India could get vaccine by year-end

 India could get vaccine by year-end

24/08/2020

Press Trust of India New Delhi

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said if everything goes well, India will get a vaccine against the novel coronavirus by the end of this year.

Three COVID-19 vaccine candidates, including two indigenous ones, are in different phases of development. The phase I human clinical trials of the two vaccines — one developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the ICMR, and the other by Zydus Cadila Ltd — have been completed and the trials have moved to phase II, ICMR Director General Dr. Balram Bhargava said recently.

In a tweet, Dr. Vardhan said, “...if everything goes well, India will get a vaccine by end of this year.”

 Tamil Nadu sticks with e-passes; Puducherry abolishes system

‘Centre’s move poses a challenge to COVID-19 management’

24/08/2020

Police patrols were removed from border points in Puducherry. 

T. Singaravelou

T. Ramakrishnan M. Dinesh VarmaChennai/Puducherry

A day after Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla wrote to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories, asking them not to impose restrictions on inter- and intra-State movement, Puducherry removed all travel restrictions on Sunday.

However, Tamil Nadu continued to enforce the e-pass system.

In Coimbatore, State Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said the Centre’s decision would pose a challenge to COVID-19 management work.

He, however, added, “At the same time [if the e-pass system is…

 Admit students after getting NOC, deemed universities told

The move was made keeping in mind the interest of students, says State govt.

24/08/2020

Special Correspondent Coimbatore

The State government has directed deemed universities offering agriculture or allied courses to get its no-objection certificate and then admit students.

In an order issued around a fortnight ago, the government said the move was made keeping in mind the interest of students who had enrolled in agriculture or allied courses and the validity of the degree of those who had obtained degree in those subjects from such institutes.

Other than the 28 private colleges that were affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, there were eight deemed universities in the State that offered agriculture or allied courses – horticulture, agricultural engineering, forestry, food technology, biotechnology and sericulture.

Those deemed universities could apply to the Indian Council for Agricultural Research for accreditation only after the first batch of students had graduated. This meant that the institutes would apply in the fourth year.

And, considering that the accreditation process took eight to 12 months, the institutes could get accredited only in the fifth year. Thereafter, they would have to apply to the State government for no-objection certificate, as mentioned in Government Order 171 of 2018.

The order said, “By the time they [deemed universities] apply for No Objection Certificate to State government after five years of starting agriculture and allied courses, further student batches will be admitted and with this, considerable number of students would undergo the agriculture and allied degree programmes with uncertainty of outcome of accreditation proposal submitted to the Indian Council for Agricultural Research.”

Therefore, in the students’ interest, the government said all deemed to be universities intending to offer agriculture or allied programmes should first obtain no-objection certificate before offering the courses. And, then they would have to get accredited as well as per the Council norms.

Those deemed universities that offered the courses, should furnish proof of having obtained its approval for offering the courses. If they have not, they should do so within six months and admit students after complying with the University Grants Commission’s 2016 regulations.

The order also asked the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University registrar to follow up on its order with the eight deemed universities that offered agriculture or allied courses – SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Kalasalingam University, Karunya University, Prist University, Bharath University, Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya Institute of Agri. and Rural Development, Amirtha Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Saveetha University.

The University registrar was not available for his comment.

Swiggy’s food delivery services resume

Swiggy’s food delivery services resume

Executives end stir after attending a meeting

21/08/2020

Special CorrespondentCHENNAI

Nearly after a week of striking work, most Swiggy delivery executives in the city reported for duty on Friday. They were on strike from last Thursday demanding resumption of their old pay structure.

Partial services began on Wednesday evening after company representatives met a section of the delivery executives and convinced them to return to work at a meeting convened by a senior police officer.

In a statement here, Swiggy said that over the last couple of days, they had a positive dialogue with partners to explain the revised pay-outs and assuage their concerns.

“We are glad that our partners were able to understand the revised service fee, which continues to be best in the industry. Once again, we would like to assert that most active partners have made over ₹45 per order in the last week with the high performing partners making over ₹100 per order,” the statement said.

“Our partners earn incentives over and above this, making their monthly service fee much higher. No active Swiggy delivery partner in the city makes only ₹15 or lesser per order on an average,” it added.

Fewer orders

A delivery executive said that the resumption of rates was yet to reflect on their app. “They gave word that the pay structure would be changed to include waiting charges at restaurants, customer point payout of ₹5 and removal of zones so that we won’t have to ride back empty to our zones,” he said.

Another delivery executive said that there were not many orders on Thursday though they had logged in. “Even though many have logged in, Swiggy’s orders seem to be passed on to another company, which is unfair. They are getting ₹30 per order,” he said.

Celebrating women in innovation is crucial to have role models

Celebrating women in innovation is crucial to have role models

Coimbatore-based Avinashlingam Institute of Home Science and Higher Education for Women tops in newly introduced women category in ARIIA 2020

c-Sheetal.Banchariya@timesgroup.com

24.08.2020

TOI Education Times 

In a first, the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievement (ARIIA) 2020 ranked women institutes separately under a special category. The ranking is implemented by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Education Ministry’s Innovation Cell. The Avinashlingam Institute of Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore, has ranked at the first position in the category, followed by Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical Education for Women, Delhi.

“Though the ranking was launched last year, there has been minimal participation from women institutes. Besides, those who apply do not find top spots in the ranking. Seeing some institutes featuring at the top of the ranking will certainly motivate others to participate and will provide the much-needed encouragement to women in the field of innovation,” says Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman, AICTE.

Premavathy Vijayan, vice chancellor of Avinashlingam Institute of Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore, says, “For a long time, only IITs or premier institutes have dominated rankings, especially in the domains of entrepreneurship and innovation. The introduction of the special category may improve the ecosystem and young girls will have more role models. It will also have a positive impact on admissions and placements.”

There is certainly a lack of awareness among the allwomen institutes regarding the importance of ranking as not many participate in global or national rankings.

Amita Dev, vice chancellor of Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical Education for Women, believes that the achievement will open doors for collaborative projects and training. “Getting opportunities to enter the professional space through projects or internships while in college will improve the job and research prospects for young girls, which will eventually, foster gender equality in workplaces.”

“The move will help build the confidence of all-women institutes. There was no provision to apply in the special women category this year, but it was introduced during the final result preparation to encourage more women colleges to apply from next year onwards. We may continue the special category or revoke it after a few years, the decision is not final yet,” he adds. Though the number of women institutes that participated in the 2020 ranking has not been revealed by the ministry, a total of 674 institutions participated in the ranking this year as compared to 496 last year.

A profession that blends law and governance

A profession that blends law and governance

Company secretaries are the torch bearers of corporate governance and compliance in any organisation, reports Shivangi Mishra

24.08.2020

TOI Education Times 

With a new training structure, entrance-based enrolment, expanding global footprint, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) is all set to realign the sector with the changing requirements of Industry 4.0 and attract the best brains to the discipline. “These changes that go into effect from this academic year are aimed at equipping students with requisite technical knowledge and soft skills to meet the expectations of the industry, regulators and other stakeholders,” says Ashish Garg, president, ICSI, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Who is a CS

Giving an insight into what the job role of a company secretary is, Garg says, that they are the torch bearers of corporate governance and compliance. Their role is beyond corporate law and holds a distinct position from chartered accountant’s profession. “CS functions in a multidisciplinary role with the gamut of responsibilities including areas of corporate law, securities and capital market laws, auditing (financial, secretarial, forensic), FEMA laws, GST and various other economic, business commercial laws,” says Garg.

Job roles to fill

Along with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, various regulators like Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), Central Depository Services (CDSL) and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) are recognising company secretaries for the roles being played by them as key managerial personnel, secretarial auditor, compliance officer, insolvency professional and registered valuer. These professionals have also been authorised to represent before Registrar of Companies (RoCs), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Competition Commission of India and Competition Appellate Tribunal, Securities Appellate Tribunal, Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal and various other authorities and other quasi-judicial bodies and tribunals.

“The opportunities are expanding with every passing year. Recently, Company Secretaries have been included in the list of qualification and experience of Arbitrators in the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019. Various other representations have been submitted with the authorities concerned to accord recognitions to Company Secretaries for undertaking activities under those laws,” says Garg.

Entrance exam

To bring the course at par with best modern practices, the institute has undergone a major revamp including introduction of Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test (CSEET). Earlier, the enrolment to the CS course was without any assessment. “Computer-based CSEET has been introduced as the qualifying test for registration to executive programmes keeping in view the diverse academic standards of students seeking admission to the course. It will help filter the quality of enrolments and attract meritorious students,” says Garg. Students from all backgrounds, except Fine Arts, can enrol to CS.

Full report at www.educationtimes.com

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TN to discuss impact of removing restrictions on inter-state travel

TN to discuss impact of removing restrictions on inter-state travel

D.Govardan@timesgroup.com

Chennai  24.08.2020

: Tamil Nadu government is likely to discuss and review the implications of removing restrictions on inter-state movement of people before taking a call as directed by the Union home ministry. The meeting, to be chaired by chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, could take place sometime this week.

In a letter to chief secretaries of various states, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Saturday told state governments that “there shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/approval/e-permit will be required for such movement”, as part of the Centre’s Unlock-3 plan. Terming such restrictions as “violation of guidelines”, he requested the states and their district administrations to ensure that “MHA guidelines are strictly followed”.

In the case of Tamil Nadu, it has brought the intra-state travel of individuals under “autoapproved” mode for e-passes since last Monday. But, inter-state travel requires e-passes, strictly regulated, and adhering to quarantine norms. “We have to discuss and decide. As such there is no restriction for goods movement,” a senior official with the state government told TOI.

“If inter-state border is opened for free access, then there is no possibility of contact tracing, if a need arises to monitor people. We have to look at its implication. Even liberalising epass has led to huge movement,” the official said, while adding that the chief minister will have to take a call on the date for the meeting.

The directive from the Centre has nevertheless come as a welcome development for industries, especially MSMEs, who were largely banking on the return of migrant workers to enable companies to scale up production. The state, in a government order on August 21, added manufacturers of automobiles and their components, components for defence and all export units to the list of industries that can operate on Sundays (when intense lockdown is in place in the state).

“The Centre has now directed free movement of people. We have requested the state to permit returning migrant workers, who produce Covid negative certificate from established labs from their place of origin, to resume work. While a fresh test can be taken on arrival, they can be placed under quarantine for a couple of days until the test results come,” M Balachandran, president, Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers’ Association (AIEMA) said.

“If they test negative once again, they should be allowed to report to work. Small units cannot afford to spend on their 14-day quarantine. In addition, we have also requested the government to permit use of the AIEMA convention centre as a quarantine facility for migrant workers,” Balachandran said.

No e-pass system in Puducherry

Puducherry: The Puducherry government has abolished the epass system following directions from the Union government. “There is no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/approval/e-permit will be required for such movements, as per MHA order,” read a message on the Puducherry government’s website. Secretary (home) Ajay Bhalla in an official communication to the chief secretaries of all states and Union territories made an announcement in this regard. TNN

Bharath University Notification 2020

 

Saveetha Convocation Notification 24.8.2020