Flight brings back 177 from Kuwait

Flight brings back 177 from Kuwait

Mohali:02/07/2020

The GoAir flight number G8-7228, carrying 177 Indian passengers from Kuwait, landed at the Chandigarh International Airport around 7.15 pm on Wednesday.

Mohali Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said all the passengers have been asked to undergo strict institutional quarantine at their respective districts and their passports have also been taken into possession by the administration.

All repatriated persons, who mostly belong to different parts of Punjab and nearby states, will reach their districts under the supervision of the respective state government representatives, where they will be quarantined. TNN

Patanjali can sell Coronil but not as ‘cure’ to Covid-19: Govt

Patanjali can sell Coronil but not as ‘cure’ to Covid-19: Govt

New Delhi/Haridwar: 02.07.2020

The Union AYUSH Ministry Wednesday said Patanjali can sell Coronil but only as an immunity booster, days after yoga guru Ramdev's company launched it as a medicine for COVID-19 and is now calling it a product to “manage” the disease.

Patanjali Ayurved Ltd said there is no disagreement now between it and the Union ministry, which had last week asked it not to sell the ayurvedic drug till the issue it examined.

At a press conference, Ramdev lashed out over the flak he received after the launch of the drug, saying some people are hurt by the “rise of Indian culture”.

"I want to tell people who want to try these medicines that there is no restriction on their sale now and they will be available in a kit everywhere in the country from today," Ramdev said, referring to Coronil and the two other products Patanjali is promoting together.

The company claimed that the AYUSH Ministry has “categorically agreed” that Patanjali had “appropriately worked on COVID-19 management”.

"Now there is no difference of opinion between AYUSH Ministry and Patanjali,” it added in a statement.

The ministry confirmed that Patanjali can sell the product but not as a cure for the disease. ] “AYUSH Ministry has only given permission to sell this particular formulation as immunity booster and not as a medicinal cure for COVID-19,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand High Court issued notices to Patanjali, the Centre and the state government to file their replies within a week on a plea accusing the herbal products company of the COVID-cure claim it made at the launch of the drug.

In Haridwar, Ramdev told reporters that the AYUSH ministry had asked him to use the term “Covid management” in place of “Covid treatment” and he is following the instruction.

Even while backtracking on describing Coronil as a “treatment” for COVID-19, the company stuck to its claim that its trial on mild to moderately ill patients was successful.

The company's statement said the trial, conducted after the necessary approvals, showed 100 per cent recovery of patients within seven days. PTI

Patanjali Ayurved Ltd said there is no disagreement now between it and the Union ministry

Google removes over 100 Chrome extensions

Google removes over 100 Chrome extensions

Anam.Ajmal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:02.07.2020

Google has removed over 100 malicious Chrome extensions as they were found collecting sensitive data by taking screenshots of the user’s screen and harvesting keystrokes to read passwords and other confidential information.

According to an advisory issued by India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) last week, these malicious extensions posed as "tools to improve web searches, convert files between different formats, as security scanners, and more."

An extension is a small software that helps users in customizing a web browser. They can be used for several purposes, including blocking cookies, playing games and creating shortcuts.

CERT-In added that these extensions bypassed Google Chrome Web Store security scans, and had the "ability to take screenshots, read the clipboard, harvest authentication cookies or grab keystrokes to read passwords and other confidential information."

"Your browser history contains sensitive information and even when we are not using the web extension, they can still keep a track of our web activity. They can then collect data and misuse it," said cyber security expert Rakshit Tandon.

He added that one of the ways to eliminate this cyber threat is to not add third party extensions at all. "General public may not understand what is harmful for them. So, we advise people not to install any extension on their computer. Even if users install them, they should do it only after studying its reviews," Tandon added.

Sans ‘experience’, over 10L PPEs useless

Sans ‘experience’, over 10L PPEs useless

Melvyn.ReggieThomas@timesgroup.com

Surat:02.07.2020

Lakhs of personal protection equipment (PPE) kits that could have shielded thousands of frontline health workers from Covid-19 infections are gathering dust in the godowns of textile manufacturing units in Surat.

Reason: The online tenders on the government emarketplace (GeM) by various government departments, organizations and PSUs now has a special clause of ‘experience criteria’ ranging from 1-3 years for the suppliers of PPE kits.

Sensing a business opportunity after directives from the union textile ministry, at least 15 textile companies in the city to diversify into manufacturing PPE coveralls using the non-woven fabric. However, two months after making lakhs of PPEs, these units have suddenly become ineligible to sell the kits to the government, which is biggest buyer, as they don’t have the mandatory ‘one-three years experience.’ After research and development during April, the actual production of PPE kits started in the first week of May. In Surat alone, about 50,000 PPE suits were manufactured per day, which included coated and laminated suits with 100% breathable technology.

Shalin Vaidya, director of Sachin GIDC-based Rudra Digital Solution, a garment manufacturing company, told TOI: “We made significant investment for manufacturing 10,000 PPE kits per day. However, except for few private orders, we haven’t been able to make a bulk deal with the government agencies due to the experience criteria in the online tenders.”

Sanjay Saraogi, managing director of Laxmipati textile group, which has the capacity of making 5,000 PPE kits per day, said, "In April, the textile ministry had called for the indigenous manufacturing of PPE kits to lower dependency on import. We had no inkling that they require experience.”

Pramod Chaudhary, chairman of Pratibha Group, said, “Our PPE kits are approved by South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) and they are made out of laminated non-woven fabrics. In the government tenders, apart from the experience criteria, there is no mention of the laminated PPE kits. We are unable to make the PPE kits due to utter confusion.”

Mandatory experience criteria of suppliers has rendered huge losses

All the PPE kit manufacturers in Surat are either manufacturing fabrics, saris or garments. They don’t have any experience of making PPE kits. The government should keep the quality as criteria.

Jitendra Vakharia |

PRESIDENT ,SGTPA

PG medical intake 2nd round from today

PG medical intake 2nd round from today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:  02.07.2020

The second round of admissions for over 500 seats in postgraduate medical courses will begin on Thursday and the students can fill in their choices till July 4.

The second round is taking place after the central government surrendered 180 seats in the all-India quota, which remained vacant during the first round of admissions. Thus an additional 180 seats became available in this round.

Some 130 admissions were also cancelled after the first round of admission.

These seats will also be available. These seats are over the 400-odd seats that remained vacant in the first round of admission, sources said.

Students will have three days to make their choices clear. The allocation process will take place on July 6. The students will have time then to pay the fees by July 10. Students whose admissions have been confirmed will have to report to help centres between July 7 and July 11.

Money stolen without OTPs

Money stolen without OTPs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:  02.07.2020

A 36-year-old man from Vasna, Tapan Parikh, on Tuesday filed a complaint with the cyber crime police station on behalf of his aunt, in order to recover money stolen from her bank account by cyber cheats.

Parikh, on behalf of Miksha Patel, who is from Memnagar and presently lives in Dallas, stated that cyber criminals had managed to siphon off Rs 85,000 from Patel’s account in six transactions using a mobile application between April 3 and May 2019 without one-time passwords (OTPs). As he learned about this on May 21, he made an application to banking authorities to the block the account.

Speaking to TOI, Parikh said, “I made an application to the Reserve Bank of India to block the account on May 21, 2019. The bank did not do much and the cheats managed to siphon off another Rs 1,05,400 from the same account on May 23, 2019. The bank had to reimburse the Rs 1,05,400 as it was taken after I made the application. However, for the Rs 85,000, I had to submit an application to the cyber crime police station. On Tuesday, they called me and registered an FIR,” added Parikh, a manager with a private company.

DCP Rajdeepsinh Jhala of cyber crime police station, said, “This is unique case as the cheats managed to get the money without the OTPs. We will certainly crack the case.” Jhala said that according to the rules, the bank is liable to pay money after an FIR has been filed.

Govt yet to decide on medical, dental exams

Govt yet to decide on medical, dental exams

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:02.07.2020

Gujarat government on Wednesday announced cancellation of all final semester exams across all varsities and colleges in the state.

The decision, however, does not include exams for medical, paramedical and dental courses, a state government official clarified.

A final decision on this will be taken according to directions by the central government whose advice the state has sought in this matter, the official added.

Gujarat University, which has deferred all exams except those for medical, paramedical and dental courses, issued a media statement on Wednesday clarifying that there has been no change in the schedule of these exams.

“GU officials are of the view that medical and dental courses are regulated by Medical Council of India (MCI) and Dental Council of India (DCI) and hence the direction of the state education minister issued on Tuesday does not apply to them,” said a source.

Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, the state education minister had announced the decision to cancel all final semester college exams in the state on Wednesday.

The minister’s decision is for the varsities accredited or affiliated to the University Grants Commission (UGC) said sources in GU. Medical and dental colleges can avail UGC grants only for research activities, they added.

The paramedical exams have begun at GU from this week and the second paper is on July 2. The exams for medical and dental courses will be held later this month.

Some students have been in favour of the decision of GU holding exams in July, especially with the entrance exams for super-speciality courses expected to be held in September.

Members of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) want the varsity to defer the exams in line with GU’s decision for arts, commerce, science, and education colleges.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Super Specialty courses (NEET SS) 2020, to be conducted by the National Board of Examinations, is expected to be held on September 15.