No Gmail; govt employees told to use only official email

No Gmail; govt employees told to use only official email

KP.Saikiran@timesgroup.com

Thiruvananthapuram:  03.03.2021 

As part of allaying concerns about government data being shared to private hands and to ensure secure communication between officials, the state government has asked all its employees to switch over to government email services instead of using private ones like Gmail or Yahoo mail.

According to the circular issued by the electronics and information technology department in this regard on February 19 this year (accessed by TOI), the employees have been recommended to use emails under the domain “gov.in”. As per the circular, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) would create two different IDs, one based on the designation of the officer and the other based on the name, on the basis of the requests from the government organisations and departments. Designation-based IDs will be created for those officers who are dealing with the public directly. An officer will be designated for handling the email address in all the departments.

An officer will have to handover the designation-based IDs to his successor officer when he moves out of that post. However, the name-based IDs will remain with the officers during their entire tenure in the government service. Any email account inactive for 90 days will be deactivated after intimating the concerned department, and if it remains inactive without any communication for180 days, it would be permanently deleted. The electronics and IT department has specifically instructed that other than the government websites, the email IDs assigned under this domain should not be used to subscribe for any other service through any other entity. The NIC has also been asked to keep track of the email IDs assigned to each department so that the communication history can be tracked.

The state government’s latest communique is based on the email policy of the Centre issued on February 18, 2015, by which the use of private email services was banned for official purposes. The Centre had come up with email policy as a remedy to the concerns over the foreign servers of the private email service providers and allegations of email snooping by foreign countries.

The ministry of electronics and information technology had then made the policy applicable to all the employees under the union government, and also those states and union territories that choose to go by the policy in future. As per the policy, the domain email.gov.in of the NIC was decided as the official email of the government. This domain would be used for all official communications by all the government organizations, except those dealing with national security.

The state government’s latest communique is based on the email policy of the Centre issued on February 18, 2015, by which the use of private email services was banned for official purposes

Benched DU VC to Prez: Bid to remove me on flimsy grounds

Benched DU VC to Prez: Bid to remove me on flimsy grounds

Manash Gohain & Shradha Chettri TNN

New Delhi:03.03.2021 

Delhi University vice-chancellor YogeshTyagi, who is under suspension since October 28 last year over charges of dereliction of duty, has written to the institutional visitor, President Ram Nath Kovind, alleging that some “elements” from the Union education ministry were encouraging certain “extra constitutional” people to clamour for his removal on flimsy grounds.

In the letter sent on Monday, Tyagi claimed that the inquiry being conducted against him was not in accordance with norms and, hence, his suspension should be revoked. The chancellor’s nominee to the DU Executive Council, Raj Kumar Bhatia, has also written to the enquiry committee with a copy marked to the visitor seeking revocation of Tyagi’s suspension ordered by the President. Asked about the two letters, Bhatia told TOI, “I can’t vouch for professor Tyagi’s letter.” But he admitted to his communication, which is in TOI’s possession.

Tyagi is scheduled to complete his tenure as the VC on March 11. Prior to his suspension, Tyagi was on medical leave.

In his letter, Tyagi said, “The education ministry officials have grossly failed to place before you the various provisions of the Delhi University Act, statutes, ordinances and regulations in their legal (and I would plead, moral as well) perspective as far as they pertain to the role and responsibility of the vice-chancellor personally. Also, some crucial provisions of the Act, statutes and ordinances have been all together overlooked.”

Passenger dies on city bound flight

HEART ISSUES

Passenger dies on city bound flight

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:03.03.2021 

A passenger apparently died of heart attack in a Lucknow bound IndiGo flight on Tuesday early morning while the plane was in Pakistan airspace.

The deceased was identified as Raza Habibur Rehman Ali, who was on wheelchair assistance and was travelling from Sharjah to Lucknow.

Sources said the flight left Sharjah around 1:50am on Tuesday with 158 passengers and had to reach Lucknow by 6:55am, but the pilots had to make medical emergency landing at Karachi airport around 3:20am when Raza fell unconscious apparently after suffering a heart attack.

“On arrival at Karachi airport, the passenger was declared dead.

Abhishek Jaiswal, PRO

of Lucknow airport, said, “The victim’s body was alighted at Ahmedabad airport and sent to a local government hospital. The entire aircraft was sanitised before leaving for Lucknow.”

The flight landed at Lucknow airport at 1:47pm

Delhi riots: Court says 100 suspicions don’t make a proof

Delhi riots: Court says 100 suspicions don’t make a proof

Aamir.khan2@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  03.03.2021 

“From a hundred rabbits you can’t make a horse, a hundred suspicions don’t make a proof.” Quoting these lines from Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, ‘Crime and Punishment’, additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat discharged two men from the charge of attempt to murder in a north-east Delhi violence case on Monday. “Both the accused persons are discharged of the offences under Section 307 (attempt to murder) IPC and Arms Act,” said the order.

The court had earlier observed that according to criminal jurisprudence, there must be some material against the accused persons to frame a charge. “Presumption can't be stretched to take the shape of proof/ evidence,” it remarked.

The prosecution wanted framing of charges against the two men – Babu and Imran – for being members of an unlawful assembly which was armed with weapons and participated in the rioting on February 25, 2020, near Maujpur.

Alleged victim never seen by police: Judge

Despite the police’s warning, they refused to leave the area, flouting the prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC, it was argued. The accused said the charges were false. The court, however, found a prima facie case and sufficient grounds for presuming that both accused persons had committed rioting and other offences under sections 143, 144, 147 and 148 IPC being part of an unlawful assembly, armed with weapons and committing rioting.

When the court enquired if these offences were the reason why the accused were before it, the state denied it, adding that they had committed their act with the intention or knowledge to cause the death of a gunshot victim.

“The gunshot injury is stated to be caused to Rahul but where is he. His statement is not on record,” judge Rawat noted. His order also highlighted that the police had, after carrying out a long investigation, concluded that the Rahul, alleged to have been shot at by a mob, including the two men , had given a wrong address and a wrong mobile phone number in his medico-legal case (MLC).

“So, by the time, the police arrived at the hospital, the alleged victim, Rahul, had vanished. It is not as if Rahul gave any initial statement and then vanished. The state is categorical in saying that the police never saw Rahul. That being the case, who is going to say who shot whom and by whom and where? The alleged victim has never been seen by the police,” the court observed.

Life is too short, says 101-yr-old after jab

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:03.03.2021 

Debunking all myths about the risks associated with the Covid-19 vaccine, super senior Delhiites led the way on Tuesday as the inoculation drive saw the participation of octogenarians, nonagenarians and a centenarian too.

“The vaccine brings hope of normal life being restored,” smiled Vedpal Sareen, 94. Though wheelchair bound, he arrived at Max Hospital in Saket with his son, Sanjeev. The Sareens, however, complained about the lag on the Co-Win portal, with Sanjeev saying, “This is mismanagement. There wouldn’t be the need for queues if the centres had to simply collect the data and feed it into the system later.”

Meanwhile, the directorate of family and welfare took to social media to announce that 101-year-old Harbansh Lal Mehra had received the jab. Mehra advised other elderly citizens to receive the shots. “There has been no medical problem so far. Go ahead, take the vaccine. Life is very short,” said the centenarian.

In east Delhi, Saraswati Manchandana, 85, who was accompanied by her caretaker, was inoculated on Tuesday. “I had a backache while waiting for my turn. The waiting time should be reduced for octogenarians,” she said.

Senior citizens after taking the first shot of vaccine in New Delhi

'From Hundred Rabbits You Can't Make A Horse, Hundred Suspicion Don't Make A Proof': Delhi Court Discharges 2 Accused In Delhi Riots Case

'From Hundred Rabbits You Can't Make A Horse, Hundred Suspicion Don't Make A Proof': Delhi Court Discharges 2 Accused In Delhi Riots Case: 'From a hundred rabbits you can't make a horse, a hunder suspicion don't make a proof' - Quoting lines from Fyodor Dostovsky's book 'Crime and Punishment', Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat on...

Plea to hike cash transport limit up to Rs 15 lakh quashed by Madras HC

Plea to hike cash transport limit up to Rs 15 lakh quashed by Madras HC

However, the counsel for the ECI contended that it would permit people to carry more than Rs 50,000 if they could prove that it was meant for business or other legal purposes.

Published: 02nd March 2021 03:56 AM 

Madras High Court 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a petition by the Coimbatore Corporation Contractors’ Welfare Association seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to permit them to carry up to Rs 15 lakh, depending on the revenue, during the model code of conduct.

The petition, submitted before the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, stated the contractors had to pay wages once a week, and will have no other document but for the cash withdrawal receipt from the bank.

Hence, it is just and necessary that the ECI makes an exemption, by allowing contractors with a turnover of at least Rs 2 crore, Rs 5 crore, Rs 10 crore to carry Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh, respectively, and those having turnover above Rs 10 crore to carry Rs 15 lakh.However, the counsel for the ECI contended that it would permit people to carry more than Rs 50,000 if they could prove that it was meant for business or other legal purposes.