Chapter Overview

International organisations (अंतर्राष्ट्रीय संगठन) appear in the CGPSC syllabus in two places. Prelims Paper I asks factual questions on founding years, headquarters, membership and recent summits. Mains Paper VII (GS-V) names “international organisations” in its syllabus and expects you to evaluate them: UN reform, India’s role in BRICS and the SCO, and why SAARC has stalled. Sports bodies and events are a regular source of current-affairs MCQs.

This chapter dates quickly

Membership counts, summit hosts, office-holders and sports results change every year. Every such figure here is marked “as of 2026” (checked in October 2026). Before the exam, re-check anything tagged that way against the organisation’s official website.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

Describe the UN’s origin, its six principal organs and the Security Council’s composition and veto
Name every UN Secretary-General in order and explain how the next one is chosen (the 2026 selection)
Match the main specialised agencies, funds and programmes to their headquarters and work, with India’s links to each
Trace SAARC, BRICS and SCO from their founding to their 2026 membership, and judge India’s stake in each
Name the main sports bodies (IOC, FIFA, ICC, OCA, CGF) and recent results, including Chhattisgarh’s hosting of the first Khelo India Tribal Games (2026)
Write balanced Mains answers on UN Security Council reform and on regional groupings

Prerequisites

External Sector and International Economic Bodies — the IMF, World Bank, WTO, ADB, AIIB and NDB are covered there and only cross-referenced here
Union Executive — how India’s foreign policy is made and who signs treaties

Learning Path

graph TD
    A["1. The United Nations System
Charter, six organs,
Security Council, Secretary-General"] --> B["2. UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes
HQs, mandates, India's links"]
    B --> C["3. Regional Groupings
SAARC, BRICS, SCO
+ BIMSTEC, G20, ASEAN"]
    C --> D["4. Sports Events and Organisations
IOC, FIFA, ICC, CWG, Asian Games,
Chhattisgarh"]
    D --> E["5. Quick Revision
One-page sheet"]

Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	What it covers
1	The United Nations System	Atlantic Charter to San Francisco, Charter articles, six principal organs, veto, Secretaries-General, 2026 selection, India at the UN, Security Council reform
2	UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes	The 15 specialised agencies, funds and programmes (UNICEF, UNDP, UNEP, WFP, UNHCR), related bodies (IAEA), headquarters, Nobel Prizes, India and Chhattisgarh links
3	Regional Groupings: SAARC, BRICS and SCO	Founding, members, summits and institutions of SAARC, BRICS (2024–25 expansion, 2026 New Delhi summit) and SCO (2026 Bishkek summit); BIMSTEC, G20, ASEAN in brief
4	Sports Events and Organisations	IOC and the Olympics, CWG, Asian Games, FIFA, ICC, 2025–26 results, national sports awards and law, Chhattisgarh sports
—	Quick Revision	Every HQ, founding year, member count and 2026 result on one page

Where It Is Asked

Paper	What to expect
Prelims P-I (Part 1, India GS)	Headquarters-matching, founding years, “which country is not a member of”, recent summit hosts, Nobel Prizes won by UN bodies, sports trophies and venues. Statement-based questions mixing correct and outdated facts are common
Mains P-VII (GS-V)	Short answers (role of UNICEF or WHO, SCO’s RATS, India’s stake in BRICS) and long answers (UN Security Council reform, relevance of SAARC, India’s multi-alignment through BRICS, SCO and the Quad)
Interview	Boards often ask about a current summit, India’s UNSC bid or a recent sporting success from Chhattisgarh

Exam focus

High-yield: UN organs and HQs; P5 and the veto (Art 27); agency HQs (Rome trio, Geneva cluster); SAARC founding members and Afghanistan as the 8th; BRICS expansion order; SCO’s two permanent bodies; host cities of upcoming Games.
Common mistakes: listing the IMF or WTO as “UN programmes”; calling Saudi Arabia a settled BRICS member; placing the SCO secretariat in Shanghai; forgetting that India and Pakistan joined the SCO together in 2017.
Chhattisgarh angle: the first Khelo India Tribal Games (2026) in Raipur, Jagdalpur and Surguja; India’s push for the International Year of Millets (2023) matters for a millet-growing state; World Bank projects in the state are in the IMF and World Bank page.

Quick Reference: Organisations at a Glance

Organisation	Founded	HQ / Secretariat	Members (as of 2026)
United Nations	24 Oct 1945	New York	193
SAARC	8 Dec 1985 (Dhaka)	Kathmandu	8
BRICS	2009 (first BRIC summit, Yekaterinburg)	No permanent secretariat	10 full members, plus Saudi Arabia whose status is unconfirmed
SCO	15 Jun 2001 (Shanghai)	Beijing (Secretariat); Tashkent (RATS)	10
BIMSTEC	6 Jun 1997 (Bangkok)	Dhaka	7
IOC	23 Jun 1894 (Paris)	Lausanne	—
FIFA	1904 (Paris)	Zurich	—
ICC (cricket)	1909	Dubai	—

Start Learning

Begin with the first topic:

→ The United Nations System