Indian World Crafts Cities Recognition

Srinagar is the fourth Indian city recognized as a 'World Crafts City' by the World Craft Council (WCC).
Jaipur, Malappuram, and Mysore are the other recognized cities.
In 2021, Srinagar became part of the UNESCO Creative City Network for crafts and folk arts.
Prominent crafts from Srinagar include papier-maché, walnut wood carving, carpets, Sozni embroidery, and Pashmina and Kani shawls.

The WCC-International was founded in 1964.
Smt Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay attended the first WCC General Assembly as a founding member.
She established the Craft Council of India to protect and promote India's craft heritage.

India's electoral process involves 642 million voters, with over half being female, making it the world's largest democracy.
Despite high voter turnout, women's safety was largely ignored in the electoral agendas of candidates.
Everyday in India, 90 rapes are reported, and nearly 50% of women experience domestic violence.
Two out of three Dalit women face sexual violence during their lifetimes.
Institutional violence against survivors influences their willingness to report incidents.
A 2019 report showed 39% of police officers view gender-based violence complaints as baseless.
India has one of the lowest divorce rates in the world (1%), despite significant intimate partner violence.
77% of women remain silent about the violence they face, highlighting societal stigma and fear.
Both voters and politicians have a role in addressing and combating gender-based violence.

The Finance Minister's seventh consecutive budget speech outlined India's commitment to clean energy.
New measures include policies for pumped hydro storage and support for nuclear energy and energy efficiency.
India's renewable energy capacity has increased five-fold, making it the fourth-largest globally.
Power distribution companies (discoms) saw a 40% drop in losses, down to about 15% in 2022-23.
Challenges persist in decarbonizing India’s power system while providing affordable and quality electricity.
The government must set higher renewable energy targets to surpass 500 GW capacity by 2030.
Currently, renewable energy constitutes only 13% of India's power generation mix.
Rapid deployment of diverse clean energy resources is essential, with China adding 300 GW and the EU adding 73 GW of solar and wind in 2023.
Effective maintenance of coal plants is needed even as renewables expand.
Goals include raising non-fossil fuel capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and achieving 50% of energy needs from renewables by 2030.

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