Weekly Update: February 22, 2021 - February 26, 2021

Hard work keeps the wrinkle out of the mind and spirit.
-Helena Rubinstein
(December 25, 1872 - April 01, 1965; American-Polish Businesswoman)

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Let's start!

Here is a Fun Fact that you may not, or may, know: T. S. Eliot, a poet, wore green make-up most of the time.

In Pic: T. S. Eliot; Image Credit: Keystone Pictures USA / Alamy Stock Photo

He apparently wore green make-up just to look more interesting.

February 22, 2021 (Monday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,10,05,850
Recovered - 1,06,99,410
Deceased - 1,56,385

:::Tata Motors launched a new version of its seven-seater SUV - Tata Safari, the price of which ranges from ₹14.69 lakhs (ex-showroom) to ₹21.25 lakhs (ex-showroom). The new version of Tata Safari will be available in six variants namely, XE, XM, XT, XT+, XZ, and XZ+. All the variants are powered by a 1956cc Kryotec 2.0 liter turbo-diesel engine. The engine is paired to a 6-speed manual & automatic gearbox and it offers a maximum power of 170 PS & a peak torque of 350 Nm. Tata Safari 2021 is loaded with features like an 8.8-inch floating island screen with iRA connected tech, a 9-speaker JBL audio system, automatic climate control, third-row ac vents, and a 6-way powered driver seat.

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

Guenter Butschek, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Tata Safari, issued a media statement saying that the new Tata Safari was an impressive endorsement of their stated intentions of enhancing presence in the faster-growing market segment.

:::Jasmine Harrison became the youngest woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She departed from La Gomera in the Canary Islands in December 2020 & reached Antigua in the Caribbean, and covered three thousand miles in seventy days three hours & forty-eight minutes.

In Pic: Jasmine Harrison; Image Credit: Andreas Galsgaard/Atlantic Campaigns via Reuters

Jasmine Harrison is a part-time swimming teacher and a bartender. She resides in the United Kingdom.

February 23, 2021 (Tuesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,10,16,434
Recovered - 1,07,12,665
Deceased - 1,56,463

:::Joe Biden, President of the United States of America, scrapped the citizenship test that was introduced by the previous President Donald Trump. Biden Administration has decided to revert to the 2008 civic test module wherein candidates will only be required to demonstrate their basic understanding of English and pass a civic test. Doug Rand, a co-founder of Boundless Immigration, issued a statement saying that Biden simply restored the status quo that Trump jammed through an ideologically warped version in December 2020 in an obvious effort to make citizenship harder to achieve. US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) also issued a statement saying that the decision to scrap the 2020 civic test was consistent with the President's executive order on restoring faith in their legal immigration systems.

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

Both the versions of the test will be offered by USCIS till April 19, 2021; however, candidates who file for citizenship on or after March 01, 2021, will only take the earlier 2008 civic test.

:::Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) successfully launched VL-SRSAM System. VL-SRSAM stands for Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile, and it has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO for the Indian Navy. The missile system can neutralize various close-range aerial threats. The Defence Ministry issued a public statement saying that the missile system was tested for minimum & maximum range and that it intercepted the simulated targets with pinpoint accuracy.

Image Credit: Defence News | Quora

The launch was carried out from a static vertical launcher from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

February 24, 2021 (Wednesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,10,30,176
Recovered - 1,07,26,702
Deceased - 1,56,567

:::The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered an immediate inspection of Boeing 777-200 planes with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. The FAA issued a formal statement saying that it may revise the directive to set a new interval for inspection or subsequent ones after it receives the initial results as well as the other data gained from the ongoing investigation. Boeing responded to the statement by saying that it supports the latest inspection guidance issued by the FAA and that it would work through the process with its customers.

Image Credit: CJ Ostrosky/POGO

The FAA ordered an immediate inspection following the failure of an engine on a United flight on Saturday (February 20, 2021). The Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines are used in 128 airplanes.

:::The Union Government made an announcement saying that it had lifted the embargo on private sector banks for the conduct of banking transactions that are related to the government. These transactions include taxes and other revenue payment facilities, pension payments & small saving schemes among others. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister of India, said in a tweet that all the banks will now be able to participate & be equal partners in the development of the Indian economy and enhance the customer experience.

In Pic: Nirmala Sitharaman; Image Credit: https://www.moneycontrol.com/

After the Union Government made this announcement, Nifty went up by 1.69% to 36,493.80 and Sensex went up by 1.80%.

February 25, 2021 (Thursday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,10,46,914
Recovered - 1,07,38,501
Deceased - 1,56,705

:::The Special Investigations Branch of Customs sent out an alert to cross-country  GST, customs, DRI, and airport authorities about the illegal export of human hair. The smuggling trail of human hair ends in China and costs India over ₹100 crores a year. The officials said that the consignment of human hair is being undervalued. A kilo costs between ₹4,500/- and ₹6,000/-; however, the top five exporters showed that their consignments were priced between ₹27.87/- and ₹1,400/- per kilo. Sunil Eamami, a member of the Human Hair and Hair Products Manufacturers & Exporters Association of India, told a media company that the traders of Myanmar & Bangladesh had started to buy directly from middlemen and then smuggling it by showing that the consignment was either of cotton or something else from India. He added that the traders then process raw hair with cheap labor and dispatch it to China.

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

The hair export market is worth ₹6,000-₹8,000 crores and it can employ around 6-8 lakhs people in India.

:::Fifty-Seven members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) supported the proposal put forward by India and South Africa regarding the waiver of "Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)" on COVID-19 Vaccines. Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce & Industry, said at Ficci's International Conference on Pharmaceuticals & Medical Device Sector that the waiver would allow more countries to get equitable access to medicines for COVID-19. The final decision to waive TRIPS on COVID-19 vaccines will be taken by all the member states of WTO at the General Council in March 2021.

In Pic: Piyush Goyal; Image Credit: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (REUTERS)

The proposal to waive TRIPS on COVID-19 vaccines is currently being opposed by China, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Switzerland, Japan, and Australia, among others.

February 26, 2021 (Friday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,10,63,491
Recovered - 1,07,50,680
Deceased - 1,56,825

:::The Canadians of Indian Origin protested against the attacks by Khalistan supporters on Hindu minorities. The attacks were allegedly instigated as a result of the ongoing protest against the farm laws in India. One of the protestors said that they expect their leaders to protect everyone without any discrimination. Anurag Srivastava, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated during a recent weekly briefing by saying that they had come across threats & intimidation of some members of the Indian community in Canada and that those threats had come from certain fringe elements in Canada.

Image Credit: Image Credit: https://www.aninews.in/

Anurag Srivastava added that the MEA had taken this up with the Canadian authorities in Ottawa and Delhi.

:::Twitter announced two new features during a meeting with its analysts and investors. The first feature is called, "Super Follow". This feature would allow its users to charge their followers and offer them exclusive benefits like a subscriber-only newsletter, videos, deals, and discounts. The second feature announced by Twitter is called, "Community". This feature would allow users to create & join groups based on their interests.

Image Credit: Fabian Sommer/picture alliance/Getty Images

Both the features are yet to be launched.

In this week's Special Section, let's have a look at some of the highlights from the life of Chandra Shekhar Azad, one of the bravest Indian freedom fighters.

Image Credit: https://www.peoplematters.in/

He was born on July 23, 1906. At a very young age of fourteen, he participated in the non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. The non-cooperation movement was in response to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in which more than thousands of Indians were killed by the Britishers. Chandra Shekhar Azad was captured by the Britishers. While he was being interrogated, he was asked to share details about himself. He introduced himself as Azad (Hindi for freedom), his father as Swatantra (Hindi for independence), and his residence as the prison.

Image Credit: https://vikramroymehta.com/

Azad is well known for leading the Kakori Train Robbery. The robbery was planned and executed to shake the British Empire that was ruling India. Many of his team members - Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri, and Thankur Roshan Singh - were captured and sentenced to be hanged. He, however, escaped and formed Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA).

HSRA was formed by re-organizing Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) - an association that was founded by his team members who were sentenced to be hanged.

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

On February 27, 1931, he got surrounded by the Britishers at Azad Park that was known as Alfred Park during British rule. He fought them for a long time with the limited bullets that he had. He shot himself on the head after he ran out of ammunition and fulfilled his vow of dying as a free man & not as a prisoner of Britishers.

His documentary is available on the official YouTube channel of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. You may view it on my blog post too.

That is all for this week.

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I hope that the blog was useful and it helped you in catching up with what happened this week. 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.