Weekly Update: January 11, 2021 - January 15, 2021

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get.
But if you work really hard and you're kind,
amazing things will happen.
-Conan O'Brien
(April 18, 1963; American television host)

[Personal note: Kindly show your support to this blog on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/randomwalablog.]

Let's start!

Here is a Fun Fact that you may not, or may know: According to data compiled from various global sources by the Telegraph in the year 2017, Indonesia is the home to some of the shortest people in the world. The average height of an adult in the country is 5 feet 1.8 inches.

Image Credit: Pixabay

The tallest people are known to live in the Netherlands where the average height of an individual is 6 feet.

January 11, 2021 (Monday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,04,66,595
Recovered - 1,00,92,909
Deceased - 1,51,160

:::According to a report released by National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for the period 2019-2020, the percentage of alcohol consumption among women in Gujarat doubled, while the percentage nearly halved in case of men. A total of 33,343 women and 5,351 men were surveyed, out of which 200 women (0.6%) and 310 men (5.8%) claimed that they consume alcohol, as compared to 68 out of 22,932 women (0.3%) and 668 out of 6,018 men (11.1%) who claimed that they consume alcohol in the survey that was conducted in the year 2015.

Image Credit: https://hetv.org/

A senior IPS official reacted to the report by saying that the number is still underestimated as many people do not reveal their liquor status as it is a crime in the state.

:::Noida Authority imposed a fine of ₹25,000/- and ordered shutdown of a factory in Sector 63 for allegedly manufacturing banned single-use plastic glasses. Indu Prakash Singh, officer on special duty of the Noida Authority, said that the department would continue to randomly inspect factories and fine them if found guilty. Officials have also appealed general public to help them implement the complete ban on single-use plastics which choke sewers & drains and also cause harm to the ecology.

Image Credit: Tennews

Noida Authority has imposed a total fine of ₹40 lakh on many manufacturers since September 11, 2019 for violating the rule.

January 12, 2021 (Tuesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as per Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,04,79,179
Recovered - 1,01,11,294
Deceased - 1,51,327

:::BMW Group India launched BMW 220i M Sport. It has been priced at ₹40.90 lakh (ex-showroom) and it will be produced locally in India. M Sport is powered by a 2.0 litre, 4-cylinder, petrol engine that offers a maximum power output of 192 PS and generates 280 Nm of torque. It can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in just 7.1 seconds. BMW 220i M Sports is loaded with features like BMW Performance Control System, BMW ConnectedDrive tech, BMW Live Cockpit Professional, virtual assistant and gesture control.

Image Credit: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Vikram Pawah, President of BMW Group India, issued a statement saying that the company has designed M Sport with a focus on performance & sportiness, and that the car demonstrates powerful uniqueness to suit the requirements of motorsport fans.

:::William Burns, a career diplomat, was nominated by Joe Biden, US President elect, as head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). William Burns has previously served as the US deputy secretary of state and he is currently serving as the President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an international affairs think tank. He will become the first career diplomat to take the post of CIA director if the nomination is confirmed by the Senate. In his diplomatic career of more than thirty years, he has served five US Presidents - both Democrats and Republicans.

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

He has also led the delegation, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that held secret talks with Iran about the nuclear deal, which culminated in the year 2015.

January 13, 2021 (Wednesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,04,95,147
Recovered - 1,01,29,111
Deceased - 1,51,529

:::A group of India start-ups and investors formed a new alliance called, "Atmanirbhar Digital India Foundation (ADIF)". The objective of the alliance is to break the dominance of foreign internet giants like Google & Facebook by focusing on Indian start-ups that are run by Indian founders. The alliance has been set-up as a Trust that will work to provide a level playing field to the Indian companies.

Image Credit: https://yourstory.com/

Some of the members of ADIF are: Anand Lunia, fouding partner of India Quotien; Murugavel Janakiraman, from Matrimony; Ritesh Mallik, founder of Innov8 Co-Working; and, Sairee Chahal, from Sheroes.

:::Lieutenant Colonel G Y K Reddy, an Indian Army Officer, indigenously developed a 'microcopter'. It can be used by the Army to carry out surveillance inside a building or a room in which terrorists are hiding. The device is capable to fly for two hours at a maximum altitude of 4,500 metres.

Image Credit: ANI

Para Special Forces battalion in Jammu & Kashmir have successfully carried out trials and the team is now working on further improvements.

January 14, 2021 (Thursday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,05,12,093
Recovered - 1,01,46,763
Deceased - 1,51,727

:::Fintech experts issued a statement saying that digital platforms, like Google Play, should not host lending apps without strict scrutiny. Experts emphasized that the policies related to disclosure of minimum-maximum period for repayment, interest plus fee and total cost of the loan need to be further strengthened. Srikanth L, a coordinator at Cashless Consumer, agreed and added that even though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated that online lending be regulated, there is still a clear lack of supervision.

Image Credit: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

The lending apps came under the spotlight after the cases of them harassing, abusing and threatening their borrowers for repayment were reported.

:::Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) banned, and Network18 fired, Hemant Ghai - CNBC Awaaz anchor - along with Jaya Ghai (his wife) and Shyam Mohini Ghai (his mother), for fraudulent trading practices. It is being said that he pocketed around ₹3 crore by trading in stocks that were recommended on his show. He allegedly bought some shares on the previous day and sold them on the day when recommendations were made on his show.

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

The fraudulent practice carried out by Hemant Ghai is in violation of SEBI Act and Prohibition of Fraudulent & Unfair Trade Practices regulations.

January 15, 2021 (Friday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,05,27,683
Recovered - 1,01,62,738
Deceased - 1,51,918

:::Samsung introduced Galaxy S21 Series that includes Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra. Every phone in the series comes with a chipset that supports 5G, and every phone in the series is powered by 5nm-based Exynos 2100 5G SoC. While S21 Ultra is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on front & back, S21 & S21+ only have poly-carbonate back panels which look similar to a glass. Samsung claims that S21 Series has 20% better CPU performance, 35% better GPU performance and two times better AI as compared to its previous devices. Samsung, however, would not provide free earphones or charging adapter inside the box, and Samsung has also eliminated a micro-SD card slot.

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

The price starts from ₹69,999/- and goes up to ₹1,05,999/-. Samsung Galaxy S21 Series goes on sale in Indian on January 29, 2021.

:::India celebrated 73rd Army Day by organizing a marathon, Vijay Run, to commemorate Swarnim Vijay Varsh celebrations of India's victory over Pakistan in 1971. It was streamed live on different social media handles of the Indian Army. The 73rd Army Day was celebrated at Army Command headquarters to honour soldiers of the country. It is celebrated every year because the Indian Army got its first chief, Lieutenant General K M Cariappa, who adopted the slogan, 'Jai Hind', which means 'Victory to India'.

Image Credit: https://thedailyguardian.com/

The theme for last year's Army Day was, "Digital Transformation of Defense".

In this week's Special Section, i have a very important announcement to make. The second episode of my podcast will release on January 20, 2021 (Wednesday).

Thank you for loving the first episode. I hope that it sounded promising. The second episode features three topics:

1) Respecting an artist's work: Then vs Now
2) Our generation seeking acceptance

Third topic is a surprise that will be revealed in the podcast. My second episode is with Ekta Jasrotia. She runs her own podcast - Baatein Kuch Ankahee - on Anchor FM. In her podcast, she talks about those feelings which are often not talked about. She recently reached a milestone of fourteen hundred listeners, who are spread across the globe. Do listen to her podcast.

Click here to visit my podcast. Stay tuned for the second episode, and for many more episodes to come.

That is all for this week.

Do subscribe to my blog to get the updates. You can connect with me on Instagram @sachdev_ankur.

I hope that the blog was useful and it helped you in catching up with what happened. If you have anything to contribute, then please feel free to comment. Do share this blog with everyone you know and help them too.

*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.