Convicted 4 yrs ago, Mallya told by SC to appear for sentencing

Convicted 4 yrs ago, Mallya told by SC to appear for sentencing

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:01.12.2021

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked fugitive businessman Vijay Mallay, sheltered in the UK despite proceedings for his extradition to India attaining finality, to appear before it on January 18 for quantification of sentence, more than four years after he was convicted for contempt of court for transferring abroad $40 million from United Spirits despite the SC barring it.

On May 9, 2017, the SC had convicted Mallya guilty of contempt of court and directed him to appear personally before it on July 10, 2017 for determination of quantum of punishment. But Mallya had already fled the country to the UK by then and never bothered to appear before the court. while contesting in various forums the Indian government’s attempts to extradite him. After he lost in resisting his extradition, he appears to have entered into “secret” proceedings with the UK government.

The MEA, through solicitor general Tushar Mehta, told a bench of Justices UU Lalit, SR Bhat and Bela M Trivedi that the extradition proceedings have attained finality but the UK government hasn’t divulged any detail of the “secret” proceedings pending qua Mallya, which is delaying his extradition.

The Justice Lalit-led bench said he was found guilty of contempt of court on May 9, 2017 and has never bothered to appear before the court. Thereafter, even though the court had directed the Centre to secure his presence before the SC, it could not be done because of pending proceedings in the UK. Adjournments and intervention of pandemic delayed hearing on quantification of Mallya’s sentence, the bench said.

“If the person wants to appear before us on January18, he can do so. Otherwise, he can be brought before court through extradition. If these options don’t happen, he can appear through a lawyer,” the bench said and appointed advocate Jaideep Gupta as amicus curiae to assist court in the matter.

6 med colleges to be set up in MP; half in tribal areas

6 med colleges to be set up in MP; half in tribal areas

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:01.12.2021

The state cabinet, headed by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Tuesday approved the setting up of six new medical colleges at a cost of Rs 1,547 crore. Half of them will come up in the tribal-dominated districts — Mandla, Sheopur and Mandsaur.

The other three will be built in Singrauli, Rajgarh and Neemuch. Announcing this after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, home minister Narottam Mishra said, “It must be mentioned that in the Congress regime, before the BJP government with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as CM, there were only five medical colleges in the state. Today, there are 20.” P4

Death for child rape bill withdrawn

The MP cabinet on Tuesday withdrew the Criminal Law MP(Amendment) Bill 2017 that carried provision of death penalty for rape of minor girls. This was done as the Centre has passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018 in Parliament, raising minimum punishment for rape of women from seven years to 10 years. “In 2017, because little girls were being raped, we sent a law to the Centre for approval. But the Centre, in 2018, made the law themselves. Our law which was sent for assent of the President has been sent back and the cabinet decided to withdraw the same on Tuesday,” home minister said.

Stenographer caught with ₹1 lakh bribe

Stenographer caught with ₹1 lakh bribe

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:01.12.2021

Sleuths from Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday caught a stenographer attached with the sub-registrar’s office, Malleswaram, while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh on behalf of superintendent of the same office.

According to an ACB release, Meenakshi accepted the bribe on behalf of superintendent Somashekaraiah. A complaint was filed by an association member of Bescom contractors association. “Somashekaraiah demanded the bribe to initiate proceedings into the elections of Bescom contractors association. They should have been held in 2020 but were postponed due to Covid-19. Somashekaraiah asked for Rs 1 lakh to begin the election work,” the press note read.

GP secretary trapped

The same day, ACB officials caught a secretary with Gollahalli gram panchayat in Ramanagar while accepting Rs 18,000 bribe from a land owner to carry out an official favour. The accused, S Krishnappa, had demanded Rs 20,000 from a farmer for e-khata of his land, said the ACB release. The complainant had paid an advance of Rs 2,000 and the trap was set up when he visited Krishnappa to pay the remaining amount.

K’taka to test all int’l flyers; 7-day home quarantine if -ve

K’taka to test all int’l flyers; 7-day home quarantine if -ve

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:01.12.2021

In the backdrop of concerns over Omicron variant, the Karnataka government said on Tuesday that all international passengers will have to mandatorily undergo RT-PCR tests on arrival in Karnataka airports.

Those who test negative must remain in home quarantine for seven days; those who test positive will be hospitalized and treated separately. The state will soon issue a notification on when the new travel guidelines come into force.

After chairing a meeting of the Covid Technical Advisory Committee, health minister K Sudhakar said: “Currently, the RT-PCR test on arrival is conducted only on passengers coming from ‘at-risk’ countries notified by the Centre. Going forward, we have been instructed by the CM to test travellers from all countries.”

The state will write to the Centre seeking ban on travellers from the countries where Omicron variant has been detected. The state witnesses around 2,500 international arrivals per day, with a majority of them landing at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and the Mangaluru international airport. “Those who are symptomatic and negative will have to undergo testing at home on the fifth day of their arrival. Asymptomatic passengers will be tested on the seventh day,” the minister said.

15 nursing students test +ve in Tumakuru

Cluster outbreaks in state educational institutions continue as 15 students in two nursing colleges in Tumakuru district tested positive. The samples of all 15 students have been sent to Bengaluru for genomic sequencing to find out the variant of the virus that they are infected with. P 4

Travel plans disrupted

While incoming passengers have to pay for the test (Rs 3,000 for the quick one), the state will deploy tech tools such as Quarantine App and Tele Medicine to track and treat them.

The government’s travel restrictions, which come ahead of Christmas-New Year season, has disrupted travel plans of thousands of Bengalureans, especially technology professionals working in the US and European countries and locals planning to fly abroad for vacation. Many would be forced to cancel or alter their travel plans fearing more restrictions in the coming weeks, thereby sending the travel and hospitality sector into a tizzy.

Sudhakar justified the restrictions, stating: “Unlike other countries which are banning foreign travelers following the fear of Omicron, we have been considerate and are telling people to undergo quarantine for a week at home. The new strain seems to be contagious. We need to take preventive action now so that we do not regret later.”

Medical teachers gear up to protest against salary cut

Medical teachers gear up to protest against salary cut

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:01.12.2021

Faculty members from six government colleges and eight GMERS colleges are planning a massive ‘Maha Rally’ next month to protest the reduction of their salaries.

“The salary cuts for professors range from Rs 25,000 to Rs 96,000 per month. The government gave dearness allowance for about five months and decided to withdraw it, and recover the money paid from the salaries of professors,” said Dr Rajnish Patel, president, Gujarat Medical Teachers Association (GMTA).

The Maha Rally will be held on December 4 to press their demands, he said.

The pay cuts have affected some 3,000 faculty members, including 360 professors at BJ Medical College.

Members of GMTA have already begun protests and plan to intensify their stir. Apart from the Maha Rally, they have planned Ram dhuns, blood donation camps and rallies at six government medical colleges, where they are expected to be joined by GMERS doctors and medical officers from every district.

A few months ago, GMTS members called off their strike when they were assured by the state government that their demands would be addressed. The demands of GMTS members included higher non-practising allowance in line with the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations. Another demand was regarding abolition of contract appointments.

As medical college teachers are barred from private practice, an allowance is paid to them as compensation.

GMTA had also demanded that medical college teachers be allowed to start private practice after 10 years of regular service. Citing a government resolution of 2017, GMTA also sought an increase in the cap on the maximum monthly salary. Promotions of many faculty members at GMERS colleges have also been pending for a long time. “We called off our protest after we were promised that our demands would be met. The government has gone back on its word, giving us a pay cut instead. We will continue our protest till our demands are fulfilled,” said Patel.

The pay cuts have affected about 3,000 faculty members, including 360 professors at BJ Medical College

Do you really need to drink 8 glasses of water a day?

Do you really need to drink 8 glasses of water a day?

Stop overthinking and ditch the calculations. Drink only when you’re thirsty — it’s that simple

You’re often bombarded with encouragements to drink more water. The purported benefits of excess water consumption are seemingly endless, from improved memory and mental health to increased energy to better complexion. “Stay hydrated” has become a new version of the old salutation “Stay well”.

But what, exactly, does “stay hydrated” mean? “When lay people discuss dehydration, they mean loss of any fluids,” said Dr Joel Topf, a nephrologist and assistant clinical professor of medicine at Oakland University, US.

But that interpretation “has been completely blown out of proportion”, said Kelly Anne Hyndman, a kidney function researcher at the University of Alabama, US.

From a medical standpoint, Topf said, the most important measure of hydration is the balance between electrolytes such as sodium and water in the body. And you don’t need to chug glass after glass of water throughout the day to maintain it.

How much do I really need to drink?

We’ve all been taught that eight glasses of water per day is the magic number, but that notion is a myth, said Tamara Hew-Butler, an exercise and sports scientist at Wayne State University, US.

Unique factors such as body size, outdoor temperature, and how hard you’re breathing and sweating will determine how much water you actually need, she said. A 200-pound person who just hiked 10 miles in the heat will obviously need to drink more water than a 120-pound office manager who spent the day in a temperaturecontrolled building.

The amount of water you need in a day will also depend on your health. For most young, healthy people, the best way to stay hydrated is simply to drink when you’re thirsty, Topf said. Those who are older, in their 70s and 80s, may need to pay more attention to getting sufficient fluids because the thirst sensation can decrease with age.

Do I have to drink water to stay hydrated?

Not necessarily. From a purely nutritional standpoint, water is a better choice than lesshealthy options such as sugary sodas or fruit juices. But when it comes to hydration, any beverage can add water to your system, Hew-Butler said.

One popular notion is that drinking beverages with caffeine or alcohol will dehydrate you, but if that’s true, the impact is negligible, Topf said. A 2016 randomised controlled trial of 72 men, for instance, concluded that the hydrating impacts of water, lager, coffee and tea were nearly identical.

You can also get water from what you eat. Fluid-rich foods and meals such as fruits, vegetables, soups and sauces all contribute to water intake.

But drinking more water, even when I’m not thirsty, will improve my health, right?

No. Of course, people with certain conditions, such as kidney stones or the more rare autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, may benefit from making an effort to drink a little more water than their thirst would tell them to, Topf said.

In the most extreme case, drinking too much water in a short period of time could lead to a condition called hyponatremia, or “water intoxication”. “This is very scary and bad,” Hyndman said. If the sodium levels in your blood get too low, it can cause brain swelling and neurological issues such as seizures, coma or even death.

— THE NEW YORK TIMES

City CBSE schools can suspend exam

City CBSE schools can suspend exam

Board Order After Rain Floods Exam Centres & Schools

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:01.12.2021

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has allowed schools in Chennai to suspend the term 1 exams for Classes X and XII if their campuses and surroundings areas are inundated by the recent rain. The objectivetype exam for Class X students started on November 16. For Class XII, the exam will start on December 1. “The board has allowed schools to decide whether to conduct or suspend the exam. But schools must convey their decision to the board with proof and justification,” a CBSE source said.

“In some places, exam centres may be safe but the neighbourhood may be inundated. Schools must take a call considering the safety of students,” the official said. Principals, however, said that many schools may not cancel the exam as the CBSE has not said anything about holding re-exams for these subjects.

New cyclone may end rain in TN, city

Northeast monsoon’s first cyclonic storm may form over the south Andaman Sea later this week, but it is likely to bring dry spells to TN as the system may block the steady flow of easterlies over TN coast. Meteorologists said there will be a significant decrease in rainfall in the city from Wednesday. P 6

Students eager to write exam despite rain, floods

On November 18, a handful of schools suspended the exam. But only two city schools suspended the exam on Tuesday,” a principal said.

Many parents and students are eager to write the exam despite the rain and flood.

“Though our school is not flooded, some surrounding areas got flooded in recent rain. Most students, however, turned up for exam as some parents shifted to hotels to help their children prepare for the exam,” said Susan George, principal, Hindustan International School, Padur.

Class XII students will start object type exams with sociology paper on Wednesday.

Pranay, a Class XII student from Semmencherry, said his apartment building is inundated but his preparation is not affected as his school is sending study materials online.

“My English paper is on December 3. If the water has not drained by then, I will use a fisherman’s boat to reach the main road. My school vehicle will pick me up from there,” he said.

Vasanthakumar, a parent from Varadharajapuram, collected the hall ticket for Class XII term 1 exam on Tuesday. “Our street was flooded on Saturday and Sunday. As the rain eased, water has drained. If it rains more during the exams, I plan to shift to a safer place to ensure my son writes the exams without any difficulty,” he said.

Some schools like Alwin Memorial Public School in Tambaram are planning to use buses to pick up students from houses in flooded areas. “We don’t want any student to miss the exam due to rain. Parents and students are eager to write the exam as they do not want marks to be based on weightage system like last year,” said N Vijayan, senior principal, Zion and Alwin group of schools.