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Eco/Invest/Demography

Coal baron seeks US benefits to treat his black lung disease:Report

Murray, an ally of President Donald Trump, filed a claim with the Department of Labor seeking to access federal benefits to treat his disease, which is caused by prolonged exposure to coal dust, Ohio Valley ReSource,  a National Public Radio affiliate, reported on Thursday.

The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is funded through a $1.10 per ton excise-tax on production of underground coal but runs a massive debt and is at risk of insolvency, according to the U.S. General Accountability Office.

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Headwinds for Google as rivals, customers criticise Fitbit concessions

Alphabet’s Google last week offered to restrict the use of Fitbit data for Google ads and to monitor the process closely.

It also offered to make it easier for rival makers of wearables to connect to the Android platform by offering them access to Android software (API), and said third parties would continue to have access to Fitbit users’ data with their consent.

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Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine could be rolled out within 6 months: Report

Under a protocol developed by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, any approved vaccine will then be given to all over 65s, followed by younger adults at higher risk, which could include those from ethnic minorities as well as those with serious health issues based on their higher risk from the deadly virus. People over 50 will be next in line, with younger adults at the back of the queue.

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Meity to seek Cabinet approval for policy on AI-based programmes

“We look at artificial intelligence not from the viewpoint of driverless cars but from solving problems of people and how we can socially empower them through AI. We will make AI a moment in India,” Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.

National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (NSAI) highlighted the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in boosting India”s annual growth rate by 1.3 percentage points by 2035 and identified priority sectors for the deployment of AI with government”s support. 

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Centre in SC agrees to waive compound interest on loans up to Rs 2 cr for six-months

In an affidavit filed by Union finance ministry on behalf of the Union of India, it said that the relief to all borrowers in respect of compounding of interest during the period of moratorium would be admissible to the categories specified irrespective of whether the borrowers had availed the moratorium or not.

The government, therefore, has decided that the relief on waiver of compound interest during the six-month moratorium period shall be limited to the most vulnerable category of borrowers. This category of borrowers, in whose case, the compounding of interest will be waived, would be MSME loans and personal loans of up to Rs 2 crore, it said.

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