1) East Asia Summit: EAS is the Indo-Pacific’s premier forum for strategic dialogue. It is the only leader-led forum at which all key Indo-Pacific partners meet to discuss political, security and economic challenges facing the region. Australia participated, as a founding member, in the inaugural EAS held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 December 2005.
- The EAS has 18 members – the ten ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.
- ASEAN leads the forum, and the chair position rotates between ASEAN Member States annually. In 2021 EAS members represented 53.1 per cent of the world’s population and accounted for 59.5 per cent of global GDP.
2) Patan Patola scarf: The ancient art of double ikat or Patola woven in pure silk dates back to the 11th century. The Patola fabrics bear an equal intensity of colours and design on both sides.
- This peculiar quality has its origins in an intricate and difficult technique of dyeing or knot dyeing, known as ‘bandhani’, on the warp and weft separately before weaving.
- One of the major practitioners of the dwindling art form is the Salvi family from Gujarat.
- Patola is woven on primitive hand-operated harness looms made out of rosewood and bamboo strips. The loom lies on a slant.
3) MOSCOW TALKS: The Moscow format — one of the several dialogue platforms on Afghanistan — which began before the Taliban takeover of Kabul, consists of Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and India.
- The participants discussed issues related to Afghanistan. These include 1) the current humanitarian situation and the ongoing efforts of various stakeholders to provide assistance, 2) intra-Afghan talks, 3) the formation of an inclusive and representative government and 4) efforts to counter threats of terrorism and ensure regional security.
4) Carbon Border Adjustment Tax: It is a duty on imports based on the amount of carbon emissions resulting from the production of the product in question. As a price on carbon, it discourages emissions. As a trade-related measure, it affects production and exports.
- The European Union has proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism — to tax products such as cement and steel, that are extremely carbon intensive, with effect from 2026.
- BASIC, a group constituting Brazil, India, South Africa and China, and therefore large economies that are significantly dependent on coal, has reiterated their right to use fossil fuel in the interim during their countries’ eventual transformation to clean energy sources.
5) Nostro Account: it is an account held by a bank in another bank. It allows the customers to deposit money in the bank’s account in another bank. It is often used if a bank has no branches in a foreign country. Nostro is a Latin word that means “ours”.
- A Nostro account is a Vostro account for the bank that opens the account. The Vostro account accepts the payments on behalf of the account holder’s bank.
Nostro and Vostro accounts are held in a foreign denomination. Vostro accounts enable domestic banks to provide international banking services to their clients who have global banking needs.
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