The Fourth BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit was held in New Delhi, India

The Fourth BRICS summit was held in New Delhi on 29 March 2012. The theme of the summit was BRICS partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity. The summit was participated by India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa. At the end of the summit, Delhi Declaration was issued.  Development banks of BRICS signed two agreements- i) Master agreement on extending credit facility in local currency. ii) BRICS Multilateral letter of credit confirmation facility agreement. The five participating banks are Banco  Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social- BNDES, Brazil; State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs-Vnesheconombank of Russia; Export-Import bank of India; China Development Bank Corporation, and Development Bank of Southern Africa. These two agreements are expected to enhance cooperation among the BRICS development banks and to significantly promote intra-BRICS trade.
Highlights of Delhi Declaration

• BRICS nations agreed on the reform of IMF and world bank.

• Brazil, India, China and South Africa congratulated the Russian Federation on its accession to the WTO.

• BRICS nation said they were committed to playing their part in the global fight against climate change and will contribute to the global effort in dealing with climate change issues.

Background of BRICS
The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) idea was first conceived in 2001 by Goldman Sachs as part of an economic modeling exercise to forecast global economic trends over the next half century; the acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper No. 66, "The World Needs Better Economic BRICs".

Expansion of BRIC into BRICS
BRIC Foreign Ministers at their meeting in New York on 21st September 2010 agreed that South Africa may be invited to join BRIC. Accordingly, China, as the host of 3rd BRICS Summit, invited South African President to attend the Summit in Sanya on 14 April 2011 with the concurrence of other BRIC Leaders.

Union Government approved Setting up of a National Centre for Cold Chain Development

The government of India on 9 February 2012 approved setting up of a national cehttp://www.educationalhut.comntre for cold chain development and allocated a one-time grant of 25 crore rupees for its corpus fund. The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The move comes in the wake of post harvest losses to the tune of 50000 crore rupees annually in absence of proper storage facilities.
The Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval for registering National Centre for Cold Chain Development, NCCD, as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The NCCD will be having a Governing Council under the Chairmanship of Secretary with 22 members, covering government officials, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, FICCI and other stake holders.
India is the second largest producer of horticultural commodities in the world. However, a significant portion of the produce, particularly perishables like fruits, vegetables, flowers go waste due to post harvest losses. A robust cold chain infrastructure will go a long way in reducing the losses of perishables.
India, the world's second largest producer of horticulture products after China , accounts for 71.5 million tonnes of fruits, 133.7 million tonnes of vegetables and 17.8 million tonnes of other commodities like flowers, spices, coconut, cashew, mushroom, honey among others. A significant portion of the produce like fruits, vegetables, flowers go waste due to post harvest losses in absence of proper cold storage facilities. A Parliamentary panel has also pointed out that post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables are as high as 35 per cent, valuing more than 50000 crore rupees annually. Earlier the government had constituted a Task Force in 2008 on cold chain development to assess the situation. The Task Force had recommended formation of a dedicated institution for promoting cold chain development. A robust cold chain infrastructure will go a long way in reducing the losses of perishables.

ONLINE TEST SERIES

More Than 120 People killed in the Plane Crash in Pakistan

A passenger aero plane crash near Islamabad in Pakistan on 20 April 2012, left more than 100 people dead. The tragic incident occurred while the airliner was attempting to land during a thunderstorm.

The Bhoja airliner had been flying from the southern seaport city of Karachi and burst into flames right before its landing in the Islamabad following a  3½-hour flight. The airline Boeing 737 was carrying 121 passengers, including 11 children, as well as six crew.

The crash occurred near the Chaklala airbase, a military site used by the country's air force, which is adjacent to the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad.

The worst aviation tragedy in Pkistan came in July 2010 when an Airbus 321 passenger jet operated by the private airline Airblue crashed into hills overlooking Islamabad while coming in to land after a flight from Karachi. The deadly incident ended up with the death of 152 people.

The 1992 civilian plane crash is considered to be the deadliest in the history of Pakistan as it claimed the life of 167 people. ONLINE TEST SERIES

A Powerful 6.6-Magnitude Earthquake jolted Eastern Indonesia

A strong 6.6-magnitude eartquake hit waters off eastern Indonesia on 21 April 2012. The tremor was centered only 30 kilometers below the ocean floor.

Indonesia, given its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, is highly prone to earthquakes. The country over the past few months has witnessed a string of seismic turmoil.

More than 2 lakh people were killed in a massive earth quake that hit the country on 26 December, 2004. The deadly quake had triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean which subsequently claimed the life of tens of thousands of people across the Indian Ocean region. ONLINE TEST SERIES

US–Afghanistan inked Strategic Pact setting Guidelines for USInvolvement in Afghanistan

US and Afghanistan inked a long-awaited strategic pact on 22 April 2012. The pact aims at setting forth guidelines for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as forces are withdrawn from the trouble-torn nation.

The pact provides a strong foundation for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world. Both the countries took almost one year to reach on the mutual agreement. The agreement was expected to be inked before the NATO summit to be held in May 2012.

The agreement speaks for a smaller but longer-term U.S. presence in Afghanistan as it would give western leaders a rationale for supporting Kabul after combat troops are withdrawn in 2014. It also aims to reassure Afghans that the West will not cut and run, and is critical to Afghanistan's financial stability.

US army along with NATO troops has been present in Afghanistan from 2001, as the army is combating the radical Taliban militants in the country. The US forces in May 2011 had gunned down Osama Bin Laden in Abottabad in Pakistan but it proved to be of little help for the Afghanistan government as the country still suffers a great deal of terror every day. Thousands of people have been killed so far in the US war against terrorism in Afghanistan. The US president Barak Obama in an announcement made in 2010 said that the US army will hand over the internal security of Afghanistan to the Afghan security forces by 2014. ONLINE TEST SERIES

European Union suspended Its Sanctions Against Myanmar

The European Union suspended its sanctions against Myanmar on 23 April 2012 for a year. The EU move came in the back drop of a string of political reforms in the south-eastern Asian nation. The group however, maintained that it will hold on to restrictions on arms sales.

The measure, which was adopted by the bloc’s foreign ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg will currently target more than 800 companies and nearly 500 people, and include the withholding of some development aid.

The tough economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar by the European Union and US did not affect the country much as it maintained a flourishing relation with other economic power houses like China, Japan and India.

Japan, in a significant move to help Myanmar in continuing its reform process,  on 21 April 2012 announced to forgive about 300 billion yen (3.7 billion dollar) of Myanmar’s debt and resume development aid to the country.

European and U.S. officials have long been talking about the political reforms in Myanmar, which deprived its citizens of political rights and liberties. The detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi prompted the EU to impose tougher sanction on the coutry. But in the past one year Myanmar has achieved substantial feats on the front of civil rights, the relese of Suu Kyi was considered to be the testimony to the Myanmarese government’s commitment to the Political reforms. ONLINE TEST SERIES

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Cabinet resigned Following The Failure of Austerity Talks

The Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his Cabinet resigned on 23 April 2012 after failing to reach agreement on reducing the country's budget to meet European guidelines. Rutte tendered his resignation to Queen Beatrix, the head of state, at her palace in The Hague, which was accepted by her subsequently.

The queen asked  Rutte’s conservative VVD Party and the Christian Democrats — to continue in the interest of the nation. The new elections, are expected to take place before the end of June 2012.

In the 150-seat Parliament Rutte’s VVD Party has 31 seats, while the coalition partners, the Christian Democrats and Wilders’s Freedom Party have 21 and 23 seats respectively. The opposition Labor Party has 30, while the Socialists have 15.

Rutte, an ally to Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany on fiscal matters and a vociferous supporter of austerity for other European countries has been unable to deliver on his promises of reducing the country's budget.
Although the Netherlands has relatively low levels of national debt, its economy is in recession and it is expected to post a deficit of 4.6 percent in 2012 - well over the 3 percent mandated by European rules.