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Pharmeasy to acquire diagnostics chain Thyrocare in a deal worth over Rs 6,300 crore

Pharmeasy is primarily into medicine deliveries.

At present, Thyrocare has a network of 4,000 partner labs while Pharmeasy serves 17 million customers monthly through its network of 6,000 digital consultation clinics and 90,000 partner retailers.

”We feel diagnostics is very important, Thyrocare has an outstanding backend, a very low cost structure and we have an unbelievable front end,” API Holdings’ Chief Executive Siddharth Shah told after signing the agreement.

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Novel method to accurately, quickly detect COVID-19 from phone swabs

The new method, described in the journal eLife on Tuesday, detected the COVID-19 virus on the phones of 81 to 100 per cent of contagious people with a high viral load, suggesting it is as accurate as antigen tests.

The researchers noted that globally active screening for COVID-19 is still a priority as new variants keep emerging and the vaccination rollout is not guaranteed in many countries.

However, testing is expensive and can be physically unpleasant, both of which are significant hurdles on the road to an effective test and trace system, they said.

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Intel CEO says chip shortage to hit bottom in second half of 2021

“I don’t expect the chip industry is back to a healthy supply-demand situation until ’23,” he said in an interview. “For a variety of industries, I think it’s still getting worse before it gets better.”
Longer-term, the chip industry is positioned for a period of growth, Gelsinger predicted. Over the next decade, the increasing uses for chips – including 5G phone systems, electric vehicles and expanded artificial intelligence – will drive strong demand, he said.

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Many large e-comm firms have blatantly flouted laws of land: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that many of the practices which these companies follow are against the interest of consumers and the government has recently come out with draft rules for e-commerce companies or marketplace models, which are applicable to all entities including Indian.

These rules are to protect consumer interest, he said at a webinar.

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EVs to dominate sales 5 years sooner than expected in US, Europe: EY

In terms of EV sales volumes, Europe is expected to lead the way until 2031, with China taking the lead from 2032 to 2050.

According to Randall Miller, EY Global Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility Leader: “A mix of changing consumer attitudes, ambitious climate-focused regulations and technology evolution is about to change the landscape of vehicle buying forever. While the automotive industry has begun to more fully embrace the move toward electrification, the impact of this seismic shift is arriving sooner than many expected.”

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India to come out with space transportation policy, onboard

According to the Department of Space (DoS), globally, the participation of private agencies in providing launch services has increased and some of them have become significant players in the commercial market for launch services.

India is also witnessing the emergence of a ”New Space” wherein the private players in the space sector aim to tap the commercial potential of small satellite launch services by developing small satellite launchers for the global market, it said.

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India’s digital database for farmers stirs fears about privacy, exclusion

AgriStack will create “a unified platform for farmers to provide them end to end services across the agriculture food value chain,” authorities have said, amid a broader push to digitise data in India, from land titles to medical records. But the project is being rolled out without consultations with farmers, and with no legal framework to protect their personal data, according to more than 50 farmers’ groups and digital rights organisations that have criticised the proposal.

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Bezos’ 2021 Space Odyssey a risk too far for insurers

There is a nearly $500 million market to insure satellites, rockets and unmanned space flight, but no legal requirement for an operator such as Blue Origin, which Bezos founded, to insure passengers for injury or death or for space tourists to have life cover, brokers and insurers said.

“We’re not aware of a case where anybody is insured against passenger liability,” Neil Stevens, senior vice president, aviation and space at Marsh, the world’s biggest insurance broker, told Reuters.

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