Rajini to use unrecognised party for his political launch?

Rajini to use unrecognised party for his political launch?

Bharti.Jain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  15.12.2020

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth may use an already registered but unrecognised party — Makkal Sevai Katchi — as his political launch vehicle to contest the Tamil Nadu assembly polls next year.

The party, which was originally registered by the Election Commission as Anaithindhia Makkal Shakthi Kazhagam but rechristened as ‘Makkal Sevai Katchi’ through an amended EC notification issued two-and-ahalf months back, may in all likelihood get to contest with ‘autorickshaw’ as its poll symbol.

TOI has learnt that the Election Commission has received an application from Makkal Sevai Katchi seeking allotment of a common poll symbol for candidates that it seeks to field in all 234 assembly seats of the state. The application mentions Rajinikanth’s name, even though it originates from a different person. The application lists ‘two finger’ pose, made famous by Rajinikanth in his 2002 film Baba, as its first preference for poll symbol, while ‘auto’, reminiscent of his 1995 blockbuster ‘Baashha’, is listed as the second preference.

The file is under process, said a source. TOI has, however, learnt that the EC is unlikely to grant Makkal Sevai Katchi the ‘two-finger’ poll symbol as it bears resemblance to the Congress’s ‘hand’ symbol.

4.1L questions in 12 languages: ’21 JEE-M to be held in 4 cycles

4.1L questions in 12 languages: ’21 JEE-M to be held in 4 cycles

Registration For Feb Cycle Likely To Start Later This Week

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  15.12.2020

Sixteen days of tests, 384 question papers in 12 languages and 4.14 lakh questions will define the scale of the Joint Entrance Examination (Main), to be held in four cycles starting February 2021, for admission to engineering courses. Registration of candidates for the February cycle is likely to start later this week.

JEE (Main) 2021 will be conducted once each month, from February to May. The results too would be announced in four to five days so as to give a window of around a week to candidates to apply for the subsequent month’s test.

Amit Khare, secretary, ministry of education, said: “States have their own education Boards which conduct their exams between February and March. Due to the Covid situation, Boards may reschedule their calendar. This is for the benefit of the students so that they get ample opportunity as per their convenience. Moreover, tests like SAT, GRE or TOEFL are conducted multiple times in a year. This will be in sync with international best practices.”

Prof Abhay Karandikar, director, IIT-Kanpur, said, “Conducting it four times is a good move. NTA conducted exams successfully even during Covid times and the agency has the capability to meet the challenges. This will ensure a fair opportunity and much greater flexibility to the candidates.”

However, some experts believe multiple tests would increase stress for students. Ashok Ganguly, educationist and former CBSE chairperson, said: “Allowing the child to appear four times a year will not serve any purpose. It will increase the burden on children who will continue to attend coaching classes to perform better next time and hamper regular studies. It may also lead to frustration. So two opportunities seem sufficient.”

Some others also feel multiple tests may dilute quality. A former IIT director said, “By conducting the same exam so many times, questions will get repeated as the syllabus is fixed, unlike TOEFL or GRE where there is no fixed syllabus. Over a period of time students will mug up and score high. This will have adverse effect on quality.”

NTA, however, believes that the decision to conduct the exam multiple times in a disaggregated fashion is reasonable and suitable in the present times. “Between February and May, candidates will either sit for the Board exams or competitive exams. The coaching phase would be over by then. Also, it is not necessary that all candidates will appear in all four tests. In the present context, situations across the states are different due to the pandemic and we don’t know how and when they will conduct the exams. So candidates will at least get two chances to appear,” said a member of the governing body of NTA and a psychometric expert.

He said: “The assessment is decided on the purpose of the examination, which is to see engineering aptitude and therefore it is not necessary that the paper has to be difficult. JEE (Advanced) forces a student to go beyond the syllabus as its questions are of undergraduate level and it creates a situation of bunching at the top.”

With the inclusion of Punjabi, JEE (Main) will be conducted in 12 languages in 2021. “A very good step to give all children an equal opportunity to attempt an examination in the language they are comfortable with. It will be challenging (for NTA), but one has to rise to the occasion,” said Anuradha Joshi, Principal, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi.

Times View: The willingness to undertake this ambitious exercise indicates the confidence of the National Testing Agency. However, confidence must be backed with rigour. The JEE exams are taken by lakhs of industrious students dreaming of a better future. The NTA should ensure that the examination process is error-free and hassle-free. That’s the real challenge.

After Covid freeze, people are shopping with a vengeance

A Shot In The Arm

After Covid freeze, people are shopping with a vengeance

Namrata.Singh@timesgroup.com

15.12.2020

It’s not merely pent-up demand that's lifting the Indian economy. Green shoots are visible in certain parts across industries. While 30 of the 48 high-frequency economic indicators tracked by the Reserve Bank of India have returned to pre-Covid levels, some, such as passenger vehicle and two-wheeler sales, and insurance premiums, have also shown an uptick.

The recovery in oil consumption and steel production shows increasing demand from construction, infrastructure, automobiles and consumer durables.

Call it ‘revenge buying’, but what’s aiding the recovery process is consumers buying not just the essentials but also apparel, jewellery, crockery and gourmet foods. They are spending on dining out as well.

“Consumers have had enough,” said Pinakiranjan Mishra, partner and leader, consumer products and retail, EY India, “Many haven’t spent money on eating out, shopping or vacations in the last nine months, so there’s a kind of saving they have made. There is frustration and desire to at least enjoy a bit of shopping and travelling with due care.”

Some homestays are fully occupied, said Mishra, while adding that travel is mainly for leisure at present.

Devendra Chawla, CEO, Spencer’s Retail & Nature’s Basket, said, “Footfall is inching up by the day, and it's equal to the number of bills as consumers now venture out when they are sure they will shop.” Although the number of monthly mall trips has come down, the average bill value per trip is 15-20% higher than last year, said Chawla.

In the early months of the pandemic, consumers stocked up the pantry with large packs, but later shifted to small packs from neighborhood stores. Now, large packs are back in demand. According to Kantar, post-Covid volumes have grown in squashes and powders, talcs, sauces and ketchups, bottled soft drinks, jams and feminine hygiene. Almost all these categories had slowed down or declined at the start of the pandemic.

Smaller towns (under 1 lakh population) increased the purchase for 33 categories and metros for 26 categories. “The increase is pronounced in smaller towns and lower SECs, which had perhaps cut down on their purchases sharply,” said K Ramakrishnan, MD-South Asia, Worldpanel Division, Kantar.

In a recent survey by community social media platform LocalCircles, with more than 15,000 responses in 303 districts, 18% of households said they spent significantly more than what they needed to after stores and malls opened.

Retail channel checks by Edelweiss Securities show the recovery has continued after the festive season, driven by demand from weddings and categories like winter wear, jewellery and apparel.

Edelweiss said recovery for quick service restaurants continues as dining in has been permitted in major metro cities. Dine-in is now at roughly 50% of pre-Covid levels while deliveries have already exceeded 100%.

A study conducted jointly by Payback and Unomer shows the preference for party-wear grew 41%, followed by 16% for semi-formal and formal wear. Home decor has seen 44% improvement with 27% consumers saying they have bought, and 39% saying they are planning to buy.

While things already look better, Mishra at EY says, “The real revenge shopping will happen when the vaccine is out.”

Seat scam accused held for cheating another aspirant

MEDICAL ADMISSIONS

Seat scam accused held for cheating another aspirant

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:  15.12.2020

Investigations into the medical college admission racket, in which money was collected by an education consultancy firm from unsuspecting parents seeking seats for their wards, revealed that the main accused had evaded arrest earlier by getting anticipatory bail.

The accused, 29-year-old Shahe Abrahar of Overseas Education Research Foundation on Rest House Road in central business district, had come under police radar in February 2019 when he was  accused of cheating a medical seat aspirant of Rs 1.7 lakh. He is currently in police custody for duping a 62-yearold man of Rs 10 lakh.

In the 2019 case registered by Cubbon Park police, the FIR identified the suspects as Vijay Sampagilam, Abrahar and the latter’s father Mohammed Ibrahim. While Vijay and Ibrahim were nabbed, Abrahar had managed to get anticipatory bail. However, police are yet to submit a chargesheet in the case.

Though chargesheet has to be filed within 90 days of registering the case, Cubbon Park police had sought more time from the court. Now with Abrahar in custody, police said they will file chargesheets in both the cases.

Cops arrested Abrahar after 62-year-old Vinak HS, a resident of HSR Layout, filed a cheating complaint on October 10. The complainant alleged that Abrahar had contacted him over phone, saying he could get a medical seat for his daughter in a private college in Shivamogga.

“Saying he will get a government seat which would cost Rs 2 lakh per year, Abrahar took Rs 10 lakh from me. But my daughter was allotted a seat that cost Rs 10 lakh fee per year,” Vinay stated in his complainant.

‘Fraudster network’

“Each year, over half a dozen cases of cheating related to seats in medical and engineering colleges are reported in the city. There is an established network of such miscreants. First, they download names and other details of candidates seeking seats at colleges located in and around Bengaluru. Then, they start calling the candidates, offering a seat for payment. During the conversation, these fraudsters claim they have solid contacts in college managements and can easily get the seats, provided candidates shell out money,” a senior police officer explained.

In September 2019, Central Crime Branch sleuths arrested 11 people on charges of cheating medical and engineering seat aspirants of money. Probe had revealed some of the accused were from the city, while a majority of them were from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. Two of the prime accused were running a job consultancy in Jayanagar, which they had opened a few months ago. “The consultancy office was set up just to collect money from the victims. The accused never did job-related work there,” an investigator said.

Abrahar had come under police radar in February 2019 when he was accused of cheating a medical seat aspirant of Rs 1.7 lakh. However, he managed to get anticipatory bail. He is now in custody for duping a 62-year-old man, who claims Abrahar contacted him over phone

With preschools closed, parents bring tutors home

With preschools closed, parents bring tutors home

SruthySusan.Ullas @timesgroup.com

15.12.2020

Bengaluru: Four-and-a-half-year-old Aarav Shukla eagerly awaits Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when his teacher comes home and takes lessons. He finishes his breakfast early, gets his books, pencils and crayons together, helps his mom roll out the mat on the floor and waits for the doorbell to ring.

Aarav is one of many preschoolers who have teachers coming home for lessons after his pre-school shut in March due to the pandemic. Realising that online classes aren’t helping toddlers, many parents are opting for a programme some pre-schools offer where teachers come home for an hour or two on specific days to interact with their children.

“We tried online classes for a month,” said Ramya N, a marketing general manager of a private healthcare company, who has opted for Klay preschools’ ‘teacher@home’ programme. “My three-year-old refused to sit in front of the laptop for more than 10 minutes. I had my own office schedule and could not give him undivided attention. So, we decided to opt for the programme. Now, he gets a solid two hours daily with the teacher and I don’t feel guilty that I’ve neglected his learning needs.”

Swetha Ramdas, Aarav’s mother, said a teacher at home has brought in a schedule that was otherwise missing after work-from-home began. “It was challenging to maintain a schedule. Now with a teacher coming in, things are in place,” she said.

Teachers too say it has been an experience. “The children get excited when we go to their homes. They take us to their favourite rooms, show us their favourite toys and introduce us to their relatives. Unlike in school, they are more comfortable,” said Swetha Sthanikam, a teacher of Koala preschool, RT Nagar.

Pankti Jayesh Dubal, a teacher in Klay, said, “While this is a joyful experience, I miss school. Children learn from each other and this is missing at home.” Pre-schools managements monitor the health of the teacher and family members on a daily basis for safety purposes.

“We have had 450 enrolments for the programme, out of which 250 are from Bengaluru,” said Srikanth AK, CEO, Klay preschools. “While online classes are a good substitute, they remain a substitute at best. The social aspect is still missing in the child’s learning. It’s also a crucial time in a child’s life as they learn a lot during these years,”

Alifiya Zavery, senior manager Academics, said: “We had to recruit many teachers and train them. It was a win-win situation as many talented teachers had lost their jobs.”

RIGHT STEPS: Teachers say going to toddlers' homes has been a delightful experience

Fake coronavirus vaccines flood darknet, sell for $250

Fake coronavirus vaccines flood dark net, sell for $250

PREYING ON FEAR Over 1k New Domains Have Cropped Up In Nov, Says Report

Just Five Vendors At Traditional Groundnut Fair

Chethan.Kumar@timesgroup.com

15.12.2020

Bengaluru: With a vaccine now appearing the only way to beat the pandemic, the dark net has been flooded with hundreds of domains promising ‘vaccines’ at a price — in some cases for as much as $250.

In its latest report, Check Point Research, a global cyber security firm, has found a stream of posts on the internet from sources claiming to have a range of ‘coronavirus vaccines’ or remedies for sale.

From “available coronavirus vaccine $250” to “Say bye bye to Covid-19=Chloroquine Phosphate” and “buy fast. Coronavirus Vaccine is out now,” the range of remedies advertised is extensive.

The findings come close on the heels of Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, issuing an early warning notification last week. “When a Covid-19 vaccine does become available, it will likely not be available for sale online. However, fraudulent pharmaceutical products advertised as allegedly treating or preventing Covid-19 are already on sale, both offline and online,” the notification reads.

The Check Point report notes: “All the vendors we found insist on payment in bitcoin as it minimizes chances of being traced, casting further doubt on the authenticity of the medicines they are selling. In communications with one vendor, they offered to sell an unspecified Covid-19 vaccine for 0.01 BTC (around$300), and claimed that 14 doses were required. This advice contradicts official announcements which state that some vaccines require two shots, given 3 weeks apart, per person.”

1k+ new domains

November’s positive news about vaccine trials and imminent availability has resulted in a surge in new web domains that relate to Covid-19 or vaccines, the report read. Check Point said that since the beginning of November, 1,062 new domains were registered which contain the word “vaccine”. Of these, 400 also contain “covid” or “corona”.

These figures are equivalent to the numbers in the previous three months (August, September and October) combined, the report read. It also found that besides trying to sell fake vaccines, cybercriminals are also using vaccine-related news as bait for phishing campaigns.

Some emails were found delivering malicious ‘.exe files’ with the name ‘Download_Covid 19 New approved vaccines.23.07.2020.exe’ that installs an InfoStealer capable of gathering login information, usernames and passwords to enable threat actors to take over accounts.

2021 threat perception

Terming the pandemic an ultra-rare yet high-impact event that has derailed business, the firm said separate research showed 58% of security professionals reporting an increase in cyber threats since lockdowns were imposed.

Hackers have also sought to take advantage of disruption caused by the pandemic and “pharma companies developing vaccines will also continue to be targeted by malicious attacks from criminals or nation-states looking to exploit the situation,” the report read.

Aside from this a range of phishing activity, including targeting parents with remote learning and increased malware attacks have been predicted.

ONLINE SCAM: From “available coronavirus vaccine $250” to “Say bye bye to Covid-19”, the range of remedies advertised is extensive

Centre to buy 351m more syringes for vaccination

PREPARING FOR THE VACCINE

Centre to buy 351m more syringes for vaccination

Chethan.Kumar@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: 15.12.2020

As part of its pan-India Covid-vaccination plan, the Centre will procure 351 million more syringes, according to tender documents reviewed by TOI. The government has already placed orders for 230 million syringes. The additional procurement will take the total number for Covid vaccination to around 600 million, in sync with the plan to vaccinate 300 million people (two doses each) in the first few phases.

The tender issued by the Central Medical Services Society (CMSS), under the ministry of health and family welfare, is for “0.5ml auto disable

syringe for fixed dose immunisation with fixed needle” and the estimated bid cost is ₹65.7 crore.

As per the December 11 tender, the government has set short delivery targets for procurement which will happen in four batches of 87.8 million pieces each. The first batch is expected to be delivered 60 days after the order is placed and the last within 150 days.

According to more than one industry representative, this is the first fresh tender being issued for syringes.

“The earlier orders were placed as an extension of existing contracts between firms and the ministry and devices were supplied at old rates,” one of them said.

Sandeep Bhandari, vicepresident, Iscon Surgicals, which has already shipped out 20 million syringes of 52.2 million it has orders for, said: “Order for another 100 million we’ll soon get is part of the old contract. We’ll bid for the new tender as there is enough capacity to fulfil existing orders.”