Increasing marriage age for girls may only strengthen patriarchy

BY INVITATION

Increasing marriage age for girls may only strengthen patriarchy

FLAVIA AGNES

19.12.2021

Several women’s organisations across the country have opposed the government’s move to increase the age of marriage of girls from 18 to 21 years, which has been ironically touted as a measure of women’s empowerment.

On August 15, 2020, during his Independence Day Speech, the Prime Minister had announced the government’s intention to raise marriage age, and that a committee had been formed and a task force to examine the situation had already been notified by the Centre. “The government is constantly concerned about the health of daughters and sisters” and “to save the daughters from malnutrition, it is necessary that they are married at the right age,” the PM had added. According to the government, this move will empower girls and young women, increase their access to education and reduce both infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality ratio (MMR).

Several grassroot women’s organisations in Gujarat had opposed this move, submitting a memorandum to the state government in September 2020. “When we think of a legal framework that builds towards women’s empowerment, marriage or age of marriage should not be its primary focus. This narrows the scope of change dramatically — making it about the act of marriage and not the disabling circumstances that early marriage is a symptom of,” stated the memorandum.

Similarly, ‘Young Voices: National Working Group’ formed in response to the task force, comprising 96 civil society organisations, in its report published on July 25, 2020, had also opposed this move. The report brought out after surveying about 2,500 adolescents across 15 states stated, “…Increasing the age of marriage will either harm or have no impact by itself unless the root causes of women’s disempowerment are addressed.”

As civil society organisations have pointed out, we cannot overlook the fact that this law will unfold within a society that is deeply entrenched in patriarchy and that it will be used primarily by parents to control the autonomy of young girls and to penalise them for their sexual choices, with the active collusion of state functionaries such as the police and welfare officers.

There is also a concern that if a girl married at 18 or 19 faces matrimonial problems, and approaches the court for redress, her husband may plead that the marriage is not valid, and she is devoid of rights. This is a cause of grave concern. To remedy this, it is necessary to have a clear direction within the statute that a woman in an under-age marriage will not lose her matrimonial rights or rights of inheritance, in the event she becomes a widow.

The age of marriage was increased from 16 to 18 in 1978 in order to provide better opportunities for women’s education and improve their health. However, the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS 5 2019–’21) has brought out the dismal fact that 40 years later, we still have an alarming rate of child marriages at 23%. This points to the failure on the part of the government to reach its target of providing opportunities for girls in backward and poverty-stricken areas or better access to healthcare. It has also not changed conservative and anti-women attitudes towards women. So, what is the basis on which the government claims that increasing the age of marriage from 18 to 21 will empower women? On the contrary, it may, in fact, increase the number of under-age marriages exponentially and expose many more young adults to criminal charges.

The task force itself had asked the government to increase access to schools and colleges for girls, including their transportation to these institutes from far-flung areas, skill and business training and sex education in schools. Unless they are implemented, the law will not be effective, the report of the task force states, indicating these measures ought to be the pre-conditions to increasing the marriage age of girls.

A large number of girls from poverty-stricken communities become school dropouts. In addition, there is a large segment of girls who have never been to school. Poverty is a major contributory factor here. The lockdown has only worsened the situation. These pressing problems stare us in the face. We need focussed programmes and necessary budgetary allocations to ensure that every child receives basic education. Only when a girl is in school, will under-age marriages reduce.

Enacting a statute does not impose a financial burden on the government. Creating the infrastructure to provide easy access to education and health care does. It appears that the government has paid only lip service to the cause of women’s empowerment by increasing the marriage age.

Flavia Agnes is an advocate and co-founder of Majlis, which offers legal services to women

NEET-AIQ : Modified Scheme To Be Implemented For 2021-22 UG & PG Conuselling, MCC Tells Supreme Court

NEET-AIQ : Modified Scheme To Be Implemented For 2021-22 UG & PG Conuselling, MCC Tells Supreme Court: The Medical Council Committee ofDirectorate General of Health Serv

100 Important Supreme Court Judgments Of 2021 [Part 1]

100 Important Supreme Court Judgments Of 2021 [Part 1]: As 2021 draws to a close, LiveLaw brings to you a round-up of the major judgments of the Supreme Court of this year. This year, in view of the huge number of significant judgments, the round-up

CANCELLING JOB TO LATE MLA’S SON Govt moves SC against HC order

CANCELLING JOB TO LATE MLA’S SON

Govt moves SC against HC order

Thiruvananthapuram: 19.12.2021

The state government has moved the Supreme Court against the high court’s order cancelling a government job given to the son of late CPM MLA K K Ramachandran Nair. The high court had earlier this month said that a “legislator is not a government servant” and cancelled the appointment.

The government petition says the high court got it wrong as the state government did this according to the rules and procedures and hence approached the apex court.

Nair, a first-time legislator after being elected from the Chenganoor assembly constituency in the 2016 Assembly polls, passed away in 2018 due to health issues.

Vijayan, in a surprise decision, decided to appoint Nair's son R Prasanth as an assistant engineer in the public works department, which led to a huge criticism from several quarters.

However, a petitioner from Palakkad, Ashok Kumar filed a plea in this regard at the high court and a division bench chaired by Chief Justice S Manikumar ruled that an “MLA is not a government servant” as they have an elected term of only five years, and hence a government job under dying in harness mode is not applicable and cancelled the appointment.

Incidentally, this legal battle comes at a time when a petition is before the Lokayukta after Vijayan sanctioned a substantial sum of money from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund to clear off the debts of Nair.

AGENCIES

The high court had earlier this month said that a “legislator is not a government servant” and cancelled the appointment

HC upholds reinstatement of aviation univ registrar

HC upholds reinstatement of aviation univ registrar

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:19.12.2021

A division bench of the Allahabad hc has upheld the order of the single-judge bench reinstating the first registrar of Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University, Amethi, Jitendra Singh but with some modifications.

The judgement passed by Justices Ramesh Sinha and Vivek Varma of the Lucknow bench stated that the termination of the probation of Singh is illegal, being ex-facie stigmatic. The court has further remitted the matter to the University asking the authorities to proceed as per law and pass a fresh order within two months.

The judgment came following a special appeal by the Union civil aviation ministry challenging the single bench order that had quashed Singh’s termination.

The division bench order delivered on Friday states that Singh’s termination needs to be revisited. The court said that as far as the entitlement of back wages is concerned, it will be subject to the outcome of further action to be taken by the university.

The ministry of civil aviation had sacked Singh on January 8, 2020, and appointed Garima Singh as the officiating registrar. Singh’s termination order stated three grounds — obstructing an officer appointed by the government from discharging his duties, fabricating a complaint of sexual harassment by involving two girl students and defiance to official orders.

HC to decide fate of two sisters on death row for kids’ kidnap-murder

HC to decide fate of two sisters on death row for kids’ kidnap-murder

Swati.Deshpande@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:19.12.2021

The Bombay high court on Saturday concluded the hearing and will soon decide the fate of two death row convicts, both women, who in 2014 had filed a petition to commute their capital punishment to life imprisonment. They cited “unjustified delay” by authorities in dealing with their mercy petition, causing them much agony and violation of their fundamental right to life.

The women, sisters Renuka Shinde and Seema Gavit, were tried for the 1996 case of kidnapping 14 children and murdering five of them in Kolhapur and convicted in 2001. In 2004, the high court had confirmed their death sentence and in 2006 the Supreme Court too had upheld the noose for them.

They have been in custody since October 22, 1996. The sisters had in 2014 petitioned the high court to commute the death sentence to life term citing unreasonable delay by the state in dealing with their mercy petitions, which thus violated their right to life.

The counsel for the sisters, Aniket Vagal, on Saturday at the final hearing before a bench of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Sarang Kotwal said the sisters had in September 2006 submitted their mercy petition to the President but it was sent to the state since procedure prescribed it be first considered by the governor.

Public prosecutor Aruna Pai, opposing the petition, said death cannot be set aside looking at the gravity and heinousness of the offence. She said if the court is inclined to commute the sentence, it should be life imprisonment till remainder of their natural life.

The high court bench asked the public prosecutor to take instructions from the state government and clarify on Wednesday whether the government has powers to not commute the life imprisonment, which as per Supreme Court rulings means till the end of convict’s life.

In January 2008, Shinde said she filed another mercy petition before the President while her petition was pending before the governor and it was sent back to be placed before the governor. Gavit also sent a mercy plea in September 2008 and a follow-up request that October to the governor.

Vagal said that in August 2012 the governor rejected Shinde’s plea for mercy to commute death sentence to life imprisonment and a year later rejected Gavit’s plea.

On July 7, 2014, the President rejected their mercy petition and nine days later the Centre communicated it to the state, said their lawyer.

They were informed of the rejection on August 4, 2014, and they filed the petition before the high court saying they were “constantly living under fear of death for over 13 years”.

Centre’s counsel Sandesh Patil said there was no delay on part of the Centre. He said the 11-month gap from 2012 to 2013 was since the policy is to avoid conflicts and to send mercy petition of both the accused in same case together.

Poor showing in DNB exams leave doctors stunned

Poor showing in DNB exams leave doctors stunned

Only 18% Pass In Orthopaedics, 36% In Paediatrics

Rema.Nagarajan@timesgroup.com

19.12.2021

Less than one in five doctors doing postgraduation in orthopaedics passed the final theory exam conducted by the National Board of Examination (NBE). In ENT, almost two-thirds of them failed the exam. Similarly, just over 36% passed the exam in paediatrics. The results announced by the NBE on November 24 were a shock to many doctors pursuing diplomate of national board (DNB).

DNB is a postgraduate course considered equivalent to MD/MS, but conducted in private hospitals and institutions and administered by NBE.

Doctors had been assured that the hardship and disruption in studies due to Covid would be taken into consideration when conducting the exams and in marking them. However, students claimed that the pass percentages show that along with an unreasonably difficult paper, the evaluation must have been extremely harsh.

Senior officials in NBE blamed the poor results on poor preparation by doctors. Those specialising in orthopaedics pointed out that if Covid was the reason, the results ought to have been uniformly poor. However, among specialities in which over 50 students appeared, the pass percentage was almost 90% in obstetrics and gynaecology, and in dermatology, and well over 60% in several others, including general surgery, ophthalmology, radio diagnosis and psychiatry.

Centre to conduct 4 rounds for med seats

Admissions to all-India quota seats in UG (15%) and PG (50%) medical courses will now be done by the Centre in 4 rounds instead of 2. Earlier, only 2 rounds were conducted and the vacant seats were returned to the state. The move is to ensure transparency and no violation of merit. P 3

‘80% ortho docs can’t be poor students’

DNB orthopaedics is quite high up in preference and so only people with a decent rank in the NEET-PG exam get the specialty. Hence, it can’t be that more than 80% of doctors specialising in orthopaedics are poor students. If the poor result is attributed to sub-standard training at the institute, NBE is to be held responsible for giving accreditation to poor quality institutions. However, this cannot be true because some of the institutes which have seen zero candidates passing are among the best,” said a resident doctor in orthopaedics. According to data that NBE shared with TOI, the pass percentage of DNB pediatrics has been consistently low over the last three exams, the highest being 43.4% in the June 2020 session.

The president of the Association of National Board Accredited Institutions (ANBAI) and the head of the department of orthopaedics and spine surgery in Ganga Hospital, Dr S Rajasekaran, said that ANBAI has written to the NBE to consider reevaluation before publication of results if there is an abnormally low pass percentage in any specialty. “We have also made a strong plea that at least 50% of the examiners must be from NBE institutions,” he added.

“Only those clearing the theory exam can appear for the practicals. So the final result of those who pass the practical exam could be even lower,” said an orthopaedic resident who had failed and is appearing for the next DNB exam being held from December 16 to 19. Many resident doctors pointed out that there was not even a month between the results of the last exam being announced and the next one being held. “It ensures that students have no time to challenge the results,” said a resident doctor specialising in paediatrics.

All-India med admissions now in four rounds

All-India med admissions now in four rounds

Yogita.Rao@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:19.12.2021

Admissions to all-India quota seats in undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses will now be done by the Centre in four rounds instead of two. The move will bring in more transparency in the counselling process and ensure there is no violation of merit.

However, students from Maharashtra will be left with 200-225 fewer MBBS seats during the state round of admissions.

For UG admissions, around 1,700 of the total 7,000 seats in the country were returned to states at the end of the second rounds previously.

Based on an affidavit filed by the ministry of health and family welfare, the Supreme Court directed the medical counselling committee (MCC) of the directorate general of health services to conduct admissions to 15% undergraduate and 50% postgraduate seats under the all-India quota in four rounds.

This will mean that in addition to the first two all-India rounds, mop-up and stray vacancy rounds will also be conducted for 2021-22 admissions. Earlier only the all-India rounds were conducted by MCC and the vacant seats were returned to the state. An official from the ministry said that this was an anomaly in the admission process, which has now been corrected.

UK sees 10k+ new Omicron cases in a day, toll rises to 7

UK sees 10k+ new Omicron cases in a day, toll rises to 7

London Put On Alert Over Rising Hosp Cases; Total Variant Infections Now Nearly 25k In Britain; Netherlands To Go Into Tight Lockdown

19.12.2021

Britain reported a surge in cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant on Saturday, and London’s mayor declared a “major incident” to help the capital’s hospitals following a sharp rise in Covid-19 admissions. The total number of Omicron cases recorded across the country hit almost 25,000 as of 1800 GMT on Friday, up by more than 10,000 cases from 24 hours earlier, the UK health security agency (UKHSA) said in its latest data.

Seven people believed to have had the Omicron variant had died as of Thursday, up from one death in the UKHSA’s previous data which ran up to Tuesday. Hospitalisations of people thought to have the variant increased to 85 from 65.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a “major incident” — which allows for closer coordination between different public agencies and possibly more central government support - as Covid-19 hospital admissions in the city rose by nearly 30% this week. He said health worker absences had also increased. “I’ve taken the decision, in consultation with our partners, to declare a major incident today,” Khan said during a visit to Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club which is being used as a mass vaccination centre. “This is a statement of how serious things are,” he said. Khan, from the opposition Labour Party, also declared a major incident in January, when rising Covid-19 cases threatened to overwhelm hospitals. The Omicron variant is estimated to account for more than 80% of new Covid cases in London, officials said on Friday.

UK’s Times newspaper reported that officials were preparing draft new rules that, if introduced, would ban indoor mixing in England except for work for two weeks after Christmas when pubs and restaurants would be limited to table service outdoors. People would be able to meet in groups of up to six outdoors, the newspaper said. But ministers were yet to formally consider the plans, Times said. A government spokesperson said the government would continue to “look closely at all the emerging data”. The total number of all new Covid-19 cases reported in official data edged down to 90,418 from a record high of over 93,000 on Friday, but that was still the country’s secondhighest daily toll. Cases were up 44.4% over the seven days to December 18 compared with the previous week.

Meanwhile, nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of Covid-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona. The Dutch government said it is imposing a tough nationwide lockdown starting Sunday in an attempt to rein in sharply rising levels of cases. “The Netherlands is going into lockdown again,” PM Mark Rutte said on Saturday. He said the move was “unavoidable because of the fifth wave caused by the Omicron variant that is bearing down on us”. Rutte did not immediately outline the terms of the lockdown but said it it will build on a partial lockdown already in force that requires bars, restaurants and other public places such as cinemas to close at 5pm.

As case numbers escalated, alarmed ministers in France, Cyprus and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Denmark closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8pm curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events. AGENCIES

HC upholds order to reinstate Air India pilots

HC upholds order to reinstate Air India pilots

New Delhi:19.12.2021

Coming to the aid of all Air India pilots whose services were terminated, including the contractual ones, the Delhi high court on Friday upheld its earlier decision to reinstate them. A bench of justices Rajiv Shakdher and Talwant Singh also modified the earlier single judge decision by granting further relief to those pilots who, despite withdrawing their resignation, had left Air India as it refused to take them back. Around 40 pilots had moved the high court after Air India refused to accept the withdrawal of their resignations. TNN

Cold wave sweeps state, Bhopal may shiver at 8°

WEATHER WOES

Cold wave sweeps state, Bhopal may shiver at 8°

4° At Gwalior, Datia & Naogaon; May Get Colder Till Dec 22

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:  19.12.2021

Saturday was the coldest day of the season so far for the city and state. Night temperature across MP dipped below the five dgree mark while in Bhopal the minimum temperature was 10 degrees Celsius.

The spine-chilling cold is set to continue for the next few days. There is a warning of cold wave, cold day and ground frost issued for several places in the state.

Met officials , Bhopal circle said, the dip in the temperature is caused due to cold northerly winds in the absence of a system.

Similar weather would prevail in the state till December 22; MP would face the impact of western disturbance after that and it would result in a minor rise in temperature. Day temperature in Bhopal on Saturday was recorded at 19.4 degrees Celsius, seven degrees less than normal mark, while night temperature was 10.0 degrees Celsius. It was the lowest temperature of the season so far in the city and a severe cold day.

Severe cold day is when night temperature is ten degrees or less and day temperature is 6.5 degrees below the normal mark.

Wind direction in the city was northerly while average wind speed was 16 kilometres per hour. Lowest temperature in the state was recorded at 4 degrees Celsius in Gwalior, Datia and Naogaon. It also happened to be the lowest temperature of the season so far.

In the forecast for Bhopal on Sunday, met office stated there would be clear sky during morning. Day and night temperature in the city would be at 21 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

In the forecast for state, met has issued a warning of cold wave for places including Sagar, Gwalior and Chambal divisions.

Warning of ground frost has been issued for Chhatarpur, Bhind, Morena, Sheopurkalan, Gwalior and Datia districts, stated the release issued by met office.

Dead woman referred to another hosp for ‘treatment’

Dead woman referred to another hosp for ‘treatment’

Jamal.Ayub@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:  19.12.2021

The district civil surgeon has launched an investigation into death of a woman during a family planning operation at JP Hospital here on Saturday.

It is alleged that the woman, who died in the operation theatre, was referred to Hamidia Hospital on the pretext that the ‘deceased was still alive’, alleged Prakash, her husband.

According to reports, to avoid action, the doctor did not pronounce the woman dead and asked the relatives to call for an ambulance. The 27-year-old woman died minutes after she reached the operation theatre for sterilization.

To save herself from any unpleasant situation, the doctor at JP hospital allegedly ‘referred’ the dead woman to Hamidia after telling her relatives that she was still alive.

According to reports, Muskaan, wife of Prakash, a resident of Barkheda, had reached JP Hospital on Saturday for sterilization under family planning scheme of the government. After all the investigations, the woman was taken to the operation theatre, after some time the woman’s body started getting cold.

The testimony of three other doctors who did not find the woman’s pulse or heartbeat, will be ascertained by the government investigation.

Family members alleged that the doctor at JP Hospital told them that Muskan’s pulse had returned, and they should take her to Hamidia Hospital soon. On the pretext of helping the family, the doctor called 108 ambulance from the mobile of her associate nurse and distanced herself from the matter by ‘referring’ the dead body, it is alleged.

“We will get this matter investigated. On the face of it, it looks very complicated. Action will be taken after cause of death is known,” said district civil surgeon, Dr Rakesh Srivastava.

Sources say the 27-year-old woman died in the OT during a sterilisation op but instead of declaring her dead, a doctor rerferred her to another hospital to avoid an unpleasant situation

HC to decide fate of 2 sisters on death row

HC to decide fate of 2 sisters on death row

Mumbai:  19.12.2021

The Bombay high court on Saturday concluded the hearing and will soon decide the fate of two death row convicts, both women, who in 2014 had filed a petition to commute their capital punishment to life imprisonment. They cited “unjustified delay” by authorities in dealing with their mercy petition, causing them much agony and violation of their fundamental right to life.

The women, sisters Renuka Shinde and Seema Gavit, were tried for the 1996 case of kidnapping 14 children and murdering five of them in Kolhapur and convicted in 2001. In 2004, the high court had confirmed their death sentence and in 2006 the Supreme Court too had upheld the noose for them. They have been in custody since October 22, 1996. TNN

From samples to kits, experts explain why genomic sequencing takes time

From samples to kits, experts explain why genomic sequencing takes time

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:19.12.2021

Genomic sequencing reports are key to identifying the Omicron variant. But due to several factors, sequencing is taking a minimum of 5-8 days and the delay in results is leaving everyone, including patients and hospitals, on the edge.

This situation was discussed at a recent meeting with chief minister Basavaraj Bommai as most Covid-infected persons are recovering by the time genomic sequencing results are out. STOI takes a look at why the process is slow.

The sequencer requires over 300 samples to initiate the process, but only under 100 are sent in a day. Hence, sequencing is done once in three days. According to virologist Dr V Ravi, state nodal officer and chairman, committee for Covid-19 whole genome sequencing, one needs to understand that the sequencing is not like RT-PCR test and not all Covid-positive samples are suitable for it.

He said only Covid-positive swab samples with Cycle Threshold (CT) value below 25 qualify for genomic sequencing, as the viral load will be more in those with low CT value. The value indicates the number of cycles in RTPCR test needed to amplify viral RNA to reach a detectable level. Currently, with less than 400 cases a day, just about 10-12 samples would have CT value less than 25, he said.

Dr Ravi said the chips used in the process require either 100 samples or over 300 at a time for the sequencing to be done. “The cost of the chip is Rs 2.5 lakh. The cost remains the same whether there are 10 samples or over 300. The situation here is not like that of the UK, where 80,000 persons are turning positive every day,” he said.

Agreeing with Dr Ravi, another technical advisory committee member said genomic sequencing is like running an aircraft. “For an aircraft with a capacity of carrying 300 passengers, the cost remains the same irrespective of whether it has 10 or 300 on board. If there aren’t enough samples, we will have to wait for them to accumulate. The government will only reimburse the cost of samples sequenced and not for running the entire process with fewer samples,” a TAC member explained.

The purpose of sequencing is to detect a new variant, which two labs in Karnataka have been doing successfully, said Dr Ravi. “On November 26, Omicron was declared as a variant of concern. On November 30, Karnataka was the first to detect Omicron (though it was later announced on December 3 after verification),” he added. Stating that the state’s labs were at the forefront in detecting Alpha and Delta variants earlier, Dr Ravi said a resource-intensive method like sequencing should not be used for every sample.

Dr Ravi said irrespective of the variants, the treatment remains the same for Covid patients, but that Omicron cases need to be hospitalised and can be discharged only after they test negative to prevent community spread.

Prof Satyajit Mayor, director, National Centre for Biological Sciences, said sequencing is not a trivial affair. “We have to wait till we have 300 samples. It takes a week’s time to put out the results and we are doing our best,” he said.

Genomic sequencing was temporarily halted for at least a week at Nimhans owing to global shortage of kits. Dr Ravi said the institute lab has procured them now.

According to the health and family welfare department, there is no delay in genomic sequencing. “The reports are available within 5-8 days,” said Randeep D, commissioner of the department.

DOING THE NEEDFUL: A worker collects a swab sample at a bus stand. (Left) Marshals fine those flouting mask rule

The process of sequencing takes 12 hours. After that data is fed into the computer for analysis and this takes three days. One has to manually check the sequence and see that the computer hasn’t made a mistake. This takes a total of five days

Dr V Ravi CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE FOR COVID-19 WHOLE

GENOME SEQUENCING

The sequencer requires over 300 samples to initiate the process, but only under 100 are sent in a day. Hence, genomic sequencing is done once in three days

For generations, HMT was the nation’s timekeeper

INSTITUTIONS THAT SHAPED INDIA

For generations, HMT was the nation’s timekeeper

The PSU Made India’s First Wristwatch In 1961 And Was The Unchallenged Leader Until It Lost Touch With The Market After Liberalisation

Chethan.Kumar@timesgroup.com

19.12.2021

In 1977, more than 15 years after India produced its first wristwatch, an advertisement from the manufacturer read: “We’ve built it so that it will still be around, ticking away faithfully, years and years from now.” That company has sold more than 11 crore pieces so far and most of them are still ticking away faithfully, even as it itself survives on borrowed time.

The story of HMT begins in an age when watches were earned, not bought on a whim. They were prized possessions. Some got theirs for clearing a board exam, others inherited them as family heirlooms. Anecdotally, HMT watches were the sine qua non for grooms at weddings.

As India celebrates 75 years of Independence, the grains of sand in her hourglass tell the story of HMT Watches — once the timekeeper to the nation — ushered in by the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

“HMT made watches for every occasion, every mood and every generation. From simple hand-wound mechanical watches to elegant, sophisticated quartz watches — analog and digital,” the company proudly proclaims.

HMT’s journey is punctuated with various firsts, including India’s first Braille watch and a watch designed specially for nurses. It was the first PSU to make a product directly for the consumer, and the first to set up a unit in J&K — HMT Chinar Watches was established in 1970. HMT factories also hired women in large numbers in the 1960s when women workers were largely restricted to the front office. More than 1,200 women worked in its factories at its peak, when there were 14 satellite assembly units.

“While most of our assembly employees were women, we also had an exclusive all-women unit in Peenya (Bengaluru). This was because women were more dexterous and efficient than men in handling the parts,” BG Dwarkanath, an old-timer who moved to Titan, says.

Dawn of an era

Having started in a small way in 1953 at Bengaluru, the parent PSU, Hindustan Machine Tools, grew to have 29 units across India at its peak, with a sales and service network covering almost every district headquarters. Its first attempt at diversification gave birth to HMT Watches in 1961. Janata, the first indigenous wristwatch, came soon after, followed by Jawahar, and HMT didn’t look back for more than two decades.

The first watch factory in Bengaluru — set up on 112 acres in collaboration with Japan’s Citizen Watch Co — had an initial capacity of 3.6 lakh watches a year. But at its peak, HMT’s annual installed capacity was 60 lakh pieces.

Customers lined up outside its showrooms daily to get a watch. HRV Raja, the company’s GM (operations), says, “HMT has made 1,991 formally categorised models. If you count the variants of these, where only the dial or something was changed, there would be more than 3,500.” Since 1961, more than 11.2 crore pieces of HMT watches have been sold.

Bhaskar Bhat, former MD of watch market leader Titan, says HMT made extremely good watches in terms of quality, and excellence in manufacturing was established very early. “It attracted some of the best engineering talent at the time. That it had a lot of demand saw it thrive, making HMT Watches, at its peak, the most profitable division of the PSU. It propped up the rest of the divisions.”

Yajnanarayana Kammaje, described by Bhat as the ‘pioneer of quartz technology’ in India, recollects how IK Amita, the “father of Indian watches,” brought him in exclusively for quartz when HMT was already the king of mechanical watches with several popular models like Pilot, Jawan, Kohinoor, Nutan and Sujata.

“We got the technology from Citizen for a mere $250 million. In about three years of introducing (1980-81) quartz, we were making around 2 lakh quartz watches a year and our division at Lavelle Road (Bengaluru) made a profit of Rs 10 crore, which was a lot at the time,” Kammaje said.

Winding down

So what went wrong? According to Kammaje, the PSU failed to leverage quartz technology and didn’t understand the new customer needs. Bhat agrees: “While people did queue up, given the kind of economy that India had then, there was not much of marketing or customer studies, and HMT was not customer-oriented, which became a major flaw.”

Kammaje noted the decision to make mechanical watches at Ranibagh with an investment of about Rs 30-40 crore was a mistake. “A Union minister was adamant about having a mechanical factory while quartz was the future. Also, what HMT failed to do was realise that from mere timekeepers, watches had become fashion accessories, something Titan leveraged very well.”

Dwarkanath, who led the team that trained in Japan for quartz, says HMT was a fantastic brand with potential to be among the best in the world, “But we failed to keep up with the times.”

“When there’s very little scope to take risks and change is stonewalled, growth becomes a casualty. That’s what happened with us. Everything I learnt about watches was at HMT, but I saw the watch market grow as part of Titan.”

On borrowed time

While all HMT watch factories shut in 2016 as part of the Centre’s restructuring plans for the PSU as a whole, watchmaking hasn’t stopped. However, it is running on borrowed time.

P Jayapalan, who’s been with HMT for 35 years and oversees its museum and heritage centre, says, “While closing, there was a lot of inventory and a renewed demand, mostly from people nostalgic about our brand. So we’ve been using the inventory to assemble watches we sell online and at dedicated outlets.”

Raja added the mother unit in Bengaluru can make around 20,000 watches a year with the inventory, mostly against orders. “Around 60% of them are mechanical.”

Most insiders say watchmaking will stop completely when the parts are exhausted, but Raja says, “Given our brand’s popularity, we may even sustain this. The nature of operations would change, but we may continue to make watches even after the present inventory is over.”

Australia’s new cases hit record high for 3rd day

Australia’s new cases hit record high for 3rd day

Melbourne:19.12.2021

Australia reported record high new Covid-19 cases on Saturday for a third day, with outbreaks growing in the two most populous states, however PM Scott Morrison continued to downplay the risks as the country eases curbs.

New South Wales state reported 2,482 new cases, Victoria reported 1,504 new cases and Queensland reported 31 new cases on Saturday, together topping Austalia’s previous high of 3,820 cases a day earlier.

Morrison reiterated on Saturday the focus should be on hospitalisations and cases in ICUs and on ventilators rather than actual case numbers as the country learns to live with the virus. So far, he said the rising case numbers in New South Wales were not translating into pressure on hospitals, with only 26 people in intensive care. “I wouldn’t agree that Australians are complacent about it. We take this incredibly seriously. It’s best addressed with a calm head and a clear plan,” he said.

He said Australia was not in the same situation as the UL, Europe or North America, where cases are soaring. REUTERS

UP plus Yogi makes upyogi, says Modi

UP plus Yogi makes upyogi, says Modi

Kanwardeep.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bareilly:19.12.2021

In a strong endorsement of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Modi on Saturday gave a new term “UP+ Yogi=Upyogi (useful)” to the election lexicon. “UP plus Yogi bahut hai upyogi (Uttar Pradesh plus Yogi have great utility),” he said, indicating that Adityanath would be the CM face of the party for the upcoming assembly elections.

Modi made the comments after launching the Rs 36,230 cr, 594-km long six-lane Ganga e-way project in Shahjahanpur, pegged to be the longest in the country at 594 km. The expressway will connect the eastern and western regions of UP from Meerut to Prayagraj. It is set to be completed in 2024. “This expressway will bring new industries and create employment opportunities for thousands of youths...,” the PM said in his 40-minute speech to a crowd, which BJP leaders said was over one lakh-strong.

Modi also took a dig at the opposition, saying: “You have seen how the money of the government was used by other parties. Today, it is being used by the government for development work. Earlier, these projects only started on paper so politicians filled their coffers. Today, these projects are ensuring that your money is saved and is in your pocket...There are some political parties that have problems with the country's heritage and development...” The PM also lauded the Yogi government for the lawand-order situation in west UP. He said: “Before the BJP took charge, there was a saying that one should return home before sunset because people who flashed kattas (countrymade pistols) ruled the roads...” (With inputs from agencies)

PM Narendra Modi with UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Saturday

Covishield gives high immunity in 7 months, says study

Covishield gives high immunity in 7 months, says study

Antibody Prevalence Above 90% In HCWs Who Took Part In Study

Neha.Madaan @timesgroup.com

Pune:19.12.2021

High levels of protection (seroprevalence) against Covid-19 have been detected in over 500 healthcare workers even three-seven months after taking two doses of Covishield, a recent analysis by Pune-based BJ Government Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon hospital has revealed.

With high levels of protection (seroprevalence) in participants at this point, the study concluded that a third booster, while a chunk of population is yet to get their second shots, may not be advisable, Dr Muralidhar Tambe, professor and Head of Community Medicine at BJMC, told TOI.

The study also found that in all categories of the 558 healthcare workers (HCWs), who were part of the study, the antibody prevalence was above 90% months after completion of two vaccine doses.

Dr Tambe said, “Though we found that the antibody prevalence decreased as the duration of interval increased after two doses of Covid vaccine, immunity levels remained high. Antibody positivity among the study participants was at 96.77% at three months post full vaccination, rising to 100% at four months, and then falling to 91.89% at seven months after the initial two doses.” He said except for five individuals, who had received Covaxin, all other study participants had received Covishield.

Dr Tambe said overall, of the 558 HCWs who participated in the study, 94.4% were positive for Covid neutralizing antibodies at the time of the study period. “At the time of the study, some of these HCWs had already completed three months, while some had completed 4-7 months after two doses of Covid vaccination. In the next aspect of the study, we analysed antibody positivity in their serum according to the duration of time period competed after full vaccination. The blood samples were collected two months ago,” he said.

With 30 new cases, Omicron count at 145

India’s Omicron caseload jumped from 115 to 145 in one day as 30 more new infections were detected in four states on Saturday, though most of the cases were either asymptomatic or showed mild symptoms. Telangana reported the most number of new cases on Saturday after 12 people tested positive, taking the state’s total to 20. Two of them have flown in from countries declared “at risk”, while 10 came from other nations. “Nine of them are foreigners,” said Dr G Srinivasa Rao, director public health. Maharashtra continued to lead the count with 48 cases, adding eight new positive tests for the new variant on Saturday. TNN

‘Many employees not ready yet for full-time office’

HR CONCLAVE

‘Many employees not ready yet for full-time office’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:19.12.2021

The past oneand-a-half years have changed the way companies function and many employees don’t want to get back to the 9-to-5 work schedule yet. These were some of the key takeaways of discussions involving senior human resources (HR) leaders in a conclave organized on Saturday.

Vaibhav Kulkarni, a director of Ernst & Young, said that the concept of the brick and mortar office is slowly yielding way to the ‘work from anywhere’ culture.

“Majority of the companies today are working in the hybrid mode. Technology has facilitated the process by which performance and attendance can be monitored virtually,” Kulkarni said. “Some companies are also demarcating only a day or two for work at office when physical presence is required.” Kulkarni added: “With Omicron scare still around, it’s unlikely that we will see full offices any time soon.” The HR Leadership Conclave was organized by Shalby Hospitals in association with E&Y and PeopleStrong Technologies. It drew the HR heads of several companies of the city.

Babu Thomas, the CHRO of Shalby Hospitals, said that companies and employees —especially in the healthcare sector — needed each other more than ever. “Many tweaked rules, many introduced new concepts and incentives as a sign of appreciation for those who gave their all during the pandemic,” Thomas said. He said that employee well-being came into sharp focus.

“Many companies started helplines for employees to cope with mental health issues,” said Jitendra Nirwani from PeopleStrong Technologies. “In terms of trends, we saw many companies utilizing their in-house talent for emerging roles.”

MOST OMICRON CASES SHOW NO SYMPTOMS All Had Contact With Someone From African Nations, The UK

MOST OMICRON CASES SHOW NO SYMPTOMS

All Had Contact With Someone From African Nations, The UK

Team TOI

Ahmedabad/Rajkot/Surat:  19.12.2021

The patients of Omicron variant of Covid-19 are not drastically different from the Alpha and Delta variants the experts have seen in the first and second waves — for the start, majority of the patients that got detected with the variant are asymptomatic, and don’t need oxygen support.

The first three patients of Gujarat — all from Jamnagar — were discharged from the government-run GG Hospital recently. The experts said that except the first case where a septuagenarian had developed fever and dry cough, the other two were asymptomatic.

“Their temperatures were checked regularly, and they were given paracetamol and multivitamin tablets as part of Covid protocol. Apart from that, they did not need any medical intervention,” said a treating doctor. “According to the protocol, they are supposed to remain quarantined for the next seven days and report to us if any problem arises. They were discharged after they tested negative twice after 14 days.” Dr Rakesh Joshi, medical superintendent of Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said that the sole patient the hospital has — a native of Kheda with travel history to the UK — is stable. “In Delta variant, we had seen high involvement of lungs. Here, it’s not the case. The caution, however, is still required as Omicron is considered to be highly contagious and the patients are kept in a separate ward,” he said.

The only Omicron patient in Surat did not complain of any health issues since he tested positive. No symptoms were found during examination by doctors. “He was as normal as a healthy person,” said a health official. A 42-year-old businessman who had returned from Africa had tested positive after eight days of return and later the variant was confirmed in genome testing.

City-based experts said that sore throat, body ache, and mild fever are among the symptoms recorded in India and elsewhere. They, however, added that more details are required to ascertain the progression of the variant.

(With inputs from Nimesh Khakharia in Rajkot and Yagnesh Mehta in Surat)

6 teams search for ex-minister Bhalaji

6 teams search for ex-minister Bhalaji

Move Comes After HC Rejects Bail

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Virudhunagar/Madurai: 19.12.2021

The Virudhunagar district police have formed six teams to nab former milk and dairy development minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji (AIADMK) who is on the run after the Madras high court on Friday refused to grant him anticipatory bail in cases pertaining to the job racket registered last month.

The first case is against Bhalaji and his two accomplices for collecting money from 23 people on the promise of getting them government jobs in Aavin and in government departments. The second case is based on a complaint from K Nallathambi, one of the co-accused in the first case, who claimed that Bhalaji had used him as a tool to collect money from people promising jobs in Aavin.

Police said that the former minister has been booked under sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 506(i) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. Bhalaji had led the party’s protest in Virudhunagar district against the DMK government on Friday, shortly before he was denied anticipatory bail.

Meanwhile, in a special sitting on Saturday, the Madras high court restrained the Virudhunagar police from summoning any relative of Bhalaji not figuring as an accused in the cheating cases.

Justice G R Swaminathan passed the interim order while hearing the petition filed by Bhalaji’s sister K Lakshmi, who sought a direction to the police not to harass her family members. The judge also directed the police to file a counter and adjourned the case to Monday.

Senior counsel for the petitioner submitted that Lakshmi’s son Vasanthakumar was taken to the Thiruthangal police station around 9.30pm on Friday. Police made Vasanthakumar call his brother Ramana and driver Rajkumar to the station. The trio was detained there though they were not involved in any offence.

He further submitted that the police officials allegedly threatened them to ask the former minister to surrender.

Bhalaji moves SC seeking advance bail

Chennai:

With special teams on his toes and the Madras high court rejecting his anticipatory bail petitions, former milk and dairy development minister, KT Rajenthra Bhalaji has moved the Supreme Court seeking advance bail. The AIADMK leader is facing arrest in two cases for allegedly cheating aspirants of money promising them government jobs. In his petition, Balaji contended that the main accused, Nallathambi is involved in similar cases of job racketeering over the years and has also falsely implicated prominent political figures from the opposition party too to divert attention. TNN

PM to open 11 med colleges in Jan

PM to open 11 med colleges in Jan

To Share Stage With CM During His First TN Visit Amid DMK Rule

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  19.12.2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister M K Stalin will share the stage in Virudhunagar on January 12 for the opening of 11 new medical colleges in the state. Union health and family welfare minister Mansukh Mandaviya will also take part in the event, sources said.

This is the PM’s first visit to Tamil Nadu after the Stalin-led DMK government assumed office. “The state government is ready to open the colleges as approval has been obtained for admission of 1,450 seats in these colleges. The PM (is keen on) attending the event,” said a source. The erstwhile AIADMK government managed to get the colleges allotted for Tamil Nadu under the Modi government’s scheme to establish medical colleges attached to existing district and referral hospitals. The Union and state governments shared the cost of ₹325 crore in a 60:40 ratio to set up each medical college.

Ariyalur, Dindigul, Nagapattinam, Krishnagiri, Virudhunagar, Kallakurichi and Ooty colleges have been sanctioned 150 seats each, while Namakkal, Tiruvallur, Tiruppur and Ramanathapuram colleges have been allotted 100 seats each. The AIADMK had proposed colleges in Cuddalore and Kancheepuram too but owing to the presence of Annamalai University in Chidambaram and a private medical college in Kancheepuram, the state government could not get central approval.

Former health minister C Vijayabaskar said the health department took up the implementation of the scheme on a war-footing and completed land acquisition and got approvals from government agencies quickly. “It was historic that TN got sanction for 11 medical colleges at one stroke. Even the newly created Kallakurichi district was included,” Vijayabaskar said, recalling how appointment of doctors was a big challenge earlier in Nagapattinam, Ooty and aspirational districts like Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar.

NEXT STOP VIRUDHUNAGAR:

PM Narendra Modi greets M K Stalin while visiting his father and former CM M Karunanidhi in Chennai in 2017

Headmistress forces SC students to clean toilets, suspended

Headmistress forces SC students to clean toilets, suspended

Tirupur:19.12.2021

The headmistress of a government high school here was suspended on Saturday for forcing students belonging to scheduled castes (SC) clean toilets and using degrading caste names to refer to them.

Chief educational officer R Ramesh said he received a complaint from some Class IX and X students of the school, in Iduvai village, on Friday against Geetha, 45, working in the school for the last three years. “They said she abused them using their caste name and made them clean toilets. I visited the school and conducted an inquiry to gather prima facie information and subsequently placed her under suspension. A complaint was lodged with the Mangalam police based on the inquiry,” he told TOI. Departmental action will be taken against Geetha and she is likely to be booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, a school education department official said.

There are 14 teachers in the school, which imparts education to 400 students. TNN