While the government has made it clear that there can be no...
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Aegon Life acquired by Bandhan Financial Holdings
Karni Singh Arha, managing director, BFHL, said, “ Given Bandhan’s...
Latest NSSO consumer survey indicates poverty down to 5 per cent: NITI Aayog CEO
''This long-awaited consumer expenditure survey has brought out...
India has one of the lowest Covid mortality rates in world: Vardhan
India will need 5 lakh ICU beds, 3.5 lakh medical staff in next few weeks, says Dr Devi Shetty
While most of the newspaper headlines and prime time television coverage has been over the lack of oxygen for the patients in ICUs, “I am having sleepless nights for the next headline, which is going to be that patients are dying in ICUs because there are no nurses and doctors to take care of the patients. And this is going to happen. I do not doubt it now,” said Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, the chairman and founder of Narayana Health, a chain of 21 medical centres in India, in his online address at the Symbiosis Golden Jubilee Lecture Series in Pune recently.
At present, India has only 75,000 to 90,000 ICU beds and almost all are already occupied – when the second wave of the pandemic hasn’t even reached its peak yet, he said. India is reporting about 3.5 lakh cases a day, and some experts say the number could go up to 5 lakh cases daily at its peak.
COVID-19: India records new daily high of 3,86,452 cases, 3,498 new fatalities
Registering a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 31,70,228 comprising 16.90 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further dropped to 81.99 per cent.
IRDAI panel makes various suggestions on retail engineering insurance products
On sum insured definition for retail segment for engineering products, it said: “Considering a near unanimous view from all stakeholders, the panel suggests Sum Insured limit of up to Rs 50 crores is recommended for retail segment”.
The group, as per the report, opined that the retail products with standard wordings with uniform coverage of a good range of essential covers are needed to give a comprehensive protection boost to the SME and MSME sector entities and units.
The products should be offered by all Indian insurers without any changes or modifications, it said.
Levels of air pollutants on rise in Indian cities, says study
“We were surprised to see the increase in formaldehyde above Delhi, Kanpur and London” a clue that emissions of other volatile organic compounds may be changing, potentially driven by economic development and changes in domestic behaviour. Our results emphasise the need to monitor our air for the unexpected, and the importance of ongoing enforcement of measures for cleaner air, the study’s co-author Professor William Bloss, also from the University of Birmingham, said.
India’s coronavirus infections cross 18 million; record number of daily deaths
India reported 379,257 new COVID-19 cases and 3,645 new deaths on Thursday, according to health ministry data. It was the deadliest day so far for any country hit by the pandemic. India’s best hope to curb its second deadly wave of COVID-19 was to vaccinate its vast population, said experts, and on Wednesday it opened registrations for everyone above the age of 18 to be given jabs from Saturday.
Bombay HC refuses to hear PIL seeking uniform rate of COVID-19 vaccines
The HC, however, said the petition should have been filed before the Supreme Court which, while taking up suo motu (on its own) cognisance of matters pertaining to COVID-19, had said it would hear all pan-India issues.
”The Supreme Court has said issues that have pan-India effect will be dealt with by them and pricing is a phenomenon applicable all over India. We are not entertaining it (PIL) as the apex court has fairly covered it,” the court said.
Ageas Federal Life Insurance net profit falls 20% to Rs 119 crore in Fy2020-21
The Board of the company has recommended a final dividend of Rs 104 crore, at a rate of dividend of 13 per cent. .
Vighnesh Shahane, MD & CEO, Ageas Federal Life Insurance said ,“During these difficult times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken several steps to steady the course of onboarding for our customers. Our profitability is borne out of continued efficiencies in achieving improved persistency, rationalisation in costs, decline in surrenders, and healthier solvency margin. We realigned our product suite in tune with the evolving needs of customers during the pandemic, introducing features that made our products more customer-centric and offered policyholders greater flexibility. Understanding and managing risks is of vital importance and the organisation has instituted strong governance practices and an integrated enterprise risk management system to identify, analyse and mitigate risks.”
India’s second COVID-19 wave may impede economic recovery, says S&P
S&P, which has a long-term credit rating of ‘BBB-‘ on India, just one notch above junk, said it may have to revise its base-case assumption of 11% growth over fiscal 2021/2022, especially if wider containment measures are re-imposed.
Earthquake of magnitude 6.0 strikes India’s Assam-USGS, some buildings damaged
According to a Reuters witness, strong tremors were repeatedly felt in several northeastern parts of India and neighbouring Bhutan, forcing hundreds of people to run out of their homes.
After the quake, India’s National Disaster Management Agency was assessing reports of destruction and casualties, said an official at the agency who asked to remain unidentified.