VC appointee relieved of responsibility

VC appointee relieved of responsibility

Executive Council Of DU Approves Probe Against Tyagi

Shradha.Chettri@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  30.10.2020

A day after the President, the visitor of Delhi University, ordered an inquiry against vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi, the Executive Council approved the probe on Thursday. It also constituted a fact-finding committee to ascertain the facts of the recent tussle over top posts. The EC also resolved that P C Jha, appointed interim registrar and director of South Campus by Tyagi, would not hold any administrative position till the completion of inquiry.

On Wednesday night, Jha reportedly responded to the memorandum issued to him on October 24 by the other contending registrar, Vikas Gupta. Jha said that he would abide by all the instructions and directions given by the appropriate authorities. Jha reply states, “I was under the impression that as per DU Act and statutes and ordinances, I have to obey instructions given to me verbally or written by the vice-chancellor. Therefore, I replied to all the letters communicated at the appropriate time and issued various notifications. I understand there were contradictory communications amongst the academic community which led to some scale of confusion.” This response was also placed before the EC.

The Union education ministry had also directed Gupta to ascertain if Jha was a DU employee and to act against him for replying to the ministry’s letter as the registrar. Jha was first asked to refrain from issuing notifications and working in contravention of the university’s statutes on October 24. He was given three days’ time to reply. After Jha continued to issue notifications, another notice was sent to him on October 27 giving him 24 hours to respond.

Rajesh Jha, elected EC member, said, “For the events since October 21, Dr Geeta Bhatt has also been issued a memo and the administration will decide on the action on the basis of her reply.” Bhatt was appointed pro-vice-chancellor by Tyagi in place of incumbent acting vicechancellor P C Joshi, the provice-chancellor.

The proposal of J L Gupta to have one university representative in the visitorial inquiry panel under Section 7A, Clause 3 of the DU Act was accepted. Ashwini Shankar, chairman of teachers’ group INTEC, said, “Natural justice warrants the constitution of a fact-finding committee to enquire into the entire episode of October 21, 22, and 23 which has been a blot on the prestige of the university.”

National Democratic Teachers Front described the probe against Tyagi as a “muchneeded step to prevent the nearly century-old university slipping into an existential crisis”. Its president AK Bhagi said, “The government gave professor Tyagi many chances to streamline functioning and end adhocism. It is obvious the VC’s main aim was to cause turmoil and disaffection against the central government and UGC through his negative actions.”

CENTRE OF ATTENTION: Viceregal Lodge

High cut-off for medical admissions expected as scores in NEET soar

High cut-off for medical admissions expected as scores in NEET soar

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  30.10.2020

The cut-off marks of NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses are set to rise steeply this year with a huge increase in the number of top scorers.

Comparison of data on NEET-UG scores for the two years, accessed by TOI, revealed that 111 candidates scored 700 and above out of a total of 720 marks this year, compared to just three in 2019. The number of those in the 650-699 score range is 3,903 this year against 1,022 last year. This year, there are 16,167 candidates scoring in the range of 600-649 while the figure was 6,892 in 2019.

37,500 more aspirants scored 500+ marks in NEET this yr

Counselling for registration and choice-filling by candidates for 15% all-India quota seats, conducted by the directorate general of health services (DGHS), is on. Most states are likely to conduct their counselling for admission to MBBS/BDS courses by the second week of November.

Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) also coming under it to admit students to undergraduate courses. In all, a little over 80,000 MBBS and 38,000 BDS seats will be available for the aspirants this year, including nearly 42,500 seats in government-run institutions, including AIIMS and JIPMER. There will be an additional 10% seats under quota for economically weaker sections (EWS).

Compared to 2019, there are 37,512 more candidates scoring 500 marks or more this year compared to 2019. A total of 87,093 aspirants scored 500 marks or more in NEET-UG 2020 compared to 49,581 in 2019. And 56,857 more candidates scored 400 marks and above this year.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana witness a significant increase in the number of top-scorers. Kerala leads the way with 643 candidates scoring 650 and above against 115 in 2019.

From Rajasthan, the number of candidates scoring 500 and above marks increased from 7,659 in 2019 to 11,698 in 2020. Maharashtra also saw a significant jump in the number of high scorers, with 220% increase in the number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks this year. Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest jump in number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks — 1,029 this year against 146 in 2019.

“These are surprising numbers and will impact the cut-offs for undergraduate admissions this year. The toppers used to be predominantly from Rajasthan as it has become the capital of coaching where students are treated like they are in military camps. I have personally visited Kota to see this regimental coaching. Kerala is also surprising,” said Dr S Kumar, chancellor, Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar.

Air travel has lower Covid risk than grocery shopping, eating out

Air travel has lower Covid risk than grocery shopping, eating out

Manju.V@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  30.10.2020

The risk of getting infected by coronavirus is lower on board an aircraft than say during grocery shopping or eating out, according to a study published by Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health. There are caveats to this though. Passengers should wear face masks, aircraft air conditioning/filtration systems should function well, cabin surfaces should be disinfected and appropriate ventilation should be maintained from gate to gate at the departure and arrival airports.

The big takeaway was the importance of layered risk mitigation strategies. The recently released report has presented scientific evidence on the effectiveness of various non-pharmaceutical interventions—like wearing face masks—to control the transmission of the virus on board aircraft. The strategies included consistent operation of ventilation systems, disinfection of surfaces, consistent wearing of face masks, and procedures during boarding and deplaning to maximise social distancing among passengers and crew members. The study did not look at the effectiveness of any single strategy and proposed using layered risk mitigation strategies.

When the aircraft cabin conditioning system is fully operating, the mask-wearing passenger in the nearest seat to a masked infectious person will have a substantially reduced exposure, the study said. “The estimated dose inhaled by an adjacent passenger over a few hours of exposure is likely to be less than the amount necessary to cause a secondary infection,” it found.

In fact, aircraft ventilation offers enhanced protection for diluting and removing airborne contagions in comparison to other indoor spaces with conventional mechanical ventilation and is substantially better than residential situations, the study said.

With more NEET toppers, high cut-off likely for medical seats

With more NEET toppers, high cut-off likely for medical seats

37,500 More Aspirants Scored 500+ Marks In NEET This Year

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  30.10.2020

The cut-off marks of NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses this year is set to be very high with a huge increase in the number of top scorers as compared to 2019.

Comparison of data on NEET-UG scores for the two years, accessed by TOI, revealed that 111 candidates scored 700 and above out of a total of 720 marks this year as compared to just 3 in 2019. The number of those in the 650-699 score range is 3,903 this year as compared with 1,022 last year.

This year, there are 16,167 candidates scoring in the range of 600-649 while in 2019, the figure was 6,892. Counselling for registration and choice-filling by candidates for the 15% all-India quota seats, conducted by the directorate general of health services (DGHS) is already under way.

Most states are likely to conduct their counselling for admission to MBBS/BDS courses by second week of November. Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) also coming under it to admit students to undergraduate courses. In all, a little over 80,000 MBBS and 38,000 BDS seats will be available for the aspirants this year, including nearly 42,500 seats in government-run institutions, including AIIMS and JIPMER. There will be an additional 10% seats under quota for economically weaker sections (EWS).

Compared to 2019, there are 37,512 more candidates scoring 500 marks or more this year as compared to 2019. A total of 87,093 aspirants scored 500 marks or more in NEET-UG 2020 as compared to 49,581 in 2019. And 56,857 more candidates scored 400 marks and above this year.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana witnesses a significant increase in the number of top-scorers. Kerala leads the way with 643 candidates scoring 650 and above as compared to 115 in 2019.

From Rajasthan, the number of candidates scoring 500 and above marks increased from 7,659 in 2019 to 11,698 in 2020. Maharashtra also saw a significant jump in the number of high scorers, with 220% increase in the number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks this year. Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest jump in number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks—1029 this year as compared to 146 in 2019.

“These are surprising numbers and will impact the cut-offs for undergraduate admissions this year. The toppers used to be predominantly from Rajasthan as it has become the capital of coaching where students are treated like they are in military camps. I have personally visited Kota to see this regimental coaching. Kerala is also surprising,” said Dr S Kumar, chancellor, Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar.

Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) also coming under it to admit students to undergraduate courses

Loot in the name of people of soil

SCAM CENTRAL

Loot in the name of people of soil

In This Fourth Part Of A Series On Scams In Tamil Nadu, TOI Takes A Look At PM Kisan Scheme Where Govt Officials, Contract Employees And Internet Owners Colluded To Divert Money To Fake Beneficiaries

Team TOI  30.10.2020 

On October 7, a division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice B Pugalendhi observed that though there were several schemes meant for farmers, the status of the farming community remains the same as the benefits of the schemes do not reach them.

The judges then sought from the state government details of Union and state government schemes for farmers welfare, particularly Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, the number of ineligible beneficiaries enrolled, cases registered, people arrested for malpractices and monitoring mechanism put in place.

The PM Kisan scam has not only turned out to be a telling example of how funds routed to the states for welfare work was being looted but also a reminder for putting in place checks and balances to prevent such misappropriation.

The scheme provides ₹6,000 per year in three instalments for small farmers to procure farm inputs like fertilizers to ensure that yield does not drop because of fund crunch midway through cultivation. A network of junior agriculture department officers, contract staff in agriculture offices and internet centre owners joined hands to siphon off the money by enrolling non-farmers, making multiple entries and enrolling family members of farmers.

More than 5.5 lakh ineligible beneficiaries, mostly non-farmers, swindled more than ₹110 crore from the exchequer. Middlemen, who facilitated the fraud, got at least ₹50 crore as their share from the beneficiaries, investigations reveal. There were multiple beneficiaries in many families and there were also instances of migrant workers being enrolled as TN farmers under the scheme. The CB-CID has arrested more than 100 people so far in the case.

The state government has claimed to have recovered more than ₹100 crore and is figuring out ways and means to plug the loopholes in implementation of the schemes. Of the 5.5 lakh ineligible beneficiaries, there were 70,000 in Cuddalore district of northern Tamil Nadu alone who received upto ₹13 crore under the scheme. The government has recovered ₹11.5 crore so far. In neighbouring Villupuram and Kallakurichi districts, epicentres of the scam, more than ₹30 crore was disbursed illegally to more than one lakh ineligible beneficiaries. The CB-CID sleuths have arrested close to 40 temporary staff members posted at agriculture department and at common service centres in the two districts.

Initially, the beneficiaries were identified by both revenue and agriculture departments and the details were uploaded in the PM-Kisan portal. The uploaded data were validated through their Aadhaar cards and their account numbers were verified using the public finance management system by the Centre. The procedure was followed from December 2018 to March 2019.

The Centre introduced a new provision in April 2019 authorising self-registration through the ‘farmers’ corner’ on the portal. The Centre again authorised common service centres to implement the scheme last November.

During the initial period, the joint directors of agriculture verified and approved the farmers’ registration by logging on to the district-level login page. The Centre subsequently gave provision to block-level users to approve the selfregistered farmers and CSC-registered farmers to reduce processing time. It was then that the ineligible people managed to upload their details on the portal and get their applications approved and started receiving the financial assistance of ₹2,000 every trimester.

The state government blamed the pandemic, which forced much of the government officials to focus on Covid battle giving room for touts and agri staff to exploit the gaps in the self-registration process. “But we have acted swiftly in detecting the irregularities, recovering the money and bringing to book the violators,’’ agriculture minister R Doraikannu said last month.

Agri officials are also upbeat that they could go behind perpetrators of the scam without any political influence. “The follow up action has been a role model,’’ said a senior agriculture officer. Soon after the irregularities were detected state agriculture secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi held video conferences with district collectors every week, while other top bureaucrats in the department tracked the follow up action on a daily basis.

But there are questions that still remain unanswered. Only contract staff of the agri department and internet centre owners have been arrested. There are no answers yet from the government to the question if a scam of this scale would happen without the knowledge if not connivance of agri officials.

Several north Indian guest workers were included as beneficiaries in districts like Salem and Dharmapuri. Though their accounts have been frozen, recovery of money from them has not happened since they have left for their hometowns due to lockdowns. Officials are yet to figure out a way to recover money from them. “We have informed the state officials about this situation. We don’t know how to proceed,’’ said an agri officer from Salem.

The next instalment is scheduled for December/January and almost 40 lakh eligible farmers are expected to get the money in their bank accounts. At the same time there are complaints from the farming community that in several places genuine farmers have been left out of the scheme. The onus is now on the government to ensure a flawless selfregistration process to enrol genuine beneficiaries and ensure they get the benefits before December.

Email your feedback to southpole.toi@timesgroup.com

7.5% quota: HC hopes not to question delay in governor’s decision

7.5% quota: HC hopes not to question delay in governor’s decision

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:  30.10.2020

The Madras high court has expressed hope that an occasion would not arise for it to question the governor and seek an explanation for delay in taking decisions. The court was hearing the issue of the delay in governor’s assent to the bill ensuring 7.5% quota in MBBS seats for government school students in Tamil Nadu.

When Tamil Nadu advocategeneral Vijay Narayan told a division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi that a governor is not answerable to any court for exercise of powers and duties, the judges said: “The protection under Article 361has been given by the framers of the Constitution with hope and trust in the appointees that they would perform their constitutional functioning promptly, and there would not be any situation, wherein they would be called for to give explanation or they will be questioned by the court of law.”

“When situation changes and a present kind of situation arises, a different approach has to be taken by the courts in the interest of the public. It is a well settled law that extraordinary situations require extraordinary remedies,” the judges said, adding that when public interest requires, the court has to do its constitutional duties. “However, this court is of the opinion that such a situation would not arise to pass any order in the matter.”

The judges pointed out that the Bill was passed by Tamil Nadu assembly unanimously on September 15 and sent to governor the same day for assent, and is pending since. Agreeing that Article 361 of the Constitution gives protection to the constitutional authority, they said, “However, in the given circumstances, a decision has to be taken as soon as possible as provided under Article 200 of the Constitution, by considering the future of the government school students, who are invariably from marginalized and poor sections.”

EPS, Stalin take same flight, Covid protocol keeps it incident-free

EPS, Stalin take same flight, Covid protocol keeps it incident-free

Chennai/Madurai:  30.10.2020

When chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and leader of opposition M K Stalin were scheduled to take the same Indigo flight from Chennai to Madurai on Thursday, there was an air of expectation on how things would pan out during the journey.

Though political rivals, Stalin had recently made it a point to personally call on Palaniswami at his residence to condole the passing away the latter’s mother. Hence, while no one expected any political turbulence during the flight, there was curiosity over at least exchanging pleasantries.

But Covid protocol in place put to rest all expectations. “Thalaivar (Stalin) completed all formalities and got himself seated, much before the CM, who arrived just in time for the flight. Both were seated afar. With everyone forced to wear masks and face shield, one could hardly recognize anyone on the flight to even share a smile, let alone exchanging pleasantries,” said a source in the DMK who was also on the flight.

On landing in Madurai, CM got off the aircraft first and Stalin a little later. “But we were the first to leave the airport and were taken out through a separate gate,” the DMK source said.

Palaniswami and Stalin will be visiting Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district to garland Muthuramalinga Thevar statue on his Jayanthi on Friday.

Hundreds of AIADMK and DMK cadres were waiting outside the Madurai airport and physical distancing norms were thrown to the wind. TNN

Repeat students, an easy question paper up top scorers in NEET 2020

Repeat students, an easy question paper up top scorers in NEET 2020

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:30.10.2020

Several repeat students, an easy question paper and more time due to the lockdown have all resulted in a huge surge in top scorers in NEET-2020 from Tamil Nadu this year, with the number of students with above 400 marks rising by 100% over 2019.

A total of 11,978 scored above 400 marks against 5,634 students last year. This year, for the first time, seven students scored above 700 of 720 marks. About 205 students scored above 650 marks and 1,029 students above 600 marks; last year, 135 students got above 600 marks. This year, 4,211 got between 500 and 599 against 1,194 in 2019.

“The lockdown gave more time for students to prepare and the question paper was also simple,” said Chandan Chand, regional director of Aakash Institute. In the past few years, coaching centres have come up even in tier-2, tier-3 cities like Salem and Namakkal.

B Pavan Kumar, deputy director, FIITJEE, Chennai, said earlier, only students in northern states used to drop one year and prepare for entrance tests. “In Tamil Nadu, the number of students dropping one year and trying for NEET again has increased in the last 2-3 years.”

Of 4,202 students who joined MBBS last year, 2,916 were old students — two from the 2010 batch and 2,371 from the 2018 batch. “The old students were able to prepare better. By the time the lockdown was announced, they had already moved to mock tests,” said career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi.

The revised textbooks for Classes XI and XII covered 97% of the questions. However, even after syllabus revision, TN state board students still need quality coaching to score high marks, say experts. “Our staff are not able to train students for NEET. We hired faculty members from Andhra Pradesh and this year more than 100 students from our school scored above 500 marks,” said P Swaminathan, secretary, SRV Schools in Trichy and Namakkal.

Some schools were also hiring faculty members from Kerala and those who worked in coaching institutes in Kota, Rajasthan, Chaitanya and Allen coaching institutes, he said.

UGC, TN spar over axing arrear exams

UGC, TN spar over axing arrear exams

Commission Opposes Blanket Pass For Students With Arrears

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:30.10.2020

The Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to grant blanket pass in all arrear papers of college students citing the pandemic has run into rough weather with University Grants Commission (UGC) opposing the decision.

The UGC told the Madras high court on Thursday that it is not in tune with the decision of the Tamil Nadu government in cancelling arrear exams for college students.

The submission was made amidst chaos and confusion caused by students who thronged the virtual court of a division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice R Hemalatha. The bench had to warn students, who kept disrupting the proceedings, of dire consequences. Some, who logged into the virtual court through random IDs, repeatedly asked the court to cancel the exams.

On its part, the UGC initially desisted from expressing its stand clearly, but chose to go on record against the state government’s order after the court upong the central agency.

The issue pertains to a batch of pleas, including one moved by former vice-chancellor of Anna University E Balagurusamy, challenging the GO cancelling arrear exams. When the plea came up for hearing, the judges pulled up the UGC for filing a counter-affidavit and explaining its stand on final semester examinations, while the issue before the court was about cancelling arrear exams and not about final semester examinations.

At one point during the hearing, the bench wondered as to whether the UGC really went through the GO passed by the state government before finalising the counter.

As counsel for UGC V Sudha sought time to clarify its stand, the court asked, “Why cost should not be imposed on the Commission for failing to appropriately assist the court?”

This apart, pointing out the stand of the state government that the GO has been passed considering the welfare of the students, the bench asked special government pleader E Manoharan as to why the state has not considered the welfare of others.

“Is it not the state duty bound to consider everyone’s welfare? If you were able to conduct final exams to college students through online mode, why not for arrear exams too,” the judges wondered.

In its counter-affidavit, the UGC submitted that it has insisted upon all the Universities to complete final year examinations alone before September 30 and that the Supreme Court too had ruled in favour of its decision.

“Our guideline dated June 7 issued to the universities was challenged before the Supreme Court on the ground that it discriminates against final year students and others. However, the apex court rejected the contention,” the UGC said.

The submissions were made amid chaos as students thronged the virtual court, leading the bench to warn those who kept disrupting the proceedings of dire consequences

More rain likely after November 3

More rain likely after November 3

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

30.10.2020

After the record breaking downpour early on Thursday, IMD has forecast more intermittent thunderstorms with heavy rainfall over some areas in the city on Friday. But weather enthusiasts said Chennai is likely to see a brief neardry spell, with a few isolated showers, till November 3 after which the monsoon would pick up pace and bring widespread rainfall to the city, coastal belt and interior districts without long breaks.

On Thursday morning, Nungambakkam received 13.34cm of rain, the highest 24-hour rainfall in October since the 16.19cm recorded on October 18, 2014.

For the next 24 hours, IMD has forecast intermittent thunderstorms, with moderate rain and heavy rainfall in some areas.

The cyclonic circulation over southwest the Bay of Bengal off the north Tamil Nadu coast, which brought the intense spells of rain on Thursday, lies over north Tamil Nadu¬ and south Andhra Pradesh coast and neighbourhood.

After Thursday’s downpour, the Nungambakkam station has recorded 6.5cm excess rain in October. It has registered 31.1cm of rain since October 1 while Meenambakkam has a 96.2% deficit with only 15.5cm rainfall recorded this month.

Weather enthusiasts said November could bring more rain records. Weather blogger Pradeep John said an easterly wave or an elongated area of low air pressure moving from east to west could bring regular early morning rain to the city. “The present cyclonic circulation could fizzle out. Around November 3 or 4, we could expect easterly waves or a circulation bringing us rain almost daily,” he said.

Weather watchers said MJO or Madden Julian Oscillation, a climate phenomenon, likely entering phase 2-3 could act in favour of the monsoon and help bring stronger weather systems possibly in the second half of November. MJO is an eastward moving disturbance of clouds, rainfall, winds and pressure that travels across the tropics and returns to its starting point in 30 to 60 days. “For the next four or five days, the intensity of rainfall is going to become light,” said Skymet Weather in its online post.

CHENNAI IS LIKELY TO SEE A BRIEF DRY SPELL BEFORE RESUMPTION OF RAINFALL

Chennai goes under water, again

Chennai goes under water, again

Inlets Of Stormwater Drains Clogged; High Tide Results In Blocked Waterways; Several Roads Inundated

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

30.10.2020

This is one prediction that can seldom go wrong -- heavy rain inundating Chennai.

Till about noon on Thursday, motorists on major bus route roads and arterial roads had to wade through up to two feet of water. However, by 4pm, Greater Chennai Corporation’s command and control centre recorded water stagnation of two feet or more at only nine spots, an official said Residents complained that even stretches of Anna Salai and Poonamallee High Road were left flooded, while places like Wall Tax Road near Chennai Central, Cenotaph Road, Gemini flyover, Conron Smith Road in Gopalapuram had water logging.

According to a corporation analysis, there was 150mm-200mm of rain in four hours in a city’s whose storm water drain network can drain a maximum of 32mm per hour. “If we have to build for higher capacity, it would take up the road space,” said an official.

Since the rain came during the high tide period, waterways like Buckingham Canal and Otteri Nullah — final exit points for these drains — were running full and in areas like GP Road and PS Sivaswamy Salai in Mylapore, there were waves of water when a bus passed. After noon, when the high tide receded, water drained off in many places.

In some locations, chute pipes of drains were choked and officials were seen unclogging them. Many corporation playgrounds were under water.

GP Road, off Anna Salai, had three feet of water as drain work is in progress on the arterial stretch, officials said. In areas like Manali, Perungudi and Ram Nagar in Velachery, drain work has just begun.

Many residents found their electrical appliances damaged, while some said adaptors of internet modem and cordless phones stopped working. Experts suggested installing mini-circuit breakers, which automatically trip power, and lightning arresters.

Rakesh Ohri, president of The Central Park South Owners Association at Sholinganallur, a complex of 172 apartments said every (apartment) unit in their complex is equipped with mini-circuit breaker. “But, many small apartments and individual houses do not understand the importance of the device that prevents damage to electrical and electronic equipment as it trips power immediately after voltage fluctuates. But, several prefer sub-standard devices and regret when expensive electrical devices gets damaged later,” he said.

Installing lightning arresters is the need of the hour to prevent any damage to buildings, said experts. K V Pari, president of Sivagami Nagar Public Welfare Association at Medavakkam said that high rises have lightning arresters, but not all individual homes installed them. Pari, a civil engineer, said one could install the equipment that comes for ₹1 lakh to ₹2.5 lakh including installation charges.

USUAL SIGHT: Arterial roads and streets were submerged as the monsoon’s first heavy rainfall tested the city’s drainage infrastructure

PERIAMET

ROYAPETTAH

NANDANAM

MBBS cut-off may go up by 70-100 marks

MBBS cut-off may go up by 70-100 marks

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:30.10.2020

The cut-off marks for MBBS admission in TN may go up by 70 to 100 for most categories due to a surge in top scorers in National Eligibilitycum-Entrance Test 2020. The number of students with 500 and above NEET score is up almost four-fold compared to last year. While 5,240 students have scored more than 500 marks this year, 1,329 students had scored above 500 marks in 2019. The number of students who had scored 600 marks and above, too, has increased 10 times — from 135 last year to 1,029 this year. Students who have scored above 400 to 499 marks increased by more than 50% as 6,738 students had scored in this range, compared to 4,305 students last year.

Poor kids can switch to govt schools, avail benefit

The GO issued by health secretary J Radhakrishnan read, “Since the NEET-UG results have now been declared and the admission process has started, there is an urgency to decide on this issue and since the power to issue executive directions under Article 162 of the Constitution is coextensive with legislative powers, pending decision of the governor, the government has taken the decision.” The horizontal reservation of 7.5% shall be provided in each category of vertical reservation followed in Tamil Nadu within 69% reservation from 2020, the order said.

Students from government schools, including schools run by panchayats, municipalities and corporations, welfare schools for adi dravidar, tribals, kallar reclamation, BC/MBC/ differently-abled welfare, forest, social defence (borstal) and residential, will be eligible for the quota.

The GO said children belonging to weaker sections who have studied in private schools up to Class VIII under Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2008 too will benefit, if they study in government schools from Class IX.

Students in government schools would also be entitled to compete for seats, other than those set apart on a preferential basis, along with students of private schools, the order said. It directed the director of medical education, additional director of medical education and the directorate of Indian medicine and homeopathy to take action.

Riding at night, engineer clocks 10k km to deliver food on time

Riding at night, engineer clocks 10k km to deliver food on time

Charan.Sadu@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:29.10.2020 

How can a hardcore cyclist strike the perfect balance between his profession and passion? By mixing them! That’s what engineer Rajesh Nayak did when he was feeling low about not being able to cycle as much as he wanted during his stint at a consultancy company.

After working for over three years, Nayak’s 10am-5pm “sedentary work” made him think of a part-time job that would allow him to pedal to the maximum. So he joined Zomato in May last year to deliver food after his office hours. He cycled till midnight daily -- and till early hours on weekends --satiating his hunger for cycling, and that of customers by delivering them food.

Rajesh has been a cyclist for a decade. “I got to taste long-distance cycling when I was studying engineering in Mysuru during 2012-16. I enjoyed taking part in Dasara races too,” he said. But it’s the Hollywood flick ‘Premium Rush’, which he’d watched three years ago, made him to shift gears. “The bike-messenger theme (where the protagonist cycles in New York to deliver parcels) had always been on my mind. So I thought of living the character in Bengaluru by working for Zomato in night hours,” he said, adding he took the part-time work seriously after the pandemic ate up his job at the consultancy firm.

As the cycle ID restricts the boundary of food delivery partners to 5km, he chose the two-wheeler ID as it permitted him to go longer distances. “ I cycled thousands of kilometres which not only made me earn, but also helped me prepare for high-endurance rides,” he said.

Till his birthday on October 12, the 26-year-old clocked 10,000 km by criss-crossing JP Nagar, Jayanagar and BTM Layout which together marked his boundary. The distance, recorded on an activity app, includes 25 century rides (each of more than 100km) and 68 half-century rides. In 155 days that he worked for Zomato (he didn’t work during lockdown and when it rained), he made over 1,500 deliveries.

On one particular day, he rode 183km in 20 hours, by which time he had made 29 deliveries. “I did this as part of preparations for tough rides,” he said, listing some of them: Goa-1,200 and Jog-1,000. Rajesh has not made any customers wait for their food. Revealing the secret of delivering in under 30 minutes, he said: “It’s easy for a cyclist to manoeuvre traffic. I walk the cycle to avoid being stuck in red signals.”

Summing up his 10,000km food-delivery journey, the native of Chikkamagaluru said he feels gratified over not leaving a carbon footprint. “I’m also trying to drive home the anti-pollution message,” he said.

“We’ve been working towards bringing more cyclists in our delivery fleet and Rajesh is an inspiration for all. He strengthens our objective of a sustainable future and he is great with customers also,” a Zomato spokesperson said.

Rajesh Nayak (in pic), who is working as a food delivery executive to keep his passion for cycling alive, made over 1,500 deliveries in 155 days. By riding a cycle, he is trying to drive home the anti-pollution message as well

TOI IMPACT

Nursing student gets offer of help from RGUHS registrar

Mangaluru: 29.10.2020 

Help came pouring in for 21-year-old Buddana Gowda, a nursing student from Badami taluk in Bagalkot, within hours of a report being published in The Times of India under the headline ‘Nursing student tuns mason to save for fees’ on Wednesday. Many readers have volunteered to lend financial assistance to the young man to help realise his dream.

To fulfil his dream of practising medicine, Gowda is working as a mason in Udupi to save money to pay the fees for his course. Shivanand Kapashi, registrar of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) said: “RGUHS is offering a scholarship for students from this academic year. Though the last date is past, the varsity will consider Gowda’s case as a special one.”

Many TOI readers have reached out to Gowda via email, expressing their wish to help him. TNN

Bidar college offers scholarships worth ₹5cr for NEET repeaters

Bidar college offers scholarships worth ₹5cr for NEET repeaters

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:29.10.2020 

Shaheen Educational Institute, Bidar, will provide scholarships worth Rs 5 crore for long-term NEET repeaters from this academic year, with a focus on those in financial distress because of floods and coronavirus.

Abdul Qadeer, chairman, Shaheen Education Foundation, said: “This year, 400 -- or 10% -- government medical seats in the state will be bagged by meritorious students of Shaheen. Last year, it was 327 (8%).” In all, about 1,600 students got trained for NEET in Shaheen PU College last year.

As per the institution, scholarships will be offered at all its branches in the country and preference will be given to Kannada-medium students from Karnataka. More than 2,000 students are expected to benefit from the scholarship this year. Students who have lost their parents due to coronavirus will be provided NEET training for free. Students can register for free on the website for the scholarship. November 1is the last day to register for the long-term NEET repeater scheme.

Over 15,000 students are enrolled across 42 branches of the institution throughout the country in 12 states, including Karnataka. This year, the toppers in NEET included Karthik Reddy (710/720 Marks in NEET, Karnataka State Rank 1st and All India NEET Rank 9th) and Arbaaz Ahmed (700/ 720 Marks in NEET, Karnataka State Rank 3rd).

How UP youth moved to Bidar, cleared NEET

How UP youth moved to Bidar, cleared NEET

Farheen.Hussain@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:29.10.2020 

A 23-year-old BSc graduate from Uttar Pradesh, son of a farmer, cleared NEET this year in his sixth attempt after he moved to Karnataka to prepare for the entrance examination at a PU college in Bidar.

Mohammed Anas did not let financial difficulties, repeated failure or lack of resources suppress his childhood dream of becoming a doctor.

After a friend told him in 2017 about Bidar’s Shaheen PU College conducting special NEET coaching for aspirants, Anas, a science graduate with three attempts at NEET by then, decided to shift from UP’s Muzaffarnagar to Karnataka without losing time. The college is part of Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions.

Anas comes from an economically disadvantaged family and he has four siblings. During school and college days, Anas realised he did not have resources or time to join a medical college.

Want to serve people who can’t afford treatment, says UP boy

After my 12th, I started appearing for entrance exams and never scored over 200 marks (out of 720),” Anas told TOI, adding he joined the college for a BSc degree in a big compromise of his dream.

Once in Bidar, Anas went back a few steps, attending I PU classes. “In 2017, I scored 333 of 720; in 2019, I scored 531, but couldn’t bag a seat in UP. This year, I have scored 663 and have a fair chance of landing a free government seat in a UP college,” Anas said.

How did the youngster stay motivated in the face of numerous roadblocks and the pandemic? “I knew the only way for a better future for me and my family was achieving this. I had to do this to give back to my family, and my society. I want to serve the people who can’t afford treatment,” he said.

At times, he felt demotivated and unsure about finding a decent rank. But he stayed focused on studies and timetable with zero distraction and support from his institution. “Our chairman visited us to keep us motivated. We had a support system among friends and teachers,” he said.

Abdul Qadeer, chairman, Shaheen Education Foundation, said when Anas came to his institute, they realised he was bright but his basics were weak. “We worked to strengthen his basics,” he said.

Who created Setu app? CIC raps govt’s ‘lack of info’

Who created Setu app? CIC raps govt’s ‘lack of info’

New Delhi: 29.10.2020 

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has issued a strongly worded showcause notice to the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) and the National Informatics Centre asking why a penalty under the RTI Act should not be slapped on them for obstructing information regarding the Aarogya Setu app, prompting the ministry to later say that all information was on the app’s website.

The CIC slammed the ministry and NIC for “prima facie obstruction of information and providing an evasive reply” over a query regarding the app. Noting that none of the chief public information officers was able to explain as to who had created the app and where the files were in response to an RTI query filed by complainant Saurav Das, information commissioner Vanaja N Sarna described the responses of MeitY and NIC as “extremely preposterous”. TNN

Activist: Abdication of responsibility

Activist Saurav Das, who filed the appeal with the CIC on Aarogya Setu app, said, “It’s been downloaded by over 150m Indians, but the government says it has no idea who developed it. This is a complete abdication of responsibility.” P 8

Portal has all info on Aarogya Setu, including privacy policy, says govt

The ministry issued a statement to say that as per the orders of the CIC, chief public information officers of MeitY, National E-Governance Division and NIC have been directed to appear on November 24 and MeitY was taking necessary steps to comply with the order. It clarified that “there should be no doubt with regard to the Aarogya Setu app and its role in helping contain Covid-19 pandemic in India”. It stated the app has been developed by NIC in collaboration with volunteers from the industry and academia and all details and documents, including privacy policy, data access and knowledge-sharing protocols issued on May 11, have been uploaded on the portal, aarogyasetu.gov.in.

The RTI applicant sought to know from the government details about creation of app, the law under which it was functioning and whether the government was planning to bring a separate legislation on handling of data collected by the app. Saurav Das then approached the CIC.

Full report on www.toi.in

Times View: Call it the strange case of the missing app creator and ask Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery. The unacceptable reply to the RTI would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. This is not something where we can have the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

City dentist rescued by AP cops from abductors

City dentist rescued by AP cops from abductors

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad/Anantapur:  29.10.2020  

The dentist who was abducted from his clinic in Bandlaguda on Tuesday was rescued in Anantapur on Wednesday by AP cops after they were alerted by Cyberabad police of the likely route taken by the kidnappers.

The main accused Mustafa is a close relative of dentist Behjat Hussain’s (56) wife. He had hatched the plot to get Rs 10 crore in ransom to recoup his losses in business. While seven have been arrested, including six from city and one from the vehicle in Anantapur, Mustafa and 5 others are absconding.

Hussain, a resident of Kismatpura, was abducted from his under-construction clinic at Bandlaguda by four burqa-clad men on Tuesday afternoon. On being alerted by locals, Cyberabad police launched a manhunt to nab the kidnappers by forming 12 special teams.

A few hours after the kidnap, the accused sent a voice message to Hussain’s family through WhatsApp demanding Ra 10 crore as ransom in the form of bitcoins.

Police analysed call details from WhatsApp

They also threatened to kill the victim and his family if the ransom was not paid in 48 hours. Police analysed the call details from the WhatsApp message and tracked their movement.

A few suspects were detained including Md Raheem (18) of Chandrayangutta, who kept a watch on the movement of the dentist, Sumit Chandrakanth Bhosale (28), Akshay Balu Vairekar and Vicky Datta Shinde of Pune, Md Imran and Md Irfan from Yellammabanda for giving logistical support. Based on the confession of the accused and technical evidence, Cyberabad police alerted Anantapur cops about the movement of the accused in a Bolero vehicle towards Karnataka.

Rapthadu sub inspector PT Anjaneyulu and his team first spotted the gang near Marur toll plaza in Anantapur district at 2 am on Wednesday. After an an hour long chase, police surrounded the gang, forcing the accused to abandon the vehicle along with the dentist. Police managed to arrest one of the kidnappers, Sanjay, 19, a student from Udipi in Karnataka.

“Anantapur police intercepted the kidnappers while they were escaping towards Kanaganapalli and rescued the victim,” Cyberabad commissioner V C Sajjanar said.

“Mustafa used to stay in Australia and he incurred huge loss in business. Subsequently, he returned to India and started real estate business in Hyderabad and Pune. Mustafa, who knew about the financial condition of Hussain, hatched a plan to kidnap him along with his friend Mubashir alias Khaled,” Sajjanar said. The duo roped in other accused from Hyderabad, Pune and Karnataka to execute the plan.

Six other accused are absconding.

Couple leaves kid in taxi on way home from airport

Couple leaves kid in taxi on way home from airport

Tamaghna.Banerjee@timesgroup.com

Kolkata:29.10.2020 

A six-year-old boy, sleeping in the backseat of a yellow taxi, was left behind in the vehicle by his parents, who had apparently forgotten to get him down while rushing to get their luggage off the taxi’s boot on Tuesday evening, hours after they flew back to Kolkata from Lucknow.

But, thanks to the fast intervention by cops and a quick thinking by the cabbie, the child was reunited with his parents within an hour after he had gone missing.

The incident happened around 7.30pm on Tuesday after the family of four — a couple in their late 30s and their two kids aged 10 and 6 — took a pre-paid taxi from Kolkata airport. The family had returned from Lucknow and were heading to their Alambazar home near Dakshineswar.

The man had sat on the frontseat while the mother with her two kids were in the backseat. While their 10-yearold daughter was awake, the six-year-old son, who was sitting right behind the driver’s seat, had dozed off.

“After getting down at their home, they started taking out the luggage from the car. But none had noticed that the boy was left behind. The father said only after they went up home they realised that the boy had never got out of the car. They had the taxi’s counterfoil slip where our traffic control room’s number was printed, along with the car’s registration number. They called us and sought help,” said Dhritiman Sarkar, DC (traffic), Bidhannagar City Police.

Upon receiving the SOS call, cops contacted the prepaid counter at airport where a staffer checked database and called up the taxi owner. He then contacted the driver — Devtadeen Koery — and asked him to check if there was a kid in the backseat. Koery was surprised to find the boy still sleeping with his head against the car’s rear right door. “In my14-year-long career, I have seen people leaving behind mobiles and bags. But I have never seen someone leaving a child behind. Since he was tucked at the rightmost corner, I couldn’t even spot him in rear-view mirror. I had almost reached airport by that time and took the child to the nearest traffic guard,” said Koery.

Once he was taken to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport traffic guard, cops called his parents, who rushed to take their kid back.

Devtadeen Koery, the taxi driver

No phasing out nursing diploma course: Centre

No phasing out nursing diploma course: Centre

Hemali.Chhapia@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  29.10.2020 

In a huge respite for nursing aspirants across the county, the ministry of health and family welfare has “not found feasible” the plan to stop the popular General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) course. This means, the Indian Nursing Council, which has stopped giving permission to start new GNM colleges across India since 2019 to phase out the diploma programme from 2020-21 academic year, will have to roll back its plan.

The GNM course, which has produced close to 1.2 lakh nurses so far, is a popular entry point for thousands of humanities and commerce high school graduates who want to shift to health sciences. Around 3,000 GNM nursing schools across the country offer the three-year diploma programme.

According to a March 14 notification issued by the council, the last admission for the GNM course was to be the 2020-21 academic year. But, several nursing associations had expressed concerns that the closure would have led to a shortage of nursing staff, especially in rural areas. There was to be an economic impact too as the Indian Nursing Council (INC) had plans to upgrade all GNM colleges to BSc nursing institutes, which would have meant that aspirants would have had to shell out more for a nursing degree.

“The matter has been examined in the ministry and it has not been found feasible to stop entry to GNM courses at this stage, and the proposal has not been acceded to,” said the ministry’s circular, a copy of which is with TOI.

INC member Ramling Mali said, “GNM graduates are more willing to work in rural areas, as also in non-branded hospitals. The notification from the ministry to not permit the discontinuation of the GNM course rings respite to thousands of nursing aspirants.”

Many feel that healthcare costs would have risen too. A BSc degree costs Rs 3-5 lakh, while a GNM course costs about Rs 1 lakh. While the academic eligibility for BSc demands science in class XII, GNM is open to even those from non-science backgrounds.

“Upgrading GNM centres to BSc colleges and training the faculty would have all had a bearing on the total fees which would have made this course out of reach for many. For the rather poorer section of the society, the professional degree of nursing is all that they can afford,” said Dr Balasaheb Pawar, president of Maharashtra’s Private Nursing Schools and College Managements’ Association. He said he received support from Dr Bharti Pawar, who is nominated to the INC as a member of the Lok Sabha.

JEE (Mains) topper, dad held for using proxy to clear exam

JEE (Mains) topper, dad held for using proxy to clear exam

Rokibuz Zaman@timesgroup.com

29.10.2020  

Guwahati: A JEE (Mains) topper, and his doctor father, were arrested on Wednesday in Assam for allegedly using a proxy candidate to appear in the test on his behalf. Three others were also arrested in connection with the crime.

The examination was held in September this year.

Additional DCP, Guwahati, Suprotiv Lal Baruah, said, “Neel Nakshatra Das, a student, was arrested on charges of allegedly appointing a proxy candidate to appear in the exam. He is the son of Dr Jyotirmoy Das. Two other arrested persons are employees of a private company. We are also investigating the role of a city-based coaching centre.”

The other accused have been identified as Hamendra Nath Sarma, Pranjal Kalita and Hirukamal Pathak. Baruah said an FIR was filed last week by one Mitradev Sharma at Azara police station here, alleging that Neel Nakshatra, who had a percentile of 99.8, allegedly did not appear for the test held on September 5.

Full report on www.toi.in

Are you a monster? SC asks death row convict for his cruelty

Are you a monster? SC asks death row convict for his cruelty

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: 29.10.2020 

The diabolical nature of a crime committed by a death row convict who slit the stomach of a woman and stuffed her clothes inside before stitching it up with metal wire shocked the Supreme Court, prompting the bench hearing his appeal to ask- “Are you a monster?”

At the outset of the hearing, Chief Justice S A Bobde, who was heading the bench, said he had not come across such a case in his entire life. “This is abnormal. Why did you cut open the abdomen and stuff clothes in it. We have not come across such murder case when an accused did what he has done,” the bench asked senior advocate Siddharth Luthra who was defending the convict.

The court finally agreed with Luthra’s contention that the case needed to be examined as no motive was proved in the case for the accused to kill the woman and there was no charge of rape. The bench then issued notice and stayed the execution of the death sentence.

A lower court in Kota sentenced Mohan Singh alias Mahaveer Singh, 50, to death under Sections 302, 201 and 392 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for murdering the woman whose naked body was found in a sack in Vigyan Nagar locality of the city on May 24, 2019. However, rape charges could not be proved against the accused. The victim was a labourer.

His conviction and death sentence was confirmed by the high court.

According to the prosecution, after failing to rape the woman, Mohan used a knife to slit her stomach and stuffed her clothes inside. Kota police had arrested Mohan in Kunhadi area of the city on June 10, 2019. They had also seized the knife used in the crime.

‘Elderly living with working people face high Covid risk’

‘Elderly living with working people face high Covid risk’

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com  29.10.2020 

New Delhi: Elderly people living with or in close contact with people of working age may be at higher Covid-19 mortality risk, a new study published in the Lancet shows.

The study conducted by researchers in Stockholm underlines the importance of living arrangements and household composition, such as care homes, crowded housing, and mixed-age households, as well as social contacts outside the household for understanding the spread of the infectious disease.

However, doctors in India say the age group studied as part of the research is already vulnerable, whereas living with younger people also mean receiving care from the latter.

“In India, we have observed that usually if one person gets infected in a family, it leads to almost all the members getting infected. So, we strongly advise people testing positive and having elderly people living in the same household to strictly maintain physical distance and look after the older people,” says Dr Manoj Kumar Goel, director, Fortis Memorial Research Institute.

The study was conducted in 2,79,961 individuals aged 70 years or older.

The mortality rate is over 20% in people above 70 years of age, says Dr Goel.

Experts say the risk is certainly higher among people living in congested places and slums where social distancing is not practically possible for a large section of the residents, although lack of awareness and a casual attitude also add to the problem.

“The best one can do is wear masks and consult doctors even in case of minor doubt. People should not be complacent and follow every required precaution. Sharing of same plates, towels, soaps should be avoided. Lead a healthy lifestyle and work on immunity as much as possible,” Dr Navneet Sood, pulmonary consultant, Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital said.

LANCET STUDY FINDS