Weekly Update: January 25, 2021 - January 29, 2021

Winning is fun,
but those moments that you can touch someone's life in a very positive way are better.
-Tim Howard
(March 06, 1979; American Professional Soccer Player)

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Let's start!

Did you know, that there is a term for 'fear of number thirteen'? Well, there is one and it is called, "triskaidekaphobia".

Image Credit: https://www.slideshare.net/

In fact, there is a term for 'fear of bridges' too, and it is called, "gephyrophobia".

January 25, 2021 (Monday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,06,67,736
Recovered - 1,03,30,084
Deceased - 1,53,470

:::Oxfam, an anti-poverty group, said in a report that while it would take more than ten years for the world's poorest to recover their losses incurred due to Covid-19, the top one thousand richest people on the planet have already regained their Covid-19 losses within a period of only nine months. The group highlighted in its report that the ethnic minorities in certain countries were dying at a higher rate and that women were being over-represented in those sectors of the economy which have been hit the hardest by Covid-19 pandemic. As per calculations done by Oxfam, a temporary tax on excess profit - made during pandemic - earned by the top thirty-two global corporations is enough to provide unemployment benefits to all the workers and to provide financial support to all the children & elderly people of low & middle income countries.

Image Credit: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/

This is for the first time that inequality is rising simultaneously in every country.

:::Astronomers at The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CFA) detected a planet that is similar to Jupiter. The newly detected planet has been named, "WASP-62b", where WASP stands for 'Wide Angle Search for Planets'. It is also known as 'hot Jupiter' as its close proximity to the star makes it hotter than Jupiter. WASP-62b is approximately 575 light years away from Earth and is half the mass of Jupiter, with no clouds or haze. It completes one rotation around its star in four-and-a-half days. More such findings have been published in this month's edition of Astrophysical Journal Letter.

Image Credit: https://news.harvard.edu/

Munazza Alam, the graduate student who used the Hubble Space Telescope to record data & observations, admitted that she was not excited about the newly detected planet until she took a look at the data.

January 26, 2021 (Tuesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,06,76,838
Recovered - 1,03,45,985
Deceased - 1,53,587

:::Joe Biden, President of the United States of America, signed an executive order to strengthen the current rule of, "Buying American". He created a special post of 'Director of Made in America', to oversee the all-of-government Made in America initiative. He also reduced the waivers granted on federal purchase of goods that are made in America. During an event at the White House, the President insisted everyone to buy American products and support American jobs.

Image Credit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/

The current administration, headed by Joe Biden, plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars under, "Build Back Better Recovery" plan in buying American products and materials to modernize infrastructure.

:::Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) started offering short-term online courses on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Cybersecurity. Interested candidates can register for the entrance exam on any day between January 28, 2021 and February 15, 2021. The entrance exams for AI & ML are scheduled on February 20, 2021, and the entrance exam for Cybersecurity is scheduled on February 21, 2021. There is no fee to register & appear for the entrance exam; however, the fee of ₹15,000/- is applicable to pursue a course upon selection. The classes would be conducted five days a week over the internet, and they would include two hours of a contact lecture everyday. The course starts from February 28, 2021 and it will be carried on for a period of twelve weeks. Interested candidates may gather more information, or register for the entrance exam, at the official website of DIAT.

Image Credit: Defence Institute Of Advanced Technology | Facebook

DIAT is a deemed university and an autonomous organization that is funded by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

January 27, 2021 (Wednesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,06,89,527
Recovered - 1,03,59,305
Deceased - 1,53,724

:::Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India launched 2021 Jeep Compass, price of which starts from ₹16.99 lakh (ex-showroom) and goes up to ₹24.49 lakh (ex-showroom). It will be offered in four variants namely, Sports, Longitude (O), Limited (O) and Model S. Every variant offers two engine options that include 1.4 litre turbo-petrol engine and 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engine. Some new features that have been added in 2021 Jeep Compass are: ventilated front seats; 10.1-inch HD floating touchscreen infotainment system; Uconnect-5 system; electronic sunroof and reflectors with the LED projectors. Customers will be able to book the car from February 02, 2021.

FCA India has its headquarter in Pune, Maharashtra (India) and it was formerly known as Fiat Group Automobiles India Private Limited.

:::The West Bengal Transport Corporation launched Young Readers' Boat Library in collaboration with a heritage book store. Young Readers' Boat Library is a library for children on a boat that has five hundred titles in English and Bengali along with free WiFi facility.  The trip begins from Millennium Park and it travels to Belur Math Jetty. It is held three times everyday on all weekdays. The ticket has been priced at ₹100/- for adults and at ₹50/- for children. The Boat Library also organizes activities like storytelling, dramatized readings, poetry sessions, book launches, music and a lot more.

Image Credit: https://travelobiz.com/

One of the officials of The West Bengal Transport Corporation, while interacting with the media, said that the idea behind launching this service was to encourage reading books while also appreciating the beauty of Kolkata.

January 28, 2021 (Thursday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,07,01,193
Recovered - 1,03,73,606
Deceased - 1,53,847

:::The Arizona Bankers Association, in partnership with CCG Catalyst Consulting, set-up a new Arizona Fintech Council. The Council has been set-up with an aim to provide a space to international fintech companies who are looking to enter the U.S market. It will offer a facility to the international fintech companies to present their unique product or service offering to up to thirty banks in one setting. Arizona Fintech Council will facilitate connections through regular summits and then refer the select applications to the Arizona attorney general for approval & inclusion in the sandbox program. The Council will be lead by Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer of CCG Catalyst, and it will be managed by Miranda Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer of CCG Catalyst.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Arizona State University (ASU) is planning to partner with the Council to make connections for its students who have interest in the financial services industry.

:::Google started planning to simplify its policies related to mini-games and quizzes that offer cash prizes & vouchers. By simplifying its policies, the company aims to provide more clarity on requirements for loyalty program disclosures & features. Along with optimizing the experience of the developers, new policies will also safeguard android users. Google, while addressing the issue, said that it remains committed to engaging with industry and government bodies while deliberating the measures that would best support the industry.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Google has also launched, "How Google Play Works". It is a web resource that contains vital information for developers, to help them learn about best practices that can enable them to deliver innovative and secure apps & games to people around the world.

January 29, 2021 (Friday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,07,20,048
Recovered - 1,03,94,352
Deceased - 1,54,010

:::Mahindra XUV300 achieved an overall five-star global NCAP crash rating in the African market. It received a five-star rating for adult occupants safety and a four-star rating for child occupant in the rear seat. The safety features offered in XUV300 are: seven airbags; front parking sensors; well protected footwell area; all-disc-brakes; seat-belt pre-tensioner; and, rear parking sensor with a rear camera. Additionally, the car meets U95 regulations of a side impact too. Mahindra XUV300 competes with Ford EcoSport, Volkswagen T-Cross, Hyundai Venue, Haval H1 & Mazda CX-3, and the company believes that its features & ratings could further boost its presence in the global market.

Image Credit: https://auto.mahindra.com/

Mahindra XUV300 has been completely made in India and it is the first car to achieve a five-star global NCAP crash rating in the African market.

:::Joe Biden, President of the United States of America, appointed two Indian-Americans - Sohini Chatterjee & Aditi Gorur - for crucial diplomatic positions at the US Mission to the United Nations. Sohini Chatterjee has previously worked in the Bureau for Policy, Planning & Learning at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and she will now serve as a senior policy advisor to the mission. She has also been a part of the Obama Administration as a senior policy advisor. Aditi Gorur will serve as a policy advisor to the mission. She is currently working as an expert on UN peacekeeping. She has an experience of working at the post of Senior Fellow & Director at Protecting Civilians in Conflict Programme at the Stimson Center.

Left: Aditi Gorur (Image Credit: stimson.org); Right: Sohini Chatterjee (Image Credit: sipa.columbia.edu)

Sohini Chatterjee, after getting appointed, issued a formal statement saying that the Biden Administration would have a more deliberate and thoughtful engagement with India.

In this week's Special Section, let's have a look at some of the major highlights of 72nd Republic Day of India that was celebrated on January 26, 2021 (Tuesday).

Image Credit: https://digitallylearn.com/

The celebration started with Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, paying tribute to the fallen soldiers by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial, India Gate. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was scheduled to visit India as a chief guest for the occasion but he canceled his visit due to an increase in Corona cases in his country. He, however, did send a video message saying that he was looking forward to join the celebration. He assured that he would visit India in coming months.

Image Credit: https://www.dnaindia.com/

The parade had various theme based display of models. Some of them were: a model of Ram Mandir by Uttar Pradesh; and, a model of Sun Temple, that is located at Modhera, by Gujarat. Punjab Tableau showcased the glory of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur, ninth Sikh Guru.

UP Tableau; Image Credit: ANI

Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force too showcased their glory and pride. Indian Army presented T-90 Bhishma - which is a main battle tank, Pinaka - which is a multi-launcher rocket system and Samvijay - which is an electronic warfare system. Indian Air Force showcased models of its light combat aircraft -Tejas. The participation from Indian Air Force also comprised of thirty-eight aircraft, that included Rafale and four aircraft of the Indian Army. The Indian Navy showcased models of Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant.

Image Credit: https://www.financialexpress.com/

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawaans also participated in the parade by marching with the national flag of India on a frozen water body in Ladakh.

Image Credit: IANS

The entire parade is available on YouTube. It can be viewed on the official YouTube channel of Doordarshan National.

That is all for this week.

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*Disclaimer: The information has been presented in this blog after reviewing various news articles. In case you find any article, or if you have any article, that states some facts differently, then share them in the comment section. Please keep the publishing date of the article in mind as it may be an update on the article which was published previously, or it may contain outdated information if it was published before the date mentioned in this blog. The blogger is not responsible for any transaction that happens between the reader and the brand.