Plea by AYUSH colleges for 5 x fees from mgmt quota students junked

Plea by AYUSH colleges for 5 x fees from mgmt quota students junked 

FRA Dubs Association’s Demand As Unjust, Improper & Contrary To Law

Yogita.Rao@timesofindia.com 03.12.2024 

Mumbai : The state’s Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) rejected a demand made by the association of managements of AYUSH colleges to charge five times the regular fees from students admitted under the management quota, regardless of whether the student is an NRI or a non-NRI. The association’s demand was endorsed by the Maharashtra govt in a letter written to the authority in Sep, where it mentioned that it had no objection to allowing the institutes to charge higher fees. 

The FRA, however, mentioned that the claims made by the association, that they are unable to run the colleges from the income generated by the fees approved by the authority, are “unjust, improper and contrary to law”. In a detailed order, concluding that the association’s demand does not deserve any consideration, the FRA mentioned that the fees of each institute are based upon its income and expenditure, and the evidence produced in support of the provisions. “No institute can be permitted to indulge in the act of profiteering by allowing to charge exorbitant and excessive fees,” it stated. The proposal from the association came soon after the FRA decided to cap the caution money for AYUSH courses at Rs 25,000. The authority also mentioned that they came across several complaints from students about colleges allegedly demanding higher fees than the ones prescribed and approved by the FRA.

In their complaints, the students, who were allotted seats by the state’s CET cell, alleged that colleges demanded five times the regular fees at the time of admission. Some students even complained of colleges denying admissions for the same. “There appears to be some oblique  motive in raising such demand by some of the institutes to cover up their act of collecting fees more than the ones approved by the authority,” mentioned the FRA. 

Citing a 2018 order, the FRA mentioned that the association running AYUSH colleges cannot demand a different fee structure in comparison to institutions running other health science courses. The FRA said that the association did not produce any material to reconsider its earlier decision even in 2018, and therefore the request made by them cannot be entertained now. Additionally, it also pointed out that the process of approval of fee structures for 2024-25 commenced in Oct 2023 and the fees were already decided. Currently, the FRA allows colleges to charge three times the fees from students admitted under the management quota and five times from students who are admitted under NRI quota.

MBBS student found dead

MBBS student found dead 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03.12.2024

Coimbatore : A 22-year-old second year MBBS student, who used to spend weekends with her parents, was reportedly found dead on Sunday morning when her father went to wake her up at their house in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore city. T Keerthana, studying and residing at a private medical college in Coimbatore, came to her parents’ house on Saturday night after visiting a relative at a private hospital where she had an egg puff and tea from the hospital’s canteen. Later she had parotta from a hotel near her house around 9.30 pm, her 62-yearold father, N Thiyagarajan, told police. 

Then she went to bed around 11 pm in her room, while her parents slept next to her, as per the complaint. On Sunday, Thiyagarajan woke up around 7 am and his wife an hour later. When Keerthana did not get up till 9.30 am, Thiyagarajan went to wake her up. He found her unconscious and rushed her to a private hospital in Thudiyalur. She was then referred to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared her dead. We are waiting for the postmortem report to know the exact cause of death, police said.

Direct flights from Prayagraj to many cities PRAYAGRAJ, 2025MAHA KUMBH

Direct flights from Prayagraj to many cities PRAYAGRAJ, 2025MAHA KUMBH

 Rajeev.Mani@timesofindia.com  03.12.2024

 Prayagraj : In view of Maha Kumbh, direct flights will start soon from Prayagraj to Jabalpur, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, and Dehradun. Flight services for these cities will be operated by the aviation company Alliance Air. Alliance Air has sent its proposal to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). After getting approval from the DGCA, direct flights for these cities will start. 

Prayagraj Airport administration has already given permission to operate these flights. After this, the final proposal was sent to the DGCA through a letter. Permission is also expected from the DGCA soon. It is being said that some of these aircraft will fly from the respective cities and leave for Prayagraj and then for Delhi. Among these, the Prayagraj

Kolkata flight will be available three days a week, and for the rest of the cities, the flight will be available only one day a week. At present, there are direct flights from Prayagraj to Delhi, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.

Docs advise elderly to drink lots of water, cut salt intake ‘Skip Morning And Late Eve Walks Also’

Docs advise elderly to drink lots of water, cut salt intake ‘Skip Morning And Late Eve Walks Also’ 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03.12.2024 

Lucknow : Retired teacher Anil Verma, 68, having a history of heart ailments, was rushed to the hospital last week after experiencing severe chest pain and difficulty breathing. Doctors told his family that the plummeting temperatures caused his blood pressure to spike. A similar incident involved 62-year-old homemaker Sunita Sharma from Hazratganj. She experienced a sudden rise in blood pressure to 180/120 mmHg after stepping out of bed to use the washroom at midnight. The drastic temperature change triggered the spike, forcing her family to rush her to Command Hospital for emergency care. 

Doctors at the hospital explained that sudden exposure to cold temperatures can cause blood vessels to constrict, leading to dangerously high blood pressure. Both cases highlight the increased risk elderly individuals face during winter. “In cold weather, blood vessels constrict, leading to higher blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart attacks or strokes, especially in senior citizens,” said Dr Pravesh Vishwakarma, faculty at KGMU’s cardiology department. 

He also advised people to get vaccinated for influenza virus infection. He added that while sodium is essential for bodily functions, excess sodium in the body can worsen high blood pressure and cause complications such as kidney disease, osteoporosis and an enlarged heart. “In winters, reduced sweating and lower water intake can lead to higher sodium concentration in the body, increasing BP risks. People should drink 2.5-4 lt of water daily and limit salt intake,” he advised. 

HoD of cardiology at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Bhuvan Tiwari urged elderly individuals to take precautions. “Avoid early morning or late evening outings to  prevent bronchospasm, which can lead to breathing difficulties and even cut off oxygen supply to vital organs,” he warned. Doctors emphasised staying warm, hydrated and monitoring symptoms as essential steps to mitigate health risks during the winter months.

NRI quota allocated unfairly to most sought branches: HC

NRI quota allocated unfairly to most sought branches: HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03.12.2024

Jabalpur : The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued notices and sought replies while hearing a petition alleging that the 15% of seats in the state's private medical colleges, reserved for NRIs, are only being allocated in eight popular courses and not evenly distributed, which is against the rights of meritorious non-NRI students.

The division bench of the high court, comprising Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf, issued notices to the respondents, seeking their response. The public interest petition, filed by Dr Ojas Yadav from Bhopal, stated that NEET prepared a merit list for NRIs. Private medical colleges in the state allocate 15% of seats under the NRI quota. Although there are 22 branches in medical colleges, the state govt allocated NRI quota seats to only eight branches, which are in high demand. Advocate Alok Bagrecha, representing the petitioner, argued that the excessive allocation of NRI quota seats in selected branches would affect the rights of meritorious students, as the number of available seats decreased. There are a total of 545 seats in the eight branches, with 152 allocated under the NRI quota. 

NRI quota seats should have been distributed across all branches. The process adopted by the state govt is completely illegal, the counsel said. The seat matrix of private colleges, which outlines the seats allocated to each category, was prepared in violation of the Medical Education Admission Rules-2018, the petitioner claimed before the court. Instead of the stipulated 15% for the NRI quota, 40 to 50% have been reserved in various branches. And, choice filling is being conducted without providing time for claims and objections as per admission rules. After the hearing, the bench issued notices to the respondents, seeking a response within a week

198 colleges mum on stipends get NMC show-cause

198 colleges mum on stipends get NMC show-cause

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesofindia.com  03.12.2024

New Delhi : National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued show-cause notices to 198 medical colleges — 115 govt and 83 private — across the country over non-submission of details of stipend paid to undergraduate interns, postgraduate residents and senior residents. All medical colleges were directed to submit to NMC the stipend paid for the financial year 2023-24 following a Supreme Court directive.

However, officials said, the 198 colleges that have been issued showcause notices failed to comply leading to the action. An online survey conducted by NMC last year revealed 27% of PG students are not paid any stipend by private/self-financed medical colleges. There are 54% PG students who receive less than the amount paid to their counterparts in govt-run medical colleges. More importantly, the survey conducted among 7,901 PG students from 213 self-financed/private medical colleges spread across 19 states revealed 16% PG students had to return the stipend money to college management. After this, NMC, the apex body for regulating medical education and pro fession, directed all self-financed and private medical colleges to pay stipend equal to the amount being paid to PG students of state or centre-run medical institutions in the state/UT where they are located, as per Regulation 13 of Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulation (PGMER), 2000.

“All the self-financed/ private medical colleges are warned that NMC will take strict action for noncompliance of the provisions of the Regulations of PGMER, 2000 if any complaint is received in future,” NMC said. All medical graduates pursuing PG courses are entitled to a stipend. AIIMS Delhi, for example, pays PG students close to Rs 95,000 per month as stipend. MBBS interns are paid close to Rs 26,000 per month.

We grant bail & next day you become minister: SC

We grant bail & next day you become minister: SC

SC To Senthil Balaji: Would Witnesses Not Be Pressured?

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesofindia.com 3.12.2024

New Delhi : Continuation of DMK leader V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu govt seems to have become untenable with Supreme Court on Monday questioning his appointment immediately after getting bail from the apex court in a money laundering case linked to a cashfor-jobs scam. The court asked if witnesses would not feel under pressure after an accused is restored to public office when the trial is pending. In what can have implications for similarly placed politicians, SC, which has recently modulated rigorous bail provisions of special laws such as PMLA and UAPA by ruling that the principle ‘bail is the rule and jail is the exception’ is applicable also in these offences, indicated that it would send a wrong signal if a high-profile accused was reinducted to public office immediately after bail.

It said justice should not only be done but should also be seen to be done. A bench of Justices A S Oka and Augustine George Masih, which had granted bail to Balaji on Sept 26, decided to examine a plea seeking recall of the order on the ground that witnesses may not feel free to depose against a cabinet minister. The court said it would not re-examine its verdict but would examine the limited aspect of apprehension that witnesses may feel in the case.

Reinstatement post bail: SC to study impact on witnesses In what can have implications for similarly-placed politicians, the SC, which has recently modulated rigorous bail provisions of special laws like PMLA and UAPA by ruling that the principle ‘bail is the rule and jail is the exception’ is applicable also in these offences, indicated that it would send a wrong signal if a high-profile accused was re-inducted to public office immediately after bail. It said justice should not only be done but should also be seen to be done. A bench of Justices A S Oka and A G Masih, which had granted bail to Balaji on Sept 26, decided to examine a plea seeking recall of the order on the ground that witnesses may not feel free to depose against a cabinet minister. The court said it would not re-examine its verdict but would examine the limited aspect of apprehension that witnesses may feel in the case. In contrast to the convention of politicians quitting their official positions after being arrested and chargesheeted — something that was followed across the political spectrum for decades — some high-profile politicians have held on to their positions despite having been incarcerated. The SC, which did not object to the departure from convention so far, now seems to be firming up a position against it.

The court’s remarks in Balaji’s case follow its earlier order where it gave the chief of Trinamool Congress’s youth wing bail on the condition that he would not hold any official position. The court had granted Balaji bail holding that rigorous bail provisions in laws like PMLA, UAPA and NDPS Act could not become a “tool” to keep an undertrial accused in jail for an unreasonably long time. After spending 15 months in custody, Balaji came out on bail and was re-inducted as minister three days later. “The present application is based on apprehension. The apprehension is based on the fact that immediately after we enlarged the second respondent on bail by the judgment and order dated Sept 26, the second respondent has been appointed as a cabinet minister of the state. The apprehension is that considering the seriousness of the allegations against the second respondent in the predicate offences, witnesses may not be in the frame of mind to depose against the second respondent who is now holding the position of a cabinet minister. This is the only aspect on which, prima facie, we are inclined to consider the application. 

We make it clear that as there is no reason to interfere with the view taken on merits in the order dated Sept 26, the adjudication of this application shall remain confined to the aforesaid aspect only,” the bench said in its order. Advocate Pranav Sachdeva, appearing for the petitioner who claimed to be a victim of the cashfor-jobs scam, said Balaji wielded tremendous influence in the state govt and free and fair trial may not be possible if he continued to remain a minister. Sensing the mood and prima facie opinion of the bench, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Balaji, urged the court to refrain from issuing notice in the case and assured that he would take instruction and brief the court on the next date of hearing