JEE exam ‘fraud’: CBI files FIR against pvt institute

JEE exam ‘fraud’: CBI files FIR against pvt institute

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:03.09.2021

CBI has filed an FIR against a private institute and its officials in connection with allegations of irregularities allegedly committed in the ongoing JEE (Mains) Exams 2021 and carried out searches on Thursday at a number of locations in various cities in connection with the alleged manipulation. Several persons are being questioned and multiple arrests are likely, officials said.

The directors and ofrficials of the institute, Affinity Education, were allegedly manipulating the online examination of JEE (Mains) and facilitating aspiring students to get admission in top NITs in consideration of huge amount by solving the question papers through remote access from a chosen examination centre in Sonepat, Haryana. It has been alleged that the accused used to obtain 10th and 12th marksheets, the user IDs, passwords, and postdated cheques of aspiring students in different parts of country as security and once admission was done, they used to collect heavy amount, ranging from ₹12-₹15 lakh from each such candidate.

Full report on www.toi.in

No bail for passport official

GRAFT CASE

No bail for passport official

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:03.09.2021

The Madras high court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of a passport official who was booked by the CBI for issuing passports illegally to Sri Lankans after taking bribes from travel agents.

The court was hearing the anticipatory bail plea of Madurai regional passport office senior superintendent V Veeraputhiran, who has been accused of entering into criminal conspiracy to provide passports to Sri Lankans, who were ineligible for Indian passports, after taking bribe of 45,000 from travel agents, when he was deputed to the passport office in Tirunelveli district in 2019.

On August 18, the court had granted interim anticipatory bail to the petitioner for two weeks and directed him to cooperate with the inquiry. When the case was taken up for hearing on Thursday, assistant solicitor general L Victoria Gowri submitted that as per the conditions imposed by the court, the petitioner appeared before CBI from August 27. However, the petitioner had not cooperated for inquiry as directed by the court and had produced certain medical records about sustaining spine injuries.

Justice B Pugalendhi observed that the petitioner was instrumental in providing illegal passports to people who were not citizens of India, adding that custodial interrogation is warranted in this case to find out how many such passports were issued, while dismissing the petition.

Legislation to do away with NEET may not have legal sanctity

Legislation to do away with NEET may not have legal sanctity

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:3.09.2021

The TN government’s decision to pass a legislation to do away with National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and to provide for medical admissions based on marks obtained in the qualifying examination is based on suggestions from a committee led by chief secretary V Irai Anbu.

The legal validity of such legislation, however, is questionable given that the Supreme court had upheld the constitutional validity of uniform entrance examination both at the UG and PG level. It also requires the President’s assent.

A government policy note tabled in the assembly on Thursday said an official committee of secretaries led by the chief secretary was constituted to suggest appropriate measures to implement recommendations of a committee led by retired judge Justice A K Rajan on NEET. The Rajan committee submitted its report on July14.

The government said this would ensure social justice and protect all vulnerable student communities from being discriminated against in admission to medical education.

It is learned the CS-led committee comprising secretaries of health, school, higher education and law suggested the legal route after the Rajan committee reported the challenges faced by the rural students, those of whom studied in government schools, in Tamil medium of instruction. The Rajan committee found a sharp contrast in medical admission of rural and urban students besides repeaters gaining huge access to medical courses than first time applicants. “The fresh bill will be introduced either on Monday or Tuesday. The students will have to appear for NEET on September11 this year,” said a source.

As for the legal validity of the proposed bill, senior advocate K M Vijayan said, “As long as higher education is concerned, in the matters relating to determination of standards of higher education, the powers are vested with the Union government. The states cannot pass a law under Entry 25 of List III, subject to certain entries in List I. These areas are exclusive domains of Parliament.”

There were heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition over the conduct of NEET during the debate on demand for grants for the health and family welfare department in the assembly. While the UPA government introduced NEET, former chief M Karunanidhi strongly opposed it. The examination took place only when the AIADMK was in power, health minister Ma Subramanian said. He was reacting to AIADMK (Pappireddipatti) MLA A Govindasamy, who wondered whether the DMK regime was unwilling to give credit to EPS for 7.5% NEET quota for government school students given that the policy note cited only the recommendation of the commission led by retired judge Justice P Kalaiyarasan.

(With inputs from J Shanmugasundaram)

The legal validity of such legislation, is questionable given the SC had upheld the constitutional validity of uniform entrance exam both at UG and PG level

19 sacked staffers protest at Nimhans

19 sacked staffers protest at Nimhans

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:  02.09.2021

Alleging that their jobs were illegally terminated at Nimhans, 19 hospital assistants have been protesting on the hospital campus for the past two months. Sixteen of them are women. Nimhans, however, claimed they were from an outsourcing agency and were not employed by the hospital.

Nimhans Pragathipara Workers Union said hospital assistants employed in the radiology department had demanded a night drop in July since night curfew was in force and those on the second shift got off work only at 9.30pm. “The second shift was only till 7.30pm but it was extended to 9.30pm making it difficult for the women to get back home,” said M Basava Raj, general secretary of the union. “When they demanded a night drop, they were removed from work.”

The women have been demanding that they be reinstated. They stage a dharna every day, condemning the institute’s move which has cost them their jobs.

While the union claimed 19 women lost their jobs, Nimhans said 16 workers who were outsourced from an agency were protesting, and the hospital had nothing to do with it. “All the 16 workers belong to Vinayaka Enterprises, the outsourcing agency. None of these persons are employed by Nimhans and the institute does not have control over these workers,” the institute said in its release.

Raj, however, said: “The agency entered into a contract with Nimhans only in 2017, but 16 of the striking staffers were recruited long before that.”

NO WORK: Employees who were allegedly terminated from their jobs at Nimhans protest outside the hospital in Bengaluru on Wednesday

‘You can easily monitor blood pressure at home’

‘You can easily monitor blood pressure at home’

Dr Roopesh Singhal, MBBS, MD, DM, Cardiology, shares about things a patient should keep in mind while monitoring blood pressure at home, including position and time of measurement:

If you want to monitor your blood pressure regularly, you can easily do so at home using an automated or digital blood pressure machine. To accurately measure your blood pressure at home:

Place the cuff on your upper arm Relax your arm and place it on the arm of the chair or a table Press the button on the blood pressure machine to inflate the cuff and sit calmly without talking Jot down the result

TIPS FOR MEASURING YOUR RESTING BLOOD PRESSURE AT HOME:

Check the device’s accuracy. Before using a monitor for the first time, have your doctor check its accuracy against the office model

Don’t measure your blood pressure right after waking up

Avoid food, caffeine, tobacco and alcohol for 30 minutes before taking a measurement

Go to the bathroom beforehand, since a full bladder can elevate your blood pressure slightly

Before using the device, sit quietly for about 5 minutes in a comfortable position with your legs and ankles uncrossed and your back well-supported

Stay calm, avoid thinking about stressful things, and don’t talk to anyone while your blood pressure is being measured

Place the cuff on bare skin, not over clothing. Rolling up a sleeve until it tightens around the arm can result in an inaccurate reading

Wait for one to three minutes after the first reading, and then take another to check its accuracy

Contact no: 9099016535 Email : roopeshsinghal@gmail.com Address : The Heart Clinic, Akshat Multispeciality Hospital, 7th Floor, Medico house, Near Visat circle , Motera Ahmedabad- 380005 * Views expressed in the column are the sole responsibility of the expert

Dr Roopesh Singhal

Difficult to hold ’22 polls if EVMs not freed: EC

EVMs Locked As SC Extended Limitation Period To File Poll Petitions Due To Covid-19 Pandemic

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:02.09.2021

Uncertainty looms over next year's assembly elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur as the Election Commission moved the Supreme Court seeking timely release of EVMs and VVPATs used in state elections last year and this year, which are kept in safe custody in anticipation of filing of election petitions.

As per the statute, EVMs are to be kept untouched and safe for 45 days from the declaration of results, which is the time limit for a defeated candidate to file an election petition challenging the results. If no election petition is filed within the period of limitation (45 days), EVMs can be released for re-use in subsequent elections.

The problem faced by EC stems from an order of the Supreme Court which, keeping in mind the difficulties posed by the Covid pandemic, indefinitely extended the limitation period since the disease gripped the country from March last year.

This means, all election results declared within 45 days of the lockdown enforced in March last year due to the pandemic, would still be open for challenge by the defeated candidates. Thus, all the EVMs deployed for assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Delhi, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal could not be reused unless the SC fixed a specific time period for filing of election petitions concerning these polls.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh mentioned the EC's application before a bench headed by CJI N V Ramana and sought urgent an urgent hearing while conveying the anxiety of the poll panel about the uncertainty around next year’s state elections, given the fact that about 4.5 lakh EVMs, used in the assembly polls this year and last year, remain locked. The bench agreed to list the application as early as possible.

The EC, in its application filed through advocate Amit Sharma, said, "Every Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) used in an election and kept in the custody of the District Election Officer shall be kept untouched, under the standard protocol of security, tilt confirmation of election petition position from the high court concerned after the completion of the period for filing election petition, that is, 45 days from the declaration of the result."

"In the case of elections, where no election petitions have been filed or no other court cases are pending, after the aforesaid period of 45 days, EVMs may be used for any future election or any other purpose like movement, physical verification of EVMs. In case of any election where election petition has been filed, the following action shall be taken:- (i) If EVMs are the subject of the election petition, EVMs used at all polling stations in the constituency concerned shall continue to be kept in the safe custody of the District Election Officer, till such time the election petition is finally disposed of by the courts. (ii) If EVMs are not the subject of the election petition, an application may be moved to the court concerned for allowing EVMs concerned to be taken out of the strong room for any future election or any other purpose like movement, physical verification of EVMs etc," the EC said.

EC said for next year’s assembly elections in five states, 4.6 EVMs and 4 lakh VVPATs would be required. It said it has a stock of 1.4 lakh EVMs and one lakh VVPATs.

As per the statute, EVMs are to be kept safe for 45 days from the declaration of results, which is the time limit for a defeated candidate to file a petition challenging the results

Pandemic pushing more women into surrogacy

Pandemic pushing more women into surrogacy

Priyanka Chokhani TNN

02.09.2021

When the pandemic shut down their autoparts supply business in Maharashtra last year, Sheetal pawned her gold jewellery to repay debts. A lull in Covid-19 cases in the country brought the couple hope that income would pick up. Then, the second wave hit.

“This time, there was nothing left to sell or pawn,” said Rahul, Sheetal’s husband, who took up a job as a mechanic, but the pay was barely enough for their sustenance. Soon they were missing payments of their 8-year-old son’s school fees.

“We had heard about clinics where one could become a surrogate. We discussed it and Sheetal decided to become one. The money would keep us afloat until things get better,” said Rahul. His wife, 37, and three months pregnant, is currently a resident at Kiran Infertility Centre in Hyderabad.

Since the pandemic, the centre in Hyderabad has recorded “an exponential rise” in women approaching it to become egg donors or surrogates, according to Dr Samit Sekhar, executive director and embryologist at Kiran.

“Inquiries from women wanting to become surrogates have increased up to 10-fold during the pandemic. Earlier, we used to get two inquiries a day on average. Now we are getting up to 10 per day,” he told TOI.

Sekhar said that a survey of 100 women in the centre conducted last year had revealed that a majority of them had turned into donors or surrogates to make up for their husbands’ loss of income.

At the facility, surrogate mothers earn between 5 lakh to 6.5 lakh and stay at the clinic for the duration of their pregnancy so their health can be monitored and they can be provided a nutritional diet. To the couple seeking surrogacy services, the entire procedure can cost up to Rs 25 lakh.

In Gujarat, often referred to as India’s surrogacy capital, 29-year-old Chhaya has become a surrogate for the second time. The mother of two said her family fell on hard times after her husband lost his job as a waiter last year. “Agents who connect surrogates to clinics visit our area often and information on surrogacy is easily available. I have done this before so I knew what it would mean,” said Chhaya, who is five months pregnant and residing at Akanksha Hospital, one of the largest surrogacy centres in Anand.

(Names have been changed on request)