Weekly Update: April 19, 2021 - April 23, 2021

Persistence overshadows even talent as the most valuable resource shaping the quality of life.
-Tony Robbins
(February 29, 1960; American Author)

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Here is a Fun Fact that you may not, or may, know: Your entire body stops growing at a certain age except your nose. A human nose never stops growing.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Similarly, your ears also never stop growing.

April 19, 2021 (Monday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,50,61,919
Recovered - 1,29,53,821
Deceased - 1,78,769

:::Mercedes-Benz revealed its new 7-seater electric SUV - EQB. The SUV was revealed at the Shanghai Auto Expo. It takes just thirty minutes to charge the car from 10% to 80%, depending on the State of Charge (SoC). The company claims that it can be driven for 378 kilometers after it is fully charged. EQB can be charged at up to 11 kW with alternating current (AC) by using the onboard charger.

Image Credit: electrive.com

Mercedes-Benz has scheduled the launch of the international version of EQB at the end of 2021. This version will be produced in Kecskemet (Hungary). The launch will be followed by its entry into the US market that is tentatively scheduled for 2022.

:::According to a report published by Bloomberg, Andre Soelistyo will head GoTo. GoTo is the holding company of Gojek & Tokopedia. It will be created after the merger process of Gojek and Tokopedia is complete. GoTo will have three business units:

1. Gojek - The ride hailing provider
2. Tokopedia - The e-commerce unit of Gojek
3. Dompet Karya Anak Bangsa (DKAB) - A financial service provider.

Andre Soelistyo is the co-Chief Executive Officer (co-CEO) of Gojek, William Tanuwijaya is the CEO of Tokopedia, and Andre Soelistyo is the CEO of DKAB.

Image Credit: https://portalbangkabelitung.pikiran-rakyat.com/

The owners of Tokopedia will hold 42% shares in the holding company and the rest 58% of the shares will be allotted to the shareholders. Patrick Cao will retain his position as the President of Tokopedia.

April 20, 2021 (Tuesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India as reported on Aarogya Set App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,53,21,089
Recovered - 1,31,08,582
Deceased - 1,80,530

:::Sonu Chaudhary, 27 years young M. Tech professional, was arrested for creating fake websites of real companies like Bajaj Finance, Aditya Finance, JK Tyres, and Ceat Tyres. He would ask clients to pay money to secure dealership and franchise contracts of the companies. He used fake documents to open a bank account in which victims would deposit money. The Cyber Police arrested him from Darbhanga (Bihar).

Image Credit: ITProPortal

He has duped around 100 people for ₹49 lakhs by creating 14 fake websites of real companies and 150 fake websites of fake companies.

:::Chargebee became a unicorn by raising $125 million at a valuation of $1.4 billion. The funding round was led by Tiger Global, Insight Venture Partners, and Sapphire Ventures.

Image Credit: Entracker

Chargebee is a Chennai-based start-up that assists businesses with subscription billing and revenue management. It was founded in 2011 by Krish Subramaniam, Rajaraman Santhanam, Saravanan KP, and Thiyagarajan T.

April 21, 2021 (Wednesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,56,16,130
Recovered - 1,32,76,039
Deceased - 1,82,553

:::Amazon launched its streaming media player Fire TV Cube. It is priced at ₹12,999/- and offers the combined features of Echo Smart Speaker & Fire TV. Fire TV Cube runs on Fire TV Operating System and supports High Dynamic Range (HDR), HDR 10+, Dolby Vision, & 4k Ultra High Dynamic (UHD) content at up to 60 frames per second. The users can also use the device to dim the lights, check the weather, and listen to the news while the television is off. Parag Gupta, Head of Amazon Devices India, called this device the fastest & the most powerful and said that it has been developed to deliver a theater-like experience at home after gathering a wealth of feedback about how customers use voice in their living room.

Image Credit: Amazon India

Amazon Fire TV Cube is available on Amazon and at select Croma & Reliance outlets.

:::The Daily Mail filed a lawsuit against Google for allegedly controlling tools that are used to sell ad inventory and space on a publisher's website. The publisher has said in the lawsuit that the lack of competition for the publisher's inventory depresses prices and reduces the amount & quality of news that is available to the readers, but Google ends up ahead as it controls a growing share of the remaining ad space. The Daily Mail owns MailOnline Newspaper. Google has called these claims meritless and inaccurate.

Image Credit: Search Engine Roundtable

The Daily Mail has filed a lawsuit in US District Court that is located in New York.

April 22, 2021 (Thursday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India as per Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,59,30,965
Recovered - 1,34,54,880
Deceased - 1,84,657

:::An order worth ₹2,500 crores was bagged by L&T Construction. The company has secured the order from Oilfields Supply Company Saudi. The order is estimated to complete within 30 months. In these 30 months, L&T Construction will design & construct an administrative building, ancillary buildings, associated infrastructure, and storage yard along with civil, structural, and architectural work.

Image Credit: Middle East Solar Industry Association

A spokesperson from Oilfields Supply Company Saudi said that the construction would act as a business incubator to support the oil & gas industry in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and help accelerate industrial growth in the energy sector.

:::Revolut, a UK-based fintech start-up, appointed Paroma Chatterjee as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its Indian operations. Paroma Chatterjee holds graduation from the Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow). She has work experience of 15 years. Her previous employers were reputed India-based companies like Lendingkart, Flipkart, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bharti Airtel.

In Pic: Paroma Chatterjee; Image Credit: The Economic Times

Revolut currently has its presence in 35 countries with a customer base of 15 million. The start-up has a valuation of $5.5 billion. It aims to launch its app in India by 2022. The app will majorly compete with Google Pay and PhonePe.

April 23, 2021 (Friday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,62,63,695
Recovered - 1,36,48,159
Deceased - 1,86,920

:::Reliance Industries Ltd bought Stoke Park for approximately ₹592 crores under the legal consultancy of Mayer Brown International LLP and Khaitan & Co, and the financial & tax advisory of Ernst & Young (UK). Stoke Park is Britain's country club and luxury golf resort. A spokesperson from Reliance said that the company would look to enhance the sports & leisure facilities while fully complying with the planning guidelines & local regulations.

In Pic: Mukesh Ambani (Left) and Stoke Park (Right); Image Credit: Hindustan Times

This is the second Britain-based brand bought by Reliance. It previously bought Hamley's, Britain's toy store, in 2019.

:::According to a survey conducted by Dun & Bradstreet, a data firm, the Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted 82% of small businesses. A total of 250 companies with an annual turnover of more than ₹100-250 crores participated in the survey. 70% of the companies said that it would take them at least one year to recover the losses that they have suffered during the pandemic. 60% of the companies said that they expect the government to take more measures and provide more support to them. The companies that participated in the survey stated three major challenges that they still suffer due to the pandemic. These challenges are as follows:

1. Market access, stated by 42% of the companies;
2. Overall productivity, stated by 37% of the companies; and,
3. Access to more finance, stated by 34% of the companies.

Image Credit: India Infrahub

The survey also concluded that nearly 95% of the companies were affected in April 2020. Some companies recovered but approximately 70% remained affected in August 2020. This number came down in February 2021 when 40% of the companies said that they remained affected.

In this week's Special Section, let us go through some important do's and don'ts to consider before, while, and after taking a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Image Credit: DNA India

Here are some do's to consider before, while, and after taking a dose of the vaccine:

1. Consult a general physician and get a routine examination done before getting vaccinated. This is a measure that is recommended to people who are allergic to any medicine or drug and who have low immunity.
   
   
2. Eat something light before visiting a vaccination center.
   
   
3. Schedule an appointment by registering yourself & other eligible family members on the official website of COWIN. Carry identify cards to the center for verification.
   
   
4. Follow all the Covid-19 guidelines at the center that have been prescribed by the authorities.
   
   
5. Remain calm and stay relaxed during the process.

Here are some don'ts to consider before, while, and after taking a dose of the vaccine:

1. Do not consume alcohol or any other substance.
   
   
2. If you observe any side effects, then do not consume any medicine without consulting a doctor.
   
   
3. Do not panic in case of any side effects as they do not last for more than 24-48 hours.

Let us also go through some common side effects that one may follow after getting vaccinated.

1. One may feel pain and/or swelling at the site where the vaccine was injected.
   
   
2. One may experience chills and fever for 24-48 hours.
   
   
3. One may also experience tiredness & headache for 24-48 hours.

The side effects generally last for 24 hours. The period of 48 hours is the maximum time for which they may persist.

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has uploaded a document on its official website. The document consists of answers to some frequently asked questions. You may click here to read the document.

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.