Background
India set up its diplomatic mission in Lagos in November 1958, about two years before Nigeria's independence in 1960, and the High Commission of India describes the relationship as having moved from historical friendship to strategic partnership. The two countries upgraded their ties to a strategic partnership in October 2007 during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's state visit, when the Abuja Declaration for Strategic Partnership and a bilateral defence cooperation memorandum of understanding were signed. Bilateral trade, on figures sourced to India's DGCIS, stood at US$7,893.30 million in 2023-24, down from US$14,954.75 million in 2021-22, mainly because of lower Nigerian oil purchases. The Indian community in Nigeria numbers about 50,000, including Indian nationals and Overseas Citizens of India cardholders, and is the largest Indian community in West Africa. On defence, India helped set up the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna and the Naval College in Port Harcourt; former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida trained in Indian military institutions, and Muhammadu Buhari attended the Defence Services Staff Course at Wellington in the 1970s. Later agreements include a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in outer space signed on 13 August 2020 and the e-Vidya Bharati and e-Arogya Bharati memorandum of September 2021.
Indian mission opened in Lagos:
November 1958
Strategic partnership:
October 2007, Abuja Declaration
Bilateral trade, 2023-24:
US$7,893.30 million
Bilateral trade, 2021-22:
US$14,954.75 million
Indian community in Nigeria:
about 50,000
Defence institutions India helped set up:
Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; Naval College, Port Harcourt
Why it matters for exams: The India-Nigeria relationship is asked through four hooks: the 1958 mission, the Abuja Declaration, the trade figure and the Indian community, with the Nigerian Defence Academy as the defence link.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OCI Overseas Citizen of India — A status granted to persons of Indian origin abroad, giving long-term residence and travel rights in India.
DGCIS Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics — The Indian agency whose figures are used for India's merchandise trade with other countries.
e-VBAB e-Vidya Bharati and e-Arogya Bharati — India's tele-education and tele-medicine network for African partner countries.
Background
Lakshadweep's strategic position in the Arabian Sea is what the Navy's own base at Minicoy is built on, as the Press Information Bureau release records.
INS Jatayu was commissioned at Minicoy Island on 6 March 2024 in the presence of Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, Lakshadweep Administrator Shri Praful K. Patel and Vice Admiral V. Srinivas, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command.
The unit is tied to a new naval base at Minicoy and functions under the operational control of the Naval Officer in Charge, Lakshadweep, Southern Naval Command.
Commander Vrat Baghel is the first Commanding Officer of the unit, and a 50-person Guard of Honour was presented at the ceremony.
A Maritime Operations Centre at Minicoy was inaugurated after the commissioning.
The release frames the base as adding capacity building, operational reach and sustainment in the region and as part of the SAGAR vision, and expects it to improve connectivity with the mainland.
Base:
INS Jatayu, Minicoy Island
Commissioned by:
Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff
Operational control:
Naval Officer in Charge, Lakshadweep, Southern Naval Command
First Commanding Officer:
Commander Vrat Baghel
Why it matters for exams: The name of the Minicoy base, the command it reports to and the full form of SAGAR are the three things a defence question on Lakshadweep usually turns on.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SAGAR Security and Growth for All in the Region — India's maritime policy vision for the Indian Ocean neighbourhood.
Southern Naval Command Southern Naval Command, Indian Navy — The Indian Navy's training command, headquartered at Kochi, which also controls the Lakshadweep naval presence.
Background
The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. These two organs vote simultaneously but separately, and a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies, which sometimes makes several rounds of voting necessary. To ensure a degree of continuity, one third of the Court is elected every three years, and judges elected at a triennial election commence their term of office on 6 February of the following year. The Court then holds a secret ballot to elect a President and a Vice-President to hold office for three years. Candidates are proposed not by governments but by national groups of the members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration; each group may propose up to four candidates, no more than two of whom may be of its own nationality. The Court may not include more than one national of the same State, and as a whole must represent the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague, making it the only one of the six principal organs of the United Nations not located in New York.
Judges on the Court:
15
Term of office:
Nine years
Elected every three years:
One third of the Court
Term begins:
6 February
Seat:
Peace Palace, the Hague
Why it matters for exams: The size of the bench, the double election by the Assembly and the Council, and the Hague seat are standard one-mark questions on international institutions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ICJ International Court of Justice — The United Nations court that settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions.
Permanent Court of Arbitration Permanent Court of Arbitration — A separate Hague body whose national groups nominate candidates for the ICJ bench.
16 October 2026
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu nominated new commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission to fill vacancies created by expiring tenures, in a State House statement issued on 16 October 2026 by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy. Professor Mustapha Aliu is nominated as national commissioner for the North West, replacing Professor Abdullahi Zuru. Bashir Muhammed Umar is nominated for the North Central, replacing Professor Muhammad Adamu. Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, currently Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun, is nominated as South West national commissioner in place of Professor Cornelius Ajayi, whose tenure expires on 24 October. Dr Bala Bila is reappointed as national commissioner for the North East. Dr Samuel Akinjide Akinleye, a retired permanent secretary, is nominated Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ekiti State, and Zahradden Basiru Sanusi from Jigawa replaces Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura. The statement said the Senate will scrutinise all the nominees and that the President urged it to expedite confirmation in view of the forthcoming general elections next January.
National commissioner slots filled:
4
Resident Electoral Commissioner slots:
2
Reappointed national commissioner:
Dr Bala Bila (North East)
Tenure expiry of Professor Cornelius Ajayi:
24 October
Why it matters for exams: Nigeria's election commission is a standard comparison with India's Election Commission, and the names, zones and Senate confirmation route are the details examiners pick up.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
INEC Independent National Electoral Commission — Nigeria's federal election management body, whose chairman and national commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
REC Resident Electoral Commissioner — The INEC officer who heads the commission's work in a single Nigerian state.
16 October 2026
Eight countries launched plans with the World Bank Group in Bangkok to turn their mineral resources into jobs and economic growth. The eight are Argentina, Bolivia, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Mauritania and Zambia. India and Argentina entered partnerships, while Bolivia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Mauritania and Zambia announced compacts; the World Bank Group calls the framework Metals and Minerals Country Compacts and Partnerships. India's partnership aims to mobilise US$5 billion in capital through 2031. Kazakhstan's aims to mobilise up to $20 billion by 2031, Egypt is targeting a 6 per cent minerals contribution to GDP by 2030 and $9.8 billion in metals and minerals-related exports by 2040, and Zambia is targeting annual copper production of 3 million metric tonnes by 2031 under its Grow Zambia Agenda. The World Bank Group said it would increase its metals and minerals support fivefold, to $19 billion between FY26 and FY30. Dr. Neelkanth Mishra, Executive Director of the World Bank Group representing Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka, spoke at the launch.
Number of countries:
8
India's target:
mobilize US$5 billion in capital through 2031
World Bank Group support:
fivefold increase to $19 billion between FY26 and FY30
Launch venue:
Bangkok
Zambia's copper target:
3 million metric tonnes a year by 2031
Why it matters for exams: Critical minerals diplomacy is a live theme, and India's place in a World Bank country-compact framework with named dollar targets is directly examinable.
UPSCBank
In plain words
Mining Country Compacts Mining Country Compacts — World Bank Group arrangements under which a country sets out a plan to convert its mineral resources into jobs and growth.
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency — The World Bank Group member that offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement to investors.
16 October 2026
INTERPOL and the World Health Organization signed a cooperation agreement to tackle threats at the intersection of public health and security. The joint news release was issued from Geneva and Lyon. The agreement establishes a framework to combine INTERPOL's law enforcement expertise with WHO's public health leadership to prevent, detect and respond to risks worldwide. It focuses on exceptional situations needing coordinated health and security action, including incidents involving the suspected misuse of chemical or radioactive materials and unusual biological events, whether naturally occurring, accidental or deliberate. The two organizations will also coordinate around major international events and mass gatherings. A second area is tackling the trafficking of persons for the purpose of organ removal and the illegal trade in human organs, tissues and cells. The agreement further addresses illicit production and trade in goods affecting public health, including falsified medical products such as medicines, vaccines and medical devices, counterfeit personal protective equipment, unsafe or fraudulently labelled food and drink, and illegally produced alcohol. Cooperation will also support implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza and WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus were quoted in the release. INTERPOL has 196 member countries and WHO works in 150 or more locations.
Organizations:
INTERPOL and the World Health Organization
Datelines:
Geneva and Lyon
INTERPOL member countries:
196
INTERPOL Secretary General:
Valdecy Urquiza
Treaty supported:
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Why it matters for exams: INTERPOL's membership figure, its headquarters at Lyon and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are all frequently asked institutional facts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
INTERPOL International Criminal Police Organization — The world's largest international police organization, with 196 member countries and its headquarters at Lyon.
WHO FCTC WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control — The first treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization, aimed at reducing tobacco use.
16 October 2026
Less than a month before the UN climate conference COP31 opens in Antalya, Turkiye, representatives of three successive summit presidencies met at UN Headquarters on how to restore trust in climate action. General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman opened the high-level meeting, citing the devastation in Nepal, and said this year's strengthening El Nino could be among the strongest since at least 1950 while the world is on its way to warming by 2.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels under current policies, far beyond the Paris Agreement's goals. Turkiye will host the conference from 9 to 20 November, and among its key initiatives is the Climate Implementation Bridge, developed with the UN Development Programme, to turn national climate commitments into investment-ready projects. Turkiye's Ambassador to the UN, Ahmet Yildiz, said the issue is not simply the volume of finance but whether finance is available, accessible, affordable and predictable. Australia is leading the COP31 negotiations under an arrangement in which two countries share responsibility for the summit; Australian Ambassador James Larsen called for more accessible climate financing. Brazil, which hosted COP30, set out three priorities for Antalya: making the new just transition mechanism operational, improving how countries measure progress on adaptation, and expanding climate investment in developing countries struggling with debt. Ethiopia, which will host COP32, noted that Africa contributes only around three per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. World leaders are expected to gather for a special summit in Antalya on 11 and 12 November.
COP31 venue:
Antalya, Turkiye
Conference dates:
9 to 20 November
Leaders' special summit:
11 and 12 November, Antalya
Warming under current policies:
2.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
COP32 host:
Ethiopia
Why it matters for exams: COP venues, the host-and-president split between Turkiye and Australia, and the 2.8 degree warming projection are all directly examinable climate facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Climate Implementation Bridge Climate Implementation Bridge — A COP31 initiative developed with UNDP to turn national climate commitments into investment-ready projects and connect them with financing.
16 October 2026
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to governments, businesses and communities to accelerate action to protect biodiversity. He was speaking in Yerevan, Armenia, at the Leaders' Summit ahead of the opening of the COP17 UN biodiversity conference. He said more than a million species face the risk of extinction. On the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed four years ago, he said nearly 90 per cent of parties have established national biodiversity targets and more than half have developed national road maps, and that since 2022 an additional 1.3 million square kilometres of land and six million square kilometres of ocean have received formal protection. Even if countries fulfil current commitments, however, only 26 per cent of terrestrial ecosystems and 12 per cent of marine ecosystems would be protected by 2030, well short of the Framework's goal of conserving 30 per cent of the world's land and sea. He said biodiversity financing is less than half the 200 billion dollars agreed under the Framework, that for every dollar invested in protecting nature 30 dollars is spent on activities that damage it, and that in 2023 7.3 trillion dollars flowed into nature-negative industries. Meeting global biodiversity, climate and land-restoration goals would require annual investment in nature-based solutions to reach 571 billion dollars by 2030, about 0.5 per cent of global gross domestic product. He welcomed the Yerevan Declaration and pointed to the Cali Fund as a mechanism for private sector contributions.
Venue of the Leaders' Summit:
Yerevan, Armenia
Species at risk of extinction:
more than a million
Projected protection by 2030:
26 per cent of terrestrial and 12 per cent of marine ecosystems
Framework finance goal:
200 billion dollars
Flow into nature-negative industries in 2023:
7.3 trillion dollars
Required annual nature investment by 2030:
571 billion dollars, about 0.5 per cent of global GDP
Why it matters for exams: The Kunming-Montreal Framework's 30 by 30 target and its 200 billion dollar finance goal are standard environment questions, and COP17's venue is a likely factual question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
COP17 Seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity — The biodiversity conference of parties, held in Yerevan, Armenia, which reviews progress on the Kunming-Montreal Framework.
Cali Fund Cali Fund — A UN-backed fund through which companies that benefit from nature can help finance its protection.
16 October 2026
The UN Children's Fund said that a little over one year since a ceasefire agreement was announced between Hamas fighters and Israel, more than 340 children have been reported killed in Gaza and hundreds more injured. Spokesperson Ricardo Pires told journalists in Geneva that in the last two weeks in Gaza alone five boys and two girls were reported killed and at least 33 children seriously injured in airstrikes, drone strikes and gunfire across the Strip, while another two boys died of injuries sustained earlier. According to UNICEF, 800,000 children remain displaced in Gaza and most live in tents or bombed-out buildings. An estimated 60,000 children have seen either one or both parents killed during the war or since the ceasefire, and nearly every child needs some form of mental health support. UNICEF has helped more than 560,000 children return to learning since the ceasefire, including at over 200 UNICEF-supported learning centres, has provided digital cash assistance to more than 380,000 people and safe water to 1.2 million people. Mr. Pires warned that the Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin is half-full and that with winter rains approaching contaminated water could overflow into downstream residential areas.
Children reported killed since the ceasefire:
more than 340
Children still displaced:
800,000
Children who lost one or both parents:
an estimated 60,000
Children helped back to learning:
more than 560,000
UNICEF spokesperson:
Ricardo Pires
Why it matters for exams: UNICEF's figures on displaced and orphaned children are the kind of agency-sourced data that questions on humanitarian crises rely on.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund — The UN agency responsible for children's welfare, education, nutrition and protection worldwide.
16 October 2026
The UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine verified that at least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 injured in September, 85 per cent more than in September 2025. Casualties were recorded across 22 regions and the city of Kyiv, where civilians were killed or injured on 22 of the month's 30 days, more often than in any month since the start of the full-scale invasion. On the night of 6 to 7 October a cruise missile and drone attack killed 22 civilians and injured 45 in Pryluky, Chernihiv region. Danielle Bell, head of the monitoring mission, said the first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years. On 13 and 14 October strikes hit multiple energy facilities including Kyiv's three main power stations, temporarily leaving 600,000 people in the capital without electricity, according to Ukrainian authorities. The International Organization for Migration said some 1.45 million returnees now live in frontline districts, that during the last cold season only 32 per cent of households could heat their homes adequately, and that around 2.1 million older people live alone in apartment buildings. Less than seven per cent of IOM's crisis response plan for Ukraine this year has been funded. Separately, the eighth localised ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency began on Thursday to allow repairs to a damaged backup transformer at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.
Civilians killed in September:
at least 328
Civilians injured in September:
2,105
Rise over September 2025:
85 per cent
Kyiv residents left without power:
600,000
Monitoring mission head:
Danielle Bell
Why it matters for exams: The UN human rights monitoring mission's verified casualty figures and the IAEA's localised ceasefires around Zaporizhzhya are the measurable facts examiners use on this conflict.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IOM International Organization for Migration — The UN agency for migration, which assists displaced people and returnees.
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency — The UN-linked nuclear watchdog, which has brokered localised ceasefires for repairs at the Zaporizhzhya plant.
13 October 2026
The World Bank Group said it is expanding support for government and regional efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak. To date the Group has committed 426.6 million dollars to the overall Ebola emergency response, through a combination of existing and new grant and concessional financing. The expansion includes two new tranches: 80 million dollars to reinforce the national response of the Democratic Republic of Congo and 13 million dollars to help neighbouring countries and regional institutions through the Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience programme. In the DRC the additional 80 million dollars will strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, clinical case management, infection prevention and control, and community engagement. Detection timelines have improved from 10 days at the start of the outbreak to one to two days by September 2026. The project has delivered 104 Radione diagnostic platforms and 70,000 tests for Bundibugyo Virus Disease, supplied 340 tons of medicines and medical equipment, and financed vehicles for epidemiological surveillance. Financing will help sustain maternal and child health services in Ituri, the epicentre of the disease. Across the region the 13 million dollars will strengthen preparedness in 11 countries and will enable the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to intensify technical support and cross-country coordination. In Uganda the government, with the World Bank Group and other partners, officially declared the outbreak over on July 28, 2026. Albert Zeufack, World Bank Division Director for the Democratic Republic of Congo, was quoted in the release.
Total committed:
426.6 million dollars
New tranche for the DRC:
80 million dollars
New regional tranche:
13 million dollars for 11 countries
Detection timeline:
from 10 days to one or two days by September 2026
Supplies delivered:
104 Radione diagnostic platforms, 70,000 tests, 340 tons of medicines and equipment
Uganda outbreak declared over:
July 28, 2026
Why it matters for exams: The World Bank's HEPRR programme and the measurable fall in detection time from 10 days to one or two days are the kind of concrete development-finance facts examiners like.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
HEPRR Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience — A World Bank programme that finances disease surveillance, laboratories and cross-border health security.
IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development — An eight-country regional bloc in the Horn of Africa and East Africa.
2 October 2026
Saudi Arabia has granted Nigeria 10,000 additional Hajj slots for 2027, increasing the country's total allocation from 50,000 to 60,000. The Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Ismail Yusuf, announced the figures at the General Assembly of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Abuja. Of the 10,000 additional slots, 7,500 go to State Muslim Pilgrims' Welfare Boards, agencies and commissions, and 2,500 go to seven lead licensed tour operators. Yusuf urged intending pilgrims to register early so that Nigeria's arrangements align with Saudi Arabia's digitised Hajj systems.
New total allocation:
60,000
Previous allocation:
50,000
Additional slots granted:
10,000
Share to state boards, agencies and commissions:
7,500
Share to lead licensed tour operators:
2,500 (seven operators)
Why it matters for exams: Hajj quotas are set country by country, and the Nigerian commission that administers them is the named body in questions comparing Nigeria's arrangements with India's Haj Committee.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
NAHCON National Hajj Commission of Nigeria — The federal body that regulates and organises the Hajj pilgrimage for Nigerian pilgrims.