New varsities to come up on Chennai outskirts 

R. Sujatha 
 
CHENNAI, July 07, 2018 00:00 IST

Permission comes with riders: official

The Shiv Nadar University, being set up as a private university by State legislation, will come up on a 230-acre site at Kalavakkam on the outskirts of Chennai, where the group’s SSN College of Engineering is located. The SSN Trust is expected to pump in at least Rs. 250 crore to set up the university.

“We are committed to creating a world class research institution,” an official associated with the proposed Shiv Nadar University said on condition of anonymity.

Separately, Kala Vijayakumar, president of SSN Institutions, said the university would come up on SSN’s 230-acre campus and would offer multi-disciplinary courses in fields, including engineering, commerce, arts and law.

As of now, there is no proposal to set up a medical college, Ms. Vijayakumar said.

The Sai Education, Medical, Research and Charitable Trust, administered by K.V. Ramani, chairman and managing director of Digital Holdings and a former director of ELCOT, will build the Sai University, on the outskirts of Chennai.

Students who opposed NEET now make the cut 

R. Sujatha 
 
CHENNAI, July 07, 2018 00:00 IST


Nirmal Haripriyan 

Both secured admission to government medical colleges

Two of the five students who went as representatives of the State government to the Supreme Court against introduction of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) last year, have secured seats in government medical colleges this year.

A. Gopi has been admitted to the Chengalpattu Medical College and Nirmal Haripriyan to the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College, Salem.

Mr. Gopi had score of 1,163 in class XII, and 136 in NEET. The first to enter college in his family, he said, “I got veterinary science and would have joined as the fee is much lower. But my father insisted that I take NEET again. It was difficult as I did not have enough money for the fees. But my father put me through a residential coaching programme in Salem. Now that I have got a seat there is some relief.” He scored 387 marks this time in NEET.

The son of a farmer, he hopes that in the second round of counselling, he will get a seat in Salem or Coimbatore medical college, where the hostel fee is lower.

“Else, I will go to my native Tiruvannamalai and be a day scholar,” he says. He plans to do an M.S. in orthopaedics or cardiology.

Mr. Haripriyan, the son of a retired sericulture inspector in Dharmapuri, had scored 134 in NEET last year and 1,166 in Class XII. “We thought NEET could be taken later and concentrated on Class XII scores,” he said. He went to a coaching centre run by a private school for a year. He scored 375 in NEET this year.

The students, who appeared for counselling on Wednesday, feel NEET should be deferred until the new syllabus is well understood by teachers and students. “I think NEET should be deferred for two years as the syllabus has not yet reached all staff and students,” says Mr. Gopi.

Mr. Haripriyan wants NEET deferred by five years. “With the new syllabus, students will get an orientation from 6th standard and would clear it in the first attempt. In a few years, they will qualify for AIIMS too,” he says. On Saturday, counselling for SC, SCA and ST aspirants will be held. On Monday, counselling for seats under management category will be held, officials said.

Seeking pay parity with central peers, doctors say they’ll stir

TNN | Jul 6, 2018, 12.22 AM IST

CHENNAI: Around 6,000 members of the Service Doctors’ and Post Graduate Doctors’ Association of Tamil Nadu have said they will strike work from Friday demanding pay parity with their counterparts in central government service. Three government doctors have been on indefinite fast since Monday to attract the government’s attention to the issue.

“We have been demanding pay parity since 1988. Ten years ago, the government assured us it will be done. It is yet to be implemented,” said Dr A Ramalingam of the association. The salary for doctors in state and central services is the same when they join duty, but doctors in central government services receive promotions in four, nine, 13 and 20 years, compared to eight, 15, 17 and 20 years in the state.

“The central government follows a dynamic assured career progression pattern. Here we get their fourth-year salary in our 15th year,” Ramalingam told reporters.

A doctor joining government medical service receives Rs 15,600 + Rs 5,400 basic salary when they join and net pay of close to Rs 40,000. After nearly 10 years of service and one promotion in eight years, a government doctor receives a salary of Rs 42,949 with a basic of Rs 17,930 + Rs 5,400.

The association submitted a petition to the health department eight months ago. “We are now told the file is still pending with the finance department,” he said.

One of the three doctors who had been on fast on the premises of Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital was admitted to the hospital on Thursday after his condition deteriorated. R Karthikeyan, an assistant surgeon in Tiruvannamalai Government Hospital, declined food “But he is allowing us to treat him,” said a duty doctor. C Saminathan from Virudhachalam Government Hospital and Perumal Pillai S, an assistant professor at Institute of Child Health, continued the fast.

TN govt college teachers’ salary hiked

TNN | Jul 6, 2018, 08.17 PM IST

CHENNAI: After a gap of nearly 10 years, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday issued orders revising the pay of teachers in government colleges and universities.

Average monthly salaries of many teachers would be around Rs 1.5 lakh, according to the revised scale of pay based on the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, as directed by University Grants Commission (UGC).

Revised pay of an entry-level teaching staff -- assistant professor -- would be around Rs 70,000 per month. It was around Rs 55,000 earlier.

Overall, the salaries of teaching staff have increased by 18% to 24%, read the order.

"The changes would be notional effect from January 1, 2016 and monetary effect from October 1, 2017". This means that the teachers would be losing arrears for 21 months on the lines of other state government employees who received their hikes earlier this year.

Tamil Nadu is the second state in the country to revise pays, after Arunachal Pradesh.

Though teacher unions anticipated a lesser hike since central government had earlier announced that their financial contribution would be reduced from 80 % to 50 %, the state government has issued orders bearing the additional financial burden.

A rationalisation index of 2.67 has been adopted while calculating the entry or basic pay for assistant and associate professors.

Accordingly, basic pay of assistant and associate professors is fixed at Rs 57,700-79,800 and Rs 1.31 lakh, respectively.

As far as professors are concerned, their basic pay has been fixed at Rs 1.4-1.8 per month.

Dearness, city compensation, house rent and medical allowances would be paid over and above this basic pay.

While DA would be 7% of the basic pay, other allowances vary based on the pay scale and the place of residence.

CBI charges ex-banker in Rs 15-crore fraud

TNN | Jul 7, 2018, 01.23 AM IST

Chennai: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Chennai, on Wednesday booked a former senior manager of Bank of India’s Ooty branch, who was found to have given loans to the tune of Rs 15 crore to 58 accounts of people who had applied for floriculture activity. Some of the loans were sanctioned without submitting a collateral.

The FIR states that S Sivakumar, who was terminated from service in February 2017, had abused his official position and violated the bank’s procedures to provide 58 loans of Rs 24.75 lakh each and two other loans of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 16.5 lakh from July 2012 to April 2014 for cultivation of flowers, conniving with Rajan, owner of Growwin Flori tech. CBI said the borrowers had approached the bank’s Udhagamandalam branch through Rajan. The project reports were prepared by Growwin and submitted to the branch.

Sivakumar did not do cross check the documents and find out about Growwin’s track record, the FIR stated. Individual borrowers said they did not receive the money and no construction was made by Growwin. Rajan is absconding and was found to have cheated other banks in a similar manner, CBI said.

Officials cheat teachers of Rs 24 lakh PF

TNN | Jul 7, 2018, 01.28 AM IST

Chennai: When Munichikkama, a teacher in Krishnagiri, got an advance of Rs 8.5 lakh from her PF account for a family emergency in 2014, her superior and assistant elementary education officer C Balamurali, who cleared the file, said she had been wrongly credited Rs 2.5 lakh extra and she was eligible only for Rs 6 lakh.

He asked her to return the “excess amount” to his account and provided a forged challan to her. Balamurali’s senior, J P Premanand, another elementary education officer also colluded in this forgey, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC) has found.

Munichikkama later complained to Premanand’s successor officer who confirmed it was a fraud. DVAC officials said several teachers have been defrauded this way by the duo who made Rs 24 lakh over two years. A case of cheating, criminal conspiracy and corruption has been registered against them.

இவருக்கு 80 வயதாகிவிட்டதா? வியக்கும் ரசிகர்கள்! பிறந்த நாளை எளிமையாக கொண்டாடிய பிரபல நகைச்சுவை நடிகர்!

By சினேகா | Published on : 06th July 2018 12:32 PM |

தம்ப்ப்ப்ப்றீறீ...பாப்பா......பப்..பப்.., புர்..ர்..! என்பதை எல்லாம் இவர் சொல்வதைப் போல வேறு யாராலும் சொல்ல முடியாது. சிலர் நடிக்க ஆரம்பித்தால் தான் சிரிப்பு வரும், ஆனால் இவர் திரையில் தோன்றினாலே அடுத்து இவர் என்ன சேஷ்டை செய்யப்போகிறார் என்ற எதிர்ப்பார்ப்பில் ரசிகர்களுக்கு சிரிப்பு பொத்துக் கொண்டு வரும். அந்த அளவுக்கு உடல்மொழியிலும், குரலிலும் தனித்துவம் காண்பித்து அசத்தியவர். மிமிக்ரி ஆர்டிஸ்டுகளுக்கே சவால் விடும் குரல் இவருடையது. அவர்தான் பிரபல காமெடி நடிகர் வெண்ணிற ஆடை மூர்த்தி. இயக்குநர் ஸ்ரீதரின் வெண்ணிற ஆடை படத்தில் 1965-ம் ஆண்டு திரைத்துறைக்கு அறிமுகமானவர். வக்கீல் படிப்பு படித்தும் மூர்த்திக்கு நடிப்பின் மீது தீராத ஆசை ஏற்படவே, தொடர்ந்து பல படங்களில் நடித்து வந்தார்.

தமிழ் திரையுலகம் பல காமெடியன்களைக் கண்டிருந்தாலும் வெண்ணிற ஆடை மூர்த்தியின் சில காமெடிகள் மறக்க முடியாதவை. சிவாஜி, கமல், ரஜினி, விஜய்காந்த், அஜித் உள்ளிட்ட முன்னணி நடிகர்கள் பலருடன் நடித்துள்ளார். காமெடி மட்டுமல்லாமல் குணசித்திர வேடத்திலும், சில படங்களில் வில்லனாகவும் கூட நடித்துள்ளார் மூர்த்தி. முள்ளும் மலரும், அழியாத கோலங்கள் ஆகிய படங்களில் இவர் செய்த வில்லத்தனமும், சீவலப்பேரி பாண்டி படத்தில் இவர் செய்யும் காமெடி அனைவரையும் ரசிக்க வைத்தது.



50 வருடங்களில் 300-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட படங்களில் நடித்துள்ள இவர் நடிகை மணிமாலாவை காதலித்துத் திருமணம் செய்து கொண்டார். அண்மையில் வெண்ணிற ஆடை மூர்த்திக்கு 80 வயது பூர்த்தியானது. எளிமையாக தனது பிறந்த நாளை மனைவியுடன் கொண்டாடி மகிழ்ந்தார். அவரது நெருங்கிய நண்பர்களும் உறவினர்களும் இந்நிகழ்வில் கலந்து கொண்டனர்.

பெரிய திரை மற்றும் சின்னத் திரையில் நடித்து வந்த வெண்ணிற ஆடை மூர்த்தி, தமிழ் படம், வாசுவும் சரவணனும் ஒண்ணா படிச்சவங்க ஆகிய படங்களுக்குப் பிறகு சினிமாவில் நடிக்கவில்லை. நீண்ட இடைவெளிக்குப் பிறகு சரண்யா பொன்வண்ணன், கோவை சரளா உள்ளிட்ட பலருடன் ‘இட்லி’ என்ற படத்தில் நடித்துள்ளார் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.