Global Wage Report 2024-25: ILO

Global Wage Report 2024-25: ILO The International Labour Organization (ILO) has released its Global Wage Report 2024-25, offering an in-depth analysis of global wage trends, wage inequality, and real wage growth across different regions and countries. Key Highlights of the Global Wage Report 2024-25: Decrease in Wage Inequality: Wage inequality has decreased globally at

Warm vaccine for COVID-19

Context: A team of scientists from IISc has completed pre-clinical trials and is now gearing up for human testing of the heat-tolerant Covid-19 vaccine About: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has developed a heat-tolerant vaccine called RS2 against COVID-19, which can be stored at high temperatures for extended periods of time, making it easier to transport and distribute to re

World Employment and Social Outlook

Context: Recently ILO has released its ‘World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024’ report. Key findings: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) released the 'World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024' report, indicating a projected increase in the global unemployment rate in 2024. Both joblessness and the jobs gap have fallen below pre-pandemic lev

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit- Kampala

The Non-Aligned Movement was formed during the Cold War as an organization of States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union, but sought to remain independent or neutral. The basic concept for the group originated in 1955 during discussions that took place at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference held in Indonesia. The fi

New Members of BRICS

Context: The five new candidates of BRICS formally became members on January 1, 2024. Introduction of New Members to BRICS: Expansion of BRICS: The inclusion of five new members, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, marks a significant enlargement of the BRICS alliance. Argentina's Withdrawal: Argentina has opted to retract its initia

Argentina Withdraws From BRICS

Context: The newly elected far-right President of Argentina, Javier Milei, pulled out of plans to join the BRICS bloc. Argentina was set to join on January 1, 2024. Reasons for withdrawal: The decision to join BRICS had been taken by the previous administration, and the new dispensation was reviewing such policies. Milei cited China's communist ideology as a p

Sweden moves a step closer to NATO membership after Turkey's parliamentary committee gives approval

Context: Sweden’s NATO bid had been stalled amid opposition from Turkiye and Hungary A crucial committee in the Turkish Parliament, on December 26, granted approval for Sweden's NATO membership bid after facing delays. The approval comes amid obstacles posed by Turkey and Hungary against Sweden's NATO accession. The Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee gav

Growth charts — WHO standards versus India crafted

Background: Child undernutrition has been a persistent issue in India, and its determinants are diverse, encompassing factors such as food intake, dietary diversity, health, sanitation, women's status, and the overarching context of poverty. The primary measures for childhood undernutrition, including stunting (chronic undernutrition) and wasting (acute undernutrition), rely on anthropometric

Project PRAYAS to help Indian youth migrate abroad

Context: Recently, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) launched Project PRAYAS to help Indian workers and students migrate in a secure, orderly, and regular manner. PRAYAS Project PRAYAS, which stands for Promoting Regular Assisted Migration for Youth and Skilled Professionals, was initiated in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It represents one

THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM ASSOCIATION

THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM ASSOCIATION     Why in the News? Recently, the Indian Ocean Rim Association’s (IORA) Council of Ministers (COM) was held in Colombo under the banner theme of ‘Reinforcing Indian Ocean Identity’. What is the IORA and how was it formed? IORA was formed in 1997 as Indian Ocean Region-Association for Regional Cooperatio

India’s statistical performance on the global stage                     

India’s statistical performance on the global stage                        Why in the News? India has been recently elected to the United Nations Statistical Commission which has raised the need to focus on India’s own official statistical system. India&rsq

At Delhi summit, demonstrate climate leadership

At Delhi summit, demonstrate climate leadership     Why in the News? The G-20 summit to be held in New Delhi is a crucial moment to show leadership ahead of the UN Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP28, on cutting back of emissions and fossil fuel use. G20 countries and the world’

B20 Summit

B20 Summit     The Business 20 (B20) is an event which is part of the G20 Summit which is meant to express common views from the international business community. The main purpose is to develop recommendations and issue relevant commitments from the business leaders and business organizations to deal with present issues. B20 are gathered in 12 working groups which

BRICS Expansion

BRICS Expansion   Why in the News? Recently at the 15th BRICS summit, the five-member grouping of BRICS decided to expand by the inclusion of 6 more countries in a move to strengthen its claim of being a ‘voice of the Global South’. BRICS: BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In the Johannesburg Summit, BRICS has agreed to

At G20, agreeing to agree

At G20, agreeing to agree     Why in the news? With the leaders’ meeting approaching at the G20, India has its proposal for arriving at a convergence to address the most-pressing global problems. Probable areas of convergence: India’s proposal on LiFE, adopting a lifestyle that protects the environment Sharing of digital public infrastructure

India’s G-20 opportunity for an African Renaissance

India’s G-20 opportunity for an African Renaissance      Why in the News? South Africa is raising its demands on multilateral fora such as BRICS, G-20 and the UNGA in recent times, acting as an atypical representative of the Black continent with 54 countries- over a quarter of population of the “Global South”. Challenges and disruptors of the

G20 Finance Track

Why in the News? The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the global community to coordinate on restructuring the debt of Vulnerable low-and middle-income countries in the G20 Finance Track Seminar. G20 Finance Track: One of the two tracks of the G20 Summit (the other being Sherpa Track) focuses on global macroeconomic issues such as, Monitoring of global economic ri

Cluster Bomb use

Cluster Bomb use Why in the News? The US has decided to send cluster munitions or cluster bombs as a part of the new military aid package to Ukraine for its war efforts against Russia. Cluster bombs: Cluster munitions or cluster bombs are weapons that Releases multiple explosive submunitions/ bomblets into the air. Explodes as soon as they hit the ground and kills and inj

G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group

G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group   The Action Plan is guided by the political declaration of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) against corruption. The ACWG focuses on promotion of international cooperation in the areas of Asset recovery Law enforcement cooperation Information-sharing Technology Denial of safe haven/entry The ACWG also seeks to