Banks restrict staff attendance

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Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com

06.01.2022

Mumbai: Banks are drawing up preventive measures to deal with the third wave of Covid. This comes close on the heels of the Central government curtailing office attendance to 50% of workforce in the wake of the surge in infections.

For banks, the protocol will vary according to the district and a decision will be taken by State-Level Bankers’ Committees. Bank of India has said that physical attendance will be restricted to 50% in administrative offices, including head offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

In branches, physical attendance shall be restricted to 75% in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The remaining staff will work from home. The bank has also decided to increase availability of collaborative platforms like Citrix to facilita- te WFH. Pregnant women and those with disabilities are also being allowed to work from home in these three cities. 

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance has postponed the exams scheduled on January 8-9. Bankers in Mumbai said that the situation is dynamic and they are awaiting the local administration’s response to the rising numbers to draw up a strategy. In the financial capital, bank staff are dependant on local trains and any move to curtail them would impact operations.

The head offices of private banks have continued with a hybrid model even after the ebbing of the second wave. Officials said that work-from-home policy would continue for those in administrative offices, while branches would continue to have attendance.

 

EWS quota hearing: Centre for early med PG counselling

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Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

06.01.2022

New Delhi: The SC on Wednesday commenced hearing on petitions challenging the 27% OBC and 10% EWS (reservations for poor among forwards) quotas in admissions to PG medical courses and asked the petitioners and the Centre to conclude by Thursday arguments on the urgent issue — the resolution of which will permit counselling for postgraduate medical seats for 2021-22 academic session with or without the quotas.

While the EWS quota for jobs and admissions to governmenteducational institutions was notified in January, 2019, the 27% OBC quota in medical admissions was notified in July last year much after the medical PG examination schedule was announced. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta was told by a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna that, “Now that you have filed an affidavit, the petitioners’ counsel can give their arguments. We will hear them and the government on Thursday. ”

 

SC rejects state’s appeal against pension

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

06.01.2022

Ahmedabad: The Supreme Court has turned down Gujarat government’s appeal and held that all petitioner lecturers and professors of Gujarat’s universities, who had not opted for pension scheme in favour of contributory provident fund, are eligible for the pension schemes though they had missed the bus 30 yearsago.

The litigations were initiated after many teaching and non-teaching staff, including lecturers from government and aided colleges, were denied pension scheme benefits as they had opted for a one-time payment by the government at the time of retirement.

After ignoring the op- tion given by the state government on a couple of occasions in the 1980s, these employees approached the government at the time of their retirement and requested they be considered for the pension scheme.

Besides, in the appointments made after 1982, the government did not offer the option at all. The employees also sought pension benefit after retirement by citing a 1984 government resolution.

However, the government rejected their request for pension benefits and the dispute landed in the high court with hundreds of retired college teachers demanding extension of the pension scheme and complaining that the government had not given them the opportunity to exercise the option on grounds of financial implications.

The single-judge bench of the HC allowed the petitions in2016andorderedthe government to grant pension to the petitioners on condition that the petitioners should refund the amount paid to them towards the provident fund.

There were four batches of such litigations and all the petitions were allowed. The state government challenged the decisions before the division bench, which rejected its appeals in 2019.

One such rejected appeal was carried to the apex court by the state government contending that despite being granted the opportunity on multiple occasions, the petitioners had not opted for the pension scheme. At a belated stage, their request cannot be acceded to, the government argued. The bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna dismissed the state government’s appeal on December 17, 2021 stating that one of the batches of such petitions allowed by HC had attained finality. There was no difference between the petitioners who succeeded and are drawing pension and the present petitioners. 

“Consequently, it would be wholly iniquitous to apply a different yardstick to a batch of pensioners who are respondents to these proceedings, when the judgment of the high court has attained finality in respect of a similar batch of pensioners who are governed by the same judgment. They are receiving pensions,” the order read.

 

Resident docs want HoD out till inquiry is over

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

06.01.2022

Ahmedabad: The resident doctors at B J Medical College and Civil Hospital have demanded from college authority that the head of the department for ENT, Dr Ila Upadhyay be removed from the post till her name is cleared in an ongoing inquiry.

A three-member committee has been set up by the college to probe a complaint where the students have alleged that they are subjected harassment by Dr Upadhyay.

The Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) at B J Medical College have complained to the faculty dean, Gujarat University that Dr Upadhyay had even asked one of her students to gift her a micro-meter drill set. “In the wake of the ongoing inquiry by a committee, Dr Upadhyay should be temporarily removed from the post as it would lead to a conflict of interest. We have made representation to the college authority in this regard,” said a member of JDA.

“We have never experienced such an environment where criticism is constant and we are seeing a highly efficient workplace turn into less efficient and it is discouraging and disheartening to see, feel and work,” according to a letter written to the college authority and signed by the ENT department students.

 

SC begins EWS quota hearing; Centre for early PG counseling

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Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN

06.01.2022

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday commenced hearing on petitions challenging the 27% OBC and 10% EWS (reservations for poor among forwards) quotas in admissions to PG medical courses and asked petitioners and Centre to conclude by Thursday arguments on the urgent issue— the resolution of which will permit counseling for postgraduate medical seats for 202122 academic session with or without the new quotas.

While the EWS quota for jobs and admissions to government educational institutions was notified in January, 2019, the 27% OBC quota in medical admissions (all-India quota) was notified in July last year much after the medical PG examination schedule was announced. 

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta was told by a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna that, “Now that you have revisited the criteria and filed an affidavit annexing the report of the committee, the petitioners’ counsel can give their arguments on the issue. We will hear them and then hear the government on Thursday. ”

The SG said, “Now, there is a judicial adjudication on the OBC quota in medical admissions. We as government would earnestly request the SC we would not create a situation where the OBC and the poorest of the general category are deprived of what is due to them. ” Mehta said, “We are at a stage where the counseling is stuck, from graduation to post-graduation courses. The resident doctors have concerns and we feel their concerns are genuine. ”

Full report on www. toi. in

85-yr-old Bihar man boasts of 11 jabs, caught at 12th shot

 85-yr-old Bihar man boasts of 11 jabs, caught at 12th shot

06.01.2022

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Madhepura: In a ‘boaster dose’ India’s Covid vaccination campaign could have done without, a vaccine-obsessed 84year-old man from Bihar’s Madhepura claims to have been jabbed 11times at different centres — on nine occasions,  using the same Aadhaar and mobile number— before his shot at a 12th dose misfired.

Brahmdeo Mandal, a resident of Orai village in Puraini, was stopped on Tuesday just after he walked into yet another vaccination site in Madhepura on the premise that each extra dose was not only protecting him from Covid but also “curing me of my many ailments”.

As embarrassed health officials searched for explanations, civil surgeon A N Shahi said an inquiry had been ordered to fix responsibility for Brahmdeo getting past the data firewall nine times with a single Aadhaar card and mobile number.

Brahmdeo produced a diary containing details of where he got his shots and on which dates. He apparently got jabbed first at Puraini PHC on February 13, followed by a legal second dose at the same centre on March 13.

Full report on www. toi. in

Job scam: Police arrests former AIADMK Minister Rajenthra Bhalaji, three others

Job scam: Police arrests former AIADMK Minister Rajenthra Bhalaji, three others

The former Minister, whose anticipatory bail application was dismissed by the Madras High Court last month, was arrested in connection with the scam, a police official said.

Published: 05th January 2022 11:44 PM 

By PTI

VIRUDHUNAGAR: Former AIADMK minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji was arrested in a case involving alleged job scam on Wednesday in Karnataka and brought to Tamil Nadu, police said.

Three others who allegedly helped him have also been arrested.

The former Minister, whose anticipatory bail application was dismissed by the Madras High Court last month, was arrested in connection with the scam, a police official here said.

The police case here on job scam is against Bhalaji, two of his personal assistants and an associate.

Two separate FIRs were registered previously by the Virudhunagar police following complaints.

At least 23 victims were identified and a total of Rs 1.

40 crore was collected from them allegedly for securing jobs.

They were promised various jobs in the state government departments/undertakings including in the state-run dairy cooperative 'Aavin.

' Conspiracy, cheating, criminal intimidation are among the IPC sections invoked against them.

Bhalaji held the milk and dairy development portfolio in the previous AIADMK government (2016-21).

Dismissing the anticipatory bail petition of Bhalaji and others, the High Court had said in cases of job racketeering, the court finds innocents are being cheated, lured and their future becomes questionable.

"Job aspirants not only lose their money, they also lose their future. This case is one of job racketeering. Hence, this court is not inclined to show any leniency on the petitioners."

After the plea was rejected, police had formed special teams to apprehend him.