Current Affairs 22nd September 2017

Current Affairs 22nd September 2017 - Important Points

• Food Street to be introduced at global food fair by - Government
• 2017 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award won by - Nigerian lawyer Zannah Mustapha
• World's richest woman and L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt passed away on - 21st September 2017
• First state to launch electric bus service - Himachal Pradesh
• United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons signed by - 50 Nations
• INS Kalvari, delivered to Indian Navy on - 21st September 2017
• Bollywood actress Shakila passed away on - 20th September 2017

Current Affairs 22nd September 2017 - Details

Food Street to be introduced at global food fair by - Government

With an intention to attract investment in the food processing sector under the initiative of Make in India, the government has decided to introduce a curated food experience zone 'Food Street' at the global food fair in New Delhi during November. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor will be the brand ambassador of the event at the World Food India 2017 holding from 3rd November to 5th November 2017.
This platform will be bringing culinary practices, flavours, fragrances from cuisines all across the world together.
Curated food experience to benefit in boosting investment: The Food Street will be acting as a platform for the investors to taste the food and then take a call to invest in India under the 'Make in India' program.

While talking to reporters, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that aim of this food event is to attract more investment in the Culinary sector.  The minister also said that different cuisines of India and other countries will be showcased during the three-day event. The three-day World Food India event will start on 3rd November 2017.

The Minister said the global food event, which is being held in India for the first time, will be providing a platform to investors to taste the food and then take a call on investing in India under the 'Make in India' programme. In the beginning of 2016, the government allowed 100 percent FDI for marketing, including through e-commerce of food products manufactured and produced in India.  Reports suggested that between April 2016 and December 2017, the food processing sector has received USD 663.23 million worth of Foreign Direct Invest.

2017 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award won by - Nigerian lawyer Zannah Mustapha

Nigerian lawyer Zannah Mustapha won the 2017 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award in September 2017 for his crucial mediating role and efforts to help children affected with insurgency in Nigeria.
Mustapha had negotiated and helped to secure the release of over 100 schoolgirls from Chibok kidnapped by the Boko Haram militant group.
He will be bestowed with the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award at a ceremony taking place in Geneva on 2nd October 2017. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees called him “A champion for the rights of displaced children growing up amid violence in North East Nigeria”.

More about UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award

• The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award is granted annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
• It is awarded to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service for the cause of refugees, displaced or stateless people.
• Named after the intrepid Norwegian polar explorer, statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Fridtjof Nansen, it was established in 1954.
• The Nansen Refugee Award includes a commemorative medal, the Nansen Medal, and USD 150000, donated by the governments of Norway and Switzerland.
• The Nansen Refugee Award monetary prize aims at enabling its annual recipient to pursue a project to assist displaced people, developed in close consultation with UNHCR.
• The prestigious award was won by the Greek Volunteers of the Hellenic Rescue Team, and Efi Latsoudi of PIKPA Village in 2016 for their tireless voluntary efforts helping refugees to arrive in Greece during the European refugee crisis.

World's richest woman and L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt passed away on - 21st September 2017

Liliane Bettencourt, world's richest woman and heiress to the L’Oreal cosmetics fortune is passed away on 21st September 2017. Bettencourt was ranked as the richest woman in the world with a fortune of USD 39.5 billion by Forbes magazine in 2016. It made her the 14th richest person on the planet.

She was the only child of Louise Madelaine Berthe and Eugene Schueller, who founded L’Oreal and was born in Paris. At the age of 15 only she joined the family business and inherited L'Oreal group empire when her father died in 1957. She left the board of L'Oreal in 2012 after she was declared ill and was unable to run her affairs, as per the medical report which showed she was suffering with Alzheimer's and dementia disease since 2006.

First state to launch electric bus service - Himachal Pradesh

The Himachal Pradesh government on 21 September 2017 launched first-of-its-kind electric bus service in the ecologically fragile 51km-long stretch between Manali and Rohtang Pass. The State Transport Minister GS Bali along with Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus flagged off this bus service. The move was made amidst concern over increasing environmental degradation in the Rohtang Pass area due to plying of diesel taxis. The state has become the first in the world to ply electric buses at an altitude of 13 thousand feet with this initiative.
Important Highlights

• There would be a total of 10 buses in the fleet.
• State government have imported all of these buses, as no company in India manufactures such battery-operated ones.
• Each electric bus would be having the capacity of 30 passengers seats and would be able to cover upto 200 km with fully charged batteries.
• Though the fare is yet to be decided, but it is expected to be marginally higher than the diesel buses.
• The main objective behind the initiative is to curb carbon emission, resulting in melting of glaciers in the Himalayas.

United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons signed by - 50 Nations

Fifty countries inked United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on 20th September 2017. Brazil was the first country to sign onto the ban, followed by other two nations from Algeria to Venezuela.
Fifty nations as different as Indonesia and Ireland had added their names to the treaty; others can sign later if they like. Guyana, Thailand and the Vatican also have already ratified the treaty, which needs 50 ratifications to take effect among the nations that are backing it.
Under the terms and conditions of the treaty, the countries signing would be barring from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, otherwise acquiring, possessing or stockpiling nuclear weapons under any circumstances.
Non-nuclear nations agreed not to pursue nukes in exchange for a commitment from the five original nuclear powers naming - Russia, U.S., Britain, France and China to move towards nuclear disarmament and to guarantee other state's access to peaceful nuclear technology for producing energy , under its terms and conditions.

Important Highlights

• The treaty covers the full range of nuclear-weapons-related activities, prohibiting the undertaking by any State party to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
• The prohibitions also include any undertaking to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
• The treaty will be entering into force 90 days after the 50th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession gets deposited.

INS Kalvari, delivered to Indian Navy on - 21st September 2017

INS Kalvari, the first of the six Scorpene-class submarines was delivered to the Indian Navy by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) on 21st September 2017. The submarine will soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy.
The development marks a major milestone in Indian Navy's submarine program as the vessel is expected to bolster India's maritime powers. Meanwhile, the second Scorpene-class submarine, INS Khanderi,launched in January 2017, is currently undergoing the rigorous phase of sea trials.
The third Scorpene-class submarine, INS Karanj, is also ready for launch later in 2017. The rest of the submarines are in various stages of outfitting. Overall, the six of them, designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS and manufactured by Mazagon Dock Limited, will replace Indian Navy's aging Sindhughosh and Shishumar class of submarines, marking a significant step towards modernisation of Indian navy.

More about INS Kalvari

• The construction of the submarine, which was named after a deep-sea tiger shark was started in 2009.
• The submarine was undocked from the pontoon on 6th April 2015 and launched on 28th October 2015.
• It completed the Basin trials and Harbor acceptance trials in April 2016 and commenced sea trials on 1st May 2016.
• The submarine is equipped with state of the art technology that includes superior stealth features like advanced acoustic silencing techniques and low radiated noise.
• It is also loaded with the advanced ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons.
• It is capable of launching an attack with both torpedoes and tube launched anti-ship missiles, while underwater or above.
• On 2nd March 2017, the submarine test-fired an Exocet SM39 Block 2 anti-ship missile in the Arabian Sea. 
• In fact, all Scorpene submarines can undertake varied missions including anti-surface, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering and mine laying.

Bollywood actress Shakila passed away on - 20th September 2017

Yesteryear Bollywood actress Shakila passed away on 20th September 2017 following a massive heart attack.  She was best known for her roles in Aar Par and CID. Her nephew Nasirr Khan announced the death of his aunt on social media website Facebook mentioning, “With a heavy heart I have to inform you all that my maternal aunt (my moms elder
sister) Shakila Aunty has passed away. Babuji dheere chalna, pyaar mein zara samhalna. Please keep her in your prayers. May Allah grant her Jannat. Aameen.”

More about Shakila

• Born on 1st January 1935, Shakila was an Indian actress.
• She was best known for her roles in Guru Dutt's films Aar Paar released in 1954 and CID released in 1956.
• She also starred with Shammi Kapoor in Shakti Samanta's China Town in 1962.
• In 1963, She retired from cinema after her marriage and moved to the UK with her husband.