Neet aspirants from government schools fall by 10,000 this year

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:24.01.2020

Aspirants for National Eligibility cum-Entrance Test (Neet) from government and government-aided schools have dropped by more than 10,000 students this year. From 17,630 applicants in 2019, the numbers have dwindled to just around 7,000 in 2020.

Only two students from government-sponsored coaching centres in the state got medical seats last year. Four students from government-aided schools who attended private coaching also got MBBS seats in 2019.

Despite elaborate efforts by the school education department, the number of students joining medical courses remained more or less the same.

The number of students attending Neet coaching has come down from 19,355 to 10,000 this year. Students and teachers were disheartened as the cut-off increased over 100 marks and old students grabbed 70% of medical seats in the state, officials said. There has been a decrease in the number of students opting for science stream every year. Pursuing Neet is also providing limited options and this year, the cut-off may increase further. These factors could have discouraged many students, said an official.

Headmasters of some schools said one year coaching for Neet is not sufficient. “Coaching should have been given for two years. Instead of giving coaching at state level, the government should consider coaching at school level,” said the headmaster of a city school. Some headmasters demanded a separate quota for government school students as they could not compete with students who prepare for more than two years for the exam.

Educationist Prince Gajendrababu said apprehensions about common medical entrance tests have been proved correct. “We warned about mushrooming of coaching centres and possibility of spending an extra year for coaching. They have come true and only affluent students can afford coaching as it would cost up to ₹5lakh a year,” he said. “Though government school students have the same aptitude and skills like others, they could not take up the test. The state government should strengthen higher secondary exams and admit students based on higher secondary marks,” he added.

“Poor results for three continuous years has taken away the confidence of government school students. The government also did not give proper training for medical aspirants,” said Dr G R Raveendranath, general secretary, Doctors’ Association for Social Equality. “The state government should reserve seats for government school students in government medical colleges,” he said.

In 2016, before Neet-based admissions for MBBS, 34 students from government schools joined medical colleges. After introduction of Neet for medical admissions in Tamil Nadu, only seven from government schools joined MBBS in 2017, while five joined in 2018, according to the Directorate of Medical Education. So far, only 14 from government schools have aced Neet in the last three years.

Only two students from governmentsponsored coaching centres in the state got medical seats last year

Man loses chance of govt job as his post is delayed

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:24.01.2020

A man from Melnalathur, 30km from Porur, lost an opportunity to work at a Union government-run agency because a newly appointed postmaster was unable to locate the man’s home to deliver the admit card on time.

In September 2013, A Vishnuprasad applied for the assistant sub-inspector (steno) post at Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The pay scale for the post is ₹5,200-₹20,200. He cleared the preliminary written exam and was shortlisted for next round of selection. But, he was unaware that he was even shortlisted as the call letter/admit card informing him of the same and the date for his physical test didn’t reach him on time.

The admit card, sent via post by the CISF on September 30, 2013, reached Vishnuprasad 71 days later, around 3.30pm on December 10 — the date of his interview. He was asked to appear at the CISF premises at 8am. Had the letter reached him just nine hours earlier, Vishnuprasad stood a chance of getting a government job. When the CISF was informed, the agency refused to accommodate him in next batches as it would disrupt the recruitment process.

Vishnuprasad then approached the local consumer grievances redressal forum.

The postal department said P Pannerselvam, the postman who had been working in the area for years, was discharged from duty on September 30 following which the post was vacant for days. M Lhogeshvaree, who replaced him, was an outsider and was unable to locate the petitioner’s house in the area with more than 3,000 homes. She took Pannerselvam’s help in delivering pending mails, it said.

Referring to provisions in the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, the department said they were exempted by law from all responsibilities in case of loss, mis-delivery or delay in postal articles in the course of transmission by post.

The forum ruled that it was the department’s duty to deliver postal covers without delay and it was liable for deficiency of service. The postman concerned, local postmaster, head postmaster and chief postmaster general were told to pay ₹20,000 to Vishnuprasad for causing him mental agony and financial loss and ₹1,000 towards litigation cost.

The admit card, sent via post by the CISF on September 30, 2013, reached Vishnuprasad 71 days later on December 10

500 hours of infotainment for passengers of Tejas Express

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.01.2020

Passengers of Tejas Express, a premium superfast train between Chennai Egmore and Madurai, can now access 500 hours of inhouse entertainment options on their mobile phones.

Southern Railway recently began offering ‘magicbox’, a wi-fi infotainment system which lets passengers access pre-recorded shows, movies and sops on their phones, an official release said on Thursday.

The decision follows feedback from passengers who felt that a premium train like Tejas should offer inhouse entertainment to enhance the joy of travelling. Tejas coaches were initially provided with seatmounted infotainment systems which were removed after complaints from travellers about malfunctioning. A railway board fiat had instructed to discontinue all seat-mounted infotainment systems in Tejas.

‘Magicbox’ is pre-installed with movies, content for kids, music and government schemes. It has content in regional languages too.

Tejas Express runs 6 days a week, except Thursday. The superfast train has a run time of six hours, with two halts at Tiruchirapalli and Kodaikanal.


The Chennai Egmore-Madurai Tejas Express runs 6 days a week, except Thursday

Death penalty not open-ended, must have a finality: SC

‘Good Conduct May Not Be Enough To Modify Sentence’

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:24.01.2020

Revealing judicial discomfort over death row convicts exploiting procedural loopholes to avoid or delay execution for years, the Supreme Court on Thursday said “it is extremely important for death penalty to attain finality”.

Indirectly referring to continuous and separate litigations by the four Nirbhaya case condemned prisoners to delay execution, a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna said, “Many are under the impression that concurrently awarded death penalty (by trial court, high court and the SC) is open-ended and can be argued against as and when one wishes. Finality of death sentence is extremely important. Recent events have shown that. One cannot go on fighting endlessly on this.”

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‘We must protect innocent & also punish the guilty’

The court also held that postconviction “good behaviour” in jail may not be sufficient to modify a death sentence as any mitigating circumstances are taken into account by courts at the trial stage. While the court was not against reformation, punishment reflected societal expectation and gravity of crime, the bench said.

The CJI-led bench’s observations came during open court hearing of petitions by one Shabnam and Saleem seeking review of their death sentences. Infuriated by constant objections to their relationship, which had resulted in pregnancy at the time of the crime, Shabnam mixed sedatives in tea and served it to her family members. She then held the heads of her parents and four other family members while Saleem slit their throats. A seventh victim, her brother’s 10-month-old child, was throttled to death. The duo wanted to lay claim over the entire family property.

The bench’s remarks assume significance as the Centre on Wednesday, responding to public resentment over Nirbhaya convicts delaying execution, sought a change in guidelines laid down by the SC in 2014 to protect the rights of death row prisoners. The Centre said the rights of victims and society must also be factored in. When solicitor general Tushar Mehta mentioned this during Thursday’s hearing, the SC said it would separately deal with it.

For Saleem and Shabnam, senior advocates Anand Grover and Meenakshi Arora strenuously attempted to convince the bench that the couple’s exemplary post-conviction conduct should be considered for commuting the death penalty to life imprisonment. Arora said as the couple now had a child to look after the court could exercise forgiveness as they had shown enough signs of reform during incarceration.

The bench asked, “Does the couple having a child mitigate the gravity of their crime? Does it mitigate the murder of a 10-month-old child? Does that mitigate the murder of seven innocent family members? We are not against forgiveness. But it is the law which prescribes punishment for crime. A judge awards punishment as per law, which reflects society’s expectations. We must protect innocent and also punish the guilty. Can a judge forgive a murderer brushing aside evidence if he feels an accused appears innocent?”

Responding to mitigating circumstances cited by Grover and Arora, the bench said, “A court examines mitigating circumstances at the time of sentencing. Can postconviction mitigating circumstances be a ground for commuting death sentence? What we understand is that the sentence should be proportionate to the crime. Seven members of a family were killed through meticulous planning and in cold blood. Is the death sentence proportionate to this crime? All three courts have said yes.

“If post-conviction good behaviour is accepted as mitigating circumstances, then there never will be finality to sentences and it will open the floodgates for petitions seeking commutation of all kinds of sentences.”

The bench then reserved its verdict on the review petitions.

Many are under the impression that concurrently awarded death penalty is openended and can be argued against as and when one wishes. Finality of death sentence is extremely important. Recent events have shown that. One cannot go on fighting endlessly on this

— SUPREME COURT

IndiGo mid-air shocker after 22nd engine snag in 2 yrs

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

23.01.2020

An IndiGo A320 Neo flying from Mumbai to Hyderabad early on Thursday with 95 passengers and the crew on board experienced severe vibrations and a loud bang at 23,000ft before one of the Pratt & Whitney engines stalled, forcing the pilots to return to Mumbai and make an emergency landing on a single engine. This was the 22nd snag in two years involving P&W engines on IndiGo Neos, sources said.

A spokesperson for the airline said flight 6E-5384 had “an air turn back to Mumbai” after the pilots “observed an engine caution message” less than an hour after taking off at 12.43am. “The pilots followed standard operating procedure and the aircraft returned safely to Mumbai at 1.39am. All passengers were accommodated on another flight to Hyderabad,” the official said.

In the past few days, airlines flying A320 Neos have reported a spurt in P&W engine snags.

IndiGo needs to replace about 137 unmodified P&W engines

While twin-engined planes can land safely on one engine, there is concern over the likelihood of snags recurring till all unmodified P&W engines are replaced with modified ones. The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) recently gave IndiGo time until May 31— the original deadline was January 31 — to replace unmodified P&W engines on all its Neos.

Besides IndiGo, Neos owned by GoAir run on P&W engines. Airline representatives and officials of the civil aviation regulator said all possible steps were being taken to ensure passenger safety till the transition to modified engines was completed.

“The DGCA has insisted, and ensured, that no A320 Neo flies with two unmodified engines. The Neos in India — 106 with IndiGo and 41with GoAir — have at least one modified engine each. An unmodified P&W engine may stall inflight, but the modified one will ensure the aircraft lands safely,” a source said.

IndiGo needs to replace about 137 unmodified P&W engines on the A320/321 Neos in its fleet. This means that of the 106 Neos IndiGo currently has, about 70 require engine replacement.

“There are around 560-plus Neos belonging to 36 airlines that operate with P&W-1100G engines. Globally, these aircraft have logged over 20 lakh hours and over 10 lakh cycles (flights). New product and design are associated with issues which get manifested in-service. There have been issues with low-pressure turbine stage 3 of Pratt engines. Pratt has identified the root cause and developed a fix with modified low-pressure turbine blades made of Inconel. This fix has been implemented since May 2019. All new engines and spare engines currently being delivered are with modified LPT.”

Besides the existing Neos, IndiGo has over 650 aircraft on order.


CRASH-LANDING: Security personnel stand beside an aircraft used by the NCC which made an emergency landing on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Ghaziabad following engine failure on Thursday

25 Indians trapped in Wuhan; virus reaches S’pore, Vietnam
2 Admitted To Mumbai Hosp As Precaution
TNN & AGENCIES 24.01.2020

Twenty-five Indian students, of whom 20 are from Kerala, are trapped in Wuhan after the Chinese city of 11million was locked down to contain the spread of a new strain of a coronavirus, while 14 students interning at a hospital in Yichang, about 300km from Wuhan, planned to fly to Kolkata from Kunming airport on Thursday night or Friday.

Two of five travellers who have returned to Mumbai from Wuhan and other parts of China have, meanwhile, been admitted to Kasturba Hospital in Chinchpokli, the city’s main isolation facility, as a precautionary measure as the virus, first reported in China, spread to Singapore and Vietnam. It has killed 18 people and affected over 600 in different parts of the world. Officials in Mumbai said that barring a mild cold and cough, the two people admitted to hospital didn’t have any sign of the infection.

A nurse from Kerala working in Saudi Arabia who the Indian government said on Thursday had contracted the new strain of a coronavirus that has started to spread from China turned out not to have been infected.

Indian students at College of Medicine, Wuhan University

1,323 passengers have so far been screened at Mumbai airport

Junior foreign minister V Muraleedhraran rewteeted a tweet from the Indian consulate general in Jeddah to correct his earlier post and said the nurse, who works at Al-Hayat Hospital in Khamis Mushait, was “suffering from MERSCoV & not 2019-NCoV(Wuhan). We request everyone to refrain from sharing incorrect info”. MERS-CoV stands for Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus. The information about the nurse’s health came from Dr Tarik Al Azraqi, chairman, Scientific Regional Infection Control Committee, Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia.

Singapore confirmed that a 68-year-old man, who had come from Wuhan, had contracted the infection and had been isolated for treatment. His travelling companion, too, had been admitted to a hospital for treatment. In Mumbai, officials said the five passengers were put under surveillance soon after they returned from China in the last 48 hours. While three of them are residents of Jogeshwari, Kalyan and Nala Sopara, two are from Pune. “Since the passengers from Kalyanand Nalasopara have shown signs of a mild cold and cough, we have asked them to come and get admitted to Kasturba Hospital so that we can run some checks and rule out any infection,” said the BMC executive health officer, Dr Padmaja Keskar.

Epidemiologist Dr Pradeep Awate said none of them had exhibited any coronavirus symptoms. Two of the five passengers had been to Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The virus has spread to several countries, including the US, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. “Those two passengers are also currently asymptomatic, like the other three who had been to other parts of China,” said Dr Awate.

The local health officer said that the Nala Sopara traveller, a woman who had stayed in China’s Foshan city — almost 1,000 km south of Wuhan — for six days, had complained of a bodyache and cold when health department officials contacted her but didn’t have fever, a sore throat, abdominal pain or any other symptom.

The Kalyan resident was in Guangzhou — also about 1,000 km south of Wuhan — for six days. Officials said the 36-yearold had a cold and cough even before he travelled to China. He developed fever on January 18, which subsided due to medication by January 20, but he did not fully recover from the bout. “Even a complete blood count test showed normal results. None of his family members showed any symptom,” said an official. Dr Ramesh Bharmal, director of BMC’s major hospitals, said samples taken from them would be sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for testing.

A total of 1,323 passengers returning from China and other affected countries have so far been screened at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) since January 18.

Asked how the identified passengers are being tracked, Awate said: “The passengers are aware of the virus spread and how contagious it can be and hence are cooperating. Our health staff visited them at their homes and now we are keeping track of their health status telephonically.” Usually, any airborne virus has an incubation period of seven to 14 days. “But since this is a new variant of the coronavirus, we don't have conclusive information about its incubation period. Therefore, we have doubled the passenger tracking period to 28 days,” Awate said.

On Monday (January 20), Maharashtra health authorities issued an advisory for the identification, isolation and monitoring of passengers returning from China and other coronavirus-affected Asian countries. “A person with a travel history to the affected countries, mainly China, in the last 14 days or more and presenting an influenza-like illness or severe, acute respiratory illness (SARI), is a suspected patient of the virus. The symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, fever and respiratory problems,” Awate said.

In Wuhan, with airports and rail and road traffic shut down, the students have enough food to last a few days but are worried about how long their enforced isolation will last. “We are sitting in the hostel room, unsure of our future. We are scared and helpless. We need immediate help from our country,” Faisal Nazer, from Karunagapally in Kollam, a final year medical student at Wuhan University’s College of Medicine, told TOI over phone on Thursday evening.

These students were advised by Chinese authorities on January 22 night to vacate the campus by 10 am (7.30 am IST) on January 23. However, they couldn’t leave as all of them had booked tickets from Wuhan airport and had no time to make alternative arrangements. “It is not fear of hunger that worries us at the moment. We are scared that with no air, train or bus tickets from Wuhan to other destinations in China, we are trapped with no help or support. We can’t go out as the Chinese authorities have warned us against moving out of the premises. There is constant inspection by the authorities,” Nazer said.

Aswanth Krishnan of Kottarakkara, Kollam, in his final year at the College of Medicine, was among the students who managed to leave Wuhan for Changsha airport, nearly 340 km from Wuhan, to take a flight to India. He said it was difficult getting out of Wuhan. He and his friends left the hostel on Wednesday, as soon as the advisory to leave was issued, taking with them the bare essentials.

Krishan added that a group of 10-15 students, mainly from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, had left for Guangzhou airport. “At present we have Chinese New Year holidays. Our decision to return to the campus will be based on further developments,” he added.

Full report on www.toi.in

UNDER SCANNER: Thermal screening is being done at the international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin

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