Zomato, Uber Eats face online backlash

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:02.09.2019

A day after Zomato won over the internet for refusing to give in to a customer’s demand of changing a delivery executive because he was Muslim, some users on Twitter said they would boycott the company for "hurting religious sentiments". #ZomatoUnistalled and #BoycottUberEats were two of the top trends in India on Thursday afternoon.

The anger directed at Uber Eats, another food aggregator, was a result of the support it lent to Zomato. The company had tweeted on Tuesday that it stood by Zomato.

A number of users also downgraded Zomato on the Google Play Store and iOS by giving the company the lowest rating possible. They claimed that Zomato had double standards because it served halal meat even though the company had clarified on Tuesday that the halal category is a result of restaurants seeking that distinction --not us as an aggregator... "We provide this information, so that you, as a customer can make an informed choice about whether you want to eat halal meat, or not,” it had said.

Despite the brickbat, several Zomato customers stood firmly behind the company and left reviews thanking the company for defending the values of a plural India.

A review on iOS by a user who goes by the name Humane Foodie, wrote, "Wish all humans were treated as equal, just as Zomato proved! Please keep promoting humane values along with the wonderful business model and awesome service you already provide."

Zomato customer gets notice for ‘non-Hindu rider’ tweet
Bhopal/Jabalpur:

The Jabalpur administration has issued a notice to Amit Shukla, who triggered a storm by refusing to accept a “non-Hindu delivery boy” for a Zomato order, prompting the aggregator to say “food has no religion”.

Tahsildar of Gorakhpur (an area in Jabalpur) Pramod Chaturvedi served Shukla a notice on Thursday under Sections 107 and 116 CrPC — a preventive measure to preempt breach of peace — and asked him to appear in person to explain his actions.

Police have initiated a parallel probe. Jabalpur SP Amit Singh said, “The additional SP-crime has been asked to look into the matter. Once our investigations are complete, we will initiate necessary action.” Shukla’s followers on Twitter have more than doubled — from 900 to 2,010 — since the controversy broke. He told TOI on Thursday that his tweet “was being pursued in the wrong direction”. “Zomato should have replied in my personal messaging box. They should be held accountable for all this chaos,” said Shukla, adding he is not “actively associated with any group”. TNN

Medical aspirant kills self

Trichy:02.09.2019

A 19-year-old girl from Perambalur committed suicide by hanging on Thursday. Police said Keerthana, daughter of retired TNSTC employee Selvarasu, aspired to become a doctor.

She had passed Class XII with 1,053 marks from a private school in Salem district in 2018. Police said she could not get an MBBS seat since her NEET 2018 score was only

202. She spent a year in Chennai attending a private NEET coaching academy and scored 384 marks in NEET 2019, but wasn’t called for MBBS counselling. Police said Keerthana, who was dejected for a few weeks, was further saddened as her friend managed to secure a medical seat. On Thursday, Keerthana hanged herself when her parents were away. Perambalur police have registered a case and are investigating. TNN

TN parties protest NEET, NEXT in Parl, AIADMK walks out

Dravidian Majors Register Strong Opposition To Both Exams

Julie.Mariappan @timesgroup.com

Chennai:02.09.2019

Accusing the Centre of depriving poor and rural students of a chance to study medicine by insisting on national-level competitive examinations, National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and National Exit Test (NEXT), the two principal Dravidian parties opposed The National Medical Commission Bill, 2019, in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The ruling AIADMK MPs walked out as a sign of protest when the motion was put to vote, after failing to get ‘any assurance’ from the Centre.

The bill envisaged a National Medical Commission to conduct NEET in English and other languages, besides specifying the regulations for the common counselling for admission to UG and PG super-specialty seats in all medical institutions. The commission will also conduct NEXT for granting licence to practice medicine and for enrolment in the state or national register. DMK MP Trichy Siva asked for ‘division of votes’ on his amendment challenging the conduct of NEET. The result was 61 – yes, and 106 – no, while four abstained. Another amendment sought against NEXT too was rejected by majority of the House.

Earlier, AIADMK MP Vijila Satyananth said the state was ‘frustrated and agitated’ over the conduct of entrance tests that lacked common syllabus. “The standardized medical exam faces unprecedented opposition in every corner in our state… Our children are forced to appear for NEET in CBSE syllabus. So, bring a common syllabus for the whole of India and then have a common entrance test,” the MP said. The competitive tests only resulted in private coaching centres thriving and the proprietors becoming multi-millionaires, she said. The commission’s mandate to determine fees in respect of 50% seats in private medical institutions would only result in the rich grabbing the rest of the seats, she added.

Siva alleged the admission of students belonging to backward classes and scheduled castes had drastically come down with the advent of entrance tests. “We had seven students committing suicide in our state because of NEET. Despite scoring high, they could not get through NEET,” he said, seeking exemption. The DMK MP hit out at the Centre for forcing the UG students to appear for NEXT and thereafter for NEET for post graduate courses. “Through this bill, everything is being centralized…Tamil Nadu is agitated,” the MP said, accusing the Union government of snatching away the powers of the state, despite health coming under the state list.

AIADMK skipped triple talaq vote in Rajya Sabha deliberately, says Stalin

Chennai:DMK president M K Stalin on Thursday accused the AIADMK of staging a drama over the Triple Talaq Bill, which was passed by the Parliament. It received the President’s assent on Thursday. Stalin was in Ambur campaigning for the party candidate ahead of the August 5 Lok Sabha election in Vellore Lok Sabha constituency. Speaking to Muslim party leaders in Ambur, Stalin said though AIADMK Lok Sabha member and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam’s son, P Ravindranath Kumar, spoke in support of the bill, AIADMK leaders called it ‘a slip of the tongue’. “How can it be a slip of the tongue when the MP spoke in detail in support of the bill and the BJP? I was happy that the AIADMK opposed the bill in Rajya Sabha. But when the voting was taken up, AIADMK MPs walked out of the House. They walked out deliberately to help the government,” said Stalin. TNN

Rly season tickets now for 160-km travel

Chennai:02.09.2019

Southern Railway has announced that passengers can buy season tickets for travel from Chennai Central to Melalathur via Arakkonam and Katpadi as well as from Chennai Egmore to Gudiyattam via Park-Chennai Central, Arakkonam and Katpadi. These stations cover a distance of more than 150km. As per rules, season tickets can be issued only for a maximum distance of 150km. But the Railway Board had delegated powers to general managers of zonal railways and the Southern Railway GM took the decision to increase the maximum limit to 160km, an official release on Thursday said. The move followed representations from rail passenger associations, season ticket holders and rail users. TNN

Students may soon take shot at PhD directly after 4-year UG

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:02.08.2019

The University Grants Commission has released a draft of the changes it proposes in PhD programmes, including a recommendation to let students with four-year UG degrees enrol for a doctorate, so far permitted only in the IITs.

The draft, released on Wednesday seeking responses by August 16, moots entrance test and interview for admitting candidates in PhD programmes. It also proposes an easing of norm that only professors can guide up to eight research scholars at a time. The draft suggests that assistant and associate professors too be allowed to guide eight scholars against three and six at present. “There is huge shortage of qualified faculty members. The relaxation of ceiling for assistant and associate professors will help universities improve research output,” said P.Duraisamy, VC, University of Madras.

Academics warn of pitfalls in UGC’s PhD revamp plans

However, Anna University vice-chancellor M K Surappa said eight research scholars for assistant professors appeared to be on higher side. “The junior faculty members can guide four or five research scholars at a time,” he said.

Doubts have also been raised about the draft’s suggestion that candidates who have completed undergraduate courses of minimum fouryear duration in engineering, science, law, architecture, social sciences, humanities and others be considered eligible to enrol for PhDs like in the US.

“In the US, research scholars have to undergo rigorous course work. They will be allowed to do research only after qualifying the courses. The same system may not be applicable to our education system. We need at least PG and one-year research preparatory courses before enrolling students into PhD,” said professor K Jothi Sivagnanam, head, department of economics, University of Madras.

The draft has proposed a minimum credit requirement in PhD courses – 12 to 16 credits. It also wants departments to formulate good pre-PhD course programmes to help students from diverse backgrounds acquire good understanding of the fundamentals of the disciplines they propose to do research in.

Professor Sivagnanam said the purpose of MPhil programmes was to prepare candidates for PhD courses. “But, due to frequent changes in regulations, MPhil programmes have been rendered useless. UGC should convert MPhil into one-year research preparatory course,” he added.

The proposed entrance test for research scholars will test research aptitude, analytical skills, writing skills. Qualifying marks are to be 50%. The syllabus for the entrance test shall consist of 50% of questions that test research aptitude while 50% shall be subject specific. Further the university should conduct interviews. The weightage for entrance test and interview is to be the same.

To encourage quality of research publications, UGC is planning to remove the mandatory publication requirement prior to award of the PhD degree. “Quality assessment of MPhil/PhD degrees should be the responsibility of the institutions,” it said.

‘Why suppress info on rejection of NEET Bills’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:02.08.2019

The Madras high court has wondered why the Tamil Nadu government did not inform anyone, including the state legislative assembly, about the return from the Centre of its two NEET Bills seeking to exempt the state from the exam, that too after acknowledging the receipt of the returned copies of the Bills.

The state government has even written to the Centre asking for the reasons for denial of the Presidential assent, a division bench of Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad said on Thursday.

Noting that ministers and their secretaries cannot deny knowledge of such communication, the bench said providing assent or returning a Bill is the prerogative of the President, which none can question.

Though the state has sought the reasons for denying assent, the Centre has not replied to the communication yet. However, the state has no impediment in once again passing the Bills in the assembly and send them back to the President for his assent, the bench added.

The issue pertains to a PIL moved by Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare, represented by P B Prince Gajendra Babu and U Mustaffa seeking direction to the state government to complete the procedures for obtaining the presidential assent for the Bills on or before August 15, 2017.

During the course of hearing, the Centre informed the court that the Bills were returned as early in September 2017.

The Union government filed an affidavit submitting that the state was not only informed, but the true copies of the Bills were also returned which was acknowledged by the state.

When the plea came up for hearing on Thursday, senior counsel R Viduthalai submitted that the union and the state governments are hand in glove in the issue. Viduthalai further contended that it is the constitutional duty of the president to reveal the reasons of denial of assent to a Bill.

Recording the submissions, the bench adjourned the hearing to August 13.

The court observed that providing assent or returning a Bill is the prerogative of the President, which no one can question

STANDING TALL

NO LONGER PRONE: Athi Varadar, the statue of Lord Vishnu carved out of a fig tree, was placed in a standing position early on Thursday at the Devarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram. From June 29, when it was taken out of the water tank, till July 31 it had been in the sayanam (sleeping) position. It will remain in the posture for another 17 days, after which it will be taken back to the temple tank where it will remain for another 40 years