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India working on developing Pan-Corona shot: Dr Renu Swarup

“We are already preparing for the future, for a new vaccine, which is Pan-Corona. So that if there is any other such virus that comes in or any other such variant that comes in, the vaccine would be able to respond to all of them. So that’s really our next preparedness which we’ve already started. We have a very strong team which is working on that.”

Global reinsurers’ profitability improve in H1, inflation and rate deceleration remain concern, Willis Re

Continued favourable pricing, particularly for commercial lines business, supported meaningful premium growth for the
majority of the (re)insurers
The average combined ratio for the (re)insurers was 93.7%,with every company posting a sub-100% combined ratio.
Despite the strong H1, two concerns weigh on the outlook: the decelerating rating environment and the prospect of higher inflation, said the report.

AB Sun Life Insurance reduces premium rates for its term insurance plan up to 15%

Commenting on the premium price reduction of ABSLI DigiShield Plan, Kamlesh Rao, MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, said, “The pandemic lasted longer than expected with people experiencing strains on their personal finances. We have been meticulously observing the pandemic experience before making any price revisions in our products. With a rise in demand for term plans, we have consciously announced reduction in premium for ABSLI DigiShield Plan, a hyper-personalized term plan offering, to suit our customer’s ever evolving monetary needs. “

Insured losses from Europen floods between $6 billion– $7.7 billion:RMS

The loss estimate includes insured property and business interruption loss to residential, commercial, industrial, automobile, and infrastructure lines and accounts for the potential of post-event loss amplification and extended business interruption. It excludes losses observed in the Netherlands, which sits outside of the model domain, and losses in Switzerland, Bavaria and Saxony in Germany, and Austria, which were caused outside the time window of the heaviest rainfall. 

17 major global reinsurers record $ 6.1 billion Covid-19 pandemic-related losses in H1:Fitch

Pretax income for life and health reinsurance business improved notably in 1H21, despite an increase in mortality losses from the pandemic to USD2.5 billion in 1H21 (1H20: USD1.3 billion), as investment results rebounded. Net premiums earned (NPE) increased in 1H21 for life and health reinsurers overall, with six of the eight companies reporting higher NPE. 

Govt mulls permitting foreign investment in LIC

The proposal is under discussion between the Department of Financial Services and Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).

According to the current FDI policy, 74 per cent foreign investment is permitted under the automatic route in the insurance sector.

However, these rules do not apply to the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which is administered through a separate LIC Act.

Crop sowing lags in India on scanty rains, raises concerns over yields

India is the world’s biggest exporter of rice and top importer of edible oils. A drop in production could not only limit rice and cotton exports, but also boost imports of edible oils such as palm oil, sunflower oil and soyoil. Indian farmers had planted 104.4 million hectares (25.8 million acres) with summer crops as of Aug. 20, down 1.6% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare said in a statement.

Covid in India maybe entering some kind of stage of endemicity: WHO’s Soumya Swaminathan

“As far as India is concerned that seems to be what is happening and because of size of India and heterogeneity of population and immunity status in different parts of country in different pockets, it is very very feasible that the situation may continue like this with ups and downs in different parts of the country, particularly where there are more susceptible population, so those groups who were perhaps less affected by first and second waves or those areas with low levels of vaccine coverage we could see peaks and troughs for the next several months,” said Chief Scientist of the World Health Organisation Dr Soumya Swaminathan.

Better incentives for better quality healthcare providers under AB-PMJAY: National Health Authority CEO

As of now, Ayushman Bharat Scheme has been implemented in all 33 states and union territories, Dr.R.S. Sharma said. 
On the topic of fraudulent billing by hospitals, Dr R.S. Sharma highlighted, “We have a very robust IT system in place for fraud detection. Every single instance of fraud is immediately detected and investigated. We have anti-fraud software and systems deployed on our platform that immediately catches on any pattern that seems even remotely suspicious and this is investigated and appropriate action is taken.”

Study suggests ways to support kids’ mental health during pandemic

The authors said , “Mental health problems increased dramatically among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among those who experienced high levels of pandemic-related stressors including serious illness or death of a family member, significant financial loss, and social isolation.”

They concluded, “A number of simple strategies families engaged in appeared to promote better mental health during the pandemic including having a structured daily routine, limiting passive screen time use, limiting exposure to news media about the pandemic, and to a lesser extent spending more time in nature, and getting the recommended amount of sleep.” 

SIMS Hospital performs total jaw joint replacement surgeries using 3D printed joints

Explaining the uniqueness of the procedure, Dr K Sridhar, Director, Institute of Craniofacial, Aesthetic & Plastic Surgery, SIMS Hospital, said, “We have performed total jaw joint replacement for three different patients. In one patient, who had zero mouth opening following a jaw surgery done elsewhere, the damaged jaw bone part was replaced with an artificial part made of titanium metal. The same was done for the second patient who had complete ‘ankylosis’ (immobile joint) of temporomandibular joint (TM joint), which acts like a sliding hinge, connecting jawbone to skull. This patient also had the complaints of sleep apnoea (snoring and sleep disorder due to less oxygenation) and hypoplasia of jaw bone (smaller than normal jaw bone). For this patient, first the jaw bone was lengthened with distraction and later total joint replacement was performed.

Two sisters donate ‘half of their livers’ to save their only brother, all three recuperating and leading a normal life

Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairperson and Managing Director, Medanta Hospital, said, “This is a unique example showcasing the power of organ donation to save lives. It draws our attention to the fact that any healthy person can save a loved one’s life by donating half of their liver or a single kidney without suffering any harm.”