 1950.
First CJI was Harilal J Kania.
News:- New Zealand tops COVID-19 performance ranking:- New Zealand and Vietnam were ranked the best performing countries in their response to the pandemic, according to a COVID19 “performance index” put together by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, which sought to assess the impact of geography, political systems and economic development in assessing outcomes.
India ranked 86 out of 98 countries, while the U.S. stood at 94 and Brazil at the bottom of the index. Taiwan, Thailand and Cyprus were in the top five.
The think tank said China was not included “due to a lack of publicly available data on testing”.
News:- India’s first Economic Survey was presented in the year 1950-51. Up to 1964, it was presented along with the Union Budget. From 1964 Onwards, it has been delinked from the Budget.
Who prepares the Economic Survey?
The Economic Survey was prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry under the overall guidance of the Cheif Economic Adviser. After receiving inputs from the senior officers in the Ministry of Finance, the final version of the Economic Survey is scrutinized by the Finance Secretary and finally approved by the Union Finance Minister.
When is Economic Survey presented?
It is presented every year in the Parliment during the Budget Session. The Economic Survey is presented normally a day before the presentation of the Union Budget in the Parliment by the Finance Minister.
Is it binding on the Government to present the Economic Survey?
No. It is nowhere mentioned in the constitution. However, it is now part of the Government Practice to present Economic Survey every year before the budget.
Is India the only country that is coming out with an Annual Economic Survey?
No. Most of the developed and emerging countries in the world follow the tradition of bringing out the Economic Surveys. USA, Scandinavian nations and EU etc publish their own Economic Survey.
News:- World Gold Council :-
▪ The World Gold Council (WGC) is a nonprofit association of the world’s leading gold producers.
▪ Headquartered in London, the WGC covers the markets which comprise about three-quarters of the world’s annual gold consumption.
▪ It is a market development organization for the gold industry which includes 25 members and many gold mining companies as well.
▪ The WGC was established to promote the use of and demand for gold through marketing, research and lobbying.
Headquartered in the UK, they have offices in India, China, Singapore, Japan and the United States.
News:-Non – Excludable Items :- Non–excludable goods refers to public goods. Everyone has access to use them, and their use does not deplete their availability for future use. that cannot exclude a certain person or group of persons from using such goods. As a result, restricting access to the consumption of non–excludable goods is nearly impossible.
News:- Predatory pricing is the illegal act of setting prices low in an attempt to eliminate the competition. Predatory pricing violates antitrust law, as it makes markets more vulnerable to a monopoly.