Missing Skills ----- Low employability calls for academia-industry link

Missing Skills

Low employability calls for academia-industry link

25.09.2021

Three IITs, India’s premier higher education institutions (HEIs), figure in the top 200 institutions across the world ranked according to employability of students in the 2022 QS Graduate Employability Rankings. No Indian HEI is in the top 100. In comparison, an HEI each from China and Hong Kong have challenged Anglosphere hegemony in the top 10. That no Indian HEI has been able to breach the top 100 aptly sums up the employability crisis of Indian graduates.

An employability report in 2019 based on standardised testing by Aspiring Minds termed the challenge as “stubborn unemployability”. It concluded that employability of Indian engineers has not changed at the aggregate level since 2010. Only 3.84% engineers are employable at software start-ups. It’s not any better at HEIs in other streams. India Skills Report 2021 estimated overall employability at 45.9%, that is, at least one of two graduates is not ready for the job market. In polytechnics, which is a pathway for intergenerational mobility, employability level is as low as 25%. A country’s employability quotient significantly influences both the quantity and quality of investment.

The good news is that there’s recognition of the problem at GoI’s level. The National Education Policy 2020 addresses it in broadly two ways. It provides flexibility for students, proposing multiple exit options from undergraduate programmes with appropriate certification. There’s also a call for tighter integration between academia and industry. This is the key. Two successful models, Germany and Japan, offer useful lessons. Germany’s apprenticeship programme is a building block of its manufacturing prowess. Japan’s school system plays an important role in matching student skills with industry’s requirements. This intermediation role needs to be replicated in India. If and when, post-pandemic, India’s economy starts growing at around 7% annually, the job market will demand skill sets that current HEIs are not providing.

Italy recognises Covishield, Indians can get Green Pass

Italy recognises Covishield, Indians can get Green Pass

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:25.09.2021

Italy has become the latest EU member to recognise WHO-approved Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, after several others like Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain. Indian vaccine cardholders are now eligible for GreenPass, the Indian embassy in Rome tweeted on Friday.

The UK now sticks out like a sore thumb with its refusal to recognise those getting Covishield jabs in India as vaccinated to exempt quarantine to arrivals from October

4. “As an outcome of G20 health ministers’ meeting between (health ministers of India and Italy) coupled with Indian foreign ministry persistent efforts, Italy’s health ministry recognises India’s Covishield. Indian vaccine CardHolders are now eligible for GreenPass,” the Indian embassy tweeted. A green pass proves that the cardholder has been fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid, granting them access to restaurants and other indoor venues.

ICMR drops Ivermectin, HCQ from Covid-19 treatment protocol

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has dropped popular medicines Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) from the approved Covid-19 treatment guidelines.

The usage of the drugs had already been stopped by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in May.

DGHS had issued comprehensive guidelines to stop use of Ivermectin and HCQ along with many other drugs for Covid-19 treatment. While ICMR had not recognised the DGHS guidelines at that point due to some differences in opinion, researchers at ICMR have now recommended removing the two medicines from the Covid-19 treatment protocol in the absence of adequate evidence to show their efficacy for such patients, an official said. TNN

Caretaker can’t claim property ownership: SC

 Caretaker can’t claim property ownership: SC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:25.09.2021

The Supreme Court has said a caretaker/ servant can never acquire interest in the property irrespective of his long possession and he has to vacate the premises on owner’s demand.

The SC set aside the order of a trial court and high court which had refused to allow a plea of an owner for not proceeding on a suit filed by a caretaker seeking that he be not vacated from the premises.

The trial judge had dismissed the application on the premise that these are the subject matter of disputes which can be examined only after the written statement being filed at the behest of the owner and is not within the scope of Order VII Rule11, Civil Procedure Code and that order was confirmed by the high court. Order 7 Rule 11(d) of CPC provides that the plaint shall be rejected “where the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law”.

Setting aside the order, a bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi said, “...the trial court has committed a manifest error in appreciating the pleadings on record from the plaint filed at the instance of respondent No. 1-plaintiff who as a caretaker/servant can never acquire interest in the property irrespective of his long possession and the caretaker/ servant has to give possession forthwith on demand and so far as the plea of adverse possession is concerned...”

Apex court junks Madras HC ruling on EWS quota in all-India med edu seats

Apex court junks Madras HC ruling on EWS quota in all-India med edu seats

TOI 25.09.2021

The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the Madras high court order directing the Centre to first get approval of the top court before implementing 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in All-India Quota for medical admissions and said that the HC erred by passing the order while adjudicating a contempt petition of DMK on OBC reservations, reports Amit Anand Choudhary.

 A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and B V Nagarathna said the HC order was “unnecessary” and was “alien” to the subject matter it was adjudicating upon and made it clear that it was not passing the order on the merit of the case and also not expressing any view on reservation policy. The bench, however, agreed to examine a batch of petitions against the Centre’s decision to extend 27% reservation for OBCs and 10% for EWS category in PG medical admissions and asked the government to file its response to decide on the plea for interim stay of the policy as pleaded by a group of MBBS doctors aspiring to pursue higher education.

Free bus rides for women eating into our incentive: TNSTC drivers

Free bus rides for women eating into our incentive: TNSTC drivers

The driver and the conductor of a government bus are collectively given a Rs 1.33 (66 paisa each for driver and conductor) incentive rate for every Rs 100 of the total collection for the day.

Published: 24th September 2021 05:18 AM |

By Thinakaran Rajamani

Express News Service

TENKASI: Government bus drivers and conductors said the ‘free bus travel for women’ scheme was eating into their collection incentive and it had become difficult to manage their daily expenses with the current earnings.

“Earlier we used to get collection incentive of Rs 60 to Rs 70 daily. Now it has come down to Rs 15 to Rs 20. 60% of the daily passengers in my bus are women. The collection amount has drastically decreased from Rs 8000 to Rs 2500. I used to pay for tea, vada and tiffin with my incentive until the State government launched this scheme. Now I have to pay for these things out of my pocket. My family budget has taken a hit,” said Kasthuri Mariappan, a government bus driver from Tirunelveli.

The driver and the conductor of a government bus are collectively given a Rs 1.33 (66 paisa each for driver and conductor) incentive rate for every Rs 100 of the total collection for the day. “There is an agreement that transport corporations should keep the rate of collection incentive the same even if the bus fare is increased.

However, the corporation reduced the rate of the incentive in 2018 after the government increased the bus fare. Now, the free bus travel scheme has put another dent into the incentive. The State government should bear this loss,” demanded Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations’ Workers Federation’s General Secretary R Radhakrishnan.

He added his federation made a representation to the State government in this connection. “The government allotted Rs 1200 crore for free travel scheme. However, the need of transport corporations is roughly Rs 2000 crore each year. Corporations should utilise the fund allocation to not only bear the expenses of women travellers but also compensate workers for the loss,” he said.

When contacted by TNIE, Managing Director of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Tirunelveli, S Rajeswaran, said, “As of now we are giving drivers and conductors the collection incentive based on their daily collection but we will consider their demand.” Another official of the Transport Department said the State’s policy decision in favour of the workers would resolve their problem.

Cognizant Technology Solutions bribery case under scanner

Cognizant Technology Solutions bribery case under scanner

DVAC looking into 10 senior CMDA officials who handled the Cognizant files in 2013-2014

Published: 24th September 2021 05:16 AM |

By C Shivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has launched a probe into the Cognizant bribery case, in which it was alleged that CMDA officials demanded a bribe to grant a planning permit to build the Cognizant KITS Campus (CKC) in Shollinganallur.

The file — which had been pending since the US Department of Justice announced criminal charges in 2019 against two Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) executives over corruption pertaining to bribing TN government officials — is now under the DVAC’s scrutiny, sources told TNIE.

It is learnt that the DVAC has sought details of the officials who dealt with the file in 2013 and 2014. An application for planning permission to build the Cognizant KITS Campus was received in February 2013, and the site was inspected in May 2013, after which it was placed before the multi-storeyed building panel the same month, sources said. The government approved the file in 2014.

Among the officials who dealt with the file were two member secretaries, two chief planners, two deputy planners, two assistant planners, and two planning assistants. All of them are reportedly under the scanner of DVAC officials.

The US Department of Justice probe revealed that Cognizant, through its employees, authorized its agents to pay $2 million in bribes to CMDA officials in exchange for planning permits to build the office in Shollinganallur, as well as other improper payments in connection with other projects in India. The findings exposed Cognizant to civil and criminal liability, with the firm paying $25 million in penalties and incurring $79 million more in costs related to its internal investigation.

While the US Department of Justice was conducting its probe, neither the Central nor State governments launched an investigation into the matter. It has been learnt that the file pertaining to the issue was awaiting clearance from the Housing department to launch a probe since 2019, when the scam was brought to light.

The DMK, which was then the opposition party, had sought a CBI probe to ascertain the role of the AIADMK ministers and officials who allegedly took bribes to sanction the building permit, electricity and environment clearance to the Chennai facilities of the US-based IT company in 2014. It had then argued that the DVAC cannot investigate these offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act as the transactions involved money from abroad and offences were also committed abroad. It is learnt that a few officials who were handling the planning permits retired, while some still hold the same posts and handle applications for multi-storied building (MSBs).

Found guilty by US Department of Justice

The US Department of Justice in 2019 announced criminal charges against two CTS executives over corruption pertaining to bribing TN government officials. The company was exposed to civil and criminal liability, and had to pay $25 million in penalties and incur $79 million more in costs related to its internal investigation

Medical student who had robotic colorectal surgery wins gold in PG

Medical student who had robotic colorectal surgery wins gold in PG

A 28-year-old medical student, who successfully underwent a robotic colorectal surgery at Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery, went on to complete her post-graduation and win a gold medal.

Published: 24th September 2021 06:32 AM 

(Left) Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Group, seen with (Right) Dr Venkatesh Munikrishnan, Consultant Colorectal & Robotic Surgeon of The Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery, at

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A 28-year-old medical student, who successfully underwent a robotic colorectal surgery at Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery, went on to complete her post-graduation and win a gold medal. She was diagnosed with low-rectal cancer in 2017, when she was 24 and was about to do her PG. A conventional surgery leaves patients with a colostomy, a surgically-created opening in the body that routes bowel waste into an external colostomy bag.

Dr Ventakesh Munnikrishnan, Consultant Colorectal and Robotic Surgeon, The Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery, said she came here hoping for a solution, which would let her lead a normal life, without the colostomy bag.

“With the robotic colorectal surgery, we were able to remove the cancer and reconstruct the colon to rectal, anal connection, thus avoiding a permanent colostomy. The patient then went on to finish her course and excelled, bagging a gold medal. The benefits of robotic surgery are less blood loss, and quicker recovery,”

Dr Ventakesh Munnikrishnan said. Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group in his video message said, cancers in particular are taking a big toll and colorectal cancers are on the rise, thus becoming a major threat.

Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, over the last few years, there have been several advances in minimally invasive techniques, such a robotic colorectal surgery. On Thursday, the hospital celebrated completion of five years of the Robotic Colorectal Surgery Programme.