India’s Omicron count crosses 1,700-mark after 123 fresh cases

 India’s Omicron count crosses 1,700-mark after 123 fresh cases

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03.01.2022

India reported 123 Omicron cases on Sunday, the lowest in the last five days. India’s cumulative Omicron tally, after adding old unaccounted cases, stood at 1,711. Maharashtra recorded 50 fresh cases, taking the state’s total past the 500-mark to 510. Of the total cases in Maharashtra, 328 are from Mumbai alone, followed by Pune that has seen nearly 110 cases.

Kerala recorded the highest number of cases after Maharashtra on Sunday with 45 patients testing positive for the coronavirus variant, taking the southern state’s tally to152. State health minister Veena George said nine of the 45 patients came from high-risk countries while 32 came from low-risk countrie. Four persons contracted the new variant through their contacts.

Odisha recorded 23 new infections, its biggest singleday jump so far, taking the total tally to 37. Of the 23 fresh cases,10 have no recent history of foreign travel while 11 have returned from countries like Finland, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Syria and UK. Two are contacts of the person who has returned from Finland.

Telangana recorded five cases, taking the state tally to 84. Significantly, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, which had added big numbers to their Omicron tally in the last few days, did not report any case on Sunday.

TNN

School turns radio station to rid children of stage fright

 School turns radio station to rid children of stage fright

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Kevin.Mendonsa@timesgroup.com

Mangaluru:

03.01.2022

At lunchtime, a rural school in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district becomes a radio station so that students can overcome stage fright while singing, reciting, mimicking or cracking jokes.

At Mariambika EnglishMedium School at Bebdrabettu, 16km from Belthangady town, Radio Station, as it is called, started four years ago. The microphone went silent because of the pandemic when schools were shut, but when classes resumed on the campus, the students returned to sing and recite with more confidence.

Sister Leena, who heads the institution, said the brief was simple when they launched the station.

Every child would get an opportunity to perform and no one would be judged. “It started four years ago with an intention to help students from rural areas. The children had stage fear and we decided to dedicate 15 minutes every day so that they would come out of it. It is going good since then and the students have seen positive changes in them,” she said. The school has about 500 children from classes1to10.

She said the children are free to do anything they are good at. “Some sing, others crack jokes, do mimicry, talk on current affairs, conduct quiz, recite poems or enact skits. The teachers assign slots to the children according to class. On that day, those kids finish their lunch early and run to grab the microphone set up in the school corridor. Other children listen to them with speakers connected to each classroom.

Sister Leena said there was a change when the students returned to school after the lockdown. “We noticed they were bolder and more forthright after the pandemic. The participation is more active compared to pre-Covid days,” she said.

The initiative has grabbed the attention of the department of public instruction.

Shambhu Shankar, coordinator of the block resource centre in Belthangady taluk, visited the school.

“This activity improves the listening and speaking skills of students in their free time,” Shankar said, adding: “It helps to overcome stage fear too and it is 100% usage of their free time. I was overwhelmed while listening to a student talking about environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka in English. ”

 

Schools to observe situation, take a call

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Bangalore 

03.01.2022

GEAR Innovative International that had planned to restart offline classes by January 19 said it “will calibrate their action by January10”. “We believe attendance for offline classes will be affected because of the rising cases. Some trend might emerge by January 10,” said M Srinivasan, founder.

“We had plans of reopening after January 9. We will now watch the situation and make a decision next week,” said Shanthi Menon, principal, Deens Academy.

Some schools that were expected to reopen on Monday have deferred starting offline classes. A school in east Bengaluru informed parents that students will continue online class till January 7 and a decision on offline classes will be taken based on the situation.

A school in north Bengaluru postponed the physical reopening of campuses citing vaccination drive on campus for children of 15to 18year-olds by BBMP.

It plans to resume offline school- ing by January 10. Many campuses have tied up with private hospitals and BBMP for vaccination on the premises.

Several schools in the city have sought RT-PCR test reports of students returning from other states for physical classes. They said teachers will also be tested before they resume classes.

“We are unsure how the increase in cases will affect attend- ance. While we hope our section of parents will continue to send their children for offline classes, we request the government that schools should be the last to close if any situation arose. There has been no significant increase in cases from campuses. Schools cannot take the brunt for others’ fault,” said D Shashi Kumar, secretary, Association of Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka.

Educationists are worried that another round of closure would turn disastrous for kids, who have already lost one and a half years of offline classes.

Some schools postpone reopening, stick to e-class

Bengaluru:With Covid cases in Bengaluru on the rise, many private schools are worried that the attendance for in-person lear ning will again be af fected. Some of them have deferred reopening of physical classes after Christmas vacation.

Many schools said parents have started raising concerns over sending their children to campuses when classes resume after Christmas vacation. “We will continue both online and offline classes so as to not force parents to send children to campuses. We’ve received letters from many parents expressing their concerns as cases have started rising again,” said Mansoor Ali Khan, member, board of management, Delhi Public Schools.

Address update scam: Denim trousers cost ₹94k

 Address update scam: Denim trousers cost ₹94k

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:

03.01.2022

A pair of branded denim trousers cost a Vastrapur interior designer Rs 94,000, with cybercrooks siphoning off her money with a malicious link. She had clicked the link to get delivery updates, mentioned an FIR filed with the Vastrapur police station on Saturday.

The victim is Apurva Munet, 25, a resident of Samruddhi Apartments, who hails from Madhya Pradesh. She has been working as a senior interior designer with a private firm in Thaltej for the past two years.

She stated in her FIR that she had ordered one pair of denim trousers on November 28 and another on November 29 from a shopping portal of a leading denim company.

Munet said in her FIR that the pair she had ordered on November 28 was delivered on December 3. But there was no sign of the November 29 order. On December14, she searched for the customer care number of the delivery firm concerned. She called the number and a person asked her for the tracking ID and confirmed that her package was with the delivery firm.

She asked him if she could collect her package personally. But the man insisted that their courier would make the delivery.

The man told her to update her address by paying Rs 3 using a link sent to her. Following his instruction, she paid the money after which she received a confirmation message. Later, the man called and asked  for her preferred delivery time.

On December 14, at around 8. 30pm, she began receiving messages about money being deducted from her two bank accounts linked to a UPI payment app. In all, she ended up losing Rs 94,000. Having realized that she had been cheated, she approached Vastrapur police and filed a complaint. The Information Technology Act has been invoked as well.

Omicron test lure: Bank accounts emptied Cybercrooks Use Isolation Threat

 

Omicron test lure: Bank accounts emptied

Cybercrooks Use Isolation Threat

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:

03.01.2022

If you respond to an email promising a free Omicron test, you may let cybercrooks infect your device and empty your bank

account.

A senior police officer said that cybercrooks send emails with attached malicious links and files. If people open such a link or a file, their system —cellphone or computer — is compromised and criminals gain access tovital information.

Recently, the cyber cellof the state police issued an advisory on cybercrooks using the Omicron test lure.

In some instances, when someone hoping to get a free test clicks a link, bank account information is sought innocuously. Those gullible enough to divulge private information find their accounts emptied, according to the advisory issued by the cyber cell on December 30.

In many cases, people ended up sharing their details with fraudsters and lost their money in this time of crisis, said a poli- ce officer. The officer said that a formal complaint is yet to be filed in relation to such cheating cases.

“In most cases, people receive an email which is ostensibly from the National Health Service (NHS) of the UK,” the officer said. “The message offers the Omicron test. ”

The email senders also instill fear by saying that if the test is not taken, the recipient will be placedin isolationto prevent the spread of the infection, said the officer. “So people are lured with a free test and threatened by the prospect of isolation,” said another senior police officer. “Some people fall into the trap and are cheated. ” Sources in the state police said that cybercrooks also trawl the browsing history of a target and reach out if information on the Omicron test has been looked up.

Moreover, cybercrooks use addresses that appearto be from private and government hospitals. Police advise people to scrutinize domain names to checkthe authenticity of websites and report any suspicious activity on the cybercrime portal.

Officials use corona to mask RTI queries

 Officials use corona to mask RTI queries

Govt Bodies Cite Sec 4 of Epidemic Diseases Act To Decline Information

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Meghdoot.Sharon@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:

03.01.2022

What is cost incurred on treating patients at designated private Covid-19 hospitals in Ahmedabad? What is sanctioned strength, and vacancies of doctors and nurses at the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad? What are the names of persons whom SVP hospital has administered Remdesivir injections? How many Covid-19 deaths have taken place at AMC-run hospitals?

In all the above instances, information was not provided to applicants who filed queries under Right to Information (RTI) Act citing confidentiality clause as the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 is in force. Ever since the outbreak of Covid-19 almost two years ago, public authorities, especially those in the health sector, have been denying information by citing section 4 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, allege activists.

RTI activist Alpesh Bhavsar says earlier this year he sought information on patients treated by private designated Covid-19 hospitals and the expenses incurred. Six of the seven Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) zones said information was confidential under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, one zone provided it.

“The authorities cite section 4 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, but all we are seeking is information. There is no intention of initiating legal proceedings. When we appeal, authorities are then forced to provide information,” he said.

Section 4 of the said act has no mention of not providing information. It in fact grants protection to persons against legal proceedings for anything done in good faith, say activists. Section 4 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 reads – “Protection to persons acting under Act. No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything done or in good faith intended to be done under this Act. ”

In almost all such cases, RTI activists have had to go for appeals, with the respective public authority or the commission when a majority of the information should ideally be part of voluntary disclosure.

RTI activist Pankaj Bhatt sought information on th number of Covid-19 deaths in AMCrun hospitals since the outbreak. “The AMC cities confidentiality clauses, but the law regarding birth and deaths says these figures should be updated on the government website periodically,” Bhatt said.

‘Covid’ most searched on Google by Gujaratis

The ‘Year in Searches,’ annual analysis of the searches by Google for Gujarat region revealed that Covid-19 remained on top of the overall searches in 2021. The Gujaratis searched for symptoms of Covid-19, hospital bed availability near them, what is black fungus and optimum oxygen levels among others.

 

Panel: ₹8 lakh limit includes all family income

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03.01.2022

Answering the court’s questions on justification of the ₹8 lakh limit, the committee said, “The annual household income distribution of qualified EWS candidates for NEET-UG and JEE (Mains) for 2020 reveals that a mere 9 % and 8 . % of EWS candidates were found to be in the income bracket ₹5-8 lakhs, respectively. Inother words, most selected candidates who got the benefit of EWS reservation had annual family income lower than ₹5 lakh. That is whythe committee hascome to the conclusion that the existing annual income criteria of ₹8 lakh is not over-inclusive. ”

The government said it has accepted the Ajay Bhushan Pandey committee report, which recommended continuance of ₹8 lakh income limit with riders after a detailed analysis of the criteria. The committee differentiated it from the income criteria adopted to disentitle creamy layer among OBCs for quotas. The committee, comprising former finance secretary Pandey, Prof VKMalhotra of ICSSR and principal economic adviser to the government Sanjeev Sanyal, was set up on November 30 and submitted its report to the government on December 31. The committee said the “EWS may, however exclude, irrespective of income, a person whose family has 5 acres of agricultural land and above (included in the 2019 criteria which was challenged in SC). ”

The change from the 2019 EWS norms would be exclusion of residential assets criteria which was found to be difficult to collate and verify and a compliance burden. The residential asset criteria had drawn serious objections from the SC on the ground that the value of a residential asset varies substantially between urban and r ural areas.

The Centre had set up the committee to revisit 2019 EWS criteria after an SCbench headed by Justices D Y Chandra- chud on October 7 remarked, “Economic backwardness is a realistic thing. There is no doubt about it as people don’t have moneyto purchase books, to even have food. But as far as the EWS is concerned, they are forward class and there is no social or educational backwardness among them. So can you apply the same yardstick of ₹8 lakh limit for the creamy layer to the EWS? 

With regard to the EWS we are not dealing with social, educational backwardness. What was the basis of fixing the limit or have you lifted the criteria for the creamy layer and put it for EWS. ” The committee has pointed out that the ₹8 lakh limit includes all family income, including from agriculture sources making the exercise stricter than in case of OBC q uotas.

Full r eport onwww. toi. in

₹8L cap for EWS may affect OBC ‘creamy layer’

New Delhi:The central government’s strong defence against lowering ₹8 lakh income cap for the EWS eligibility may help it avert a backlash from the upper castes — who are the overwhelming beneficiaries of this quota — but in the process, it has take a stance that is likelyto a dversely affect its moves on crucial dimensions of OBC “ creamy layer”.

Faced with the prospect of making the EWS income cap more rigid, the ministry of social justice has showed the contrast between the ₹8 lakh for EWS and the same limit as OBC creamy layer cap, and arguing that the former is much morestrict. It hasspeltout that the family size for which the income is calculated for EWS is much bigger, and “income” includes “salaries” and “agricultural income”, while in case of OBCs, the “income” does not include “salaries and agri income”, r eports Subodh Ghildiyal

Retain ₹8 lakh EWS cap for admissions, suggests panel

Will Tweak Other Criteria Next Year: Govt To SC

New Delhi: The committee set up to evaluate the ₹8 lakh income limit for economically weaker section candidates in admissions to educational institutions recommended retention of the qualifying mark and the Centre informed the Supreme Court that it accepts the reasoning. This development may set in motion the resumption of the counselling process for the NEET-PG seats that is currently held up.

The Centre on Sunday told the Supreme Court that it would stick to the ₹8 lakh annual income limit criteria that entitles EWS candidates to a 10% reservation in ad- missions to educational institutions, including medical colleges, and government jobs, but promised to tweak other EWS-related criteria a bit from next year.

The committee advised implementation of its recommendations from next year, which would mean the EWS quota admissions for medical admissions for the present academic year, which is yet to be completed, would be on the basis of the 2019 criteria. “The existing system, which is going on since 2019, if disturbed at the end or fag-end of the process would create more complications than expected both for the beneficiaries as well as for the authorities,” the committee said. › Family income,