Weekly Update: April 26, 2021 - April 30, 2021

Arise, awake, and do not stop until the goal is reached.
-Swami Vivekananda
(January 12, 1863 - July 04, 1902; Indian Monk)

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Let's start!

Here is a Fun Fact that you may not, or may, know: The rain that we experience on a particular day might have fallen earlier too.

Image Credit: Getty Images

This is because of the water cycle that consists of four stages, namely: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.

April 26, 2021 (Monday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,73,13,163
Recovered - 1,43,04,382
Deceased - 1,95,123

:::David Satterfield, the US Ambassador in Turkey, was summoned by Sedat Onal, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkey as a protest to the decision made by the US to mark the deportation and killing of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Sedat Onal condemned the statement made by the US and said that it did not have any legal ground in terms of international law & that the statement has hurt the Turkish people.

Image Credit: DW

Turkey has proposed to call for a joint history commission to investigate the matter.

:::Mathew Price sued Apple for allegedly blocking his account and his access to services worth $25,000/-. Mathew Price, a customer of Apple, lost access to services like in-app purchases, programs, and platform extensions. He has said in the lawsuit that Apple's unlawful & unconscionable clause is a prohibited de facto liquidated damages provision, which is triggered when Apple suspects its customers, have breached its terms & conditions.

Image Credit: HT Tech

Mathew Price has asked for additional compensation by claiming that the usability of his iPad Pro has gone down since the time Apple has blocked his account and access to the services.

April 27, 2021 (Tuesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,76,36,307
Recovered - 1,45,56,209
Deceased - 1,97,894

:::Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of forty American companies created a task force called The Global Task Force on Pandemic Response: Mobilizing for India. The task force will mobilize resources like medical supplies, vaccines, oxygen, and other life-saving assistance to help India fight the battle against Covid-19.

Image Credit: Brunel University London

Puneet Tenjen, the CEO of Deloitte, assured that the task force would get twenty thousand oxygen concentrators to India in the next few weeks and said that their focus is to do the very best that they can in any way possible.

:::Nethra Kumanan became the first Indian woman and the tenth Indian to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in sailing. She said that she was excited to represent the country and that the Olympics have been her goal for a long time.

In Pic: Nethra Kumanan; Image Credit: The Bridge

Nethra Kumanan is a twenty-three years young Chennai-based sailor who has previously represented India at Asian Games in 2014 and 2018.

April 28, 2021 (Wednesday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,79,97,267
Recovered - 1,48,17,371
Deceased - 2,01,187

:::Bihar's West Champaran Police arrested four people, including two Nepalese citizens, for smuggling an idol of Lord Budhha from Nepal. They were arrested during a raid that was conducted at the house of Mohit Kumar after receiving a tip from a reliable source. Upendra Nath Verma, The Superintendent of Police (SP), said that the department has learned that the idol was brought from Kathmandu and further investigation into the matter was on.

Image Credit: Times of India

The idol is 21cm in height, 15cm in width, and 7.75kg of weight. It is believed to be made up of Ashtadhatu.

:::Kia announced the rebranding of Kia Motors India. It will now be called Kia India instead of Kia Motors India. Kookhyun Shim, the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Kia India, called this moment proud and historic.

Image Credit: India TV

India has become the first country to transition to a new brand identity after the company's headquarters in South Korea.

April 19, 2021 (Thursday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India as reported on Aarogya Setu App were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,83,76,524
Recovered - 1,50,86,878
Deceased - 2,04,832

:::Atlassian, an Australia-based software company, announced a new policy called, "Team Anywhere". According to the policy, an employee will have to travel to his/her nearest office only four times a year. The policy will be applicable for locations where the company has its base.

In Pic: Scott Farquhar (left) and Mike Cannon-Brookes (right); Image Credit: The Australian

Atlassian has a global staff of 5,700 and it will now look to acquire more space to create smaller co-working hubs that are closer to where its employees live.

:::Objections were raised by senior editors of the Association of Electronic Media Editors & News Directors (AEMEND) against the directive issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). To avoid airing and spreading fake news, PEMRA advised all the satellite TV channels to rely on the briefings given by a cabinet member and avoid reporting about the ongoing government meetings.

Image Credit: Dawn

Azhar Abbas, the President of AEMEND, termed this directive as controversial and said that it was aimed to curb the freedom of the media.

April 30, 2021 (Friday)
:::The number of Corona Cases across India were as follows:
Confirmed - 1,87,62,976
Recovered - 1,53,84,418
Deceased - 2,08,330

:::The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) reduced the ARN registration and renewal fee for individual distributors by 50%. AMFI also took an important decision for its employees. It has reduced the charges of EUIN registration and renewal fee from ₹1,500/- and ₹750/-, respectively, to ₹500/-. The other institutions to get the benefit include post offices and microfinance institutions. AMFI reduced ARN registration & renewal fee for them by 50% and the revised charges are ₹7,500/- & ₹3,750/- respectively. By lowering the prices, AMFI aims to encourage new and young individuals across the country to reach out to a larger base of small savers.

Image Credit: Trade Brains

The revised charges have come into effect from May 01, 2021.

:::According to a survey conducted by ADP Research Institute, 95% of workers in India were concerned about their financial or job security due to the ongoing pandemic. However, the same percentage of people also said that they were optimistic about growing job opportunities in the next five years. The survey also concluded that the pandemic has affected, in one way or another, around 86% of professionals out of which at least half of them lost their job, one-third took a pay cut, and a quarter of them reduced either their working hours or their responsibilities.

Image Credit: ADP Research Institute | Linkedin

The survey was conducted across seventeen countries and it witnessed a participation of around 32,471 people.

In this week's Special Section, let's review the guidelines that one needs to keep in mind for Plasma Donation.

Image Credit: Getty Images

The guidelines for plasma donation announced by the Government of India are as follows:

1. Schedule an appointment for donation and carry a photocopy of your Covid-19 negative report & of your Aadhaar card (front-back).
   
2. Women who have been pregnant cannot donate Covid-19 convalescent plasma.
   
3. You can donate plasma after 28 days of getting vaccinated.
   
4. In case of asymptomatic, plasma can be donated only after 14 days from the date you receive your Covid-19 positive report.
   
5. In case of symptomatic, plasma can be donated only after 14 days from the date your symptoms have resolved.
6. It is recommended to donate plasma only if you have adequate antibodies in the blood.
7. Contact your family doctor for any information/queries related to plasma donation.

The points mentioned above can be verified on Twitter @mygovindia.

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.