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Eco/Invest/Demography

Insurers prefer private equity investments over Hedge Funds: Goldman Sachs Survey

Private equity was the most-favored asset class for insurers seeking to increase investment returns, followed by middle market corporate loans and infrastructure debt, the survey said.

Private equity returns in the past 10 years “have been strong and have outperformed other asset classes,” Michael Siegel, global head of insurance asset management at GSA, told a media briefing, which he said helped explain consistent insurer interest in the asset class in recent years.

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1/3rd of Indian small businesses turn to technology to combat COVID-19

“Indian small businesses are ambitious, forward-looking and focused on their customers. Many turned to technology to improve customer satisfaction and business strategy last year.

“In a post-COVID era, the ability to identify and invest in suitable technologies to improve business efficiency and profitability will be critical for small business success. India’s youthful small business sector has proven it has this savviness in abundance,” Chau said.

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Climate change can erase 18% of global GDP , Malaysia, Thailand, India, Philippines and Indonesia most vulnerable:Swiss Re

“Our analysis shows the benefit of investing in a net-zero economy. For example, adding just 10% to the USD 6.3 trillion of annual global infrastructure investments would limit the average temperature increase to 3/4 below 2°C. This is just a fraction of the loss in global GDP that we face if we don’t take appropriate action,“ said Jérôme Haegeli, Swiss Re’s Group Chief Economist

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Why India is shattering global infection records

Despite warnings and advice that precautions were needed, authorities were unprepared for the magnitude of the surge, said K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.

Critics have pointed to the government deciding to not pause Hindu religious festivals or elections, and experts say that these may have exacerbated the surge.

“Authorities across India, without exception, put public health priorities on the back burner,” Reddy said.

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Vaccinating everyone above 18 yrs to cost just 0.36% of GDP: India Ratings

”This means that the total size of the population that will now be eligible for vaccination would be 84.19 crore out of the total population of 133.26 crore,” India Ratings and Research said a note.

Assuming two doses of vaccines at Rs 400 per dose for new vaccine procurement and 5 per cent wastage, the cost for the central government will come to Rs 62,103 crore for 155.4 crore doses, it said.

The total of the two comes to Rs 67,193 crore which ”works out to be just 0.36 per cent of GDP,” it noted.

The maximum impact is likely to be on Bihar (0.60 per cent of gross state domestic product or GSDP), followed by Uttar Pradesh (0.47 per cent), Jharkhand (0.37 per cent), Manipur (0.36 per cent), Assam (0.35 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (0.30 per cent) and Odisha (0.30 per cent).

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Kenyan insurer Pula offers lifeline to African farmers hit by climate change, to foray into Brazil and India

CEO Thomas Njeru co-founded the company in 2015 with Dutch entrepreneur Rose Goslinga after the pair spotted a gap in the insurance market.
Because of climate change, farmers are having to contend with unpredictable rain patterns, frequent droughts and even the emergence of new pests and diseases, Njeru said.In January, Pula raised $6 million in a funding round led by London-based TLcom Capital, to invest in new markets, strengthen existing products and design new ones. Njeru said the company’s next targets are Brazil and India.

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Israel logs Indian Covid-19 variant, sees some vaccine efficacy against it

An initial seven cases of the Indian variant were detected in Israel last week among people arriving from abroad and who have since undergone preliminary testing, the Health Ministry said.

“The impression is that the Pfizer vaccine has efficacy against it, albeit a reduced efficacy,” the ministry’s director-general, Hezi Levy, told Kan public radio, saying the number of cases of the variant in Israel now stood at eight.

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