Singapore-bound passengers in a fix over norms

Singapore-bound passengers in a fix over norms

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy/Chennai:  26.11.2021

Flying to Singapore continues to be a hassle, especially for those with permanent residency who have come to Tamil Nadu during the pandemic, as there are fewer flights from Chennai, Trichy and Madurai.

Singapore Airlines have started Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights from Chennai from November 29 so that people who pay Singapore dollars 125 and get an approval can enter Singapore without the seven-day quarantine, if the rapid test on arrival is negative. However, passengers flying from Trichy and Madurai by other flights have to undergo the quarantine which is inconveniencing.

Arul Lazaran of United Travels said people from other cities are requesting to be booked on the flight from Chennai because they can avoid the quarantine which is expensive. As demand is high, the oneway fare to Singapore is ₹19,000 from Chennai for travel in the first week of December on the Singapore Airlines flight.. The fare was ₹5,000 in the pre-Covid days.

However, travellers, especially those from towns like Trichy, which has more diaspora presence, have demanded for more flights between airports in the state and Singapore as vaccinated travel lane flights are available only from metros.

The Trichy international airport which handled around 80,000 passengers for Singapore – in both directions, during this pandemic has not been included in the list. Trichy has handled around 60,000 outbound passengers and around 25,000 inbound travellers during this pandemic period from and to Singapore respectively, the highest when compared to other airports.

As of now, the Air India Express has been operating four flights on a weekly basis between the Trichy-Singapore sector. According to airport sources, Scoot Air is going to resume its weekly five services and IndiGo Air a daily service in this sector shortly.

CM writes to Centre for more flights

Chennai:

Chief minister M K Stalin has urged the Union government to have more flights to Singapore and Malaysia as Tamils with permanent residency are struggling to return after arriving in the state during the pandemic.

In a letter to the civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Stalin has urged the union government “to make a temporary air transport bubble agreement with Singapore and Malaysia at the earliest for providing temporary airline services and resolve the difficulties faced by the Tamil diaspora in Singapore and Malaysia.”

He also said that “they have to travel through Dubai, Doha and Colombo which is causing serious inconvenience and financial burden as they have to pay more air charges and travel long distances due to the detour.” TNN

Govt doctor kills self at city hotel

Govt doctor kills self at city hotel

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:26.11.2021

A government doctor ended his life on Thursday by administering himself a lethal injection, police said.

A Maheshwaran, 34, a native of Cuddalore, who was working as a general practitioner in Government Royapettah Hospital (GRH), was found dead at a star hotel on Dr Radhakrishnan Salai in Mylapore.

Maheshwaran left a suicide note stating that no one was responsible for his death, and that he was taking his own life due to stress, police said.

The doctor, a resident of Krishnapuram in Maduravoyal, had been working at the GRH for the past three years as a surgeon. On Wednesday, he booked a room in the hotel. While on the way to the hotel, he asked his driver, Karthik, to stop the car near a medical store on Royapettah High Road and bought some medicines.

As Maheshwaran didn't turn up for work on Thursday morning, his friend Vinod tried to contact him. His phone was switched off.

His friend went to the hotel and found the room locked from inside. The staff used a master key to open it and found Maheshwaran lying dead on a bed. There were five empty vials and an intravenous kit, police said, adding that a needle was found in his vein.

The body wa sent for postmortem. Maheshwaran is survived by his wife, Nandhini, a doctor, and a five-year-old daughter.

Anna university can fill 400 engg seats

Anna university can fill 400 engg seats

State Allows Counselling Again After Neet Results

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:26.11.2021

The state government has allowed a second phase of counselling to fill 400 engineering seats on Anna University's four campuses that fell vacant as the selected students opted for MBBS.

Usually, these seats (700 last year) in reputable colleges remain vacant. For the first time, the higher education department on Thursday allowed counselling to fill them. "The huge vacancies affected Anna University's NIRF ranking 2021 in which it slipped by four ranks in engineering and university categories compared to 2020. Now, the second phase will give the opportunity to meritorious students to study at the university's four campuses. It will improve the university's ranking and rating points in NAAC accreditation," an official from Anna University said.

"This second phase of counselling can be done after giving a reasonable time to pool vacancies in colleges," said higher education secretary D Karthikeyan in the order permitting it.

The government asked the director of technical education to conduct second phase counselling for students already registered and admitted to fill these vacancies and to conduct subsequent phases of counselling if the need arises.

Sources said the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions committee is likely to conduct at least two rounds during the second phase, first to fill the existing vacancies and the second round to fill new vacancies. As per AICTE's revised academic calendar, the last date to admit new students is November 30.

"Those who have already registered and enrolled alone will participate in the second phase counselling. So, the last date won't apply to this counselling," a source in the higher education department said.

Of 95,000 students who got allotment in Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions 2021 counselling, around 10,000 have not joined the colleges, the source added.

Top colleges said it's a good move as they would get a larger pool of candidates to fill vacancies.

"As per the usual practice, the self-financing colleges were allowed to fill lapsed seats from their applicants. In this second phase of counselling, top colleges may get better candidates from the larger pool," said V E Annamalai, principal of SSN College of Engineering in Chennai.

Meanwhile, engineering colleges are worried that internal counselling will leave more vacant seats in tier-2 and tier-3 colleges.

"If the second phase counselling allows fresh students also to apply, it would boost the admissions. Giving upward movement will affect even top colleges as students will prefer government institutions over private colleges. Tier-2 and tier-3 colleges may have more vacancies as students want to move to tier-1 colleges," said P Selvaraj, secretary, Consortium of Self-Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu.

Hundreds of seats in reputable engineering colleges fall vacant every year as students who joined leave once they get admission to MBBS and BDS courses

We’ll revisit ₹8L EWS quota criteria: Centre

We’ll revisit ₹8L EWS quota criteria: Centre

Decision In 4 Weeks, Govt Tells The SC

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:26.11.2021

After facing a barrage of questions from the Supreme Court over fixing an annual income limit of ₹8 lakh for determining economically weaker sections (EWS), the Centre on Thursday agreed to “revisit” the criteria for the “economically backward among forwards” to get reservation benefits in government jobs and educational institutions.

Appearing before a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said he had been instructed to make a statement before the bench that the government has decided to revisit the criteria, adding that a committee will be set up to examine the issue and sought four weeks time to take a final decision.

An immediate fallout of the decision to re-examine the criteria for determination of EWS is that counselling process for PG admissions would have to be deferred — at least for the month-long period sought by the Centre — till a decision on EWS eligibility is taken. “The Solicitor General states that a period of four weeks would be required for this exercise and pending its conclusion, the date for counselling shall stand postponed in view of the assurance which was tendered at an earlier stage of these proceedings. In view of the above position, the hearing of the proceedings shall be listed on January 6, 2022,” the bench said.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by MBBS doctors challenging Centre’s decision to implement 27% reservation for OBCs and 10% reservation for EWS in admission in PG courses in medical colleges in All India Quota.

Panel to see if NEET question is correct

The NTA has agreed before the SC to set up a panel of three experts to decide the correctness of a physics question in the Hindi version of NEET(UG) question paper after a discrepancy was pointed out by some students. In the Hindi version of the question, words “amplitude of current” had been omitted, students said. P 12

‘Govt should take a decision on EWS in 2 weeks’

Though the litigation pertains to admission in PG medical courses, admission process in all governmentrun institutions and recruitment of government jobs will be affected.

When the matter was being argued in court in October, the apex court expressed displeasure over Centre not adequately explaining the basis for fixing income limit of ₹8 lakh for granting reservation to EWS, and directed it to file an affidavit to disclose whether any exercise was done and what was the rationale behind fixing the limit. The court had also questioned the uniform income criteria adopted for the entire country and suggested cost of living or per capita income be considered.

The Centre has referred to the Sinho commission recommendations for fixing the income limit and argued that it would not be easy or practicable to consider differentiated criteria given disparities in urban and rural settings.

The court asked how ₹8 lakh could be fixed for both EWS and OBC category to be eligible for reservation. It had said there was a social and educational backwardness attached with OBC category and it was presumed that their backwardness comes to an end with economic advancement. It had said the EWS category was different with no social and educational backwardness as a constitutional criteria and fixing the same income limit for both categories looked unreasonable.

Agreeing to examine the concern raised by the bench, the Centre has now sought four weeks time to re-examine the criteria and to take a final decision.

As the admission process for PG courses is getting delayed, senior advocate Arvind Datar contended that the government should implement its decision to enforce OBC and EWS reservation in All India Quota from next academic year or government should take a decision on EWS criteria within two weeks.

Experts to study if NEET question in Hindi got lost in translation

Experts to study if NEET question in Hindi got lost in translation

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:26.11.2021

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Thursday agreed before the Supreme Court to set up a committee of three experts to decide the correctness of a Physics question in the Hindi version of NEET (UG) question paper after a discrepancy was pointed out by some candidates who took the exam in the Hindi medium.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath said only those who are experts in Physics and also well-conversed in both Hindi and English could decide whether there was any discrepancy in the question paper. Some of the medical aspirants who chose the Hindi medium in the MBBS entrance examination alleged that there was an error in question number 2 of the Physics section.

They alleged that in the Hindi version of the question, words “amplitude of current” had been omitted and candidates who attempted the question based on the Hindi translation arrived at a different answer. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for NTA, said the best way to deal with the issue was to take the help of experts and agreed to set up a panel. The bench posted the case for November 30.

“During the course of the hearing, Tushar Mehta, solicitor general, has submitted that in order to allay the apprehensions of students who appeared for NEET (UG) 2021 with Hindi as the medium, the solutions to both the Hindi and English versions of Question No 2 of Section-A in Physics Paper (Code P2) shall be evaluated again by a committee consisting of three experts. After this process is done, it has been submitted that an affidavit would be filed setting out the result of the evaluation of the solutions,” the bench said.

Some of the medical aspirants who chose Hindi medium in the MBBS entrance examination alleged that there was an error in question two of the Physics section

Offered easy money through an app? It could well be a trap

Offered easy money through an app? It could well be a trap

Multi-level marketing scams have donned an online avatar. Instead of pamphlets and posters, scammers use messages, audio and videos to trap people.

Published: 25th November 2021 06:58 AM 

EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

By Gautham Selvarajan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Multi-level marketing scams have donned an online avatar. Instead of pamphlets and posters, scammers use messages, audio and videos to trap people. For example, there are apps that promise high returns on investments. On registering, you get a referral code to share with your friends. And once they register, you get paid. Then they, in turn, invest and get referral codes to share.

These apps claim your investment goes towards a particular project, and the returns will be given to you. But that doesn’t always happen, explains Srikanth Lakshmanan, a researcher tracking digital payments and fraud. The scammers go to great lengths to make their companies appear legitimate. They pay the first level of people who join or sign up, and through them, attract others. But once more people join and invest, the returns stop, says Lakshmanan.

One such company used the name ‘World Bank’ to cheat people in the guise of angel funding. It created several groups on online messaging platforms, and uploaded pictures of people and pamphlets to convince victims. Once it was found to be a scam, the World Bank had to put out a warning to caution people, he points out.

Recently, a software engineer from Chennai invested in a similar app, received a referral code, and shared it with his friends, who then followed his footsteps. He received returns in his account on the app for each person who used his code. But when he sought to withdraw the money, the app and company stopped responding. Ultimately, he had to pay back the people he led to invest in the app.

Many such apps are available on online app stores, but most of the ones used by scammers can only be downloaded from the links they send, says a senior cyber crime officer, adding that the only way to be immune to such frauds is to stay aware. This means being cautious about apps and links that scammers may ask you to use.

And if you happen to fall prey to such frauds, report it immediately, says the officer. “The quicker you report it to the police, the easier it is to freeze the culprit’s account.” Once an issue is reported, network providers, banks, and cybercrime officials work together to crack the case. “Even if the culprit is not apprehended, at least there’s a chance of tracing the funds,” the officer adds.

(To report any kind of cyber crime, dial 155260)

CM announces ₹240cr grant for cash-starved Pbi varsity

CM announces ₹240cr grant for cash-starved Pbi varsity

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Patiala:25.11.2021

Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday announced to increase the annual grant to the Punjabi University from Rs 114 crore to Rs 240 crore. Channi visited the university, which had been facing a financial crisis for the past several years and demanding a loan debt waiver, along with the finance minister and announced to “take over” the financial laibilities, including its bank loan of Rs 150 crore.

In the budget presented in March this year, the state government had announced a special grant of Rs 90 crore for the university against the demand of Rs 400 crore. In April, the finance committee of Punjabi University had passed a deficit budget of Rs 129 crore approximately for the current financial year (2021-22) whereas last year it passed Rs 296 crore of deficit budget.

“We are implementing a new model of education ‘Navi Soch Navan Punjab’. Each year, the state government will give Rs 240 crore as annual grant to this university. Rs 20 crore is monthly expense of Punjabi University that it needs from the state government, but the government was giving it Rs 9.5 crore monthly grant... It is our responsibility to provide quality education to students and ensure that universities do not face any financial crisis. Thus, we decided to provide Rs 20 crore monthly grant to Punjabi University. Besides, we have taken over Rs 150 crore of bank loans from Punjabi University,” he said.

Channi said, “The incumbent VC (Prof Arvind) and his predecessor (Prof B S Ghumman) too had approached me (during his term) for financial assistance. But actually decisions are taken by those running the government and not under the chief minister. So I am thankful to the finance minister who came here along with me to resolve this issue of financial crisis.”

Addressing the gathering at the university, Channi said it was set up to promote of Punjabi language. “I thank those who established this university and gave Punjab this good institution that is serving both Punjabi language and its people. We should take pride in our mother tongue Punjabi and both this institution and state government.”

Later, he inaugurated the Centre for Rural Entrepreneur and Skill Training and Centre for Restoration of Ecosystem of Punjab, saying it speaks volumes about the untiring efforts of the university to explore new avenues in entrepreneurship to generate employment, especially in the Malwa region.

CM Charanjit Singh Channi with finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal with VC Dr Arvind at Punjabi University in Patiala

VC-MLA ROW

Congress MLA from Ghanaur assembly segment in Patiala district, Madan Lal Jalalpur refused to share a seat with the university vice-chancellor, alleging he was appointed on the behest of RSS during Capt Amarinder Singh’s term as CM. The VC was about to sit along with the chief minister and others for a press conference but Jalalpur refused to join them. “I am planning to file a defamation case against MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur, who publicly misbehaved and levelled baseless allegations. I am an international scientist and do not want to engage with him at his level,” the VC said.

CM ON ‘FAKE KEJRIWAL’

Replying to a media query over AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘fake Kejriwal’ remark, Channi said, “When pain intensifies, then such replies are expected from them. Now they have gone hallucinating and gone off the track. They themselves are fake. They want people to go out of the track by uttering such things to provoke others, but now their this system has failed. We are carrying forward a positive and good thinking for Punjab and moving on this track. I would not blame anyone for copying me or criticizing them (our rivals). We are improving ourselves and bringing all that which is requirement of people of Punjab. ” On guarantees announced by Kejriwal in Punjab, Channi said, “We are not just giving guarantees, but doing the work in reality.