The Day 286 Report of COVID-19 of India

 

New Delhi (ABC Live India): The Day 286 Report of COVID-19: Today was the 286 day of India’s Fight against Coronavirus: ABC Research Report.

As per the Ministry of Health and Family welfare till 8 AM of 04/01/2021, there are 243953 active cases, 9946867 COVID-19 patients have been discharged and 149649 persons lost their lives in India till 8 AM of 03/01/2021.

On the testing of the capacity of India, the ICMR in its daily report on 04/01/2021 that a total of 17,56,35,761 have been conducted in India till 9 AM of 04/01/2021. Further, the ICMR reported that 7,35,978 new samples were taken during the last 24 hours.

The Following is the List of Actions/ announcements made by the Government of India along with Updates from Indian Courts of law, NHRC, RBI, SEBI, TRAI & IRDA on 04/01/2021

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued Updates on COVID-19
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued Update on New Strain of novel Coronavirus from U.K.
• The ICMR issued testing Updates of India for 03/01/2021
• The Ministry of Finance stated that The Ministry of Finance has released the 10th weekly instalment of Rs.6,000 crore to the States to meet the GST compensation shortfall. Out of this, an amount of Rs.5,516.60 crore has been released to 23 States and an amount of Rs.483.40 crore has been released to the 3 Union Territories (UT) with Legislative Assembly (Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir & Puducherry) who are members of the GST Council. The remaining 5 States, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim do not have a gap in revenue on account of GST implementation. Now, more than 50 percent of the estimated GST compensation shortfall has been released to the States & UT with Legislative Assembly.
• The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare stated that keeping in mind the welfare of the farmer-stalks regarding Farm Acts will be held with all farmers Unions representatives from different States. Shri Tomar also said that clause-wise discussion on Farm Acts can be carried forward to resolve contentious issues. In today’s meeting both sides expressed their opinions and have decided to meet again on 8th January 2021.
• The RBI issued Money Market Operations as on January 03, 2021
• The IRDA issued new standard products covering Fire & Allied perils for certain risks
• The IRDA invited public comments on IRDAI (Registration and Operations of Branch Offices of Foreign Reinsurers) Regulations, 2020
• The IRDA released AGENDAS AND MINUTES OF THE 110th MEETING OF THE AUTHORITY
• The IRDA issued a notification on Obligatory Cession for the financial year 2021-22
• The IRDA released the list of Health Products approved during the financial year 2020-21
• The IRDA published The Consumer Affairs Booklets
• The NHRC holds zero manual scavenging claims of many States far from truth; recommends action against authorities for wrong reporting
• The PIB did not release PIB’S DAILY BULLETIN ON COVID-19 today.

The Day 285 COVID-19 Report of India

The Day 285 Report of COVID-19 of India

 

New Delhi (ABC Live India): The Day 285 Report of COVID-19: Today was the 285 day of India’s Fight against Coronavirus: ABC Research Report.

As per the Ministry of Health and Family welfare till 8 AM of 03/01/2021, there are 247220 active cases, 9927310 COVID-19 patients have been discharged and 149435 persons lost their lives in India till 8 AM of 03/01/2021.

On the testing of the capacity of India, the ICMR in its daily report on 03/01/2021 that a total of 17,48,99,783 have been conducted in India till 9 AM of 03/01/2021. Further, the ICMR reported that 9,58,125 new samples were taken during the last 24 hours.

The Following is the List of Actions/ announcements made by the Government of India along with Updates from Indian Courts of law, NHRC, RBI, SEBI, TRAI & IRDA on 03/01/2021

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued Updates on COVID-19
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated The Subject Expert Committee of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) met on 1st and 2nd January, 2021 and made recommendations in respect of proposal for Restricted Emergency Approval of COVID-19 virus vaccine of M/s Serum Institute of India and M/s Bharat Biotech as well as Phase III clinical trial of M/s Cadila Healthcare Ltd.
• The ICMR issued testing Updates of India for 02/01/2021
• The Ministry of Science & Technology stated that The Nation’s first indigenously developed DNA vaccine candidate against COVID-19, ZyCoV-D, by M/s Zydus Cadila has been approved by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), for conduct of the Phase III clinical trials. The candidate has been supported by the National Biopharma Mission (NBM) under the aegis of BIRAC and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah hailed the approval granted today by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)to the COVID-19 vaccines of the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech.
• The Ministry of Tourism released Year End Review 2020
• The PIB did not release PIB’S DAILY BULLETIN ON COVID-19 today.
• The Day 284 COVID-19 Report of India

The Day 284 Report of COVID-19 of India

 

New Delhi (ABC Live India): The Day 284 Report of COVID-19: Today was the 284 day of India’s Fight against Coronavirus: ABC Research Report.

As per the Ministry of Health and Family welfare till 8 AM of 01/01/2021, there are 250183 active cases, 9906387 COVID-19 patients have been discharged and 149218 persons lost their lives in India till 8 AM of 31/12/2020.

On the testing of the capacity of India, the ICMR in its daily report on 02/01/2021 that a total of 17,39,41,658 have been conducted in India till 9 AM of 02/01/2021. Further, the ICMR reported that 8,29,964 new samples were taken during the last 24 hours.

The Following is the List of Actions/ announcements made by the Government of India along with Updates from Indian Courts of law, NHRC, RBI, SEBI, TRAI & IRDA on 02/01/2021

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued Updates on COVID-19
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued 
• The ICMR issued testing Updates of India for 01/01/2021
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that Ahead of the actual vaccination drive, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare today conducted a nationwide mock drill at 285 session sites to test the end-to-end planned operations and the mechanism that has been set up to ensure smooth conduct of the COVID19 vaccination that is expected to begin soon.This dry run of the vaccination drive spread across 125 districts is covering all States/UTs having adequate representation of urban and rural districts along with hard-to-reach areas.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that In a massive country-wide exercise, a Mock Drill on COVID19 Vaccine administration held in all States and UTs at 286 session sites spread across 125 districts Around 1,14,100 vaccinators trained More than 75 lakh beneficiaries registered on Co-WIN software Minutest details of Vaccine Administration attended to.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) made recommendations in respect of Accelerated Approval Process request of M/s Serum Institute of India and M/s Bharat Biotech International Ltd as well as about Phase-III Trials of M/s Cadila Healthcare Ltd.
• he Ministry of Commerce & Industry released INDIA’S MERCHANDISE TRADE Preliminary Data for December 2020, which says that India’s merchandise exports in December 2020 was USD 26.89 billion, as compared to USD 27.11 billion in December 2019, a marginal fall of 0.80%. Exports during April-December 2020-21 were USD 200.55 billion, as compared to USD 238.27 billion during the same period last year, exhibiting a negative growth of 15.8%.
• The Ministry of Railways stated that In the month of December 2020, Indian Railways loading was 118.13 million tonnes which is 8.54% higher compare to last year’s loading (108.84 million tonnes) for the same period
• The Ministry of Labour & Employment stated that Government publishes the Draft Model Standing Orders for the Manufacturing Sector, Mining Sector and Service Sector; invites suggestions/objections from the stakeholders within a period of thirty days.
• The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare released Year End Review 2020
• The Ministry of Electronics & IT released Year End Review 2020
• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs released Year End Review 2020
• The PIB did not release PIB’S DAILY BULLETIN ON COVID-19 today.
• The Day 283 COVID-19 Report of India

RBI to Publish Digital Payments Index of India From July 2021

 Mumbai (ABC Live India): The Reserve Bank of India has decided to publish Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country from July 2021.

The Digital payments in India have been growing rapidly. The Reserve Bank shall construct and periodically publish a composite “Digital Payments Index” (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation of payments effectively. 

The DPI would be based on multiple parameters and shall reflect accurately the penetration and deepening of various digital payment modes. The DPI will be made available from July 2020 onwards.

It is mention worthy that RBI has announced in its the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies as part of the Sixth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2019-20 dated February 06, 2020, and accordingly the Reserve Bank of India has constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.

The RBI- Digital Payments Index comprises of 5 broad parameters that enable measurement of deepening and penetration of digital payments in the country over different time periods. These parameters are – 

• (i) Payment Enablers (weight 25%)
• ii) Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side factors (10%), 
• (iii) Payment Infrastructure – Supply-side factors (15%)
•  (iv) Payment Performance (45%)
• (v) Consumer Centricity (5%).

Each of these parameters have sub-parameters which, in turn, consist of various measurable indicators. The major sub-parameters under each parameter are available here.

The RBI- Digital Payments Index has been constructed with March 2018 as the base period, i.e. Digital Payments Index score for March 2018 is set at 100. 

The Digital Payments Index for March 2019 and March 2020 work out to 153.47 and 207.84 respectively, indicating appreciable growth. Going forward, Digital Payments Index shall be published on RBI’s website on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 onwards with a lag of 4 months.

Source : ABC Live India  

The Day 283 Report of COVID-19 of India

 

New Delhi (ABC Live India): The Day 283 Report of COVID-19: Today was the 283 day of India’s Fight against Coronavirus: ABC Research Report.

As per the Ministry of Health and Family welfare till 8 AM of 01/01/2021, there are 257656 active cases, 9860280 COVID-19 patients have been discharged and 148738 persons lost their lives in India till 8 AM of 31/12/2020.

On the testing of the capacity of India, the ICMR in its daily report on 01/01/2021 that a total of 17,31,11,694 have been conducted in India till 9 AM of 30/12/2020. Further, the ICMR reported that 10,62,420 new samples were taken during the last 24 hours.

The Following is the List of Actions/ announcements made by the Government of India along with Updates from Indian Courts of law, NHRC, RBI, SEBI, TRAI & IRDA on 01/01/2021

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued Updates on COVID-19
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued Standard Operating Procedure for Epidemiological Surveillance & Response for the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the context of regulated resumption of limited flights originating from United Kingdom (UK) to India from 8th January, 2021
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare today chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness at session sites across the country for COVID-19 vaccination trial run on 2nd January 2021
• The ICMR issued testing Updates of India for 31/12/2020
• The Ministry of Finance stated that In continuation of press release, dated the 31st December, 2020, regarding implementation of Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) from the 1st January, 2021, it is further stated that the following shall be notified/made public shortly
• The Ministry of Finance stated that Revenues for  December 2020 are 12% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year.
• The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers released Year End Review- 2020
• The Ministry of Defence released Year End Review- 2020
• The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment released Year End Review- 2020
• The RBI launched the January 2021 round of the Inflation Expectations Survey of Households
• The RBI launched the January 2021 round of Consumer Confidence Survey
• The Reserve Bank released its web publication entitled ‘Quarterly Basic Statistical Returns
• The Reserve Bank of India introduced the RBI-Digital Payments Index
• The RBI issued Money Market Operations as on December 31, 2020
• The IRDA issued a circular on Clarification on the IRDAI (Assets, Liabilities and Solvency Margin of Life Insurance Business) Regulations, 2016 and IRDAI (Assets, Liabilities and Solvency Margin of General Insurance Business) Regulations 
• The TRAI implemented e-Office in TRAI
• The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports on stranded Indian sailors onboard MV Anastasia and MV Jag Anand in Chinese waters for over 146 days and their difficulties without any rescue mission in sight. It has observed that the contents of media reports, if true, amount to violation of human rights. 
• The PIB did not release PIB’S DAILY BULLETIN ON COVID-19 today.

The Day 282 COVID-19 Report of India

Bharti Axa General Insurance Violated Motor Third Party Business Norms : IRDA

 

New Delhi (ABC Live India): The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) penalized Bharti Axa General Insurance for Non-Compliance with minimum obligations under Motor Third Party business as specified in IRDAI (Obligation of Insurer in respect of Motor Third Party Insurance Business) Regulations, 2015 for the financial year 2017-18 on 31/12/2020.

According to the Order passed by IRDA the penalty of Rs. 10, 00,000/- (Rupees ten lakh only) was imposed and authority directed Bharti Axa General Insurance that the order shall be placed before the Board of the insurer in the upcoming Board Meeting and the insurer shall provide a copy of the minutes of Board meeting to the Authority.

Facts of the Case

On examination of the data submitted by Bharti Axa in accordance with IRDAI (Obligation of Insurer in respect of Motor Third Party Insurance Business) Regulations, 2015, it was observed that Bharti Axa did not comply with the Motor Third Party Obligation for the FY 2017-18.

As regards possible violation of Section 32D of Insurance Act, 1938, the matter was referred on 8th April, 2019 to the Adjudicating Officer appointed by the Authority as per the provisions of Section 105C of the Act as amended from time to time.

The Adjudicating Officer issued an SCN vide letter ref. no. IRDAI/ADJ/Bharti Axa//2019-20/ dated 4th February, 2020 under Rule 4 of the Insurance (Procedure for Holding Inquiry by Adjudicating Officer) Rules, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as “AO Rules”) to Bharti Axa.

 Bharti Axa vide its letter dated 17th February, 2020 submitted its response to the SCN and as per the request of Bharti Axa, the Adjudicating Officer granted a personal hearing in the matter on 18th June, 2020.  

The Adjudicating Officer submitted the inquiry report along with recommendations to the Authority on 18th August, 2020.    

On examination of the Adjudicating Officer’s report, the Authority issued a letter dated 07th October, 2020, offering another opportunity of personal hearing to Bharti Axa under section 105C (2) of Insurance Act, 1938.

Bharti Axa vide its mail dated 08th October, 2020 opted for Personal hearing, which was held by the undersigned on 12th November, 2020 virtually. Shri Sanjeev S, CEO & MD, Shri Milind Kolhe, Chief Underwriting Officer, Shri Jignesh Sangoi, Chief Risk Officer, Shri. Amit Raheja, Chief Compliance Officer of Bharti Axa were present in the hearing.  On behalf of the Authority, Smt. Yegnapriya Bharat, CGM (Non-Life), Smt. Anita Josyula, GM (Non-Life) and Shri. A. Shrihari, Manager (Non-Life) were also present.

The charges mentioned in the SCN dated 4th February, 2020, recommendations of the Adjudicating officer, submissions of Bharti Axa to the SCN vide letter dt: 17th February, 2020 and during personal hearing 18th June 2020 & 12th November, 2020 are as follows:

a)  Violation of Sec 32D of Insurance Act, 1938: The Insurer did not comply with the Motor Third Party Obligation for the FY 2017-18 calculated as per Regulation 3 of IRDAI (Obligation of Insurer in respect of Motor Third Party Insurance Business) Regulations, 2015. During the FY 2017-18, the Insurer has underwritten Rs. 380.00 crore as against the minimum obligatory Motor Third Party Insurance business of Rs. 399.94 crore resulting in a shortfall of Rs. 19.94 crore. In percentage terms, the shortfall works out around 4.99% of the Motor Third Party Insurance business obligation.

Summary of Insurer’s submissions:

The Motor Business of the insurer was adversely impacted during the FY 2017-18 due to implementation of Guidelines on Motor Insurance Service Providers. The insurer has achieved significant growth in MTP business during the period April 2017 to October 2017 (peaking at 26.4% YoY in October). However, the implementation of the aforesaid Guidelines effective November 2017 adversely impacted the Motor Third Party insurance business

During the FY 2017-18, the Insurer achieved a growth of 34% with Gross Direct Premium Income (GDPI) of Rs. 1754 crores, primarily on account of crop insurance business.  The Insurer has achieved TP premium growth of 4% against an overall de-growth of 6% in Motor Own Damage Segment.

The insurer has complied with the said obligations in the financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 by bringing in business of Rs. 2 crore and Rs. 57 crores more than the minimum required obligations in the FY 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively

The insurer further submitted that they may not be able to make good the shortfall of FY 2017-18 in FY 2020-21 since this period is a special year due to Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Insurer has assured compliance of the Motor TP Obligation Regulation in the future.

Due to repetitive nature of non-compliance, Adjudicative Officer recommended a penalty of Rs. One crore.

Decision of the Authority:

  Taking into consideration the submissions made by the insurer, the shortfall of the insurer during the financial year 2017-18 being less than 5% and the fact that the insurer has conducted business of Rs. 2 crores and Rs. 57 crores in excess of the minimum required obligations during the FY 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively, the Authority, in exercise of its power vested as per the provisions of Section 105C of the Insurance Act, 1938, hereby imposes a penalty of Rs. 10,00,000/- (Rupees ten lakh only)

Further, the insurer is advised to ensure strict compliance in future with minimum obligations under Motor Third Party business as specified in IRDAI (Obligation of Insurer in respect of Motor Third Party Insurance Business) Regulations, 2015.

The Day 282 Report of COVID-19 of India

 

New Delhi (ABC Live India): The Day 282 Report of COVID-19: Today was the 282 day of India’s Fight against Coronavirus: ABC Research Report.

As per the Ministry of Health and Family welfare till 8 AM of 31/12/2020, there are 257656 active cases, 9860280 COVID-19 patients have been discharged and 148738 persons lost their lives in India till 8 AM of 31/12/2020.

On the testing of the capacity of India, the ICMR in its daily report on 31/12/2020 that a total of 17,20,49,274 have been conducted in India till 9 AM of 30/12/2020. Further, the ICMR reported that 11,27,244 new samples were taken during the last 24 hours.

The Following is the List of Actions/ announcements made by the Government of India along with Updates from Indian Courts of law, NHRC, RBI, SEBI, TRAI & IRDA on 31/12/2020

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued Updates on COVID-19
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare revealed How the Domestic Medical Equipment Industry “Adapted, Evolved and Expanded” to meet COVID19 challenge in 2020
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that with the objective of gearing up for the roll out of COVID19 vaccine across the country, the Central Government has asked all States and UTs to ensure effective preparedness for the vaccine roll out.
• The ICMR issued testing Updates of India for 30/12/2020
• The Ministry of Science & Technology stated that Technology based start-ups played a crucial role in converting India from importer to second largest manufacturer of PPEs
• The Ministry of Finance stated that taking a major step to boost exports, Government has decided to extend the benefit of the Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) to all export goods with effect from 1st January, 2021.
• The Ministry of Finance issued Tariff Notification No. 117/2020-Customs (N.T.) in respect of Fixation of Tariff Value of Edible Oils, Brass Scrap, Poppy Seeds, Areca Nut, Gold and Silver
• The Ministry of Finance stated that The Government of India has received ₹8,30,851 crore (37% of corresponding BE 2020-21 of Total Receipts) upto November, 2020 comprising of ₹ 6,88,430 crore Tax Revenue (Net to Centre), ₹1,24,280 crore of Non-Tax Revenue and ₹18,141 crore of Non Debt Capital Receipts. Non Debt Capital Receipts consists of Recovery of Loans (₹11,962 crore) and Disinvestment proceeds (₹6,179 crore).
• The Ministry of Finance released Quarterly report on Public Debt Management of quarter July to September, 2020
• The Ministry of Commerce & Industry issued INDEX OF EIGHT CORE INDUSTRIES (BASE: 2011-12=100) FOR NOVEMBER, 2020)
• The Ministry of Education announced the dates of commencement of CBSE Board examinations. Shri Pokhriyal said that Class 10th and 12th Board Examinations will be held from 4th May 2021 to 10th June, 2021 and results of Class 10th and 12th Board Examinations will be declared by 15th July, 2021. He further informed that Practical exams of Class 12th  will start from 1st March, 2021.
• The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare stated that About 60.67 Lakh Paddy Farmers have benefitted from KMS Procurement Operations with MSP value of Rs 90502.23 Crore
• The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare stated that Virtual Agri-hackathon Atmanirbhar Krishi inaugurated
• The Ministry of Labour & Employment released Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (2016=100) – November, 2020
• The Ministry of Coal released Year End Review 2020
• The Ministry of Commerce & Industry released Year End Review-  2020
• The Ministry of Development of North-East Region released Year End Review 2020
• The  Ministry of Food Processing Industries released Year End Review 2020
• The Ministry of Law and Justice released Year End Review-2020
• The Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises released Year End Review- 2020
• The Ministry of Minority Affairs released Year End Review 2020 
• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy released Year End Review-2020
• The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs released Year End Review 2020
• The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions released Year End Review 2020
• The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas released Year End Review -2020
• The Ministry of Steel released Year End Review 2020
• The Reserve Bank released its quarterly house price index
• The Reserve Bank of India has today released Lending Rates of Scheduled Commercial Banks based on data received during the month of December 2020.
• The RBI released Data on sectoral deployment of bank credit collected from select 33 scheduled commercial banks, accounting for about 90 per cent of the total non-food credit deployed by all scheduled commercial banks, for the month of November 2020
• The Reserve Bank of India has today released the data on External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCB) and Rupee Denominated Bonds (RDB) both, through Automatic Route and Approval Route, for the month of November 2020.
• The RBI issued Scheduled Banks’ Statement of Position in India as on Friday, December 18, 2020
• The RBI released Money Market Operations as on December 30, 2020
• The SEBI issued a circular on Procedural Guidelines for Proxy Advisors
• The SEBI issued a circular on Circular on Mutual Funds
• The SEBI issued a circular on Relaxation in timelines for compliance with regulatory requirements
• The SEBI issued a circular on Creation of Security in issuance of listed debt securities and ‘due diligence’ by debenture trustee(s) - Extension of timeline for implementation
• The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India has selected ‘Thalsar Bangsar’ by Ravindra Manik Jadav for the first prize of Rs. 2 lakh as a part of its Short Film Award Competition-2020. It is in Kokani with sub-titles in English. 
• The PIB did not release PIB’S DAILY BULLETIN ON COVID-19 today.
• The Day 281 COVID-19 Report of India