Weekly Update: March 08, 2021 - March 12, 2021

It makes a big difference in your life when you stay positive.
-Ellen DeGeneres
(January 26, 1958; American Comedian)

[Do not forget to subscribe and share this blog with everyone you know.]

Let's start!

Here is a Fun Fact that you may not, or may, know: The fear of getting lost inside a mall is called, "Gruen Transfer".

Image Credit: Elias Stein

It is named after Victor Gruen. He was an Australian architect who identified that an intentionally confusing layout leads to consumers spending more time and money in a shopping venue.

March 08, 2021 (Monday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,12,29,398
Recovered - 1,08,82,798
Deceased - 1,57,853

:::LetsVenture started a new network for only women to widen the base of women angel investors. LetsVenture is an online platform that assists start-ups to raise seed capital. Shanti Mohan, the Founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LetsVenture, said that the platform aims to get a hundred high net-worth woman angel investors on board for the new network and that the platform will also launch at least five lead syndicates run by women. The new network will help women investors to make bets of a small amount in the start-ups during their initial stage.

Image Credit: LetsVenture

It is expected that the first cohort of the new network will be ready by April 2021.

:::The shareholders of Tata Motors approved the transfer of Passenger Vehicles (PV) business to TML Business Analytics Services. The company, in a regulatory filing, said that it polled out a total of 2,15,41,38,392 votes out of which 2,15,32,39,294 (99.958%) were in favor and 8,99,098 (0.042%) were against. The management of the company observed that it was necessary to re-align the PV business to make sure the optimum running, growth & development of its undertaking and interest.

Image Credit: IANS

The transfer process is expected to conclude by June 2021.

March 09, 2021 (Tuesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,12,44,786
Recovered - 1,08,99,394
Deceased - 1,57,930

:::Volvo Cars unveiled XC40, its electric SUV. XC40 happens to be the second premium electric SUV in the Indian market. As per the European test cycles, XC40 offers a driving cycle of 418 kilometers. It goes from 0-100 kph in 4.9 seconds. The price is expected to be around ₹60 lakhs (ex-showroom). Volvo Cars will commence bookings for XC40 in June 2021 and deliveries in October 2021.

Image Credit: Volvo Cars

Volvo plans to electrify its entire portfolio by 2030.

:::A new set of guidelines were proposed by the Gujarat High Court. This new set of guidelines prohibit the social exclusion of women during their menstruation days. The new guidelines were proposed while hearing the public interest litigation (PIL) related to the February 2020 incident where sixty-eight girls, residing in the hostel of Shree Sahjanand Girls Institute (Bhuj), were forced to remove their undergarments to prove that they were not menstruating. The new set of guidelines were proposed by the bench that was headed by J. B. Pardiwala.

In Pic: Gujarat High Court; Image Credit: https://www.dnaindia.com/

The bench also proposed that the state government should spread awareness among citizens by putting up posters and by using audio-visual mediums.

March 10, 2021 (Wednesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,12,62,707
Recovered - 1,09,20,046
Deceased - 1,58,063

:::Google made an announcement saying that it will start deducting U.S taxes from payments that are made to Content Creators outside of the United States of America (USA). The tax will be deducted from the earnings that a Content Creator receives from viewers in the USA through ad views, YouTube Premium, Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Channel Membership. Content Creators need to submit their tax information in AdSense to determine the amount that will be deducted. Three scenarios that will determine how much tax will be deducted:

1. If tax information is not submitted
   - 24% tax will be deducted on total monthly earnings across all regions.
2. If tax information is submitted and the Content Creator is eligible for treaty benefit
   - 15% tax will be deducted from the money that is made every month from viewers in the USA.
3. If tax information is submitted and the Content Creator is not eligible for treaty benefit
   - 30% tax will be deducted from the money that is made every month from viewers in the USA.

Content Creators need to provide the tax information by May 31, 2021, and Google will start deducting the tax from early June 2021.

Image Credit: Shopify

The new taxation system will not apply to American Content Creators.

:::MakeMyTrip (MMT) was asked by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to re-list Treebo and FabHotels on its portal with immediate effect. Both the businesses were removed from MMT in the year 2018 after MMT tied-up with OYO and entered into a vertical arrangement that had an Appreciable Adverse Effect on Competition (AAEC) in the market. Treebo and FabHotels had accused MMT of removing their businesses from the platform because they were the competitors of OYO.

Image Credit: https://entrackr.com/

CCT has asked MMT to relist Treebo and FabHotels on Goibibo too.

March 11, 2021 (Thursday)
:::The number of Corona Cases as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,12,85,561
Recovered - 1,09,38,146
Deceased - 1,58,189

:::According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the wealth of Warren Buffett, the Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, jumped to $100.4 billion after he added $1.9 billion as a result of Berkshire Class A Shares hitting a record high. He is now the sixth member of the $100 billion club. The list includes Jeff Bezos on top with a wealth of $180 billion followed by Elon Musk with a wealth of $173 billion, Bill Gates with a wealth of $138 billion, Bernard Arnault with a wealth of $122 billion and Mark Zuckerberg with a wealth of $101 billion.

In Pic: Warren Buffett; Image Credit: https://appleinsider.com/

Warren Buffett is followed by Larry Page with a wealth of $94.20 billion, Sergey Brin with a wealth of $91.10 billion, Larry Ellison with a wealth of $86 billion, and Mukesh Ambani with a wealth of $84.70 billion.

:::Ericsson, Nokia, and Sony confirmed that they will not participate in Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2021. MWC is the world's largest mobile industry event. It is scheduled to be organized in June 2021 in Barcelona. A spokesperson from Nokia said that the company withdrew its participation from the event as the health of its employees and partners was of paramount importance to them. A spokesperson from Sony also issued a statement saying that as the world increasingly shifts towards digital and online opportunities to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the company would communicate in ways that can deliver their exciting product news to a wider audience.

Image Credit: Mobile World Congress

Ericsson was the first company to announce the withdrawal of its participation from the event.

March 12, 2021 (Friday)
:::The number of Corona Cases were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,13,08,846
Recovered - 1,09,53,303
Deceased - 1,58,306

:::The Supreme Court sought a response from the Central Government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenged the constitutional validity of The Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The PIL was filed by advocate-petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay because it barred any litigation that sought to change the character of a religious place from what it was at the time of independence. Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay said that the law was discriminatory as it deprived the Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists of re-claiming their ancient places of worship which were damaged & converted to Mosques during the reign of Muslim kings. The bench was headed by Chief Justice S. A. Bobde.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons (Pinakpani)

The only exception to be made in The Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, was the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute as the suits were pending before the trial court since 1949.

:::Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) declared ten primary schools as unauthorized under section 18 of the Right to Education Act 2009. These schools were functioning without permission from the Maharashtra Government. All ten schools that have been declared unauthorized are English medium and they are located in Belapur, Nerul, Turbhe, Ghansoli, and Airoli wards. The names of these schools are as follows:

1. Al Momina School, Belapur
2. Ikra International School, Nerul
3. The Orchid International School, Nerul
4. Navi Mumbai Christian English School, Turbhe
5. Rose Buds School, Turbhe
6. Saraswati Vidya Niketan School, Ghansoli
7. Orchid World Primary School, Ghansoli
8. Emphasis English School, Ghansoli
9. Blossom School, Ghansoli
10. Elim English School, Rabale

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

Abhijit Bangar, the Commissioner of NMMC, said in a statement that parents who had already admitted their child to these unauthorized schools should cancel admission and take admission in the nearest government-approved school so that their child does not suffer any educational loss.

In this week's Special Section, let's understand why Maha Shivratri is celebrated.

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

Shivratri is celebrated on the fourteenth day of every lunar month or the day before the new moon. Maha Shivratri, which translates to 'The Great Night of Shiva', is of the most spiritual significance among all Shivratris. During Maha Shivratri, nature pushes one's spirituality at its peak. There is a natural upsurge of energy in a human being because of the position of the northern hemisphere of the planet.

To feel the significance, it is recommended that the person remains awake with the spine vertical throughout the night to allow the natural upsurge of energies. This significance can be felt by everyone irrespective of what field they are pursuing - a spiritual path, family-oriented lifestyle, or an ambitious lifestyle.

You may read this in detail at the official website of Isha Foundation.

You may also watch the video below to understand what is Maha Shivratri.

That is all for this week.

Do subscribe to my blog to get updates. You can connect with me on Instagram @sachdev_ankur and you may show your support to this blog on Patreon @randomwalablog.

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.