2.8 National & International Organisations
Key Takeaways
- The United Nations was founded on 24 October 1945, is headquartered in New York, and has six principal organs including a Security Council of fifteen members, five of them permanent with veto power.
- The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund both emerged from the 1944 Bretton Woods conference and are headquartered in Washington DC.
- The World Trade Organization began on 1 January 1995 as successor to the GATT and is headquartered in Geneva.
- India is a founder member of the UN, SAARC, BRICS and the G20, and hosted the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi in 2023.
The United Nations System
The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 — observed annually as UN Day — with headquarters in New York. Its official languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
The six principal organs
| Organ | Seat | Note |
|---|---|---|
| General Assembly | New York | All member states, one vote each |
| Security Council | New York | 15 members: 5 permanent with veto (China, France, Russia, UK, USA) and 10 elected for two-year terms |
| Economic and Social Council | New York | Coordinates economic and social work |
| Trusteeship Council | New York | Suspended operation in 1994 |
| International Court of Justice | The Hague | The only principal organ not seated in New York |
| Secretariat | New York | Headed by the Secretary-General |
India is a founder member of the United Nations, having signed the Declaration by United Nations in 1942 and the Charter in 1945.
Specialised agencies and their headquarters
| Agency | Full name | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| WHO | World Health Organization | Geneva |
| ILO | International Labour Organization (founded 1919) | Geneva |
| UNESCO | Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | Paris |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | Rome |
| IMO | International Maritime Organization | London |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization | Montreal |
| IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency | Vienna |
| UNICEF | Children's Fund | New York |
| UNEP | Environment Programme | Nairobi |
| UNIDO | Industrial Development Organization | Vienna |
A useful memory anchor: the environment agency is the one in Nairobi, and the court is the one at The Hague.
Economic and Financial Institutions
| Body | Founded | Headquarters | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank | 1944 (Bretton Woods) | Washington DC | Long-term development lending |
| IMF | 1944 (Bretton Woods) | Washington DC | Balance-of-payments support, macro surveillance |
| WTO | 1 January 1995 | Geneva | Rules-based world trade; successor to GATT |
| Asian Development Bank | 1966 | Manila | Asia-Pacific development finance |
| AIIB | 2016 | Beijing | Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank |
| NDB | 2015 | Shanghai | New Development Bank, the BRICS bank |
| OPEC | 1960 | Vienna | Petroleum exporting countries |
| IEA | 1974 | Paris | Energy security and data; India is an association country |
The distinction between the World Bank and the IMF is a standard item: the World Bank lends for projects and long-term development, while the IMF addresses short-term balance-of-payments and monetary stability.
Regional and Plurilateral Groupings
| Grouping | Founded | Secretariat / note |
|---|---|---|
| SAARC | 1985, Dhaka declaration | Secretariat at Kathmandu; eight members |
| ASEAN | 1967 | Secretariat at Jakarta |
| BRICS | 2006 (as BRIC); South Africa joined 2010 | Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, with later expansion |
| SCO | 2001 | Shanghai Cooperation Organisation; secretariat Beijing; India became a full member in 2017 |
| G20 | 1999 | India held the presidency and hosted the Leaders' Summit in New Delhi in 2023 |
| QUAD | Revived 2017 | India, USA, Japan, Australia |
| BIMSTEC | 1997 | Bay of Bengal grouping; secretariat Dhaka |
| NATO | 1949 | Brussels; India is not a member |
| European Union | Maastricht Treaty 1993 | Brussels |
| Commonwealth | 1949 in present form | London |
| ISA | 2015 | International Solar Alliance, co-founded by India; headquarters Gurugram, India |
The International Solar Alliance deserves particular attention because it is headquartered in India and is directly relevant to the energy-transition themes that a coal-sector paper is likely to raise.
Principal Indian Institutions
Constitutional and statutory bodies
| Body | Basis | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Election Commission of India | Article 324 | Conducts elections |
| Comptroller and Auditor General | Article 148 | Audits government accounts |
| Union Public Service Commission | Article 315 | Central recruitment |
| Finance Commission | Article 280 | Recommends tax devolution, constituted every five years |
| Attorney General | Article 76 | Chief legal adviser to the Union |
| National Human Rights Commission | Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 | Statutory, not constitutional |
| NITI Aayog | Executive resolution, 2015 | Policy think tank replacing the Planning Commission |
A recurring trap: the Election Commission, CAG and UPSC are constitutional bodies, while the NHRC, Central Vigilance Commission and NITI Aayog are not.
Regulators
| Regulator | Sector |
|---|---|
| RBI (1935, Mumbai) | Monetary policy and banking |
| SEBI (statutory 1992, Mumbai) | Securities markets |
| IRDAI (Hyderabad) | Insurance |
| TRAI | Telecommunications |
| CERC | Central Electricity Regulatory Commission — tariffs for inter-state power |
| CPCB | Central Pollution Control Board, under MoEFCC |
| DGMS | Directorate General of Mines Safety, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment |
| BIS | Bureau of Indian Standards; national standards body |
DGMS is the single most relevant regulator for Coal India: it enforces the Mines Act, 1952 and the Coal Mines Regulations, 2017. Note that DGMS sits under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, not the Ministry of Coal — a distinction that makes a good objective item.
Coal India Limited itself operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Coal, and coal-block allocation and commercial mining auctions are conducted by that ministry.
Which principal organ of the United Nations is NOT headquartered in New York?
The World Trade Organization came into existence on 1 January 1995 as the successor to:
The Directorate General of Mines Safety, which enforces the Mines Act 1952, functions under which ministry?
The International Solar Alliance, co-founded by India, is headquartered at: