Rajinikanth praises Stalin for his adminstrative, political skills

Rajinikanth praises Stalin for his adminstrative, political skills 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Chennai : Chief minister M K Stalin came in for praise from actor Rajnikanth for his administrative and political skills, at a public function in the city on Saturday “In neighbouring states, political descendants are struggling to run parties founded by their forefathers and many have even failed. But in Tamil Nadu, Stalin has managed to run the party successfully,” Rajnikanth said. 

“This shows his administrative skills, hard work and his political knowledge,” Rajinikanth said. The actor evoked laughter when he said, “Stalin sir, hats off to you” referring to the CM’s handling of senior ministers. “Managing new students in a school is much easier when compared to the old students. These old students (referring to seniorministers) are not just ordinary students but are meritorious students who score top marks. They stay in the same class not because they have failed but because they have scored high marks and are not willing to move out of the class,” Rajnikanth said. 

Rajnikanth was speaking at a function where Stalin released the book ‘Kalaignar Enum Thaai' written by PWD minister E V Velu. Stalin said, “The title of the book says everything. Kalaignar was not just a father to me but also my mother. He was a mother to lakhs of party cadres including Velu.” Rajinikanth said that if others had faced the criticism Karunanidhi did, they would have disappeared. He wanted amovie made on the life and times of Karunanidhi.

 NEW PUBLICATION: Chief minister M K Stalin releases ‘Kalaignar Enum Thai’ by PWD minister E V Velu in Chennai on Saturda

Minority institutions seek permanent recognition, fee exemption, protection of rights

Minority institutions seek permanent recognition, fee exemption, protection of rights

 TIMES NEWS NETWORK  25.04.2024 

Chennai : Permanent recognition for minority institutions, protecting their rights on formation of selection committees to appoint principals and teaching staff and exemption from paying provisional affiliation fee every year were among the list of demands submitted by minority institutions in a memorandum to higher education minister K Ponmudy on Saturday. The charter of demands also pressed for extension of higher education concession (fee reimbursement) to govtaided school students, removal of ban on staff appointments among others. 

Speaking at the consultation on school and higher education by One Accord Forum in Chennai, Madras Christian College principal Paul Wilson said, “Minority institutions have been endowed with the privilege of constituting their own panel of experts as per the framework given by the govt and UGC to appoint teachers.” “Autonomous higher education institutions have been affiliated to their respective universities permanently. 

However, universities are demanding continuation of provisional affiliation every year,” he said, asking the minister to getrid of glitches inef fective implementation of minority rights. Speaking at the event, DMK MP P Wilson, said that Muslims and Christians had constituted 35% and 15% in govt offices during the colonial era. “In free India, only 3.5% and 1% were Muslims and Christians. But, it is in contrast with an upper caste community which holds 80% jobs in judiciary and 36% to 63% plump jobs of the country,” Wilson said. He further said the DMK govt will continue to fight to protect the rights of minorities and will safeguard the constitutional rights that are under threat. Ponmudy highlighted various schemes implemented by DMK govt for students.

ON THE DAIS: MCC principal Paul Wilson and Zion schools chairman, N Vijayan, with higher education minister K Ponmudy. Minister for milk and dairy development Mano Thangaraj, DMK MP Wilson are also seen

Case Summary: MADRAS HIGH COURT

 Case Summary: MADRAS HIGH COURT 

Case Title: Olincy Helena vs The National Testing Agency

Case Number: W.P.(MD)No.17893 of 2024

Date of Judgment: 1 August 2024

Judge: Honourable Mr. Justice G.R. Swaminathan

Background:

The petitioner, Olincy Helena, represented by her mother, O. Beatus Princy, filed a writ petition seeking a directive from the court to change her community status from General Category (OC) to Other Backward Class (OBC) in her NEET (UG) 2024 application. She had mistakenly declared herself as belonging to the OC category instead of OBC, which resulted in her not qualifying for a medical seat as her score was below the OC cut-off but above the OBC cut-off.

Reason for Denial of Relief:

The court refused to grant relief for the following reasons:

1. Error on the Part of the Petitioner: The petitioner had the opportunity to correct her community status in her application both before and after the examination, but she failed to do so.

2. Legal Precedent: The court referenced a previous ruling (W.A.(MD)No.739 of 2019) which established that requests to change communal category after the declaration of results are not permissible as they could affect the All India merit ranking list.

3. Inability to Contradict Established Judgments: The court reiterated that it could not depart from the earlier judgments, where similar petitions were dismissed due to the inability of the petitioner to rectify their status within the given opportunities.

4. Sympathetic Dismissal: The court, while expressing sympathy, noted that the petitioner could not seek a declaration that contradicted the Information Bulletin's guidelines, which clearly stated that such changes could not be made after the declaration of results.

Conclusion:

The writ petition was dismissed, and no costs were awarded. The court, however, encouraged the petitioner to reapply in the next academic year, ensuring careful reading of the prospectus and guidelines before submitting the application.

Will Vijay succeed where many others could not?

Will Vijay succeed where many others could not?

T. Ramakrishnan

 

CHENNAI 24.08.2024 

With actor Vijay formalising his entry into politics by launching his party’s flag and song, the question remains whether he will be able to succeed where many others couldn’t: creating a credible alternative to the DMK and the AIADMK.

Ever since AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran made his party the principal adversary to the DMK in the 1970s, several players made many attempts in the last 50-odd years to develop a formation that would dismantle the bipolar system.

The latest bid was made by the BJP, which created a coalition under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. But the NDA drew a blank, though it polled 18.27% of the votes and dislodged the AIADMK from the second slot in 12 out of the 39 constituencies.

A cross-section of politicians and political observers points out that Mr. Vijay’s party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), is an untested force, and its founder is an “unknown person” as far as his stand on critical issues is concerned. The pledge administered by him on Thursday appeared to subscribe the party to the principle of generality.

Comparing him with MGR and DMDK founder Vijayakant, a senior member of the ruling DMK says MGR had a long record in politics, initially in the Congress and then in the DMK, before forming his own party. He also had the image of a “friend of the poor”. Vijaykant, too, was involved in philanthropy and helped many members of the Tamil film industry. “But, in Mr. Vijay’s case, you can’t find any such quality, though he has, in recent years, given assistance to students,” the DMK member says.

However, veteran academic G. Palanithurai and former Villivakkam MLA J.C.D. Prabhakar say the entry of the actor into politics will have an impact on sections of the voters, especially the youth, who are “yearning for a change”. But Professor Palanithurai says that over the years, welfarism has turned regressive and not progressive. One has to wait and watch whether the TVK’s policy will be different from the “reliance on doles for political survival instead of addressing substantive issues”.

Politicians and observers differ on the TVK’s impact on the vote share of the existing parties. Some say that as Mr. Vijay’s appeal will be widespread, all major parties will be affected. But others say that for the time being, he has to take an anti-establishment stand. This means there will be fragmentation of the anti-DMK vote which will, in turn, favour the ruling party.

It will be a different game if Mr. Vijay chooses to join hands with either of the major Dravidian parties, as K. Pawan Kalyan of the Jana Sena Party did in Andhra Pradesh by striking an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP and romping home in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Mr. Kalyan is now the Deputy Chief Minister.

30 government school students in Pudukkottai secure medical admission under 7.5 per cent quota

30 government school students in Pudukkottai secure medical admission under 7.5 per cent quota

Their success is a result of hard work and the solid foundation laid by their teachers," said District Chief Education Officer K Shanmugam.

Keeramangalam school alone has seen 23 of its students secure medical seats over the past four years, including four this year.

Updated on:
24 Aug 2024, 7:48 am

PUDUKKOTTAI: Around 30 government school students from Pudukkottai have secured admissions to various medical colleges across the state under the 7.5% quota. Of these, 25 opted for MBBS while three have chosen BDS.

Though many students cleared in their second or third attempts, it a significant achievement as a majority of them hail from rural and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. "All the students come from rural backgrounds.

Their success is a result of hard work and the solid foundation laid by their teachers," said District Chief Education Officer K Shanmugam. Among the success stories is R Abhinaya, the daughter of a domestic worker and a student of the government girls higher secondary school in Keeramangalam.

"With the help of a mobile phone my mother purchased, I prepared for NEET by watching educational channels on YouTube. My school teachers were always there to support me," she said.

According to district-level officials of the education department, the number of government school students securing medical seats has seen a slight increase in Pudukkottai in recent years, particularly since the introduction of the 7.5% reservation in the 2020-21 academic year.

Keeramangalam school alone has seen 23 of its students secure medical seats over the past four years, including four this year. N Vallinayaki, headmistress of the Keeramangalam school, pointed out that Abhinaya couldn't afford any private coaching classes for the last two years since she completed schooling.

"We consistently followed up, gave study materials and encouraged her to not give up," she said. Similarly, five students of the government higher secondary school in Vayalogam of Illupur taluk have secured MBBS admission this year, compared to three last year. Y Jayaraj, headmaster of the school, said, "We identify students and give them special coaching with the help of high-tech labs. Every evening we conduct tests.

For Class 12 students, we make sure they attend taluk-level classes where they get more exposure." "Many who secured seats this year are repeaters. The high cost of private coaching has created a barrier, leading many students to lose motivation despite having the potential to succeed," he added.

‘AI doing cognitive work is game changer’

‘AI doing cognitive work is game changer’ 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  24.08.2024 

Ahmedabad : Since the 1960s, robots have been doing manual labour, and with the rise of information technology, computers have managed data processing and back-end tasks. As new technologies emerged, they both replaced and created jobs. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing beyond science fiction, with digital neural networks generating images, composing music, creating videos, and even writing code and speeches. At the launch of the report ‘Labour Force Perception 

About AI: A Study on Indian White-Collar Workers’ by the Brij Disa Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CDSA) at IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A), experts highlighted that generative AI is a major game changer, taking on tasks previously associated with human cognition. The report was launched by Prof Bharat Bhasker, IIM-A director; Prakash Kumar, CEO of Wadhwani Centre; Prof Sriram Sankaranarayanan, co-chair of CDSA; and the authors. Prof Ankur Sinha said that while technology has long influenced mechanical work, AI now tackles cognitive tasks. Prof Aditya Moses mentioned the difficulty of placing AI within legal frameworks due to its evolving nature. Challenges include differentiating human from AIgenerated content, especially concerning issues like celebrity impersonation and deep fakes.

‘55% of executives use AI tools’ 

The survey revealed that the AI has already made in-roads in India Inc as 55% of executives across 10-odd sectors surveyed said that they are already using AI tools at their workplace. About 49% were trained by their own organizations for the same. The study conducted by experts at Brij Disa Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at IIM-A identified education, IT, manufacturing and healthcare as sectors with high adoption of AI. Prof Anindya Chakrabarti, a co-author of the report, said that the adoption of AI is much faster than expected. 

“More than half of respondents already using AI at work, particularly those with 6 to 25 years of experience. The usage is relatively low at entry and leadership levels,” he said, stressing the need for youth capacity building and informed policymaking. About 70% of respondents believe upskilling in AI is crucial for career growth, with 52% seeking training for their current roles. Prof Ankur Sinha, another author, said that while employees are exploring public domain AI tools, many organizations are adapting them for specific operations as the field evolves. 

“It is an emerging field, and we expect the framework to evolve simultaneously.” 60% fear AI will claim jobs, 53% expect new opportunities: Survey Edu, IT, Manufacturing, Healthcare Lead In Adopting AI Ahmedabad :How will Artificial Intelligence (AI) impact white collar jobs in India? A survey by IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A) faculties with industry experts revealed that 60% executives employed with major firms in country feared job loss agreeing that AI will automate their job while 53% hoped AI creates new jobs. 

The survey covering 567 executives, 31 industry leaders and analysing 70,000 AI job listings revealed that employees perceive AI will have a greater impact on jobs displacement in the future. Compared to 48% who believed AI is replacing jobs in their industry, a higher number of 60% employees believed AI will replace jobs in their sec tor in the next five years. The survey, ‘Labour-force perception about AI: A study on Indian white-collar workers’ was released at IIM-A on Friday with stakeholders. 

Air India fined ₹90 lakh for operating flight to Riyadh with wrong pilot pairing

Air India fined ₹90 lakh for operating flight to Riyadh with wrong pilot pairing

This is the eighth penalty imposed on the airline by

DGCA since January 2023.

Jagriti Chandra

NEW DELHI

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has slapped a fine of ₹90 lakh on Air India for a flawed pilot pairing that included a trainee pilot on a flight from Mumbai to Riyadh on July 9.

The cockpit crew included a trainee pilot alongside a non-trainer pilot. A junior pilot who has not yet been released for flying can only be assigned cockpit duties along with a line training captain, a type rating instructor, or a designated examiner.

This is the eighth financial penalty, totalling ₹4.45 crore, imposed on the airline by the aviation safety regulator since January 2023. The regulator, in a press statement, said the incident has been viewed as serious with significant safety ramifications, referring to a rostering lapse on the part of Air India.

The DGCA imposed a fine of ₹6 lakh on the airline’s director of operations, Pankul Mathur, and ₹3 lakh on the director of flight training, Manish Vasavada. It has suspended permission for Mr. Vasavada to hold the post of director of training for six months.

In the July 9 incident, the trainee pilot was supposed to operate the Mumbai-Riyadh flight with a training captain. However, the training captain fell ill and was replaced with a non-training captain.

The two pilots realised the goof-up on the part of the scheduling department mid-flight and filed a voluntary report after landing in Riyadh.

The regulator said that during an investigation it found several lapses, but did not go into the details.