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Pandemic

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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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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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Hospitals’ revenue likely to grow 20-22% in FY2022: ICRA

“Overall, ICRA expects at least 200 bps improvement in profitability in FY2022, though the margins are expected to moderate from the level seen in Q4 FY2021 due to normalisation of some of the cost-cutting measures and higher proportion of Covid-19 treatment. Further, the restrictions on treatment charges for Covid-19 patients in certain states could keep the margins in check,” ICRA Assistant Vice President & Sector Head, Mythri Macherla, said in a statement.

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Covid-19 Risks: Cyber-attacks and Data loss top concerns facing Directors & Officers: Report

Jennifer Tiang, Regional Cyber Leader for Asia at Willis Towers Watson, said: “The survey results reflect the growing realisation that cyber risk is not simply an issue to be handled by an organisation’s IT team.  It is a much broader issue cutting across all spheres of business and necessarily draws together stakeholders from risk, legal and IT teams, as well as requiring awareness of all employees from the ground up and board oversight from the top down. From cyber-attack to data loss, the financial impacts of a cyber event can be catastrophic.”

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Crowd ban in Olympics could cost reinsurers up to $400m: Fitch

“We estimate the total insurance cover for the Olympics to be about USD2.5 billion, comprising USD1.4 billion taken out by the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Organising Committee, USD800 million by broadcasters and USD300 million by other parties, such as sports teams, sponsors and hospitality. We believe reinsurers would bear most of the losses arising from this cover given that high-severity exposures are typically heavily reinsured,” said Fitch

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CMs of north-eastern states share concerns regarding Covid with PM

While all CMs have put forth their preparedness plans to deal with third wave and acknowledged that cases are on the decline, Mizoram CM Zoramthanga did speak about problems the state is facing due to the porous border with Myanmar and Bangladesh and cases are coming across the border. Union Home minister Amit Shah too was present at the meeting.

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