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With positivity rate below 5% for 14 days, is second Covid wave over?

With the current positivity rate at less than 5 per cent, India’s COVID-19 second wave is on the wane as quickly as it rushed to its peak, but the end of it may yet be far away as more transmissible new variants such as Delta plus variant are emerging, said Naga Suresh Veerapu, associate professor at the School of Natural Sciences (SoNS), Shiv Nadar University, Delhi NCR.

India spent Rs 2,386 cr in 2020 on oral cancer treatment: Study

‘India’s cancer scenario is burdened with oral cavity cancer being the most common among men. In fact, India accounted for almost a third of the global incidence in 2020.”

Dr R.A. Badwe, Director, Tata Memorial Center said, “As per the GLOBOCAN statistics, the rate of new cases being diagnosed has increased by a staggering 68 per cent in the past two decades alone, making it a real public health crisis.

“To add to this, accessibility to health services is low, which coupled with poor health literacy results in a majority of cases presenting with advanced stage disease that is often difficult to treat.”

India receives $64 bn FDI in 2020, fifth largest recipient of inflows: UN

The pandemic boosted demand for digital infrastructure and services globally. This led to higher values of greenfield FDI project announcements targeting the ICT industry, rising by more than 22 per cent to USD 81 billion.

Major project announcements in the ICT industry included a USD 2.8 billion investment by online retail giant Amazon in ICT infrastructure in India.FDI inflows to developing Asia grew by 4 per cent to USD 535 billion in 2020, making it the only region to record growth and increasing Asia’s share of global inflows to 54 per cent. In China, FDI increased by 6 per cent to USD 149 billion.

Govt plans to bring stricter e-commerce rules, flash sales may be history

Further, if the norms come into effect, every e-commerce shall establish an adequate grievance redressal mechanism having regard to the number of grievances ordinarily received by such entity from India.

Amazon and Flipkart, among others, will have to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer, a Resident Grievance Officer and a nodal contact person in India.

Major corporate polluters lag on setting climate goals

And while many of the 250 companies have set targets for 2050, only 27 – or 11% – have laid out shorter-term plans to make major cuts by 2030, according to the data, compiled from corporate reports and other public disclosures.

This refers to reductions to their biggest source of emissions, often from the use of their products, or so-called Scope 3 emissions.

Ransomware payment may be allowed tax deductible in US

The IRS, the US body for tax administration, offers no formal guidance on ransomware payments, but multiple tax experts interviewed by The Associated Press said deductions are usually allowed under law and established guidance. It’s a “silver lining” to ransomware victims, as some tax lawyers and accountants put it.
Ransomware has become a multibillion-dollar business, and the average payment was more than $310,000 last year, up 171% from 2019, according to Palo Alto Networks.

Gulf states will take at least 10 years to end oil dependence: Moody’s

Oil and gas accounts for over 20% of gross domestic product and at least 50% of state revenues for most Gulf countries.”If oil prices average $55/barrel … we expect hydrocarbon production to remain the single largest contributor to GCC sovereigns’ GDP, the main source of government revenue and, therefore, the key driver of fiscal strength over at least the next decade,” it said.

India in talks to find ‘middle ground’ with Pfizer, others for vaccine imports: govt official

“We have to find the middle ground,” government advisor Vinod Kumar Paul told the news channel CNBC TV-18 when asked about the progress of talks with Pfizer and Moderna

Any final decision on vaccine imports has to be compatible with Indian laws and the government was hopeful that these vaccines would be available in the country before the end of this year, Paul said.

Britannia offers insurance coverage to 10,000 sales personnel, merchandisers

The company is offering a term insurance policy and hospitalisation insurance of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Britannia Industries said in a statement.Besides, it is also contributing Rs 2 lakh each to the bereaved families of the personnel who were not insured earlier.

Britannia is also offering domiciliary COVID-19 treatment worth Rs 7,500 for patients who need support at home, apart from reimbursing vaccination costs.