Category:

Eco/Invest/Demography

Scientists fear COVID-19 UK variant has mutated again

Tests conducted on samples of the Kent variant, named after the region in England where it was first detected, show a mutation, called ‘E484K’, already detected in the South Africa and Brazil variants. There are fears that this mutation could evade the immune system and that the vaccines currently being administered may prove less effective against these further mutating variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

read more

No violation of data privacy under National Digital Health Mission, Rajya Sabha told

Providing the current status of roll out of health id under NDHM, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said the pilot phase of the mission is active in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

As on January 21, as many as 6,30,478 Health IDs have been generated. The selection of vendors for NDHM is compliant with various applicable rules and policies of the government, he said.

read more

IIFCL may be subsumed into new DFI: DFS Secretary

The Union Budget 2021-22 presented in Parliament on Monday proposed setting up a Development Finance Institution (DFI) with an initial capital of Rs 20,000 crore to mobilise Rs 111 lakh crore required for funding the ambitious National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).

National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), the proposed DFI, will anchor the very ambitious NIP, he said.

About 7,000 projects have been identified under the NIP with projected investment of a whopping Rs 111 lakh crore during 2020-25.

read more

Coronavirus can be controlled, WHO Chief says, pointing to decrease in number of new cases

On Friday, the WHO chief warned against coronavirus vaccine hoarding, saying it could lead to slow global economic recovery and most importantly a never-ending pandemic.

Since the start of the pandemic last year, more than 103 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide, with over 2.2 million fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

read more

India’s more relaxed rules on investment in insurers set to attract U.S., European players

A lawyer said several insurers from Asia have also shown interest in ramping up Indian investments, and started seeking more details about Monday’s proposal hours after it was announced.

In a statement to Reuters, lobby group U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said New Delhi’s decision will help American insurance companies enhance financial inclusion in India.

read more

India showing a declining trend of Covid-19 cases since last four months, says government

The government’s strategy of focusing on testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine-containment is the fundamental approach for managing infectious disease outbreaks of epidemic or pandemic in nature, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said, adding that the strategy has been recommended globally and by the World Health Organisation for suppressing transmission or breaking the cycle of transmission of Covid-19.

read more

Insurer AIG pays $12 million fine in NY pension transfer probe

An AIG life insurance unit, American General Life Insurance Company, entered into four large-scale deals involving such plans and bid on several others between January 2014 and June 2019 without being licensed in New York, the regulator said.

AIG will also transfer the handling of such transactions to a New York-based subsidiary, the regulator added.

read more

Aviva investors threatens to ditch top carbon emitters over climate inaction

Among the actions Aviva said it expects of the companies are that they commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and ensure their plan to do so is in line with the Science-Based Targets Initiative, an NGO-led group that signs off on corporate climate plans.

The companies would need to integrate the climate goals into their business strategy, including capital expenditure plans; set short- and medium-term targets; align management pay with the goals; and ensure lobbying efforts supported the goals.

read more