HC starts contempt proceedings against Ambedkar Univ VC

HC starts contempt proceedings against Ambedkar Univ VC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:25.08.2021

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court has initiated contempt proceedings against Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University vice-chancellor Prof Sanjai Singh for wilful disobedience of an order passed by the court on July 6. The order has come ahead of the President’s visit to BBAU for its 9th convocation on August 26, The proceedings have been initiated by Justice Sangeeta Chandra in an order passed on August 19. The case has been listed for September 21. The contempt application was filed by Avanish Kumar Srivastava, the former internal audit officer (consultant) of BBAU, on August 17. The petitioner had earlier moved court in April stating that BBAU had on November 28, 2018 and May 21, 2020 reduced his monthly salary with retrospective effect and subsequently his services too were discontinued.

The university’s counsel said the decision was taken by the board of management and that the entire minutes and resolution of the committee were sent to the Union ministry of education for further action.

Srivastava’s counsel cited the BBAU statutes which provide for an appeal before the vice-chancellor. The court stated that the petitioner be given the liberty to approach the VC within two weeks. In case such a representation/appeal is preferred before the VC, it shall be considered and decided on its own merits in accordance with the law within three weeks from July 6.

KU senate to decide on recalling certificates

MARKS MANIPULATION

KU senate to decide on recalling certificates

TIMES-NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram:  25.08.2021

The Kerala University senate meeting scheduled on Thursday would consider an amendment proposal to empower the varsity to recall the certificates issued by it if they were later found to have issued wrongly.

The amendment said the university was necessitated by the issuance of certificates to several students after they got excess marks allegedly due to error in the tabulation software. In 2019, 23 students were issued degree certificates by gifting them additional marks. It was found out that the user ID and password of a deputy registrar was misused to manipulate mark list. The deputy registrar was then suspended and a section officer who was identified as the kingpin behind such manipulations was later dismissed from service. Though the university had initially sought a crime branch inquiry to the ‘inadvertent awarding of marks’, the varsity is yet to hand over the documents to the probe agency. The university has been facing severe criticism for the delay in annulling the certificates issued to the 23 students.

The agenda of the special meeting of the senate plans to pass amendment in the Kerala University first statutes so that “degrees, diplomas, titles, etc, may be recalled at any time after it is made where evidence is placed before the syndicate to show that any person whom such degree, diploma, certificate, title, etc, was awarded by mistake of fact....provided that every person affected by the recalling of the degree, diploma, certificate, title shall be given sufficient opportunity as determined by the syndicate to complete the prescribed course of study and pass the prescribed examination if the situation warrants correction and reissue of the degree, diploma, certificate, title, etc. and if otherwise the syndicate may take such decision as it deem fit,” it said.

Thanks to upgradation, train trips to Mumbai, Tirupati to get shorter

Thanks to upgradation, train trips to Mumbai, Tirupati to get shorter

The upgraded signalling system covers 9 stations, 17 interlocked level crossing gates and one intermediate block signal. The works were taken up at a cost of Rs 9.45 crore.

Published: 25th August 2021 05:17 AM 

By B Anbuselvan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Travelling time from Chennai to Mumbai and Tirupati will soon come down by 20 to 30 minutes with the railways gearing up track and signal upgradation works in Arakkonam - Renigunta section to facilitate operation of trains at a speed of 130 kmph. Presently, the maximum permitted speed in the section is 105 to 110 kmph.

As part of the proposal to enhance the speed of trains in Golden Quadrilateral section and diagonal routes connecting Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, a double distant signalling system has been installed in the 67 km track between Arakkonam and Renigunta.

The upgraded signalling system covers 9 stations, 17 interlocked level crossing gates and one intermediate block signal. The works were taken up at a cost of Rs 9.45 crore. The section has also been provided with an advanced automatic signalling system supported by Train Protection and Warning System, which ensures that no further upgradation is required for increasing the speed.

The track strengthening works in the section involves elimination of 27 manned level crossing gates, complete renewal of tracks and concrete sleepers and improvement of switch expansion joints and replacing curved switches with thick web switches.

“Construction of limited user subway, road over and road under bridge in this section is under progress. Track has been renewed completely for the 17 kms between Nagari and Puttur. Track expansion joints are being upgraded,” said a railway official. The official added that the track would be inspected and speed trials would be conducted upon completion of the works.

Unlock: Beaches crowded in Chennai, theatres still empty

Unlock: Beaches crowded in Chennai, theatres still empty

While some cinema halls screen old movies, others await new releases to help them return to business with a bang by end of the week

Published: 24th August 2021 06:51 AM |

As lockdown relaxations were announced, cinema theatres, beaches and other tourist spots saw huge crowds as people got to partake in leisure activities | V KARTHIKALAGU/ DEBADATTA MALLICK

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: At least 500 people have visited the theatre asking if there was a show, said N Kumarajan, security guard at Sathyam Cinemas. Visitors had expected theatres to be open after the State government allowed them to operate with 50 per cent occupancy starting Monday.

However, the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association have decided to open the theatres from either Thursday or Friday, with grand re-openings, in the hopes drawing of film lovers during the weekend.

The few theatres that have opened, are screening old MGR movies, like the Palace Theatre in Tiruchy. Around 25 people watched the celebrated actor’s dual-role in ‘Enga Veetu Pillai’ movie.Thiyagarajan, a distributor and owner of a theatre said, “Not more than three theatres have opened on Monday in Tiruchy. More may open from Friday with the screening of ‘Conjuring 3’. We will only know on Tuesday.”

He added that reopening the theatres with old movies might not draw crowds. “OTT platforms are showing the most recent movies. How can we compete? Showing an old movie is not a risk worth taking. We plan to open with a theatre-only film on Friday,” he said.

One of the partners of the TPV Multiplex, Alangulam in Tenkasi, Karunakararaja, believes that despite the recent exponential growth of OTT platforms, theatres will draw a crowds as usual. They are also planning to reduce the ticket price from Rs 110 to Rs 50 as an attraction, he said.

Beach vendors happy

The opening of beaches have given renewed hopes to vendors. On Monday morning, the vendors along the Marina in Chennai were seen repairing and painting their shops as the salty breeze had caused several of them to rust.

“We have incurred a huge loss in the last four months. I had to borrow money in the hope of a huge crowd. The chairs and plastic seaters have started withering, the iron rods on the shops have rusted, the iron gas stoves have gathered dust,” said Nizamuthin, who was scraping dust from a huge stove.

Some vendors who had alternative shops managed to balance the loss, while others had to wait. “We have a horse chariot ride which is now destroyed due to the rain and wind. I only have money to restore the shop. I shall repair the horse ride after I make some profit,” said Shankari Babu

K Ganapathi who earns a livelihood taking photos of visitors on the Velankanni beach was all smiles. “On a good day, we earn about Rs 1,000. This was one such day. It is good to see people back again,” he said.

(With inputs from Antony Fernando @ Nagapattinam, Aadhithya MS @ Tiruchy, Jayalakshmi Ramanujam @ Madurai, Thinakaran Rajamani @ Tenkasi, Deepak Sathish @ Coimbatore)

Mild tremors felt in Chennai as 5.1 magnitude quake hits Bay of Bengal, no tsunami threat

Mild tremors felt in Chennai as 5.1 magnitude quake hits Bay of Bengal, no tsunami threat

Brushing aside fears, D Srinagesh, Head of the Seismology Observatory in the National Geophysical Research Institute, said there is nothing unusual about these moderate quakes in the Bay of Bengal

Published: 24th August 2021 06:29 PM 

Representational image (Photo | PTI)

By SV Krishna Chaitanya

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Mild tremors were felt in parts of Chennai as an earthquake measuring 5.1 magnitude on the Richter scale hit the Bay of Bengal region on Tuesday afternoon.

The quake, reported at 12.35 pm, was at a depth of 10 km in the Bay of Bengal and was about 296 km south-south east of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh and 320 km east north east of Chennai, confirmed officials at the National Centre for Seismology. Meanwhile, the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre ruled out any tsunami threat.

A seismologist from the National Centre for Seismology told The New Indian Express that the location where the earthquake occurred is close to the mid-oceanic ridge. "There are two ridges which are located 85 degrees east and 90 degrees east. This earthquake has occurred close to one of these ridges. These are actually aseismic ridges, which means they are not supposed to produce earthquakes. But since these are topographically high, they are slightly active and can once in a while trigger earthquakes. In February 2019 also, an earthquake of similar magnitude was reported in the Bay of Bengal region," he explained and added that the Bay of Bengal region on the Indian tectonic plate was not prone to earthquakes.

This Indian plate ranges from the Himalayas to Africa to Andaman to 1,000 km off the Chennai coast. "It is a very stable tectonic plate," the official said. However, seismologists from Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, say it is a major concern that a quake has struck so close to the east coast of India. The last earthquake in February 2019 was reported about 447.4 km northwest of Visakhapatnam and 609.1 km west-southwest of Chennai. Now, this quake was reported just over 300 km off the Chennai coast.

Brushing aside fears, D Srinagesh, Head of the Seismology Observatory in the National Geophysical Research Institute, told The New Indian Express that there is nothing unusual about these moderate earthquakes in the Bay of Bengal region. "But, we have to keep a close watch on the underwater ridges and fault lines in the region along the east coast. Occasionally, they get seismically active when stress builds up."

He said except for one 5.1 magnitude earthquake, there were no aftershock events reported on Tuesday. The seismic stations in Chennai, Kalahasti or Warangal did not record anything. "People have only reported mild tremors for about one to two seconds," he said.

TM Balakrishnan Nair, director of Operational Ocean Services and Applied Research (OSAR) Group at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), told The New Indian Express that there was no perceived threat. "The early warning centre at INCOIS continuously monitors seismic and sea-level data. We should be concerned only when an earthquake in excess of 6.5 magnitude strikes."

The early warning centre at INCOIS detects all earthquake events of more than 6 magnitude occurring in the Indian Ocean in less than 12 minutes. Bottom Pressure Records (BPRs) installed in the Deep Ocean are the key sensors to confirm the triggering of a tsunami. The centre uses a custom-built software application that generates alarms/alerts whenever a pre-set threshold is crossed. Tsunami warnings/watches are then generated based on pre-set decision support rules and disseminated to the concerned authorities for action, following a Standard Operating Procedure.

When contacted, Director of State Disaster Management N Subbaiyan said some parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, have only reported mild tremors. "There is no threat of tsunami or storm surge. No warnings at this juncture are warranted."

On Tuesday, many Chennaites took to social media to report the tremors. People living in areas like Adyar and neighbouring Thiruvanmiyur said they felt mild tremors, with some Twitter users saying they could even see the furniture 'shaking.'

Khatabook raises $100mn from a slew of investors

FINTECH CO

Khatabook raises $100mn from a slew of investors

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:25.08.2021

Fintech startup Khatabook has closed a $100 million Series C funding round, valuing the firm close to $600 million. The round was led by US-based VC firms Tribe Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV). Other investors in this oversubscribed round were Alkeon Capital, and existing investors B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, RTP Ventures, Unilever Ventures, and Better Capital. There were individual investors too.

Khatakbook is buying back $10 million worth of ESOPs to reward employees, ex-employees, and early investors. Eligible employees will be able to sell as much as 30% of their vested options. Khatabook has also expanded its ESOP pool to $50 million.

Khatabook provides software to enable small businesses to do bookkeeping, and to accept online payments. It has apps like Pagarkhata for staff management, Cashbook for expense management, and it recently acquired Biz Analyst for insight-driven decision making and business management for Tally ERP9 users.The company’s revenue grew 150% in the last fiscal. Across all its software products, Khatabook has over 10 million monthly active users. The user base is across almost every district in India.

In the next phase of growth, the venture expects to provide financial services. It is looking for partnerships to enable this. The fresh funding will also help the startup to strengthen its talent base. Khatabook currently has 200 employees.

Ravish Naresh, CEO and co-founder of Khatabook, said, “The first phase of our journey was enabling digital transformation by building a tech ecosystem for Indian MSMEs. Now that we have created a widely accepted digital platform, the next step will be digitallyenabled financial services for small businesses.”

Without textbooks, attendance will be meaningless, says HC

Without textbooks, attendance will be meaningless, says HC

Bengaluru:25.08.2021

Observing that without textbooks, attendance in schools will be meaningless and purposeless, the high court on Tuesday said the state government should ensure supply of textbooks to students of classes 9 and 10.

A division bench comprising justices BV Nagarathna and P Krishna Bhat said that the court is not satisfied with the statement on the issue of supply of textbooks. The court directed the state government to submit a status report on the progress made vis-a-vis supply of textbooks in government and aided schools till August 30.The bench suggested that education officers at taluk level send textbooks in PDF format to those who have the necessary gadgets and make an effort to provide printouts of PDFs to those who don’t.

The additional government advocate told the court that textbooks will be supplied in a phased manner by September 30. He also informed the court that a decision on resuming physical classes for students of standards 1-8 will be taken at a meeting on August 30. TNN