Thursday, September 7, 2017

Two-year Govt. service must for PG medicos

HYDERABAD,SEPTEMBER 07, 2017 00:00 IST

The State Government ordered that aspirants to super-speciality courses will have to sign a bond valued at Rs. 50 lakh while taking admission. This is to ensure two-year compulsory government service. Currently an individual who opts for PG or super-speciality studies has to sign up for one-year service. Now, that the duration has been doubled. The order assumes significance as the counselling for 150 seats in the State is underway. The move is unlikely to be opposed by the PG medicos. This year, admission to super-speciality courses is through the common NEET pool. Performance of students from Telangana has not been as good as those from other states. Given that all other states have bonded compulsory service between one year and three years, aspirants here would lose out to aspirants from rest of the country on merit basis. “The Government had introduced the bonds to ensure that our students do not lose out to the competition.

Fee for DM, M.Ch courses is Rs. 24 lakh

STAFF REPORTER

VIJAYAWADA,SEPTEMBER 07, 2017 00:00 IST

It can be increased by 5% annually

The State government on Wednesday fixed the tuition fee for DM (Doctor of Medicine) and M.Ch (Master of Surgery) courses at Rs. 24 lakh per annum on the basis of the material placed before it on the actual costs involved in imparting quality education, escalation in costs, and increase in the university related fee.

The government also permitted the colleges to increase the tuition fee by 5% every year towards cost escalation and instructed that the institutions collect the fee every year and obtain bank guarantee for the remaining period of the courses.

The colleges had been ordered to pay stipend to super-speciality students as per the Andhra Pradesh State Regulations.

It was stated in G.O. MS No. 149, dated September 6, that admissions to DM and M.Ch courses in the State should be made through a common national counselling conducted by the Medical Admission Committee of the Director General of Health Services for 2017-18.

The fee fixation is in accordance with a consensual arrangement arrived at on the admission policy and fixing of the fee for the seats in unaided non-minority medical colleges in respect of super-speciality courses between the government and the A.P. Private Medical and Dental Colleges Managements’ Association.

Online booking for darshan at Chamundeshwari temple

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MYSURU,SEPTEMBER 07, 2017 00:00 IST

The online booking of direct entry tickets for darshan at Chamundeshwari temple atop the Chamundi Hills was launched on Wednesday for the benefit of devotees and tourists. The facility was launched by PWD Minister H.C. Mahadevappa.

Devotees will have to provide basic details like name, phone number, email address and number of tickets on the website Chamundeshwaritemple.in, and payment can be made online through net-banking, credit or debit cards. The devotees will receive ticket through email and also on their mobile through SMS. At the main gate entry at the temple, tickets received on the mobile phone of the devotees will be scanned and it will get registered on the temple website as approved entry.

Consumers slam hike in price of LPG cylinders

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI,SEPTEMBER 05, 2017 07:42 IST

Non-subsidised cylinder will now cost ₹607

Domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices have gone up by ₹74 per cylinder in September. Last month, the price of a non-subsidised cylinder in Chennai was ₹533 and this month it is ₹607.

Oil industry sources explained that this is just the beginning of the upward trend, which is likely to continue till March next year. “Unlike prices of petrol and diesel that are linked to crude oil prices, LPG prices are linked to international butane and propane rates. Butane and propane are combined to make LPG. The hike happens when consumption increases in the West when their heating requirement increases,” the source explained.

LPG prices are revised in the beginning of every month.

Last year in March, in Chennai, a cylinder of domestic LPG cylinder was priced at ₹746.50, which was the highest price that year, after which it came down to ₹533.

Consumers are grumbling about the increase. S. Lalitha, a resident of West Mambalam, said that already consumers were burdened by 5% GST on domestic LPG.

“We are shelling out more on petrol prices that have touched ₹72 a litre now. Though the government keeps saying that inflation rates are down, they don’t seem to be taking into consideration the prices of other goods. We now pay ₹1,500 as GST for a provision bill of ₹10,000, which is quite steep. Vegetables and fruits are very costly too. If prices keep going up, how can consumers like us afford things,” she asked.

T. Sadagopan, consumer activist, said that another problem that consumers face is that of subsidy amount being credited into incorrect bank accounts.

“Many have linked mobile numbers with their Aadhar numbers and after that, we are receiving text messages that the subsidy amount has been sent to some other bank account. Distributors and our bankers are unable to help consumers,” he said.

Search panel names on law varsity V-C rejected

STAFF REPORTER

SEPTEMBER 07, 2017 00:00 IST

Committee didn’t follow UGC norms: Governor

The Governor has rejected the shortlist of three candidates recommended by the search committee for the post of V-C of Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University.

This was stated in a counter-affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary to the Governor on Wednesday before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in the case against the constitution of the committee. The counter-affidavit said that the Governor had rejected the recommendations as UGC norms were not followed by the committee. The Governor had also decided that a new search committee should be formed.

A Division Bench of Justices K. K. Sasidharan and G. R. Swaminathan, which had earlier stayed all proceedings of the committee, disposed of the petition filed by the Tiruchi Government Law College Alumni Association. The petitioner had questioned the credentials of members of the committee and said that one of the nominees was a member of the ruling party. The court had earlier observed that Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University Act, 1996, was silent on the eligibility of members of the search committee.

20 PHCs in Salem get blood cell counters

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SALEM,SEPTEMBER 07, 2017 00:00 IST

Rohini P. Bhajibhakare, District Collector, inspecting the new cell counter procured by the Department of Health in Salem.

The Health Department distributed automated blood cell counters to 20 primary health centres, one in each block in the district.

District Collector Rohini P. Bhajibhakare handed over the equipment to the PHCs on Wednesday, in the presence of Deputy Director of Health K. Poongodi.

The 20 cell counters have been purchased at an outlay of Rs. 75 lakh at the rate of Rs. 3.75 lakh each.

In a statement, the Collector said that State Government has procured the equipment following the outbreak of dengue and viral fever in the district.

The cell counters will be used for counting blood cells within a duration of 10 seconds.

Until now only four hospitals in the district – Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in the city, the government headquarters hospital at Mettur and the government hospitals in Edappadi and Omalur towns owned the equipment.

In case of dengue, by knowing the platelet count at the primary health care level itself, patients can be managed at the early stages of fever and can be referred to higher institutions if needed.

The referral to major hospitals from the PHCs will be zero in future because of the introduction of cell counters at block level.

Second phase

In the second phase, the Health Department has placed order for six more cell counters – one for the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital and five for other government hospitals in the district.

The Collector said that experts would install the cell counters in the PHCs and impart training to the lab staff in handling them.

Anitha’s death: SC declines plea for early hearing

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI,SEPTEMBER 07, 2017 00:00 IST

The Supreme Court refused an urgent hearing of a petition seeking a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to initiate a judicial inquiry by a panel led by a retired Madras High Court judge into the death of S. Anitha, a Dalit girl who filed a case in the apex court against NEET.

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra told advocate G.S. Mani, who filed the petition, that the matter would come up in due course.

The petition has also asked the court to intervene and direct the State government to maintain the law and order situation. The death led to widespread protests, road blocks by students across the State.

“The agitations and road blocks create a law and order situation which is very dangerous. The State is unable to keep the situation under control,” the petition said. The petition asked the court to “not permit political parties and the public to conduct illegal strike/boycott/human chain/road blocking/rail roko or any other mode of strike against NEET”.

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