Rapid RT-PCR machines at IGI for incoming flyers to be raised to 200

Rapid RT-PCR machines at IGI for incoming flyers to be raised to 200

New Delhi: 16.12.2021

The number of rapid RT-PCR machines at the Delhi airport will be increased from 160 to 200 within the next few days, said the company that operates the Covid-19 testing facility for flyers from “at-risk” countries.

The number of employees deployed at the IGIA laboratory will also be increased from 600 to 750, Gauri Agarwal, founder and director of Genestrings Diagnostics, said on Wednesday. “Looking at the current situation, we... decided to augment and nearly double our capacity for rapid PCR. We went ahead with Abbott ID NOW since they are the only one with an EU point-of-care testing approval and happen to be the fastest at only 11 minutes per test result,” she added. TNN & PTI

Over 7L car buyers in queue to take delivery

Over 7L car buyers in queue to take delivery

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 16.12.2021

If you are one of those who is anxiously waiting to get delivery of your new car but still can’t get hold of a confirmed date, don’t fret. You are one among the over 7 lakh buyers who are fighting a frustrating waiting period running into months, and sometimes almost a year.

The shortage of semiconductors and the sudden surge in demand post opening of the economy, as well as launch of new models — some of which have become blockbusters — has meant a long queue for deliveries as buyers scramble to purchase the vehicles. Sadly, for many, the delay in delivery means that they will need to pay more for their vehicle as prices applicable at the time of delivery need to be paid. Inputs costs have on an average increased by around 6% since the beginning of this year.

Chip shortage hits EV biz hard

There are waiting periods running into several months, and even a year for some, and the top models include Mahindra XUV7OO SUV, Maruti’s CNG variants, and SUVs such as Hyundai’s Creta, Kia’s Seltos, MG’s Astor, Tata’s Punch, Mercedes’s GLS, and Audi’s eTron electric.

So, how long is the waiting list that customers are enduring across individual brands? Maruti, the country’s biggest car maker with some of the most popular models, has a customer backlog of as many as over 2.5 lakh cars. Company MD & CEO Kenichi Ayukawa has often apologised to buyers for the delays, and top officials say that the situation is unprecedented.

“I have never seen this kind of a situation ever in my long career,” Maruti director (sales & marketing) Shashank Srivastava says. “The waiting period is across models, for almost all the manufacturers.”

Hyundai, the second biggest maker, has an equally big problem to tackle with over one lakh undelivered vehicles. Company MD S S Kim says that customers are always kept in the loop about delivery positions to ensure transparency.

The global shortage of semiconductors has emerged as a big impediment to any chances of an early ramp-up in production, and companies say that it will take time for the situation to normalise. The current assessment is that the problem will persist at least until the first half of 2022.

Tata Motors, which is riding high on the success of new models, is also estimated to have a waiting backlog of over one lakh cars. “Waiting period for various models varies between one and six months. Overall, our pending bookings are more than 3.5 times of our monthly sales,” Shailesh Chandra, president of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles business, says.

The chip shortage, in fact, is having a very negative impact on the nascent electric vehicles business. Green vehicles pack in a lot of technology and require numerous chips as part of their architecture. Chandra agrees, “For electrics, the waiting period is the highest, and we are fast ramping up our supplies.” Then there are other companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, which have seen superlative demand for new launches such as the Thar and the XUV7OO SUVs. Company director (auto sector) Rajesh Jejurikar has often said that the order-book has even surpassed their internal expectations by a wide margin, with delivery schedules spread across months.

According to dealer estimates, the delivery schedules for certain variants of the Thar are as long as one year, and the XUV7OO has seen an even faster ramp-up with the initial 50,000 bookings made in just two days.

Full report on www.toi.in

Waiting periods are running into several months, and even a year for some models

3 on death row acquitted by SC after 7 years in jail

3 on death row acquitted by SC after 7 years in jail

New Delhi: 16.12.2021

In a big relief to three prisoners who have been living under the shadow of death after being sentenced to death by a trial court and the Allahabad high court, the Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted them in the murder case of six people who were slaughtereed in 2014 in UP’s Bulandshahr district, reports Amit Anand Choudhary.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna said that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt against the accused and remarked that it is “shocked” and “amazed” by the manner in which the trial court and Allahabad HC dealt with the case to prove guilt of the accused in the case.

‘We are amazed by manner in which HC has dealt with issue’

It said that some of the findings of the HC are “foreign” to criminal jurisprudence and the HC order also fell in the ambit of conjectures and surmises. “We are amazed by the manner in which the high court has dealt with the present matter,” the bench said while allowing the appeal filed by the accused Momin Khan, Jaikam Khan and Sajid. “We, therefore, find that the prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The conviction and death sentence imposed on the accused is totally unsustainable in law,” the bench said.

Momin was accused of murdering his parents, brother and other relatives following a property dispute, with the help of Jaikam and Sajid. Momin’s wife was also sentenced to death by the trial court but the HC set aside her conviction.

According to the prosecution, on January 23, 2014 all the four accused killed Momin’s father, mother, brother Shaukeen Khan, sister-in-law Shanno, nephew and his brother’s niece in Bulandshahr.

After analysing all evidence, the apex court said that the trial court and HC had erred in convicting them when the evidence was not convincing enough to prove the guilt. “It is really surprising, as to how the additional sessions judge could have dealt with the present case in such a casual manner when he was considering the question of life and death of four accused,” it said.

The bench said that the findings of the trial court and the HC was not only contrary to the well settled law of the Evidence Act but attempts were made to put a burden on the accused, which does not shift unless prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.

DAV college teachers continue to protest for UGC pay scale

DAV college teachers continue to protest for UGC pay scale

Chandigarh:  16.12.2021

After a massive rally at Matka Chowk, the DAV College Teachers’ Union (DAVCTU) decided to intensify the agitation with round-the-clock fast by teachers on the campus.

On Thursday, Sumit Goklaney, president of DAVCTU and Shaminder Sandhu, senator, Panjab University will be fasting from 9am to 5pm and 5pm to 9am.

Meanwhile, in a meeting of district council held on Wednesday at DAV College, it was decided to motivate the cadre and be ready for stringent steps if their demands are not accepted. Teachers at DAV College also continued with the dharna at the campus and took out a march at Madhya Marg as a symbolic protest against the indifferent attitude of Punjab government. The chain hunger protest at DAV College entered the 10th day in a row on Wednesday.

PU teachers join call given by PFUCTO for a complete 'Education Bandh’

In 2021, NEET merits slip by up to 15 marks in Guj

In 2021, NEET merits slip by up to 15 marks in Guj

Bharat.Yagnik@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:  16.12.2021

Gujarat students did not fare very well in the Nation Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), the uniform exam for admission in under-graduate medical courses in the country, in 2021. In fact, the pandemic year which saw the worst-ever second wave of death and disease due to Covid-19 has recorded merits of state students slipping by up to 15 marks.

Analysis of the merit list of NEET scores of 5,000 students of the state for the year 2021 reveals that from 500 rank onwards, the NEET score has consistently slipped as compared to year 2020.

For instance, a student at 500 rank in merit list has a score of 610 out of 700 this year which was 618 in 2020. Similarly, the analysis of scores at 900, 2,000, 3,000, 4000 and 5,000 ranks also shows a decline in merit ranging from nine to 15 marks.

From 500 rank onwards, the NEET score has consistently slipped

‘Online coaching reason for drop in cutoff’

Experts said that considering the slip in merit, it is expected that the cutoff for admissions in 5,000-odd medical seats in the state will go down. Students termed completely online coaching and schooling as the primary reason behind decline in NEET merit marks saying virtual learning did not give them enough scope to clear their doubts and give their best shot.

The few exceptions to this trend are that students in first place on the NEET merit in Gujarat have scored 715 marks. In 2020, the student on top of the list had 710 marks. Also, at 100th place, the merit this year is 667 which is four marks higher than the 663 score posted in 2020.

Anay Nanavati, a medical aspirant who scored 618 marks says that they studied virtually under immense stress of the deadly Covid second wave. "In 2020, students had completed their course and were on study leave when Covid struck. For us, the whole class 12 and NEET coaching was online which adversely impacted performance. I personally feel my score would have been 50 marks higher if I had physically attended classes," said Nanavati.

Medical intake: Documents of 390 candidates verified

Ahmedabad:

As many as 390 candidates have got their documents verified in the second round of admission for medical, dental, ayurveda, and homeopathy colleges. So far, 25,008 candidates have been registered in the two rounds of admissions conducted by Admission Committee for Professional Undergraduate & Medical Educational Courses (ACPUGMEC) this year. In the second phase, out of total 177 students registered in the open category, 120 completed document verification process. A total of 536 students have registered, of which documents of only 390 have been verified so far. The committee had earlier announced that it has completed the registration process for self-financed ayurveda and homeopathy courses for 15% all India quota. A total of 26,186 had purchased the PINs. TNN

Cabinet clears draft Bill for linking Aadhaar & voter ID

Cabinet clears draft Bill for linking Aadhaar & voter ID

Will Be Voluntary; Part Of Proposed Electoral Refoms

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:16.12.2021

The Union cabinet on Wednesday cleared proposed amendments to the electoral law seeking to bring in key reforms such as voluntary linkage of voter ID with Aadhaar so as to weed out bogus and duplicate entries in electoral rolls.

Another reform sought to be implemented is on allowing multiple qualifying dates in a year, rather than only January 1, for those above 18 years, to register themselves as voters, sources said. The draft Bill to amend the Representation of the People Act (RPA) approved by the Cabinet and likely to be brought before Parliament in the ongoing winter session, purportedly proposes to make gender-neutral a provision allowing only the wife of a male service voter to register as a voter in the same constituency as him.

A fourth likely amendment seeks to empower the Election Commission to requisition premises for any purpose related to elections and not just for creating polling stations and storage of ballot boxes.

Sources said the Bill to amend the RP Act proposes to empower the electoral registration officer to seek Aadhaar number of existing as well as new voters, albeit only on a voluntary basis. The Aadhaar number will only be used for the purpose of voter authentication.

While the multiple dates for registration of newly-eligible voter — the cabinet is said to have cleared four dates of January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 in a given year — will be made possible through an amendment to Section 14(b) of the RP Act, the gender-neutral registration facility for spouses of service voters is sought to be implemented by amending Section 20(6) of the Act.

In 2015, EC took up linking task

Also, the proposed amendment to Section160(1)A of the RP Act will empower the EC to requisition premises for any purpose including for housing central paramilitary forces, its employees and observers.

Incidentally, the EC had in 2015 taken up linking of voter card and Aadhaar number as part of its National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP). Around 32 crore Aadhaar numbers were seeded by the time the EC decided to abandon the programme in view of the Supreme Court judgment restricting the use of Aadhaar.

Following the SC judgment in 2019 allowing collection of Aadhaar with due amendment in the Aadhaar Act, the EC wrote to the law ministry seeking a suitable amendment to enable mandatory linking of voter card with Aadhaar. This was agreed to by the law ministry. EC officials said Aadhaar-EPIC linkage will also help realise the commission’s plan to work towards secure, possibly electronic, voting to help migrant voters — including domestic workers, migrant labourers etc — exercise their franchise even if they are not in the constituency where they are registered as voters.

Govt set to trim list of univ VC aspirants before guv chooses

Govt set to trim list of univ VC aspirants before guv chooses

Bhavika Jain & Hemali Chhapia

Mumbai:  16.12.2021

Whittling down the autonomy of public universities, the state cabinet on Wednesday cleared amendments to the Maharashtra Public University Act, 2016, and decided to shortlist vice-chancellor candidates. Altering the selection method, the state will now receive the list of five nominees picked by the selection panel, choose two and dispatch them to the governor, the chancellor of universities, to finally pick the candidate.

Taking a cue from the agriculture universities, the state also decided the higher education minister will now be the pro chancellor of all state public universities. The pro VC, who is appointed by the chancellor in consultation with the VC, will now be only from a government or an aided college.

“The VC selection process has been changed to avoid the political interference of the chancellor,” said a state officer.

To date, the selection was free of governmental interference. The VC/proVC search panel was headed by a governor’s nominee, one member was recommended by the management council and the third by the academic council. It invited applications, shortlisted aspirants, interviewed them and sent five names to the chancellor, who picked one.

Higher and technical education minister Uday Samant told TOI that these recommendations were made by an expert panel under Sukhdev Thorat, former UGC chairman. The panel was formed to suggest changes in the Act for effective implementation of the national education policy. “The agricultural universities have a post of pro chancellor, which is held by the agriculture minister. It was only the universities under the higher and technical education department which did not have the post,” said Samant. “Also, as far as the selection process of VCs and pro VCs is concerned, we have followed the procedure in the central universities in which the selection panel sends its recommendations to the government which then sends it to the President,” said Samant.

The minister denied speculation that the decision is likely to become another flashpoint between the governor and the MVA government. “The governor is a constitutional post and there is no question of taking away its rights,” said Samant. The ties between the MVA government and Governor B S Koshyari have been strained with differences on a host of issues, including the governor-nominated seats in the legislative council.

Educationist and former principal Anil Rao condemned the decision. “This is an unwarranted attack on the pre-supposed autonomy of academics. The chancellor is the apex authority and above all politics. Higher education should be completely autonomous and miles away from politics. Also, vested dubious interest will creep in with the decision to appoint the higher education minister as the pro chancellor.”

“It is doubtful if there is such over-centralisation of university functions and powers with the government in any other state,” said A Mathew, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration.