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FM announces economic stimulus to boost demand by $10 billion

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced a one-time Rs 10,000 interest-free festival advance to all its officers and employees as part of plans to increase consumer spending to spur demand in the economy. 

She said the government will also shore up investment by spending extra Rs 260 billion ($3.41 billion) on roads, ports and defence projects, and offering Rs 120 billion in interest-free 50-year loans to state governments for spending on infrastructure before March 31,2021.

“All these measures are likely to create an additional demand of Rs 730 billion ($9.96 billion),” Sitharaman said, adding the proposals would stimulate demand in a “fiscally prudent way.”

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COVID-19 active caseload below 9 lakh for fourth consecutive day

“India continues to report a trend of steadily decreasing active cases.for the fourth day after the active cases dropped below the 9 lakh mark after a month, the decline continues,” the ministry said.

There are 8,61,853 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The national recovery rate has progressed to 86.36 per cent, the ministry said.

The ministry said that 77 per cent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 states and UTs

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As globe gallops into vaccine trials, insurers remain unfazed

While more than 40 experimental COVID-19 vaccines are being tested on humans, the insurance companies with decades of experience in assessing the risks of clinical trials don’t see anything to be unduly concerned about.

Executives at insurer Allianz and brokers Gallagher and Marsh, among the leading players in clinical trials insurance, told Reuters that premiums had only marginally increased so far in the current pandemic

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Natural disasters surge in past 20 years, likely to continue to wreak havoc: U.N.

China (577) and the United States (467) recorded the highest number of disaster events from 2000 to 2019, followed by India (321), the Philippines (304) and Indonesia (278), the U.N. said in a report issued the day before the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. Eight of the top 10 countries are in Asia.

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Lloyd’s of London reviews insurance contracts due to COVID-19

“The insurance industry must urgently reassess how it can better serve and support its customers,” Lloyd’s Chief Executive John Neal said in a statement.
Lloyd’s recommendations for simpler products including insurers carrying out a “linguistics review” of policy documents, investing in new products such as parametric insurance which pay out immediately when specific triggers are hit, and involving customers in product design.

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