Vels Institute announces V-SAT results

Vels Institute announces V-SAT results

The scholarships are targeted towards students who are facing financial challenges to continue their higher studies, especially due to the pandemic.

Published: 01st August 2020 03:43 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Vels Institute of Science, Technology & Advanced Studies (VISTAS), announced its Vels Scholarship Admission Test (VSAT) results. Over 10,000 students from Tamil Nadu and other states took part in the online admission test and more than 3,000 students have availed scholarships.

The scholarships are targeted towards students who are facing financial challenges to continue their higher studies, especially due to the pandemic. Based on their V-SAT scores, the selected students will avail scholarship under five categories (100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 10%) which will enable them to pursue their dreams of higher education.

Students who had appeared for the scholarship test can now check their results on http://www.velsuniv. ac.in/VSAT.asp. Ishari K Ganesh, founder and chairman, Vels Group of Institutions, said, “We are glad to have been able to identify deserving students through our V-SAT exam and provide them with an opportunity to pursue higher education. Congratulations to all the students who have succeeded and qualified for scholarship.”

Digital certificates are enough for provisional admission to jr college

Digital certificates are enough for provisional admission to jr college

1.8.2020

—

Vinamrata Borwankar

Mumbai:

For first-year junior college aspirants in the state, digital statements of their Class X marks, certificates or an undertaking would be enough for provisional admissions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a circular issued on Thursday, the school education department has stated students applying under various quotas can upload their relevant documents online. In case students do not have the documents or are unable to upload them due to technical difficulties, they can give an undertaking that they would submit the original documents at a later date. The students’ admission until then would be provisional.

Similarly, students will also be able to use the digital statement of marks received for their Class X results in case they do not have a hard copy of the marksheet. “Considering the current situation, students can upload the digital statement of marks. The students can submit the school leaving certificate or passing certificate to be verified later," said the circular.

Students would have three months to submit the original documents.

The Phase I of form filling, which requires students to fill out personal information and marks, will be opened up on August 1. Students will also be able to access the admissions information booklet in a few days.

State govt scraps pension for Emergency detainees

State govt scraps pension for Emergency detainees

Decision Taken In View Of Shortage Of Funds

Prafulla.Marpakwar@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 1.8.2020

The cash-strapped Uddhav Thackeray-led state government on Friday scrapped the pension scheme for Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) detainees during the Emergency to mobilize funds for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. The proposal was approved in the cabinet meeting held on June 2 and presided over by CM Thackeray.

A one-page order issued by the deputy secretary (general administration) S M Khode states that since the state government is facing acute shortage of funds in view of a slowdown in the economy, it has been decided to scrap the pension scheme for detainees during the Emergency from 1975-77 with immediate effect. “In view of huge revenue deficit, the government has decided to wind up the pension scheme,” Khode said in his order.

The decision is being viewed as a major setback for former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who had on June 7, 2018 drafted the scheme to provide pension of Rs 10,000 per month to detainees during the Emergency era. Thackeray has cancelled a large number of key policy decisions taken by the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government, the most significant being the waiver of Rs 1.5 crore stamp duty granted to an organization associated with the RSS.

On the pension scheme, a senior GAD official said that after Fadnavis declared the scheme, out of 5,000 MISA detainees in the state, 3,267 applied for pension, and pension was approved for 1,179 persons. For the financial year 2018-19, a budgetary provision of Rs 42 crore was made, of which Rs 29 crore had been disbursed.

BJP’s chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye took strong objection to the state government’s decision, saying it was politically motivated. “In our opinion, those people who fought against the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi are also freedom fighters as they fought for the basic rights of people. After due consideration, Fadnavis had approved the pension scheme for MISA detainees,” Upadhye said.

There had been demands earlier that those detained and arrested during the Emergency years should be given a citation too.

IoEs to take lead in rolling out 4-year degree courses

IoEs to take lead in rolling out 4-year degree courses

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:1.8.2020

Some of the 20 “institutions of eminence” will be asked to take a lead in rolling out the four-year degree programme announced in the National Education Policy this year itself while other IoEs can follow suit if they wish to adopt the programme in the 2020-21 academic session.

The move to initiate the roll-out of the four-year degree is among some features of the NEP that will be implemented in this year itself. The first of its kind Academic Credit Bank (ACB) will also be ready by December 2020. The draft of Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill will be placed in the public domain for feedback in September 2020 before taking it to Parliament. The framework for the common entrance test for admissions to higher education institutions (HEIs) will also be ready by February-March 2021 and the first test is likely to be delivered in May 2021.

In August 2019, the government offered IoE status to 20 HEIs, which include four IITs, Banaras Hindu University, Delhi University and 10 private institutions, among others.

According to higher education secretary Amit Khare, some IoEs can start the fouryear-multidisciplinary undergraduate programme with multiple exit and entry options immediately. “The phase-wise implementation of the NEP will start from this month itself. IoEs will be encouraged to start immediately in 2020-21, because 20 IoEs are selected and some of them have already signed the MoU. And they can have multiple entry and exit because by that time the credit bank would have become operational,” said Khare.

The secretary said other central universities which are ready can join by 2021 and latest by 2022. Regarding the ACB, Khare said it will be pilot-tested first in a few IITs and central universities before introducing it nationally.

The common entrance test too would be ready by February-March 2021 and the first test is likely to be delivered in May 2021 immediately after the Class XII Board exams.

Ask states to pay salaries to docs on time, SC tells Centre

Ask states to pay salaries to docs on time, SC tells Centre

New Delhi:  01.08.2020

The Supreme Court on Friday took a serious view of Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tripura and Karnataka defying the Centre’s directions for timely payment of salaries to doctors and health workers on Covid-19 duty and said the Centre should know its powers to force states to obey its orders, Dhananjay Mahapatra.

Responding to allegations made by petitioner Arushi Jain and doctors associations about non-payment of salaries despite the court’s June 17 order, solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R S Reddy and M R Shah that the Centre had written to states on June 18 for timely payment of salaries to doctors and healthcare staff.

He said the government had sent reminders to all states on July 20. But till date, Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and Tripura have not filed reports indicating compliance of the Centre’s June 17 direction and July 20 reminder.

Full report on www.toi.in

No scheduled flights abroad till Aug 31; more travel bubbles likely

No scheduled flights abroad till Aug 31; more travel bubbles likely

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi/Mumbai:  1.8.2020

The government has extended the suspension of scheduled international flights from July-end to August 31.

However, travel will take place within the air bubbles India has created with the US, Germany and France. In coming days more countries — like the UK, Canada and Israel — could have bubbles with India, allowing people, as per government norms, to travel to and from there. The most recent transport bubble agreement is the one with Kuwait “to uplift stranded passenger both to/ from India”, the DGCA said on Friday. More such arrangements are likely to fructify and ease passenger movements from different nations, it said. The continued suspension of scheduled international flights, however, does not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the regulator.

India had suspended scheduled international passenger flights on March 22. Since then, the DGCA note of Friday says, over “2,500 repatriation flights by foreign carriers to uplift stranded passengers to/from India have been approved. Under Vande Bharat Mission, Air India and AI Express have uplifted 2,67,436 stranded passengers and other charters have uplifted 4,86,811 stranded passengers between May 6 to July 30, 2020.”

The aviation ministry says resumption of schedule international flights will be considered once domestic flights reach the 50% mark of the originally approved summer schedule. Schedule domestic flights were allowed to resume on May 25 and so far airlines are operating at about 30% of the summer schedule. They have been allowed to raise the capacity to 45% by November 24, but this may be relaxed depending on how the pandemic situation develops.

Full report on www.toi.in

The aviation ministry said resumption of scheduled international flights will be considered once domestic flights reach the 50% mark of the originally approved summer schedule

Kin of 33 govt workers, who died of Covid, to get ₹50L each

Kin of 33 govt workers, who died of Covid, to get ₹50L each

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:1.8.2020

Thirty-three government employees, including 16 frontline workers, have died of Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu. The deceased were 11 employees of the Chennai Corporation, eight personnel of the police department, a doctor and two other health department staff, three revenue department employees, an assistant commissioner of civil supplies, a senior private secretary at CM’s office, two town panchayat staff members and one employee each from the commissionerate of revenue administration, the Tiruvallur corporation, the energy department and the rural development department.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on April 22 had issued an order increasing the solatium from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh for the families of frontline workers, who died due to Covid-19. The CM had also stated that a family member of each deceased frontline worker would be provided with a government job based on qualification.

Citing the CM’s announcement, director of social security scheme, commissioner of revenue administration, N Venkatachalam has sought medical and death certificates of the frontline workers to extend a financial assistance of ₹50 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. Venkatachalam sought the details from director of public health and preventive medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam.

The authority sought the details and supporting documents such as certificates of the employee deployed in Covid-19 duty, his or her medical reports of being tested positive for the virus, death certificate, photocopy of the ration card and certificate of his/her legal heir.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on April 22 had issued an order increasing the solatium from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh for the families of frontline government workers, who died due to Covid-19. infection