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Here is a masonry blog layout with no sidebarChina’s BRI project causing environmental degradation in South Asia, says report
South Asia is amongst the main regions likely to be hit severely by the negative environmental impact of climate change. BRI announced by Beijing in 2013, will exacerbate these trends, reported European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS).
The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) report said the environmental trends in South Asia generally correspond to the development trajectory, that causes pollution through growing industrialisation, which has become one of the key environmental characteristics of South Asia, says EFSAS.
Make ‘bumper-to-bumper’ insurance mandatory : Madras HC
“, this court directs that whenever a new vehicle is sold after September 1, it is mandatory for coverage of bumper to bumper insurance every year, in addition to covering the driver, passengers and owner of the vehicle, for a period of five years. Thereafter, the owner of the vehicle must be cautious in safeguarding the interest of driver, passengers, third parties and himself/ herself, so as to avoid unnecessary liability being foisted on the owner of the vehicle, as beyond five years, as on date there is no provision to extend the bumper to bumper policy, due to its non-availability, said Justice S Vaidyanathan of the Madras High Court.
Law while changing with social needs must recognise technological advancements: Kerala HCKochi
The high court also referred to the provisions of the Information Technology Act and said that proposal and acceptance made by parties to a marriage through videoconferencing cannot be said to be invalid.
“If it is valid and permissible, there is absolutely no reason why the parties to a marriage under the Act (SMA) shall not be permitted to solemnise the marriage by exchange of words through video conferencing,” it said.
Kerala HC to examine whether weddings under SMA can be solemnised online
The order came on the pleas by several petitioners who have contended that personal physical presence of the bride and groom is not necessary for solemnisation of nuptials under the law.
The state government, on the other hand, is not in favour of online solemnisation of marriages under the Act.
It has contended that solemnization of marriage was mandatory prior to registering it under the SMA and therefore, presence of the two sides and the witnesses is required before the Marriage Officer.
Celebrate festivals with caution, second Covid wave not yet over: Centre
The government said 41 districts in India were reporting a COVID-19 weekly positivity rate of more than 10 per cent.
According to the government, 58.4 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases last week were reported from Kerala.
”Kerala is the only state reporting over 1 lakh active COVID-19 cases, while four states have 10,000 to 1 lakh active cases and 31 states have less than 10,000 active cases,” it said.
India’s wearable mkt logs over 118% growth to 11.2 mn units in Q2: IDC
The second wave of COVID-19 had a marginal impact as the overall wearable (which includes smartwatches, wrist bands and earwear) shipments declined by 1.3 per cent sequentially in the June quarter. Partial lockdowns, weekend curfews, and disrupted supply chains resulted in a skewed slump in the early-quarter shipments, IDC said.
ESG bonds likely to top USD 10 bn this year: JP Morgan
Globally, the environmental, social and governance (ESG) has become a key board-room topic since 2013-14 and soon investors have also been asking on the ESG principles of their investee companies.
The ESG idea has caught the attention of domestic corporates, investors and analysts as well and since 2015, 41 companies have raised over USD 17.2 billion in such funds of which USD 6.24 billion this year alone.
Green bonds will continue to be led by renewable energy players, according to Agarwal, who sees green bond issuances gaining traction even outside the renewable energy space, such as the ones by Ultratech Cement and Delhi Airport. Also, more green debt will be raised to cut carbon emissions by sectors like steel and cement.
Air taxis will be possible in coming days under drone rules: Scindia
“That time is not far when taxis, like the ones of Uber etc that you see on roads, you will see in the air under the drone policy. I believe this is very much possible,” he added.
In a notification dated August 25, the Ministry of Civil Aviation eased the rules regarding drone operations in the country by reducing the number of forms that need to be filled to operate them from 25 to 5 and decreasing the types of fees charged from the operator from 72 to 4.
DGCA allows Boeing 737 MAX planes to fly
SpiceJet has more than 100 737 MAX planes on order.
Around 175 countries have allowed the 737 MAX to return to service following a safety ban, with 30 airlines already restarting their MAX aircraft services.China is now the only major market where regulators are yet to give the MAX a go-ahead. Boeing earlier this month conducted a test flight of the 737 MAX plane in China.
Govt launches e-SHRAM portal to maintain database of 38 cr unorganised sector workers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sanctioned Rs 2 lakh accidental insurance cover to every registered unorganised worker on the e-SHRAM portal. If a worker registered on the portal meets with an accident, he/she will be eligible for the amount on death or permanent disability and Rs 1 lakh on partial disability.
A national toll free number — 14434 — was also launched to assist and address the queries of workers seeking registration on the portal
As part of the initiative, the workers will be issued an e-SHRAM card containing a 12-digit unique number The objective behind the move is integration of social security schemes of the government.
Lloyd’s forms partnership to deliver faster claims service through geospatial technology
The GEO platform will provide the Lloyd’s market with real-time analysis of global perils including storms, wildfires and flooding. The data, which includes innovative resolution drone imagery, allows Lloyd’s market insurers to instantly assess damages at a time when physical access to the risk location may be limited following a natural catastrophe.
Satellite imaging combined with other intelligence data sources is an innovative way of assessing damage to insured infrastructure and businesses. The technology will help insurers support customers around the world during periods of crisis, whilst reducing operational costs and the carbon footprint of insurers.
”Indian aviation mkt to be ”very large” by FY30; to accommodate both Indian, Middle East carriers”
In a post-webinar presentation, CAPA Advisory projected that by 2029-30 India”s international traffic is estimated to increase by 50-60 million annual passengers from pre-COVID levels to reach 115-125 million.
Hosted by CAPA, the webinar was on ”India-Middle East Aviation Dialogue: A Win-Win Outcome is Feasible and Likely”.
It said more than 30 per cent of the country”s international origin destination traffic is on long- and ultra-long haul routes. The domestic carriers are expected to add just around 70 wide-body planes by FY30, which is likely to address only half of the incremental long-haul demand, it added.
UN health agency sees virus cases leveling off
The assessment released Tuesday says there were about 68,000 new deaths reported globally, with Europe and the Americas registering increases of about 10 per cent.
he countries with the highest numbers of new cases were the United States, Iran, India, Britain and Brazil.
WHO also noted several recent studies that show licensed vaccines still provide protection against severe coronavirus disease, but that there is some evidence to show the shots are less effective at preventing people from becoming infected with the more contagious delta variant.
India logs 44,658 new COVID-19 infections, Kerala reports 30,007 cases
As a part of the ongoing nationwide vaccination drive, the country has administered 61.22 crore vaccine doses till date. Yesterday, the health ministry informed that 50 per cent of the eligible population has been administered with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine under the world’s largest vaccination drive. India’s COVID vaccination drive commenced on January 16 this year.
China’s coming data laws puzzles firms with more questions than answers
The data security law, which goes into effect on Sept. 1, requires all companies in China to classify the data they handle into several categories and governs how such data is stored and transferred to other parties.
Key categories include “national core data” and “important data”, for which mishandling could carry a penalties of up to 10 million yuan or even a criminal charge. But the government has not yet provided definitions for these or given further details on what type of data may fall into which category, lawyers say.
Millions of Microsoft-stored data records mistakenly exposed
Among the 47 affected organizations were American Airlines, Ford, JB Hunt and public agencies such as the Maryland Department of Health and New York City’s public transit system.
They all used a Microsoft product called Power Apps, which allows for the creation of websites and mobile apps to interact with the public.
IBM’s new processor to detect fraud in real-time
It features an innovative centralised design, which allows clients to leverage the full power of the AI processor for AI-specific workloads, making it ideal for financial services workloads like fraud detection, loan processing, clearing and settlement of trades, anti-money laundering and risk analysis.
Finance Ministry exploring insurance bonds as alternative to bank guarantees
“Government is exploring on instituting insurance bonds as alternatives to bank guarantees,” an official statement said.
Bank guarantees are usually asked for while extending a loan and typically require a collateral. An insurance bond is also a surety but it does not require any collateral.
As per reports last year, insurance regulator Irdai was also looking at the option of insurers offering surety bonds in the context of road projects.