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Here is a masonry blog layout with no sidebarNew heads appointed for Kotak life and Kotak general insurance
Biden restricts travel to US from India
A variant strain of the virus, known as B.1.617, is also circulating in India, along with other variant strains, including B.1.1.7, first detected in the United Kingdom, and B.1.351, first detected in the Republic of South Africa.
“The CDC advises, based on work by public health and scientific experts, that these variants have characteristics of concern, which may make them more easily transmitted and have the potential for reduced protection afforded by some vaccines,” said the proclamation.
SBI General Insurance net profit rises 32 % to Rs544 cr in FY 20-21,Combined ratio at 99.8 %
“FY21 demanded special focus on the Health and SME lines, and we managed to maintain a balanced growth. We are also scaling up our product bouquet and adopting digital disruptions to offer instant insurance solutions even at distributor part, for the ease of customers,” said PC Kandpal, MD and CEO, SBI General Insurance
US advises its citizens in India to leave as soon as it is safe to do so amid sharp rise in COVID-19 cases
In a health alert, the US Embassy in New Delhi said: ”Access to all types of medical care is becoming severely limited in India due to the surge in Covid-19 cases.” ”We urge US citizens to enrol in STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Programme) at step.state.gov in order to receive critical information from the Embassy related to health and safety in India,” it said.
Delaying vax will give virus opportunity to develop new variants
Government of India has announced that all individuals aged above 18 years would be eligible to get Covid-19 vaccination starting May 1. This must be considered as the end game for the deadly pandemic to be driven out of India but this would not be achieved if the young and the old hesitate to take vaccine, say the experts.
Researchers find casual link between cardiovascular health and coffee consumption
Levels of air pollutants on rise in Indian cities, says study
“We were surprised to see the increase in formaldehyde above Delhi, Kanpur and London” a clue that emissions of other volatile organic compounds may be changing, potentially driven by economic development and changes in domestic behaviour. Our results emphasise the need to monitor our air for the unexpected, and the importance of ongoing enforcement of measures for cleaner air, the study’s co-author Professor William Bloss, also from the University of Birmingham, said.
One out of four people experienced mild side effects like headache, fatigue after receiving Pfizer or AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
“The data should reassure many people that in the real world, after effects of the vaccine are usually mild and short-lived, especially in the over 50’s who are most at risk of the infection,” Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at the varsity.
“The results also show up to 70 per cent protection after 3 weeks following a single dose,” Spector said.
India’s coronavirus infections cross 18 million; record number of daily deaths
India reported 379,257 new COVID-19 cases and 3,645 new deaths on Thursday, according to health ministry data. It was the deadliest day so far for any country hit by the pandemic. India’s best hope to curb its second deadly wave of COVID-19 was to vaccinate its vast population, said experts, and on Wednesday it opened registrations for everyone above the age of 18 to be given jabs from Saturday.
Bombay HC refuses to hear PIL seeking uniform rate of COVID-19 vaccines
The HC, however, said the petition should have been filed before the Supreme Court which, while taking up suo motu (on its own) cognisance of matters pertaining to COVID-19, had said it would hear all pan-India issues.
”The Supreme Court has said issues that have pan-India effect will be dealt with by them and pricing is a phenomenon applicable all over India. We are not entertaining it (PIL) as the apex court has fairly covered it,” the court said.
Tackling climate change through emerging hydrogen industry: Managing complex risks
Driven by climate change, the possibilities of energy storage, use as a fuel and the long-term intention to replace reliance on coal and oil, hydrogen has the potential to morph from a niche power source into big business.
New bulletin from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) highlights operational risks that need to be addressed in hydrogen projects, including fire and explosion hazards, impact of embrittlement and business interruption exposures.
AGCS sees increasing demand for insurance coverage for hydrogen solutions in future.
‘Bunch of garbage’: Campaign to ease pilot overload from antiquated safety warnings
Ageas Federal Life Insurance net profit falls 20% to Rs 119 crore in Fy2020-21
The Board of the company has recommended a final dividend of Rs 104 crore, at a rate of dividend of 13 per cent. .
Vighnesh Shahane, MD & CEO, Ageas Federal Life Insurance said ,“During these difficult times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken several steps to steady the course of onboarding for our customers. Our profitability is borne out of continued efficiencies in achieving improved persistency, rationalisation in costs, decline in surrenders, and healthier solvency margin. We realigned our product suite in tune with the evolving needs of customers during the pandemic, introducing features that made our products more customer-centric and offered policyholders greater flexibility. Understanding and managing risks is of vital importance and the organisation has instituted strong governance practices and an integrated enterprise risk management system to identify, analyse and mitigate risks.”
India’s COVID-19 emergency is wake-up call to Africa -AU health chief
African nations generally do not have sufficient numbers of health care workers, hospital beds, oxygen supplies, and the continent of 1.3 billion would be even more overwhelmed than India if cases surged in a similar way, said John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We are watching with total disbelief…What is happening in India cannot be ignored by our continent,” he told reporters.
Chubb and Marsh partnership to provide $150 million cover for the COVAX Program for 92 low and middle-income countries
Through Chubb’s and Marsh’s collaboration, up to $150 million in insurance is provided for the COVAX No Fault Compensation Program to cover compensation payments to eligible individuals in the 92 lower-income countries and economies, known as the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) eligible economies.
Insurance broker Marsh led the global placement of the bespoke solution. Chubb is the lead insurer, supported by a further 10 insurers located in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Bermuda.
Insurers have to settle cashless Covid-19 claims in 1 hr:IRDA
The IRDAI’s direction to the insurers has come following the Delhi High Court’s direction to the insurance regulator to advise insurers to communicate their cashless approvals to the concerned hospitals/establishments within a maximum time period of 30 to 60 minutes so that there shall not be any delay in discharge of patients and hospital beds do not remain unoccupied,