Finlandization

• Finlandization refers to the policy of strict neutrality between Moscow and the West that Finland followed during the decades of the Cold War.
• The principle of neutrality was rooted in the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance or YYA Treaty, that Finland signed with the USSR in April 1948.
• Article 1 of the treaty: In the eventuality of Finland, or the Soviet Union through Finnish territory, becoming the object of an armed attack by Germany or any state allied with the latter (meaning, essentially, the United States), Finland will, true to its obligations as an independent state, fight to repel the attack.
• In (these) cases, the Soviet Union will give Finland the help that it requires, subject to mutual agreement between the contracting parties.

Heatwave Climatology in India

• Post the winter solstice, maximum temperatures in India show a rising trend, starting from southern parts followed by central and northern India.
• The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) identifies the core heatwave zone spanning Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odhisha, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Assam Accord

• The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 by the Centre and the Assam government with the All Assam Student Union and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.
• March 24, 1971, was set as the cut-off date.
• Anyone who had come to Assam before midnight on that date would be an Indian citizen, while those who had come after would be dealt with as foreigners.
• The same cut-off was used in updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
• The 14-member committee, headed by the High Court judge Biplab Kumar Sarma, was constituted to define ‘Assamese People’ and institute safeguards for them.

Par Tapi Narmada river-linking Project

• The Par Tapi Narmada link project was envisioned under the 1980 National Perspective Plan under the former Union Ministry of Irrigation and the Central Water Commission (CWC).
• The project proposes to transfer river water from the surplus regions of the Western Ghats to the deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch.
• It proposes to link three rivers — Par, originating from Nashik in Maharashtra, Tapi from Saputara, and Narmada originating in Madhya Pradesh.
• The link mainly includes the construction of seven dams.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)

• The NPPA was set up in 1997 to fix/revise prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce price and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995-2013.
• Its mandate is to implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order in accordance with the powers delegated to it, to deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the NPPA, and to monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages and to take remedial steps.
• It is under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India.
• Prices of Scheduled Drugs are allowed an increase each year by the drug regulator in line with the WPI.