GS PAPER I & II
Creative City of Networks
Why in News
- Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, has been included in the Creative Cities Network of UNESCO.
Key point
- This list includes 49 cities around the world. In this way, 295 cities in 90 countries have been included in this network.
- Srinagar has been placed in the UNESCO list under the Crafts and Folk Art category.
- UNESCO has mentioned about the folk and craftsmanship of Srinagar. This has also given a new identity to the cultural diversity of Srinagar.
- Srinagar has been placed in the UNESCO list under the Crafts and Folk Art category. This has given great recognition to the age-old crafts of Srinagar and the heritage of Jammu and Kashmir.
- The inclusion is likely to pave the way for the city to represent its handicrafts on the global stage through UNESCO. This is a major recognition for Jammu and Kashmir.
- The network includes folk arts, media, film, literature, design, culinary arts and media arts.
- Srinagar was one of the more cities in India to compete for the coveted recognition this year.
- The dossier for its nomination was first filed in the year 2019 and then in the year 2021.
- Only Jaipur (Crafts and Folk Art) in 2015, Varanasi and Chennai (Creative City of Music) in 2015 and 2017 respectively have been recognized as members of UCCN for Creative Cities.
- Mumbai and Hyderabad were included in this list in October 2019.
- Bohikon, Doha and Jakarta have been added to the list as new cities.
- The current member countries include Brazzaville, Dubai, Mexico City and Montreal. Other new cities include Abu Dhabi, Port Louis.
- According to a release issued on UNESCO’s website, now the number of such cities is 295 which are from 90 countries.
- Investments are made here for sustainable urban development in culture and creativity, handicrafts and folk arts, literature, music etc.
GS PAPER II & III
Bilateral innovation agreement
Why in News
- Defense Research and Development to promote innovation and accelerated R&D in Start-ups and MSMEs of both the countries for development of dual-use technologies, as a tangible testimony to the growing technical cooperation between India and Israel Organization (DRDO) and Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) of Ministry of Defense of Israel have signed a Bilateral Innovation Agreement (BIA).
Key point
- Under this agreement, start-ups and industries from both the countries will work together to bring next generation technologies and products across multiple sectors. These areas include drones, robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, photonics, biosensing, brain-machine interfaces, energy storage, wearable devices, and natural language processing.
- Products and technologies will be customized to meet the unique needs of both the countries.
- These development efforts will be jointly funded by DRDO and Israel’s DDR&D.
- At the same time, the technologies developed under BIA will be available to both the countries for their domestic applications.
GS PAPER III
‘VELA’
Why in News
- The fourth submarine of Project-75, handed over to the Indian Navy at Yard 11878.
Key point
- Project-75 involves the construction of six Scorpene-designed submarines.
- These submarines are being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai in collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.
- Submarine ‘Vela’ was commissioned on May 06, 2019.
- It has completed all major port and sea trials, including weapons and sensor tests, despite COVID restrictions. Three of these submarines are already in operation with the Indian Navy.
- Submarine construction is a complex activity, as all equipment with strict quality requirements needs to be miniaturized. This increases the difficulties in submarine construction.
- Construction of these submarines in an Indian yard is another step towards ‘Self-reliant India’.
- Soon this submarine will be inducted into the Indian Navy and the capability of the Indian Navy will be further enhanced.
GS PAPER III
cOcOn 2021
- Why in News
- The Chief of Defense Staff of India, Bipin Rawat, will inaugurate the cOcOn 2021 in the state of Kerala on November 12, 2021.
Key point
- cOcOn 2021 is the annual cyber security and hacking conference.
- It is organized by Kerala Police.
- The conference will showcase two days of pre-conference workshops on November 10, 2021 and November 11, 2021.
- The main conference of cOcOn will be held over two days from November 12 – 13, 2021 in the state of Kerala.
Theme
- The conference will be organized under the theme “Improve, Adapt and Overcome” (Improve, Optimize and Conquer).
Representative
- UAE’s cyber security chief, Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti
- Chairman of the Royal Office of Sheikh Ahmed bin Faisal Al Qasimi of the United Arab Emirates, Tomas Zaleski
- Chairman of ISRO, K. Sivan
- Tech Mahindra’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, P. Gurnani.
Background
- cOcOn was earlier known as Cyber Safe. It is an annual event, organized as a part of International Day of Information Security.
- cOcOn Annual Conference was started in the year 2008. It is an initiative of Kerala Police in collaboration with Information Security Research Organization (ISRA).
Information Security Research Organization (ISRA)
- ISRA is a registered non-profit organization focusing on various aspects of information security such as security research and cyber security awareness activities. It was registered in the year 2010.
cOcOn Conference
- cOcOn is a 13 year old platform created with the aim of providing opportunities to educate, showcase, understand and spread awareness about privacy, information security and data security.
- Its main objective is to provide a platform for interaction to several corporate and government organizations including several investigative agencies, research organizations, academia, industry leaders and sportspersons.
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