Innholdsfortegnelse for 13-Dec-20 i Business Today

Self-certified vaccine efficacy based on alarmingly low numbers of trials are in spotlight as the top three in the race for the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine — Pfizer, Moderna and Gamaleya — all claimed more than 90 per cent efficacy. Even though they had tested the vaccine on barely 120, 95 and 20 patients only. First Pfizer’s claim of 90 per cent efficacy was countered days later by Gamaleya’s 92 per cent followed by Moderna’s 94.5 per cent. Until Pfizer revised its claim to 95 per cent, as high as the most powerful vaccine on the planet — Measles. But the world’s toughest drug regulators under whose watch the new vaccines are being readied stayed mute witness to the bombastic game of oneupmanship the three firms engaged in to prove…

Virus Based Attenuated live virus (ALV) or inactivated dead virus (IDV) are introduced into the body, which develops antigens to fight viruses. The immune system is ready to fight the virus now. Measles, mumps, smallpox vaccines are ALV-based while influenza, rabies and Hepatitis A are IDV-based. Bharat Biotech is working on IDV vaccine. Protein Based A protein is extracted from the virus (alive or inactivated), purified, and injected as a vaccine. Since corona virus is full of spikes, spike protein is what researchers are trying to use to generate immune response in the body. There are influenza vaccines based on this platform. Viral Vector The gene for a pathogen protein is inserted into a different virus that can infect someone without causing disease. This safe virus serves as ‘platform’ or…

There are different models – standalone, hybrid and home chef aggregation – in the cloud/dark kitchen space A large part of the cloud kitchen market is handled by aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato which are trying to increase the average order size to make the business profitable for their partners In the hybrid model, restaurants are using existing infra to set up cloud kitchens as dine-in orders fall due to Covid-19 Standalone cloud kitchens say hefty commissions charged by aggregators mean high failure rates in this F&B segment Large players like FreshMenu, Rebel Foods, Box8 and others are building specialised brands/menus to cater to the rising demand for hygienic and branded food options…

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg asks in her international bestselling book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. This powerful question struck a chord with 21-year-old Sanya Khurana. She was just out of college and, in her innocent enthusiasm, wrote to Lean In Foundation about how she felt strongly about bringing more women in the workforce. “I didn’t have the confidence but still wrote. I wasn’t sure how, but I wanted to contribute,” she says. That was in 2014. She not only got a reply from Lean In, the team also guided her through the entire process of joining the foundation. In 2016, she became the founder of Lean In India, and started supporting other women to dream big and fulfill…

AS we near the last quarter of 2020/21, here’s a look at how best to review your tax savings and take steps, if needed, to add that extra bit of money in your pocket. Individuals can save taxes either by investing in government-notified products or by claiming deductions or exemptions on certain type of expenses. When it comes to investments, the eligible products that give you deduction benefits are basically of two types — fixed-income investments and equity-related investments. Fixed-Income Products For fixed-income products, the minimum lock-in period is five years. The five-year tax-saving fixed deposit is available in most banks and post offices. One can invest up to ₹1.5 lakh in a single financial year, and get deduction benefit under Section 80C. However, the interest earned on this deposit…

A No Objection Certificate to produce vaccine candidate for analytical, test purposes from DGCI. If vaccine is recombinant or involves genetic tweaks, it needs approval from Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation, Department of Biotechnology Apply for Test Licence from State Drugs Controller Joint inspection of facility by Central and State Drugs Control Authorities. If satisfied, State Drugs Controller gives test licence GET APPROVAL FOR STUDY PROTOCOL FOR PRE-CLINICAL TOXICITY TRIALS IN ANIMALS FROM INSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL ETHICS COMMITTEE, RECOGNISED BY ICMR Once pre-clinical trial protocol approved, produce test batches and apply to DCGI for permission to conduct pre-clinical toxicity studies in animals After pre-clinical toxicity studies, data and product samples submitted for official vetting to Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli Submit CDL test reports to DCGI for permission to conduct human…

The Union Budget targeted ₹2.1 lakh crore disinvestment, of which ₹1.2 lakh crore was to come from CPSEs. Latest data shows only ₹5,000 crore has been realised. All pre-Covid Budgets across the world have gone topsy-turvy. The Coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented event. Things changed beyond anybody’s comprehension. Nobody anticipated that there could be a lockdown and people would not be able to travel for months together. Therefore, talking of a February budget under these extra-ordinary and uncertain circumstances may not be appropriate. We have to see going forward what we can do. What is the realistic target now? There is no specific number as on date, because our effort has been to look at what we can do during and post-Covid. So, we should do whatever best we can.…

AGARWAL’S NATURE THERAPY For Sanjay Agarwal, MD of CenturyPly, tryst with nature has been a lifelong passion inculcated by his father at a very young age. He remembers his father taking him to a river in Tinsukia, Assam, for swimming, when he was eight years old. An avid golfer, trekker and marathon enthusiast, Agarwal's habit of connecting with nature and engaging in physical activities continued right through even in the middle of his tight business schedules. “Sports add a very different angle to our view of life. A disciplined game can teach us about leadership and equality,” says Agarwal, who has gone for trekking to the Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Base camp, Ganda La pass (Ladakh) and Gokyo, either with a professional group or a bunch of friends. Agarwal, 56,…

BALANCE SHEET ₹31.23 lakh crore POLICIES IN FORCE 28.92 crore PREMIUM INCOME ₹3,79,389 crore FIRST-YEAR PREMIUM ₹31,326 crore ANNUAL SURPLUS ₹55,628 crore NUMBER OF BRANCHES 2,048 apart from 1,526 satellite and 3,354 mini offices AGENTS 12.08 lakh WORKFORCE 1,00,000 plus The profitability of protection products is significantly higher than that of savings products. The private sector has a larger share of protection plansSantosh N., Managing Partner, Duff & Phelps Advisory…

Central Bills The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, allows farmers and traders to sell and buy farmers' produce within the state and outside through channels, which are outside regulated APMC markets (mandis), without paying any fee/levy to the state government The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, provides a national framework for contract farming agreements with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters and large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, says the Central government will have powers to regulate supply of certain food items, including cereals, pulses, potato, onion, edible oilseeds and oil, only under extraordinary circumstances such as war, famine, extraordinary…

Back in May, Deepti Verma Chhabria and her husband used to order food from neighbourhood kitchens set up by home chefs. The couple decided not to venture out during the lockdown and was wary of ordering from restaurants. “We thought that the safest way to order food was through home chefs. They give freshly-cooked and more hygienic meals,” says Chhabria. But after a point, they started feeling the need to have more options. That’s when the idea of YourShef came about. Even as she's doing trial runs of the app, the formal launch is expected in early December. To put it simply, what Zomato and Swiggy are for restaurants, YourShef is for home chefs and privatelyowned kitchens. “We did a small survey through which we got to know that people…

Seventy three-year-old M.P. Subramanian hails from Narikunni, a small town in Kerala’s Calicut district. A diabetic and a heart patient, Subramanian has to visit his endocrinologist once in every two months. All was going well until the lockdown made travelling to the hospital, around 20 kilometres from his home, difficult. Fortunately, two months ago, the hospital introduced telemedicine consultation. “I booked an appointment, logged in, showed my test results, explained my alignments and the doctor made necessary changes to my medicines, through my mobile phone,” says Subramanian. “I did not have to travel and get exposed to the virus, but still could get my routine check-up done at the click of a button, thanks to technology,” he adds. The Remote Healthcare Market GLOBALLY… $66.5 BILLION Estimated market size in 2030…

“HAVE THE HUMILITY TO PAUSE AND LISTEN, REFLECT, TALK AND SEEK ADVICE” Q. What was the problem you were grappling with? a. I once walked into a role with utmost confidence in my functional skills and my ability to deliver the mandate. While I did succeed, it came with a lot of pain, at the cost of some relationships which I rubbed the wrong way… I do believe that success in that situation could have been bigger than what I was able to deliver. Q. Who did you approach and why? a. The advice I got from a colleague when I walked into another transformational opportunity where I had to change things around, was go back to the historians of the organisation, talk to people and understand why things are…