Important International Organizations – Introduction to few important International Organisations

The Article provides an Insight to important International Organisations from SSC, Banking and other competitive examination point of view.

World Bank Group

• Family of 5 international organisations that make leveraged loans to developing countries.
• These organisations are-
• IBRD (international bank for reconstruction and development)
• IDA (international development association)
• IFC (international finance corporation)
• MIGA (multilateral investment guarantee agency)
• ICSID (international centre for settlement of investment disputes)

WORLD BANK

• IBRD and IDA collectively forms world bank.
• Provides loans for capital programmes.
• Created at 1944, Britton Woods conference.
• Based in Washington DC.
• Moto- working for a world free of poverty.
• It is like a cooperative made up of 189 members.
• Aim- to reduce poverty population to 3% by 2030.

International Monetary Fund

• Conceived at UN conference in Bretton Woods in July 1944.
• Members- 189 countries
• Funds mandate was updated at 2008 to include all macroeconomic and financial sector issues that bear on global stability.
• It’s Core responsibility is to provide loans to member countries experiencing actual or potential balance of payments problems.
• IMF does not lend for specific projects.
• In 1969 IMF created SDR, an international asset to supplement its member countries’ official reserves.
• IMF is still one of the world’s largest 0fficial holder of gold.

International Labour Organization

• Created in 1919 by VERSAILLES peace treaty ending World War I (1914-1918).
• After the demise of league of nations ILO became the 1^st agency associated with UN
• It is responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labour standards.
• Members – 187 of 193 UN members + the Cook Island (a nation in south pacific with political links to New Zealand).
• Secretariat- Geneva, Switzerland
• Designated nations (ILO designates some countries as the nations of Chief Industrial importance) of ILO- Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, ITALY, Japan, Russian federation, UK and US
• It publishes global wage report.
• India is the founder member of ILO.

Read more: Banking in India- Important Highlights of Banking Sector in India

• India has recently ratified (June 2017) two key ILO global Convention – Convention 138 & Convention 182.
• Convention 132 calls for the minimum age for employment to be not less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling.
• Convention 182 penalises and prohibits the worst form of child labour which includes-
• All forms of slavery including sale and trafficking, debt bondage, forced labour, recruitment in armed conflict.
• Prostitution or production of pornography
• Trafficking of drugs
• An ILO recommendation is a non-binding instrument which seeks to serve as a guiding principle for national policy process.

Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO

• Established in 1945
• Objective- Elimination of huger and improvement of nutrition and standards of living by increasing agricultural productivity
• Secretariat is in Rome, Italy
• Total members- 197, 194 are member nations and 1 member organization- European Union & Niue and Cook Islands(Nz land) and the Faroe Island(Archipelago, pat of Denmark) and Tkelau(NZ land) are 2 associate members
• Key programmes of FAO- Food security programme, Codex Alimentarius, International Plant Protection Convention etc.
• The Codex Alimentarius Commission established by FAO and WHO is an International Food Standard setting body.
• FAO council has approved India’s membership to the executive Board of World Food Programme for 2020 & 2021
• FAO has decided to observe International Year of Millets in 2023 upon request from Indian Government

India celebrated 2018 as the National year of Millets and had notified millets as nutri cereals and allowed its inclusion in PDS.

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