AAJEEVIKA

Aajeevika - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) was aunched by the Mnstry of Rura
Deveopment (MoRD), Government of Inda n |une 2011. Aded n part through nvestment support by
the Word Bank, the Msson ams at creatng effcent and effectve nsttutona patforms of the rura
poor enabng them to ncrease househod ncome through sustanabe vehood enhancements and
mproved access to fnanca servces.
NRLM has set out wth an agenda to cover 7 Crore BPL househods, across 600 dstrcts, 6000 bocks,
2.5 akh Gram Panchayats and 6 akh vages n the country through sef-managed Sef Hep Groups
(SHGs) and federated nsttutons and support them for vehoods coectves n a perod of 8-10 years.
In addton, the poor woud be factated to acheve ncreased access to ther rghts, enttements and
pubc servces, dversfed rsk and better soca ndcators of empowerment. NRLM beeves n
harnessng the nnate capabtes of the poor and compements them wth capactes (nformaton,
knowedge, sks, toos, fnance and coectvzaton) to partcpate n the growng economy of the
country.
for reducng poverty by enabng the poor househods to access ganfu sef-
empoyment and sked wage empoyment opportuntes ncudng coverage of
vunerabe sectons of the socety ncudng SCs/STs, women, mnortes and persons
wth dsabtes
Pradhan Mantr Gram Sadak Yo|ana:
The Pradhan Mantr Gram Sadak Yo|anaor PMGSY s a natonwde pan n Inda to
provde good a-weather road connectvty to unconnected vages.
Ths mportant scheme was the branchd of the then Prme Mnster Of Inda Shr
Ata Bhar Va|payee. Ths scheme has changed the festye of rura Inda as they
now have a season metaed roads. The NDA-B|P Government ed by Shr Va|payee
gave utmost mportance to nfrastructure deveopment and ths scheme, PMGSY s
one among them.
It s under the authorty of the Mnstry of Rura Deveopment and was begun on 25
December 2000.|1| It s fuy funded by the centra government.
The goa was to provde roads to a vages (1) wth a popuaton of 1000 persons
and above by 2003, (2) wth a popuaton of 500 persons and above by 2007, (3) n
h states, trba and desert area vages wth a popuaton of 500 persons and
above by 2003, and (4) n h states, trba and desert area vages wth a
popuaton of 250 persons and above by 2007.|2|
In order to mpement ths, an Onne Management & Montorng System or OMMS
GIS system was deveoped to dentfy targets and montor progress.|3| It s
deveoped by e-governance department of C-DAC pune and s one of the bggest
databases n Inda. The system manages and montors a the phases of road
deveopment rght from ts proposa mode to road competon. The OMMS aso has
separate modue to track the expenses made on each road. Based on the data
entered by state and dstrct offcers, OMMS generates detaed reports whch are
vewabe n ctzens secton (omms.nc.n). OMMS ncorporates advanced features
ke E-payment, Password protected PDF fes, Interactve Reports etc.
Indra Awaas Yo|ana
for provdng assstance to rura BPL househods for constructon of houses and
upgradaton of kutcha houses under Indra Awaas Yo|ana. 60% of the tota aocaton
s for constructon of houses for BPL fames of SCs/STs.
Started n n 1985 as part of the Rura Landess Empoyment Guarantee Programme
(RLEGP), Indra Awaas Yo|ana (IAY) was subsumed n |awahar ro|gar Yo|ana (|RY) n
1989 and has been operatng as an ndependent scheme snce 1996.|1| From 1995-
96 the scheme has been further extended to wdows or next-of-kn of defence
personne ked n acton, ex-servcemen and retred members of the paramtary
forces who wsh to ve n rura areas as ong as they meet basc egbty crtera.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) refers to the world's largest
welfare program, run by the Government of India.
[1]
It is a ob guarantee s!heme for rural Indians. It was ena!ted by legislation on "# $ugust "%%#. &he s!heme
provides a legal guarantee for at least 1%% days of paid employment in every finan!ial year to adult members of
any household willing to do uns'illed manual wor' related to publi! wor' at the statutory minimum wage of
1"% (()*1.+%) per day in "%%, pri!es. If they fail to do so the government has to pay the salary at their homes.
["]
&he !entral government outlay for the s!heme was -%%% billion (()*.1 billion) in /0 "%1%111.
[2]
&his a!t was introdu!ed with the aim of improving the pur!hasing power of semi3 or un3s'illed rural people of
India, irrespe!tive of whether or not they fell below the poverty line. $round one3third of the stipulated wor'
for!e is women. &he law was initially !alled the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and
was renamed with the prefi4 56ahatma Gandhi5 on " 7!tober "%%,, Gandhi's birth anniversary.
[-][#]
Sarva Shksha Abhyan (SSA) s Government of Inda's fagshp programme for
achevement of Unversazaton of Eementary Educaton (UEE) n a tme bound
manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Consttuton of Inda makng free
and compusory Educaton to the Chdren of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamenta
Rght. &he programme was pioneered by $tal 8ihari 9apayee.
SSA s beng mpemented n partnershp wth State Governments to cover the
entre country and address the needs of 192 mon chdren n 1.1 mon
habtatons.
The programme seeks to open new schoos n those habtatons whch do not have
schoong factes and strengthen exstng schoo nfrastructure through provson
of addtona cass rooms, toets, drnkng water, mantenance grant and schoo
mprovement grants. Exstng schoos wth nadequate teacher strength are
provded wth addtona teachers, whe the capacty of exstng teachers s beng
strengthened by extensve tranng, grants for deveopng teachng-earnng
materas and strengthenng of the academc support structure at a custer, bock
and dstrct eve. SSA seeks to provde quaty eementary educaton ncudng fe
sks. SSA has a speca focus on gr's educaton and chdren wth speca needs.
SSA aso seeks to provde computer educaton to brdge the dgta dvde.
The Unted Natons Organsaton (UN)
Ams
The Unted Natons Organsaton (UN) was set up foowng Word War II n 1945 'to
save succeedng generatons from the scourge of war and to reaffrm human rghts'.
The UN tres to get co-operaton between countres to acheve nternatona peace.
It aso tres to ensure that human rghts and freedom from dscrmnaton and abuse
are gven to a peopes and natons through a system of nternatona |ustce. It tres
to hep poorer countres deveop through ts specast agences.
The Secretary Genera of the UN
The head of the UN s the Secretary Genera (SG), aways apponted from a non-
agned (neutra) country. The |ob of the Secretary Genera (SG) s to carry out the
decsons of the Securty Counc. He aso spends a great dea of tme meetng word
eaders to try to sove probems before they turn nto wars. The present SG s Ban
K-Moon from the Repubc of (South) Korea. Athough the UN has permanent
agences such as the Word Heath Organsaton (WHO) and the Food and
Agrcuture Organsaton (FAO) t does not have an army or poce force. The UN can
ony take mtary acton f member countres suppy forces.
Genera Assemby, Unted Natons Headquarters
Genera Assemby, Unted Natons Headquarters
The Genera Assemby of the UN
The Genera Assemby conssts of every member country, each wth one vote. The
Assemby ony meets for three months of each year though extra meetngs can be
caed f requested by a ma|orty of countres or by the Securty Counc. The
smaest countres on the Genera Assemby have the same votng power as the
bggest, such as the USA. Because of ths, the powers of the Genera Assemby are
mted. Important decsons need a two-thrds ma|orty. When these decsons are
passed they are known as 'resoutons'. However these are reay ony
recommendatons and are often gnored. Often resoutons are not passed because
of potca dsagreements between countres.
Often one of the more powerfu countres w persuade the Assemby to pass a
Resouton backng t or condemnng ts opponent. The USA dd ths when Iraq
nvaded Kuwat. However the USA has often bocked resoutons that crtcsed Israe
because the USA s an ay of Israe.
The Securty Counc
The reay mportant part of the UN, where decsons about peacekeepng are taken,
s the Securty Counc. It has ffteen members of whch the most mportant are the
fve permanent members: USA, Russa, UK, France and Chna. The other ten paces
are changed every two years to aow the ess powerfu countres some say. Each of
the 'Bg Fve' has a veto (whch means 'I forbd'). The veto was often used durng
the Cod War by the USSR or the USA to bock a pocy they dd not ke.
Fundng the UN
Member countres of the UN are supposed to pay contrbutons accordng to ther
sze. Most are not up to date wth ther payments. The USA s the argest snge
contrbutor to the cost of the UN; though n recent years t has refused to pay ts
contrbuton n fu as Amerca's eaders thnk the UN wastes money and often
crtcses US foregn pocy. However, snce the new Secretary Genera has been
tryng to make the UN more effcent and has cut back on the 25,000 staff around
the word, the US has agreed to pay ts share n fu. However, neary $2 bon used
to pay for UN peacekeepng msson remans unpad by severa UN members.
The cost of the growng number of peacekeepng operatons s ncreasng every
year but t s far cheaper than war. There are neary 100 000 UN staff operatng
around the gobe ncudng more than 82 000 troops, 14 000 UN poce and 3 000
mtary observers. The approved UN peacekeepng budget for 2010-11 was neary
$7.2 bon - ths amount has rsen sharpy snce 2000 however t represents ess
than 1% of goba mtary spendng. The fve permanent members of the Securty
Counc pay about 60% of peacekeepng costs. The USA shoud pay haf of ths.
Reformng the UN
The Securty Counc s not representatve of the word today and has been a topc
debated n the UN snce eary 1990s. It s domnated by the USA, the word's
superpower, whch has the mtary power to take acton anywhere n the word of
ts own accord. The 2003 nvason of Iraq was opposed by many UN members.
Germany, |apan and Inda now have strong cams to be permanent members of the
Securty Counc as they are some of the strongest economes and fastest growng
popuatons n the word. Some have argued that the current make up does not
refect the word of today. Suggestons have ncuded a seat n the Securty Counc
to represent regona aances such as the European Unon or Afrcan Unon.
Unsurprsngy, permanent members are not keen to see ther current powers
duted n any way.
The Secretary Genera has aso proposed a permanent Standby Force to whch each
member country woud send one battaon of troops. Ths force woud be abe to
react to emergences more qucky. It coud aso be sent to areas to stop fghtng
when t seems key to start. The force coud aso protect UN humantaran
operatons. However, many countres are reuctant to ose contro over ther forces.
It woud aso cost member countres money f they st had to pay the soders'
wages.
The prortes of the current UN Secretary Genera are:
peace and securty
human rghts
goba heath
cmate change
dsarmament
combatng the fnanca crss and word poverty
N peacekeepng
The success of UN peacekeepng often depends on the atttude of the most
powerfu countres, especay the USA.
Before the UN can try to sove a confct, the Securty Counc must agree a pocy. It
has a number of optons:
send negotators or observers to the country
mpose sanctons
send a peacekeepng force
agree mtary nterventon
Sendng negotators or observers
Ths s the most key pocy. However, as the UN has no weapons, t can ony
functon f both sdes n a confct genuney want a settement. The UN has been
present n the Mdde East for years but the Arab-Israe dspute s st unresoved.
There are more than 2000 UN mtary observers actve throughout the word.
Imposng sanctons
The UN can aso mpose sanctons to try to force a country to agree to UN
Resoutons. When Iraq was not prepared to aow nspectors to check ts chemca,
boogca and nucear weapons, sanctons were mposed preventng t from seng
ts o. The probem wth sanctons s that they can be easy avoded and take a ong
tme to work. In the case of Iraq, they hurt ordnary peope who were not abe to
obtan food and medca suppes whe Saddam Hussen and hs forces were not
reay affected. Sanctons have been mposed recenty on Iran over ther
deveopment of nucear weapons however t has ong been fet that sanctons from
organsatons ke the EU are more severe than those mposed by the UN.
A French soder from the UN on mne cearng patro n Lebanon
A French soder from the UN on mne cearng patro n Lebanon
Peacekeepng
A peacekeepng force may be sent to 'poce' a peace settement. Member countres
must agree to suppy forces and ther equpment but ths may be dffcut because
potca eaders don't want to send ther forces nto danger areas where they have
no potca or trade nterests. Ths has been the case n Afrca. If serous fghtng
breaks out, such as n Rwanda, the UNO force s usuay too sma to stop t and
wthdraws. Equay the UN may not have the money to send and equp forces uness
a powerfu country ke the USA gets nvoved.
In some stuatons, certan forces are not acceptabe as they are not seen as
neutra. Ths has often rued out USA or Russa from ntervenng when Israe and her
Arab neghbours have been n confct. Ths s why neutra countres such as Ireand,
Canada, Inda and New Zeaand are often asked to send forces to troube 'spots'.
Some deveopng countres' forces are so bady traned and equpped that they are
not abe to hep effectvey, such as when Bangadesh troops were sent to Bosna.
Mtary nterventon
On very rare occasons the UN has agreed to ntervene drecty, usng arge-scae
mtary force. Ths has become more common snce the end of the Cod War. As
Russa s more nterested n economc hep from the West, t no onger vetoes
Amercan poces. As a resut, the USA s now abe to domnate the Securty Counc.
When Iraq nvaded Kuwat, the USA obtaned UN approva for 'Operaton Desert
Storm' n whch a US ed coaton forced the Iraq army to eave Kuwat.
None of the powerfu countres on the Securty Counc has aowed a UN force to
ntervene on ther terrtory. Chna woud veto any attempt to ntervene n Tbet;
Russa woud veto nterventon n Chechnya and the UK has made t pan t does not
see a roe for the UN n Northern Ireand.
The North Atantc Treaty Organsaton (NATO)
Ams
The North Atantc Treaty Organsaton (NATO) was set up after Word War II to
defend Western Europe aganst the threat of attack from what was then the
Communst USSR. Recenty, snce the USSR has broken up, that threat has reduced
greaty. NATO st guarantees to hep to defend ts members but has aso become
nvoved n peacekeepng operatons notaby n Eastern Europe. The NATO aance
guarantees that an attack on any one of ts members w mmedatey brng a the
rest n to hep. Ths coectve securty agreement s known as Artce 5.
Membershp of NATO
2009 marked the 60th Annversary of NATO. NATO operates n a very dfferent way
to the UN. It has fewer members and they are far ess key to dsagree than UN
members. However, ong-runnng dsputes do exst between members such as that
between Turkey and Greece over the sand of Cyprus. The ong-standng NATO
members are: USA, Canada, Brtan, France, Iceand, Norway, Denmark, Hoand,
Begum, Luxembourg, Itay, Span, Portuga, Greece, Turkey and Germany. Three
former Warsaw Pact countres, Poand, Hungary and the Czech Repubc, |oned
NATO n 1999. Seven East European countres |oned n 2004, Sovaka, Sovena,
Estona, Romana, Bugara, Latva and Lthuana. The atest members Abana and
Croata |oned n 2009 - ths brngs the tota number of NATO members to 28. There
are other countres who have aready begun negotatons to |on NATO these ncude
Georga and the Ukrane, both formery of the USSR as we as Montenegro who
have been nvted to |on the Membershp Acton Pan (MAP). Ths shows a
contnuaton of NATOs open door pocy. Decsons on future membershp are taken
by the North Atantc Counc.
In practce, the NATO aance rees on the mtary power of the USA. Because of ts
mtary strength, t s now the ony country n the word powerfu enough to
ntervene amost anywhere, as t has the best resources such as gant transport
panes and arcraft carrers. The USA, Brtan and France a have nucear weapons.
However, these are for deterrent purposes ony; they are not usefu n
peacekeepng.
Nato Headquarters n Brusses
Nato Headquarters n Brusses
The Structure of NATO
NATO has a permanent staff headed by a Secretary Genera. He acts as the
spokesperson for NATO and chars ts commttees such as the North Atantc Counc
(NAC) and Nucear Pannng Group. The NAC meets reguary and s the man
decson-makng body wthn NATO. Snce the man purpose of NATO s the defence
of ts members, many of the decsons are eft to senor mtary offcers. However,
when reay mportant decsons are beng made, heads of government such as the
US Presdent and the UK Prme Mnster w attend a meetng of the NATO Counc.
The roe of NATO
Now that the Cod War s over and Russa s ookng to the west for economc hep
some argue that NATO s not needed. Others argue that the word s as unstabe as
ever and that NATO s essenta but that ts roe has to adapt. Aready NATO has
fewer tanks and troops than t dd durng the Cod War as t s most unkey to have
to fght a bg tank batte n centra Europe. NATO forces now concentrate on
mobty, usng hecopters to get hghy traned forces to troube spots fast. The
NATO Reponse Force (NRF) s made up a 13000 strong force that has the capabty
to react qucky and be depoyed to troube spots anywhere n the word n tmes of
crss.
The goba mportance of NATO
Peacekeepng
For years NATO never fred a shot except n tranng. That changed n the former
Yugosava; frst n Bosna, then n Kosovo and the former Yugosav Repubc of
Macedona (FYROM). NATO forces took over from the UN to mpose peace
settements. Kosovo contnues to have a NATO presence to ensure securty and
stabty n the area.
NATO has some advantages n comparson to the UNO. It has some of the best
equpped and traned forces n the word. There s aso a command structure that a
of the NATO countres are famar wth. However, NATO tradtonay ony operated
wthn the boundares of ts members states. The mtary operaton to force Iraq out
of Kuwat n 1991 coud not be caed a NATO operaton as t was 'out of area'. In
future, NATO may operate throughout the word as a peacekeepng force.
NATO and the 'War on Terrorsm'
When terrorsts attacked the Word Trade Centre n New York Cty n September
2001, the USA decared tsef under attack and demanded that other NATO
members shoud support ts 'War on Terrorsm'. Athough a the other member
states have promsed to support ths under Artce 5 of the NATO treaty, they dd
not a send forces to |on n the operaton aganst A Oaeda bases n Afghanstan.
However, as the USA s so powerfu, t does not actuay need hep from other NATO
members. Ths was ony asked for as a gesture to show that the US was not actng
aone. The 'Coaton Aganst Terrorsm' ncudes many countres that are not NATO
members.
Dsagreements wthn NATO
The 2003 nvason of Iraq has recenty ed to dsagreements among NATO members.
The USA and UK governments were convnced mtary acton was essenta to force
Saddam Hussen to gve up nucear and other 'weapons of mass destructon'.
Germany and France dsagreed. A other countres accepted that any acton aganst
Iraq had to have UN backng and that an extra UN resouton was requred. The US
and UK governments dsagreed. The US spends far more on defence than most
European NATO members and s abe to use a great dea of mtary power snge-
handed. Because of ths, a number of NATO members woud prefer to have a
European ony defence force organsed through the European Unon.
Euro-Atantc Partnershp Counc (EAPC)
The EAPC s a NATO nsttuton amed at mprovng reatons between NATO (28
members) and non-NATO members (22 countres), 50 members n tota. They
dscuss both potca and securty ssues. The EAPC s part of NATO's Partnershp for
Peace programme.
UN and NATO goba actvtes
Mdde East, Afghanstan and Persan Guf
Israe
The UN has made many attempts to brng peace to the Mdde East by sendng
observers and negotators, by passng resoutons and sendng soders to poce
ceasefres but the UN has no rea power to enforce a peace settement. The USA has
used ts Securty Counc veto to support Israe. It has aso tred to get a sdes to
agree to a 'roadmap' for peace.
Afghanstan
The roe of the UN has been mted to provdng humantaran ad; US-ed forces
defeated the Taban Government and destroyed A Oaeda bases.
NATO s now nvoved n Afghanstan through ts eadershp of the Internatona
Securty Assstance Force (ISAF). Ths foowed a UN mandate. The ISAF goa s to
brng a representatve government, peace and securty for the peope of ths war
torn country. The nternatona NATO force asssts Afghan authortes to stabse
and reconstruct the regon whe provdng securty and tranng to Afghan forces.
Ths s the frst msson outsde the Euro-Atantc area n NATOs hstory.
However, NATO members are not a wng to send troops to Afghanstan or for
them to be nvoved n dangerous operatons. The Brtsh force have suffered arge
number of casuates n Hemand Provnce, n southern Afghanstan, whe the
German and others refuse to send ther forces. Ths puts more pressure on other
NATO members to contnue to mantan troop eves. The reuctance of many NATO
governments to suppy renforcements for the aance's Afghan msson n the face
of an ongong nsurgency n the south has caused some to rase questons about
NATO's abty to sustan arge-scae operatons.
NATO seems to be shapng a new roe for tsef, one of mantanng goba securty.
Confrmaton of that was seen when t took command of the nternatona
peacekeepng force n Afghanstan n 2003. As the word becomes ncreasngy
aware of the goba terrorst threat, NATO offcas now say the aance must act to
counter that threat.
In 2009 US Presdent Obama announced the US woud be sendng an addtona
30000 US troops to Afghanstan brngng the tota of US troops partcpatng n ths
NATO ed msson to |ust under 100 000. He asked feow NATO members to aso
commt more forces. However, under pressure by US voters as the death to of US
casuates rses, Presdent Obama aso stated that US troops woud begn to
wthdraw from the area n 2011.
In eary 2010 NATO-ed forces aunched a ma|or offensve known as Operaton
Moshtarak. The am of ths msson s to secure government contro of southern
Hemand provnce.Afghanstan s very dangerous area as Taban forces do not want
to ose contro and NATO casuates contnue to rse due to the mpact of road sde
bombs. More than 1500 deaths from coaton forces snce 2003.
Iraq
The UN Securty Counc backed the use of force when Iraq took over Kuwat n
1991.The Amercan-ed Operaton Desert Storm freed Kuwat. In 2003, an
Amercan/Brtsh force nvaded Iraq to emnate weapons of mass destructon whch
were sad to be a threat to peace. Athough the USA camed t aready had UN
approva for acton aganst Iraq, many other countres dsagreed and refused to
pass a new Resouton supportng mtary acton. Dsputes between Germany,
France and the US over the 2003 nvason of Iraq caused one of the worst crses n
NATO hstory.
The campagn aganst Iraq n 2003 was ed by the USA wth Brtsh support. A
coaton of forces from dfferent countres, some of whch were NATO member
countres and some were not have been nvoved n tryng to stabse Iraq. The
aance tsef payed no part n the nvason athough most member countres dd.
Snce 2004, NATO has been nvoved n tranng, equppng, and technca assstance
to the Iraq Government and ts forces. The am of the msson s to hep Iraq bud
the capabty of ts Government to address the securty needs of the Iraq peope.
Ths s coordnated by the US ed mutnatona force and s known as NTM-I or NATO
Tranng Msson - Iraq.
Both the US and UK have wthdrawn combat troops from Iraq. Athough some US
troops reman n order to contnue to tran Iraq forces and offer advce and
expertse.
Afrca
Somaa
The USA sent n forces on behaf of the UN, to stop a cv war. They soon became
targets themseves and eft. The UN operaton was not successfu n brngng peace.
In contrast many NGOs (non-governmenta organsatons) remaned to provde ad.
Rwanda
In Rwanda a sma UN force tred to keep peace between the two man trbes, the
Hutus and the Tutss. In 1994, the Hutus attacked the Tutss. When the UN force
eft, 100,000s of Tutss were massacred. The ma|or powers such as the USA refused
to get nvoved by sendng troops, whch eft the UN poweress to stop the kng.
Darfur
Massacres and a huge refugee probem whch many bamed on groups supported
by the Sudan Government ed to cas for the UN to ntervene. However, t was not
abe to send forces nto the regon. The Afrcan Unon (AU) has been abe to carry
out some peacekeepng and NATO has heped wth ar transport.
In 2007 the UN Securty Counc approved a 26,000-strong peacekeepng force to
repace the 7,000 AU observer msson struggng to protect cvans n Sudan's
western provnce of Darfur. Lke any other UN msson t depends on nternatona
support from UN members. The combned UN- AU peacekeepng force w be better
equpped and wth a mandate to protect cvans and ad workers.
However, the resouton s not as strong as some Securty Counc members woud
have ked as t does not threaten sanctons f Sudan does not compy wth t.
Darfur's four-year confct has camed 200,000 ves and dspaced mons causng
ma|or probems for neghbourng countres ke Chad. More than 15 000 UN troops
reman n the area today.
Democratc Repubc of Congo (DRC)
The UN peacekeepng msson n the DRC s ts bggest and most expensve n the
word wth over 20 000 UN personne. The UN forces are tryng to secure an end to
the war and prevent further outbreaks of fghtng among government troops, mta
groups, rebe forces as we as troops from Rwanda. A sdes have reportedy
carred out atroctes aganst cvans. Ths current crss dates back to the 1994
confct n Rwanda nvovng two ethnc groups - the Hutus and the Tutss. When a
Tuts regme took contro n Rwanda the Hutus fed to nearby DRC.
The ongong confct has ead to a humantaran dsaster wth hundreds of
thousands now dspaced peope n neghbourng countres. Many refugees are
sufferng from starvaton and dsease n refugees camps set up by UNHCR.
The UN force has operated under a Chapter Seven mandate, the strongest avaabe
for a peacekeepng operaton - aowng t to protect both the cvan popuaton and
themseves. Gvng UN soders the rght to use a necessary means, eg etha
force. UN forces have been takng contro of severa towns n the regon. There s
concern that the confct w spread and nvove neghbourng countres. Some have
caed for the EU to send n forces nto the area.
Former Yugosava
Bosna
In the Bosnan cv war, the Serbs used "ethnc ceansng" to terrfy peope nto
eavng ther vages.
UN sanctons dd not stop the fghtng. The UN sent a force of soders (mosty
Brtsh or French) to protect ad convoys. UN offcas were reuctant to et them
open fre. Thousands of Musms were massacred.
Operatng as NATO rather than the UN, the USA, UK and France changed the
stuaton usng mtary force. Thousands of NATO troops were sent to keep the
peace n Bosna.
Today peacekeepng forces reman and are organsed by the EU, known as EUFOR.
Kosovo
NATO has been eadng a peacekeepng operaton n Kosovo snce 1999 n support
of nternatona efforts to bud peace and stabty n the regon and mantan a safe
and secure envronment for a ctzens, regardess of ther ethnc orgn.
At present, NATO-ed KFOR presence has 10 000 troops n Kosovo to guarantee
securty and stabty n what s known as a deterrent presence wth hopes of
contnung to graduay reduce troops.
Kosovo decared tsef ndependent n 2008 and foowng ths the UN Securty
Counc passed a resouton that a NATO ed force woud reman n the area.
Afrcan Unon
Was founded n 2002 and seeks to support both potca and economc ntegraton
among ts 53 member states, a sort of Unted States of Afrca approach. Its ams
ncude to further deveopment, eradcate poverty and hep brng Afrca nto the
goba economy however, t has faced crtcsm of beng not makng much progress
n these areas.
NATOs support to the Afrcan Unon started n 2005 wth assstance to the AU
Msson n Sudan. Ths was the Aances frst msson on the Afrcan contnent and
represents a andmark decson by the North Atantc Counc. Snce then, NATO has
commtted to support other AU mssons and ob|ectves ncudng supportng the AU
n Somaa and n the Darfur. NATO has supported the ASF (Afrcan Standby Force)
offerng operatona support and advce.
Taken out of context, the numbers are staggerng. The US has a tota debt pe of
amost $17 tron (10.6 tron), whch s expected to rse to amost $23tn n the
next fve years.
But how does that compare wth other ma|or economes?
|apan s not far behnd, wth current debts totang $11.5tn. By any standards,
these are bg, bg numbers.
And these countres are not aone - amost every ma|or goba economy has debts of
more than a tron doars, accordng to the Internatona Monetary Fund (IMF).
Tota government debt
But context s needed - after a, debt s not necessary a probem f you have the
ncome to cover t.
That s why the two most common measures used to gauge a naton's ndebtedness
are:
tota debt, as expressed as a percentage of tota economc output (GDP)
budget defct, the amount by whch a government's expenses exceed ts ncome,
expressed as a percentage of GDP
Some governments actuay run a surpus - n other words ther ncome exceeds
ther expenses. Runnng a surpus s one of the best ways to reduce overa eves of
debt.
Lookng at debt-to-GDP tes us that tota US debt s roughy equvaent to ts annua
economc output. It s by far the argest economy n the word, and has the argest
debt pe.
|apan s the word's thrd argest economy, but ts huge pe of debt s more than
doube ts GDP. The ony other country whose debts outstrp economc output s
Itay, athough a number of others come cose - namey the UK, France and Canada.
Even Germany, tradtonay seen as fscay responsbe, has a debt-to-GDP rato of
more than 80%.
Government debt as % of GDP
Much of ths debt has been accumuated over the ong term, but the numbers have
rocketed n recent years as governments have strugged to cope wth the 2008
fnanca crss and the subsequent recessons that have ravaged amost a ma|or
economes. Bankng baouts, economc stmuus measures and fang tax revenues
have a forced governments to borrow more.
For exampe, n 2007, the UK's debt pe was |ust 44% of GDP compared wth 88%
ast year. Ths refects n part the country's arge fnanca sector reatve to ts
overa economy. The US's debt-to-GDP rato n 2007 was 64%, the same as France
and Germany.
By contrast, the debt-to-GDP rato n Chna and Inda, whch have seen economc
sowdowns but no recesson, has not moved sgnfcanty over the past fve years,
nor s t set to deterorate n the next fve. Indeed n the case of Chna, t s set to fa
sgnfcanty.
The pcture esewhere s ess encouragng. The IMF estmates that Germany asde,
those countres wth hgh eves of ndebtedness w strugge to reduce debt eves
n the comng years.
The UK, where the government has made much of reducng debt eves, w actuay
see the debt rato edge towards 100% of GDP.
Government defcts
One reason for ths s governments' nabty to move from an annua defct to a
surpus. In other words, an nabty to ve wthn ther means.
The IMF estmates that ony Austraa and Chna of the word's 12 argest economes
w move nto surpus by 2018, whe Germany w ncrease ts surpus further.
Russa, t thnks, w move from a surpus to a defct.
However, most ma|or economes are expected to make good progress n reducng
ther defcts.
A chronoogy of key events:
Inda has been home to severa ancent cvsatons and empres, some datng back
to more than 2,000 BC. Cuture and regons have fourshed over the menna, and
foregn nfuence has ebbed and fowed.
1858 - Inda comes under drect rue of the Brtsh crown after faed Indan mutny.
1885 - Indan Natona Congress founded as forum for emergng natonast feeng.
Contnue readng the man story
Mahatma Gandh
Mahatma Gandh steered Inda to ndependence
Mahatma Gandh's fadng dream
BBC - Hstory - Hstorc Fgures Mohandas Gandh (1869 - 1948)
1920-22 - Natonast fgurehead Mahatma Gandh aunches ant-Brtsh cv
dsobedence campagn.
1942-43 - Congress aunches "Out Inda" movement.
1947 - End of Brtsh rue and partton of sub-contnent nto many Hndu Inda and
Musm-ma|orty state of Pakstan.
Newy ndependent
1947-48 - Hundreds of thousands de n wdespread communa boodshed after
partton.
1948 - Mahatma Gandh assassnated by Hndu extremst.
1948 - War wth Pakstan over dsputed terrtory of Kashmr.
1951-52 - Congress Party wns frst genera eectons under eadershp of |awahara
Nehru.
Regona tensons
1962 - Inda oses bref border war wth Chna.
1964 - Death of Prme Mnster |awahara Nehru.
Trans, Hyderabad
The ra network covers the ength and breadth of Inda
1965 - Second war wth Pakstan over Kashmr.
1966 - Nehru's daughter Indra Gandh becomes prme mnster.
1971 - Thrd war wth Pakstan over creaton of Bangadesh, formery East Pakstan.
1971 - Twenty-year treaty of frendshp sgned wth Sovet Unon.
1974 - Inda expodes frst nucear devce n underground test.
Democratc strans
1975 - Indra Gandh decares state of emergency after beng found guty of
eectora mapractce.
1975-1977 - Neary 1,000 potca opponents mprsoned and programme of
compusory brth contro ntroduced.
1977 - Indra Gandh's Congress Party oses genera eectons.
1980 - Indra Gandh returns to power headng Congress party spnter group,
Congress (Indra).
1984 - Troops storm Goden Tempe - Skhs' most hoy shrne - to fush out Skh
mtants pressng for sef-rue.
Indra Gandh (1971 pcture)
Indra Gandh served four terms as prme mnster
1984 - Indra Gandh assassnated by Skh bodyguards, foowng whch her son,
Ra|v, takes over.
1984 December - Gas eak at Unon Carbde pestcdes pant n Bhopa. Thousands
are ked mmedatey, many more subsequenty de or are eft dsabed.
1987 - Inda depoys troops for peacekeepng operaton n Sr Lanka's ethnc
confct.
1989 - Fang pubc support eads to Congress defeat n genera eecton.
1990 - Indan troops wthdrawn from Sr Lanka.
1990 - Musm separatst groups begn campagn of voence n Kashmr.
1991 - Ra|v Gandh assassnated by sucde bomber sympathetc to Sr Lanka's
Tam Tgers.
1991 - Economc reform programme begun by Prme Mnster PV Narasmha Rao.
1992 - Hndu extremsts demosh mosque n Ayodhya, trggerng wdespread Hndu-
Musm voence.
B|P to the fore
1996 - Congress suffers worst ever eectora defeat as Hndu natonast B|P
emerges as argest snge party.
1998 - B|P forms coaton government under Prme Mnster Ata Behar Va|payee.
Indan poce guard of honour, near Srnagar, Kashmr
Tensons over Kashmr brought Inda and Pakstan to war
1998 - Inda carres out nucear tests, eadng to wdespread nternatona
condemnaton.
1999 February - Va|payee makes hstorc bus trp to Pakstan to meet Premer
Nawaz Sharf and to sgn batera Lahore peace decaraton.
1999 May - Tenson n Kashmr eads to bref war wth Pakstan-backed forces n the
cy heghts around Karg n Indan-hed Kashmr.
1999 October - Cycone devastates eastern state of Orssa, eavng at east 10,000
dead.
Popuaton: 1 bon
2000 May - Inda marks the brth of ts bonth ctzen.
2000 - US Presdent B Cnton makes a groundbreakng vst to mprove tes.
2001 |anuary - Massve earthquakes ht the western state of Gu|arat, eavng at
east 30,000 dead.
2001 Apr - 16 Indan and three Bangadesh soders are ked n border cashes.
A hgh-powered rocket s aunched, propeng Inda nto the cub of countres abe to
fre bg satetes deep nto space.
2001 |uy - Va|payee meets Pakstan Presdent Pervez Musharraf n the frst summt
between the two neghbours n more than two years. It ends wthout a breakthrough
because of dfferences over Kashmr.
2001 September - US fts sanctons whch t mposed aganst Inda and Pakstan
after they staged nucear tests n 1998. The move s seen as a reward for ther
support for the US-ed ant-terror campagn.
Kashmr tensons rse
Indan soder, Sachen gacer, amd rased tensons n 2001
Dsputed Sachen, dubbed the word's hghest battefed
2001 October - Inda fres on Pakstan mtary posts n the heavest frng aong the
dvdng ne of contro n Kashmr for amost a year.
2001 December - Sucde squad attacks parament n New Deh, kng severa
poce. The fve gunmen de n the assaut.
2001 December - Inda mposes sanctons aganst Pakstan, to force t to take acton
aganst two Kashmr mtant groups bamed for the sucde attack on parament.
Pakstan retaates wth smar sanctons, and bans the groups n |anuary.
2001 December - Inda, Pakstan mass troops on common border amd mountng
fears of a oomng war.
2002 |anuary - Inda successfuy test-fres a nucear-capabe bastc msse - the
Agn - off ts eastern coast.
2002 February - Inter-regous boodshed breaks out after 59 Hndu pgrms
returnng from Ayodhya are ked n a tran fre n Godhra, Gu|arat. More than 1,000
peope, many Musms, de n subsequent voence. Poce and offcas bamed the
fre on a Musm mob, but a 2005 government nvestgaton sad t was an accdent.
In 2012 a court convcts 32 peope over the Naroda Patya rots n Ahmedabad.
2002 May - Pakstan test-fres three medum-range surface-to-surface Ghaur
msses, whch are capabe of carryng nucear warheads. War of words between
Indan and Pakstan eaders ntensfes. Actua war seems mmnent.
2002 |une - UK, US urge ther ctzens to eave Inda and Pakstan, whe mantanng
dpomatc offensve to avert war.
2002 |uy - Retred scentst and archtect of Inda's msse programme AP| Abdu
Kaam s eected presdent.
2003 August - At east 50 peope are ked n two smutaneous bomb basts n
Bombay.
Kashmr ceasefre
2003 November - Inda matches Pakstan's decaraton of a Kashmr ceasefre.
2003 December - Inda, Pakstan agree to resume drect ar nks and to aow
overfghts.
2004 |anuary - Groundbreakng meetng hed between government and moderate
Kashmr separatsts.
2004 May - Surprse vctory for Congress Party n genera eectons. Manmohan
Sngh s sworn n as prme mnster.
2004 September - Inda, aong wth Braz, Germany and |apan, aunches an
appcaton for a permanent seat on the UN Securty Counc.
2004 November - Inda begns to wthdraw some of ts troops from Kashmr.
Asan tsunam
Boatman and Goden Tempe, Amrtsar
The Goden Tempe at Amrtsar s a pace of pgrmage for Skh devotees
2004 December - Thousands are ked when tda waves, caused by a powerfu
undersea earthquake off the Indonesan coast, devastate coasta communtes n
the south and n the Andaman and Ncobar Isands.
2005 7 Apr - Bus servces, the frst n 60 years, operate between Srnagar n Indan-
admnstered Kashmr and Muzaffarabad n Pakstan-admnstered Kashmr.
2005 |uy - More than 1,000 peope are ked n foods and andsdes caused by
monsoon rans n Mumba (Bombay) and Maharashtra regon.
2005 October - An earthquake, wth ts epcentre n Pakstan-admnstered Kashmr,
ks more than 1,000 peope n Indan-admnstered Kashmr.
Bombs k 62 peope n Deh. A tte-known Kashmr group says t s behnd the
attacks.
2006 February - Inda's argest-ever rura |obs scheme s aunched, amed at ftng
around 60 mon fames out of poverty.
Nucear dea
2006 March - US and Inda sgn a nucear agreement durng a vst by US Presdent
George W Bush. The US gves Inda access to cvan nucear technoogy whe Inda
agrees to greater scrutny for ts nucear programme.
Indan farmers, Gu|arat
Mons of Indans depend on the farmng sector
14 peope are ked by bomb basts n the Hndu pgrmage cty of Varanas.
2006 May - Suspected Isamc mtants k 35 Hndus n the worst attacks n Indan-
admnstered Kashmr for severa months.
2006 11 |uy - More than 180 peope are ked n bomb attacks on rush-hour trans
n Mumba. Investgators bame Isamc mtants based n Pakstan.
2006 8 September - Exposons outsde a mosque n the western town of Maegaon
k at east 31 peope.
2006 November - Hu |ntao makes the frst vst to Inda by a Chnese presdent n a
decade.
2006 December - US Presdent George W Bush approves a controversa aw
aowng Inda to buy US nucear reactors and fue for the frst tme n 30 years.
Tran attack
2007 18 February - 68 passengers, most of them Pakstans, are ked by bomb
basts and a baze on a tran traveng from New Deh to the Pakstan cty of
Lahore.
2007 February - Inda and Pakstan sgn an agreement amed at reducng the rsk of
accdenta nucear war.
2007 March - Maost rebes n Chhattsgarh state k more than 50 pocemen n a
dawn attack.
2007 Apr - Inda's frst commerca space rocket s aunched, carryng an Itaan
satete.
2007 May - At east nne peope are ked n a bomb exposon at the man mosque
n Hyderabad. Severa others are ked n subsequent rotng.
2007 May - Government announces ts strongest economc growth fgures for 20
years - 9.4% n the year to March.
Frst woman presdent
2007 |uy - Pratbha Pat becomes frst woman to be eected presdent of Inda.
2008 |uy - Congress-ed coaton survves vote of confdence brought after eft-wng
partes wthdraw ther support over controversa nucear cooperaton dea wth US.
After the vote, severa eft-wng and regona partes form new aance to oppose
government, sayng t has been tanted by corrupton.
2008 |uy - Seres of exposons ks 49 n Ahmedabad, n Gu|arat state. The tte-
known group Indan Mu|ahdeen cams responsbty.
2008 October - Foowng approva by the US Congress, Presdent George W Bush
sgns nto aw a nucear dea wth Inda, whch ends a three-decade ban on US
nucear trade wth Deh.
Inda successfuy aunches ts frst msson to the moon, the unmanned unar probe
Chandrayaan-1.
Mumba attacks
Ta| Maha Hote on fre, Mumba 2008
The 2008 Mumba attacks were bamed on Pakstan gunmen
2008 November - Neary 200 peope are ked and hundreds n|ured n a seres of
co-ordnated attacks by gunmen on the man tourst and busness area of Inda's
fnanca capta Mumba. Inda bames mtants from Pakstan for the attacks and
demands that Isamabad act aganst those responsbe.
2008 December - Inda announces "pause" n peace process wth Pakstan. Indan
crcket team cances panned tour of Pakstan.
2009 February - Inda and Russa sgn deas worth $700m, accordng to whch
Moscow w suppy uranum to Deh.
2009 May - Resoundng genera eecton vctory gves governng Congress-ed
aance of PM Manmohan Sngh an enhanced poston n parament, ony 11 seats
short of an absoute ma|orty.
2009 |uy - Pakstan, Indan premers pedge to work together to fght terror
rrespectve of progress on mprovng broader tes.
A Deh court rues that homosexua ntercourse between consentng aduts s not
crmna, overturnng a 148-year-od coona aw.
2009 December - The government says t w aow a new state, Teangana, to be
carved out of part of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Voent protests for and
aganst break out.
2010 February - Bomb exposon n a restaurant popuar wth toursts n Pune, n the
western state of Maharashtra, ks 16 peope.
2010 May - The sove survvng gunman of the 2008 Mumba attacks, A|ma Amr
Oasab, s convcted of murder, wagng war on Inda and possessng exposves.
2010 |une - A court n Bhopa sentences eght Indans to two years each n |a for
"death by neggence" over the 1984 Unon Carbde gas pant eak. Thousands ded
n ths, the word's worst ndustra accdent.
Ayodha rung
2010 September - Aahabad Hgh Court rues that dsputed hoy ste of Ayodhya
shoud be dvded between Hndus and Musms; the destructon of a mosque on the
ste by Hndu extremsts n 1992 ed to rotng n whch about 2,000 peope ded.
2011 March - Resuts of 2011 census put Inda's popuaton at 1.21bn, an ncrease
of 181 mon over ten years.
Inda overtakes Chna to become the word's argest mporter of arms, accordng to
the Stockhom Internatona Peace Research Insttute.
Scentst VK Saraswat (2nd from rght) at press conference announcng ong-range
msse aunch
Inda tested ts ong-range Agn V msse n 2012
2011 August - Promnent soca actvst Anna Hazare stages 12-day hunger strke n
Deh n protest at state corrupton.
2011 November - Fourteen peope ncudng a government mnster go on tra n
one of Inda's bggest ever corrupton scandas - a teecoms dea aeged to have
nvoved the seng of mobe phone censes at knock-down prces n exchange for
brbes.
2012 |anuary - Threats by Isamc extremsts force Brtsh author Sr Saman Rushde
frst to cance hs vst to the prestgous |apur Lterary Festva, then to drop a vdeo
appearance. The extremsts ob|ect to hs book The Satanc Verses, whch s banned
n Inda.
2012 May - Manmohan Sngh pays frst offca vst to Burma by an Indan prme
mnster snce 1987. He sgns agreements amed at provdng border area
deveopment and an Indan credt ne.
2012 |une - Poce n Deh arrest a key fgure aegedy nvoved n pannng the
2008 Mumba attacks. They say Abu Hamza, aso known as Syed Zabuddn, was the
"hander" of the 10 gunmen.
2012 |uy - Pranab Mukher|ee from the rung Congress party s eected as presdent,
comfortaby beatng hs rva P.A. Sangma.
2012 August - Court convcts 32 peope over the 2002 regous rots n Gu|arat and
acquts 29 others. Among those convcted n the Naroda Patya kngs n
Ahmedabad are former state mnster Maya Kodnan and Babu Ba|rang, a former
eader of the mtant Hndu group Ba|rang Da.
2012 September - The West Benga eft-wng A Inda Trnamoo Congress
wthdraws from the coaton government over pans to aow foregn supermarket
gants to operate n Inda and cuts to fue subsdes. Prme Mnster Sngh says the
supermarket move s needed to ncrease foregn nvestment, despte wdespread
protests by shopkeepers.
2012 November - Mohammad A|ma Amr Oasab, the soe survvng gunman of the
2008 attacks n Mumba, s executed n Pune prson. The Supreme Court uphed hs
death sentence n August.
2013 February - Two exposons n crowded Dsukhnagar area of centra Hyderabad
k 16 peope. Poce suspect the Indan Mu|ahdeen Isamst armed group.
2013 March - Fve pocemen are ked n a mtant assaut n Indan-admnstered
Kashmr - the frst ma|or attack n the regon n three years.
2013 September - A court sentences four men to death for the gang rape and
murder of a student n Deh the prevous December - a case that ed to voent
protests across Inda and new aws aganst rape