EXCLUSIVE: LIC’s equity investment in FY20 likely to reach above Rs 70,000 cr, an all-time high

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is likely to end FY20 with an all-time high equity investment (gross) of around up to 72,000 crore, an all-time high, sources said. In FY19, LIC invested around Rs 68,620 crore into the equity market. “We have already crossed Rs 33,000 crore and the second half of the year is expected to be robust considering the new business premiums have also seen a high growth,” said an official. While the year-on-year (YoY) growth will be 3.5 percent, LIC’s equity investments hold significance because it is…

Read More

Food and Beverage Companies are Finding Creative Ways to Reach Kids Online, Here’s What to Know

  I have witnessed my sons on social media posting images of simulated Gatorade coolers being poured over their heads, sending digital Valentine Day’s cards made by Taco Bell reading “Nacho average Valentine,” and voting on new potato-chip flavors. These are not the passive ads of my childhood. They are clever ways corporations reach children and teenagers, encouraging them to interact with a brand and promote it to their friends. Valentines certainly appear innocent enough. But will manipulating an image of a Gatorade cooler really entice kids to drink more…

Read More

This Deadly Bacteria Can Reach Your Brain in a Day

PhotoCredit:istock Researchers have discovered that a deadly bacteria that can be picked up by a simple sniff can travel to the brain and spinal cord in just 24 hours. The pathogenic bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei, which causes the potentially fatal disease melioidosis, kills 89,000 people around the world each year and is prevalent in northern Australia and southeast Asia. Previously, researchers did not understand how the bacteria travelled to the brain and spinal cord, or just how quickly. The bacteria causing melioidosis are found in contaminated water and soil, according to…

Read More