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Household products and personal care sector can generate up to an additional USD 62 billion in annual business value by 2030 if it makes nature a central focus of its operations, a new research by the World Economic Forum (WEF) said on Tuesday. The projection is part of a broader USD 10.1-trillion business opportunity that could be unlocked by 2030 if more nature-positive solutions are embraced by the private sector, the WEF said. By emphasising on water stewardship, responsible sourcing, nature conservation, and circularity, household products and personal care sector can reshape its role in halting and reversing nature loss by 2030, the research titled Nature Positive: Role of the Household and Personal Care said. The sector currently generates around USD 700 billion in annual revenue, but sometimes at the expense of the environment. For instance, the cosmetics industry alone produces 120 billion packaging units a year. Palm oil -- a common ingredient in many cosmetics and ...
Households in India's COVID-19 vulnerable districts allocated more gold to their savings portfolio during the pandemic compared to households in other districts, as per a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA). The shift towards gold is accompanied by a shift away from other financial assets and cash, as per the IIMA working paper titled 'Gold in household portfolios during a pandemic: Evidence from an emerging economy'. The study, published on IIMA's website on June 30, captured the variation in the intensity of the crisis using two main indicators: COVID-19 cases per 1,000 population, and satellite-based night-time lights intensity. The survey covered 142 districts across 21 states. India is the second-largest consumer of gold (in the form of jewellery) in the world and an average Indian household invests 11 per cent of its overall holdings in the precious metal, as per the study paper. It said addressing geographical inequalities in the availabil