SC nod to urgent hearing in EWS quota criteria case

TNN | Jan 4, 2022, 02.43 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday acceded to Centre’s request for urgent hearing on petitions challenging the validity of criteria for 10% Economically Weaker Section quota, judicial proceedings over which has held up admissions to PG medical seats leading to agitation by students.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta infomed a bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud that the committee headed by ex-finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, which was tasked to revisit the criteria for candidate’s inclusion in EWS category, has already submitted its recommendations and that the Centre has filed the report before the court.

Justice Chandrachud said the matter would be required to be heard by a bench also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, the latter two sitting in different compositions during first week of New Year, when the court is scheduled to hear fresh cases. Justice Chandrachud told Mehta that he would consult CJI and that there would be an endeavour to get EWS quota case listed for hearing this week.

The Centre on Sunday filed an affidavit in SC saying it would stick to the Rs 8 lakh annual income limit criteria for categorisation of EWS sections, entitled to 10% reservation in admissions to educational institutions, including medical colleges, and government jobs, but promised to tweak other EWS criteria a bit from next year.

The government said it has accepted the Pandey Committee report, which recommended continuance of Rs 8 lakh income limit with riders, after a detailed analysis of the criteria and differentiated it from the income criteria adopted to disentitle creamy layer among OBCs for quotas.

The committee said the “EWS may, however exclude, irrespective of income, a person whose family has 5 acres of agricultural land and above (as was included in the 2019 criteria which was challenged in the SC).” The change from the 2019 EWS norms would be exclusion of residential assets criteria.

 

SC agrees to expedite hearing on EWS quota criteria case

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: 04.01.2022

The Supreme Court on Monday acceded to the Centre’s request for urgent hearing on the petitions challenging the validity of criteria for 10% Economically Weaker Section quota, judicial proceedings over which has held up admissions to the PG medical seats leading to agitation by students.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud that the committee headed by former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, which was tasked to revisit the criteria for candi date’s inclusion in EWS category, has already submitted its recommendations and that the Centre has filed the report before the court.

Justice Chandrachud said the matter would be required to be heard by a bench also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, the latter two sitting in different composi- tions during the first week of New Year, when the court is scheduled to hear fresh cases.

However, Justice Chandrachud told the SG that he would consult the CJI and that there would be an endeavor to get the EWS quota case listed for hearing this week.

Full report on www. toi. in

Med aspirants anxious over long wait for counselling

 Med aspirants anxious over long wait for counselling

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Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

04.01.2022

Chennai:

With the MBBS and BDS counselling delayed by more than two months, medical aspirants are anxious that their wait to enter medical colleges may get even longer with the spurt of Covid-19 cases. Some candidates with high scores in NEET 2021 have already joined other courses while other toppers are worried about the possibility of having to study along with their juniors due to the extraordinary delay in medical admissions this year due to pending court cases and the pandemic.

Around 42,000 students have registered online for MBBS, BDS 2021-22 counselling while 33,000 students have sent their applications so far for the medical admissions. The last date for registering online is January 7. Ranjitha from Mylapore who scored above 600 marks in NEET 2021, has joined Anna University as a back-up plan. "Now, we are about to complete the first semester and reach the stage of assessment. It adds an extra-pressure to decide whether to continue in engineering or to join MBBS. There are many students like me," she said.

Students also worried about rushing through the first-year syllabus of MBBS due to the delay in the counselling. Anirudh, who has secured more than 650 marks in NEET 2021, said there was no information about the counselling though it had been four months since the NEET exam was held. "If the counselling starts now, we can plan accordingly," he said.

Dharani, a topper among government school students in NEET 2021, has already lost several months. "My brother is in Class XII. It seems both of us will start going to college at the same time," she said.

PV Ramachandran, course coordinator for medical programmes, FIITJEE, Chennai, said students who had done very well in NEET were now under stress due to delay in medical counselling. "Due to uncertainty, many parents are pressuring students to join other courses as a back-up," he said.

The National Medical Commission has postponed the counselling for all-India quota till the case regarding following EWS quota for All India  quota (AIQ) seats is decided by the Supreme Court. "We normally start counselling after the first round of counselling for AIQ seats is completed. This will give toppers an opportunity to choose seats from AIQ. So, it will give more seats to Tamil Nadu students," an official said.

 

Only intention of some univs is to mint money: HC

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:

04.01.2022

Terming a Salem based private deemed to be university a ‘commercial broker,’ the Madras high court has observed that the real intention of such universities is to mint money by giving certificates without providing quality education. “Such universities must realise that education is different from qualification,” a division bench of Justice S Vaidyanathan and Justice A A Nakkiran said.

The court made the observations on an appeal moved by a group of engineers working in Tangedco challenging the order of a single judge granting re-designation of posts of junior engineers who have obtained engineering degree through distance education as assistant engineers.

All the junior engineers obtained a degree in mechanical engineering through distance mode from Vinayaka Mission University, Salem. Since their representation for re-designation was not considered they moved the high court.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court suspended their degrees in a similar batch of petitions and said that the university was not justified in in- troducing any new courses in technical education without the approval of AICTE.

The apex court directed the AICTE to conduct an appropriate test to the degree holders giving them two attempts to clear the exam. Since the junior engineers cleared the exams in the second attempt, a single judge of the court directed the Tangedco to re-designate them as assistant engineers.

Aggrieved, a group of engineers who obtained degrees through regular mode have moved the present appeal. They contended that as per TNEB Service Regulations degrees obtained through distance mode are not recognised.

They further added that the re-designation has also shuffled the seniority. Concurring with the submissions, the court allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the single judge.

Prof gets patents for better LED bulbs, solar cells

Prof gets patents for better LED bulbs, solar   cells

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Puducherry: 04.01.2022

A team of researchers led by a Pondicherry University associate professor has obtained two patents for evolving technologies in the fields of photovoltaic and thermoelectric device processing to improve the performances of LED bulbs and solar cells.

The patent office granted research patents to the team led by associate professor (green energy technology) Periyasamy Thilakan for the invention of 'preparation of luminescent nanocrystalline indium-tin-oxide and 'preparation of wideband titanium dioxide antireflection coating for silicon solar cells'.

The team extracted nanocrystals of indium tin oxide and demonstrated that it can be used to light LED bulbs. "So far, indium tin oxide (ITO) is used as a transparent conducting electrode in optoelectronic devices, but it is not explored for LED applications though it has potential to use as a light-emitting material for LED bulbs. ITO is capable of its lightemitting capacity in the ultraviolet B range of wavelength (280nm to 315nm) at room temperature if it is grown in the form of nanocrystal without defects,” said Thilakan.

He said if the LED bulbs are made using these ITO light emitters, the white light coming out of these bulbs will have a better colour rendering index (CRI) than the presently used gallium nitride-based LED bulbs.

On the other technology his team got the patent, Thi- lakan said the output of a solar cell is directly proportional to the number of photon input. "Hence the reflection of such photons proportionally reduces the current output of the solar cell. We got the second patent for inventing the technology to prepare titanium nanocrystalline material, which is used as wideband anti-reflection coating on solar cells," said Thilakan.

The technology helps in reducing the reflection to less than 10% in the UV range of light. "This anti-reflection coating for silicon solar cells lower the spectral reflection values more than the antireflection coating currently in use," he said.

Pondicherry University vice-chancellor Gurmeet Singh lauded Thilakan and his team for obtaining the two patents.

Med student hangs herself in Thanjavur

 Med student hangs herself in Thanjavur

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thanjavur:

04.01.2022

A 19-year-old MBBS first-year student at a private college hanged herself to death in Thanjavur. Police identified the deceased as M Anushree of Natarajan Nagar in Madhakottai. She had been studying in Salem. Her father Mohanraj is a faculty at a private college in Thanjavur.

After returning home for the New Year holiday, Anushree was visibly upset and had been at home without talking to any of the family members, police said.

Mohanraj was away from home along with his family members on Sunday, with Anushree alone at home.

When they returned, Anushree was found hanging. On information, Tamil University police SI Abhirami rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry and sent the body to the government hospital.

TN govt to extend contract of docs recruited for mini clinics

 TN govt to extend contract of docs recruited for mini clinics

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04.01.2022

Besides, 4,448 health sub-centres have been converted to health and wellness centres under the universal health coverage programme. “The government, after careful consideration of the report by the Directorate of Public Health, has decided to not extend the scheme beyond 31. 12. 2021,” the GO said.

However, with the threat of Omicron, the government has decided to extend the contract of the doctors recruited for the mini clinics until March 31. Corporation heads have been told to redeploy the contract staff working in the mini clinics to fever camps and Covid-19 care centres, the health secretary said.

With the closure of the mini clinics, the government is expected to save ₹26. 71 crore a month.

Former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had in December urged the DMK government to run the clinics as the scheme sought to provide healthcare for the poor.

Health department officials told TOI that the scheme lost relevance in the state with UPHCs and door-to- door healthcare initiatives gaining ground. “It will be an unnecessary burden on the exchequer. We will take a call on retaining the staff after March,” an official said.

The corporation is planning to convert all the 196 mini clinic buildings into urban health and wellness centres. The centres will be set up at a cost of ₹88 crore, under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat comprehensive primary healthcare scheme. They would provide diagnosis and treatment for noncommunicable diseases, childbirth and neonatal issues.

TN govt shuts Amma mini clinics citing performance

Chennai:

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to discontinue the Amma mini clinics launched by the AIADMK government in December 2020, citing lack of performance.

The 1,950 mini clinics were launched for fever diagnosis, but since the second Covid wave ebbed in 2021, the clinics were used only as vaccination centres, officials said. According to a government order (GO 592) dated December 31, 2021, shared with TOI, health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan has said that the mini clinics have not reached a substantial level of performance, and with schemes like ‘Makkalai thedi maruthuvam’ and ‘Varumun kappom thittam’ now, the objective of providing easy healthcare access to people has been achieved.