The UN system and its principal organs and specialised agencies, the IMF, World Bank and WTO, the regional groupings (SAARC, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, SCO, QUAD, BRICS, G20), and India's membership and headquarters
International organisations are the single largest source of CAPF current-events questions, because they are durable: the membership, headquarters, and founding year do not change with the news cycle. Learn the UN system (the six principal organs and the main specialised agencies), the Bretton Woods and trade trio (IMF, World Bank, WTO), and the regional and plurilateral groupings (SAARC, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, SCO, QUAD, BRICS, G20). For each, the exam most often tests the full form, the headquarters, the founding year, and whether India is a member. Membership lists and rotating hosts or chairs are the parts that change, so verify the latest where flagged.
The UN was founded in 1945 (the Charter signed at San Francisco; UN Day is 24 October). It has six principal organs.
| Organ | Seat / note | India link |
|---|---|---|
| General Assembly (UNGA) | New York | All members; one state, one vote |
| Security Council (UNSC) | New York | 5 permanent (P5: US, UK, France, Russia, China) plus 10 elected; India is a recurring non-permanent member and seeks permanent reform |
| Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) | New York | Coordinates economic and social work |
| Secretariat | New York; headed by the Secretary-General | Verify the current Secretary-General |
| International Court of Justice (ICJ) | The Hague, Netherlands | The UN's principal judicial organ; 15 judges |
| Trusteeship Council | New York; suspended operations in 1994 | Largely dormant |
The P5 each hold a veto. India is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping, a recurring current-affairs and CAPF security point.
| Body | Headquarters | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| WHO (World Health Organization) | Geneva | Health |
| ILO (International Labour Organization) | Geneva | Labour standards |
| UNHCR (refugees) | Geneva | Refugees |
| WTO (World Trade Organization) | Geneva | Trade rules |
| UNESCO | Paris | Education, science, culture, World Heritage |
| FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) | Rome | Food and agriculture |
| WFP (World Food Programme) | Rome | Food aid |
| IFAD (agricultural development) | Rome | Rural poverty |
| IMF and World Bank | Washington, D.C. | Finance and development |
| IAEA (atomic energy) | Vienna | Nuclear safeguards |
| UNIDO (industrial development) | Vienna | Industry |
| ICAO (civil aviation) | Montreal | Aviation |
| IMO (maritime) | London | Shipping |
| UNICEF | New York | Children |
| UNDP | New York | Development; publishes the HDI |
| UNEP (environment) | Nairobi | Environment |
| UPU (postal union) | Bern | Post |
Memory aid: Geneva (health, labour, trade, refugees), Rome (the food cluster: FAO, WFP, IFAD), Vienna (IAEA, UNIDO), New York (UNICEF, UNDP), Paris (UNESCO).
| Body | Founded | Headquarters | India a member |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Monetary Fund (IMF) | 1944 (Bretton Woods) | Washington, D.C. | Yes (founding member) |
| World Bank Group | 1944 | Washington, D.C. | Yes (founding member) |
| World Trade Organization (WTO) | 1995 (succeeded GATT, 1947) | Geneva | Yes (founding member, 1995) |
The World Bank Group's main arms include the IBRD and IDA (lending), IFC (private sector), MIGA (guarantees), and ICSID (investment disputes). The IMF publishes the World Economic Outlook; the World Bank publishes development data.
| Grouping | Founded | Headquarters / seat | India a member | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAARC (South Asian) | 1985 | Kathmandu, Nepal | Yes (founding) | 8 members; largely stalled |
| ASEAN (Southeast Asian) | 1967 | Jakarta, Indonesia | No (India is a dialogue partner) | India's "Act East" anchor |
| BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal) | 1997 | Dhaka, Bangladesh | Yes | Bay-of-Bengal cooperation; security and connectivity |
| SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) | 2001 | Beijing, China | Yes (full member, 2017) | Eurasian security bloc; counter-terror focus |
| BRICS | 2006 (first summit 2009) | No fixed secretariat | Yes (founding) | Emerging economies; runs the New Development Bank (Shanghai) |
| G20 | 1999 (leaders' summits from 2008) | No permanent secretariat | Yes | India hosted a G20 summit (2023) |
| QUAD (Quadrilateral) | Revived 2017 | No secretariat | Yes | India, US, Japan, Australia; Indo-Pacific security |
| G7 | 1975 | No permanent secretariat | No (India is invited as a guest) | Advanced economies |
Security angle for CAPF: the SCO carries a strong counter-terrorism mandate through its Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS); the QUAD is an Indo-Pacific security and maritime grouping; BIMSTEC links India's neighbourhood and Act East policy. These three are the groupings most likely to appear with a security framing.
| Body | Note |
|---|---|
| New Development Bank (NDB) | The BRICS bank; headquartered in Shanghai; India is a founding member |
| Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) | Headquartered in Beijing; India is a leading member and borrower |
| Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) | Indian Ocean economic cooperation; secretariat in Mauritius |
| Commonwealth | India is a member; secretariat in London |
| NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) | India a founding mover; no fixed headquarters |
| OPEC | Oil exporters; Vienna; India is not a member but a major buyer |