Important Days

Important Days

January 9	NRI Day
January 10	World Laughter Day
January 12	National Youth Day
January 15	Army Day
January 26	India's Republic Day, International Customs Day
January 30	Martyrs' Day; World Leprosy Eradication Day
2nd Sunday of February	World Marriage Day
February 24	Central Excise Day
February 28	National Science Day
Second Monday March	Commonwealth Day
March 8	International Women's Day; Intl. literacy Day
March 15	World Disabled Day; World Consumer Rights Day
March 18	Ordnance Factories Day (India)
March 21	World Forestry Day; International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
March 22	World Day for Water
March 23	World Meteorological Day
March 24	World TB Day
April 5	International Day for Mine Awareness; National Maritime Day
April 7	World Health Day
April 17	World Haemophilia Day
April 18	World Heritage Day
April 21	Secretaries' Day
April 22	Earth Day
April 23	World Book and Copyright Day
May 1	Workers' Day (International Labour Day)
May 3	Press Freedom Day; World Asthma Day
May 2nd Sunday	Mother's Day
May 4	Coal Miners' Day
May 8	World Red Cross Day
May 9	World Thalassaemia Day
May 11	National Technology Day
May 12	World Hypertension Day; International Nurses Day
May 15	International Day of the Family
May 17	World Telecommunication Day
May 24	Commonwealth Day
May 31	Anti-tobacco Day
June 4	International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
June 5	World Environment Day
June 3rd Sunday	Father's Day
June 14	World Blood Donor Day
June 26	International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
July 1	Doctor's Day
July 6	World Zoonoses Day
July 11	World Population Day
August 3	Internatioal Friendship Day
August 6	Hiroshima Day
August 8	World Senior Citizen's Day
August 9	Quit India Day, Nagasaki Day
August 15	Indian Independence Day
August 18	IntI. Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
August 19	Photography Day
August 29	National Sports Day
September 2	Coconut Day
September 5	Teachers' Day; Sanskrit Day
September 8	World Literacy Day (UNESCO)
September 15	Engineers' Day
September 16	World Ozone Day
September 21	Alzheimer's Day; Day for Peace & Non-violence (UN)
September 22	Rose Day (Welfare of cancer patients)
September 26	Day of the Deaf
September 27	World Tourism Day
October 1	International Day for the Elderly
October 2	Gandhi Jayanthi
October 3	World Habitat Day
October 4	World Animal Welfare Day
October 8	Indian Air Force Day
October 9	World Post Office Day
October 10	National Post Day
October 2nd Thursday	World Sight Day
October 13	UN International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
October 14	World Standards Day
October 15	World White Cane Day (guiding the blind)
October 16	World Food Day
October 24	UN Day; World Development Information Day
October 30	World Thrift Day
November 9	Legal Services Day
November 14	Children's Day; Diabetes Day
November 17	National Epilepsy Day
November 20	Africa Industrialisation Day
November 29	International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People
December 1	World AIDS Day
December 3	World Day of the Handicapped
December 4	Indian Navy Day
December 7	Indian Armed Forces Flag Day
December 10	Human Rights Day; IntI. Children's Day of Broadcasting
December 18	Minorities Rights Day (India)
December 23	Kisan Divas (Farmer's Day) (India)

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International Treaties and Agreements

International Treaties and Agreements The Simla Agreement

Signed by the P.M. of India and the President of Pakistan in 1971, the Agreement had following provisions : to normalise relationship between the two countries, to withdraw from the territories seized by them, communications would be resumed. Antarctic Treaty : It is an agreement signed on December 1, 1959 between 12 nations with an interest in Antarctic. These countries are: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the erstwhile USSR (CIS), the U.K. and the US. In all, 39 countries became party to it by 1990 when Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Columbia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, South Korea, North Korea, the Netherlands, Papua New. Guinea, Peru, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay also acceded to the treaty. The treaty reserves the Antarctic area south of 60' south latitude for peaceful purposes, provides for international cooperation in scientific investigation and research, and preserves. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Signed in 1968, NPT came into force in 1970. Its main points are as follows : nuclear powers will not transfer nuclear weapons or control over them to any recipient. non-nuclear countries agree neither to receive the weapons nor to manufacture them. nuclear know-how will be made available to the non-nuclear states for peaceful purposes. Originally, for a period of 25 years, NPI was extended indefinitely in 1995. India, Israel and Pakistan have not signed the NPI citing various reasons. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) This treaty was approved by US General Assembly in 1996. India, Iran and Libya voted against it. India is under constant pressure to sign it.   Indo-Russian Friendship Treaty This treaty was signed by the then P.M. of India and the then President of Russia in 1993. Its main provisions are as follows : to develop cooperation in political, trade, economic, scientific, technical, cultural and other fields. to promote relations in defence, commerce, science and technology and culture. to work together for achievement of a world without armaments. to support territorial intensity of each other. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-II) Signed by the then Russian and American Presidents in 1993, its main provisions are : to reduce nuclear warheads. to eliminate all Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. to reduce nuclear warheads at submarine-based ballistic missiles. to limit nuclear warheads with which heavy bombers can be equipped. Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention came into force on April 29, 1997. The signatory states have undertaken to destroy existing stock of chemical weapons by 2007. 164 countries have signed the convention which was first opened to signature in Paris on January 13, 1993. About 75 countries have ratified it.   Human Cloning Agreement On January, 12, 1998, Nineteen European nations signed an agreement banning human cloning. On January 17, 186 member states of UNESCO adopted a declaration denouncing human cloning.

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Important Organisations

The United Nations

• Structure
• The General Assembly
• The Security Council
• The Economic and Social Council (ECO-SOC)
• The Trusteeship Council
• The International Court of Justice
• Secretary General of the UN
• United Nations Member States
• Specialized Agencies of the UN
• Important Years Observed by UNO
• Contemporary United Nations International Decade

Other Important International Organisations

• The Commonwealth
• NATO
• EEC
• OAS
• The Arab League
• AU
• ASEAN
• OPEC
• INTERPOL
• NAM
• SAARC
• Asian Development Bank
• EFTA
• ESA
• ICRC
• Group of Eight
• Group of 77
• Group of Fifteem
• Group of Twenty
• South Commission
• OECD
• APEC

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Heads of Important Offices (World)

Ban Ki-moon : Secretary-General, United Nations Organisation.
Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro : First Deputy Secretary-General, UN.
Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha: Military Adviser to UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
Robert Zoellick : President, World Bank.
Dominic Strauss-Kahn: Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Irina Bokova: Director-General-UNESCO.
Dr. Margaret Chan: Director-General, WHO.
Jacques Diouf: Director-General, Food and Agricultural Organisation.
Juan Somavia : Director-General, International Labour Organisation.
Anthony Lake : Executive Director, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Antonio Guterres : UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Helen Clark : Administrator, United Nations Development Programme.
Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi : Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Angel Gurria : Secretary-General, Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Ms. Rosalyn Higgins: President, International Court of Justice.
Haruhiko Kuroda: President, Asian Development Bank.
Donald Kaberuka : President, African Development Bank.
Jacques Rogge: President, International Olympic Committee.
Kamalesh Sharma: Secretary-General, Commonwealth.
Harshvardhana Singh: Deputy Director-General, WTO.
Bingu Wa Mutharika : Chairman, African Union.
Pascal Lamy : Director-General, WTO.
Ms. Navanethan Pillay : High Commissioner, UN High Commission for Human Rights.
Jerzy Buzek : President, European Union
Sharad Pawar: President, International Cricket Council.
Hosni Mubarak: Secretary-General, Non-Aligned Movement.
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso: President, European Commission.
Kandeh K. Yumkella : Director-General, UNIDO.
Abdul-Rahman bin Hamad Al-Attiyah: Secretary-General, Gulf Co-operation Council.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu : Secretary-General, Organisation of Islamic Conference.
Abdallah Salem el-Badri: Secretary-General, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Jose Miguel Insulza Salinas: Secretary-General, Organisation of American States.
Hifikepunye Pohamba : President, South-West African People's Organisation (SWAPO).
Mr. Yukiya Amano : Director- General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Anders Fogh Rasmussen : Secretary-General, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Dr. Abdul Waheed Khan: Director, Commonwealth of Learning.
Hashim Abdul Halim : Chairman, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid : Executive Director, UNFPA.
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan : Secretary-General, ASEAN.
Q. A. M. A. Rahim : Secretary-General, SAARC
Lamine Diack : President, International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).
Michael Griffin : Chief of NASA (USA).
Salil Shetty: Secretary-General, Amnesty International.

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Heads of Important Offices (India)

Heads of Important Offices (India)

Dr. Manmohan Singh: Chairman, Planning Commission. Ms. Meira Kumar: Speaker, Lok Sabha. Mohammad Hamid Ansari: Chairman, Rajya Sabha. Mr. K. Rahman Khan: Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha. Mr. Karia Munda: Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha. Mrs. Sushma Swaraj : Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha). Mr. Arun Jaitley: Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha). Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia: Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. Mr. S. Y. Quraishi: Chief Election Commissioner Mr. V. S. Sampath : Election Commissioner. Mr. Harishankar Brahma : Election Commissioner. Mr. Vinod Rai : Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. Mr. Justice K. G. Balakrishnan : Chairperson, National Human Right Commission (NHRC) Mr. K. M. Chandrasekhar: Cabinet Secretary. Mr. T. K. A. Nair : Principal Secretary to Prime Minister . Mr. Justice M. N. Rao: Chairman, National Commission for Backward Classes. Ms. Shanta Sinha: Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Dr. Buta Singh: Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes Ms. Urmila Singh: Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. Prof. D. P. Agrawal: Chairman, UPSC. Dr. M. S. Swaminathan : Chairman, National Commission on Farmers. Mr. Shiv Shankar Menon: National Security Adviser and Special Adviser to PM (Internal Security). Mr. S. C. Sinha : Director-General, National Investigation Agency (NIA). Mr. S. S. Khurana: Chairman, Railway Board. Mr. Vivek Kumar Agnihotri: Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha Mr. T. K. Viswanathan : Secretary-General, Lok Sabha. Mr. Nehchal Sandhu: Director, IB. Mr. A. P. Singh: Director, CBI. Mr. K. C. Verma: Director, Research and Analysis Wing. Mr. R. K. Medhekar : Director-General, NSG. Mr. Vijay Kumar : Director-General, CRPF. Mr. Raman Srivastava : Director-General, Border Security Force (BSF). Mr. Niraj Ranjan Das : Director-General, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Mr. Ranjit Sinha: Director-General, Railway Protection Force. Mr. R. K. Bhatia: Director-General, Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Mr. Y. S. Dadwal : Director-General, Sashastra Seema Bal. Vice-Admiral Anil Chopra: Director-General, Coast Guard. Lt. Gen. Avtar Singh: Director-General, Defence Intelligence Agency. Mr. Sukhadeo Thorat : Chairman, UGC. Mr. V. K. Saraswat : Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Defence Research & Development Organisation. Dr. R. Chidambaram : Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government. Mr. K. Radhakrishnan: Chairman, Space Commission and ISRO. Mr. Srikumar Banerjee : Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Dept. of Atomic Energy. Mr. N. K. Raghupathy : Chairman, SSC. Mr. Justice (Retd.) B. N. Kirpal: Chairman, National Forest Commission. Dr. Amrita Patel: Chairperson, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). Lt. Gen. M. C. Badhani : Director-General, Border Roads Organisation. Dr. Vishwa Mohan Katoch : Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research. Mr. C. Chandramouli : Registrar-General of India and Census Commissioner. Mr. P. V. Reddy : Chairman, Law Commission. Mr. Duvvuri Subbarao : Governor, RBI. Mr. Justice G. N. Ray: Chairman, Press Council of India. Mr. V. J. Darda : Chairman, Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). Mr. S. S. N. Moorthy: Chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Mr. A. K. Singh: Chairman, Central Board of Excise & Customs. Justice Arijit Pasayat : Chairperson, Competition Appellate Tribunal Mr. S. K. Garg : CMD, NHPC. Mr. R. S. Sharma: CMD, ONGC. Mr. U. D. Choubey : CMD, GAIL. Mr. S. Behuria : Chairman, IOC. Mr. N. M. Borah: CMD, Oil India Ltd. Mr. Ashok Ganguly: Chairman, CBSE. Mr. C. B. Bhave: Chairman, Securities & Exchange Board of India. Mr. U. C. Sarangi: Chairman, NABARD. Mr. O. P. Bhat : Chairman, SBI. Mr. V. P. Shetty : Chairman, IDBI. Mr. S. Balasubramanian : Chairman, Company Law Board. Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri : India's Permanent Representative to UN. Mr. T. S. Vijayan : Chairman, LIC Mr. A. K. Bajaj : Chairman, Central Water Commission. Ms. Girija Vyas : Chairperson, National Commission for Women. Dr. Vijay L. Kelkar: Chairman, 13th Finance Commission. Prof. Suresh D. Tendulkar : Chairman, National Statistical Commission. Ms. Shafmila Tagore : Chairperson, Central Board of Film Certification. Dr. Gautam Sengupta : Director-General, Archaeological Survey of India. Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal : President, FICCI. Mr. J. S. Sarma: Chairman, TRAI Mr. R. N. Das : Director, Enforcement Directorate. Mr. Yogesh Agarwal: Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority. Mr. P. J. Thomas : Central Vigilance Commissioner. Dr. Ratan Kumar Sinha : Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Mr. Wajahat Habibullah : Information Commissioner. Mr. Suresh Kalmadi : President, Indian Olympic Association. Prof. Krishan Kumar: Director, NCERT. Mr. Hari S. Bharti: President, CII. Mr. Sam Pitroda : Chairman, National Knowledge Commission. Ms. Mrinal Pande : Chairman, Prasar Bharti Board. Mr. Ratan Tata : Chairman, Investment Commission. Mr. Harsh Manglik : Chairman, NASSCOM. Mr. Swati Piramal: President, ASSOCHAM. Mr. Om Puri : Chairman, National Film Development Corporation. Mr. Ravindra Kumar: Chairman, United News of India. Mr. N. Ravi : Chairman, PTI. Mr. Hormusji N. Cama: President, Indian Newspaper Society. Mr. Dilip Modi : President, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

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