NATURE’S FURY: Vehicular movement has been banned after a major portion of the road running parallel to the Sanghumugham beach in Thiruvananthapuram caved in under the onslaught of waves during heavy rain

toi   27.05.2018
 

BIKE GANGS ON THE PROWL ON CHENNAI STREETS

Woman nabs biker who threatened her with knife after chase

TIMES NEWS NETWORK   27.05.2018

Chennai:

A 31-year-old woman suffered injuries after she chased and nabbed a man who was following her car and, when confronted, threatened her with a knife at Pallavaram on Friday. The man was tailgating the car on a bike with another man riding pillion.

The police identified the man as Hariharan, 22, of Chromepet. The Pallavaram police arrested and remanded him in prison for threatening and harassing Sridevi alias Radha, of Pallavaram.

Sridevi and her husband Chandrasekar, who runs a travel office in Pallavaram, were heading to their office when the incident took place. Sridevi in her complaint claimed that she saw two men following her car for more than 2km.

As they came close to her car she sped fast it. The police said Sridevi got tensed as the bikers again came close to her car and pulled out a foot-long knife and banged it against the car’s window. While she tried to push them away she suffered injury on her hand. As she screamed for help a policeman on a patrolling bike saw this and followed the two on bike.

Sridevi also followed the two and cornered the bike after a brief chase. By the time, the policeman on bike also arrived at the spot. On seeing this, Hariharan’s friend Purushothaman, also hailing from Chromepet, fled the scene. The policeman and other passersby nabbed Hariharan. They seized the knife from him.

Later, Hariharan was taken to Pallavaram police station. The police registered a case and arrested Hariharan. During questioning, Hariharan told the police the woman was driving very fast and he escaped narrowly from being hit by the car. He claimed to have chased the car to stop it. But as she kept driving on he threatened her with a knife.

Sridevi was treated at a private hospital.

Arts and science seats open, promise colleges

Vinayashree.J@timesgroup.com 
 
27.05.2018

Year on year, one of the biggest concerns for CBSE students is losing out seats in arts and science colleges to state board peers who usually end up getting results earlier. This year, however, there is good news for CBSE students with some colleges in the city still in the process of putting out the first selection list and strengthening their belief the have a fair chance of getting into the institution of their choice.

“This time, CBSE students have a greater advantage when compared to last year. The first list will be out on May 29 for our college and this gives enough time for both CBSE and state board students to be considered on the basis of merit,” said Anthony Samy, faculty member at Loyola College. The fact that the result dates between the two boards were closer this time had also helped matters, he added.

This year, the CBSE results were out within 10 days of the state board Class XII results compared to the previous year when there was a gap of nearly 18 days, making more seats available for a larger section of students from both boards.

New College too is putting out its first selection list on May 29. “Since we were expecting the CBSE results to be declared on May 28, we were waiting to give students from state board and CBSE a fair shot. Now that the results are out earlier than expected, we will be putting out a combined list on Tuesday,” said principal Major Zahid Hussain. While MOP Vaishnav and Stella Maris have released first selection lists, faculty members said there were enough seats for CBSE students to apply.

Experts say top arts and science colleges in the city earmark nearly 10% of the seats for CBSE and other board students but students appear to be thinking two steps ahead, with many applying to colleges outside the city. Gautami Potulwar of Chettinad Vidyashram who scored 84% said the 10-day gap gave them less time to apply for colleges and therefore was a disadvantage. “I would feel comfortable if colleges could give provisional admissions provided a certain score is secured, failing which the admission could be rejected,” said Potulwar, who has applied to Christ University in Bengaluru as she felt it had an easier admission process. Vinaya Ramaswamy, who scored 82%, has applied to colleges in Bengaluru and Pune.

“I’ve applied to colleges in other cities as well, although my preference is Chennai since there is pressure for courses which are in demand. Students had rushed to apply to colleges such as MOP, Stella, Women’s Christian College and Madras Christian College as soon as the results came out since the admissions for these courses are fast moving,” she added.

(With inputs by Aarthi Kirushnan)


SOUGHT-AFTER: Popular courses across colleges like BCom, BSc computer science and maths, BBA, BA English are in demand among students

HELP AT HAND

After the results were declared on Saturday, CBSE opened a counseling helpline for students and parents struggling to cope with poor marks and to answer any result related queries. The toll-free number is being handled by trained counsellors from 8am to 10pm on all days till June 9. Expert volunteers like principals, special educators and psychologists are available for counselling. Students can call 1800 11 8004 from any part of the country. They can also click the helpline tab on the website cbse. nic.in for techniques to cope up with resultrelated anxiety. TNN

CBSE STUDENTS END ON A HIGH NOTE AFTER A YEAR OF TRIALS 

Question Leak. Anxious Wait. Re-Exam. And Then 10% Score Above 90%

TIMES NEWS NETWORK   27.05.2018

Rumours of paper leaks did the rounds soon after students stepped out of the exam halls and debates raged about whether re-tests would have to be conducted for various papers. This season for CBSE students was full of pressures but in the end, the students seem to have emerged victorious with more than 10% of those who appeared for the exam securing above 90%. Though the idea of rewriting the economics paper was daunting one, many managed to score high in the subject.

Nitin, a Class XII student who was worried about the leak said it turned out to be a pleasant surprise and the reexam was not as bad an ordeal as he had imagined. “While the idea of writing one more exam was annoying at first, all that was forgotten when we saw our marks.”

The taint of a leak was somewhat forgotten when the students realised the evaluation seemed fair. “The correction was fair in my opinion. Though we wrote the paper for a second time, it turned out to be easy. I got the marks I expected; just one or two marks differed for me,” said Shruthi, a student. Another student said that though the physics paper was slightly difficult and some questions were out of syllabus, the correction was lenient.

Several schools reported that many candidates had been able to secure scores in the 490 range with some managing 493 and 492. This seems to be in contrast with the evaluation pattern of the state board which this time did not give in to the craze for centums and clamour for toppers, leaning toward a more practical correction method.

Vasanthi, correspondent of Sishya School in Hosur, said that the management was happy with the results and that the students had managed to score well across the board. “We felt the performance has been upped this year,” she said.

When it came to the overall performance of the Chennai region which saw a slight dip last year when compared to the previous year, this time, the pass percentage has improved from 92.6 to 93.87.

Yet again, it was the girls who outperformed the boys with 95.63% over 92.46%. The Chennai region that comprises nine states including Tamil Nadu came in second after Trivandrum region (95.62) and is followed by the Delhi region at 88.37%.

Although the schools in the state reported good performances, no student from Tamil Nadu or other southern states was able to make it to the list of nine toppers that was released by the CBSE on Saturday. The list had the top three scores secured in the country of 499, 498 and 497.

(With inputs by Parinita Venkat) 

RETURN OF THE RETIREES 

Many seniors who are mentally agile and physically fit, are rolling up their sleeves to get back to work in companies that are looking for experienced hands

Priya.Menon@timesgroup.com 27.05.2018

Narayanan has worked close to 40 years as a mechanical engineer. But when the 63-year-old came across an initiative that helps retired senior citizens find a second career, he was quick to respond. The former deputy general manager is willing to shift from Bengaluru, where he is based, to wherever work takes him.

“I am healthy, have worked hard all my life and find sitting idle at home difficult,” says Narayanan. “I am financially sound and doing a small-time job with a partner but am looking for a fulltime job. I love meeting people and keeping myself busy.”

As life expectancy increases with better healthcare, India is seeing the rise of a new unemployed class – senior citizens who are mentally agile, physically fit and seeking to start a new career along with a new phase of their lives. Equipped with a lifetime of skills and a treasure trove of experiences, it is an aspiring workforce that is waiting to join the ranks. And a few startups and companies are looking at harnessing the untapped potential and make their silver innings golden.

An all-India survey by HUM Communities, an online community-based job platform dedicated to finding and creating job opportunities for the elderly showed that of the 2,943 people interviewed, 80% of the men and 55% women, who had worked at some point in their lives, were open to new ventures.

Greying populations are a challenge for several countries, and many have upped the age of retirement. Japan has approved plans for raising the optional age for drawing public pension to 71 or older as the country is facing labour shortage, increasing welfare cost and an aging population. Japan will also consider raising the mandatory retirement age to 65 from 60 for some 3.4 million civil servants.

In India, the age of retirement for central government employees is 60 while it is 58 in the private sector. “There is a large pool of retired Central government employees, who have vast experience and their skills are not being utilised,” says Chennai-based Commodore (retd) D Seshagiri Rao.

Rao, a mechanical engineer, spent 21 years in the Indian Navy, then joined the merchant navy and later worked for multiple companies abroad. “When I retired at 63, I had no contacts in India as I had spent many years working abroad and wasn’t able to find work here,” says the 71-year-old.

While working after retirement has its financial benefits, many are also looking at the psychological pluses and are not particular about pay or post, and some of them don’t mind part-time work. J Ranganadham, 69, a chartered accountant, says he wants to continue working on an assignment basis. “I retired six months ago but have the skill and energy to work for some more years,” he says. “Now, 60 is considered young, and often people are fit enough to work till 65. But maybe because some industries want to provide opportunities to the younger generation, they are making older people retire soon.”

A few companies have discovered the latent market. P R Manikantan, chief HR and training officer, Tevel Cyber Corps Private Limited, a city-based cyber security startup, says they are in need of technical people who can work as consultants. “We do have multiple opportunities for seniors, we employ them as they have skill and experience and it is also a cost-effective means to tap talent,” he says.

V Muthuswamy, executive, who looks after marketing and HR at Ultramax Hydrojet Pvt Ltd, is on his second innings at work. “I retired as an administrative officer and joined this company,” he says. “I am now 70, hale and hearty and still working.”

His company prefers hiring seniors. “The management prefers retired people as they are free of personal encumbrances, are focussed on work, and won’t spend most of their time on cellphones like younger people do,” says Muthuswamy, who handles both the HR and marketing divisions.


Now, 60 is considered young and often people are fit enough to work till 65

J Ranganadham | RETIRED CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT 



NEW WORKFORCE: R Manikantan, chief HR and training officer, Tevel Cyber Corps Private Limited, says they hire seniors as they have skill and experience

TN CBSE students may have upper hand in engg this year
7,500 Register For Anna Univ Counselling 
 
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai 27.05.2018

: Students of CBSE schools in Tamil Nadu, whose performance in this year’s Class XII boards has been high, may stand a better chance than their state board counterparts

of securing admissions to top engineering colleges. A tough Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced, for entry to IITs and NITs, and National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), for medical admissions, have meant that many CBSE students are flocking to Anna University counselling this year, say academicians.

Official data shows that the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) portal received nearly 7,500 registrations from CBSE students across the state, against 5,500 last year and close to 3,000 in 2012.

While more than 10% of CBSE science students scored 90% or above in the Class XII exams, whose results were announced on Saturday, a mere 3 % of TN state board science students bagged similar scores, indicating that more number of CBSE students could find themselves on top of the TNEA rank list, prepared on board exam scores, say experts.

Official data suggests that CBSE students normally consider TNEA counselling an option that they would choose only if they do not perform well in JEE, NEET or entrance tests conducted by top deemed universities. Many of them usually do not mind paying the token advance (nearly ₹5,000) at the TNEA counselling venue if they get an admission in any of the top engineering colleges. Several don’t report to the colleges concerned before the deadline, leaving seats vacant, said educational consultant Moorthy Selvakumar. “As a result, a deserving candidate from TN state board is denied admission to these top colleges and the seats are either allotted to undeserving candidates through management quota in case of self-financing colleges or to lateral entry students in case of government colleges,” he said. 



Topper just 1 short of perfect score

A Noida girl has stopped just short of hitting the ceiling in CBSE’s Class XII board exams, becoming, in the process, the all-India topper, reports Manash Gohain. Meghna Srivastava, a humanities student, scored one mark more than last year’s topper, Raksha Gopal, getting the highest-ever CBSE score of 499 of 500. P 14

‘Drop in state board results due to toppers migrating to CBSE’

The government, Selvakumar suggested, could come up with a separate quota for other board students depending on the number of applications received to create a level playing field.

On the other hand, Ashok Shankar of the Tamil Nadu CBSE Schools Management Association, said that all these years, state board students had the upper hand with regard to Anna University counselling as CBSE evaluation was comparatively very strict.

This year Tamil Nadu CBSE students performed better as the evaluation was slightly liberal due to controversies around economics paper leak. “Also, many bright students from state board schools migrated to CBSE schools after Class X. That is why there is a drop in performance of state board schools,” he added.

ஜியோ வாடிக்கையாளர்களுக்கு மற்றுமொரு மகிழ்ச்சியான செய்தி! 8 ஜிபி டேட்டா இலவசம்!

By ராக்கி | Published on : 26th May 2018 04:32 PM |



டிஜிட்டல் உலக ஜீவிகளாக மாறிவிட்ட பலருக்கு ஜியோ தனது வாடிக்கையாளர்களுக்கு தரும் சலுகைகளைப் போல வேறெந்த நிறுவனமும் அளித்ததில்லை எனலாம். அந்தளவுக்கு வாடிக்கையாளர்களை கவரும் வகையில் பல புதிய சலுகைகளை அறிவித்த வண்ணம் இருக்கும் ஜியோ நிறுவனம் தற்போது 8-ஜிபி டேட்டா இலவசமாக வழங்குவதாக அறிவித்துள்ளது.



ஐபிஎல் போட்டிகள் துவங்கியதும், ஜியோ நிறுவனம் இந்தப் புதிய சலுகைகளை அறிவிக்க தொடங்கியது. அதிலும் குறிப்பாக ரூ. 251 ரீசார்ஜ் திட்டத்தில் தினமும் 4ஜிபி டேட்டா வழங்கப்படும் என்று தெரிவித்திருந்தது. 51 நாட்கள் செயல்படும் இந்த திட்டத்தில் தினமும் 4-ஜிபி டேட்டா வழங்கப்படும் என்ற செய்தி வாடிக்கையாளர்களுக்கு கொண்டாட்டமாகிவிட்டது. மேலும் ரூ. 251 திட்டத்தில் கிரிக்கெட் டீஸர் என்னும் திட்டத்தை அறிவித்து அதில் கூடுதலாக 8-ஜிபி டேட்டாவை வழங்கியது.



இதற்கெல்லாம் டாப்பாக தற்போதும் மீண்டும் ஒரு புதிய ஆஃபரை ஜியோ நிறுவனம் வழங்கியுள்ளது. அதன்படி, ரூ. 101 ரீசார்ஜ் திட்டத்தில் கூடுதலாக 8-ஜிபி டேட்டா வழங்குவதாக தெரிவித்துள்ளது. அதாவது, நாளுக்கு 2 ஜிபி டேட்டா வீதம் மே 25 முதல் மே 29 வரை 5 நாட்களுக்கு 8 ஜிபி இலவச டேட்டா வழங்கப்படுகிறது. மேலும் ஜியோவின் மற்றொரு அறிவிப்பு என்னவென்றால் Add on Offer சலுகையொன்றினை தமது வாடிக்கையாளர்களுக்கு இலவசமாக வழங்குகிறது. அதன்படி வாடிக்கையாள்ரகள் பேசவோ அல்லது மெசேஜ் அனுப்பவோ முடியாது, ஆனால் டேட்டாவை பயன்படித்தி விடியோ மற்றும் இணைய சேவைகளுக்கு பயன்படுத்தலாம்.