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<div type="image" title="Data from RBI suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024." msid="115250619" hostid="261" sizebytes="118350" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Data from RBI suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “Ye le beta, humare khaandani sone ke gehne. Ise girvi rakhva de, shayad kuch paise aa jaye ghar main.” How many times have we seen similar dialogues repeat itself in Bollywood films of the 70s and 80s—abject poverty and a frail-looking old mother pleading to her son to pawn the family’s heirloom <keyword id="18712" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gold" source="Orion">gold</keyword> ornaments to a jeweller, all to get a few bucks? Well, if you’d ask that son in 2024, he’d rather hit the loan button on his <keyword id="19977340" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="demat" source="keywords">Demat</keyword> account than pawn his mother’s gold jewellery. Given how Indians are rapidly resorting to taking loans against their investments in shares and mutual funds, these might as well be a cherished family heirloom in today’s time. Fair warning though; it's not as if gold and loans against it are going down in India’s lending scene. It's very much the opposite, shining brighter than ever! The secured loan category is having its time in the spotlight, and people are certainly looking beyond land and property to get their hands on some extra monies! But what is funding the steep rise behind these loans? And are they as failsafe and secure as they’re made out to be? We decode for you in this week’s Simply Put. <h2>The great Indian pawning party</h2>Pawning one’s gold has been, by far, the OG Indian financial move to get a loan. That continues well into 2024, and apparently, more so when India decides to wed and celebrate! Data from <keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi" source="keywords">RBI</keyword> suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024. It looks like Gold took the motto of rise and shine too seriously! Table 1: Growth in gold loans <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amount (In Rs crore) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 2022 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">85,009 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">March 2023 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">89,370 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 2023 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">97,426 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">March 2024 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,02,562 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 2024 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,47,081 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Source: RBI data While the world continues to be riled up in multiple geopolitical crises in 2024, gold has been making merry of these tough times. Thus far this year, domestic gold prices have grown by 23%, outperforming benchmark indices like Nifty and Sensex by a mile, which have gone up by 9.85% and 8.86%, respectively. The growth in gold loan disbursal rates month on month this year could also put Nifty and Sensex’s growth to shame. In just September 2024, gold loans grew an astounding 51%, up from 40.9% in August, 30.5% in June, and just 14.8% in March. <h2>Hey, wait up for me, says <keyword id="23953567" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="las" source="keywords">LAS</keyword></h2>In lockstep with the elder, gold loan sibling, advances against shares and bonds have also been inching up since 2022. Data from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notes that as of September 2022, the outstanding quantum of loans that were taken against shares (LAS) and bonds stood at Rs 7,397.94 crores. This inched up to Rs 7,764 crore in September 2023. Come 2024, and it looked like this was LAS’ time to shine. Loans swiftly skyrocketed, with outstanding loans in this category going up from Rs 8,492 crore in March 2022 to a staggering Rs 9,546 crore at the end of September 2024. Naturally, the smoke of LAS has its fire in the record inflows that Indians are pouring into the stock market and mutual funds month on month. Per AMFI (<keyword id="20090034" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="association-of-mutual-funds" source="keywords">Association of Mutual Funds</keyword> in India), the net AUM (assets under management) of India’s mutual fund industry grew to Rs 67,25,614.61 crores in October 2024, up from Rs 67,09,259.24 crores in September 2024. Even the number of retail mutual fund folios, which include equity, hybrid, and solution-oriented mutual funds, burgeoned to 17,23,52,296 in October, as compared to 16,81,61,366 in September. The same goes for stock investments in India, where the number of new demat accounts that are added every month just simply refuses to climb down. As of last month, total demat accounts in the country stood at 17.9 crore, which is more than the entire population of full-fledged nations like Japan (12.45 crore), Russia (14.38 crore), and Bangladesh (17.3 crore). In fact, since February this year, the monthly growth of LAS has been hitting double digits. From 11.3% in March to 21.6% in May to 26.8% in August, growth in LAS has been exceptional, hitting 22.9% in September this year. For context, monthly growth in the LAS segment was at a mere 5% in September 2023. <h2>What's driving the growth?</h2>It's a win-win for both the bank and the customer. Customers love them because LAS is available at a lower interest rate compared to unsecured personal loans. You can get a loan at an interest rate of anywhere between 9 and 12% by pledging your gold, MF units, or shares. Compare this to over 10-28% rates, which is the range where unsecured personal loans charge interest. Banks love <keyword id="827883" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="secured-loans" source="Orion">secured loans</keyword> since they are well-secured. In case you default on paying back, the bank can sell off your gold, shares, or mutual fund units to recover the amount. This takes a lot of stress off the banks, which are already dealing with secured loans’ riskier sibling-unsecured lending. High NPAs (non-performing assets) and non-payments in the unsecured borrowing space have already put RBI on red alert, which is why the apex bank is tightening the screws on unsecured lending, which was well on its way to becoming a ticking time bomb. As a result, credit growth has moderated to 12.8% YoY in October, as against the 19.3% rise recorded in the year-ago period. Yet it's not like the banks won't feel the heat. Analysts at Nomura note that personal loan delinquencies in India that have been overdue by over 90 days rose to 5.1% in the last financial year, as opposed to just 3.9% in the year prior. <h2>How does it work?</h2>Both these loans work on a similar principle: Your loan amount is equal to a certain percentage of the actual market value of your asset. This is known as the <keyword id="20051485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ltv" source="keywords">LTV</keyword> (loan-to-value ratio). In the case of gold and debt mutual funds, RBI mandates that this LTV be about 75-80%. So, for every Rs 100 of gold or debt mutual fund unit you pledge, your maximum loan amount cannot exceed Rs 80. If you pledge gold, which has a market value of Rs 10 lakh, you can take a loan of up to Rs 8,00,000. In the case of shares and mutual fund units, this limit is set at 50%. So, your shares worth Rs 5,00,000 can only get you a loan worth Rs 2,50,000. But the bright side? You can continue earning returns on your investments and pay interest only on the amount you use, since this loan works as an overdraft facility. <h2>Super safe, you say?</h2>Interest rates on both of these loans are very much dependent on the market value of the asset, which wildly fluctuates on a day-to-day basis. So, in case the value of your asset falls, you’ll have to keep a margin or more of the same asset in order to continue with the loan and maintain the LTV balance. Failure to do so could mean the bank can even sell off your asset. Says financial planner Nema Chaya Buch. “Yes, LAS offers easy availability of funds since these loans come with a lower interest rate as compared to personal loans. Also, you continue to earn average returns of 10–13% on your equity investments. But the downside is, in case of emergency, those pledged securities cannot be sold. Also, if the equity market goes down, then the bank may ask for additional collateral. Raghvendra Nath, MD, Ladderup Wealth Management notes that taking a LAS is best when the value of your securities has appreciated significantly. “This allows you to maximize the loan amount based on your collateral while also addressing financial needs without having to liquidate your investment portfolio. However, there are notable disadvantages to consider. The market risk is significant; a substantial decline in market value could lead to margin calls, which may incur fees and charges if there are delays or prepayments, ultimately increasing the effective cost of borrowing. Furthermore, failure to make timely payments could result in the loss of your assets.”. Umesh Mohanan, ED &amp; CEO, of Indel Money, cautions that one should have a sufficient quantity of gold to get the loan amount one wants. "According to the current RBI rules, the loan applicant/borrower can draw up to 75% of the total market value of the collateral/gold jewellery. So, always carry a sufficient quantity of gold based on one’s loan requirement. “The most important thing is that the valuation of the gold depends on the purity of the gold. If the borrower pledges gold with higher purity, such as 24 carats or 22 carats, he will get the maximum loan amount," he adds.

Simply Put: Secured Loans 2.0 — why more and more Indians are turning to gold, shares and mutual funds to get loans

<ul class="summary-list"><li>TikTok and its owner sought to hire hundreds of Chinese staff in 2023, Business Insider has learned.</li><li>669 of the 1,089 approved US H-1B hires for TikTok and ByteDance in that fiscal year were from China.</li></ul>TikTok didn't shy away from hiring employees from China last year, even as US officials accused the app of being a national security risk because its owner, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing.Of the roughly 1,000 non-US employees that TikTok and ByteDance sought to hire for its US teams via H-1B visa applications between October 2022 and September 2023, most were from China.Companies use the H-1B program to hire foreign workers who have business skills that they say they cannot otherwise obtain from the existing US workforce.Six hundred and sixty-nine of the 1,089 approved H-1B hires for TikTok and ByteDance last fiscal year were from China, a 50% increase from the previous year, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services data obtained by Business Insider via a Freedom of Information Act request. The federal government's fiscal year runs from October through September.Fourteen of those 669 approved hires were recruited to work under TikTok's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-us-user-data-storage-project-texas-privacy-security-2023-3">US Data Security Division</a>, or USDS, a section of the company dedicated to keeping US user data out of the hands of the Chinese Communist Party and other actors that the US government has deemed a foreign adversary. Those roles included work in data science, fraud strategy, systems analysis, and software engineering.While TikTok is by far ByteDance's most popular app in the US, the company does operate other platforms such as its Pinterest-like app <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-owner-bytedance-hiring-influencers-boost-lemon8-app-2024-1">Lemon8</a>, which some H-1B hires may have been tasked with working on.TikTok and ByteDance's 50% year-over-year jump in approved H-1B applications for Chinese nationals came despite US Senator Tom Cotton raising concerns about having "foreign individuals work at ByteDance and TikTok's offices in California.""Given the security concerns with TikTok and the company's repeated statements about 'US-based' teams and data centers, having hundreds of foreign nationals working in those offices presents another potential threat," Cotton <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/foia/H-1B_visa_use-Senator_Cotton.pdf">wrote</a> in a November 2022 letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.TikTok and ByteDance did not respond to requests for comment.Using the H-1B program to recruit talent from China isn't unusual on its own. Among applications for H-1B visas across all companies in fiscal year 2023, it was the second most common country of origin, per data published by the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/OLA_Signed_H-1B_Characteristics_Congressional_Report_FY2023.pdf">USCIS</a>. But TikTok and ByteDance's H-1B recruiting efforts dramatically over-indexed toward China. Only 12% of all approved fiscal year 2023 H-1B applications were for Chinese nationals, compared to 61% of TikTok and ByteDance's approved applications.India ranked second among countries where TikTok and ByteDance earned H-1B approvals in fiscal year 2023, followed by Taiwan, Canada, and Vietnam.<h2 id="652509fc-c542-496a-8661-64a16854f5a3">Why TikTok is recruiting talent from China</h2>TikTok has been under heavy scrutiny for years due to its owner's roots in China. US officials have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fcc-tiktok-letter-experts-say-ban-unlikely-despite-political-pressure-2022-7">raised concerns</a> that ByteDance could be compelled to hand over TikTok's US user data to the Chinese government in order to comply with a National Intelligence Law. Some have worried that TikTok could be used as a propaganda tool to further the CCP's interests.In April, Congress passed a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/senate-passes-tiktok-ban-2024-4">law</a> that gave ByteDance a deadline for divesting TikTok's US assets. If it fails to do so, TikTok could be removed from US app stores in January. TikTok is challenging the law in court, but legal experts previously told BI it's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-justice-department-federal-appeals-court-law-ban-expert-2024-9">not looking promising for the company</a>. President-elect Trump pledged on the campaign trail to "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-block-tiktok-ban-legal-experts-2024-11">never ban TikTok</a>," but his paths to rescuing the app are limited.TikTok has previously said it does not share information with the Chinese government, and that its content moderation efforts are run by a US-based team that "operates independently from China."While it may not be politically advantageous for TikTok to recruit talent from China, it makes sense given the company operates closely with its parent ByteDance.Even as TikTok has taken steps to <a target="_blank" href="https://gizmodo.com/tiktok-master-messaging-pr-playbook-china-music-1849334736">downplay its association with China</a>, its owner, ByteDance, continues to operate in the US. Current and former TikTok employees <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-employees-say-staff-in-china-make-many-product-decisions-2021-12">told BI in 2021</a> that final product decisions for TikTok were often made by ByteDance staffers in Beijing. And TikTok staffers are asked to adhere to core workplace values it calls "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-employees-bytedance-bytestyles-used-to-reward-and-reprimand-2021-9">ByteStyles</a>."The company has also used TikTok's Chinese sister app, Douyin, as a testing ground for features that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whats-next-for-tiktok-look-at-china-douyin-2022-1">ultimately end up on TikTok</a>. Recently, the company has matched vendors with expertise in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-shop-us-partner-summit-live-shopping-and-douyin-ruled-2024-10">e-commerce in China</a> to its US partners that work with sellers and influencers on its social-shopping feature, TikTok Shop. Several of its approved 2023 H-1B applications for Chinese nationals were for roles in e-commerce, including a creator manager role focused on live shopping and software engineering roles tied to shopping ads.

TikTok and its owner ramped up their hiring of Chinese employees, even as Congress raised national security concerns

Meet the enigmatic manager who oversees Larry Page's Google fortune 

The <keyword id="19894846" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wrestling-Federation-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Wrestling Federation of India" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Wrestling Federation of India">Wrestling Federation of India</keyword> (<keyword id="19894852" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wfi" source="keywords">WFI</keyword>) on Friday said it will challenge the Delhi <keyword id="20030450" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="High-Court-order" source="keywords">High Court order</keyword> that restored the mandate of <keyword id="22809836" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IOAs-ad-hoc-committee" source="keywords">IOA's ad-hoc committee</keyword> to manage the affairs of the sports body, saying the "interference" could jeopardize the participation of <keyword id="19933029" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-wrestlers" source="keywords">Indian wrestlers</keyword> at the upcoming <keyword id="20200346" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Championships" source="keywords">World Championships</keyword>. The latest order came on a plea seeking a stay on the functioning of the WFI and prevent it from undertaking any activity as a national federation for the sport. Justice Sachin Datta while passing the interim order on the plea by wrestlers <keyword id="19910804" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bajrang-Punia" source="keywords">Bajrang Punia</keyword>, <keyword id="19895499" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vinesh-Phogat" source="keywords">Vinesh Phogat</keyword>, <keyword id="19895495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sakshi-Malik" source="keywords">Sakshi Malik</keyword> and her husband Satyawart Kadian, said it was open to the <keyword id="19896477" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Olympic-Association" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Indian Olympic Association" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Indian Olympic Association">Indian Olympic Association</keyword> (IOA) re-constituting the committee which was earlier led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa. The IOA had dissolved the ad-hoc panel on April 4 while UWW had lifted its suspension on February 13 this year after WFI conducted its elections. "We are going to take it to double bench. The IOA had dissolved the ad-hoc panel . We will also approach world governing body UWW and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They had warned that outside interference may impact out athletes," WFI President Sanjay Singh told PTI. "Two World Championships are approaching. Indian wrestlers' participation could be blocked," he feared. The U-17 World championship is set to be held in Amman, Jordan from August 19-25 while the U-20 World championship is scheduled in Pontevedra, Spain from September 2-8. UWW President in his April 25 letter to WFI President had made it clear that ad-hoc panel running the show was not acceptable to them. "In case any decision or order should be made against your federation, and a third party be designated to run the daily affairs of our sport in India in violation of the UWW Statutes, UWW would have no other option than to re-impose a temporary suspension of your federation until further notice, and which, this time, could maybe include your athletes,"UWW president Lalovic wrote. The Centre had suspended the WFI on December 24, 2023, three days after it elected the new office bearers, for allegedly not following the provisions of its own constitution while taking decisions, and requested IOA to constitute an ad-hoc committee to manage its affairs. On March 4, the court had issued notice to the central government, WFI and the ad-hoc committee on the petition filed by the top grapplers.

WFI to challenge High Court order, says Indian wrestlers' participation in upcoming Worlds in danger

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The German cockroach is one of the most common household pests worldwide.</li><li>New research found that the species evolved to thrive in human dwellings about 2,100 years ago.</li></ul>If you ever <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-cockroaches-rats-mice-exterminator-places-avoid-infestation-2019-3">saw a cockroach</a> scuttling across your kitchen floor or a restaurant wall, chances are it was a German cockroach. The German roach is the most common of the 70 different cockroach species in the US.For 250 years, scientists didn't know where it came from and how it managed to spread to every continent on Earth except Antarctica. Now that mystery has been solved, and the answer is that it's largely our fault.The German cockroach is "a creation of human-made environments," Edward Vargo, an entomology professor at Texas A&amp;M University and co-author of a new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2401185121">study</a> identifying the roach's origins, told The Washington Post.The German cockroach can't survive in "temperate winters outdoors" and all species of cockroaches "prefer warm, moist places where they can feed on human and pet foods, decaying and fermenting matter, and a variety of other items," according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.That's why it's pretty safe to say that if human-built establishments like houses, stores, restaurants, and other buildings didn't exist, neither would these pesky pests. The researchers published their results last week in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.<h2 id="6fb7a1cb-9f81-4197-9939-0d5b65745e61">Where did the German roach come from?</h2>Scientists have long understood that the species thrive indoors, but their origins remained a mystery.Through DNA analysis, Vargo and his colleagues found that the species' closest relative is the Asian cockroach. The German roach evolved from its Asian cousin about 2,100 years ago to adapt to "human settlements in India or Myanmar," the researchers reported in their paper.With advancements in transportation and "temperature-controlled housing," the German <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/home/how-to-get-rid-of-roaches">cockroach</a> made its relatively recent global spread, the researchers said in their report.<h2 id="76a46be3-d8a0-4b80-a863-ddb4fc30ecca">How the German cockroach took over</h2>The German cockroach's adaption to warm environments, ability to rapidly breed, and unique <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-rid-of-cockroachs-2014-3">resistance to insecticides</a> make them a frustratingly common presence in households.For example, in a lifetime, one adult female German roach can produce four to eight egg capsules containing up to 48 eggs each, according to Penn State's Department of Entomology. Do the math and that's between 192 to 384 roaches, if every egg survives to adulthood. But German roaches didn't migrate thousands of miles across oceans and continents on their tiny insect legs. Their global spread coincides with advancements in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-travel-photos-from-100-years-ago-1920s">human travel</a> and housing, according to the study.In particular, the researchers determined that the German cockroach's spread began along two routes, west and east of its origin in India or Myanmar.The roach's westward spread likely occurred during times of increasing "commercial and military activities of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-greatest-empires-in-history-2011-9">Islamic Umayyad or Abbasid Caliphates</a>" about 1,200 years ago, the researchers reported. Meanwhile, the pest's eastward spread about 390 years ago was likely caused by "European colonial commercial activities between South and Southeast Asia."Understanding the German cockroaches' origins could help other scientists understand how the species evolved to become so resilient against <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cockroaches-becoming-resistant-to-insecticide-harder-to-kill-2019-7">common insecticides</a>. One <a target="_blank" href="https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/115/1/259/6469283?login=false">study</a> found that they're resistant to five types of common household insecticides."If we can know the origin of the species, we can try to identify the mechanism of this rapid evolution of insecticide resistance," Qian Tang, a research associate at Rowland Institute at Harvard who led the new study told the Post.

Cockroaches wouldn't exist without humans. We helped them become one of the world's worst pests, according to a new study.

A sixth-grade social science textbook that I read described India as a piece of fabric, with countless threads coloured in a myriad of majestic shades, woven together. This metaphor holds exceptionally well when put into the context of our <keyword id="22706215" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="handloom-industry" source="keywords">handloom industry</keyword>. India has a rich history of handlooms and weaving cultures. The culture of handlooms is so intricately woven into Indian culture, that there are whole towns dedicated to the same: <keyword id="248532" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chanderi" source="Orion">Chanderi</keyword> in Madhya Pradesh to Pochampally in Telangana and a dozen more! Unfortunately, the handloom industry in India is dying. The struggle is multi-faceted, ranging from a declining workforce to fierce competition from <keyword id="20496028" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="power-looms" source="keywords">power looms</keyword>. Hence, five years ago, August 7 was proclaimed <keyword id="22677698" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Handloom-Day" source="keywords">National Handloom Day</keyword> in response to this crisis and to heighten public awareness. This date holds special historical significance, commemorating the initiation of the Swadeshi Movement in 1905—a pivotal act of defiance against British colonial rule. <h2>When did this industry come into existence?</h2>According to archaeological findings, the origins of handloom in the Indian subcontinent may be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization. The Mughal Empire was known to support and patronise <keyword id="20258864" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="weavers" source="keywords">weavers</keyword>. The support from the royal patrons resulted in the invention of new textiles such as ‘Mulmul’ and ‘Banarasi Brocade’ among others. This era witnessed a heightened worldwide demand for Indian textiles. In the 17th century, India produced 25% of the world’s textiles, with Bengal accounting for more than 50% of textiles and 80% of silks imported by the Dutch from Asia. <h2>What led to the decline of the <keyword id="19934660" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-handloom" source="keywords">Indian handloom</keyword>?</h2>The East India Company's entry fuelled the industry's initial decline, which started in the 1830s. The weavers were obliged to sell only to the British, and that too at exceedingly cheap prices, virtually putting them out of business. On the other hand, Indian cloth was taxed excessively to promote machine-made British clothing. The Industrial Revolution in Britain strengthened their indigenous textile industry, giving rise to new markets for cheaper textiles. In India, the collapse of the Mughal aristocracies meant no access to royal patronage. As a result, textiles like Khadi and muslin had little demand in the market. Circling back to the present, the industry is facing both similar and new challenges. Fabrics made on power looms are cheaper and faster to produce, in comparison to handloom fabrics. The industry is largely unorganised, and the wages are shockingly low. 67% of <keyword id="22706216" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="handloom-workers" source="keywords">handloom workers</keyword> are earning less than the minimum wage every month. Faced with economic challenges, the older artisans are thus forced to encourage the newer generation to choose an alternative career path. This migration of the workforce from a traditional sector is evident from the fall in the number of weavers less than 35 years of age- from 26.13 lakh in 2009-10 to 16.07 lakh in 2019-20. The majority of weavers do not have access to banking facilities, let alone institutional credit. Furthermore, if one manages to accumulate credit, there is a mismatch between the supply and demand forces due to the lack of awareness about handwoven textiles in the current generation. <h2>Initiatives for revival</h2>The cultural significance of the Indian handloom isn’t just limited to its beauty and extravagance, but it extends to our independence struggle as well. The Swadeshi movement immortalised the charkha and advocated for the use of indigenous goods. Following independence, the Indian government took many measures to revive the handloom industry. In 1953, India’s Parliament approved the Khadi and Other Handloom Industries Development Act. In 1955, the All India Handloom Fabrics Marketing Cooperative Society was formed to promote the sale of fabrics produced by handloom cooperatives across India. The National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) aimed to provide financial assistance for marketing and production. The Handloom Weavers’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme offers health and life insurance to weavers, to ensure social security. The organisation commenced a fortnight-long exhibition, “VIRAASAT” dedicated to celebrating the 10th National Handloom Day began at Handloom Haat in Janpath, New Delhi on Saturday, 3rd August 2024, and will conclude on 16th August 2024. The Handloom Mark scheme was introduced to authenticate handloom products, thus enabling weavers to gain better market access and ensuring that consumers get genuine products. Moreover, the India Trade Portal also mentions that the GOI plans to provide financial assistance of Rs. 30 crore to at least 10,000 handlooms. Various state governments also regularly conduct handloom expos and fairs, providing platforms for weavers to showcase and sell their products directly to consumers. <h2>Contemporary Brands and their love for Indian handloom</h2>Modern, popular designers such as <keyword id="8264" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sabyasachi" source="Orion">Sabyasachi</keyword> and <keyword id="21493890" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ritu-kumar" source="keywords">Ritu Kumar</keyword> are known to work closely with weavers and have been doing their part by bringing worldwide attention to the handloom industries. Recently, <keyword id="1472101" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajrakh" source="Orion">Ajrakh</keyword> was brought into the limelight when Alia Bhatt wore a custom Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla Ajrakh saree to Joy Awards in Riyadh. However, it’s not just the fashion moguls who are working towards the revival of this industry. Contemporary indie brands are partnering with local weavers, and creating awareness about their work. The emergence of such indie brands and their association with local artisans is beneficial for both entities. For instance, Joskai Studio derives its name from ‘Joskai’, a woven piece of cloth worn as a part of the traditional costume of the Tiwa community of Assam. They work with artisans in northeast India, specifically from the weaving village of Saualkuchi in Assam. Rouka by Sreejith Jeevan is a Kerala-based brand that works strictly with weavers from Kerala, specifically Chendamangalam and Kuthampally. <h2>Employment and Exports</h2>According to the Indian Trade Portal, the Indian handloom sector is the country’s second-largest employer after agriculture in rural areas. The Handloom Census 2019-20 mentions that the industry employs about 35,22,512 workers across the country, with women forming 77.29% of the workforce. India is the second largest exporter of handloom products in the world, with exports valued at $ 353.9 million in 2017- 18, as per EXIM bank's working papers. The major handloom export centres are Karur, Panipat, Varanasi and Kannur where handloom products like bed linen, table linen, toilet linen, floor coverings, and embroidered textile materials and curtains etc. are produced for export markets. During April 2021-February 2022, India exported handloom products worth 1693 crore, as per Indian Trade Portal. Indian silk scarves also form a sizable chunk of total handloom exports, in addition to home textiles like carpets, rugs and mats, which constitute over 13.6% of India’s total handloom exports. <h2>The Path Forward</h2>The mere existence of organisations and allocation of funds isn’t enough to sustain the legacy of India’s rich handloom industry. Big corporations working with local weavers ensure employment but don't protect them from exploitation and meagre wages, leaving them vulnerable. The people in power ought to come up with strategies that ensure the trickle-down effect of the schemes and funds. The new generation of buyers has a greater purchasing power than the one before them. Marketing focused on bringing Indian handloom practices into the limelight can do wonders in this case.

Fabric of a nation: Sustaining India's handloom legacy in modern times

The recently-crowned <keyword id="22332912" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="T20-world-champion" source="keywords">T20 world champion</keyword> <keyword id="19994380" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-cricket-team" source="keywords">Indian cricket team</keyword> has been invited to celebrate its triumph in <keyword id="19926427" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maldives" source="keywords">Maldives</keyword> by the country's <keyword id="22332913" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tourism-association" source="keywords">tourism association</keyword> and its marketing and public relations corporation. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team won the trophy in <keyword id="20398397" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Barbados" source="keywords">Barbados</keyword> after beating South Africa by seven runs in the final on June 29. "Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/ Visit Maldives) in collaboration with the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) have jointly extended a special and open invitation to the Indian National Cricket Team," the two bodies said in a joint statement. Ibrahim Shiuree, the CEO and Managing Director of MMPRC, and Ahmed Nazeer, Secretary General of MATI, said they look forward to hosting the team, which returned to India on Thursday last week. It was welcomed by frenzied fans in both Delhi and Mumbai, which also played host to a victory parade featuring lakhs of supporters. "We would be honoured to host you and ensure that your stay is filled with memorable moments, relaxation, and bespoke experiences," Shiuree and Nazeer said in in the joint statement. They said the invitation also highlights the strong and long-standing cultural and sporting ties between the Maldives and India. "It would be an immense honour for the Maldives to welcome the Indian Cricket Team and share in the joy of their triumph," Shiuree further said. "We eagerly await the opportunity to host them, offering the perfect setting for them to create lasting memories of their <keyword id="20400247" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="victory-celebration" source="keywords">victory celebration</keyword>," he added. The team is currently on a break. Its next international assignment is a six-match limited-overs series against <keyword id="19931726" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sri-Lanka" source="keywords">Sri Lanka</keyword> beginning July 27. The series comprises three ODIs and as many T20 Internationals.

Maldives' tourism body invites T20 world champ Indian team to celebrate trophy there

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter on May 23, 2024.</li></ul>Hello! Grilling season is here, so take <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-the-best-grilled-chicken-tips-from-chef-2022-8">some tips from a chef</a> on the best ways to cook your chicken on the BBQ. And here's a bonus one just for newsletter readers: A little bit of high-quality extra virgin olive oil rubbed on the grill goes a long way.In today's big story, we're looking at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-are-unbossing-workplaces-and-millennials-are-at-risk-2024-5">thinning of Corporate America's middle management</a>, which is putting millennials and Gen Z at risk.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: Citi just got a costly lesson in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/citi-trader-fat-finger-flash-crash-trade-78-million-fine-2024-5">not double-checking your numbers</a>.</li><li>Tech: TikTok's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-growth-gen-z-app-millennial-takeover-trends-youtube-2024-5">user base is getting older</a>, and that's good for its business.</li><li>Business: A new rating system to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paragon-intel-track-ceo-performance-new-ratings-2024-5">judge a CEO's effectiveness</a>.</li></ul>But first, who's your manager?If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h3 id="49446034-3bc1-483d-9df2-24a059219ab2">The big story</h3><h2 id="5f0ab0c5-0aa1-4187-a665-3e209c87a050">The great "unbossing"</h2><div type="image" title="Legs in a circle with a blade" height="1000" width="2000" msid="110369377" hostid="261"></div>Hate your boss? Don't worry. They might not be around much longer.Middle managers are becoming an endangered species in Corporate America, with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-are-unbossing-workplaces-and-millennials-are-at-risk-2024-5">some companies viewing the role as obsolete</a>, writes Business Insider's Lindsay Dodgson. Remote work, tech efficiencies, and a general push to cut costs have contributed to middle managers' demise.The immediate impact is being felt by millennials entering their middle-management era. It's another gut punch for a generation that seems to keep getting the short end of the stick.Having trouble buying a house? Try doing it without a job!But in the long term, the death of middle management will be felt beyond millennials.Gen Zers haven't hid their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-might-kill-middle-management-2023-11">disdain for middle managers</a>. But successfully canceling their bosses means killing a primary source of mentorship and workplace guidance.That's a big gamble coming from a generation that needed to take classes on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-taking-courses-send-emails-office-clothes-wsj-2023-6">making small talk and writing work emails</a>.<div type="image" title="Eraser erasing a drawing of a person in a suit" height="1000" width="2000" msid="110369380" hostid="261"></div>Middle managers have always been a bit of an easy target.We all know that person — or persons — at work whose job isn't abundantly clear. They seem busy, but you're never sure what they're actually doing. If your company were to make cuts, why not start there?It's a strategy Corporate America, particularly Big Tech, deployed in 2023. The "year of efficiency," as Mark Zuckerberg dubbed it, was all about flattening organizations, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/middle-managers-layoffs-2023-meta-tech-companies-jobs-employment-2024-3">middle managers were the ones getting squished</a>.But dismissing the much-maligned middle managers as busybodies is misunderstanding <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/middle-managers-great-flattening-organization-meta-tech-layoffs-firing-2023-3">their value to a company</a>.A buffer between employees and executives ensures the former meets the latter's expectations. That point is especially relevant when so many things are changing in the workplace, from the departure of boomers and the arrival of Gen Z to navigating return-to-office mandates.The death of middle managers could also fuel the current dismantling of another cohort: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/middle-class-lifestyle-six-figure-salary-economy-2024-5">the middle class</a>.Eliminating an entire management level means fewer earning opportunities for those looking to climb the economic ladder, which is already becoming increasingly difficult to do.<h2 id="55c989ef-c4ae-4edd-a336-4b681e46a253">3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="People walking on a sidewalk" height="1000" width="2000" msid="110369381" hostid="261"></div><ol><li>Jeffrey Gundlach believes winter is coming for the US economy. The billionaire investor said interest rates will stay elevated, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-prediction-outlook-economy-company-failures-bankruptcies-gundlach-doubleline-rates-2024-5">tanking companies and ultimately leading the economy into a recession</a>. For the record, we're not in a recession, even though <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-recession-americans-believe-economic-downturn-new-poll-unemployment-2024-5">most Americans seem to think that's the case</a>.</li><li>A fat-finger mistake led to a fat fine for Citi. In May 2022, a trader mistakenly tried executing a trade worth $444 billion, sparking a flash crash in European stocks. UK regulators <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/citi-trader-fat-finger-flash-crash-trade-78-million-fine-2024-5">levied a $78 million fine against the bank on Wednesday</a>.</li><li>Blackstone is about to start granting stock to portfolio companies' employees. The Wall Street Journal reported that the investment firm plans to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackstone-stock-price-private-equity-steve-schwarzman-kkr-apollo-2024-5">give equity to workers</a> at most of the large US-based businesses it buys, following in the footsteps of other private equity giants like KKR.</li></ol><h2 id="174beec0-9591-423a-8eb4-ec3b9f7da6ff">3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="TikTok is for millennials now" height="1500" width="2000" msid="110369383" hostid="261"></div><ol><li>TikTok has a secret weapon: millennials. The app's millennial viewership is growing faster than its Gen Z audience. If TikTok can survive the US ban, its growing appeal to an older demographic <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-growth-gen-z-app-millennial-takeover-trends-youtube-2024-5">could make it even bigger and more powerful</a> than it already is.</li><li>Meta is considering paying media publishers for AI training data. Internal discussions are still in the early stages, according to two people familiar with the consideration. If it goes through, Meta would join rivals Google and OpenAI in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-deals-news-publishers-ai-training-data-2024-5">making deals with publishers for their data</a>.</li><li>Another win for Nvidia. The tech giant <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-beats-estimates-says-chip-demand-ahead-of-supply-2024-5">knocked it out of the park</a> again on Wednesday when it posted better-than-expected quarterly sales figures. CEO Jensen Huang also touted strong demand for the firm's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nvidia-demand-ai-chips-blackwell-hopper-ceo-jensen-huang-earnings-2024-5">Hopper and Blackwell chips</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="8d29852e-0505-44f5-bf62-8e4f40dc7c9e">3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="House with a price tag" height="1500" width="2000" msid="110369385" hostid="261"></div><ol><li>There's a new way to rate CEOs. Paragon Intel, an alt data company, is rolling out executive ratings, which will show how executives fit into their firms and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paragon-intel-track-ceo-performance-new-ratings-2024-5">whether they will drive stock gains</a>.</li><li>Target is missing the mark.The store's comparable sales have dropped for four straight quarters, and it's pulling out all the stops to avoid a fifth. That includes <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/target-comparable-sales-down-four-straight-quarters-2024-5">cutting prices on thousands of items</a> — a move its CEO says will save shoppers millions this summer.</li><li>Buying a house is getting even more expensive. Median home prices climbed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buying-a-house-keeps-getting-more-expensive-nar-report-2024-5">nearly 6% year-over-year to hit a record $407,600</a> in April, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors. That's the 10th month in a row that prices have risen.</li></ol><h2 id="f22b8976-9221-48b2-99fa-e5f9c56f389d">In other news</h2><ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-planner-richest-clients-same-habits-2024-5">I'm a financial planner, and my richest clients have the same 5 habits</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/humane-explores-sale-difficult-wearables-launch-ai-pin-billion-valuation-2024-5">Humane AI is reportedly looking for a buyer, just weeks after its disastrous wearables launch</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retiree-shares-money-moves-strategies-achieve-financial-independence-fire-2024-5">An early retiree shares 3 money moves he made to save seven figures, quit work at 48, and still live comfortably: 'You don't have to live on ramen'</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-music-released-its-top-100-albums-list-sparking-debate-2024-5">Apple thinks it's figured out the top 10 albums of all time. That's kicked off debate among music fans.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-proposed-emoji-ios-android-phones-2025-2024-5">Check out 7 new emojis that could hit your iPhone next year, including a tired face with eyebags and a shovel</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/eric-schmidt-unplug-ai-with-free-will-2024-5">Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt just gave an unsettling answer about how to handle AI with free will</a></li></ul><h2 id="2d971553-4eb1-42be-80a3-1df8066f24af">What's happening today</h2><ul><li>The FAA expects today to be the busiest day for air travel since 2019.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-defrancesco">Dan DeFrancesco</a>, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jordan-parker-erb">Jordan Parker Erb</a>, editor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/hallam-bullock">Hallam Bullock</a>, senior editor, in London. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/george-glover">George Glover</a>, reporter, in London.

Corporate America is going through a middle-management meltdown

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="22147916" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unmarried-couples" source="keywords">Unmarried couples</keyword> make up nearly one in five <keyword id="22848333" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="first-time-homebuyers" source="keywords">first-time homebuyers</keyword>, the NAR found.</li><li>A lawyer says these buyers should sign a <keyword id="23596952" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cohabitation-agreement" source="keywords">cohabitation agreement</keyword> before purchasing a house. </li></ul>With many people <a target="_blank" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4032467-americans-are-waiting-longer-and-longer-to-get-married/">waiting to get married</a> and prioritizing other life milestones, the rate of unmarried homebuyers is increasing. Today, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nar.realtor/blogs/economists-outlook/love-and-home-buying-brings-us-together-married-vs-unmarried-couples-in-the-housing-market#:~:text=Married%20couples%20account%20for%20the,from%20just%204%25%20in%201985.">18% of first-time buyers</a> are unmarried couples, the <keyword id="20165060" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Association-of-Realtors" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="National Association of Realtors" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="National Association of Realtors">National Association of Realtors</keyword> found. While divorce law dictates who gets the house if a married couple breaks up, there's no legal precedent that governs unmarried buyers in most cases, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fiffiklaw.com/michael-e-fiffik">Mike Fiffik</a>, an attorney and managing partner at Fiffik Law Group, said. Because of that, unmarried buyers need to take extra care to protect themselves and their finances before jumping into <keyword id="23596953" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="joint-home-ownership" source="keywords">joint home ownership</keyword>, Fiffik said. "It's the biggest purchase of your life," he said. "It's going to have a forever impact on your life. It's worth spending some time on." Here's how to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-couples-buying-homes-before-marriage-trend-risk-2019-2">ensure you're protected — no marriage license required</a>. <h2>Acknowledge how unmarried homeownership is different</h2>In many ways, your relationship might be similar to a marriage, but when it comes to homeownership, there are legal differences between buying property with someone you're married to and someone you're not married to, Fiffik said. "For unmarried people buying a property, there are no laws or rules that govern what happens when that relationship breaks up," he said. An old legal approach, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/partition#:~:text=The%20purpose%20of%20a%20partition,by%20consent%20of%20the%20owners.">law of partition</a>, can be used to divide assets of unmarried couples, but it's outdated and clumsy, Fiffik said, so it's best to craft your own agreement. These cohabitation agreements should be made with a lawyer (more on that below). At the same time, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/cohousing-moms-went-viral-their-set-up-fell-apart-2022-9">if you're both on a mortgage, your finances are tied together</a>, despite not being married. If your partner misses a mortgage payment, it affects your credit. If they have a legal judgment against them, the house you share can be considered their asset — even if you're not married — and may have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lien.asp">a lien put on it, which means that when you sell or refinance the home, part of the proceeds must go to pay the court order</a>. <h2>Get honest about your finances</h2>Before you even consider buying a home together, Fiffik suggested <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/buying-first-home-regret-dread-2023-8">getting very honest about your finances</a>. That means disclosing your debts, income, bills, and credit history to each other. This conversation can "get you a better sense of whether making the leap into home ownership with your partner is a good idea or not," Fiffik said. After that, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/couple-in-new-york-city-share-how-they-save-money-2023-8">talk about a budget</a>, not only for the home you'll purchase but also for maintenance, improvements, furnishings, and other expenses. <h2>Consider the 'what-ifs'</h2>To enter joint home ownership fully informed, you must consider many nonideal scenarios and how you'll respond to them. Fiffik recommended thinking about these questions: <ul><li>What happens if you break up? Consider questions such as: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/ex-wont-move-out-my-house-therapist-lawyer-advice-2020-8">Does one person get to stay, or will you sell</a>? How long will the partner in the home have to refinance to get the other partner off the mortgage? </li><li>Will you own equal shares of the home? If not, what will the split look like? </li><li>How will you cover utilities and repairs? </li><li>Will you co-own items in the house such as furnishings and necessities like snowblowers or lawnmowers? Or will each person supply a portion of the necessary items? </li><li>How will you handle financial hardship? What happens if one partner loses a job or can't afford to pay their share of the mortgage? </li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/should-i-sell-my-house-now">What if you decide to sell</a>? How will you split the proceeds if you sell the home? </li></ul><h2>Talk about the deed</h2>When married people buy a home, they're often both on the mortgage and deed. But unmarried couples have a few options when it comes to official ownership of the home, Fiffik said: <ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/single-women-arent-waiting-marriage-buy-homes-millennials-generation-z-2022-1">Only one partner is on the deed and mortgage</a>. If you choose this approach, think about how to protect the partner who may be helping pay the mortgage but who is not on the deed and mortgage, which means they technically have no legal right to the property (or obligation to the debt). </li><li>Co-owners with rights of survivorship. In this scenario, you both own the home. If one partner dies, the entire property goes to the other partner. </li><li>Co-owners as "tenants in common." In this case, both of you own a "share" of the home. You can pass the share to other people, such as your children, or even sell it. </li></ul><h2>Craft a cohabitation agreement</h2>Once you've talked through all the questions above, it's time to get the answers in writing. A lawyer can help you craft <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/estate-planning-lawyer-on-topics-couples-should-discuss-before-kids-2022-5">a cohabitation agreement — a legally binding contract that outlines who owns the home, what everyone's financial obligations are</a>, what happens if you break up or you or your partner dies, and other details of joint home ownership. In short, Fiffik said, these agreements help you anticipate anything — and how you'll respond ahead of time. It "forces you to get on the same page when it comes to homeownership," he said.

More unmarried couples are buying houses together. A lawyer explains how to protect yourself in the event of a split.

A new study by <keyword id="5069783" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Centre-for-Chronic-Disease-Control" source="Orion">Centre for Chronic Disease Control</keyword>, India (CCDC) on cardiovascular risk reduction in South Asia has demonstrated significant long-term benefits of a multi-faceted quality improvement (QI) strategy, comprising of task sharing, and clinical decision support software (CDSS) with electronic health records, in managing type-2 diabetes in India and Pakistan. The study, published in the prestigious journal PLOS Medicine, highlights the sustained impact of QI interventions on <keyword id="21411276" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="diabetes-care" source="keywords">diabetes care</keyword> and associated complications over a median follow-up period of 6.5 years. The burden of diabetes Diabetes control remains a global challenge, leading to severe complications such as <keyword id="22908" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="heart-disease" source="Orion">heart disease</keyword>, <keyword id="25191" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stroke" source="Orion">stroke</keyword>, <keyword id="16753" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="blindness" source="Orion">blindness</keyword> or visual impairment, and kidney and nerve damage. LMICs are often faced with challenges such as inadequate infrastructure and trained healthcare staff with digital literacy. In that respect, the study's findings are crucial for integrating care models sustainably and identifying relevant organizational barriers. Previous studies from high-income countries showed improvements in diabetes care, but their long-term impact on vascular complications and mortality was unclear. This study aimed to address the critical gap in data regarding the long-term effectiveness of QI strategies and their impacts on vascular complications in LMICs. Professor Nikhil Tandon, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and senior author of the study explained the relevance of these findings in the context of national efforts to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs). He said, "The <keyword id="22511956" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Programme-for-NCDs" source="keywords">National Programme for NCDs</keyword> [NP-NCDs] operationalized by the Government of India has already a functional portal which provides an electronic health record functionality. Integrating the CDSS in this portal will provide significant incremental benefit to the impact of the National Programme, and bolster governmental efforts to battle the scourge of NCDs including diabetes and hypertension." Speaking about the findings, Prof. (Dr) Dorairaj Prabhakaran, Executive Director, CCDC, and one of the study authors, said, "Through the trial, we've demonstrated that a sustained quality improvement strategy can significantly enhance diabetes care and reduce complications in South Asia. For every 13 patients treated with this strategy, one major adverse cardiovascular event like heart attacks or strokes- or a microvascular event -like eye disease or decline in kidney function- was prevented, showcasing its profound impact on patient outcomes." Professor MK Ali, William H. Foege Distinguished Professor of Global Health, Emory University and one of the key authors of this article, said, "This study is an exemplar of trans-national collaboration for benefits of both, the global south and global north." Study Design and Findings The randomized clinical trial included 1,146 patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes across ten outpatient diabetes clinics from January 2011 through September 2019. Participants were randomized to receive either the QI strategy, which involved trained non-physician care coordinators and a clinical decision support software (CDSS) integrated into the electronic health record form, for physicians, or the usual care. Some of the key findings from the study include: <ul><li>At 6.5 years, patients in the QI strategy group were nearly twice as likely to achieve and maintain target levels for HbA1c (&lt;7%), systolic blood pressure (&lt;130mmHg), and LDL-cholesterol (&lt;100mg/dl), compared to the usual care group. </li><li> The incidence of first microvascular complications, such as diabetic eye disease, decline in kidney function, and nerve pain was notably 32% lower in the QI group. </li><li>There was a significant 28% reduction in the combined occurrence of microvascular and macrovascular events in the QI group.</li></ul> Importantly, these benefits were sustained only in clinics that continued the QI strategy for 6.5 years. With diabetes accounting for one in seven deaths in South Asia, the study provides unique insights into the sustainability of QI strategies in achieving diabetes care goals in low- and middle-income (LMICs) and the effects of these improvements on reducing vascular complications and diabetes-related deaths.

CCDC study reveals multi-pronged diabetes care improves patient outcomes in India, Pakistan

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Researchers studied <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/black-job-candidates-more-likely-to-face-discriminatory-questions-2022-9">racial bias</a> in hiring by sending over 83,000 fake résumés to big US companies.</li><li>Résumés with Black-sounding names were often less likely to get callbacks.</li></ul>A few years ago, researchers determined that having a name like Emily or Greg on your résumé made it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/racial-discrimination-the-job-market-study-black-names-applications-2021-7">easier to get a callback</a> for a job than having a name like Lakisha or Jamal.Now, researchers are <a target="_blank" href="https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/A-Discrimination-Report-Cardv3.pdf">naming names</a> — not of potential employees, but of companies and industries that seem to favor résumés from job candidates who appear white over those whose names suggest they're Black.The auto services industry was among those most likely to show a preference for résumés containing white-sounding names.To determine which names might disadvantage job applicants, researchers from the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley, sent more than 83,000 fake résumés to more than 100 big US companies.In the best cases, employers went for white-seeming résumés more frequently than Black-seeming ones "<a target="_blank" href="https://bfi.uchicago.edu/insight/research-summary/a-discrimination-report-card/">only slightly or not at all</a>," the researchers said. But in the most extreme instances, those doing the hiring favored résumés that might be presumed to be from white candidates by 24%, on average.The findings illustrate how difficult it can be for many job seekers — even in a strong labor market — to find work. Already, some people in fields like tech who have seen cuts in recent years are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/double-digit-interviews-multiple-reviews-burned-out-exhausted-2024-1">applying to job after job</a> with little luck. Having to overcome race as an obstacle can make the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/simple-cover-letter-example-unemployed-job-search-never-hear-back-2024-1">hunt all the more difficult</a>."Putting the names out there in the public domain is to move away from a lot of the performative allyship that you see with these companies, saying, 'Oh, we value inclusivity and diversity,'" Pat Kline, a Berkeley economics professor involved in the study<a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/04/11/1243713272/resume-bias-study-white-names-black-names"> told National Public Radio</a>. "We're trying to create kind of an objective ground truth here."Indeed, some companies fared worse than others. The authors said the worst 20% of companies accounted for about half of the discrimination Black applicants faced.Genuine Parts Company, parent of NAPA Auto Parts, and AutoNation, one of the biggest auto retailers in the US, were among those researchers ranked lowest in their assessment.The researchers did caution that the nature of the experiment — sending fake résumés to companies — results in "only noisy" estimates of a company's potential discrimination.Another company where researchers identified disparate response rates for candidates was Costco.Representatives for Genuine Parts Company, AutoNation, and Costco did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider ahead of publication.Of the 108 companies researchers sent résumés to, among the best performers were car-rental company Avis Budget Group and the grocery chain Kroger. Representatives from both companies did not respond to a request for comment from BI.Researchers deemed names as "racially distinctive" if more than nine in 10 people called that were of the same race, according to NPR.What did that look like in practice? It meant pitting a Brad or a Greg against a Darnell or a Lamar, NPR said.The findings build on work done two decades ago by University of Chicago researchers, who found that résumés with white-sounding names were 50% more likely to get a call from a hiring manager than those with Black-sounding names, the university said.The researchers also examined how much names associated with a particular gender affect an applicant's success in getting a hit. Some industries preferred men, while others went for women more often. In most cases, however, gender didn't appear to play a role in how often a candidate got a callback.Concerns about hiring bias have drawn attention in recent years because of fears that artificial intelligence could exacerbate inequities in who gets a shot at what jobs. That extends to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-racial-bias-job-hiring-report-2024-3">furthering racial bias</a>.Yet researchers have also said that, done right, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-help-recruit-hire-employees-tech-women-bias-job-seeking-2024-1">AI could help reduce bias</a> in hiring — by helping women, for example, land roles in fields like tech that men have historically dominated.Andreas Leibbrandt, an economist at Australia's Monash University, previously told BI that if AI could remove identifiers like gender — or names associated with gender — that could help make the process fairer."We do observe that when recruiters know the gender of the applicants, then they discriminate against women. When we remove the gender, there is no gender difference," Leibbrandt said.This kind of bias is one reason Khyati Sundaram, the CEO of a hiring startup called Applied, doesn't think the résumé should be central to getting a job. Instead, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-tests-impact-on-resume-and-employment-2024-3?utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=topbar">screening for skills</a> through tests could help make the process fairer, she previously told BI.Kline, the Berkeley professor, told NPR he and his fellow researchers hoped people would focus as much on the companies doing better with equitable hiring as the laggards because doing so could help other companies learn how to curb racial bias."Even if it's true, from these insights in psychology and behavioral economics, that individuals are inevitably going to carry biases along with them, it's not automatic that those individual biases will translate into organizational biases," Kline said.

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