Sachin P Mampatta And Sohini Das

Stories by Sachin P Mampatta And Sohini Das

Why Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal have lower Covid mortality rates than India

Why Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal have lower Covid mortality rates than India

Rediff.com   16 May 2022

An analysis of WHO data shows that most of the countries with an older cohort of population and higher in the development index had a lower excess mortality rate than India.

Retail investors put over Rs 2,000 cr in bankrupt firms, hoping for revival

Retail investors put over Rs 2,000 cr in bankrupt firms, hoping for revival

Rediff.com   10 May 2022

Retail investors have put at least Rs 2,296 crore in listed companies facing proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). A median such-company had 16,163 retail investors as shareholders many of whom apparently have bought a stake on the hope of making money if the firm revives. They own a fifth of the total stake in the companies under consideration. The analysis looked at 75 listed firms for whom shareholding data was available for March 2022.

Does Monsoon Impact Market Returns?

Does Monsoon Impact Market Returns?

Rediff.com   6 May 2022

Many years during which monsoons were poor saw high returns, while normal or excess rainfall has also coincided with poor calendar year gains.

Covid cases are being detected by accident

Covid cases are being detected by accident

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2022

'A patient visits for any other treatment, but a routine Covid test finds him to be positive.' 'Not only are they, but their whole family is also coming out to be positive.'

Indian pharma cos get a shot in the arm in $12-bn Australian drug market

Indian pharma cos get a shot in the arm in $12-bn Australian drug market

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2022

Indian drug firms get a shot in the arm in the $12 bn Australian drug market as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia agrees to accelerate the drug approval process in that country for Indian players who already have an approved plant and product from one of the stringent regulatory authorities like US, EU or Canada. From current sales of $340 mn, the Indian firms can see a significant upside in sales; felt Dinesh Dua, former chairman of the Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), and the MD of Nectar Lifesciences. He highlighted that only 12 percent of the Australian drug market is generic, as against 80-90 per cent in the US or EU. Of this $1.5 bn generic drug market in India, Indian companies have a small share.

India's bond slump worse than others, issuance value down 10.1%

India's bond slump worse than others, issuance value down 10.1%

Rediff.com   19 Apr 2022

Indian issuers are borrowing lesser through bonds compared to their global peers. The total value of bond issuances was down 10.1 per cent on a rolling 4-quarter basis in March 2022, compared to a similar period in March 2019, shows an analysis of data from tracker Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) business. The four quarters ended March 2019 marked the last full financial year before the pandemic took hold.

Why Are India's Rich Reluctant Givers?

Why Are India's Rich Reluctant Givers?

Rediff.com   8 Apr 2022

A sudden surge in wealth because of stock market gains after the pandemic could be one of the factors behind the relatively lower share of philanthropy in total wealth.

Why WHO suspended supply of Covaxin through UN agencies

Why WHO suspended supply of Covaxin through UN agencies

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

Sources close to the development said the company had no further supply commitments to the WHO, and therefore, there was no suspension of any upcoming orders, reports Sohini Das.

Serum, Bharat Biotech halt Covid vaccine production as demand slips

Serum, Bharat Biotech halt Covid vaccine production as demand slips

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

Sources indicated that there were no fresh orders from the Government of India, and their supply commitments have ended as of March 31, reports Sohini Das.

Hospital chain plans to put expectant parents on cloud nine

Hospital chain plans to put expectant parents on cloud nine

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2022

No expecting mother ever needs to travel for more than 30 minutes to reach one of their hospitals, believes the Cloudnine group.

India's pharma cos hit by 'China-made disruptions'

India's pharma cos hit by 'China-made disruptions'

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2022

With intermittent disruptions in the supply chain of raw materials from China, the Indian pharma industry has braced itself with bigger inventory. Even smaller drug makers are now carrying a month of buffer stock of key raw materials, said industry insiders. The lockdown in various Chinese provinces, including Shanghai, is likely to delay shipments by two weeks to a month, said domestic players. Shipments are critical for the Indian drug industry, which imports 70 per cent of its raw material from China.

MFs invest in more stocks amid volatility

MFs invest in more stocks amid volatility

Rediff.com   29 Mar 2022

Mutual funds (MFs) are investing in more stocks despite the recent volatility. The industry invested in 824 companies across the listed universe as of October, according to primemfdatabase.com. The S&P BSE Sensex hit its all-time high of 62,245 that month. The index has since corrected to 57,864, around 7 per cent below the peak.

Jail inmates-generated sales rival India's largest companies

Jail inmates-generated sales rival India's largest companies

Rediff.com   27 Mar 2022

Jail inmates produced goods generating gross sales worth Rs 223.4 crore in 2020, according to the government's annual Prison Statistics India report. The amount ranks at 496th place if compared with the latest net sales numbers of S&P BSE 500 companies, reports Sachin P Mampatta.

A big challenge to EPFO returns

A big challenge to EPFO returns

Rediff.com   18 Mar 2022

There is widening gap between what the government's premier retirement fund makes on its investments and what it offers to employees. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) makes the bulk of its investments in government-related securities. In other words, it lends to central and state governments and related entities. The interest it gets from these instruments is largely what it uses to pay interest to its subscribers.

Indians Invested $673.8 Million Abroad In 2021

Indians Invested $673.8 Million Abroad In 2021

Rediff.com   15 Mar 2022

Indians spent more on foreign investments during the past 12 months than they have since at least 2012.

India Inc braces for fallout of Russia-Ukraine crisis

India Inc braces for fallout of Russia-Ukraine crisis

Rediff.com   23 Feb 2022

Stocks of Indian companies with exposure to Europe fell on Tuesday amid concerns about the impact on their sales in case the Russia-Ukraine crisis worsens and the US and its allies impose economic sanctions on Russia. While top conglomerates, including Reliance Industries, the Tata group, and Aditya Birla Group, said they did not have any significant exposure to Russia, executives of some of the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and tea companies said they were monitoring the situation closely as they earned substantial income from the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing that Russia would recognise their independence.

Over Rs 20,000 crore lying unclaimed with LIC

Over Rs 20,000 crore lying unclaimed with LIC

Rediff.com   15 Feb 2022

The amount of money lying unclaimed with the Life Insurance Corporation of India dwarfs the budgets of many ministries. There was Rs 21,539.5 crore which lay unclaimed with India's largest insurance company, according to details in the initial public offer (IPO) document it filed over the weekend. The regulatory documentation is ahead of LIC selling shares to the public through the stock exchange for the first time this financial year. This will be India's largest ever public listing.

Last year's share buybacks were lowest since 2015

Last year's share buybacks were lowest since 2015

Rediff.com   17 Jan 2022

Companies spent less money buying back their shares from the public last year than at any time since 2015. They announced buybacks of up to Rs 14,341 crore, show numbers from primary market tracker Prime Database. The total amount spent was Rs 13,597 crore. Both the amounts are lower than what was offered (Rs 39,564 crore) and spent (Rs 36,517 crore) in 2020.

Number of Covid symptomatic kids jump, post-recovery issues a concern

Number of Covid symptomatic kids jump, post-recovery issues a concern

Rediff.com   14 Jan 2022

While the infection has been mild in most reported cases, those below two years of age are showing signs of acute infection.

'We have to ensure vaccines work against new variants'

'We have to ensure vaccines work against new variants'

Rediff.com   11 Jan 2022

Adar Poonawalla says it took a five-minute chat with his father Cyrus before making the decision to manufacture Covishield. The bet paid off, and handsomely. Serum Institute now has the capacity to make 4 billion doses of Covishield annually.