The share of out-of-pocket expenditure out of total health expenditure has come down from 64.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 39.4 per cent in 2021-22, said Dr. V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.

This decline in out-of-pocket expenditure “reflects a very positive indicator,” said Paul, while releasing the Union Health Ministry’s National Health Account (NHA) estimates for India 2020-21 and 2021-22.

“More than Rs 1 lakh crore savings have accrued from the Ayushman Bharat PMJAY and this has had a positive impact on the recent NHA estimates,” he added.

He also stated that other schemes “like the free dialysis scheme, launched in 2015-16 have benefited 25 lakh people”.

While calling the decline in out-of-pocket cost of health, “a good sign”, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra said that “a substantial increase has been noticed in the health expenditure of the government”.

This, he said, “reflects the emphasis of the government towards health”.

Further, the NHA estimates for 2021-22 highlight the efforts of the government to increase public investments in the health sector.

The share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in the overall GDP of the country has increased from 1.13 per cent in 2014-15 to 1.84 per cent in 2021-22.

In terms of share in the General Government Expenditure (GGE), it has increased from 3.94 per cent in 2014-15 to 6.12 per cent in 2021-22, the estimates showed.

“In per capita terms, GHE has tripled, from Rs. 1,108 to Rs. 3,169 between 2014-15 to 2021-22. The government spending on health between 2019-20 and 2020-21 increased by 16.6 per cent, while between 2020-21 and 2021-22, it grew by an unprecedented rate of 37 per cent,” the estimates showed.

The increase in Government spending on health has an important implication for the reduction of financial hardship endured by households.

In the Total Health Expenditure (THE) of the country between 2014-15 and 2021-22, the share of GHE has increased from 29 per cent to 48 per cent. During the same period, the share of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in THE declined from 62.6 per cent to 39.4 per cent, the estimates showed.

Further, the Social Security Expenditure (SSE) on healthcare also increased during this period. This has a direct impact on reducing out-of-pocket payments, the health ministry said.

“The share of SSE on health, which includes Government-funded health insurance, medical reimbursement to Government employees, and social health insurance programs, in THE, has increased from 5.7 per cent in 2014-15 to 8.7 per cent in 2021-22,” as per the estimates.

The current NHA estimate is the eighth and ninth in the series of reports released annually by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. AGENCIES

 Ola Electric’s flagship S1 series EV scooter has turned out to be a nightmare for several customers as they continue to face issues like malfunctioning hardware and glitching software even from day one after purchase.

An angry customer from Agra on Thursday posted a video on X, showing an Ola Electric service station in the city in complete mess.

“This is the current situation of Agra Ola electric service station. People are so enraged because no solutions are provided for their problems. Ola electric is fastest growing when it comes to their scooters coming back to service stations for 2-3 months,” the customer posted.

Another grieving customer posted on X the reality of Ola Electric.

“Received scooter after month, in more broken and damage conditions what a hard-earned money I promise. @bhash shame on ur fake promise and commitment @OlaElectric”.

According to a media report based on interactions with several such customers, Ola S1 scooters are plagued with malfunctioning hardware and glitching software. Spares are hard to come by, resulting in inordinate delays.

An Ola Electric customer Manoj from Chembur here was quoted as saying that he has been making trips to the Ola centre frequently just to keep his scooter running.

He spent more than Rs one lakh to purchase the Ola Electric scooter to save money on petrol. “But I frequently visit the company service centre to get my EV scooter fixed,” he said.

Mayur Bhagat, another Ola Electric customer, said, he faced problems in his Ola electric scooter from day one after purchase.

“I purchased the vehicle in July this year. There is a software glitch — the app refuses to connect with the vehicle — which hasn’t been fixed despite the company keeping the vehicle for nearly a month. I have no other option but to continue making trips to the service centre”, lamented Bhagat.

“Ola Electric operates its dealership, It is the biggest problem with the company. If it is handled by franchise partners, the issues would’ve been resolved,” said Bhagat.

Ola Electric is based on a direct-to-customer model. The company owns and operates all 500 plus experience centres and 430 service centres across the country.

On Thursday, Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola Electric’s stock was trading at 103 apiece in the morning trade, down 35 per cent from its peak.

As per reports, Ola Electric receives around 80,000 complaints monthly, overwhelming its service centres. On peak days, complaints even rise to 6,000-7,000. That resulted in a pile-up and a backlog. AGENCIES

Leading professional networking platform LinkedIn on Thursday announced it has added 10 new language options, including four Indian regional languages.

The new language options are Vietnamese, Greek, Persian, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, along with four Indian regional languages — Bengali, Marathi, Telugu and Punjabi.

The new additions bring LinkedIn’s support to five Indian languages, including Hindi, it said in a statement.

“We’re excited to announce that LinkedIn is now more inclusive and accessible than ever. We’ve expanded our language support to include 10 new languages, each representing a vibrant part of our global community,” said Chief Product Officer Tomer Cohen.

LinkedIn’s member base in India has surpassed 135 million, with engagement rates growing at 20 per cent year-over-year. India stands as LinkedIn’s second-largest and fastest-growing market.

By adding these languages, LinkedIn aims to bridge language barriers on the platform, allowing more people to establish deeper professional identities and engage more meaningfully with their networks.

“With these additions, our platform now supports a total of 36 languages, helping professionals around the world connect, communicate, and collaborate more effectively,” said Cohen.

Last month, the Microsoft-owned platform appointed Kumaresh Pattabiraman as new Country Manager and Product Head in India.

According to Pattabiraman, LinkedIn has evolved from being just a jobs platform to becoming a dynamic global community where professionals connect for jobs, learning, networking, and knowledge sharing.

India is among the top five countries with the fastest-growing AI talent and has the highest AI skill penetration globally, and LinkedIn members are using AI skills three times more frequently than the global average.

LinkedIn recently launched a new video experience in India, in a bid to tap into one of the fastest-growing markets with uploads growing 60 per cent year-on-year in the country. AGENCIES

To meet the growing demand, 64 per cent of employers in the travel and hospitality industry are expanding their workforce, according to a report on Thursday.

The sector is experiencing an unprecedented resurgence, spurred by a combination of rising air travel, religious tourism, and evolving consumer preferences for personalised, tech-driven experiences, revealed the report by TeamLease Services.

According to its Employment Outlook Report (EOR) for H1 FY25, 19 per cent of employers in the sector report reductions while 17 per cent indicate no change in workforce size.

This resurgence reflects a broader industry recovery, with the sector projected to grow by 8-10 per cent annually.

This renewed hiring momentum is further fueled by tech-enabled services such as ghost kitchens, AI-driven personalised guest experiences, and expanding domestic travel.

As a result, the travel and hospitality sector has seen a net employment change of 9.86 per cent, marking a significant rebound compared to previous years. Adaptive strategies like off-season travel incentives and premium travel experiences are driving the sector’s growth.

“India’s travel and hospitality sector is at the cusp of unprecedented growth. The rising demand for premium travel experiences, coupled with innovations in technology, is creating a catalytic impact on how the industry operates,” said Kartik Narayan, CEO- Staffing, TeamLease Services.

“As more travellers embrace digital platforms, companies focus on roles that enhance customer experience, positioning the sector as a major employment generator in the coming years,” he added.

Further, the report showed that workforce expansion is especially prominent in key cities. Delhi leads the way with 58 per cent of employers actively hiring, followed by Mumbai (57 per cent) and Bengaluru (55 per cent) in existing job locations.

New hiring hotspots include Bengaluru (16 per cent), followed by Pune and Chennai at 12 per cent each for emerging job markets. These cities are seeing robust hiring activity, driven by increased travel demand and the expansion of travel infrastructure.

Sales roles are at the forefront of this hiring boom, with 82 per cent of employers prioritising these positions in the travel and hospitality sector.

Marketing roles also remain crucial, with 44 per cent of employers focusing on digital and offline promotion efforts to capture new market opportunities. In addition, as gig work participation is expected to increase to 15-20 per cent by the end of 2025, there’s a growing reliance on seasonal hires, with a 25-30 per cent increase in seasonal hiring projected during peak travel periods.

The report noted that religious tourism is set to be a major growth driver, with faith-based travel becoming increasingly popular across regions. Solo travel is also contributing to this hiring boom, particularly for personalised tech-driven experiences, leading to an increase in roles centered on digital marketing, data analytics, and AI-driven platforms. AGENCIES

Homegrown battery-tech startup company Lohum Cleantech on Thursday announced to set up a lithium-ion battery materials processing facility in the US with ReElement Technologies and American Metals for $30 million.

The joint 15.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) facility will be set up with an initial investment of $30 million, creating 250 “green jobs”.

The partnership is expected to initially supply over 315,000 electric vehicles annually with continued growth based on feedstock availability.

The initial operating location will be at the Marion Advanced Technology Center in the state of Indiana, and expand to other locations as determined by the joint venture parties, the companies said in a statement.

“The joint venture will be instrumental in building resilient critical material supply chains in the US that can sustain themselves through circularity. This is an inspiring development in US-India technology collaboration through market entities,” said Rajat Verma, Founder and CEO, Lohum.

The integrated end-to-end battery and critical minerals lifecycle management facility will host the entire value chain from battery cell testing and segregation for second-life energy storage applications to recycling, mineral refining, engineered materials, and battery-grade products.

The facility will produce critical materials with purity levels greater than 99.5 per cent, which can then circulate in the US domestic battery ecosystem.

Mark Jensen, Chairman of American Metals and ReElement Technologies said they have been working with Lohum to figure out how to leverage “our unique capabilities and world-leading technologies at ReElement along with the innovative and scaled up approach to critical mineral’s recycling and refining that Lohum has established”.

In March this year, Lohum raised $54 million (Rs 450 crore) in series B funding from Singularity Growth, Baring Private Equity, Cactus Venture Partners and Venture East, among others. Lohum offers an end-to-end, in-house ecosystem of battery recycling, battery repurposing, transition materials refining and Cathode Active

Material (CAM) which is an integrated battery lifecycle management.

AGENCIES

Hyundai Motor and Kia, South Korea’s leading automotive companies, said on Thursday they have launched a joint project to develop cathode material technology for producing LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries for electric vehicles.

The joint project, also involving Hyundai Steel Co. and Ecopro BM, aims to develop a technology for synthesising materials directly without using precursors during the manufacturing of LFP battery cathodes, reports Yonhap news agency.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, in collaboration with Hyundai Steel, plan to develop high-purity fine iron powder processing technology using recycled steel. Ecopro BM will utilise this to develop directly synthesised LFP cathode materials.

The project, supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will run for four years, the automakers said. The companies’ representatives held a meeting Wednesday to discuss future cooperation.

If the project is proven successful, LFP battery production could become more cost competitive, as currently most cathode precursors are produced in a few specific countries, leading to high import dependency.

The project could potentially enable the establishment of a stable domestic supply chain for raw materials for LFP batteries, reducing reliance on imports and enhancing supply chain security for the country, the companies said.

“Through this project, we hope to reduce reliance on foreign imports and internalise the necessary technologies, thereby enhancing the technological competitiveness of both the nation and Hyundai Motor Group,” the automakers said.

Meanwhile, cumulative sales volume of Hyundai Motor is likely to exceed the 100 million-unit mark this month, industry projections showed.

According to the company data, Hyundai Motor’s cumulative car sales from 1968 to the end of July totalled 99.66 million units. This includes 24.36 million units sold domestically and 75.3 million units sold overseas.

Achieving 100 million units in cumulative sales would mark a major milestone for the South Korean automaker, accomplished 56 years after the company first began selling the Cortina compact sedan, which was first produced at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant in 1968.

AGENCIES

 After a two-year bull run, residential real estate activity across top cities stabilised in the third quarter (July-September) this year, reaching more that 1.07 lakh units, a report showed on Thursday, adding that the lull was due to monsoon and perceived inauspiciousness (the ‘shraad’ period).

However, sales continued to outstrip new supply in Q3, reflecting continued health in the market. Share of new luxury homes supply (priced Rs 1.5 crore and above) was highest at 33 per cent in the quarter, as per Anarock Group report.

“Housing sales in the third quarter tapered down amid high prices and the monsoon season. As always in this period, the ‘shraad’ period also suppressed demand to an extent as many Indians defer home buying in this period. Overall, the housing market is stabilising after creating a new peak in Q1 2024,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group.

Developers have several projects lined up during the festive quarter during which, the market is expected to see an uptick in demand.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) saw highest sales of nearly 36,190 units in Q3, followed by Pune with 19,050 units.

“Cumulatively, the two western cities accounted for 52 per cent of the total sales across the top 7 cities in Q3 2024. All the top cities individually recorded a dip in housing sales,” Puri added.

The top seven cities saw new housing supply with about 93,750 units launched in Q3, against 1,16,220 units in the corresponding period in 2023.

“Nevertheless, the fact that sales remained higher than launches indicates that the demand-supply equation remains robust,” Puri noted.

The mid segment (Rs 40 lakh-Rs 80 lakh) contributed a 23 per cent share of the total new supply during the quarter, while the affordable segment’s share fell further to just 13 per cent – the lowest in a quarter.

The inventory decline is largely attributable to sales exceeding new launches in the quarter, the report mentioned.

Average residential prices in the top seven cities collectively saw double-digit growth of 23 per cent against Q3 2023. Hyderabad recorded the highest 32 per cent annual growth, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR with 29 per cent increases each.

According to the report, residential prices too seem to have peaked out and are now gradually stabilising across cities. AGENCIES

 South Korea plans to launch an antidumping investigation into stainless steel plates imported from China after a local company claimed that cheap imports have damaged the domestic market, the industry ministry said on Thursday.

The move came after DK Corp filed a complaint with the Korea Trade Commission in June, claiming that stainless steel plates from four Chinese companies were imported at below reasonable market prices, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The plates are widely used in various industries, including the petrochemical, shipbuilding, and semiconductor sectors, reports Yonhap news agency.

The commission said it plans to carry out investigations on products imported in 2023.

Last month, the government said that Children’s bicycles, skates and sunglasses sold in South Korea by Chinese online platform AliExpress have been found to contain a hazardous substance exceeding the country’s standard by about 260 times.

The government conducted a safety examination on 16 kinds of children’s products sold on AliExpress, such as inline skates, kickboards, bicycles, glasses, and sunglasses, and half of them were found to contain hazardous substances exceeding domestic standards or were not durable enough.

The number of complaints by South Korean users about the products and services on the Chinese platforms has soared recently.

Given this, the South Korean antitrust regulator Fair Trade Commission (FTC) in May signed agreements with the Chinese retail platforms AliExpress and Temu meant to prevent them from selling harmful products and to better protect consumers.

The move came as the customs agency found that some of the products sold on AliExpress, owned by Alibaba, and Temu contained high levels of carcinogens and other harmful substances, the FTC said.

AGENCIES

In a significant development at the Sam Altman-run OpenAI, three top executives — including Chief Technical Officer Mira Murati — have left the ChatGPT developer.

According to Altman, they made the decision to leave independently of each other and amicably. Of the 13 people who helped found OpenAI in 2015, only three now remain at the company.

“But the timing of Mira’s decision was such that it made sense to now do this all at once, so that we can work together for a smooth handover to the next generation of leadership,” he posted on X social media platform.

“Mira has been instrumental to OpenAI’s progress and growth the last 6.5 years; she has been a hugely significant factor in our development from an unknown research lab to an important company,” said the OpenAI CEO.

Murati said in a separate X post that after much reflection, “I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI”.

“There’s never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right. My six-and-a-half years with the OpenAI team have been an extraordinary privilege,” she added.

Altman said that Matt Knight, formerly head of security, will be OpenAI’s chief information security officer.

Chief product officer Kevin Weil and VP of engineering, Srinivas Narayanan, will continue to lead OpenAI’s applied team. Josh Achiam will be the Chief Scientist at the AI company.

“Achiam is going to take on a new role as Head of Mission Alignment, working across the company to ensure that we get all pieces (and culture) right to be in a place to succeed at the mission. Kevin and Srinivas will continue to lead the Applied team,” announced Altman.

“Mark, Jakub, Kevin, Srinivas, Matt, and Josh will report to me. I have over the past year or so spent most of my time on the non-technical parts of our organisation; I am now looking forward to spending most of my time on the technical and product parts of the company,” he added.

According to Altman, leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding.

AGENCIES

Chandigarh: The 14^th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship will be held at Hockey Stadium, Sector 42 in Chandigarh from September 23 to October 03, 2024. About 650-700 players & officials from 28 States of the Country will participate in this National championship.

Anil Vohra, General Secretary Hockey Chandigarh said that Punjab Governor and UT Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria will inaugurate the championship at Hockey Stadium Sector 42, Chandigarh at 5 pm on September 24. Man of the Match of all the matches and player of the Championship (Goal Keeper, Defender, Midfielder and forward) along with handsome gift will be awarded. Memento and gifts will also awarded to the Winners, Runners up and third position team, he added.