Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
OPCW is an independent, autonomous international organisation with a working relationship with the United Nations.
It is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997.
OPCW has 193 Member States working together to achieve a world free of chemical weapons.
It is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.
It was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.
It has been recently granted additional powers by its members voting in two-third majority.
Until now, OPCW could only say whether chemical weapons were used but not who had used them.
The new power allows it to assign blame for attacks.
This process of extending its jurisdiction was heavily opposed by Russia.
But, Britain was supporting the move arguing that new powers were needed to deal with repeated chemical attacks in Syria.
RIMPAC
RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Exercise) is the world’s largest international maritime exercise.
The 26th edition of RIMPAC was hosted by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) recently.
It commenced off the Hawaii coast with the participation from 25 countries.
It is aimed at increased inter-operability and development of common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.
It provides a platform for multilateral operational interactions.
India has participated in this edition and represented by INS Sahyadri.
Israel, Sri Lanka and Vietnam joined RIMPAC for the first time.
China is absent this year as it was dis-invited from participating by the U.S., citing China’s military actions in the South China Sea.
China participated in the exercise in 2014 and 2016.
INS Sahyadri
INS Sahyadri is an indigenously built stealth frigate.
It participated in trilateral Malabar war games with Japan and the U.S. off the Coast of Guam.
It recently participated in RIMPAC and has been adjudged runner-up in an innovation competition.
INS Sahyadri presented the ‘idea of integrating yoga into our daily life as technology for well-being during extended deployments for ships’.
The idea was appreciated by representatives of participating countries.
Mission Shaurya
‘Mission Shaurya’ is an initiative of the Tribal department of the Maharashtra State Government.
It aims to train tribal students to scale Mt. Everest.
Recently, 10 tribal students from residential schools in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra conquered Everest.
Mission Shakti - Maharashtra government has also announced this mission to impart special training and prepare tribal students for the Olympics 2024.
International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
IOM was established in 1951. It had been an observer to the UN since 1992.
The agency joined the UN system as a related organization in September 2016.
It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
It works in the field of migration with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
The organisation has 166 member countries (including India) and 8 observer states.
It aims to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.
IOM works to help ensure the humane management of migration by providing services and advice to governments and migrants, promote international cooperation on migration issues.
Mr. Vitorino of Portugal is the first Director General elected to IOM after it has become part of UN.
AGNI – V
The Agni series (I to V) missiles constitute the backbone of India’s nuclear weapons delivery and part of nuclear triad.
Agni-V is India’s longest-range ballistic missile which will be inducted into the nuclear arsenal soon.
Earlier variants of the Agni family of long-range missiles have already been deployed.
Agni – V is an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of over 5,000 km and can reach most parts of China.
It is powered by three stage solid fuelled missiles.
It can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes.
It is a part of Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).
No-first-use doctrine
India is committed to a ‘No-First-Use’ policy as part of its nuclear doctrine.
Thus, second strike capability - the capability to strike back after being hit by nuclear weapons first becomes important.
