14 from VIT chosen for Google programme

14 from VIT chosen for Google programme

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:28.7.2021

As many as 14 students from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) have been selected for Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2021, a global programme to bring more student developers into open source software development.

For this year, 1,286 students from 69 countries including India have started their 10-week online programming projects, with 199 opensource organizations.

All student participants will be paired with a mentor to begin planning their projects and milestones. This will help students to familiarize themselves with the language needed to complete their projects.

“Despite the pandemic and remote working environment, it’s always a motivating factor to see 14 of our students getting selected,” said G Viswanathan, chancellor of VIT.

Address travails of Canada-bound students’

Address travails of Canada-bound students’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: 28.7.2021

With no direct flights and stringent Covid-19 norms imposed by the Canadian government on Indian travellers, the cost of travelling there has gone up almost three-fold for students.

The issue was discussed during a national-level meeting of travel agents held on Tuesday.

Canada has banned all direct flights from India till August 21. During that period, passengers who travel to Canada from India via an indirect route will need to obtain a pre-departure negative Covid-19 test result from a third country before continuing their journey to Canada.

Given these developments, a travel agents’ body, Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI), Gujarat, made a representation to the external affairs ministry.

“We demand that the Canadian government accept and validate Indian RT-PCR reports and allow Indian students, permanent residents, and work-permit and visitor visa holders to enter directly without any transit hassles,” states the representation.

Manish Sharma, chairman, TAFI-Gujarat chapter, said: “Students have to bear an additional cost of at least Rs 2-2.5 lakh to get to Canada because they have to transit through another country.” Sharma went on to say: “Moreover, those travelling via different countries must also comply with all the restrictions and regulations of these countries, which frequently keep changing.” An estimated 15,000 students are set to travel to Canada this year, according to TAFI-Gujarat.

Three-fold rise in travel cost, changing Covid norms and other issues taken up by travel agents at national-level meeting

OBC, EWS reservation in all-India quota reviewed by PM

OBC, EWS reservation in all-India quota reviewed by PM

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 28.7.2021

In a significant move with political bearings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reviewed the issue of OBC and EWS reservation in all-India quota (AIQ) of medical education and directed the ministries concerned to resolve the issue on priority.

According to government sources, the demand for the quota was discussed in the meeting attended by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Health Minister Mansukh Mandavia and relevant secretaries as well as other senior officials.

The strong push from the Prime Minister needs to be seen in the context of recent developments like the reshuffle of the Union council of ministers where the government and BJP highlighted the enhanced representation of OBCs. It also comes at a time when the Centre has moved to undo the Supreme Court's ruling that state lists of OBCs will be drawn up by the central government. The clear pro-OBC push, seen in the light of forthcoming elections in states like UP where Mandal politics has dominated till recently, and in the context of the next national elections, reveals the political priorities of BJP.

Covishield generates 93% protection, says AFMC study

Covishield generates 93% protection, says AFMC study

New Delhi: 28.7.2021

Covishield generated 93% protection against Covid, whereas mortality due to the infection came down by 98% during the second wave which was driven by Delta variant, officials said citing a vaccine effectiveness study conducted by Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC).

The study was conducted on 15 lakh doctors and frontline workers in AFMC who were administered with Covishield. “Protection to the extent of 93% was seen (in people who were administered Covishield) and this was during the second wave which was driven by the Delta variant... also 98% mortality reduction was seen,” Niti Aayog member, health, Dr V K Paul said underlining the role of vaccination to protect against death as well as infection.He, however, also highlighted the need to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour as no vaccine alone can guarantee protection against the infection. “No vaccine guarantees that infection will not happen but serious disease gets prevented and nearly eliminated,” he said. TNN

Settle OBC, EWS quota issue in med edu: PM to ministries

PRIORITY AREA

Settle OBC, EWS quota issue in med edu: PM to ministries

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 28.7.2021

In a significant move with political bearings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reviewed the issue of OBC and EWS reservation in all-India quota (AIQ) of medical education and directed the ministries concerned to resolve the issue on priority.

According to government sources, the demand for the quota was discussed in the meeting attended by education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, health minister Mansukh Mandavia and relevant secretaries as well as other officials.

The strong push from the Prime Minister needs to be seen in the context of recent developments like the reshuffle of the Union council of ministers where the government and BJP highlighted the enhanced representation of OBCs. It also comes at a time when the Centre has moved to undo the Supreme Court’s ruling that state lists of OBCs will be drawn up by the central government.

The clear pro-OBC push, seen in the light of forthcoming elections in states like UP where Mandal politics has dominated till recently, and in the context of the next national elections, reveals the political priorities of BJ P. Looking to consolidate the OBC support it has received, BJP would like to seriously undermine its castebased rivals. The EWS reference is a balancing act, something a pan-national party would consider, to avoid alienating the forwards.

OBC reservation in AIQ of medical education has been a long standing demand of medical aspirants.

The AIQ seats in medicine were created on the directions of the Supreme Court in 1984. All states were required to surrender 15% undergraduate and 50% postgraduate medical and dental seats in state-run colleges to a “central pool” with the rest going to a “state pool”.

So far for admission, SC and ST have reservations in this quota, but there is no reservation for OBCs.

Varsity’s cash awards for students with Oly glory

Varsity’s cash awards for students with Oly glory

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jalandhar: 28.7.2021

As 11 students of Lovely Professional University (LPU), Phagwara, are part of the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics, the varsity has announced cash awards for its students who would win a medal at the mega quadrennial inter-continental sports event.

The university will give Rs 50 lakh to the gold medal winner, Rs 25 lakh to silver medallist and Rs10 lakh each to the bronze medal winners.

LPU chancellor Ashok Mittal said their students were participating in wrestling, hockey, athletics and paralympics and they made 10% of the Indian contingent. “Sports is a huge focus for us and we support and motivate our athletes in all ways possible. We established our high class sports complex at LPU and have created a team of highly qualified national and international trainers and coaches. It is heartening that those efforts are already producing results,’’ he added.

Govt concerned over spike in 22 dists, mostly in Kerala, NE

Govt concerned over spike in 22 dists, mostly in Kerala, NE

Rise In Number Of Dists With 10%+ Positivity

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: 28.7.2021

Even as the average daily new Covid cases are declining consistently, the Centre expressed concern over 22 districts showing a rising trend in daily new cases in last four weeks along with an increase in number of districts reporting positivity rate of above 10%.

In the week ending July 26, around 54 districts reported Covid positivity rate at above 10%, up from 46 districts in the previous week (July 14-20). Health officials warned that though the majority of these districts are currently concentrated in Kerala and north-east indicating localised transmission, strict containment measures are required as many countries including Malaysia and Thailand are witnessing a sharp uptick in cases.

“If we look from a global perspective, the pandemic is far from over. There is a noticeable increase in the number of cases across the world, which remains the area of concern. We have to work on containing the spread of the virus with strictness,” Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry said.

The 22 districts where daily cases are showing an increasing trend include seven from Kerala, five from Manipur, three in Meghalaya and two from Maharashtra. As per the data, there are still 62 districts in the country where over 100 cases are reported every day, which are found in a localised set of areas of these districts.