Will 2022 be the year we stop worrying about Covid waves?

Will 2022 be the year we stop worrying about Covid waves?

Immunity from widespread infection and vaccination could mean future outbreaks will resemble those of the flu rather than April’s catastrophic second Covid wave

25.11.2021

Going into its third year, Covid-19 seems to be entering the endemic phase, meaning it will continue to circulate in the population but in a more predictable and less severe way. With time, the disease could even become similar to routine illnesses, such as the flu and common cold, experts say.

But the transition will happen at different times in different places, and the disease’s impact on the population will broadly depend on two factors: vaccination coverage and mutation of the virus.

The first countries to emerge from the pandemic are likely to be those with either high inoculation rates, such as the US and the UK, or widespread immunity among people from exposure to the coronavirus, like India. In that light, India’s high case count could be a silver lining.

In July, Indian Council of Medical Research’s nationwide serological survey showed over 70% of the surveyed population in eight states had been exposed to the virus (Table 1). “We can say we’ve reached the endemic stage not due to vaccination but due to natural infection,” Dr T Jacob John, retired professor and head of the departments of clinical virology and microbiology at CMC, Vellore, told TOI recently. In New Delhi, which was ravaged by the second wave, a serological survey report published by the government last month indicated over 90% of the population had been exposed to the virus, meaning the city is unlikely to witness a surge in cases unless a new variant emerges. The survey further showed vaccination provided a strong immune response, irrespective of any previous history of symptomatic infection (Table 2).

Variants and virulence

To measure the transmissibility of a virus, scientists often use R0 (or R naught) to denote the number of people a sick person is likely to infect when a population is vulnerable or without immunity. Flu has an estimated R0 of two (one person is likely to infect two others, on average), which rises to between six and seven for the Covid-19 Delta variant.

The Delta variant has affected countries like Singapore and China, which have high inoculation rates but little natural immunity because of strict lockdown measures. In Russia, which still has low vaccination coverage, the variant has wreaked havoc in recent months.

Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London recently told Reuters that for the UK, which was also hit by the variant, the “bulk of the pandemic as an emergency is behind us”. But he expects above-average deaths from respiratory diseases due to Covid-19 to continue for the next 2-5 years. “It’s going to be a gradual evolution. We’re going to be dealing with this as a more persistent virus.”

For the US, Trevor Bedford, a computational virologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who has been tracking the evolution of SARS-COV-2, said he sees a milder winter wave and then a transition to the endemic stage in 2022-2023.

Getting a grip on the virus

“We think between now and the end of 2022, this is the point where we get control over this virus... where we can significantly reduce severe disease and death,” Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist leading the WHO Covid-19 response, told Reuters earlier this month.

But reaching a goal of zero Covid-19 cases worldwide might be a tough ask in the near future. The virus’s high transmissibility, potential to mutate and associated unpredictability make eradication and management efforts more challenging.

Currently, the best bet is to inoculate as many people as possible and give governments the elbow room to tinker with Covid-19 management strategies in preparation for a long-term endemic phase, experts say. Meanwhile, antiviral pills, which will work together with vaccines, might become critical for treatment, and booster shots targeted at the latest variants could provide additional protection. For the larger population, a behavioural shift is needed where Covid-19 is not seen as a one-time threat but as part of day-today life. It would mean a change in the way we think about building, restructuring and operating in shared spaces.

“We are in the endemic stage for the long haul,” said retired professor John.

Text: Sweta Chatterjee

Sources: ICMR, Co-WIN, WHO, Reuters, media reports

On express trains, no one cares to wear a mask

On express trains, no one cares to wear a mask

Ayyappan.V@timesgroup.com

Chennai:25.11.2021

On Tuesday, most people who boarded the Chennai Egmore-Kollam express removed their masks and kept them in their bags as soon as they settled into their seats just after the train left Chennai Egmore railway station.

It looked like passengers thought that they need not wear a mask once inside the coaches. Ticket checking staff and the RPF keep their masks on but do not reprimand errant passengers, though the state government notifications still stress on masks being mandatory in public.The situation in air conditioned coaches is no different.

As life returns to normal, mask compliance in express trains from Chennai has declined considerably.

More than 70 % to 80% of travellers used to wear masks on express trains till a few weeks ago. This has changed in the last couple of weeks.

“A majority of passengers, including women and children and senior citizens, did not wear masks while travelling in an AC coach of a train that reached Chennai on Kollam. The passengers behaved as if the pandemic was over and talked loudly, coughed, sneezed without wearing masks. The ticket checking staff had his mask near his chin. The RPF personnel who walked by many times did not bother to tell passengers to mask up,” said Prakash Kumar, a passenger.

Travellers also find it inconvenient to wear a mask for more than 10 to 12 hours but do not realise that the train is an enclosed space much smaller than office rooms.

A senior railway official said that the administration is continuously appealing to passengers to follow covid appropriate behaviour. Regular announcements are being made where facilities are available. Both TTE and RPF collect fines from violating passengers.

"The zone has collected ₹1.98 crores as penalty for not wearing masks from 39,822 passengers. On Tuesday, 147 passengers were fined," he added.

A senior railway official said that the administration is continuously appealing to passengers to follow covid appropriate behaviour while travelling by trains

ACB ‘drains’ lakhs of rupees from pipes in K’buragi house

ACB ‘drains’ lakhs of rupees from pipes in K’buragi house

₹54L Cash Seized During Raids On Junior Govt Officer In K’taka

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:25.11.2021

Lakhs of rupees meant for laying public roads had not gone down the drain as it usually does. Instead, it had been hidden away in a drainage pipe of a junior government official’s house in north Karnataka. That is precisely what Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths found during the raid on a three-storey residence of Shanthagouda M Biradar, a junior engineer in the state public works department, in Kalaburagi on Wednesday morning.

The sleuths had to collect wads of currency notes, totaling ₹13.5 lakh, in a bucket after cutting open the drainage pipe where the illegal money had been stored. The engineer had also concealed currency notes in the false ceiling of the house, ACB sources said. The cash seized from the pipe and ceiling added to ₹54.5 lakh.

Not just cash, Biradar reportedly owned two houses in Kalaburagi, a site in Bengaluru, five vehicles, 36 acres of farmland and gold jewellery. “This is for the first time that we found cash hidden in a drainage pipe,” a senior ACB official said.

Besides Biradar, 14 other government officials were searched at 68 places across the state. A total of 503 ACB personnel swooped down on the residences of government officials, who are suspected to possess assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. The ACB raids come in the backdrop of an increase in complaints from ordinary people over rising corruption levels in the state.

At the end of the raids on the 15 officials, the ACB seized 16.5kg gold, 45kg silver, documents on sites and hundreds of acres of farmland reportedly amassed by the officials. A joint director of agriculture department in Gadag district, TS Rudreshappa, was found to be in possession of 9kg gold (including biscuits), 3kg silver and ₹16 lakh in cash, apart from owning houses and sites.

Five of the raided officials were from Bengaluru. The agency found ₹43 lakh cash from the house of KAS officer LC Nagaraj, who came under the radar after being booked by the CBI in the IMA scam. Nagaraj is serving as an administrative officer in Sakala Mission. ACB sleuths said he owned 11.3 acres in Nelamangala and 1.8kg gold jewelry.

What baffled the ACB officials was the king-size life led by GV Giri, a group ‘D’ worker and driver with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. ACB officials said he owned six houses in Bengaluru and four cars, apart from gold jewellery.

DOWN THE DRAIN: Wads of ₹500 notes collected from a drainage pipe during a raid in Kalaburagi on Wednesday. (R) Gold biscuits & jewels among the 9kg gold seized from a government official’s home

Hry’s recruitment scam is bigger than Vyapam: Surjewala

Hry’s recruitment scam is bigger than Vyapam: Surjewala

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chandigarh:24.11.2021

AICC general secretary and former Haryana minister Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday said the cash-for-job scam of dental surgeons and HCS has emerged as a bigger scam than that of Vyapam.

Seeking a judiciary-monitored probe by an independent agency, Surjewala categorically sought disbanding of the current set of HPSC and HSSC team with immediate effect. He also demanded the review of recruitments and tests which were held in Haryana Board of School Education and other departments under the direct supervision of Anil Nagar HCS.

Questioning Nagar’s credentials, Surjewala categorically said the scam is linked to higher ups in politics and state government who were getting the major pie.

“Hence, we simply want entire investigations under the close monitoring and supervision of chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court. Besides, the circumstances in which Nagar had been assigned the responsibilities by surpassing the seniority of IAS officers too should be probed,” said Surjewala.

“HPSC has become ‘Haryana Post Sales Counter’ under Khattar-Chautala government, the senior Congress leader said.

Now, one thing is absolutely clear that Khattar saheb had been misleading crores of youth of Haryana for the past seven years by raising false slogans of getting job ‘Bina Parchi, Bina Kharchi’. Under the BJP-JJP government, even the size of ‘kharchi’ has inflated into ‘suitcase’, Surjewala added.

Rlys allows tour operators to run Bharat Gaurav trains

Rlys allows tour operators to run Bharat Gaurav trains

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:24.11.2021

The Indian Railways has opened its doors to travel and tour operators, state tourism entities and any interested party to run theme-based “Bharat Gaurav” trains. They can run these trains on any route of their choice and will be free to determine the fares as well. This means like the railways’ IRCTC, private players like Makemytrip, Cleartrip etc can run such trains.

Announcing that the railways has started accepting applications from interested parties, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said the railways has earmarked 3,033 coaches — both AC and non-AC — an equivalent of 150 trains, which such players can take on lease, refurbish and can run them for tourists. Sources said some of the rail coaches which were converted as “Covid coaches” and are still idle can also be utilised for this purpose. Over 3,000 such coaches are deployed across different zones. He said these trains will be different from the railways’ plan to allow private players to operate trains on regular routes.

The operators can procure trains, if they wish, do branding and advertisement inside and on the exterior. The minimum lease period would be two years and maximum up to 10 years.

Singapore Airlines to resume flights on Nov. 29

Singapore Airlines to resume flights on Nov. 29

To start non-VTL flights ‘progressively’

24/11/2021

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI

The Singapore Airlines Group announced resumption of passenger flights from India from November 29. These will include daily Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) services for quarantine-free entry from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai.

The airline group, which includes its low-cost arm Scoot, will also start non-VTL flights from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Amritsar and Tiruchirappalli “progressively” from November 29. The VTL and non-VTL flights will be operated under an “air bubble” pact.

Only fully vaccinated passengers are allowed on VTL flights. They are exempt from quarantine but have to take a PCR test two days before departure and on arrival at Changi airport.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated passengers can travel on non-VTL flights after a PCR test two days before departure, and will have to quarantine at the traveller’s declared place of stay. On completion of quarantine, they will have to undergo another PCR test.

After Airtel, Voda Idea raises call, data rates

After Airtel, Voda Idea raises call, data rates

24.11.2021

Beleaguered telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Tuesday announced an increase in mobile call and data tariffs across plans by 18-25% for prepaid customers with effect from November 25, the move coming a day after a similar move by Bharti Airtel. Vodafone Idea increased the minimum value of recharge by 25% for 28 days to Rs 99 from the existing Rs 79. Market leader Reliance Jio is yet to announce a revision in mobile rates, though analysts and the broader industry expects it to happen soon. TNN

Colleges struggle to make room for students

Colleges struggle to make room for students

Sukshma R & Ragu Raman TNN

Madurai/Chennai:24.11.2021

A day after the higher education department directed all colleges to conduct physical classes for all students, universities and colleges across the state are trying to find ways to accommodate more students on campus while following Covid-19 protocols.

Though the state government removed the shift system, professors and principals said it would be difficult to maintain social distancing inside classrooms and hostels when institutions call full strength back to campus. With most first year students unvaccinated, there is also concern of mixing them with vaccinated students.

Anna University is mulling ways to accommodate all students on campus and hostels following the government order.

“We may allow 30 to 40 students per classroom and will accommodate more than one student per room in hostels. After finalising the details, we will call first year students to campus,” said vice-chancellor R Velraj. The university is already conducting physical classes for second and third year students while online classes are going on for first year students. Final year students finished their classes entirely in physical mode in the current semester.

Madras University is also renovating hostels to accommodate more students. “We have informed all colleges to conduct physical classes for all students. First year PG students will join physical classes after completing their induction programme in online mode,” said S Gowri, vice-chancellor.

Colleges in Chennai like Women's Christian College issued circulars asking all students to attend physical classes. A professor from the college said they will make sure there is no crowding inside the campus.

In Madurai, colleges like Thiagarajar College of Arts and Science and The American College said they would call students back to campus. “We won’t have much of an issue in case of space. The syllabus for this semester will be continued in the physical classes,” said Davamani M Christober, principal of The American College. D Pandiaraja, principal of Thiagarajar College of Arts and Science, said they will revise the syllabus and conduct the exam according to the government’s directive.

Colleges with higher student strength are a little worried about holding all classes offline. But college managements say they can only follow what the government says and it might not be possible to have only a restricted number of students in a classroom and that relaxation is needed.

Students meanwhile also expressed some concerns over Covid-19 vaccination and hostellers also being affected.

“First year students have to come to the campus without being vaccinated. We just wanted this semester exam to be held online. We could have then proceeded to have offline exams from next semester without any delay or confusion. Hostel students who stay in distant areas still have to attend online classes only,” said a second year UG student who took part in the recent protests against offline exams

15 districts see marginal rise in Covid cases

15 districts see marginal rise in Covid cases

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.11.2021

Fifteen districts including Chennai reported a marginal increase in new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, when the state reported a drop to 741 cases from 750 on Monday. There were 13 deaths that took the cumulative toll since March 2020 to 36,401. At the end of the day, after 808 patients were discharged from the state registry, there were 8,536 patients seeking treatment for the viral infection.

While Coimbatore (119) reported the maximum number of new cases in the state, Chennai reported 114 new cases compared to 110 on Monday.

The sharpest increase was reported from Vellore. The district reported 15 cases compared to 10 on Monday. At least 22 districts reported fewer than 10 cases each, while Tuticorin reported zero new cases.

Active cases were the highest in Chennai and Coimbatore ( both at 1274) on Tuesday. While Erode had 830 patients, Chengalpet had 659 and Tiruppur had 555. All other districts reported fewer than 500 active cases. T,enkasi (9) and Theni(10) had the least number of active cases in the state.

Of the 13 deaths, there were three each in Chennai and Coimbatore, two in Tiruppur and one each in Trichy, Thanjavur, Kancheepuram, Sivaganga and Villupuram.

Meanwhile, 3.5 lakh people took the Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday. This pushed the dosage tally at government vaccination centres to 6.4 crore. Since May 1, 27.2 lakh doses have been administered in private vaccination centres.

No deaths in Pondy for 2nd day

Puducherry:

The Union territory of Puducherry did not report any Covid-19 death for the second consecutive day on Tuesday and the death toll remained at 1,870. Puducherry headquarters has the maximum fatalities with 1,463 followed by Karaikal

(250), Yanam (108) and Mahe  (49). The fatality rate of the infection remained at 1.5%.

TNN

Anna university to charge 18% GST for migration certs

Anna university to charge 18% GST for migration certs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.11.2021

Anna University on Tuesday announced that all candidates applying for migration certificates, certificate verification and seeking photocopy of answer sheets need to pay 18% GST as the university adopted the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. "The services which are part of the curriculum are exempted under GST. All other services are taxable as per GST Act 2017," a circular from controller of examinations said. Students who graduate need to pay GST for provisional certificates, consolidated mark statements, grade sheets and degree certificates. They also need to pay the tax for getting duplicate certificates of grade sheets, provisional certificates and consolidated marksheets.

There will be no GST on examination fees, revaluation fees, transcript fees and degree certificate, rank certificate of current students.

"The beneficiaries are requested to pay the GST as mentioned above along with the regular fees prescribed for each item," the circular further said.

Professors from the university said the GST council wanted the university to collect tax for all services.

Earlier, speaking to reporters after inaugurating a book exhibition, Anna University vice-chancellor R Velraj said the university will form a committee to review the revaluation fees following representation from the students. The university is collecting ₹700 per answer sheet for revaluation.

He further said the syllabus for the first year students has been trimmed to reduce the burden. More than one lakh books have been displayed in the exhibition. The university asked the faculty members, research scholars and students to recommend engineering and non-engineering books for the library.

Tamil Nadu lost 14 lakh mobile phone subscriptions in September

Tamil Nadu lost 14 lakh mobile phone subscriptions in September

People Find It Hard To Keep Multiple SIMs

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:24.11.2021

Mobile phone subscriptions in Tamil Nadu fell by about 14 lakh in Tamil Nadu in September. Nationally, all states recorded a significant drop in two crore wireless subscriptions in just a month. The difficulty in sustaining multiple numbers due to mandatory recharge tariff and return to offices after the second wave of Covid-19 are attributed as key reasons by telecom experts. With telecom operators announcing a fresh hike in tariffs, the numbers are likely to crash further.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) latest report on telecom subscriptions shows a net reduction of 14 lakh wireless subscriptions in Tamil Nadu, from 8.29 crore in August to 8.15 crore in September. Tamil Nadu including the Chennai telecom circle lost the third highest number of wireless subscriptions after Mumbai and Kolkata telecom circles. Except for Bharti Airtel, all other telecom operators reported a decrease in customer base in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the highest declines in a single month in recent years.

This has also cut the teledensity by around 1%. Currently, Tamil Nadu has a teledensity of 107.2%; it was more than 108% in June. Teledensity is based on the number of telephone connections (fixed lines and mobile phone subscribers) per 100 inhabitants within a geographical area. Official telecom sector sources say a SIM card is deactivated if not recharged for three months continuously.

On the other hand, wireline subscriptions including fibrenet services in TN rose by 10,485 from August to September.

T Sadagopan, president of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Center, said retaining multiple numbers has become expensive because subscribers must spend a fixed amount every month. “So, people prefer one convenient number to avoid unnecessary spending on two SIM cards,” he added.

V K Sanjeevi, chief general manager of BSNL Chennai Telephones, said the decrease in wireless subscriptions was a regular phenomenon that would be compensated by the entry of new subscribers. “But, this time, a considerable number of subscriptions have fallen within a month across the networks and it needs to be studied.”

Two express trains to resume

Two express trains to resume

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 24.11.2021

Two express trains linking Chennai and Mumbai with Salem will resume after the Railway Board gave its approval.

According to a press release, train No. 22158 Chennai Egmore – Mumbai CSMT Tri-Weekly Superfast Express will leave Chennai Egmore on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays at 06.20 hrs on and from December 4and reach Mumbai CSMT at 05.50 hrs the next day.

Train No. 22153 / 22154 Chennai Egmore – Salem – Chennai Egmore Tri-Weekly Superfast Express train will leave Chennai Egmore on Thursdays, Saturdays and Tuesdays at 23.55 hrs on and from December 2 and reach Salem at 06.10 hrs the next day.

Advance Reservation for the above Tri-Weekly Superfast Express Special Trains will open at 08.00 hrs on November 24 the release added.

Reservation opens on Nov 24

MBBS cut-off may dip by up to 10 marks for first time since NEET

UG MED SEATS UP

MBBS cut-off may dip by up to 10 marks for first time since NEET

1,500 Additional Medical Seats At 11 New Colleges Is Affecting Cut Off Marks: Experts

A Ragu Raman & Pushpa Narayan | TNN

24.11.2021

Cut-off for MBBS admissions in Tamil Nadu is likely to come down by at least 10 marks in various categories in 2021 making the process easy despite a marginal improvement in performance by TN students in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). This is because the number of undergraduate medical seats – both in government and private sector – have gone up.

This is the first time the cut-off has dropped since 2017. This year, 235 TN students scored more than 650 marks in NEET compared to 205 last year, according to National Testing Agency data. The number of TN students who scored above 500 was 5,148 in 2021 against 5,240 in 2020 and those who scored above 450 was 8,319 in 2021 against 8,316 in 2020.

“The difference is not stark enough to impact the cutoff,” said students’ counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. “But the additional MBBS seats this year will make all the difference. The open category cut-off for government medical colleges may come down to 585 from 598 in 2020. Likewise the cut-off for other categories including BC and MBC also will come down by up to 15 marks.”

The 11 new government medical colleges in TN will add 1,450 MBBS seats to the seat matrix. In addition, the Coimbatore government medical college will admit 200 students in 2021 – 50 more than in 2020. In addition, at least three self-financing medical colleges, a private university and deemed universities have been permitted to start undergraduate medical programmes.

Several top scorers from TN are now eyeing seats in central institutions such as AIIMS and JIPMER. “I thought it was best to study in a college closest to home. But my nephew now has scored more than 600. So he is exploring the option of studying in AIIMS in other states,” said S Senthil Kumar, who works for a pharmaceutical company.

If more toppers choose seats from the all India basket, cut-off could fall further, experts say. “But they may not get the college of choice unless they score high. The cut-off for top institutions like Madras Medical College will be high because there is no change in the number of seats there,” said Nandhini V, who coaches students for NEET.

The cut-off for government school students, under the special 7.5% quota, is unlikely to come down, says Dr Prasad Mane, secretary of Kilpauk Medical College Alumni Association which trains government school students for NEET. “Of 1,500 government medical seats, around 100 will be added to 7.5% special reservation. So, it will not bring down the cut-off drastically.”

However, more government school students may join private colleges under special reservation as the government has promised to pay their fee. Last year, 400 government students joined MBBS under special reservation.

NEET-UG sees 83% rise in top scorers

NEET-UG sees 83% rise in top scorers

But Unlike In 2020, Cutoffs For MBBS/BDS Admission May Not Go Up This Year

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 23.11.2021

This year’s NEET-Undergraduate exam registered an 83% increase in the total number of candidates scoring 700 and above out of 720, with 203 candidates scoring marks in that range as compared to111 last year.

However, unlike in 2020, the cutoffs for MBBS/ BDS admission is not going to see any spike this year as there is a marginal drop in the number of candidates scoring in the mark ranges of 600 and above and 500 and above.

State-wise candidates from Rajasthan and UP continued their dominance in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exam recording the biggest gain in the high scorer range. These states are joined by Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal which have seen an increase in the number of candidates scoring between 650 and 699 marks.

While in absolute numbers the number of candidates scoring 700 and above marks have increased significantly, the proportion to the qualified candidates have increased by just 0.01% from that of last year, while the percentage of candidates scoring in the mark range of 650-699 and 600-649 have decreased by 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. Percentage of candidates to the total qualified scoring 550-599 marks too have decreased by 0.6% this year.

In absolute numbers candidates scoring 600 marks and above dropped from 20,181 in 2020 to 19,135 in 2021. Similarly, the number of candidates scoring 500 marks and above dropped from 87,093 in 2020 to 85,022 in 2021. These mark ranges form the key cohort for counselling and allocation of seats. The total number of candidates scoring 450 marks and above increased to 1,33,906 and an increase of 1.5% from last year. The three-year NEETUG score data, exclusively accessed by the TOI, reveals that 64.3% (86,128) candidates in the mark range of 450 and above are from just eight states — Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

In all, there are around 81,000 MBBS and 39,000 BDS seats available for aspirants this year. Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER MBBS seats. In the government run institutions, which include AIIMS and JIPMER there are around 42,500 seats.

The states from where this significant increase in top scorers is seen are Delhi, (from 261 to 376), Rajasthan (from 519 to 729), Karnataka (from 146 to 223) and Tamil Nadu (from 205 to 235).

83% increase in top scorers in NEET this year but cut-offs unlikely to spike

83% increase in top scorers in NEET this year but cut-offs unlikely to spike

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:23.11.2021

This year’s NEET-Undergraduate exam registered an 83% increase in the total number of candidates scoring 700 and above out of 720, with 203 candidates scoring marks in that range as compared to 111 last year.

However, unlike in 2020, the cutoffs for MBBS/ BDS admission is not going to see any spike this year as there is a marginal drop in the number of candidates scoring in the mark ranges of 600 and above and 500 and above.

State-wise candidates from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh continued their dominance in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exam recording the biggest gain in the high scorer range. These states are joined by Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal which have seen an increase in the number of candidates scoring between 650 and 699 marks.

While in absolute numbers the number of candidates scoring 700 and above marks have increased significantly, the proportion to the qualified candidates have increased by just 0.01% from that of last year, while the percentage of candidates scoring in the mark range of 650-699 and 600-649 have decreased by 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. Percentage of candidates to the total qualified scoring 550-599 marks too have decreased by 0.6% this year.

In absolute numbers candidates scoring 600 marks and above dropped from 20,181 in 2020 to 19,135 in 2021. Similarly, the number of candidates scoring 500 marks and above dropped from 87,093 in 2020 to 85,022 in 2021. These mark ranges form the key cohort for counselling and allocation of seats. The total number of candidates scoring 450 marks and above increased to 1,33,906 and an increase of 1.5% from last year.

The three-year NEETUG score data, exclusively accessed by the TOI, reveals that 64.3% (86,128) candidates in the mark range of 450 and above are from just eight states — Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Full report on www.toi.in

‘Medium of instruction’ for all classes on marksheets

‘Medium of instruction’ for all classes on marksheets

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.11.2021

The Tamil Nadu school education department has decided to add the ‘medium of instruction’ for all classes on the Class X marksheets from this year. "The marksheets will have details of ‘medium of instruction’ from Class I to Class X. It will help students to have evidence while applying for jobs under 20% special reservation for Tamil medium students," sources in the department said. Earlier, the marksheets only had the ‘medium of instruction’ detail for Class X alone. The school education department is planning to conduct two revision tests ahead of the board exams this year to prepare the students.

TN colleges told to start offline classes

TN colleges told to start offline classes

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.11.2021

The state higher education department on Monday ordered all colleges, universities, deemed universities, autonomous colleges, and self-financing institutions across Tamil Nadu to start holding classes in physical mode for six days a week with immediate effect.

The department had postponed semester exams beyond January 20 after a section of students protested against holding exams offline when classes were conducted in both offline and online modes. Student bodies also wanted more time to prepare for offline exams.

The circular issued by higher education secretary D Karthikeyan directed educational institutions to reschedule theory exams after January 20.

Pondy vax tally worries Centre

The Centre has raised concern over low vaccination coverage in Puducherry where only 66% adults have got their first dose. The national average for first dose coverage is 82%. P 9

Institutions asked to conduct model exams

It further asked colleges that had completed their syllabi in online mode to conduct revision classes in physical mode to help students grasp and understand subjects better. The institutions were also asked to conduct model examinations before semester exams and offer course material.

The circular directed the Directorate of Technical Education and Directorate of Collegiate Education to order all colleges under their control and universities to function with full strength of teaching and non-teaching staff. The circular further asked district collectors to ensure higher educational institutions adhere to the instructions.

Deemed universities, however, said postponing exams will affect internship and job opportunities of students studying in final semester. “The state will lose its competitive edge because graduating students will join late. Students who have internships in reputed organisations from January will face problems. Students proceeding abroad also cannot go,” said a deemed university official.

Mobile bills may rise as Airtel hikes tariffs, others set to follow

Mobile bills may rise as Airtel hikes tariffs, others set to follow

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

23.11.2021

Your mobile bills are set to go up. Almost two years after telecom companies hiked tariffs across the board, a fresh set of revisions are around the corner. Airtel, one of India’s oldest mobile companies and its second-largest operator, was the first to announce a hike running up to as much as 25%. The revision covers almost all the pre-paid price packs offered by it.

While Airtel’s hike, which will take the minimum entry tariff to ₹99 from the present ₹79, will be effective November 26, it is expected that the other two top operators — Vodafone Idea and the biggest player, Reliance Jio — will make a similar move. The profitability of telcos is under strech and fresh investments are required for upcoming 5G space and spectrum auctions.

The revisions come within months of the government handing out a mega bailout-cum-relief package to the industry to provide financial strength and profitability to the players. They also come as the country prepares its transition to the next-gen 5G technology and new wave of technologies built around internet of things (IoT), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and immersive visualisations and solutions.

SII can export 50L Covishield doses: Centre

SII can export 50L Covishield doses: Centre

New Delhi:  22.11.2021

The Union government allowed the Serum Institute of India (SII) to export 50 lakh doses of Covid vaccine — Covishield — under the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine programme to Nepal, Tajikistan and Mozambique, sources said on Sunday. In addition to these three countries, the SII will also export Covishield to Bangladesh under COVAX, they said. The SII will commence Covid vaccine export under the COVAX programme from November 23 and Nepal will receive the first lot of Covishield on November 24.

The move comes on the heels of SII urging the government to fast-track Covishield movement, citing the difficulties being faced in production and cold chain space planning for other vaccines because of the increasing stock of its Covid jab, said sources on Sunday. PTI

GNDU convocation today

GNDU convocation today

Amritsar:  22.11.2021

The 47th annual convocation of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) will be held on Monday. This was stated by registrar Karanjeet Singh Kahlon here on Sunday. On the occasion, medical administrator and writer Dr Tarlochan Singh Kler and contemporary painter and graphic artist Arpana Caur will be conferred honorary degrees in the faculty of medical sciences and faculty of visual arts and performing arts, respectively. TNN

‘10 dental surgeons, 50 others paid bribe for Haryana jobs’

‘10 dental surgeons, 50 others paid bribe for Haryana jobs’

Price For Cheat Code Was ₹10L: VB

Manvir.Saini@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:  22.11.2021

Navin Kumar, first accused to be arrested in Haryana’s cash-for-job scam, confessed to have helped 10 candidates get through the dental surgeon’s recruitment examination for Rs 10 lakh each. Together with two others, he is also said to have done more than 50 paid selections through the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC).

This is his reported confession to the vigilance bureau that had claimed to have seized Rs 20 lakh bribe money from him before reaching Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) deputy secretary Anil Nagar. On Sunday, Panchkula’s duty magistrate remained Navin Kumar in judicial custody, where he told the interrogators that he along with Ashwani Kumar and another person had got 40 nurses, four VLDAs (veterinary and livestock development assistants), and 15 ANMs (auxiliary nurses and midwives) through the written examination.

Each of these candidates had paid them Rs 10 lakh. The state vigilance bureau has shared the information with the HSSC and the HPSC, asking both agencies to verify the details. The HSSC is in the process of finalising the appointments. Navin Kumar was trapped behind a restaurant in Panchkula’s Sector 5, where he had come to collect Rs 20 lakh of the bribe money from a candidate, in Rs 500 notes.

His lead and other evidence obtained during the investigation took the bureau to Ashwani Sharma’s house in Jhajjar district, from where it claimed to have seized Rs 1.07 crore cash, the alleged share of Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officer Anil Nagar. The officers made Sharma contact Nagar, who reportedly told him to bring the money to his HPSC office.

The bureau claims that it caught Nagar accepting more than Rs 1 crore from Ashwani Sharma in his office. The raid on his house and associates yielded Rs 2.10 crore cash. They associates had kept most of it as his share.

Navin Kumar was trapped behind a restaurant in Panchkula’s Sector 5, where he had come to collect Rs 20 lakh of the bribe money from a candidate

17-yr-old booked for rape after minor delivers baby

17-yr-old booked for rape after minor delivers baby

Indore:  22.11.2021

The family of a minor has lodged a rape complaint at Lasudia police station against a neighbourhood teen after their daughter became pregnant and delivered a baby girl recently.

In their complaint, parents of the girl told police that a 17-year-old neighbour had taken their daughter to a park where he raped her and made a video of the act. Thereafter, he raped her on several occasions. Their daughter kept silent about the incident since the teen was threatening her that he will circulate the video on social media. Based on complaint lodged by the girl’s family, Lasudia police have registered a case. TNN

RT-PCR must for Maha people flying to Indore

RT-PCR must for Maha people flying to Indore

Indore:  22.11.2021

People travelling by flights from Maharashtra to Indore will now have to carry a negative RTPCR report. An instruction in this regard has been issued in view of the increasing number of cases of Covid-19, said officials with Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport of Indore. Officials said that an instruction in this regard has been issued under the new travel guidelines for air passengers released by the airport authority of India (AAI) on Saturday. “Passengers arriving by flights from any city of Maharashtra to Indore will have to carry a negative RT-PCR report ,” airport’s officiating director Prabodh Chandra Sharma said. TNN

PhD mandate relaxation for assistant professors may improve faculty quality

PhD mandate relaxation for assistant professors may improve faculty quality

Academics demand PhD to be an essential qualification for teaching positions at PG and post PG levels

Rajlakshmi.Ghosh@timesgroup.com

22.11.2021

The debate is on if PhD must be a key requisite for an assistant professor’s post or this mandate must be removed. The Centre has amended the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations to delay the mandatory requirement of a PhD to July 2023 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, the assistant professor’s post, which is an entry-level position across universities, can be filled by master’s degree holders who are UGC NET (National Eligibility Test) qualified.

In 2018, the Centre had introduced the UGC ‘Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education’ Regulation, which required all candidates for the assistant professor’s post to have a doctoral degree. It provided a three-year period for acquiring the PhD degree, stating further that the mandatory stipulation would be introduced from July 1, 2021, for the 2021-22 academic year. But then, the UGC has now delayed this mandate by another two years, giving prospective candidates for assistant professor’s posts more time to complete their PhDs.

PhD requirement was one of the stumbling blocks towards filling up vacant faculty positions. Due to which around 6,000 sanctioned positions are lying vacant at the Central Universities alone.

Marker of success

Yogesh Singh, vice-chancellor, University of Delhi (DU), says, “A PhD degree for the assistant professor’s post is important for the quality of teaching-learning. But when faculty persons are recruited, two aspects are taken into consideration -academic scholarship and teaching abilities. It is not as if PhD is the only marker of an academic’s success. In research-driven universities, a PhD degree should be a must, but in colleges, a UGC NET qualified candidate can work just as well. In DU, for instance, we have already advertised assistant professor’s positions where NET qualified candidates may stand as good a chance as PhD candidates. While UGC NET has improved the overall quality of teachers at entry-level posts, there was a time when UGC NET did not exist, and yet good teachers were recruited in the university system.”

Creating right talent pool

B J Rao, vice-chancellor, University of Hyderabad, says that PhD should be an essential qualification for teaching positions at PG and post PG levels. “A relaxation may affect the quality of research and teaching. However, the institutions will be always looking to recruit the best among the talent available, irrespective of prescribed qualifications,” Rao adds. He explains that master’s degree holders who are UGC NET qualified are worthy enough to be considered for assistant professor’s posts but in limited spheres of educational pursuits. “It is important that meritorious applicants are selected.” The current relaxation, he says, will widen the application pool, but the onus to create the right talent pool will depend on a judicious selection process. “India is a talent surplus country hence degree criterion alone cannot assess a candidate. The qualities of academic excellence, proactiveness, innovative thinking, perseverance, mentoring ability etc also matter.” PhD should be mandatory for promotion apart from minimum qualifying service prescribed in the 2018 UGC regulations for associate professor and professor levels, Rao says.

PhD not a must

A PhD degree as a prerequisite condition for assistant professor’s post may be desirable but not necessary, says Bhushan Patwardhan, former vice chairman, University Grants Commission, and national research professor – Ayush, Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University. “It is unlikely to compromise the quality of faculty in HEI and in fact, may improve the quality of teachers by bringing more of those who are genuinely interested in the teaching profession. The condition of PhD for becoming a teacher has very weak logic. This mandatory prerequisite has led to desperation to do PhD, which in turn has resulted in commercial shops openly selling these degrees,” he adds. PhD, according to Patwardhan, is essentially a research degree. It should be pursued only by those who have research aptitude and are keen to pursue academic research careers, he adds. “Already many teachers may have entered the HEIs with poor quality PhD degrees. It is hoped the government does not simply waive off the PhD for assistant professor’s positions without preparing a robust mechanism to ensure selection of faculty based on predefined criteria,” he says.

A long wait at airport

A long wait at airport

21/11/2021

Staff ReporterCHENNAI

After a long flight, many international passengers arriving in the city endure a frustrating wait in long queues to complete immigration formalities at Chennai airport.

This particularly happens early mornings when several international flights arrive in short intervals.

There are not enough staff at the immigration counters at the international terminal of the airport to cope with the rush, sources said.

Irate passengers have been posting on social media platforms about the delay to complete the routine immigration formalities at the airport.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said, this problem occurs due to bunching of flights.

Nearly seven or eight flights land at the airport between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. and since these are international flights, about 200-250 passengers could exit from each one, thus causing a large inflow of passengers, resulting in congestion.

Karunanidhi pic on Amma name board sparks row

Karunanidhi pic on Amma name board sparks row

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:22.11.2021

A new name board that appeared outside the “Amma unavagam” at Sundarajapuram in Madurai city on Saturday kicked up a controversy as it had the photograph of late chief minister M Karunanidhi also on one side besides that of J Jayalalithaa after whom the canteens set up across the state by the former AIADMK government were named. However, after it raised many hackles, the board disappeared on Sunday.

Established under the food and civil supplies department to supply food at subsidized cost, Amma unavagams are operated by local bodies and run by self-help groups. All such canteens had photograph of Jayalalithaa on the name board, and the new DMK government decided to retain them. It was in this backdrop that the new nameboard surfaced and disappeared. ``It really was a good move, showing that this government had a forward-looking approach to things,’’ said S Murali of Sundarajapuram. However, in a statement, former AIADMK minister R B Udhayakumar said the importance given to the photograph on the name board should also be given to the functioning of these canteens. In a letter to district collector Dr S Aneesh Sekhar, he said 700 Amma unavagams fed over 12 lakh people a day in the state. In Madurai, there were twelve of them operated by SHGs. But now, many of these canteens were finding it hard to function, like the one in front of Thirumangalam government hospital, due to lack of funds.

NEW FACE: The board outside “Amma unavagam” in Madurai city had pictures of former CMs J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi on Saturday

Premature release not a matter of right for convicts, says HC

Premature release not a matter of right for convicts, says HC

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai: 22.11.2021

Holding that premature release of convicts is not a matter of right and that life sentence means for the entire life, Madras high court has said that any premature release can be done only following due process of law which is the prerogative of the executive.

A division bench of Justices S Vaidyanathan and G Jayachandran made the observations while disposing of a petition filed by K Mariammal seeking premature release of her husband K Moorthy, a life convict in a murder case jailed for 17 years. She stated that her husband was entitled to premature release according to the 2018 GO as the government had taken a policy decision to release prisoners based on their good conduct in connection with the birth centenary of former chief minister M G Ramachandran.

However, the state submitted that Moorthy was found guilty of a major offence under Section 302 IPC and under sections of Explosives Substances Act, which is a central Act. The GO enables life convicts, who have completed ten years of actual imprisonment as of 2018, to seek premature release provided they exhibit satisfactory behaviour and are not convicted and sentenced for offence punishable under central Acts.

The state further submitted that the petitioner’s husband was twice imposed punishment of forfeiture of prison privilege of interview for three months for possessing cellphone inside the prison illegally. The judges observed that they don’t find any infirmity or illegality in the decision taken by the state government for not considering the release of the petitioner’s husband.

The judges took note of the state government’s submission that the prison authorities have initiated the process of constituting an advisory board to consider the case of life convicts who have completed 14 years of sentence as of 2018. Due to Covid-19 pandemic situation, the cases could not be taken up for consideration by the advisory board.

Madras univ plans easy questions in sem exams

Madras univ plans easy questions in sem exams

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  22.11.2021

The upcoming semester exams of University of Madras will have familiar and direct questions in an effort to ease students back to the familiar mode.

Physical mode exams will begin on January 20, after a gap of 18 months. The higher education department had postponed the exams by two months to give more time for preparations after protests by students.

Though evaluation of answer sheets is likely to be more liberal, there will not be any changes in the question paper pattern, sources added.

Earlier, the university planned to start semester exams from the first week of December. Exams for first year students were planned after the Pongal holidays.

Now, exams for all students, including those in the first year, will be after January 20.

However, autonomous institutions which have nearly completed the syllabus are planning to conduct physical classes and revise the topics in the next few weeks.

D G Vaishnav College has planned things over the next two months to prepare students for the exams. “The classes have been conducted in a blended mode this semester. So, we will invite all students to physical classes and prepare them for offline mode exams by giving question banks, previous year papers,” said principal S Santhosh Baboo.

A majority of the affiliated colleges have completed three and half units of the syllabus and are planning to complete the rest by December 22. “Our college plans to conduct a model exam from December 23 and practical exams in the first week of January ahead of offline exams,” said S Ramanathan, principal of Asan Memorial College of Arts and Science.

Engineering colleges are also planning to conduct physical classes and hold model exams before the start of the semester exams.

Several autonomous institutions said they had completed the syllabus and were ready to conduct semester exams from next week. “The postponement of exams by two months will affect the final year students who are planning to go for higher studies or get placed in campus recruitment,” said the principal of an autonomous engineering college.

Physical mode exams at University of Madras will begin on January 20, after a gap of 18 months