Home » Current Affairs Date: 17 March 2023

Current Affairs Date: 17 March 2023

National

Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, Agni-3

⇒ India carried out a successful training launch of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, Agni-3 from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha on November 23, 2022.

    • The successful test was part of routine user training launches carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command.
    • The launch was carried out for a predetermined range and validated all operational parameters of the system.

Y 12705 (Mormugao), the 2nd ship of Project 15B stealth guided missile destroyers

⇒ Y 12705 (Mormugao), the second ship of Project 15B stealth guided missile destroyers being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), was delivered to the Indian Navy on 24 November 2022.

Designed & built by:

The four ship is Designed by the Warship Design Bureau, Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, and built by M/s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Mumbai.

About Ship:
    • The ship is 163 metres long and 17 metres wide, displaces 7400 tonnes when fully loaded and has a maximum speed of 30 knots.
    • Apart from myriad indigenous equipment in the ‘Float’ and ‘Move’ categories, the destroyer is also installed with under-mentioned major indigenous weapons.
» The overall indigenous content of the project is approx 75%.

Indigenous content of the project:

    • Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (BEL, Bangalore)
    • BrahMos Surface-to-Surface Missiles (BrahMos Aerospace, New Delhi)
    • Indigenous Torpedo Tube Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai)
    • Anti-Submarine Indigenous Rocket Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai)
    • 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (BHEL, Haridwar)
Background:
    • The contract for four ships of Project 15B was signed on 28 January 2011.
    • This Project is a follow-on of the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers commissioned in the last decade. The lead ship of the Project – INS Visakhapatnam has already been commissioned into the Indian Navy on 21 November 2021.
    • The four ships of the Project are christened after major cities from all four corners of the country, viz. Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat.

3-day National Workshop on Cryptology - NWC 2022

⇒ The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) organized a three-day National Workshop on Cryptology – NWC2022, on 22-24 November 2022, in association with Cryptology Research Society of India (CRSI) and IEEE Communications Society – Delhi Chapter.

    • Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) is the premier Telecom R&D Centre of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
Theme:

The workshop was centered on the theme “Advancements in Cryptology for enhancing security & privacy in communication networks”.

Aim:

NWC 2022 aimed to bring all the relevant stakeholders on a common platform to deliberate upon various contemporary themes in the field of Cryptology spanning Cyber Security, Quantum Computing, Post-Quantum Cryptography, Blockchain technology, Homomorphic Encryption, Key Management and Cryptography in Telecom networks with focus on Wireless and Satellite communication.

Key Points:
    • C-DOT hosted this prestigious “National Workshop on Cryptology” to reach out to the country’s best cryptographers and security specialists who have made giant strides in various domains of Cryptology with their pioneering research initiatives.
    • C-DOT looks forward to building fruitful associations and productive alliances with various institutes and organizations to further its research endeavours in the areas of Cryptology and Data Security.
    • C-DOT, since its inception in 1984, has always been at the forefront of cutting-edge research and innovation with the chief objective of serving every nook and cranny of the nation by building secure, robust and resilient networks.
    • C-DOT has undertaken several initiatives towards strengthening the Telecom networks with home-grown security solutions in novel fields like Post-Quantum Cryptography, Cyber Threat Analytics and Quantum Key Distribution. NWC2022 will aid in the evolution of indigenous cryptology ecosystem with significant contributions from C-DOT.

» The workshop made the participants delve into multiple dimensions of advanced Cryptology amid enriching talks by eminent experts and field veterans from the Government, academia and industry.

International

3rd Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance

⇒ The Sultanate of Oman hosted the 3rd High-level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Muscat, Oman on 24 and 25 November 2022 to accelerate tackling AMR at the national, regional, and global levels and to enhance international cooperation.

    • The conference paved the way for nations to come out with bold and specific political commitments in the 2024 UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR.
Theme:

The conference under the theme ‘The AMR Pandemic: From Policy to One Health Action’ enhanced international cooperation to tackle AMR and build on the success of the two previous high-level ministerial conferences held in the Netherlands in 2014 and 2019.

Participants:
    • 22 participants from more than 15 countries attended the conference.
    • The event witnessed the launch of Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform on AMR by the Quadripartite Organizations.

The Quadripartite organizations are the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE).

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar participated in the ‘Third Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance’ held in Muscat, Oman on 24-25 November, 2022.
    • “AMR is a silent and invisible pandemic that cannot be overshadowed by other competing public health priorities”, Union Minister, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar said as she spoke at the ministerial plenary panel of the Conference.
    • Dr. Pawar also propelled further action must be taken to synergize the momentum initiated by Global AMR Conference presently and upcoming high-level meeting on AMR at the United Nations General Assembly in 2024, which will serve to strengthen the political support at all levels.

» The Union Minister Dr. Pawar delivered the India’s national statement during the opening session of the conference for statements from the heads of the delegation.

“Government of India has identified Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) as a key priority in its National Health Policy, 2017. We have taken series of initiatives which strive to build systems to counter AMR holistically”.

    • Dr. Pawar elaborated that India’s National Action Plan for containment of AMR (NAP-AMR) was officially released on 19th April 2017. The Delhi Declaration on AMR, which is an inter-ministerial consensus, was signed at the launch of NAP-AMR, by the ministers of the concerned ministries pledging their whole-hearted support in AMR containment.
    • During the conference, Dr Pawar held extensive discussions with other leaders, policymakers, key global experts, representatives from the private sector, civil society, research institutions and multilateral organizations on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment. AMR is one of the greatest threats to global public health preventing the treatment of bacterial diseases using antibiotics.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022:

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022 was held on18 – 24 November 2022.

    • The Quadripartite organizations announced the theme of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2022: ‘Preventing antimicrobial resistance together’.
    • The slogan of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week remains ‘Antimicrobials: Handle with Care’.
    • WAAW is celebrated from 18 to 24 November every year.
Global AMR Youth Summit 2022:

During the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2022, Global AMR Youth Summit 2022 held on 17-19 November.

    • The aim of this youth-led summit was to empower healthcare students all around the world while taking into consideration regional perspectives and different regional needs for AMR.
    • The multi-day event was organized by the World Health Students Alliance (WHSA) including International Association of Dental Students, International Federation of Medical Students’ Association, International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation and International Veterinary Students’ Association representing dentistry, medical, pharmaceutical, and veterinary students worldwide respectively.
    • The title of 2022 summit was “Antimicrobial Resistance: Our fight; Our life”.

Source: PIB & Other News Reports

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