UPSC has begun the application process for 2022. As many as 861 vacancies have been notified through the recruitment drive this year. The registration process will continue till February 22. The preliminary exam will be held on June 5. To crack the exam, candidates must remain up to date with the latest important events and happenings in the world. Here’s the top news of the past week:

India 3rd country to report 5 lakh Covid deaths

India became the third country in the world to officially record more than 5 lakh Covid-19 deaths. The US had recorded over 9.1 lakh Covid-19 fatalities, followed by Brazil with almost 6.3 lakh Covid-19 deaths so far. Russia comes in fourth with 3.3 lakh deaths followed by Mexico with 3.07 lakh deaths. India’s death toll had reached 4 lakh on July 1, 2020. This was also the longest time taken for a 1-lakh increase in fatalities thus indicating a decrease in deaths.

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Lata Mangeshkar death

Lata Mangeshkar died at the age of 92 after suffering a multiple-organ failure. She breathed her last at 8-12 am on February 6. She was diagnosed with Covid-19 last month and had been admitted at the Breach Candy Hospital for 29 days. She had tested positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms on January 8. She was also being treated for pneumonia. Known as the Nightingale of India, her last full album was for the late filmmaker Yash Chopra for the film Veer Zaara while her last song was Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti Ki which was released on March 30, 2021, as a tribute to the Indian Army.

Beijing Winter Olympics begin

The Beijing Winter Olympics began on February 4. It will take place over 16 days and the closing ceremony will be held on February 20. India’s chargé d’affaires in the Beijing embassy did not attend the opening or closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics 2022 in the Chinese capital after China honoured a military commander involved in the Galwan Valley clashes as its torchbearer for the mega sporting event.

Union Budget 2022 announced

On February 1, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2022. She had announced that the GDP of India will be the highest amongst all economies and added that the country will report economic growth of 9.2 per cent in FY22. Among other highlights, the Reserve Bank of India will launch the central bank digital currency — a centralised digital rupee, a 5G spectrum auction has been proposed, taxpayers will now have a two-year window to correct errors and file a revised income tax among others.

Sania Mirza announces retirement

On January 19, Sania Mirza announced her retirement from tennis. She will be retiring after the 2022 season. She has been playing on the professional tour since 2003. She is also a former world number 1 in women’s doubles and has won six Grand Slam titles to date. She was also the first Indian woman who reached world number 27 making her the highest-ranked female player ever from India in tennis.

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Nadal becomes the first man to win 21 Grand Slams

Rafael Nadal became the first man to win 21 Grand Slam titles. He also became the fourth man to win all the Grand Slam titles at least twice. He defeated Daniil Medvedev in a 5 hour 24 minutes match to win his second Australian Open title. He beat his rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who are now one Grand Slam short of him.

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