Omicron in 15 states, tally 257; PM chairs meet today

Omicron in 15 states, tally 257; PM chairs meet today

24 Of 39 Fresh Infections From Southern States

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  23.12.2021

Omicron spread to the 15th state/UT in India on Wednesday with Haryana reporting six cases of the highly infectious variant of coronavirus even as 39 fresh infections took the country’s total tally to 257. With cases rising, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a high-level meeting on Thursday to review Covid-19 situation.

Other states which recorded fresh infections were Telangana (14 cases), Kerala (9), Rajasthan (4), Delhi (3), Bengal  (2) and Andhra Pradesh (1).

Haryana health and family welfare minister Anil Vij told the assembly that three residents each from Gurgaon and Faridabad district have tested positive for Omicron. All three Gurgaon residents have a history of travelling to India via Dubai from the UK.

Most of the 14 patients who tested positive for Omicron in Telangana are medical tourists. While two of them arrived from the UK, an ‘at-risk’ nation, 12 came from Kenya and Somalia, both ‘non-risk’ countries.

In Kerala, all 9 fresh cases — six in Ernakulam and three in Thiruvananthapuram — had landed from abroad recently. While three of them came from the UK, two each came from Tanzania and Nigeria and one each from Ghana and Ireland.

K’taka: Will trace contacts of +ve patients in 24 hrs

Bengaluru:

With Omicron cases spreading rapidly across the globe, the Karnataka government on Wednesday said it would make aggressive efforts to trace, track and quarantine the primary and secondary contacts of Covid-positive persons within 24 hours.

TK Anil Kumar, principal secretary, health department, has directed all the district authorities to ensure dedicated staff for contact tracing and for quarantine, home isolation watch immediately. The primary contacts should be tested on day 1 and day 8 and home-quarantined during this period. If they test positive, they are to be treated and managed as per the state Covid protocol. P 2

No travel history for cases in Raj

However, three of the four new Omicron cases that were reported from Rajasthan neither had any recent travel history nor did they come in contact with foreign travelers, causing concern among the health authorities. The three are residents of Jaipur and the health department has launched a massive exercise to test those who came in contact with them.

The fourth person who tested positive on Wednesday is a 27-year-old Kenyan woman who had travelled to Jaipur recently and her samples were sent for genome sequencing after she developed Covid symptoms. The Kenyan is currently admitted to LNJP hospital in Delhi. “We have informed the hospital in Delhi about her testing positive for Omicron,” said Jaipur’s chief medical health officer Dr Narottam Sharma.

Omicron: Now, Singapore and Thailand tighten travel norms

Omicron: Now, Singapore and Thailand tighten travel norms

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:23.12.2021

The Omicron variant of coronavirus is yet again leading countries to reimpose travel restrictions or strict testing and quarantine norms that they had begun removing in recent months. Singapore and Thailand on Wednesday announced steps to prevent spread of the new variant through curbs. Earlier, many countries like the US, the UK, India and Canada had imposed stricter entry rules.

Singapore, which had started vaccinated travel lane (VTL) flights with three Indian metros from November 29, has stopped ticket sales for its VTL flights from Wednesday (December 22) to January 20, 2022. Ticket sales for entry from January 21 will also be temporarily reduced.

“Travellers who already hold a ticket for a VTL flight can continue to enter Singapore under the VTL (Air) on their originally planned date, provided they meet all VTL (Air) conditions. Applications For The Vaccinated Travel Pass (Air) will remain open,” a Singapore government agency website said.

Thailand has ordered a temporary suspension of Thailand Pass for all new ‘Test & Go & Sandbox’ applications to places other than Phuket. “Phuket remains open for Indian travellers . Travellers wanting to travel to Phuket can register for Thailand Pass under Phuket Sandbox program and Happy Quarantine. Under this programme, travellers will only be required to do a PCR test and wait in the hotel until the result is received,” the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said.

No salary sans vax certificate for Pb govt staff

No salary sans vax certificate for Pb govt staff

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chandigarh:23.12.2021

Vaccine hesitancy among state government employees in Punjab could cost them their monthly salaries, based on new regulations announced on Wednesday that require them to post their Covid inoculation status along with proof on the integrated HR management portal. This is applicable to the entire government staff, including officers.

“You are informed that the iHRMS portal has been enabled to register Covid vaccination certification number…If only the first vaccination has been done, then the certificate details of that will be registered,” states a circular issued by the finance department to heads of various wings of the government.

“The Covid vaccination number has been linked to the salary module, and salaries will not be generated for those who do not furnish the details.”

Mumbai-A’bad Shatabdi extended till Gandhinagar

Mumbai-A’bad Shatabdi extended till Gandhinagar

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:23.12.2021

Western Railway will provide more connectivity to the state capital. The railway has decided that the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Shatabdi Express will now run from Gandhinagar. The train earlier use to terminate at Ahmedabad.

Western Railway officials said that the train will terminate at Gandhinagar from Friday. The train will leave from Mumbai at 6.10am and will reach Ahmedabad at 12.22pm and will Ahmedabad for Gandhinagar at 12.37pm and reach at the Gandinagar at 1.40 pm. Earlier, the train use to leave from Mumbai at 6.40 am and reach Ahmedabad at 12.55pm.

Similarly, the train will leave from Gandhinagar at 2.20pm and reach Ahmedabad at 3.05pm and will reach Mumbai at 9.45pm. The train use to leave from Ahmedabad at 2.50 pm and would reach Mumbai at 9.20 pm.

The officials said apart from the local trains the Shatabdi express will be the fifth train from the capital. Earlier, Shanti Express for Indore, Yoga express for Haridwar, GNC BSB SPL for Varanasi and BDTS Garib Rath from Delhi to Mumbai via Ahmedabad were the trains that were available from Gandhinagar.

A officer said that with Vibrant Gujarat summit scheduled for January the extension was seen as a move to give direct connectivity to the guest coming from Mumbai to Gandhinagar for the summit.

Now, park a car next to the door of your apartment in a high rise

Now, park a car next to the door of your apartment in a high rise

Space Crunch Makes Realtors Find Elevated Ideas

Paul John & Sachin Sharma TNN

Ahmedabad:23.12.2021

Imagine stepping out of your 13th floor apartment and getting straight into the driving seat of your car parked near the entrance door to hit the road. In concrete jungles where parking is becoming a headache in public places as well as residential complexes, developers across major Gujarat cities are getting creative to lift home-owners above the parking woes.

In Bhavnagar, a developer of a 13-floor high-rise residential building on a 6,200 square yard plot, has got a building plan passed to provide parking slots for owners on each floor.

The building will have a concealed hydraulic platform that will lift cars to the residents’ floors. This will effectively allow a resident to park his or her vehicle next to the home’s entrance. The developer has provided parking space for 10 luxury cars to be shared between five apartments on each floor.

The building will have a concealed hydraulic platform that will lift cars to the residents’ floors

‘Parking has become a crucial aspect of building planning’

Kamlesh Shah, the developer, told TOI that every 4BHK and 3BHK flat has parking space for two cars each. “As for conventional parking, there will be a two-level cellar," Shah said.

Tejas Joshi, president of CREDAI Ahmedabad-GIHED, told TOI: “Parking has become a very crucial aspect of building planning. Experiments of mechanised parking are finding favour with many developers in major Gujarat cities," said Joshi.

Experts said that Ahmedabad's expensive space economics is proving a deterrent to major experimentation with parking. "While many commercial and residential buildings are looking at stacked hydraulic parking systems, issues like limited consumable FSI (floor space index), height restrictions in certain areas due to zoning and limited plot sizes are some aspects that prevent builders from experimenting with new parking spaces.” Joshi said that builders are eagerly waiting for the 2022 GDCR norms.

Bhavnagar municipal commissioner M A Gandhi confirmed approval of the project with parking on each floor. “We have permitted the construction of the 13-floor building under Gujarat’s comprehensive GDCR (General Development Control Regulations),” Gandhi said. Earlier, nod was given to two projects in which vehicles are taken to the first floor by hydraulic lifts, he added.

In Vadodara, a commercial complex on the posh Racecourse area will have parking on its terrace, claimed to be first-of-its-kind parking space in the Banyan city. Amit Srivastava, project architect, said the complex has two levels of basement parking but an elevated parking area was added to accommodate more vehicles. “We wanted to boost the convenience factor for users without reducing the building’s commercial value,” he said.

Srivastava said that installation of solar panels is mandatory in new projects. “As these are installed at a height of 7 to 10 feet, they will provide shade to the parked vehicles. Lifts will be used to carry vehicles to the terrace.” In Rajkot, a commercial building to come up on Kalavad Road will have a separate parking tower for cars. The tower will use the hydraulic lift system. Permission for the tower envisioned as a 70 metre, 22-storey parking facility is underway.

Stalin pens emotional tribute to MK’s ‘kutti PA’

Stalin pens emotional tribute to MK’s ‘kutti PA’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

23.12.2021

Chief minister M K Stalin has penned a tribute to his father’s long-time associate Shanmuganathan, who died on Tuesday. “Hard to believe that you are no more. Unable to accept that you have been snatched away by nature,’’ he started the ode he wrote on Wednesday. Stalin then listed out the services rendered by Shanmuganathan to his late father and later to him. Stalin said that Shanmuganathan has compiled, proofread and made 50 volumes of letters written by Karunanidhi to DMK cadres. Likewise, he has compiled the assembly speeches of Stalin as well. Stalin wondered if he has to console others or seek consolation for himself after the loss. “Have you left us to see Thalaivar (M Karunanidhi). You wanted to be by his side to assist him forever?’’ Stalin asked in the emotional tribute.

Shanmuganathan was a fixture at the Gopalapuram residence of Karunanidhi, Stalin said, adding that he would be seated in a small room under the staircase at the home, always busy immersed in work. “Karunanidhi’s days are incomplete without him. Shanmuganathan was not just another name in Goapalapuram, but Kalaiganar’s shadow,” he said.

He recalled that Shanmuganathan, who was with the police department, was good at taking short-hand notes of the speeches of leaders. Shanmuganathan was the youngest among the personal assistants of Karunanidhi when he had joined and hence used to be called ‘kutti PA’ (young PA). “He was our kutti PA as well as ‘getti’ (strong) PA,” Stalin said. Stalin said he would ask Shanmuganathan for feedback every time he completed a speech. Shanmuganathan would appreciate as well as give suggestions.

IRREPLACEABLE LOSS: Stalin said he would ask Shanmuganathan for feedback every time he completed a speech

Key accused in railway job scam dies in prison

Key accused in railway job scam dies in prison

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.12.2021

A main accused in a railway job recruitment scam has died while in prison even before charges were framed against him, CBI informed a court here.

A city CBI court had expressed displeasure at the investigating agency for not taking any effort to secure former technician at Perambur Loco works, S Sriraman of Villivakkam for over four years, despite police registering cases against him.

Meanwhile, on December 4, the court received a letter from the Superintendent of Prisons, Puzhal stating that Sriraman who was sent to judicial custody in April was under medical treatment at Government Stanley hospital and succumbed on December 1.

Additional special judge L S Sathiyamurthy disposed the case against Sriraman stating that the court cannot pass an order of discharge against a dead person.

The court had recently convicted his accomplice, P Athimani, a government high school teacher from Krishnagiri district and sentenced him to two years imprisonment in the scam.

Erode girl awarded ₹3 cr scholarship for US studies

Erode girl awarded ₹3 cr scholarship for US studies

V.Senthilkumaran@timesgroup.com

23.12.2021

Three years ago, 17-year-old Swega from Erode had not even dreamt of visiting the United States of America or even heard of University of Chicago. The teenager from Kasipalayam, a remote village is the first person in her family to attend college and is all set to fly to Chicago next year to study her Bachelor’s Science degree, on a full scholarship-cum-stipend.

The first-generation learner has received a full scholarship worth ₹3 crore to pursue a four-year Bachelor’s Science degree. Born to a farmer father, Swega Saminathan dreams of getting into research to improve the country’s infrastructure.

“At Chicago, I am planning to study Biology and become a scientist, and get into research,” Swega told TOI. The girl who is studying class 12 in the district, would join UChicago in 2022.

Swega said she happened to listen to the founder of Dexterity Global – a national organisation for leadership and career development Sharad Sagar’s speech at school when she was 14. She stated that she heard of UChicago only after hearing Sharad Sagar’s speech. Swega's mother Suganya is a housewife and she has a younger brother SS Achuthan.

The scholarship will cover Swega’s entire cost of study for four years including tuition, health insurance, personal and travel expenses.

RARE FEAT: Swega Saminathan (second from left) with her family

Man held for booking train tickets illegally

Man held for booking train tickets illegally

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 23.12.2021

The owner of an internet browsing centre was arrested on Wednesday for cheating the IRCTC of ₹5 lakh by booking train tickets through an online portal at Tondiarpet. The arrested was Sakthivel, 30, of Nethaji Nagar Main Road in Tondiarpet, the owner of Shakthi Internet Browsing Centre. Inquiries revealed that Sakthivel created more than 50 fake e-mail IDs and booked train tickets illegally.

Based on a tip from an RPF personnel, a team led by the sub-RPF inspectors of police Sasi Booshan Kumar and Rajasekar, apprehended the suspect. The team conducted a detailed search at his browsing centre and seized at least 244 train tickets worth ₹1.85 lakh, a computer, printer, and a mobile phone. Inquiries revealed that Sakthivel had swindled more than ₹5 lakh through the illegal train ticket booking system over the past 10 months.

Chennai-Mysuru high speed rail line on drawing board

Chennai-Mysuru high speed rail line on drawing board

Firm Will Draw Route Alignment

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.12.2021

Preparatory work for the 435 km Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru high speed rail corridor project seems to be moving rapidly as the final contract to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) has been awarded.

The firm will prepare drawings of alignment of the line at areas where it crosses rivers, canals, bridges, roads, railway lines, highways and other similar facilities and will also prepare a general drawing of the stations. Work on carrying out a complete mapping of the alignment is already on. The contract is the last of the seven needed to prepare a DPR.

If things go according to plan and the route is open, trains will travel at 300kmph-320kmph on standard gauge lines.

The travel time between the three cities will be reduced to just one and half hours. Currently, Shatabdi Express covers the distance in seven hours.

Two lines will have to be laid along a fenced corridor that will be 50 metres to 60 metres wide.

Though a final alignment map is being prepared, a separate contract has been awarded to a company to map only the terrain where the line has to cross rivers, smaller water bodies and other obstacles because the rules require that a thorough study be done including, in the case of rivers, up to two km on either side of the line.

As the speed is high, the terrain and its character around the line, stations and depots needs to be studied before the alignment can be fixed and stations can be designed, said a railways official. The National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) had already identified nine stations including Chennai, Poonamallee and Arakkonam in the state a year ago and early this year awarded contracts for final alignment design and for environment impact assessment and environment management plan.

The final alignment is being prepared using Li-DAR technology which helps in mapping the terrain including rivers and small water bodies in three to four months instead of almost a year because a helicopter fitted with sensors will be used to map the terrain. After the DPR and environment impact study is completed, the NHSRC will float tenders for civil work to start construction, said an official.

The National Ral Plan has fixed an approximate deadline of 2051 for the high speed line. The Chennai-Mysuru line is part of the six corridors including Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Delhi-Varanasi proposed.

CM to launch ‘Meendum Manjappai’ campaign today

CM to launch ‘Meendum Manjappai’ campaign today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.12.2021

Chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday will launch ‘Meendum Manjappai’ campaign organised by the state pollution control board.

The campaign aims at reducing single-use plastic, which causes irreparable damage to the environment and natural resources.

A senior state pollution control board official said as per their observations, a plastic bag is used by a person for about 20 minutes. When this used plastic is discarded, it takes hundreds of years to get degraded.

Taking this into account, the state had banned14 types of materials. Due to the Covid-19 lockdown implementation of the ban slowed down. Now, the government is keen to take severe action against violators of the banned items, said the official. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, most of the people across the country used to carry cloth bags while going to buy vegetables, groceries or to hotels. Slowly, with the arrival of the plastic bags, the use of cloth bags was given up by the people.

In order to revive the practice, the board is launching the campaign. It will also organize an exhibition of items alternative to single-use plastics.

The campaign and exhibition will be held at Kalaivanar Arangam on Wallajah Road.

The board had also taken action against plastic bag making units. Some time ago, the board had appealed to the members of the public to inform it about the functioning of such illegal units. The board received a lot of information about such units, which were sealed, the official added.

OMICRON VS WE THE PEOPLE

STEPPING INTO 2022 HEALTH YEAR-ENDER

OMICRON VS WE THE PEOPLE

As Omicron Threatens To Emerge As The Predominant Covid-19 Variant Over Delta That Caused The Second Wave In 2021, People’s Attitude Will Matter Most In 2022. Vaccines Form The First Line Of Defence, But Experts Say The Universal Mantra Is: Mask Up, Keep Distance

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Times of india 

23.12.2021

As the year draws to an end, there’s a sense of déjà vu. In December 2020 too, Covid-19 cases had dipped and experts were talking of herd immunity. But by May the second wave was on us. This December too, cases are down, and the spectre of Omicron looms.

“Omicron has the potential to rewrite the pandemic schedule,” warns senior virologist Dr T Jacob John. “The transmission rate of the new variant is several times higher. It has a greater ability to evade the immune system, but the disease is mild. Initially many thought it was a good sign, but the massive increase in number is now leading to an increase in hospitalisations and deaths,” he says.

Covid-19 has been around for nearly two years now, but we still haven’t learned to live with it. The moment cases drop people ignore vaccines, masks and social distancing norms – till the numbers rise again.

On May 21, at the peak of the pandemic, the state reported more than 36,000 new cases, and by the end of the month there were more than 3 lakh people in the active registry overwhelming hospitals and wearing out health workers. Beds, drugs, oxygen and ambulances were never enough.

By September, however, the numbers were down, and everyone was back on the roads. In itself, that isn’t a problem. For example, Singapore and Australia, which aimed for ‘zero-Covid’ strategies, have given up such plans. Our problem is that we don’t wear masks and keep social distance when the lockdown is lifted.

A survey by the National Institute of Epidemiology in November found that only 14% of people in slum areas and 21% in non-slum areas wore masks in shops, pharmacies and places of worship. The result is newer clusters at workplaces, educational institutions and family reunions. “Most patients are infected with the delta variant. The second wave is not yet over,” says health secretary J Radhakrishnan.

National Institute of Epidemiology deputy director Dr Prabhdeep Kaur says we can push back or slow down the wave if we put evidence into practice. “The key tools that remain with us are vaccines and masks, besides social distancing, and other practices such as hand hygiene and social distancing,” says Dr Kaur. Tamil Nadu now reports an average of 600 cases and 10 deaths a day.

The flow charts of patients suspected to carry the Omicron variant look worse. “We have confirmation that one of the international patients carried the new variant. He was at home for less than half a day and by then almost all his family members and close contacts were infected,” says the health secretary.

The state has ramped up infrastructure and resources. Health minister Ma Subramanian says more than 1 lakh isolation beds have been set aside for Covid-19 patients. Tamil Nadu has enhanced oxygen storage capacity in state-run facilities from around 200 tonnes last year to more than 1,400 tonnes.

To increase vaccination coverage, the state organises daily camps, door-to-door vaccinations and two mega camps a week. Still, data from the immunisation wing show nearly 15% of the adult population in the state have ignored the vaccine, and around 44% of them haven’t completed the course.

“The pandemic is no longer about the virus and management, it’s about attitudes. We must work together to end this pandemic. Get the vaccine and mask up,” says Subramanian.

Soon, use a single sign-in to access govt services and entitlements

Soon, use a single sign-in to access govt services and entitlements

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:23.12.2021

Soon, you won’t need to remember different usernames and passwords to login and avail of a variety of government services across Union and state government departments. The Centre will launch a platform where you would need to login once to access a range of services. Government agencies are also working on a plan to have an option where the user, once logged in, will get details of the entitlements and services that would guide him/her to access them.

The single sign-on (SSO) service allows users to log in to multiple platforms and websites using one set of credentials via secure session and user authentication. Sources said the platform would be launched by August 2022.

SSO service will be one stop authentication platform

To expedite the initiative, the electronics and IT ministry on Wednesday held a long session with a dozen ministries and state government representatives on onboarding all citizen services offered by central and state governments as part of the ongoing ‘good governance week’.

The roll out of national citizen-centric portal and the creation of a “National Digital Profile” for all citizens would be used to pre-fill government forms and will be a tool for citizens to discover welfare benefits offered by governments.

The SSO service will be one stop authentication platform for government services and the identification and authentication can be done by using details of Aadhaar number, PAN number, DL, email or mobile phone.

Officials said this will be totally consent-driven.

Pfizer oral Covid pill gets US authorisation for at-home use

Pfizer oral Covid pill gets US authorisation for at-home use

23.12.2021

Pfizer said on Wednesday the US FDA authorised its antiviral Covid-19 pill, making it the first at-home treatment for the coronavirus that is expected to become an important tool in the fight against the fast spreading Omicron variant. Data from Pfizer's clinical trial showed its antiviral regimen was 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in patients at high risk of severe illness. Recent lab data suggests the drug retains its effectiveness against Omicron.

The agency said it authorized the oral drug for emergency use for the treatment of mild-tomoderate disease in adults and pediatric patients of 12 years of age and older weighing at least 40kg, who are at high risk for progression to severe Covid-19. “This authorisation provides a new tool to combat Covid at a crucial time in the pandemic,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said.

The Pfizer pills, taken with the older antiviral drug ritonavir, will be sold under the brand name Paxlovid. The pills are meant to be taken every 12 hours for five days beginning shortly after the onset of symptoms. The drug is available by prescription only. The US government’s contract for 10 million courses of the Pfizer drug is priced at $530 per course. REUTERS

28 students allege ragging by seniors in Jamnagar college

28 students allege ragging by seniors in Jamnagar college

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Rajkot:23.12.2021

Allegations of ragging have rocked the Government Physiotherapy College in Jamnagar with 28 second-year students submitting a complaint against 15 of their seniors.

The college authorities have initiated a probe by the anti-ragging committee following the complaint. The report is expected by Thursday evening.

According to reports, the students alleged that their seniors called them on the pretext of introduction and harassed them. However, the college authorities refused to specify the nature of harassment. Sources claimed that the juniors were made to stand in the cold weather without clothes and some of them were forced to climb trees. However, there was no official confirmation regarding these allegations.

Stalin to launch dashboard today to access real-time data on state

Stalin to launch dashboard today to access real-time data on state

Will Be Easier To Monitor Various Depts

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:23.12.2021

Hours of discussion in the chief minister’s chamber on the spike in cases of crimes against women and children, skyrocketing price rise of vegetables and fruits and current employment trends may be a thing of the past. In a bid to bring about a paradigm change in governance, chief minister M K Stalin is scheduled to launch on Thursday a real-time "CM Dashboard Tamil Nadu 360" to track, analyze and increase the efficiency in the decisionmaking process. Report of crimes with reference to the districts and poor performers in maintaining law and order will be looked at on a real-time basis.

A 180sqft screen on the wall of the chief minister’s conference room will provide insights to assess the performance of each department. “A first batch of 15 dashboards will be launched. The aim is to assist the chief minister in providing cutting edge information so that he can take quick decisions, looking at the way the schemes are being implemented, delays, and statistics, which are important for the government. They are key performance indicators of every department,” said a senior government officer. The price mesh monitors the price stability over 25 foodgrains/vegetables/fruits available with the support of state and central government agencies and market prices and predictive analytics will help in timely intervention.

The first batch of dashboards kept ready for launch include, water storage levels of all key reservoirs maintained by the public works department, rainfall patterns sourced from the meteorology department and the off-take of foodgrain from civil supplies. Public grievance redressal system and the status of petitions received through chief minister’s helpline and ‘CM in your constituency’ department will be monitored at all times. Implementation of housing schemes for the urban and rural poor and the water supply schemes, especially tap connections to households, could be expedited in the districts. There are 171 key performance indicators in the health department alone.

In his meeting with the department heads in September, Stalin hinted at having a dashboard to get to know the real time physical and financial targets of departments on his over 500 poll promises. The opposition has raised the issue of the government not fulfilling its promises. “At least 10 dashboards will be added monthly-wise. The chief minister is taking governance to a different level. His promises, assurances and flagship programmes contribute to wholesome governance. This is a governance tool whereby the CM confidently implements the programmes. He gets the big picture in no time at all,” said another official, adding that the state was stepping into cutting-edge governance with accountability taking centre-stage.

H Raja seeks resignation of BU V-C

H Raja seeks resignation of BU V-C

Coimbatore:23.12.2021

Former national secretary of BJP H Raja sought resignation of Bharathiar University (BU) vicechancellor P Kaliraj for attempting to promote Dravidian ideology among the students of the university.

The university has recently invited Suba Veerapandian, the general secretary of the Dravida Iyakka Tamizhar Peravai, for an event. The vice-chancellor, however, rebutted the allegation saying that a section of people is trying to politicise an academic event.

About 400 people, including Raja, were detained later in the day for staging a protest without getting permission from police. TNN

Income slab for health insurance to be hiked: Ma Subramanian

Income slab for health insurance to be hiked: Ma Subramanian

Inaugurating the first bone bank in South Tamil Nadu at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), the minister released the merit list for paramedical course admissions in the State.

Published: 22nd December 2021 05:45 AM 

Health Minister Ma Subramanian inaugurating a bone bank established at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on Tuesday | kk sundar

By Express News Service

MADURAI: Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Tuesday said the income eligibility for beneficiaries of the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) will be increased from Rs 72,000 per annum to Rs 1.2 lakh per annum, with effect from January 11.

Inaugurating the first bone bank in South Tamil Nadu at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), the minister released the merit list for paramedical course admissions in the State. The rank list is for admissions to 19 undergraduate paramedical courses, including B.Sc Nursing and B.Pharm. The minister said the online counselling for 16,108 seats in the State, including 13,832 government quota seats in self-financing colleges, would commence on Wednesday.

The health minister, accompanied by Commercial Taxes Minister P Moorthy, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan, and other officials, inaugurated the bone bank established for Rs 40 lakh at the GRH. With the aid of a deep freezer, the bank would facilitate storing fresh frozen bone grafts harvested from live donors (joint replacement surgery patients, amputees) and cadaver donors up to five years.

Subramanian also unveiled a Rs 4.3 crore-worth telecobalt equipment that facilitates radiotherapy for cancer patients at the Regional Cancer Centre in Balarengapuram. Commenting on the AIIMS project in Madurai, Subramanian said, “The Union government is firm on commencing MBBS admission to Madurai AIIMS at the temporary campus in the current academic year with an intake of 50 students. Considering options, the CM will decide on the matter.”

The minister also assured that the government would announce the establishment of fertility clinics at government hospitals during the next Budget session.

₹2.5k graft accepted via UPI app in Hisar

₹2.5k graft accepted via UPI app in Hisar

Hisar:  22.12.2021

The district vigilance bureau on Tuesday arrested Navneet, reader of tehsildar H K Gupta, claiming that he had accepted Rs 2,500 as bribe through Google Pay to verify the registration of an intercaste love marriage.

Police are interrogating the accused and will take him to court on Wednesday. Vigilance inspector Dharambir Dahiya said Navneet of Hisar’s Bure village had been booked under the Corruption Act on the complaint of Landhari villager Lakshman, who had an inter-caste love marriage, to register which, he had application with the Tehsildar’s office.

The reader Navneet allegedly had demanded Rs 3,000 as bribe from him but settled for Rs 2500, which he had accepted through Google Pay, the inspector has said. TNN

Court sentences 2 doctors in Amritsar kidney scam

Court sentences 2 doctors in Amritsar kidney scam

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Amritsar:22.12.2021

Nineteen years after a case was filed in the infamous kidney scam, a local court on Tuesday sentenced two doctors to 10-year imprisonment each and acquitted seven other accused in the case.

Advocate Aman Mahajan said the court of additional sessions judge Darbari Lal sentenced Dr Bhupinder Sandhu and Dr Bhushan Aggarwal to five years in jail each under Section 19 of the Transplantation of Human Organ Act and 10 years’ imprisonment each under Section 304 of the IPC. Both the sentences would run concurrently.

The police had registered two FIRs in the case – one in 2002 at D division police station and the second in 2003 at Civil Lines police station. Former IPS officer-turned-politician Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh had led the probe in the kidney scam.

The court had acquitted former president of Bar Association Pardeep Saini, Dr Jagdeesh Gargi, former head of the forensic department of Government Medical College, Hardyal Mehta, manager Kakkar Hospital, Raj Kumar, Gorakh Ram, Pankaj Gupta, and Mulakh Raj.

Three alleged accused Dr P K Sareen, Dr P K Jain, and advocate Rajan Puri had died during the course of trial while the proceedings against Dr O P Mahajan were stayed by the court due to his poor mental status, said Mahajan.

Man denied alcohol for a week, dies by suicide

Man denied alcohol for a week, dies by suicide

22.12.2021

Three people allegedly died by suicide in the past 24 hours in the city. In an incident reported at Govindpura police station, a 41-year-old man died by suicide on Monday evening. No suicide note was found, but it came to light that he had been asked to not to drink alcohol for the past eight days citing some rituals, said cops. In another incident, a 23-year-old newly-wed woman died by suicide at her home in Piplani on Monday. No suicide note was recovered and the reason behind the extreme step was not clear, said cops. In yet another case, a 34-year-old man allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself at his home in Chhola locality. TNN

Aadhaar, Again

Aadhaar, Again

Electoral roll data linkage to Aadhaar ecosystem is a big change. Ordinary citizens mustn’t suffer

22.12.2021

Amendments to the Representation of the People (RP) Act requiring voters to furnish their Aadhaar numbers to electoral registration officers were introduced, considered and passed in both Houses of Parliament, all in a few hours, without any meaningful debate. Union law minister Kiren Rijiju cited the need to clean up the electoral rolls – specifically, RP Act provisions barring people from being registered as voters from more than one constituency, and preventing bogus voting.

Rijiju also claimed the amendments met the Puttaswamy judgment’s triple test of legality, need, and proportionality, which is now used to assess the permissible limits of invasion of privacy. Yes, this Bill did pass Parliament unlike Election Commission’s 2015 seeding of over 30 crore voter IDs with Aadhaar. But the achievement of the legality requirement to meet privacy safeguards would have been bolstered manifold by a thorough discussion in Parliament, allowing further finetuning of the Act’s provisions. In following the template set by farm laws, GoI may have unnecessarily exposed itself to stiff legal challenges, even if street agitations like those by farmers don’t happen.

Since the Bill only sanctions Aadhaar number and not biometric verification, it essentially boils down to a test of identity between details in the voter ID and Aadhaar card. Even small variances in name, address, age etc could see lower level bureaucrats enjoying outsized discretion to accept or reject electoral roll entries. RP Act’s new Section 23(6) allows those unable to furnish Aadhaar numbers for “prescribed” reasons to produce alternate documents. But the poor, without other documents to prove their identities and whose details may vary between their Aadhaar and voter card, could be hit hardest.

Also, while Rijiju has said the linking is voluntary and not mandatory, amendments say electoral officers “may” ask for Aadhaar. This “may” may become worryingly widespread. Further, Section 23(5) suggests that GoI could notify a date in the gazette by which time every person in the electoral roll “may” intimate his/her Aadhaar number to authorities. The worry is what happens if a citizen doesn’t do this.

The right to vote is a statutory right and it mustn’t be denied to citizens without rigorous due process and just cause. EC must ensure every electoral roll entry struck off through this new process is independently verified by booth level officers on the ground. The impending big change to our electoral rolls should be foolproof and abuse-proof.

Dubai ruler must pay ex-wife $730m in divorce settlement

Dubai ruler must pay ex-wife $730m in divorce settlement

London:22.12.2021

A UK court on Tuesday ordered the ruler of Dubai to pay his ex-wife and their children close to £550 million ($730 million), in one of the most expensive divorce settlements in British history. The high court said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum must pay £251.5 million to his sixth wife, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, and make ongoing payments for their children Al Jalila, 14, and Zayed, 9, underpinned by a bank guarantee of £290 million.

The settlement includes £11 million a year to cover security costs for Princess Haya and the children while they are minors. Judge Philip Moor said the family needed “water-tight security”, and that “absolutely uniquely”, the main threat to them came from Sheikh Mohammed, rather than outside sources. Haya, 47, fled to the UK in 2019 and sought custody of her two children. The princess, who is the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, said she was “terrified” of her husband, who is alleged to have ordered the forced return to the Gulf emirate of two of his adult daughters: Sheikha Shamsa in August 2000 and her sister Sheikha Latifa, in 2002 and again in 2018. The settlement also includes a holiday budget of £5.1 million, an annual sum of £450,000 for the kids’ staff and around £275,000 for their animals, including two ponies and a horse.

Sheikh Mohammed, 72, is also the vice president and prime minister of the UAE. The final sum, despite being believed by some lawyers to be the largest public award ever ordered by an English family court, is less than half of the £1.4 billion that Haya had sought. The divorce bill eclipses the £450 million deal awarded Tatiana Akhmedova in her 2016 split from Russian billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, at the time cited as UK’s most expensive divorce.

During almost seven hours of testimony, Haya, 47, said a large one-off payment would allow for a clean break. “I really want to be free and I want them to be free,” she told the court. A spokesman for the sheikh said he “has always ensured that his children are provided for” and asked for the media to respect their privacy. Earlier this year, a separate British family court judge determined that Sheikh Mohammed had ordered the phones of Haya and her lawyers to be hacked using the “Pegasus”spying software. AGENCIES

Why programme managers are so valuable in today’s digital era

Why programme managers are so valuable in today’s digital era

Diverse sets of people need to be brought together. That requires orchestrators

Sujit John & Shilpa Phadnis | TNN

22.12.2021

As we move towards autonomous driving, almost everything about a car is changing. RK Shenoy, senior VP of mobility solutions at automotive tech company Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, says the company is having to combine electronics, including high compute platforms, with algorithms to identify objects, with software to autonomously run the vehicle, and with the mechanical aspects of the car.

To run such a programme, he says, they need people who are tech savvy, and also have large teams that are working on multiple functional areas – mechanical engineering, hardware, software, AI, cloud, connectivity. This is where programme managers are becoming vital.

“Programme managers need to manage functional areas that are different. They need to handle teams that are distributed across the world, because in no location are we able to have all the competencies required. We may have mechanical engineering and video analytics in Germany, while India does many of the sensors, and the systems to test, and then we do field trials in China, North America,” he says.

Autonomous cars are no exception. As digitisation seeps into every aspect of a business, it’s opening up a host of new opportunities for companies. While the first steps may involve digitising certain functions, the real value comes from combining many of these small projects to deliver an altogether new business offering to customers. Like the way Swiggy and Zomato, for instance, combined our smartphones with restaurant digitisation, and delivery network digitisation to offer us a delightful new food experience.

Srini Srinivasan, regional MD for South Asia at PMI, one of the world’s leading project management institutes, says the digital transformation journey of an enterprise consists of a lot of smaller projects that provide specific chunks of outcomes, which then roll into an overall umbrella that provides a much larger business outcome. “There are a few common threads to most of these programmes. Number one is the amount of complexity. It’s enormous. There is also the need for speed, agility, innovation,” he says.

So, he says, while programme management is about technology, it’s also about people, change management, cultural change, and about cross-functionality – “because everything that happens in a programme cuts across horizontally.” Kirti Seth, CEO of the IT-ITES sector skills council of Nasscom, and the head of Nasscom’s FutureSkills Prime programme, describes a programme manager as a “conductor of conductors.” Each project team, she says, is like a mini orchestra, and the programme manager has to conduct a bunch of these bands to play in harmony.

The programme manager, she says, must be first a business owner, because you need to understand the value you are driving. The tools and techniques must follow. And that needs to include digital fluency. “The programme manager does not necessarily know how to write an AI programme or a machine learning algorithm, but should definitely know what they can do,” she says.

Since the role requires dealing with a variety of people, the ability to collaborate and communicate are also vital. Seth says programme managers should be able to speak the language of their stakeholders, and not get lost in jargon.

SKILLING TO MANAGE

PMI has been working with organisations like Google, Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, and Nasa, to understand the future of programme management. Srinivasan says what they are learning is, historically, companies have chosen their most senior project managers to manage programmes. But those project managers grew up in a particular domain. But the breadth and scope of a programme is more than one domain.

So, today, at the centre of PMI’s skilling platform is a course called Programme Management Professional (PgMP), a global certification that is transferable across industries. It takes care of understanding the technical programme management requirements, and is augmented with other skills around collaboration, design thinking, critical thinking, and business agility. PMI has also created courses for junior and midlevel employees who would be involved in transformation projects. “We are looking at a completely new audience, which we call changemakers,” Srinivasan says.

Shenoy says the number of programme managers in Bosch is rising. About 10% of his 20,000 engineers in India are project and programme managers. Bosch has a tieup with PMI, and Shenoy says certification courses help a great deal. “We also have a reverse mentorship initiative for Bosch leadership and programme managers, where graduates who have recently come into the company become mentors to give us inputs on new technologies. At my age I cannot become an AI expert, but it was important for me to know what its capabilities are,” he says.

No proof to suggest that existing vaccines don’t work on Omicron: Govt

No proof to suggest that existing vaccines don’t work on Omicron: Govt

New Delhi:  22.12.2021

There is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on Omicron variant of coronavirus, though some of the mutations reported on spike gene may decrease the efficacy of existing vaccines, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

"There are limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron," Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply. He was responding to a question on whether the vaccinations that are given in the country are effective to develop immunity for this variant.

"However, vaccine protection is also by antibodies as well as by cellular immunity, which is expected to be relatively better preserved. Hence vaccines are expected to still offer protection against severe disease and, vaccination with the available vaccines remains crucial," he added.

Listing the steps taken by the government after the news of the spread of Omicron variant of COVID-19 in various countries, Mandaviya said his ministry on the basis of risk assessment reviewed the existing travel guidelines and revised rules for international arrivals were issued on November 28 which were further amended two days later.

According to the guidelines, regions or countries have been re-classified as 'atrisk' based on epidemiological situation of COVID-19 there and reporting of Omicron variant from these countries. PTI

Third wave inevitable, but no cause for panic yet: Experts

Third wave inevitable, but no cause for panic yet: Experts

‘Omicron Has Raised Chances Of Cluster Outbreak’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai:22.12.2021

Even as the Centers for Diseases Control announced 73% of the new coronavirus cases in the US are caused by the Omicron variant as against 3% last week, the Covid statistics at home too are slowly rising and experts believe the third wave — even if less severe than the previous one — is inevitable.

The Rt value or the effective reproduction value of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has gone up in a few states, including Maharashtra. An Rt value of 1 means one patient can spread the disease to one other person. In a tweet, epidemiologist Dr Giridhar Babu on Tuesday said states with an increase in Rt values on December 19 as compared to December 13 are Bihar, MP, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Odisha, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Manipur and Nagaland. India’s effective Rt is 0.89 as on December 19, he added.

In the week ending November 2, the Rt value in Maharashtra was 0.7 and kept steadily increasing — 0.82 (November 14), 0.96 (November 22) — before falling — 0.92 (November 29) and 0.85 (December 6). In the last two weeks, the Rt value in the state has again started rising: 1.08 (December 19).

The rising weekly caseload and Rt value are, as per doctors, an indicator of how the Covid graph will turn out in the next month. Rahul Pandit, a member of the state government’s task force on Covid-19, said there is no cause for panic yet. “Any rise in R value is a cause for concern and means the public health machinery should strengthen its surveillance and contact tracing,” he further stated. Shashank Joshi, also a task force member, said: “The third wave seemed remote a few months ago, but the emergence of the Omicron variant that spreads five times more rapidly than Delta has raised the possibility of cluster outbreak and the third wave.” Internal medicine specialist Swapneil Parikh said a third wave is inevitable. “Based on developments in other countries, cases in India too will increase. What remains to be seen is what… sort of load the third wave would put on hospital infrastructure,” he said. However, most doctors said immunity due to vaccine, past infection will blunt the severity of the possible Omicron wave.

Candidate in tears after getting one vote

Candidate in tears after getting one vote

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Surat:22.12.2021

Santosh Halpati, candidate of ward 5 in Chharwada village in Vapi taluka of Valsad district was in tears on Tuesday as results of the village panchayat polls were announced. Halpati got only one vote, most probably his own, despite having 12 members from his family as voters in the same ward.

“I live with my wife and son. My uncle’s family also lives in the same area, but I got only one vote,” a teary-eyed Halpati told media persons.

“My wife did vote, but I am not sure she voted for me. People are independent to vote for the candidate of their choice in a democracy,” he added.

Meanwhile, in Nagoi village of Olpad taluka in Surat district, Geeta Patel won the sarpanch election by eight votes against Karishma Patel. The results came as a surprise for many as Nagoi is the village of Mukesh Patel, minister of state for agriculture, energy and petrochemicals. The sarpanch candidate supported by the minister lost.

“My mother Geetaben won against Karishmaben who had the support of minister Mukesh Patel. It is not about any political party, but one man’s rule cannot be allowed in the village,” Geeta’s son Hemal Patel told TOI. Hemal too won from ward 3 of Nagoi village by 35 votes. Hemal is a leader of Khedut Samaj Gujarat.

“I went to (minister) Mukeshbhai earlier to seek his support, but he refused and supported Karishmaben,” Hemal added.

Yearend trips: Airfares shoot up

Yearend trips: Airfares shoot up

Hotel Tariffs Surge 40% In Hotspots

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:22.12.2021

Airfares to key destinations including Goa, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Dehradun, and Bengaluru have skyrocketed about ten days ahead of the New Year’s Eve. With the eve falling on Friday, it will be a long weekend and people have planned their break accordingly to their favourite watering holes and party destinations. Despite the worries about the Omicron variant of Covid-19, plans for long weekend getaways are intact and consequently airfares have surged by a whopping 120% to certain destinations.

Anuj Pathak, the president of Tour Operators & Travel Agents Association of Gujarat (TAG), said: “Bookings are good this time despite concerns over the Omicron variant.” He added: “Those looking for driveable destinations are headed to Udaipur, Mount Abu, Kumbhalgarh, and Jodhpur.” He went on to say: “Whereas many other travellers are booking tickets to Goa, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, and even Jammu & Kashmir, owing to which airfares have surged.” In fact, some travellers have picked international destinations. “Places such as Dubai and Maldives are hot favourites and people are booking a three-night-four-day package to these destinations,” said Manish Sharma, chairman, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Gujarat. “Travellers are more confident this time around and are shelling out Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh per person.” With more professionals working from home and the long weekend in perfect sync, people from across the city have chosen to travel out. Airfares have spiked 50-120% depending on the destination, even when booked about ten days in advance.

“With the dynamic pricing policy in place and limited connectivity to certain destinations, airfares have shot up,” Pathak said.

In fact, even hotel tariffs have surged across all these destinations. Ankit Bajaj, secretary, TAFI Gujarat, said: “People want to travel as many could not due to the Covid-19 outbreak last year.” Bajaj added: “With more demand, hotel tariffs across popular resorts as well as four-star and five-star properties have increased by at least 40%.” Industry sources said that road trips are increasingly being preferred for travel. “Road trips are usually a hit for the New Year eve getaways. However, this year, there is a dearth of cars,” said Virendra Shah, chairman, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Gujarat. “With the wedding season kicking in and the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit around the corner, the availability of cars is a concern and cab fares have surged.”