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Bad for business: World Bank China rigging scandal rattles investors

by | Sep 17, 2021 | , , ,

Economists said such reports – by the World Bank and others – were useful but had long been vulnerable to manipulation. They said some governments, especially in emerging market countries who want to demonstrate progress and attract investment, could become obsessed with their position in the reports, which assess everything from ease of paying taxes to legal rights.

World needs to spend another $100 trln on UN fight against global woes – report

by | Sep 17, 2021 | , , ,

The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals set targets on everything from the environment to health and equality and have the support of all member states, yet the supply of finance from governments, investors, banks and companies to help meet them has consistently fallen short.Adding the costs of financing the global transition to a low-carbon economy to limit global warming, and total funding out to 2050 comes in at $200-$220 trillion, the report added. The SDGs are a global “to-do” list addressing such issues as war, hunger, land degradation, gender equality and climate.

Union Health Minister chairs World Patient Day celebrations

by | Sep 17, 2021 |

Pointing this year’s theme for World Patient Safety Day as “Safety in Maternal and New-born care”, the Union Minister released the Operational Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Public Health Facilities 2021, Quality Darpan which is a six-monthly update on key achievements and learnings under the National Quality Assurance Standards initiative.

Moody’s completes acquisition of RMS

by | Sep 17, 2021 | ,

Karen White, RMS chief executive officer, called Moody’s is an “exceptional fit” for RMS and its customers. “Global risks are now more complex, connected and systemic. Climate change and catastrophic events like extreme weather, pandemics and cyberattacks have broader and more harmful impacts across virtually all industries. We share the vision to bring a global, integrated risk assessment platform to our markets with the goals of deeper, more sophisticated risk insights and greater global resiliency,” White said

Sold electric scooters worth over Rs 600 cr in a day: Ola co-founder

by | Sep 16, 2021 | , ,

Ola Electric had opened pre-launch bookings of its electric scooters in July for Rs 499 and had received 1 lakh orders in just 24 hours. However, the company has not disclosed how many orders it has received so far.

Ola is setting up a manufacturing plant, spread across 500 acres, in Tamil Nadu with an investment of Rs 2,400 crore.

The company had stated that it would initially start with 10 lakh annual production capacity and then scale it up to 20 lakh, in line with market demand, in the first phase.

Eating wild meat significantly increases zoonotic disease risk: UN report

by | Sep 16, 2021 | , ,

According to the report, there is strong evidence that zoonotic disease outbreaks are linked to human activities, as is strongly believed by many scientists in the case of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The taking of wild meat and consumption has been identified as the direct and causative agent for the spill-over into humans for Monkeypox virus, SARS, Sudan Ebola virus and Zaire Ebola virus, with subsequent human-to-human transmission.

Fresh cyclonic circulation to bring heavy rainfall over east India from Sep 18-19

by | Sep 16, 2021 | ,

”A cyclonic circulation (is) likely to develop over north Bay of Bengal on September 17. It is likely to move west-northwestwards towards Odisha-West Bengal coast during the subsequent three days,” the IMD said.

”Rainfall activity is likely to increase over Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal with fairly widespread to widespread rainfall and isolated heavy falls over above areas on September 18-19,” it added.

Earlier this week, a deep depression brought heavy rainfall over Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

U.N. says world likely to miss climate targets despite COVID pause in emissions

by | Sep 16, 2021 | , , ,

“This year has seen fossil fuel emissions bounce back, greenhouse gas concentrations continuing to rise and severe human-enhanced weather events that have affected health, lives, and livelihoods on every continent,” he said. Concentrations in the atmosphere of the major greenhouse gases – CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide – continued to increase in 2020 and the first half of 2021, the U.N. said.

Total market cap of listed InsurTechs surpasses $22 billion in 2020:Capgemini Report

by | Sep 16, 2021 | , , , ,

For the first time, 50% of customers today are willing to consider coverage from a new age player.

“As traditional insurers expand their ecosystems to remain competitive, they must increasingly consider the value achievable through trusted partners, including BigTechs, InsurTechs and non-traditional players like original equipment manufacturer (OEMs). The numbers clearly suggest that exponential InsurTech growth is here to stay, so delivering superior customer CARE(Convenience, Advice and Reach) is essential. Future success in the industry will depend on players’ existing capabilities across the value chain, willingness to invest, and desire to own the customer relationship,” said John Berry, CEO of Efma.

GST Council to meet on Friday; rate review, tax concession to 11 COVID drugs on cards

by | Sep 16, 2021 | , , ,

The Council, comprising central and state finance ministers, will deliberate on the proposal of extending the existing concessional tax rate structure on Amphotericin B, Tocilizumab, Remdesivir, and anti-coagulants like Heparin, till December 31, 2021, from the present September 30.

Tax rate on Amphotericin B, Tocilizumab was cut to ‘Nil’, while Remdesivir and Heparin were reduced to 5 percent in June 2021.

The Council on Friday may also discuss the proposal of reducing GST from 12 percent to 5 percent to seven more drugs till December 31, 2021. These are Itolizumab, Posaconazole, Infliximab, Bamlanivimab & Etesevimab, Casirivimab & Imdevimab, 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose, and Favipiravir.

Asia supercharges vaccination efforts after slow start, U.S. lags

by | Sep 16, 2021 | , , , ,

While each country’s inoculation strategies differ, Asia’s momentum reflects pent-up demand for the shots as a means to ease lockdowns, said Paul Griffin, an infectious disease expert at the University of Queensland in northeast Australia.

Australia is giving priority supplies to its largest cities, which are in lockdown to contain a third wave of infections fuelled by the Delta variant. It expects to have enough to complete vaccinations of those older than 12 by mid-October. read more

Japan has overcome initial logistics hurdles to give about a million shots a day since mid-June, as urgency has grown after Delta unleashed an unprecedented wave of infections and serious cases in August.

Allianz Partners expands its Digital Health Assistant to ten markets in Asia-Pacific

by | Sep 16, 2021 | , , ,

“We are very excited to bring Digital Health Assistant to our customers and partners in the Asia-Pacific region. Allianz Partners’ focus on accelerating its Digital Access to Care initiatives comes at a time of increasing demand for telehealth solutions and comprehensive digital health services particularly in the context of the ongoing Pandemic. We’ve reached a new milestone in bringing peace of mind and reassurance to our customers with this all-in-one platform. Allianz Partners will continue to invest in bringing market leading health and mental wellbeing solutions to support our customers and communities,” comments Vinay Surana, CEO Asia Pacific, Allianz Partners.

Govt guarantee of Rs 30,600 cr to NARCL for acquiring stressed assets: FM

by | Sep 16, 2021 | , , ,

”It will incentivise quicker action on resolving stressed assets thereby helping in better value realization. India Debt Resolution Company Limited (IDRCL) will engage market expertise for value enhancement. This approach will also permit freeing up of personnel in banks to focus on increasing business and credit growth,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

As the holders of these stressed assets and SRs, banks will receive the gains and the guarantee will also enhance liquidity of SRs as such these instruments are tradable, she added.