World Bank Group

The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and most famous development bank in the world and is an observer at the United Nations Development Group. The bank is based in Washington, D.C. and provided around $61 billion in loans and assistance to "developing" and transition countries in the 2014 fiscal year. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity. Its five organizations are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Environment protocols

1. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
   1. protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology
   2. products from new technologies must be based on the precautionary principle and allow developing nations to balance public health against economic benefits
   3. the Protocol entered into force on 11 September 2003
2. Kyoto Protocol
   1. aimed at fighting global warming
   2. 37 countries ("Annex I countries") commit themselves to a reduction of four greenhouse gases (GHG) (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons) produced by them, and all member countries give general commitments.
3. Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer
   1. to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion.
   2. opened for signature on September 16, 1987, and entered into force on January 1, 1989
   3. It has been ratified by 197 states and the European Union
   4. The phasing-out of the less active HCFCs only began in 1996 and will go on until a complete phasing-out is achieved by 2030. The time of freezing and reducing HCFCs is then known as 2013/2015.
4. Nagoya Protocol
   1. The Nagoya Protocol on Access & Benefit Sharing (ABS) was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan and will enter into force 90 days after the fiftieth instrument of ratification.
   2. Its objective is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
5. Geneva Protocol
   1. Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare
   2. It was signed at Geneva on June 17, 1925 and entered into force on February 8, 1928.
   3. It prohibits the use of chemical weapons and biological weapons, but has nothing to say about production, storage or transfer. Later treaties did cover these aspects—the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.

CERN

Important experiments/inventions

1. Medical imaging: Positron Emission Technology;
2. Parallel computing
3. World Wide Web
4. Cancer Therapy
5. Solar energy

Asian Clearing Union

HQ: Tehran. Initiative of the UN ESCAP; to secure regional co-operation as regards the settlement of monetary transactions among the members. Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Unit of settlement is equivalent to one USD.

BIMSTEC

Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. The member countries of this group are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. Est 1997 as BIST-EC.

Six priority sectors of cooperation at 2nd Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka in 1998. Extended to 13 in 2005 (8th meeting)

1. Trade and Investment, led by Bangladesh
2. Transport and Communication, led by India
3. Energy, led by Myanmar
4. Tourism, led by India
5. Technology, led by Sri Lanka
6. Fisheries, led by Thailand
7. Agriculture, led by Myanmar
8. Public Health, led by Thailand
9. Poverty Alleviation, led by Nepal
10. Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, led by India
11. Environment and Natural Disaster Management, led by India
12. Culture, led by Bhutan
13. People to People contact, led by Thailand

Chairmanship is rotated. Members agreed to establish the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area Framework Agreement. Trade Negotiating Committee chaired by Thailand.

The 13th Ministerial Meeting chaired by Myanmar, which was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 22 January 2011.

India Afghanistan

Planned NATO withdrawal in 2014
Political reconciliation - confusion
India supports moderate Taliban to form govt.
Largest regional provider of humanitarian and reconstruction aid
2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul (U.S. intelligence officials - Pakistan's ISI behind it)
Afghan Foreign Ministry quoted India as a "brother country"
2011 - the signing of a strategic partnership agreement.

Slums

Sanitation, hygiene

Upgradation, Urban housing, Affordable land, reasonably priced materials, employment opportunities. PPP for infrastructure.

Migration, employer should secure proper accommodation

Strategies to prevent formation of slums