NEET aspirant kills mother, critically injures father after being told to stop using mobile in Madhya Pradesh

NEET aspirant kills mother, critically injures father after being told to stop using mobile in Madhya Pradesh

TNN | Mar 5, 2025, 11.43 AM IST

BHOPAL: A 20-year-old NEET aspirant was so addicted to his mobile phone that it drove him to a murderous rage when his parents asked him not to use it.

He lashed out at them with an iron rod, killing his mother, while his father is in a critical condition at a hospital.

The incident took place at Sikandra village panchayat under Waraseoni police station of Balaghat district.

Accused Satyam Katre, 20, is the only child of Kishore Katre and Pratibha Katre—both govt teachers. On Monday night, Satyam attacked both his parents with an iron rod, inflicting severe injuries. Thereafter, he himself called his relatives and police, informing them that he killed his parents.

The kin and police rushed to the spot. Both the injured were rushed to Gondiya in neighbouring Maharashtra for treatment. His mother, Pratibha Katre, died during treatment on Tuesday night at around 10.30 pm. His father, Kishore Katre, is in ICU.

“We rounded up the youth on Monday night itself. When asked, he said that he watches his mobile phone regularly and gets uncomfortable without the phone.

On Monday night, his father asked him to stop using the mobile, which led to the incident. We have seized his phone and will be sending it for forensic tests. Primarily, he is a mobile addict, but what he was watching on the phone will be clear after forensic evaluation. New sections will be added after the death of his mother,” sub-divisional officer of police, Wareseoni, Abhishek Chowdhary told TOI.

Local villagers say that he mostly used to remain reserved and confined to his phone; otherwise, his behaviour was normal.

“His parents are well-educated, the entire family is educated. And parents wanted him to do something good. They sent him to Kota to prepare for NEET, he returned after around four months. Both his parents are teachers, he is their only child, and he used to remain at home with his phone,” sarpanch of Sikandara village, Kanhaiyalal Khairwar told TOI.

“On Monday night, he himself informed the relatives and police. I also went with the police to his house. He was present there, neither sad nor happy. The iron rod used was also present there,” he said.

“He was addicted to mobile phones, the neighbours told us,” Khairwar said.

Experts say that this addiction is similar to the addiction to narcotic substances.

“This is a behavioural addiction, and it also works on those reward centres of the brain where other addictions like liquor work, thus there are similar reactions when the addicted person is stopped or restricted. It is required to be seen as a mental disorder rather than an evil,” consultant psychiatrist Dr Satyakant Trivedi told TOI.

Increase in undergraduate seats sought in three government medical colleges, says Health Minister

Increase in undergraduate seats sought in three government medical colleges, says Health Minister

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI  05.03.2025

Tamil Nadu has sought an increase in the number of MBBS seats at three government medical colleges at Namakkal, Tiruppur and Virudhunagar from 100 to 150 each, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said shortly after meeting Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The three medical colleges have infrastructure and faculty posts to accommodate 150 students each. “As of now, the intake is 100 seats each. We have asked for an additional 50 seats each,” he said.

Mr. Subramanian added that they have submitted a memorandum with 11 demands to the Union Health Minister.

The State has requested for sanction of another 24 urban and 26 rural primary health centres (PHC) and 500 health sub-centres (HSC) in the State. These additional centres were essential based on the population and requirement, he said.

Other demands

Strengthening of cancer care services in Tamil Nadu under the tertiary care initiative scheme at a cost of ₹447.94 crore, strengthening of neurosurgery departments, establishment of simulation and skill labs in 22 tertiary care institutions at ₹603.45 crore were also sought during the meeting.

The demand to establish a second All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Coimbatore was reiterated. On the progress of construction works at AIIMS, Madurai, Mr. Subramanian said that the State had taken up works for electricity connection and drinking water as asked by the AIIMS administration in Madurai.

He, along with the Health Secretary, would visit the site next week, he added.

Health Secretary P. Senthilkumar, Tamil Nadu House Resident Commissioner Ashish Kumar and National Health Mission Director, Tamil Nadu, Arun Thamburaj were present.

Private medical colleges save crores on stipends as NMC dithers

Private medical colleges save crores on stipends as NMC dithers

Private medical colleges are saving significant amounts by underpaying or not paying stipends to MBBS interns and resident doctors, despite regulations. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has been ineffective in enforcing standards, leading to disparities and financial exploitation in private institutions.

Rema NagarajanTNN

Mar 2, 2025, 18:17 IST

Private medical colleges are saving crores of rupees by either not paying stipends to MBBS interns and resident doctors or paying them a fraction of what government medical colleges pay. According to the National Medical Commission (NMC), the data on stipend payment submitted by colleges showed that 60 (33 govt colleges and 27 private ones) were not paying MBBS interns any stipend.

Most private colleges have not even submitted the information on how much stipend is being paid. After initially threatening to take action, in the face of colleges not even submitting data sought from them, the apex regulator, the NMC, has passed the buck to state authorities.

Thousands of MBBS students doing clinical duties during the final year internship are being paid less than the national floor minimum wage of Rs 5,300 per month according to the data submitted to Supreme Court by NMC. Data from 20 private colleges shows that they pay Rs 5,000 or less. Many colleges have admitted that they do not pay any stipend. Though this information was available to NMC in July last year, no action has been taken against any college.

The NMC’s PG Medical Education Regulation 2023 stipulate that private colleges have to pay a stipend equivalent to what government colleges of the state pay resident doctors. However, the NMC (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021 are vague about how much MBBS interns should be paid. They state that "all interns shall be paid stipend as fixed by the appropriate authority applicable to the institution/University or State". Taking advantage of this, many private colleges pay MBBS interns a pittance.

“I had alerted the health ministry to the vague wording in the clause regarding stipend for MBBS interns in 2022, when the draft was put up for comments from the public, and later raised objections when the suggestion was not incorporated. I had requested them to amend the clause to make it mandatory for all colleges to pay stipend at par with government medical colleges of the particular state. Neither the health ministry nor the NMC has done anything about it,” said Dr KV Babu, an RTI activist who has been pursuing the issue over five years.

The stipend paid by some private colleges is as low as Rs 2,000 per month though they take several lakhs as fees per year. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, government colleges pay MBBS interns Rs 22,500 per month. However, many private colleges are paying just Rs 2,000-5,000 as stipend per month. The tuition fee alone for the MBBS course in these private colleges is Rs 65 lakh for management quota students and over Rs 1.2 crore for NRI quota students. Most of these colleges with about 150 seats each would have had to spend roughly Rs 4 crore per year if they paid stipend equal to what government colleges are paying. By paying the interns a pittance, a college could save over Rs 2 crore or more each year, even as they collect around Rs 50 crore just from tuition fees.

Similarly, in Karnataka, MBBS interns in state government colleges are paid a stipend of Rs 30,000 per month. But many private colleges are paying just Rs 10,000-12,000, while their annual tuition fees for management and NRI seats could be as much as Rs 25 lakh to Rs 45 lakh per year. In Pondicherry, while government colleges pay Rs 20,000 as stipend, a deemed university medical college with 250 seats, where annual tuition fees are Rs 25 lakh, pays just Rs 5,000. The college earns over 1.2 crore from each MBBS student, but spends less than one lakh rupees on stipend for each student.

There is wide variation even in the stipend paid in government colleges from about Rs 35,000 in Assam to just Rs 12,000 in Uttar Pradesh. This is despite a long-standing demand of MBBS students for the amount to be centrally fixed and made mandatory for all colleges whether government or private. NMC was not even acting on the issue of non-payment of stipend till the Supreme Court categorically stated that paying stipend was mandatory. The case drags on as NMC claims to be struggling to get data from medical colleges. Instead of asking colleges, which are under its direct control, the NMC has been writing innumerable letters to the directorate of medical education of various states asking them to submit the data from all colleges on payment of stipend.

Stipend paid to MBBS interns (in Rs)

State

Govt

Pvt

Assam

35,000

NA

West Bengal

29,700-32,000

12,500-28,000

Karnataka

30,000

10,000-25,000

Odisha

28,000

15,000

Tamil Nadu

25,000-27,300

2,750-13,500

Delhi

26,300

no info

Meghalaya

26,300

NA

Kerala

26,000

10,000-16,000

Telangana

25,900

2,000-10,000

Arunachal

25,000

NA

Andhra Pradesh

22,500

2,000-10,000

Tripura

20,500

no info

Bihar

20,000

10,000

Goa

20,000

NA

Himachal Pradesh

20,000

no info

Pondicherry

20,000

2,500-5,000

Gujarat

18,200

12,000

Maharashtra

18,000

4,000-12,000

Uttarakhand

17,000

5,000

Punjab

15,000

15,000

J&K

12,300

no info

Haryana*

12,000

no info

Mizoram

12,000

NA

Uttar Pradesh

12,000

4,000-7,500

Sikkim

NA

14,500

NA- not applicable since the state may not have a private college, or a govt college in the case of Sikkim

No info- the information has not been submitted by the state/college

*only one college has given data and the amount is wrong since Haryana revised the stipend to Rs 17,000 in 2018 and last year it was revised again to Rs 24,310.

States which had not submitted any information included Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Manipur, Nagaland, and the union territories of Chandigarh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The stipend in govt colleges in Rajasthan is Rs 14,000, in Jharkhand it is Rs 17,000, Rs 15,900 in Chhattisgarh and almost Rs 14,000 in Madhya Pradesh.

Source: Affidavit filed by the NMC in court in July 2024

Students seek removal of old, rusted furniture from Madurai Medical College premises

Students seek removal of old, rusted furniture from Madurai Medical College premises

These broken beds and other furniture cannot be used, and have been lying here for three years.

Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.(File photo | EPS)

Express News Service

Updated on:

28 Feb 2025, 10:18 am

MADURAI: Students of the Madurai Medical College, attached to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), sought the removal of old furniture behind the canteen at the campus near the district collectorate.

A third-year student of Madurai Medical College said, "The old beds and furniture, which must be cleared from the campus, are dumped behind the canteen. With no shed, the spot is filthy. Come rain, there is an added risk and some of the iron beds have rusted and may break apart when someone walks near them. Despite complaining to the warden, we have received no response.”

Another student said, "There are more than 70 beds behind the canteen, some of which were used during the Covid-19 pandemic. These broken beds and other furniture cannot be used, and have been lying here for three years. No action has been taken despite complaining to the higher authorities.”

GRH (Madurai) dean Dr Arul Sundaresh Kumar told TNIE, "We have already received messages and requests from the students. While many pieces of furniture are damaged, some are beyond repair. We have flagged this issue with the public works department, and have also sent a letter of clearance. A tender process will be initiated and the final bidder will be allowed to clear the furniture.”

Rejection of govt doc-aspirants’ applications hinges on HC decision

Rejection of govt doc-aspirants’ applications hinges on HC decision

TNN | Feb 25, 2025, 04.03 AM IST

Chennai: Madras high court on Monday held that the rejection of 400-plus applications for the post of assistant surgeon for non-submission of medical practitioner registration certificates will be subject to the outcome of the plea challenging the decision. According to the petitioners, they were unable to submit the certificates due to the delay by the Tamil Nadu Medical Council in issuing them.

Admitting the plea, Justice C V Karthikeyan held that the decision of the Medical Recruitment Board (MRB) rejecting the applications would be subject to the outcome of the pleas. Representing the petitioners, advocate M Velmurugan submitted that the petitioners completed their medical course in 2023 from medical colleges affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University.

The MRB issued a recruitment notification dated March 15, 2024, for 2,500 assistant surgeons (general). The last date for filing the application was May 15, 2024. One of the requirements was completion of the continuous rotatory medical internship and registration as a medical practitioner with the Tamil Nadu Medical Council under the Act of 1914, the petitioners said.

On representation from students of the 2018 batch who feared they would not be eligible to participate in the recruitment process, the last date for application was extended to July 15, 2024, petititoners said.

The petitioners were fully qualified for the post, but because of the delay in processing their certificates, their applications were rejected, they added.

Govt eyes push to students, faculty for non-clinical courses in medical colleges

Govt eyes push to students, faculty for non-clinical courses in medical colleges

The government is looking at ways to boost student enrolment in non-clinical PG courses such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry. Medical colleges also face issues of lack of faculty.

Priyanka Sharma

Published 20 Feb 2025, 07:36 PM IST

Reportedly, there are 1.3 million MBBS doctors registered with the National Medical Commission, however, their specialisations are not known.

Even as the government claims to have increased the number of medical education seats in the country, these medical colleges and institutes face a severe student enrollment crisis in post-graduate courses such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, forensics, microbiology and pathology, according to an official aware of the matter on condition of anonymity.

This has led to a faculty shortage for these courses since students are not keen on pursuing them.

In this scenario, the National Medical Commission (NMC) is mulling a two-pronged strategy to bridge the gap in demand for these courses.

First, NMC will open a third of the vacant faculty posts to non-medical teachers with a doctorate in the subject and a Bachelor’s and Master’s from the science stream. The other part of the plan is to make these courses more attractive for students through incentives and the inclusion of clinical activities.

Reportedly, there are 1.3 million MBBS doctors (both private and government colleges) registered with the National Medical Commission, however, their specialisations are not known.

Faculty posts

“There’s an acute shortage of post-graduate faculty mainly in pre-para clinical subjects—anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, forensics, microbiology and pathology—as students do not want to opt for such seats. Even though NMC has allowed zero percentile (students with the lowest marks can get these seats) for such seats, the seats remain vacant. Last year, around 600 PG seats remained empty in 20-30 medical colleges,” said an official aware of the matter.

For example, a course with around 100 students should have at least three faculty members—a professor, an associate professor, and an assistant professor. However, the shortage of teachers in many courses makes running colleges difficult.

“In fact, government medical colleges are finding it difficult to get faculty for some PG courses. We hope that NMC’s draft regulation on Teachers Eligibility Qualifications Regulations (TEQ) 2024 attracts a good number of teachers as NMC has relaxed several qualification norms,” the official said. “This is a temporary exercise. When we get enough lecturers for these courses, NMC will start phasing out the system. This is being done so that colleges don't shut down.”

Going forward, colleges will issue public advertisements in two phases. In the first round, advertisements will be for faculty with a medical background in the specified subject. However, if these posts remain unfilled, the second advertisement will open them for non-medical faculty teachers, specifying that the posts were opened as there were no suitable candidates with a medical background.

“However, the priority will always be given to medical background (MD and DNB) candidates. This is the only way to fill the deficiency of faculty members in these courses,” the official added.

A senior professor from AIIMS-Delhi forensic department, who does not wish to be named, said, "Selection of courses is a personal choice of the student. However, vacant seats for non-clinical subjects are mostly found in medical colleges located on the outskirts or periphery of cities. When students complete MBBS, they broadly have clarity on what PG course to choose. Obviously, the first choice is always clinical subjects, but non-clinical subjects are equally good. As far as faculty for these courses is concerned, it is a dynamic process and a demand-supply game."

There is a misperception among medical students that courses like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, forensics, microbiology, and pathology are non-clinical subjects and require no interaction with patients, which discourages them from opting for these subjects in PG courses.

“So, in future, NMC may plan to bring more attractive norms for such non-clinical subjects like offering incentives to students, allowing one-year clinical courses, etc.,” the official added.

Queries sent to the health ministry spokesperson remained unanswered till press time.

SC rejects decades-old 'both handsintact' requirement to study MBBS

SC rejects decades-old 'both handsintact' requirement to study MBBS

TNN | Feb 22, 2025, 02.32 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Discarding the decades-old 'both hands intact' requirement for aspiring doctors, the Supreme Court on Friday said it "reeks of glorifying ableism" and directed National Medical Commission (NMC) to revise the outdated criteria to enable persons with disabilities (PwD) to pursue MBBS course.

Accepting Dr Satendra Singh's report favouring admission to a PwD candidate and rejecting the report of a five-member AIIMS medical board declaring him unfit to pursue MBBS course, a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan asked NMC to report the progress in revising the eligibility criteria by March 3. Dr Singh, part of the five-member board, had given a separate opinion.

Writing the judgment, Justice Viswanathan said, "The 'both hands intact' prescription has no sanctity in law as it does not admit of a functional assessment of the individual candidate, a matter which is so fundamental in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities." Referring to Dr Singh's report, the bench said it had an interesting reference about how in an age when robotic surgeries are relied upon, the NMC norms still insisted on the 'both hands intact with intact sensations' norm.

"A prescription such as 'both hands intact' reeks of ableism and has no place in a statutory regulation. In fact, it has the effect of denuding the rights guaranteed under the Constitution and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD Act) and makes a mockery of the principle of reasonable accommodation," the bench said.

The SC said one should not assume incompetence without providing ample opportunities after ensuring clinical accommodations and assistive technologies.

"In our considered view, the correct approach is the one that Dr Satendra Singh has adopted - to not bar a candidate at the threshold but grant the candidate the choice after completing the MBBS course, to decide whether he wishes to specialise in a non-surgical or medical branch or continue as a general duty medical officer," the bench said. "In our view, this prescription of 'both hands intact' is completely antithetical to Article 41 of the Constitution, the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the salutary provisions of the RPwD Act," the SC said.

“In our view, this prescription of ‘both hands intact’… propagates that persons with typical abilities and with faculties similar to what majority may have are somehow superior. This is precisely what Directive Principles of State Policy, UN Convention and the RPwD Act abhor,” SC added.

MBBS Exam Scam: Varsity To Check Answer Sheets Of Last 5 Years' Exams

MBBS Exam Scam: Varsity To Check Answer Sheets Of Last 5 Years' Exams 

Written By Divyani Paul 

Published On 18 Feb 2025 4:00 PM  

Haryana- In the reported MBBS exam scam from Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences (UHS), Rohtak, authorities have now decided to to-check-answer-sheets-of-last-5-years-exams-

In this regard, an order has recently been issued by the VC stating that “As the inquiry committee suggested in its report on February 13, another committee is constituted to scrutinise the answer sheets and records of previous batches who can also be involved in this scam so that further necessary action as per the findings and rules may be taken.” 

To oversee this task, a three-member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of PGIMS Medical Superintendent Dr Kundan Mittal. Dr Sukhdev Chandla, Professor of Physiology at PGIMS and Dr Arun Kumar, Professor of Pedodontics at PGIDS, Rohtak are the other members of the committee. According to TribuneIndia media news report, the sources on this stated that "The committee has been constituted by UHSR Vice-Chancellor Dr HK Aggarwal who wants to ensure action against officials and students involved in the MBBS annual or supplementary examination scandal”. 

This initiative aims to highlight any tampering of answer sheets or irregularities in the examination process during these examinations. Last year in 2024, a major scam of MBBS exam question papers came to light at Pandit BD Sharma UHS, where university staff charged huge sums of money from students to help them pass a particular subject by allowing them to rewrite their answer sheets using erasable ink pens and reference from the textbook 

On this, Medical Dialogues has earlier reported that the district administration has asked the institute to expedite its investigation and submit a report at the earliest for prompt action on the matter.

Ragging in Karnataka medical college; Kashmiri MBBS student ‘beaten’, given death threats by seniors Second-year student Hamim at Al-Ameen Medical College made to sing, dance, perform 'Al-Ameen' salute, beaten in hostel room. JKSA wants accused suspended.

Ragging in Karnataka medical college; Kashmiri MBBS student ‘beaten’, given death threats by seniors Second-year student Hamim at Al-Ameen Medical College made to sing, dance, perform 'Al-Ameen' salute, beaten in hostel room. JKSA wants accused suspended.

Ragging in Karnataka medical college; Kashmiri MBBS student ‘beaten’, given death threats by seniors... 

Read more at: https://news.careers360.com/ragging-in-karnataka-medical-college-al-ameen-kashmiri-mbbs-second-year-student-beaten-given-death-threats-seniors-jksa

NEW DELHI: 19.02.2025

Amid multiple reports of ragging incidents in colleges across the country, another case has now surfaced in Karnataka wherein a Kashmiri MBBS student has been allegedly ‘brutally’ ragged and assaulted at a medical college. Second-year student Hamim was beaten up by senior students of the 2019 batch at Al-Ameen Medical College in Bijapur, according to the Jammu Kashmir Students Association (JKSA). 

Calling it a ‘deeply disturbing incident’, the student body has sought state chief minister Siddaramaiah’s intervention to ensure strict action against the accused students and to safeguard the rights and safety of students, especially non-locals. It also demanded expulsion of those found guilty from the college.

According to the national convenor of JKSA, who spoke to the victim, the ragging had been going on for months, over a probable clash of power between the senior students and the MBBS student who is the captain of the cricket team of 2023 batch. 

Power clash, death threats 

The student belonging to Anantnag was beaten, humiliated, and severely ragged by seniors, JKSA alleged. Narrating the incident, the association said that the issue came up during a cricket match between the 2019 and 2022 batches on February 18. Initially, Hamim was asked to stay out of the boundary of the playground by the seniors, to which he complied and started watching the match from a distance. When he refused to stay afar, asserting his rights, the seniors allegedly confronted him. What initially was a verbal altercation, quickly turned into bullying, with a group of seniors asking Hamim to perform an "Al-Ameen salute”, sing songs, and dance for their amusement.

They even tried to force him into their car, in an attempt to harm him further. Calling such actions inappropriate and against college rules, the victim student refused and took out his phone to record the incident, further enraging the seniors. Later in the evening, some students barged into the Kashmiri student’s hostel room and inflicted physical assault on him, beating him repeatedly and forcing him to record a video apologizing. 

They also gave him death threats and warned him that he would not be allowed to play cricket for the next four years. “You have four more years here. We are locals—imagine how terrible we can make your life,” the seniors were quoted as saying by the student. “Such incidents highlight the alarming culture of unchecked ragging and abuse within educational institutions. This is not just an isolated case of violence—it is a failure of the system meant to protect students. Immediate legal action must be taken against the perpetrators, and both college authorities and law enforcement must intervene swiftly,” said JKSA. 

Stronger antiragging measures need to be implemented to ensure the safety and dignity of all students, especially non-locals and Kashmiri students, who often face additional discrimination, it added. 

Recently, a junior student at a government nursing college in Kerala’s Kottayam was subjected to ‘brutal’ ragging, an incident that triggered widespread public outcry in the state. Five third-year students who targeted first-year nursing students have been arrested. In similar cases, a government college student in Kerala made allegations of brutal ragging, and an Indore medical college student claimed ragging on social media. Follow us for the latest education news on colleges and universities, admission, courses, exams, research, education policies, study abroad and more..

 To get in touch, write to us at news@careers360.com.

Vellore doctor gang rape: Juvenile gets 20-year imprisonment

Vellore doctor gang rape: Juvenile gets 20-year imprisonment

In January this year, the Fast Track Mahila Court convicted four persons and sentenced them to 20 years of imprisonment

Updated - February 19, 2025 05:25 pm IST - VELLORE

The Hindu Bureau

The POSCO Fast Track Court at the Combined Court Complex in Vellore has convicted a 17-year-old and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment in connection with a gang rape that took place here in March 2022.

Judge D. Sivakumar delivered the verdict, sentencing the teenager and imposing a fine of ₹23,000 on him.

In January this year, the Fast Track Mahila Court at the court complex convicted four persons and sentenced them to 20 years of imprisonment and imposed ₹25,000 fine each in connection with the case. The police said the five persons, including the juvenile, were involved in the crime that took place past midnight on March 16 three years ago.

The police said that a woman doctor from Bihar and her colleague, a native of Nagpur in Maharashtra, were returning after watching a film at a cinema hall in Katpadi. They hailed a share autorickshaw in which there were four other men.

Instead of taking them to their destination in Old Town via the Green Circle on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway, the driver took them to Sathuvachari.

Parking the vehicle at a secluded spot near a burial ground, the accused assaulted the duo and three of them gang-raped the doctor. The accused also robbed them of ₹40,000 and two sovereigns of gold jewellery.

After the incident, the woman returned to Bihar and lodged a complaint online with the then Vellore Superintendent of Police, S. Rajesh Kannan, on March 22. Based on her complaint, a case was registered by the Vellore North police under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (PIC) and Section 4 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

Subsequently, all the five accused were arrested. The four men were remanded in judicial custody while the teenager was sent to a correctional home. The stolen valuables were recovered from them.

Published - February 19, 2025 01:51 pm IST

Must clear NEET-UG to pursue medical courses abroad: SC

Must clear NEET-UG to pursue medical courses abroad: SC

21.02.2025

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court has refused to interfere with a 2018 decision of Medical Council of India (MCI) mandating qualication in NEET as an eligibility criterion to pursue an undergraduate medical course in a foreign institution.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran said introducing National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) qualication criterion ensures a fair and transparent procedure in the grant of eligibility certicate, and the regulation does not in any manner conict with the law. 

It said, "We find absolutely no reason to interfere with the regulations, in which context, the learned counsel sought for a one-time exemption as applicable to the petitioners. Obviously, afer the amended regulations came into effect, if any candidate chose to obtain admission in a foreign institution for pursuing a course   leading to a primary medical qualication, they cannot seek for an exemption from the regulations.. This does not restrict their right to practice anywhere outside India." "The regulations, especially additional mandate to satisfy the eligibility criteria, is not ultra vires the Constitution and neither is it in conict with any provisions of the Act (Indian Medical Council Act) nor arbitrary or unreasonable. Hence, all the petitions are dismissed," the bench said.

Amid PG med admission chaos, aspirants at a loss

Amid PG med admission chaos, aspirants at a loss

Yogita.Rao@timesofindia.com  14.02.2025

Mumbai : The woes of postgraduate medical aspirants continue this admission season. While they appeared for NEET-PG last Aug, many are still waiting to secure seats. The counselling process eventually commenced in Nov, but many are still frustrated with the delays and confusion. Even as the Directorate General of Health Services’ (DGHS) medical counselling committee (MCC) set a deadline of Feb 15 to close the admissions across the country in the third round, the state is yet to start the third round, creating confusion for aspirants. A fresh set of eligibility guidelines released by the MCC for the stray vacancy round on Wednesday, which contradicts the state’s pro cess, has stumped a few. Since the state is yet to declare the allotment list in the third round, candidates who may have a chance in the state are unable to secure seats in other states, said parent representative Sudha Shenoy. 

“If astudent secures a seat in the third round somewhere else, and his/her name appears in the Maharashtra state list in the third round, they will lose aseat in their home state. If they let go of the other seat and they do not even get a seat in Maharashtra counselling, they will be out of the process. Due to the delay in Maharashtra, they are unable to take a definitive call,” she said. In the circular released by MCC, the authority specified that the candidates who did not join their allotted seats through the central process in round three are ‘not eligible’ to participate in the upcoming stray vacancy round, but it said that the ‘not reported’ candidates are eligible for state counselling. Parent Brijesh Sutaria, though, said that the state considers only the allotment list for making students ineligible. A CET cell official said the same circular mentions the candidates can contact the state counselling authorities for information on state quota seats and therefore the state guidelines will be followed. The official also said the state’s third list allotment will be released in a day or two  and they are awaiting an updated merit list from the National Board of Examinations. The state has written to MCC explaining the situation and to seek a deadline extension.

Out-of-syllabus questions erode NTA credibility further

Out-of-syllabus questions erode NTA credibility further

Feb 13, 2025, 03.37 AM IST

An examination of past answer keys contradicts NTA’s claims, revealing multiple instances of error-free papers in previous years. Before 2025, the highest number of dropped questions was six in Session 1 of 2024 and four in Session 2.

NTA claimed that six questions were dropped in Session 1 of 2023, 2024 and 2025, but the official answer key for 2025 lists 12 dropped questions. TOI’s analysis found five questions were dropped in Session 1 of 2023, while 2022’s Session 1 and 2 had four and six dropped questions, respectively. No questions were dropped in the Feb and March 2021 exams. Despite this, the agency defended itself, stating, “This year’s record-low challenge rate and minimal errors reaffirm NTA’s commitment to ensuring a fair, transparent, and error-free examination process for engineering aspirants nationwide.”

Experts highlight that inconsistencies in language translations further erode trust in the exam process. At least two translation errors were found in the final answer key, causing confusion. Incorrect answers were later marked correct, creating additional discrepancies. Students answering in Hindi and Gujarati had two answer choices, while others had only one, raising concerns about fairness. The inclusion of out-of-syllabus questions further damaged confidence in NTA’s reliability.

Educators and students have expressed frustration, stating, “In a prestigious exam like JEE, where students’ futures are at stake, such incompetence is unacceptable.” Errors led to confusion, such as a logic gate question from the 22nd Shift 2 paper being dropped after being deemed invalid. Physics questions also contained errors, while translation inconsistencies and marking mistakes persisted.

Despite assurances of a well-structured exam, students encountered multiple out-of-syllabus topics.

“For example, the Carnot Cycle, removed from the syllabus years ago, appeared unexpectedly in the paper. Likewise, Newton’s Law of Cooling, omitted for the past two years, suddenly had 22 related questions. This misalignment between the syllabus and the actual exam content further added to students’ distress,” an educator lamented, adding, “we expected a better paper this year — one without errors and irrelevant questions. Instead, we got a complete mess.”

Students lost valuable time on incorrectly framed questions, with some spending 10-15 minutes struggling with ambiguous problems, affecting performance and rankings. As one student put it, “It’s not just about dropping incorrect questions — it’s about the time students wasted on them. That’s a huge injustice.”

NTA has faced criticism for mismanaging various exams, including last year’s NEET-UG and UGC-NET, which were marred by controversies over paper leak allegations and irregularities. Given past failures, expectations were high for improvements in JEE-Main 2025. However, despite recommendations from the Radhakrishnan Committee categorising JEE-Main as a high-stakes exam, the agency appears to have repeated its mistakes. The committee stated, “ ...It is to be ensured that questions created will have uncontested answers... “

Amid these inconsistencies, JEE-Main faces serious credibility issues due to NTA’s continued mismanagement and lack of accountability.

This story had continued from a page 1 story in the newspaper. For your reading convenience we have added it below.

JEE-Main sees record 12 errors; NTA credibility hit

Manash.Gohain

New Delhi: A record 12 JEE-Main questions were dropped from the final answer key due to errors, the highest in recent history, raising serious concerns about the National Testing Agency’s ability to conduct a fair and transparent exam of such a large scale.

Despite reducing the total number of questions from 90 to 75, the error rate surged to 1.6%, far exceeding historical 0.6% threshold. Adding to the concern is NTA’s lack of transparency, with inconsistencies in its claims about the number of dropped questions, raising suspicions of “under-reporting” NTA DG P S Kharola did not respond to TOI questions. Education ministry has forwarded a reply from NTA that ignored syllabus discrepancy concerns, deepening scepticism about its accountability.

79 PG med seats in non-clinical streams vacant

79 PG med seats in non-clinical streams vacant

TNN | Feb 13, 2025, 04.01 AM IST

Chennai: At least 79 postgraduate medical seats in non-clinical subjects such as anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry remain vacant even after the state conducted three rounds of counselling. Officials at the state medical selection committee said no one applied for 51 govt and govt quota seats and 28 management quota seats in five non-clinical streams.

“We exhausted the merit list but found no candidates for these seats,” said a senior official in the selection committee. “We also don’t know if the students who were allotted the other non-clinical seats will turn up. The state shares 50% of postgraduate seats through the central quota,” the official said. Almost every year, seats in five non-clinical subjects – pharmacy, forensic medicine, anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry – remain vacant, the official added.

Desperate for students, deemed universities such as the SRM Medical College and Research Institute have waived tuition fees for students joining MD anatomy, biochemistry, or physiology. Some colleges even pay a stipend to students. Yet, colleges say most of these seats are vacant.

Experts say students prefer clinical specialties such as general medicine, dermatology, or surgery because they believe non-clinical streams offer limited career prospects and low incomes. Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University's former vice-chancellor, Dr Sudha Seshayyan, said, “Many medical colleges don’t have adequate teaching faculty either because they don't want to pay high salaries or because they can't find them. Non-clinical subjects are being taught by people with MSc degrees."

The Tamil Nadu govt doctors’ association is pushing to promote non-clinical careers by showcasing diverse opportunities in research and offering incentives to attract talented individuals. “Those in non-clinical streams get better perks such as non-practising allowance,” said association president Dr K Senthil.

Choice-filling for PG med seats ends today

Choice-filling for PG med seats ends today 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  04.02.2025 

Ahmedabad : The central govt health ministry announced an extension for postgraduate medical course choice filling until 11.55pm on Tuesday (Feb 4). The admission committee for professional undergraduate & postgraduate medical educational courses (ACPUGMEC, ACPPGMEC) on Saturday launched a fresh round of choice filling after the NEET PG percentile criteria were reduced in Jan. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) adjusted the NEET PG 2024 qualifying percentile across categories on Jan 4 to address unfilled MD, MS, and diploma positions across the country. The revised criteria permit general and EWS (economically weaker section) category candidates scoring 15 percentile and above to join counselling, while SC, ST, OBC, and PwD categories can participate with 10 percentile and above. 

Committee sources indicated that nearly 900 students were eligible for this choice-filling round, which concludes at 11.55pm on Tuesday. The previous year witnessed the NEET PG qualifying percentile being reduced to zero across all categories due to widespread vacancies. In Gujarat, following second-round allocations for postgraduate medical programmes, 212 positions remained unreported in MD, MS, and diploma courses, with 69 seats unfilled, amounting to 281 vacant positions.

Foreign MBBS graduates challenge extended internship rule in HC

Foreign MBBS graduates challenge extended internship rule in HC

22.01.2025

Bhopal/Jabalpur : A division bench of the MP High Court has issued notices to respondents in response to a petition filed by a group of MBBS pass-outs from China. They challenged the state govt's decision to extend the period of internship for students who completed their MBBS from foreign universities to three years instead of two. The principal secretary of medical education, director of medical education, National Medical Education Council, and MP Medical Council are respondents to the petition. 

The petition, filed by eight MBBS passouts, stated that they completed their MBBS in China. During the Covid pandemic, they studied online, which was also true for students pursuing MBBS from Indian universities. According to the rules, the internship period for MBBS pass-outs from Indian universities is one year, and for those from foreign universities, it is two years. However, the MP Medical Council, by an order issued on Nov 4, 2024, extended the internship period for MBBS pass-outs from foreign universities to three years. In Nov 2023, they were informed that the internship period would be two years, and as such, their internship would have ended in Mar 2025. They contended that introducing a new rule with retrospective effect was illegal. Following initial arguments, the bench of Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice Anuradha Shukla issued notices to the respondents seeking a response. Senior Counsel Arvind Sanghi appeared in the case for the petitioners. TNN 

MBBS student challenges exam failure in HC 

Bhopal/Jabalpur : A division bench of the MP High Court has issued notices to respondents in a petition filed by an MBBS student at Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur. The student is challenging the decision of MP Medical University, Jabalpur, to fail him in the MBBS first-year exam despite attaining 40 per cent marks. The petitioner, Shoaib Khan from Barwani, stated that he was suffering from a serious illness and has failed the MBBS first-year exam three times already. Failure on the fourth occasion would result in his expulsion from the medical college. TNN

Doctor dangerous? 10th grade pass-out ran a clinic for 3 years, treated 70-80 patients daily

Doctor dangerous? 10th grade pass-out ran a clinic for 3 years, treated 70-80 patients daily

etimes.in | Jan 21, 2025, 10.40 PM IST

In an alarming occurrence from Pandharpur, Maharashtra, an individual has been arrested for running a fake clinic for over three years without any medical qualifications. Dattatraya Sadashiv Pawar, a Class 10 pass-out, had been posing as a doctor and treating patients with serious conditions, including diabetes and bone disorders, all while lacking the necessary credentials to practice medicine.

A fraudulent medical practice

According to media sources, including the latest reports by News18 and Mathrubhumi(dot)com, Pawar, who had completed only a brief four-day training in Satara, used this limited knowledge to open his own clinic. For three years, he treated patients without any formal medical training or a valid license. Charging ₹500 per consultation, he was reportedly seeing 70–80 patients daily.

Expanding the fraudulent operations

Not satisfied with operating in Pandharpur alone, Pawar also extended his services to Shegaon, where he continued to pose as a qualified doctor. His clinic grew in popularity, with many locals trusting him for their medical needs, unaware of his lack of credentials.

Exposing the scamAccording to media reports, the truth behind Pawar’s illegal clinic finally came to light after concerned residents raised suspicions about his practices. The health department was alerted, and a raid was conducted with the help of local police and municipal authorities. It was during this raid that it was confirmed that Pawar had no medical license or proper qualifications, leading to his arrest and the closure of his clinic.

Ongoing investigations

As per sources, following the raid, the authorities have launched a full investigation to uncover the full extent of Pawar’s activities. Investigations are also underway to determine if other unlicensed practitioners are operating in the area.

This incident is a strong reminder of why it's so important to check a doctor's qualifications and stay alert to people pretending to be healthcare professionals. It shows the dangers of trusting unqualified practitioners and why we need stricter rules to ensure safety in medical care.

Punjab reinstates career progression scheme for med officers with changes

Punjab reinstates career progression scheme for med officers with changes 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 21.01.2025

Chandigarh : Succumbing to pressure from the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA), the Punjab govt has reinstated the Assured Career Progression (ACP) scheme, albeit with certain modifications. The Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) scheme, which was suspended in 2021 by the previous Congress govt, is now reintroduced with changes and is renamed the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) scheme for medical officers of the health department. 

Under the earlier scheme, medical officers were entitled to three-grade pay revisions — the first after four years, the second after nine years, and the third after 14 years of service. However, the new scheme revises the timelines for pay upgrades: the first after five years, the second after 10 years, and the third after 15 years of service. The scheme applies to officers appointed before July 17, 2020, who are receiving pay scales under the Punjab Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2021. The modified ACP scheme will take effect on Jan 1, 2025. For medical officers recruited on or after July 17, 2020, whose pay scales follow the Seventh Central Pay Commission or Sixth Punjab Pay Commission, a separate scheme will be formulated due to differences in pay matrices and levels. With the issuance of a notification reinstating the ACP scheme, the PCMSA has called off its planned agitation. 

The PCMSA expressed heartfelt gratitude to Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh and Health Secretary Kumar Rahul for their efforts in addressing the key issues affecting public healthcare in the state. PCMSA state president Dr Akhil Sarin emphasised that the reinstatement of ACPs would play a key role in retaining doctors in department and strengthening Punjab's public healthcare system

Surge in NEET-UG cut-off marks: More students opt for Indian medicine courses

Surge in NEET-UG cut-off marks: More students opt for Indian medicine courses

Pushpa.Narayan@timesofindia.com 21.01.2025

Chennai : Gaining admission to undergraduate courses in Indian medicine and homeopathy was tougher this year as the NEET-UG cut-off — the marks of the last student to enter the course — rose by an average of 100 marks in most categories, and by up to nearly 300 marks in select categories. While all seats in undergraduate courses for unani and siddha across colleges were taken, five in ayurveda and 19 in homeopathy were vacant after nearly five rounds of counselling, officials at the selection committee for Indian medicine said. The committee admits students to ayurveda, siddha, unani and homeopathy courses based on merit in NEET scores and the rule of reservation. 

“This year, we saw an increase in students interested in these courses,” said committee secretary Dr M Krishnaveni. The top student to join the bachelor’s course in siddha medicine had a NEET score of 592/720. The score was 585 for ayurveda, 551 for unani and 547 for homeopathy. These students weren’t exceptions, Krishnaveni said. “The difference in marks wasn’t huge.”

Offers galore for Ayush 

Krishnaveni said the last candidate to join siddha had a score of 539. “Barring unani, where the cut-off was 433, all others had a cut-off above 500,” she said. In 2023, the cut-off for siddha was 423, followed by 412 for ayurveda and 405 for homeopathy. The unani cut-off was 231 in 2023 compared to 433 in 2024. Barring unani, the cut-off for all courses in reserved categories was above 400 this year, while students with scores as low as 120 joined these courses last year. 

Experts say the rise in cutoffs was expected as the MBBS cut-offs have increased several fold over the past few years. In 2024, the cut-off for MBBS in the general category for govt medical colleges was 650, while for self-financing colleges it was above 600. In reserved categories, it was around 470. “Many students who have written NEET-UG several times are tired. They don’t want to wait and try another year as it gets tougher with each passing year,” said Manickavel Arumugam, who counsels students. Students and parents agree. “My nephew missed MBBS by two marks. He passed out in 2020 and most of his friends have graduated. We know we can’t afford to pay fees in private colleges. So, he decided to join siddha this year,” said Rajkumar E, who works for a pharmaceutical company. “Many AYUSH graduates now have offers from clinics, pharma companies and govt,” he said.