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Sunday, July 6, 2025

Boss today, subordinate tomorrow: 1L govt employees face ‘demotion’

Govt Resumes Promotion Process In State After 9 Years Under New Rules

Ankur.Sirothia@timesofindia.com 06.07.2025

Ashish Sharma (name changed), an assistant grade II employee in the state secretariat, currently holds charge of section officer -a post two levels above his regular rank. With departmental promotions now under way, he fears losing the position he has held for years.

Rakesh Kumar (name changed), posted in the home department and holding charge of a senior position, shares the same concern. Ashish and Rakesh are among thousands of state govt employees worried they may be moved down from the posts they have been managing since promotions were stalled in 2016.

Bhopal : Ashish Sharma and Rakesh Kumar are among over one lakh govt employees holding senior posts in an acting capacity under stopgap arrangements, and they now face demotion as the state resumed departmental promotions after a nine-year freeze under newly framed rules. Promotions across departments were halted in 2016 following a court order.

To address resentment among govt staff, the govt started giving charge of senior posts to them. In many cases, the employees have been given charge of two posts above from their actual post. After the ongoing promotion process was done, officials said, the govt employees would get one promotion. It will lead to employees having charge of two posts or positions above their basic post to come down to one level.

In many cases employees would not get any promotion at all, as there is reservation of 36 per cent. Number of general category employees would come after the reserved category. The MP Public Service Promotion Rules, 2025, provisions include 20% reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 16% for Scheduled Castes (SC). SC and ST public servants will also have the opportunity for promotion based on merit. Even if stepped down from in-charge post, it would not lead to any financial losses to employees, as in case of getting charge of a senior or higher post, the employees get salary of their basic post.

There is provision of allowance for employees working on one level higher post. Mantralaya Seva Adhikari Karamchari Sangh president Sudhir Nayak said it would be an insult for govt employees to come down to a lower post from their current post. Uma Shankar Tiwari, state secretary of Tritya Varg Karamchari Sangh, said: "Over a lakh of govt employees were given charge of a senior post. All such employees fear to get reverted after the new promotion rules with reservation.

The govt must clarify the position of employees working as incharge in various departments. These in-charge roles were initially assigned based on seniority to ensure smooth functioning of the depts. However, with the introduction of new promotion rules, many of these in-charge officers may have to return to their original or lower posts.

The senior officers in the general administration dept confirmed that there could be cases wherein an employee may have to come down to a lower post after the promotion process was completed.

Madras HC clarifies import rules for ayurvedic drugs

Sureshkumar.K@timesofindia.com

Chennai : Madras HC has clarified that although no licence was required to import ayurvedic drugs into India, it was necessary that imported products conformed to standards prescribed for similar products manufactured in India. “For such a purpose, it is necessary that such consignments be tested by one of the laboratories accredited to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation,” Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said.

This process shall be overseen by State Licensing Authority, the licensing authority for manufacture of ayurvedic drugs. All expenses related to such testing shall be borne by the importer. HC passed the order while disposing of a plea moved by Axeon Marketing India, importer of ‘Axe Brand Medicated Oil’ from Singapore. It approached HC, challenging notices for alleged violation of Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

It argued that although the definition of “drug” read with definition of ayurvedic, siddha, or unani drug indicated the statute applied to ayurvedic drugs, provisions related to import of drugs were inapplicable to ayurvedic drugs. The import policy provides that import of ayurvedic drugs may be undertaken “free”, without a licence, the petitioner said. Opposing, import commissionerate said while the Act and the rules dealt with manufacture of ayurvedic drugs in India and prescribed licensing requirements in that relation, licensing requirements had not been specifically prescribed for ayurvedic drugs. In its absence, import of ayurvedic drugs was prohibited.

IIT Madras to launch ₹200 cr VC fund to back campus-born startups

Supriya.Roy@timesofindia.com 06.07.2025

Bengaluru : IIT Madras is setting up a Rs 200 crore venture capital fund to invest in startups emerging from the institution, director of the institute V Kamakoti announced at the annual alumni gathering Sangam 2025 on Saturday. The fund, titled the IITM Alumni Fund, will mark a first-of its-kind initiative in India’s academic landscape, directly linking alumni capital with institute-affiliated entrepreneurship. “All of you can invest,” Kamakoti told the alumni audience.

“This is your opportunity to work with great startups and technologies, and to grow along with your alma mater.” The fund aims to support early-stage companies founded by IIT Madras students, faculty, and alumni, and will invite contributions from the global IITM alumni network. Kamakoti cited a Tamil phrase, loosely translated as “giving returns to the giver,” to underline the dual value proposition of impact and returns.

While operational details are yet to be formally released, the fund’s vision is bold: By 2032, Kamakoti wants to see one IPO per month from the IITM startup ecosystem. “If IIT Madras can’t do it, I don’t think India can,” he said. Another faculty member added that this initiative is likely the first such VC fund by an Indian academic institution aimed exclusively at nurturing its startup ecosystem.

“We hope this will give rise to dozens of Tarun Mehtas,” he said, referring to the Ather Energy co-founder and IITM alumnus. The announcement comes at a time when IIT Madras has emerged as one of the country’s most prolific academic incubators, credited with spawning deeptech ventures across electric mobility, AI, and space tech. The fund is expected to institutionalise that pipeline and scale it with alumni-backed capital.

Google Maps lands group of five in stream

06.07.2025

Jangaon : For road users, using Google Maps to reach their destinations safely has become a common choice, especially in unfamiliar areas. However, for a group of five people from Nagpur headed to Tirupati, relying on Google Maps proved costly as they ended up in a stream

Fortunately for them, there was not much water flow in the stream at that time, and the group escaped unharmed. Inspector P Damodar of Telangana’s Jangaon district said the mishap took place late Friday on the outskirts of Gangupahad village. “Sravan, who was driving with the help of Google Maps, failed to notice the stream and drove the car straight into it,” he said.

Teachers can’t cane students, but not all cases criminal:

HC Kochi : 06.07.2025

Kerala high court ruled recently that schoolteachers are barred from inflicting corporal punishment on children — even in the name of discipline — but not all such conduct amounts to a criminal offence under penal law. J

ustice C Jayachandran delivered the judgment while hearing three petitions filed by teachers facing criminal proceedings for allegedly beating students. The teachers had sought to quash the cases against them. Citing section 17 of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the court underscored that children cannot be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment, and that violations invite disciplinary action under service rules. However, it stressed that the law doesn’t by itself establish criminal liability. “I cannot, therefore, set and subscribe my hands to the proverb ‘Spare the rod, spoil the child’,” the judge said, rejecting the notion that physical punishment can ever be legally justified.

HC also referenced guidelines from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the country’s commitments under UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and provisions of Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act. On the question of criminal culpability, the bench said section 82 of JJ Act — meant to address corporal punishment — does not apply to schoolteachers or educational institutions. As a result, it held that “caning a student within reasonable and justifiable limits” for disciplinary reasons is not an offence under that section. TNN

Guj woman kills daughter for not packing plastic spoons

06,07,2025

Ahmedabad : The Odhav police on Friday arrested a woman, Usha Lodhi, for allegedly strangling her six-year-old daughter, Arushi, after the child refused to help her pack plastic spoons. The incident occurred at their home on Tuesday shortly after the girl returned from school.

According to police inspector P N Zinzuvadiya of Odhav police station, Usha was booked under charges of murder and voluntarily causing hurt. The complaint was filed by her second husband, Amitkumar Lodhi. In his statement, Amitkumar said he married Usha after separating from his first wife. Usha had two children from her previous marriage—Arushi and a 12-year-old son, Ankit. Amitkumar’s daughter from his first marriage, Anu, was also living with them. Detailing the incident, the complainant said Arushi, a Class I student, returned from school around noon on Wednesday.

“Later in the afternoon, Usha called and told me that Arushi fell asleep on the floor and wasn’t conscious. When I rushed home, I found her unresponsive,” he stated. Arushi was taken to a private hospital, where doctors referred them to Singarva Govt Hospital, where she was declared brought dead. Amitkumar stated in his complaint that Usha had confessed to slapping Arushi 2-3 times after she refused to help her pack plastic spoons. In a fit of rage, she allegedly strangled the child, who lost consciousness. Usha panicked when Arushi did not wake up. TNN