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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  News in Numbers: 8 people own wealth equal to that of the world’s poorest half
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News in Numbers: 8 people own wealth equal to that of the world’s poorest half

In other news, 17% people used '123456' as a password to safeguard their online accounts last year

The poorest 50% of the world had just 0.2% share of global wealth. Photo: MintPremium
The poorest 50% of the world had just 0.2% share of global wealth. Photo: Mint

26

What is it? The death toll from Saturday’s boat-capsize on the Ganges near Patna.

Why is it important? The latest tragedy reflects poor planning and implementation of safety norms, even as boat capsizes happen at regular intervals. Overcrowding is likely to be the reason for the latest accident as the boat was reportedly carrying double the number of passengers it was allowed to take.

Tell me more: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe and declared compensation of Rs4 lakh for the stricken families.

Rs23 crore

What is it? The amount of freebies given to doctors by PHL Pharma, which sells medicines in the domestic market, that will be now treated as allowable business expenditure by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (or ITAT).

Why is it important? The latest decision reverses an earlier decision by the same tribunal which disallowed such expenses. Medical Council of India, which regulates medical professionals, does not permit doctors to accept freebies. ITAT held the council’s code of conduct does not apply to pharma companies.

Tell me more: Gifts, free foreign travel, subscription to journals and free sample of medicines were listed as part of the Rs23 crore expenses by PHL Pharma.

8

What is it? The number of people who own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world.

Why is it important? The wealth gap between the poorest half of the world constituting 3.6 billion people, and the super-rich got starker with Oxfam’s calculations. Last year, it had said 62 of the world’s richest accounted for such wealth but in 2016, it was down to just eight men. The poorest 50% of the world had just 0.2% share of global wealth.

Tell me more: The findings are in line with the trend seen since 2015 of the richest 1% of the world’s population owning more wealth than the rest. The report calculates over the next 20 years, 500 people will hand over $2.1 trillion to their heirs, a sum larger than India’s gross domestic product (GDP). Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, said, “It is obscene for so much wealth to be held in the hands of so few when 1 in 10 people survive on less than $2 a day."

18 years

What is it? The recommended minimum age to receive widow pension, from the current norm of 40 years. This was recommended by an expert panel of Rural Development Ministry, which administers the widow pension scheme.

Why is it important? Widows account for 4.6% of India’s population in 2011, as compared to 0.7% a decade earlier. And there are four times more widows than widowers. The recommendation, if accepted, will benefit widows in the lower age bracket.

Tell me more: Under the Indira Gandhi Widow Pension Scheme, the Centre provides Rs300 per month to widows. However, widows above 80 years receive Rs500 per month.

17%

What is it? The percentage of people who used “123456" as a password to safeguard their online accounts in 2016.

Why is it important? As data breaches become increasingly common, a foolproof password becomes imperative. A study by US-password-management company finds “123456" was the most common password among 10 million such security codes that became public through data breaches in 2016. Such passwords can be unscrambled by hackers in seconds and also mean not all website operators enforce best practices in password security.

Tell me more: The most frequently used passwords have changed little over the past few years, indicating that the users themselves are not aware of the need for online protection. Other much-favoured security codes from 2016 included “qwerty", “111111" and even “password".

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Published: 16 Jan 2017, 12:47 PM IST
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