Tamil Nadu lost 14 lakh mobile phone subscriptions in September

Tamil Nadu lost 14 lakh mobile phone subscriptions in September

People Find It Hard To Keep Multiple SIMs

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:24.11.2021

Mobile phone subscriptions in Tamil Nadu fell by about 14 lakh in Tamil Nadu in September. Nationally, all states recorded a significant drop in two crore wireless subscriptions in just a month. The difficulty in sustaining multiple numbers due to mandatory recharge tariff and return to offices after the second wave of Covid-19 are attributed as key reasons by telecom experts. With telecom operators announcing a fresh hike in tariffs, the numbers are likely to crash further.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) latest report on telecom subscriptions shows a net reduction of 14 lakh wireless subscriptions in Tamil Nadu, from 8.29 crore in August to 8.15 crore in September. Tamil Nadu including the Chennai telecom circle lost the third highest number of wireless subscriptions after Mumbai and Kolkata telecom circles. Except for Bharti Airtel, all other telecom operators reported a decrease in customer base in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the highest declines in a single month in recent years.

This has also cut the teledensity by around 1%. Currently, Tamil Nadu has a teledensity of 107.2%; it was more than 108% in June. Teledensity is based on the number of telephone connections (fixed lines and mobile phone subscribers) per 100 inhabitants within a geographical area. Official telecom sector sources say a SIM card is deactivated if not recharged for three months continuously.

On the other hand, wireline subscriptions including fibrenet services in TN rose by 10,485 from August to September.

T Sadagopan, president of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Center, said retaining multiple numbers has become expensive because subscribers must spend a fixed amount every month. “So, people prefer one convenient number to avoid unnecessary spending on two SIM cards,” he added.

V K Sanjeevi, chief general manager of BSNL Chennai Telephones, said the decrease in wireless subscriptions was a regular phenomenon that would be compensated by the entry of new subscribers. “But, this time, a considerable number of subscriptions have fallen within a month across the networks and it needs to be studied.”

Two express trains to resume

Two express trains to resume

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 24.11.2021

Two express trains linking Chennai and Mumbai with Salem will resume after the Railway Board gave its approval.

According to a press release, train No. 22158 Chennai Egmore – Mumbai CSMT Tri-Weekly Superfast Express will leave Chennai Egmore on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays at 06.20 hrs on and from December 4and reach Mumbai CSMT at 05.50 hrs the next day.

Train No. 22153 / 22154 Chennai Egmore – Salem – Chennai Egmore Tri-Weekly Superfast Express train will leave Chennai Egmore on Thursdays, Saturdays and Tuesdays at 23.55 hrs on and from December 2 and reach Salem at 06.10 hrs the next day.

Advance Reservation for the above Tri-Weekly Superfast Express Special Trains will open at 08.00 hrs on November 24 the release added.

Reservation opens on Nov 24

MBBS cut-off may dip by up to 10 marks for first time since NEET

UG MED SEATS UP

MBBS cut-off may dip by up to 10 marks for first time since NEET

1,500 Additional Medical Seats At 11 New Colleges Is Affecting Cut Off Marks: Experts

A Ragu Raman & Pushpa Narayan | TNN

24.11.2021

Cut-off for MBBS admissions in Tamil Nadu is likely to come down by at least 10 marks in various categories in 2021 making the process easy despite a marginal improvement in performance by TN students in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). This is because the number of undergraduate medical seats – both in government and private sector – have gone up.

This is the first time the cut-off has dropped since 2017. This year, 235 TN students scored more than 650 marks in NEET compared to 205 last year, according to National Testing Agency data. The number of TN students who scored above 500 was 5,148 in 2021 against 5,240 in 2020 and those who scored above 450 was 8,319 in 2021 against 8,316 in 2020.

“The difference is not stark enough to impact the cutoff,” said students’ counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. “But the additional MBBS seats this year will make all the difference. The open category cut-off for government medical colleges may come down to 585 from 598 in 2020. Likewise the cut-off for other categories including BC and MBC also will come down by up to 15 marks.”

The 11 new government medical colleges in TN will add 1,450 MBBS seats to the seat matrix. In addition, the Coimbatore government medical college will admit 200 students in 2021 – 50 more than in 2020. In addition, at least three self-financing medical colleges, a private university and deemed universities have been permitted to start undergraduate medical programmes.

Several top scorers from TN are now eyeing seats in central institutions such as AIIMS and JIPMER. “I thought it was best to study in a college closest to home. But my nephew now has scored more than 600. So he is exploring the option of studying in AIIMS in other states,” said S Senthil Kumar, who works for a pharmaceutical company.

If more toppers choose seats from the all India basket, cut-off could fall further, experts say. “But they may not get the college of choice unless they score high. The cut-off for top institutions like Madras Medical College will be high because there is no change in the number of seats there,” said Nandhini V, who coaches students for NEET.

The cut-off for government school students, under the special 7.5% quota, is unlikely to come down, says Dr Prasad Mane, secretary of Kilpauk Medical College Alumni Association which trains government school students for NEET. “Of 1,500 government medical seats, around 100 will be added to 7.5% special reservation. So, it will not bring down the cut-off drastically.”

However, more government school students may join private colleges under special reservation as the government has promised to pay their fee. Last year, 400 government students joined MBBS under special reservation.

NEET-UG sees 83% rise in top scorers

NEET-UG sees 83% rise in top scorers

But Unlike In 2020, Cutoffs For MBBS/BDS Admission May Not Go Up This Year

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 23.11.2021

This year’s NEET-Undergraduate exam registered an 83% increase in the total number of candidates scoring 700 and above out of 720, with 203 candidates scoring marks in that range as compared to111 last year.

However, unlike in 2020, the cutoffs for MBBS/ BDS admission is not going to see any spike this year as there is a marginal drop in the number of candidates scoring in the mark ranges of 600 and above and 500 and above.

State-wise candidates from Rajasthan and UP continued their dominance in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exam recording the biggest gain in the high scorer range. These states are joined by Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal which have seen an increase in the number of candidates scoring between 650 and 699 marks.

While in absolute numbers the number of candidates scoring 700 and above marks have increased significantly, the proportion to the qualified candidates have increased by just 0.01% from that of last year, while the percentage of candidates scoring in the mark range of 650-699 and 600-649 have decreased by 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. Percentage of candidates to the total qualified scoring 550-599 marks too have decreased by 0.6% this year.

In absolute numbers candidates scoring 600 marks and above dropped from 20,181 in 2020 to 19,135 in 2021. Similarly, the number of candidates scoring 500 marks and above dropped from 87,093 in 2020 to 85,022 in 2021. These mark ranges form the key cohort for counselling and allocation of seats. The total number of candidates scoring 450 marks and above increased to 1,33,906 and an increase of 1.5% from last year. The three-year NEETUG score data, exclusively accessed by the TOI, reveals that 64.3% (86,128) candidates in the mark range of 450 and above are from just eight states — Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

In all, there are around 81,000 MBBS and 39,000 BDS seats available for aspirants this year. Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER MBBS seats. In the government run institutions, which include AIIMS and JIPMER there are around 42,500 seats.

The states from where this significant increase in top scorers is seen are Delhi, (from 261 to 376), Rajasthan (from 519 to 729), Karnataka (from 146 to 223) and Tamil Nadu (from 205 to 235).

83% increase in top scorers in NEET this year but cut-offs unlikely to spike

83% increase in top scorers in NEET this year but cut-offs unlikely to spike

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:23.11.2021

This year’s NEET-Undergraduate exam registered an 83% increase in the total number of candidates scoring 700 and above out of 720, with 203 candidates scoring marks in that range as compared to 111 last year.

However, unlike in 2020, the cutoffs for MBBS/ BDS admission is not going to see any spike this year as there is a marginal drop in the number of candidates scoring in the mark ranges of 600 and above and 500 and above.

State-wise candidates from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh continued their dominance in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exam recording the biggest gain in the high scorer range. These states are joined by Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal which have seen an increase in the number of candidates scoring between 650 and 699 marks.

While in absolute numbers the number of candidates scoring 700 and above marks have increased significantly, the proportion to the qualified candidates have increased by just 0.01% from that of last year, while the percentage of candidates scoring in the mark range of 650-699 and 600-649 have decreased by 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. Percentage of candidates to the total qualified scoring 550-599 marks too have decreased by 0.6% this year.

In absolute numbers candidates scoring 600 marks and above dropped from 20,181 in 2020 to 19,135 in 2021. Similarly, the number of candidates scoring 500 marks and above dropped from 87,093 in 2020 to 85,022 in 2021. These mark ranges form the key cohort for counselling and allocation of seats. The total number of candidates scoring 450 marks and above increased to 1,33,906 and an increase of 1.5% from last year.

The three-year NEETUG score data, exclusively accessed by the TOI, reveals that 64.3% (86,128) candidates in the mark range of 450 and above are from just eight states — Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Full report on www.toi.in

‘Medium of instruction’ for all classes on marksheets

‘Medium of instruction’ for all classes on marksheets

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.11.2021

The Tamil Nadu school education department has decided to add the ‘medium of instruction’ for all classes on the Class X marksheets from this year. "The marksheets will have details of ‘medium of instruction’ from Class I to Class X. It will help students to have evidence while applying for jobs under 20% special reservation for Tamil medium students," sources in the department said. Earlier, the marksheets only had the ‘medium of instruction’ detail for Class X alone. The school education department is planning to conduct two revision tests ahead of the board exams this year to prepare the students.

TN colleges told to start offline classes

TN colleges told to start offline classes

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:23.11.2021

The state higher education department on Monday ordered all colleges, universities, deemed universities, autonomous colleges, and self-financing institutions across Tamil Nadu to start holding classes in physical mode for six days a week with immediate effect.

The department had postponed semester exams beyond January 20 after a section of students protested against holding exams offline when classes were conducted in both offline and online modes. Student bodies also wanted more time to prepare for offline exams.

The circular issued by higher education secretary D Karthikeyan directed educational institutions to reschedule theory exams after January 20.

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Institutions asked to conduct model exams

It further asked colleges that had completed their syllabi in online mode to conduct revision classes in physical mode to help students grasp and understand subjects better. The institutions were also asked to conduct model examinations before semester exams and offer course material.

The circular directed the Directorate of Technical Education and Directorate of Collegiate Education to order all colleges under their control and universities to function with full strength of teaching and non-teaching staff. The circular further asked district collectors to ensure higher educational institutions adhere to the instructions.

Deemed universities, however, said postponing exams will affect internship and job opportunities of students studying in final semester. “The state will lose its competitive edge because graduating students will join late. Students who have internships in reputed organisations from January will face problems. Students proceeding abroad also cannot go,” said a deemed university official.