The 10 Richest Nations In The World

The 2008 global financial crisis slowed overall global economic growth for a number of years, however, some countries never felt the impact as hard. Instead, their GDP levels stabilized and per capita income increased. These top 10 richest countries have done well in the past decade and their fortunes improve with each passing year.

#10. Austria

Maa Gange

Bhagirathi is the source stream of Ganga. It emanates from Gangotri Glacier at Gaumukh at an elevation of 3, 892 m (12,770 feet). Many small streams comprise the headwaters of Ganga. The important among these are Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhilangana. At Devprayag, where Alaknanda joins Bhagirathi, the river acquires the name Ganga. It traverses a course of 2525 km before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. It has a large number of tributaries joining it during this journey.  In Uttarakhand, Tehri dam has been built on Bhagirathi for hydropower generation resulting in regulated additional water discharge during the dry months. At Haridwar, Ganga opens to the Gangetic Plains, where a barrage diverts a large quantity of its waters into the Upper Ganga Canal, to provide water for irrigation. At Bijnore, another barrage diverts water into the Madhya Ganga Canal but only during monsoon months. At Narora, there is further diversion of water into the Lower Ganga Canal.  Further down, River Ramganga joins Ganga near Kannauj, adding additional water to the river. Yamuna confluences Ganga at the Sangam in Allahabad, making a major contribution to the river flow. Beyond Allahabad, Ganga is joined by several tributaries, most of which are from the north and a few from the south. In the stretch between Allahabad in U.P. and Malda in West Bengal, Ganga, therefore, has considerable flow. The Farakka barrage in West Bengal regulates the flow of the river, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linking Hooghly to keep it relatively silt-free.Downstream of this barrage, River Ganga splits,into two, Bhagirathi (Hooghly) on the right and Padma on the left. Bhagirathi (Hooghly) meets the Bay of Bengal about 150 km downstream of Kolkata. Padma enters Bangladesh and meets river Brahmputra and Meghna before finally joining the Bay of Bengal.

Sources:http://nmcg.nic.in/courseofganga.aspx

China's Two-Front Diplomacy: 'Go West' and 'Leap East'

China is expanding ties to its west as well as eastward across the Pacific Ocean.

Since President Xi Jinping took his office, there’s been a new atmosphere around several domestic issues, from the public’s livelihood to anti-corruption and institutional reforms of state organizations. Meanwhile, China’s foreign policy has also shifted, taking on a more proactive stance. In my view, China’s recent diplomatic outreaches can be grouped into two major categories: “Go West” and” Leap East.”

First, “Go West” emphasizes the plan for “a belt and a road” (referring to the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the 21st century “Maritime Silk Road”). This strategy is significant; China will need to build this “belt and road” to realize a “community of common interests” or “community of common destiny” with China’s western neighbors, other Central Asian countries, and the Arab world. The Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road are essential to enhancing and securing reciprocal economic cooperation between China and the regions to China’s west. This strategy also highlights China’s interest in economic integration with these neighboring regions.

As President Xi Jinping put it, “a belt and a road” are “the path to mutual benefit and win-win [cooperation].” Two facts support this “Go West” strategy. First, there’s the long history of trade and communication between China and the western regions. Second, there is an ever-growing need for furthering economic cooperation and joint development in this area. In looking west, China is also driven by geopolitical concerns and regional security threats such as terrorism. Accordingly, China sees the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as a major platform for furthering multilateral cooperation on important regional issues. In its “SCO Yellow Book 2014,” the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) argues that as the U.S. adjusts its strategy and returns to the Asia-Pacific region, China needs to find more developmental space in the western regions to mitigate the pressure from the east.

But China is not neglecting the eastern regions either; thus the corresponding “Leap East.” This strategy is not confined to the East Asian region either. Although China has been working hard on its charm offensive toward South Korea, given the fact that the ROK-U.S. alliance has existed for a much longer period of time compared to the history of Sino-ROK diplomatic relations, and the fact that the Japan-U.S. alliance is growing stronger, China won’t be able to easily gain the upper hand in the East Asian game, particularly in the short term. The U.S. has been substantially engaged in this region since the end of WWII and still maintains relative advantages in its confidence and strategic maneuverability. Therefore China cannot afford to be immersed in the enduring East Asian conundrum.

Instead, it could be a better choice for China to take a “leap” from East Asia, of course with the precondition that China fully uses it capability to maintain the relative stability of the East Asian region. China does not need to directly confront and seek to break through the first and second island chains; it can simply “leap” over them and find more diplomatic maneuvering space on the other side. This “Leap East” was reflected in President Xi Jinping’s two important visits to Latin America since he took office in late 2012, one in June 2013 and the other in July 2014.

As in China’s push west, economic cooperation has been a major driving force for the “Leap East.” China will probably outpace the EU and become Latin America’s second largest trading partner within two years, and could eventually pass the U.S to claim the top spot. From a geopolitical view, there’s significant strategic meaning to China stabilizing and extending its influence, either economically or politically, in the traditional backyard of the U.S. And there’s another interesting angle worth considering: many Latin American countries maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, yet Beijing does not seem to be holding this against potential partners as it seeks to further its economic and diplomatic existence in the region. This hints that Beijing has a long-term strategy for the region and has intentionally adopted a more practical and flexible diplomacy.

To Give Up Everything

सरकार के कामकाज करने की अपनी अदा है। वह अक्सर सबकुछ लुटाकर ही होश में आती है। ताजा मामला संविदा पर बहाल नर्सो का है। पक्की नौकरी की जिस मांग पर नर्से चार दिनों तक हड़ताल पर थीं, उनकी मांग झटके में मान ली गई, लेकिन हड़ताल और मांग मानने के बीच की अवधि में सरकारी अस्पताल में इलाज करा रहे मरीजों को बेहद कठिनाई से गुजरना पड़ा। सरकार को और उसके अधिकारियों को इन मरीजों की कठिनाई का कोई अफसोस नहीं होगा, इसलिए कि चिकित्सा जैसी अनिवार्य सेवा में अक्सर हड़ताल होती रहती है। लोग इलाज के अभाव में मरते रहते हैं। जिम्मेवार लोग शायद यह मानकर चलते हैं कि सरकारी अस्पताल में इलाज कराने वाले नागरिक दोयम दर्जे के हैं। ये मर जाएं या जीवित बच जाएं, सरकार और समाज की सेहत पर कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता है। एक क्षण के लिए भी किसी के मन में यह विचार नहीं आता है कि लापरवाही के चलते जिनकी जान जाती है, वह किसी के आत्मीय होते हैं। उनसे उनका भावनात्मक रिश्ता जुड़ा होता है। कोई परिवार का मुखिया होता है तो ढेर सारे लोग उन पर आश्रित रहते हैं। अमीरी और गरीबी के चलते रिश्ते का भावनात्मक लगाव कम नहीं होता है। परिजन अमीर के हों, गरीब के हों, उनके न रहने की पीड़ा बराबर होती है।

ऐसा नहीं है कि मेडिकल कॉलेज अस्पतालों की नर्से एकबारगी हड़ताल पर चली गई। इससे पहले कई बार उनके संगठनों ने संविदा के बदले पक्की नौकरी की मांग की। ज्ञापन दिए गए। प्रतीकात्मक तौर पर आन्दोलन भी हुए। तब उनकी मांगों पर विचार नहीं किया गया। मांग उस वक्त मानी गई जब बेकसूर लोगों की मौत होने लगी। सरकार ने रविवार की रात जो फैसला किया वह पहले भी हो सकता था, लेकिन ऐसा नहीं किया गया। यह सरासर तंत्र को नियंत्रित करने वाले लोगों में दूरदर्शिता की कमी को इंगित करता है। सब लोग जानते हैं कि नर्सिग चिकित्सा का अनिवार्य अंग है। डाक्टर तो दवा की पर्ची और निर्देश देकर निकल जाते हैं। मरीजों की सेवा की जिम्मेवारी इन्हीं नर्सो पर रहती है। प्रशिक्षित और अनुभवी नर्से डाक्टर की गैर-हाजिरी में लगभग उन्हीं की भूमिका निभाती हैं। इनमें अधिसंख्य महिलाएं रहती हैं। फिर भी शिफ्ट के अनुसार उन्हें रात की भी ड्यूटी करनी पड़ती है। एक तरह से ये सब विपरीत परिस्थितियों में कठिन ड्यूटी करती हैं। काम के हिसाब से बेहतर वेतन और सेवा शर्तो की मांग वाजिब ही कही जाएगी। इन्हें नियमित नर्सो की तुलना में बेहद कम वेतन मिलता है और इनकी नौकरी तो सरकारी अस्पतालों में दाखिल गरीब मरीजों की जान की तरह होती है, जो किसी भी समय चली जाए। यह भी नहीं है कि अस्पतालों में नर्से इफरात में हैं। अकेले पटना मेडिकल कॉलेज में नर्सो के 12 सौ पद स्वीकृत पद हैं, जिनके विरुद्ध सिर्फ दो सौ नर्से स्थायी नौकरी में हैं। संविदा और नर्सिग की छात्राओं के सहारे इस अस्पताल का काम चल रहा है, तब भी इनकी संख्या निर्धारित क्षमता से 225 कम है। यही हाल राज्य के दूसरे मेडिकल कॉलेज अस्पतालों और जिला, सदर और अनुमंडल अस्पतालों का है। जरूरत इस बात की है कि राज्य सरकार नर्सो की समस्या को गंभीरता से ले। इस बात की गारंटी भी करे कि भविष्य में फिर बेवजह हड़ताल की नौबत न आए।

‘God particle’ could destroy the universe, warns Stephen Hawking

"This could happen at any time and we wouldn’t see it coming,".The elusive ‘God particle’ discovered by scientists in 2012 has the potential to destroy the universe, famous British physicist Stephen hawking has warned the world. 

According to Mr. Hawking, at very high energy levels the Higgs boson, which gives shape and size to everything that exists, could become unstable.This, he said, could cause a “catastrophic vacuum decay” that would lead space and time to collapse,Express.co.uk reported.

The Higgs potential has the worrisome feature that it might become mega-stable at energies above 100bn giga-electron-volts (GeV),” Hawking wrote in the preface to a new book called Starmus.

“This could mean that the universe could undergo catastrophic vacuum decay, with a bubble of the true vacuum expanding at the speed of light.

"This could happen at any time and we wouldn’t see it coming -- PROF. STEPHEN HAWKING Theoretical physicist"

British cosmologist Stephen Hawking.

“This could happen at any time and we wouldn’t see it coming,” said Mr. Hawking.

The Higgs boson, also known as the God particle, was discovered in 2012 by scientists at CERN — who operate the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.

Hawking said the likelihood of such a disaster is unlikely to happen in the near future, however, the danger of the Higgs becoming destabilised at high energy is too great to be ignored.

reference:The Hindu

IISc develops molecular "sniffer dog" to detect explosives

The sniffer dog might finally have its day. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) have created a highly sensitive fluorescent polymer that scouts out a class of commonly used explosives.

TNT and other nitroaromatic compounds, which are used in a cocktail of chemicals in landmines and plastic explosive devices, release vapours that ‘quench’ the polymers, reducing their glow, according to a team from IISc.’s Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry.

“The team has developed two types of fluorescent polymers — supramolecular polymers and porous metallic-organic polymer — that are electron-rich and pick up vapour from TNT and other nitroaromatic explosives much like a molecular ‘sniffer dog’,” says P.S. Mukherjee, associate professor at the department and co-author of a paper on the experiment published in the latest edition of Chemistry: A European Journal.

“While the drop in fluorescence is not visible to the naked eye, it is visually sensed and interpreted by a high resolution spectrometer,” Dr. Mukherjee explained.

Nitroaromatic compounds are replacing conventional metal-based weapons in the explosives industry, the research paper says, adding that the compounds are available commercially. Besides their explosive nature, the chemicals contaminate groundwater after military operations and an efficient method to detect them at low concentrations is now needed. “The next step for the teamnow is to develop similar systems to detect other forms of explosives such as RDX and ammonium nitrate.”

Source: The Hindu :http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/iisc-develops-molecular-sniffer-dog-to-detect-explosives/article6395093.ece

India's top 10 richest people

Rank 1: Mukesh Ambani ($22,600)

Despite losing $4.4 billion, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, that struck a $7.2-billion DEAL with BP, holds the top spot with a net worth of $22.6 billion.

Rank 2: Lakshmi Mittal ($19,200)
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaking company.

Rank 3: Azim Premji ($13,000)
Tech tycoon Azim Premji of Wipro remains at No 3 even after donating shares worth $2 billion to his charitable trust, which made him one of Asia's top philanthropists. In January, 2011 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the nation's second-highest civilian honor.

Rank 4: Shashi and Ravi Ruia ($10,200)
The brothers, Shashi and Ravi Ruia, sold their one-third stake in telecom unit Vodafone Essar for $5.4 billion in July, 2011 after their plan for listing the holding was opposed by Vodafone.

Rank 5: Savitri Jindal ($9,500)
Savitri Jindal is the head of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.

Rank 6: Sunil Mittal ($8,800)
With over 230 million customers, Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel is world's fifth-largest telecom company, with operations in 19 countries.

Rank 7: Gautam Adani ($8,200)
Gautam Adani is the chairman of the Adani Group, a leading trading and export company of India.

Rank 8: Kumar Mangalam Birla ($7,700)
Aditya Birla Group is among the world's top 10 producers of cement and Asia's biggest aluminum producer.

Rank 9: Pallonji Mistry ($7,600)
Pallonji Mistry, the Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, is the richest person of Iranian descent. His signature project is The Imperial, two 60-story towers in Mumbai.

Rank 10: Adi Godrej ($6,800)
His 114-year-old Godrej Group has a partnership with chocolate maker Hershey's.

GUIDELINES FOR ALLOCATION OF CAPTIVE BLOCKS & CONDITIONS OF ALLOTMENT THROUGH THE SCREENING COMMITTEE

 1.Applications for allocation of coal blocks for captive mining for the specified end uses shall be made to the Director (CA-I) in the Ministry of Coal in five copies.  The application shall be accompanied by the following in addition to any other relevant documentation that the applicant may submit:

§ Certificate of registration showing that the applicant is a company REGISTERED under Section 3 of the Indian Companies Act. This document should be duly signed and stamped by the Company Secretary of the Company. (1 copy).

§         Document showing the person/s who has/have been authorized to sign on behalf of the applicant company while DEALING with any or all matters connected with allocation of the sought coal block/s for captive mining with the Government/its agencies. This document should be duly signed and stamped by the Company Secretary of the Company. (5 copies)

§     Certified copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the applicant Company. (5 Copies)

§         Audited Annual Accounts/reports of last 3 years. (5 copies)

§         Project report in respect of the end use plant. If the report is appraised by a lender, the appraised report shall also be submitted. (5 copies)

§        Detailed Schedule of implementation (milestones and time-line for each milestone) for the proposed end use project and the proposed coal mining development project in the form of bar charts (5 copies). However, the overall time frame proposed should not exceed the normative time ceiling prescribed.

§    Detailed schedule of exploration (milestones and time-line for each milestone) in respect of unexplored blocks. However, the overall time frame proposed should not exceed the normative time ceiling prescribed.

§         Scheme for disposal of unusable containing carbon obtained during mining of coal or at any stage thereafter including washing. This scheme must include the disposal/use to which the middling, tailing, fines, rejects, etc. from the washery are proposed to be put. (5 copies)

§         Demand draft for Rs.10,000/- in favour of PAO, Ministry of Coal payable at New Delhi.

§        A Soft Copy of details, as filled in the Application Form, is also to be furnished in the specified Database Form(in MS-Excel format) in a CD along with the Application.

Applications without the above accompaniments would be treated as incomplete and shall be rejected.

2.  In respect of fully explored blocks, geological data may be obtained from CMPDIL, NLC or the State agency concerned, as the case may be, on nominal charges. However, full cost of exploration and geological reports would be reimbursed to the agency concerned within six (6) weeks of date of issue of allotment letter.

3.  Where only regionally explored blocks are OFFERED for allocation, the detailed exploration/prospecting in the said blocks shall be done by the allocattee company under the supervision of CMPDIL.

4.  Replacement of linkage with coal to be produced from the allocated captive coal block can be permitted by the Screening Committee subject to safeguarding the interest of CIL and its subsidiaries.

5.Disposal of production during the development phase of the captive mine to the local CIL Subsidiaries has been allowed at a price to be determined by the Government.

6.  In order to promote scientific and proper mining the larger blocks shall not be sub blocked into smaller ones. Only natural sub-blocks will be formed.

7.         Allotment of Captive blocks to consortium of group of companies

(i)        If requirement of coal by an applicant does not match with the reserves in a natural block then clubbing of requirements may be resorted to and in case a number of applicant companies form a consortium for utilisation of a block for their captive use, the same may be considered for allocation under a legally tenable arrangement.

(ii)        More than one eligible and deserving companies will be allowed to do captive mining of coal by forming a joint venture coal mining company.  The constituent applicant companies would hold equity in the joint venture company in proportion to their assessed requirement of coal and the coal produced would be exclusively consumed in their respective end use projects. Distribution of coal would be in proportion to their respective assessed requirements.

(iii)              One or more companies (to be called leader companies) from amongst the selected, could be allowed to do mining of coal in one or more captive blocks and the other companies (to be called associate companies) would get coal from the captive block in proportion to their assessed requirements.  The local Coal India subsidiary could facilitate this arrangement by taking a nominal service charge.  Leader companies will deliver coal to associate companies at a transfer prices to be determined by the Central Government.

8.         Mining of Coal by allottee companies

The following dispensations are permitted for mining of coal from captive blocks:

(i)                 Any of the companies engaged in approved end-uses can itself mine coal from a captive coal block; or

 (ii)   A company engaged in any of the approved end-uses can mine coal from a captive block through a mining company supplying the coal on an exclusive basis from the captive coal block to the end-user company or to its subsidiary company, provided the end-user company has firm tie up with mining company for supply of coal, supported by legally  binding and enforceable contract / agreement.

 (iii)     An independent coal/lignite mining company can also be allocated a captive block on the condition that the entire coal/lignite so mined would be transferred to an end user company(ies) for their captive consumption in the specified end uses;

Provided that the said mining company has firm back-to-back tie up with the specified end user company(ies), supported by legally binding and enforceable supply contract/agreement.

9.         Inter-se priority for allocation of a block among competing applicants for a captive block may be decided as per the following guidelines:

·                    Status (stage) level of progress and state of preparedness of the        projects;

·                    Networth of the applicant company (or in the case of a new SP/JV, the networth of their principals);

·                    Production capacity as proposed in the application;

·                    Maximum recoverable reserve as proposed in the application;

·                    Date of commissioning of captive mine as proposed in the application;

·                Date of completion of detailed exploration (in respect of unexplored blocks only) as proposed in the application;

·              Technical experience (in terms of existing capacities in coal/lignite mining and specified end use);

·                    Recommendation of the Administrative Ministry concerned;

·               Recommendation of the State Government concerned (i.e. where the captive block is located);

·                    Track record and financial strength of the company

Preference will be accorded to the power and the steel sectors. Within the power sector also, priority shall be accorded to projects with more than 500MW capacity. Similarly, in steel sector, priority shall be given to steel plants with more than 1 million tonne per annum capacity.

B.         CONDITIONS OF ALLOTMENT

10. Upon allocation of captive coal block by the Screening Committee the applicant would submit an affidavit in the prescribed format to the effect that all coal mined from the captive block shall exclusively be used in the proposed end use project for which the said block has been allocated and that in case of any slippage in implementation of the end use project or the captive coal mine development project, as per the schedule of implementation/bar charts submitted and agreed to by the Ministry of Coal, the said block shall be deallocated  without any liability to the Government /its agencies, whatsoever. 

11.  The normative time limit ceilings have been provided to ensure that the coal production from the captive blocks shall commence within 36 months (42 months in case the area is in forest land) of the date of issue of letter of allocation in OC mine and in 48 months (54 months in case the area fall under forest land) from the date of said letter in UG mines.

12.  In respect of an unexplored block, the allocattee company shall apply for a prospecting license within three months of the date of issue of allotment. The exploration shall be completed and geological report prepared within two years from the date of issue of prospecting license.

13. Any slippage in meeting with the above time limits, unless previously agreed to by the Screening Committee, for special reasons to recorded in writing, may lead to forfeiture of bank guarantee, or/and cancellation of allocation, previous approval under Section 5(1) of the MMDR Act, 1957 or mining lease, as the case may be.

14.  The allocattee company shall be required to submit a bank guarantee equal to one year’s royalty amount based on mine capacity as assessed by CMPDIL or NLC, as the case may be, and the weighted average royalty within 3 months of the date of letter of allotment. Subsequently, upon approval of the mining plan the Bank Guarantee amount will be modified based on the final peak/rated capacities of the mine.

15. 50% of the bank guarantee shall be linked to the milestones (time schedule) set for development of captive block, and the remaining 50% to the guaranteed production. The bank guarantee shall be liable to be encashed in the following eventuality:

(i)                There shall be an annual review of progress achieved by an allocattee company.  In the event of lapses, if any, in the achievements vis-à-vis the milestones set for that year, a proportionate amount shall be encashed and deducted from the bank guarantee.

(ii)              Once production commences, in case of any lag in the production of coal/lignite, a percentage of the bank guarantee amount will be deducted for the year.  This percentage will be equal to the percentage of deficit in production for the year with respect to the rated/peak capacity of the mine, e.g., if rated/peak capacity is 100, production as per the approved mining plan for the relevant year is 50 and actual production is 35, then (50-35)/100x100= 15% will lead to deduction of 15% of the original bank guarantee amount for that year. Upon exhaustion of the bank guarantee amount, the block shall be liable for de-allocation/cancellation of mining lease.

(iii)      The allocattee shall ensure that the bank guarantee remains valid at all times till the mine reaches its rated capacity or till the bank guarantee is exhausted. Any lapses on this count shall lead to de-allocation/ cancellation of mining lease.

16.  The Company shall obtain the geological report (in respect of fully explored blocks), on payment of requisite charges, from CMPDIL, NLC or the State Government agency concerned, as the case may be, within six weeks of the date of issue of allotment letter.

17.  In respect of a fully explored block, the company shall submit a mining plan for approval by the competent authority under the Central Government within six months from the date of issue of the letter of allocation.

18.  In respect of an unexplored block, the mining plan shall be submitted for approval by the competent authority within two years and six months from the date of issue of the letter of allocation.

19.  Mine opening permission shall be considered only after FINANCIAL closure for the proposed end use project is achieved.

20.   In case a captive block is OFFERED/allocated for washing-cum-end-use all the beneficiated coal from the washery would exclusively be used in the proposed end use project of the allocatee company as approved by the Central Government and not for commercial use or otherwise.  All middlings, tailings, or rejects from the washery, as the case may be, and all unusables containing carbon obtained during the mining of coal or in any process thereafter, if any, shall be used for captive consumption only by the allocattee in his proposed end use project or as per the scheme for disposal submitted by the applicant and agreed to by the Screening Committee.  In the event that disposal is allowed by the Government, the modalities of disposal of  surplus coal/ middlings/ rejects, if any, would  be as per the prevailing policy/ instructions of the Government at the relevant point in  time and  could also include handing over such surplus coal/ middlings/rejects to the  local CIL subsidiary or to any person designated by it at a transfer price to be determined by the Government.

TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS (NPT)

The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States. Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. On 11 May 1995, the Treaty was extended indefinitely.  A total of 190 parties have joined the Treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon States. More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, a testament to the Treaty's significance.  

The provisions of the Treaty, particularly article VIII, paragraph 3, envisage a review of the operation of the Treaty every five years, a provision which was reaffirmed by the States parties at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference.

To further the goal of non-proliferation and as a confidence-building measure between States parties, the Treaty establishes a safeguards system under the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Safeguards are used to verify compliance with the Treaty through inspections conducted by the IAEA. The Treaty promotes cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear technology and equal access to this technology for all States parties, while safeguards prevent the diversion of fissile material for weapons use. 

The 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) met at United Nations Headquarters in New Yorkfrom 3 to 28 May 2010. A total of 172 States parties to the Treaty participated in the Conference. States parties agreed to a final document which included a review of the operation of the Treaty, reflecting the views of the President of the Conference, as well as agreed conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions. The action plan contains measures to advance nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and regional issues, including the implementation of the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East.