Category:

Non-Life

Eli Lilly pauses trial of antibody drug Trump touted as COVID-19 ‘cure’ over safety concern

“Out of an abundance of caution, the ACTIV-3 independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) has recommended a pause in enrollment.Lilly is supportive of the decision by the independent DSMB to cautiously ensure the safety of the patients participating in this study,”,” Lilly spokeswoman Molly McCully said in an emailed statement. “

read more

Indian activists oppose plans to make Goa a coal transport hub

Activists say the projects are also likely to lead to the felling of thousands of trees in ecologically sensitive areas that are home to wildlife and bodies of water.

Alina Saldanha, a state assembly member from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), wrote to the federal environment minister last week, saying she had “serious concerns” over environmental clearances given to some projects.

read more

Future Group lost Rs 7,000 cr revenue in first 3-4 months of COVID-19 pandemic: Kishore Biyani

In August this year, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries announced acquisition of retail and wholesale business and the logistics and warehousing business from the Future Group as going concerns on a slump sale basis for lumpsum aggregate consideration of Rs 24,713 crore.

Future Group’s financial and insurance business is not part of the deal.

read more

 Asia-Pacific countries begin to ease pandemic-related travel bans, but hurdles remain

For now, few people are likely to travel because of testing and insurance requirements, and in some cases the need to quarantine upon return home, meaning the deals offer limited hope for airlines and the tourism industry.

A Singapore-Indonesia deal announced on Monday for essential business and official travel will require an application and COVID-19 swab tests both before and after travel.

read more

General Insurance Industry’s prm remains flat at Rs 97K cr ,New India’s growth stays uniquely positive in H1 FY2020-21   

New India Assurance ,which has consistently maintained a positive growth since Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in March, has completed both H1 FY 20-21, and September month with a positive growth. The total premium of the largest general insurance company, at Rs14,100 crore, has gone up by 4 per cent y-o-y in H1 FY2020-21.
The industry’s health portfolio,which has emerged as the largest portfolio,by displacing motor business, has now a market share of  31 per cent and , has grown by 13 per cent y-o-y to Rs 22,903 crore in the first five months(Apr-Aug) of the current fiscal.

The market share of motor portfolio, generating a total premium of Rs 22, 253 crore, down 16 per cent,  in H1 FY2020-21, has fallen from 37 per cent, as of Sept, 2019-20, to 30 per cent in Sept,  2020-21.

read more

Exposure to COVID-19 does not guarantee immunity, reinfection causes more severe symptoms, finds Lancet study

“The possibility of reinfections could have significant implications for our understanding of COVID-19 immunity, especially in the absence of an effective vaccine,” said Mark Pandori, for the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory and lead study author.

“We need more research to understand how long immunity may last for people exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and why some of these second infections, while rare, are presenting as more severe.”

read more

GoAir pilots shut down P&W engine mid-air, even after fixes: Report

India last month ordered GoAir to ground jets that hadn’t had their Pratt engines modified to the specifications mandated by the DGCA.
India, where the most popular narrow-body market is dominated by the A320neo, mandated in 2019 that all engines must modify that particular component with a different material “less susceptible to impact damage.” Without that tweak, such as was implemented on the GoAir jet, pilots are at risk of one or more engines failing, losing control or worse, crashing the aircraft, according to the DGCA.

read more