Relevance IN - Prelims (about India- Nepal relations) + Mains (GS II Bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• The Govt. of India has constructed Girls' Hostel for Nepal Armed Police Force School, Kirtipur.

• Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) School is an academic institution created under the APF Welfare Service Centre of Nepal Armed Police Force. The school was established in 2005 and it has over 21 per cent of girls students.
• The new infrastructure constructed with the Government of India's grant assistance of 40.42 million Nepali Rupees is a two-storied girls' hostel. It comprises 32 rooms including a dormitory, warden room, bathroom, sanitation facilities for girls on each floor and furniture.
• The newly built infrastructure is expected to boost the learning environment of students. Government of India is happy to be associated with the project which complements the effort of the Government of Nepal in augmenting infrastructure in the field of education.

• Kisan Diwas or National Farmers' Day is observed across India on December 23.

• The day honours Chaudhary Charan Singh, the 5^th Prime Minister of India whose was born on this day.
• It was in the year 2001, the Government of India decided to observe December 23 every year as Kisan Diwas.
• During his tenure as the Prime Minister of India from July 1979 to January 1980, Chaudhary Charan Singh introduced a slew of policies to improve the lives and conditions of farmers in the country.
• He also played a leading role in the agricultural sector of the country by introducing bills for farmers' reforms.
• Farmers are considered to be the backbone of India's economic development.
• Kisan Diwas is being celebrated every year to promote awareness among people about the importance of the farmers to the society and overall economic and social development of the country.

• The UK is due to leave the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal was passed by MPs.

• Brexit - British exit - refers to the UK leaving the EU.

• The EU is an economic and political union involving 28 European countries. It allows free trade and free movement of people, to live and work in whichever country they choose.
• The UK joined in 1973 (when it was known as the European Economic Community). If the UK leaves, it would be the first member state to withdraw from the EU.

• A public vote - or referendum - was held on Thursday 23 June 2016, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain.
• Leave won by 52% to 48%. The referendum turnout was very high at 72%, with more than 30 million people voting - 17.4 million people opting for Brexit.

• Brexit was originally due to happen on 29 March 2019. That was two years after then Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 - the formal process to leave - and kicked off negotiations.
• Under Mrs May, the deadline was delayed twice after MPs rejected her Brexit deal - eventually pushing it to 31 October 2019.
• Despite negotiating a revised deal, Mr Johnson missed the latest deadline, after MPs failed to pass it into law.
• The EU then agreed to a further extension until 31 January 2020.

• The main sticking point for many Conservative MPs and the DUP (the government's ally in Parliament at the time) was the Irish backstop.
• The backstop was designed to ensure there would be no border posts or barriers between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.
• If it had been needed, the backstop would have kept the UK in a close trading relationship with the EU and avoided checks altogether.
• But many MPs were critical. They said if the backstop was used, the UK could be trapped in it for years. This would prevent the country from striking trade deals with other countries.
• After MPs rejected the deal for a third time, Mrs May resigned as prime minister.
  
  

• After winning the Conservative leadership contest, Mr Johnson took over as PM in July 2019 and set about renegotiating Mrs May's deal.
• Mr Johnson succeeded in replacing the backstop with new customs arrangements.
• Unlike the previous deal, the revised one will allow the UK to sign and implement its own trade agreements with countries around the world.
• However, the revised deal effectively creates a customs and regulatory border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
• This means some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain would be subject to checks and pay EU import taxes (known as tariffs).
• These would be refunded if goods remain in Northern Ireland (ie are not moved to the Republic of Ireland).

• Assuming the European Parliament also gives the green light, the UK will formally leave the EU on 31 January with a withdrawal deal.
• However, this would only mark the next step in the Brexit process. Following its departure, the UK will enter a transition period until 31 December 2020.
• During this period, the UK's trading relationship with the EU will remain the same while the two sides negotiate a free trade deal.
• At the same time, many other aspects of the UK's future relationship with the EU - including law enforcement, data sharing and security - will need to be agreed.

• The United Kingdom, also called the U.K., consists of a group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe.
• It is a unique country made up of four nations: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. England, Wales, and Scotland also make up Great Britain.
  
  

International Affairs/Prelims Factoids
West African countries to rename CFA franc to cut some ties with 'colonial relic'

Relevance IN - Prelims (about CFA franc + about eco + about west African countries)
What's the NEWS

• Eight West African countries agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco
• West Africa's monetary union has agreed with France to rename its common currency from CFA franc to Eco and cut some of the financial links with Paris that have underpinned the region's common currency since its creation after the Second World War.

Know! more about the deal

• Under the deal, the Eco will remain pegged to the euro but the African countries in the bloc won't have to keep 50 per cent of their reserves in the French Treasury and there will no longer be a French representative on the currency union's board.
• Critics of the CFA have long seen it as a relic from colonial times while proponents of the currency say it has provided financial stability in a sometimes turbulent region.
• The CFA is used in 14 African countries with a combined population of about 150 million and $235 billion (£181bn) of gross domestic product.
• However, the changes will only affect the West African form of the currency used by Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo - all former French colonies except Guinea Bissau.
• The six countries using the Central African CFA are Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon - all former French colonies with the exception of Equatorial Guinea.

More about CFA franc

• The West African CFA franc which is used in 8 West African countries, and ‘Central African CFA franc', which is used in 6 Central African countries.
• Both currencies are guaranteed by French treasury and was created in 1945.
• The currency was seen by many as a sign of French interference in its former African colonies even after countries became independent.
  
  

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