Category:

Non-Life

Misinformation spikes Google searches on infertility, Covid jabs

“Misinformation is a significant threat to healthcare today and a main driver of vaccine hesitancy,” said Nicholas Sajjadi, osteopathic medical student at Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The inaccurately represented information spread rapidly on social media channels, potentially influencing public perception and decision-making among pregnant patients or those seeking to become pregnant, according to research published in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine.

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After a lull, India’s monsoon splashes entire country, easing crop concerns

According to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, crop planting fell 10.43% to 49.9 million hectares (123 million acres) as monsoon rains turned patchy. read more

India, one of the world’s biggest producers and consumers of farm goods, relies on June-to-September rains for watering 50% of its farmland that lacks irrigation. Any failure of the monsoon can force New Delhi to import agricultural produce, sending international prices higher.

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Jobs lost, middle-class Indians line up for rations and ‘worry about meals’

As India’s economy shrunk by 7.3 per cent last year, the daily average wage for about 230 million Indians — enough to make the world’s fifth-largest nation — dropped below the Rs 375 ($5) threshold, according to a study by the Azim Premji University in Bangalore. “An alarming 90 per cent of respondents” reported “that their households had suffered a reduction in food intake as a result of the lockdown,” the study said.

The number of people living in households with daily incomes below $5 level spiked from 298.6 million, at the start of the outbreak in March 2020 to 529 million at the end of October, the study said.

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Will take action if digital crowd funding platform for rare diseases not made operational:HC

The court was hearing a batch of petitions on behalf of children suffering from rare diseases, including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Mucopolysaccharidosis II or MPS II (Hunter Syndrome), and seeking direction to the Centre to provide them uninterrupted and free of cost treatment as the therapy is very expensive.

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Global insurance premium may rise by 3.3% to $6.9 trillion in 2021 : Swiss Re

Said Jerome Haegeli, Group Chief Economist at Swiss Re Institute,”We expect the insurance industry to earn a record $ 7 trillion in premium by end of next year. The economic upswing expected in 2021 and 2022 is on track to materialise, and this is a key factor for insurance premium growth across the globe. The main market to watch is China, where both economic and premium growth continue at a strong pace. Consumer awareness is clearly an important growth driver and this has been driven by the pandemic. Whether it is private medical insurance or supply chain interruption for businesses, people have become much more aware of what insurance is, and how it can help them to emerge resilient from such a crisis

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 Marine, aviation and transit insurance in Asia-Pacific to reach US$14.5bn by 2025, forecasts GlobalData

Japan and China, which are among the top five global markets, collectively accounted for 60% of Asia-Pacific’s premiums in 2020. China’s intricate presence in global supply chain and its growing airline and marine fleet are strong growth drivers for insurers.
Asia-Pacific has also seen several insurers withdrawing from MAT industry due to years of unsustainable losses resulting from both man-made and natural hazards and bottomed out premium prices which resulted in reduced market capacity.

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Nearly 39,000 pigs died in Assam due to African Swine Fever in last 18 months

Assam’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister Atul Bora said 38,700 pigs died due to African Swine Fever since its detection in the north- eastern state in 2020.As many as 13,200 families have been economically affected as a result of the pig deaths, the minister said.

However, the government has not paid any compensation to the affected families as the matter is under the jurisdiction of the Centre, Bora said.

As per central rules, there is a provision of paying compensation based on the culling of ASF-affected pigs.

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World witnessing third wave, ensure it doesn’t hit India: Dr VK Paul

“We would like to request to everyone, when we talk about the third wave (of COVID-19), we are taking it as a weather update and not understanding its seriousness and our responsibilities associated with it,” he said. Agarwal also highlighted that the Centre has deputed teams in 11 states so that they can help the state governments in COVID-19 management.

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