New Delhi’s air quality remains ‘very poor’

New Delhi’s air quality was “very poor” on November 8, but no drastic decline is likely in the next three days as strong winds are expected to blow in the region, according to the government’s air quality monitoring and forecasting service SAFAR. After a brief respite, the city’s air quality plunged to the “very poor” category again because of high humidity due to light rain. Delhi experienced “slight secondary particulate formation in the early hours (on November 8) but (it) could not multiply much”, it said. Secondary particles are products of complicated atmospheric reactions between primary particles, such as particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide directly emitted by stubble burning and vehicles, in the presence of other factors such as sunlight and moisture. Examples of secondary particles include sulphates, nitrates, ozone and organic aerosols.

Global debt surges to record high $188 tn

The global debt load has surged to a new all-time record equivalent to more than double the world’s economic output, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has warned. While private sector borrowing accounts for the vast majority of the total, the rise puts governments and individuals at risk if the economy slows, she said. “Global debt - both public and private - has reached an all-time high of $188 trillion. This amounts to about 230 per cent of world output,” Georgieva said. That is up from the previous record of $164 trillion in 2016, according to IMF figures. While interest rates remain low, borrowers can use debt to make investments in productive activities or weather a bout of low commodity prices. Corporate debt accounts for about two-thirds of the total, but government borrowing has risen as well in the wake of the global financial crisis.

American lab identifies rare new HIV strain

A US health care company has identified a new subtype of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and said the finding showed that cutting-edge genome sequencing is helping researchers stay ahead of mutations. The strain, HIV-1 Group M subtype L, has been recorded in three people from blood samples taken between the 1980s and 2001, all in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Abbott laboratories. To classify a new subtype, three cases must be discovered independently, according to guidelines issued in 2000. Group M is the most prevalent form of the HIV-1 virus. Subtype L is now the 10th of this group and the first to be identified since the guidelines were issued. Antiretroviral drugs, which reduce the viral load of an HIV carrier to the point at which the infection is both undetectable and cannot be transmitted further, have generally performed well against a variety of subtypes.

KSUM wins accolade at incubation summit

The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has been recognised as the world’s top public business accelerator by UBI Global, the Stockholm-based intelligence company. The honour for KSUM - the nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in Kerala - was announced at the World Incubation Summit for the Best Programmes in Doha, Qatar. “Kerala Startup Mission demonstrates exceptional value for client startups, value for the local ecosystem and overall attractiveness as a programme. Following a rigorous data-driven approach, we assessed and benchmarked incubation programmes across the world,” said UBI Global director of research Holger Meyer. KSUM also promotes entrepreneurship at different levels from schools to startups.

Newsmaker

Sahitya Akademi awardee Nabaneeta Dev Sen has passed away at the age of 81. A poet, novelist and short story writer, Nabaneeta won the Sahitya Akademi award in 1999 for her book Naba-Nita. She was the recipient of the Padma Shri in 2000.

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