<ul><li><keyword id="9979308" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="marine-biologists-in-australia">Marine biologists in Australia</keyword> are working on a rescue plan to save a huge pod of whales that are stranded on a narrow sandbank off the <keyword id="9979305" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="west-coast-of-tasmania">west coast of Tasmania</keyword>. </li><li>Rescuers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/22/rescuers-scramble-to-save-stranded-pilot-whales-in-tasmania-with-up-to-90-feared-dead">fear at least 90 of them have already died.</a> </li><li>Tasmania last witnessed a mass stranding in 2009 where 200 whales beached themselves </li><li>They can grow 7 meters (around 23 ft) long and weigh upto 3 tonnes — making it difficult for the rescuers to move them. </li></ul><keyword id="945275" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Marine-biologists">Marine biologists</keyword> in Australia are working on a rescue plan to save a huge pod of whales that are stranded on a narrow sandbank off the west coast of Tasmania. Officials don’t have the exact number of whales stranded but they believe around 270 animals are stuck at three different sites in shallow water in Macquarie Heads. Rescuers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/22/rescuers-scramble-to-save-stranded-pilot-whales-in-tasmania-with-up-to-90-feared-dead">fear at least 90 of them have already died.</a> <div type="twitter" handle="Quad_Finn" handlename="Quad Finn" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/896942980900069376/Ija1gs0m_normal.jpg" favoritecount="129" retweetcount="119" status="Mass stranding of 270 Pilot whales off the Tasmanian coast in Australia; at least 25 of the whales have died so far… https://t.co/XU3x4EVnm1" createdat="1600716555000" id="1308126160866304000"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="letitiawallace" handlename="Letitia Wallace" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1307884656046403589/1jx_DdH7_normal.jpg" favoritecount="13" retweetcount="15" status="A rescue mission will get underway tomorrow morning at Macquarie Heads near Strahan to save as many stranded whales… https://t.co/Ziu3LugiaU" createdat="1600690454000" id="1308016687325749248"></div> Worst mass stranding in a decade Pilot whales <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-whales/around-270-whales-stranded-on-sandbar-off-australias-tasmania-idUSKCN26C0WS?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=Social">belong </a>to the family of oceanic dolphins. They can grow 7 meters (around 23 ft) long and weigh upto 3 tonnes — making it difficult for the rescuers to move them. These whales are <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-whales/around-270-whales-stranded-on-sandbar-off-australias-tasmania-idUSKCN26C0WS?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=Social">known </a>to follow a leader while travelling and also gather around any injured or distressed whale among them. “While strandings are not uncommon in Tasmania, and while strandings of this scale aren’t (unprecedented), we certainly haven’t had one for at least 10 years,” Nic Deka, a regional manager for Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, said. <div type="twitter" handle="Reuters" handlename="Reuters" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1194751949821939712/3VBu4_Sa_normal.jpg" favoritecount="246" retweetcount="128" status="Scientists in Australia faced a race against time to save a massive pod of pilot whales stranded on a remote coastl… https://t.co/IUfwBzr0Ym" createdat="1600709400000" id="1308096151296466945"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="WINNews_Tas" handlename="WIN News Tasmania" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1029938656369205249/TiUyOiK__normal.jpg" favoritecount="5" retweetcount="4" status="Heartbreaking scenes unfolding on Tasmania’s West Coast as rescuers try desperately to save as many pilot whales as… https://t.co/1UIJcwZCVb" createdat="1600749665000" id="1308265037530685440"></div> Tasmania last witnessed a mass stranding in 2009 where 200 whales beached themselves. In November 2018, around 145 whales <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/21/australia/whales-stranded-tasmania-scli-intl/index.html?utm_content=2020-09-21T16%3A45%3A14&amp;utm_term=link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twcnnbrk">were found dead </a>on a remote beach in New Zealand. <div type="twitter" handle="Quad_Finn" handlename="Quad Finn" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/896942980900069376/Ija1gs0m_normal.jpg" favoritecount="76" retweetcount="58" status="Mass Stranding Update 1) Nearly 100 Pilot whales have now died out of the group of 270 that stranded off the Tasman… https://t.co/TRMuGu4h7W" createdat="1600738170000" id="1308216820998963200"></div> The government scientist who first saw the mass stranding from air estimated only 70 whales, however, the number of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-whales/around-270-whales-stranded-on-sandbar-off-australias-tasmania-idUSKCN26C0WS?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=Social">whales appeared to be much bigger. </a> Mission to rescue the whales is underway As of now, 60 people are helping with the rescue mission, including parks and wildlife staff. Rescuers will try to refloat some of the whales and assess their behaviour. “Basically we’ll take the animals with the best chance to start with and the ones that we are able to deal with,” Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service’s Nic Deka <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/09/22/stranded-whales-tasmania-rescue/">said. </a> It is unknown why these whales often beach themselves — a phenomenon where whales strand themselves on land, often beaches — but <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/09/22/stranded-whales-tasmania-rescue/">they can survive for</a> several days if the weather is cool. The rescue mission could take several days to save the whales. “We don’t really know how long this rescue is going to take. This morning’s phase will be critical in determining what is possible and then we’ll have to deal with other factors like weather, like tides and all that will come into it,”<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/22/rescuers-scramble-to-save-stranded-pilot-whales-in-tasmania-with-up-to-90-feared-dead"> Dr Kris Carlyo said. </a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/latest-updates-on-india-china-border-issue/articleshow/78162853.cms">India-China border dispute was discussed for 14 hours at the sixth Corps Commander-level meeting</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/oxfords-covid-19-vaccine-phase-iii-human-trials-begin-in-india/articleshow/78247551.cms">Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine: Phase III human trials begin in India</a>

At least 270 pilot whales are stranded at sandbanks in Australia — and a third of them have already died

<ul><li><keyword id="3345735" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="InsurTech">Insurtech</keyword> startup <keyword id="7772673" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurancedekho">InsuranceDekho</keyword> has got $20 million from its parent company GirnarSoft.</li><li>In an interview with Business Insider, Ankit Agrawal, CEO and Co-Founder, InsuranceDekho shared the expansion plans of the startup. </li><li>The COVID-19 pandemic came as a boon for the <keyword id="35450" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance">insurance</keyword> industry bringing in more awareness and insurance takers.</li></ul>Insurtech startup InsuranceDekho has got $20 million from its parent company GirnarSoft, which has other properties such as CarDekho.com, Zigwheels.com, and gaadi.com. This is the first funding for the three-year-old startup InsuranceDekho, which now plans to expand its reach in India. In an interview with Business Insider, Ankit Agrawal, CEO and Co-Founder, InsuranceDekho shared the expansion plans of the startup. Agarwal said that so far, they have been ‘frugal’ about the business and wanted to go for funding at the right time – whether it was raising capital or turning to GirnarSoft for money. “Now I think, the fundamentals of the business are in place, we have got a strong distribution channel, our feet are on the street. So, we realised that we have to scale from here, we will need funding,” he said. The $20 million cheque will be used for three primary reasons – strengthen their tech team, deepen their distribution into the ‘real Bharat’ by bumping up their team presence from 30 to 100 cities and build a strong consumer focussed brand along with marketing spends. How COVID worked as a boon for the Insurance industry For the otherwise underpenetrated <keyword id="9979417" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance-industry-in-india">insurance industry in India</keyword>, the COVID-19 pandemic meant a busy time for business. With the introduction of policies such as Corona Rakshak and Corona Kavach, which were approved by the insurance regulator, Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the numbers were steadily rising. According to IRDAI data, over 15 lakh people have been covered under both the policies as of August end. “What COVID has done for insurance distribution particularly in the health and life side, I don’t think any amount of government spending or marketing would have done. People are more aware about having insurance and want to get insured. This is going to stay,” said Agarwal. However, it also meant auto insurance was falling. “COVID was not good for motor insurance as people stayed home and didn’t renew their policies. But now with lockdown opening up and commercial movement being allowed, people are once again renewing policies and we have started seeing an uptick,” he said. The ‘Bharat’ approach Almost every other tech company is now eyeing the next 200 million internet users of India or as it is called ‘Bharat’. And insurance is not an industry to shy away from it. InsuranceDekho too has been working on a specific ‘Bharat’ model, that has helped them get more users from smaller cities. “We have an advisory-led model, we don’t push the product to the consumer, we understand the need, existing insurance policy and how we can expand their coverage. We realised that in smaller cities you’ll have to go with an assistance model. So, we have had a strong focus on advising instead of pushing policies down their throat,” said Agarwal. This helped the company grow three times during the last financial year, said Agarwal, without sharing specific revenue details. With business back to usual, they are on track to close March 2021 at an annualized run rate of 36 lakh policies, up from the 20 lakh policies in the last financial year, he added. The startup had earlier said that it plans to onboard 1 lakh agents from across the country and is targeting ₹1,200 crore new premium from the current financial year. But InsuranceDekho also has to brace itself for competition from the likes of Policybazaar, Bankbazaar, Acko and more. While acknowledging the competition, Agarwal said that the market opportunity in India is huge and has enough space for all players. “If you club general and life, the insurance industry in India is worth $15-20 billion. When the market is that huge, competition is not an issue. But yes, there will be a race for the top position and that depends on your technological prowess,” he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/dailyhunt-to-launch-family-of-bharat-apps-claiming-it-can-push-a-new-mobile-app-every-three-days/articleshow/78250283.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Dailyhunt is curating an entire family of 'Bharat' apps — claims it can push a new mobile app every three days</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/at-least-270-pilot-whales-are-stranded-at-sandbanks-in-australia/articleshow/78249931.cms">At least 270 pilot whales are stranded at sandbanks in Australia — and a third of them have already died</a>

You Searched For "270 pilot whales" and got 2 results

At least 270 pilot whales are stranded at sandbanks in Australia — and a third of them have already died

Preeti Soni

INTERVIEW: InsuranceDekho raises its maiden $20 million from parent co – plans to expand to its reach in the ‘real Bharat’

Sanchita Dash