Pressinformation New medical Colleges last three years

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
07-August-2018 16:51 IST

New Medical Colleges

During the last three years the Central Government has permitted to start 86 new Medical Colleges. The details are given below:

Number of Medical College established during last three years State/UT wise

SL.	State/UT	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
1	Andhra Pradesh	4	0	0
2	Arunachal Pradesh	0	0	1
3	Assam	0	0	0
4	Bihar	0	0	0
5	Chhattisgarh	3	0	0
6	Delhi	1	0	0
7	Gujarat	1	2	2
8	Himachal Pradesh	1	2	1
9	Haryana	2	2	0
10	J & K	0	0	0
11	Jharkhand	0	0	0
12	Karnataka	6	1	0
13	Kerala	3	1	0
14	Madhya Pradesh	5	0	4
15	Maharashtra	2	1	1
16	Mizoram	0	0	1
17	Orissa	0	2	2
18	Punjab	0	0	0
19	Rajasthan	3	0	5
20	Tamil Nadu	3	1	0
21	Uttar Pradesh	9	2	1
22	Uttarakhand	2	0	0
23	West Bengal	1	0	1
24	Sikkim	0	0	0
25	Meghalya	0	0	0
26	Nagaland	0	0	0
27	Tripura	0	0	0
28	Puducherry	0	0	0
29	Telangana	5	0	2
30	A & C Nicobar	0	0	0
	Total	51	14	21

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

*****

MV/LK

Medical Admissions

1,550 MBBS seats may be added to TN govt, pvt colleges next yr

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai

: Tamil Nadu may be able to add more than 1,500 MBBS seats to its kitty if the state government and managements of self-financing colleges have their way. Most of these colleges have applied to the Medical Council of India (MCI), the apex body that regulates medical education, in this regard.

On Friday, officials said the government had issued “no-objection certificates” to Madurai-based CSI Medical College and Research and Kovai Medical Centre in Coimbatore, both self-financing institutions, for 150 seats each, and the directorate of medical education recommended the names of Panimalar Medical College and St Peters’ Medical College – also for 150 seats each.

Besides, three colleges that were debarred by the MCI for two years from 2017 can begin admitting 150 students each in 2019, officials said.

State plans to set up new med college in Karur with 150 seats

In 2017, the MCI had barred Annai Medical College in Kancheepuram, Annapoorna Medical College in Salem and Madha Medical College in Chennai from admitting students, after they were found to have a shortage of faculty and infrastructure and had included the names of doctors who were not working in the institute as faculty members.

Ponniah Ramajayam Medical College, which had been denied permission last year, has reapplied for permission. If these self-financing colleges get approval, they will account for 1,200 additional seats. “As long as they have prescribed faculty and standard infrastructure, permission is given to new colleges. Inspection will be conducted in all the colleges before they are given permission. If we continue to have seat-sharing process, there will be a substantial increase of government quota seats next year,” said MCI vice-chairman C V Bhirmanandam.

In addition, the state government is planning to set up a new medical college in Karur with 150 seats. “Earlier, we always applied for 100 seats then increased seats step by step. After setting up a medical college in Pudukottai it was decided that all new colleges should have at least 150 seats,” said director of medical education Dr A Edwin Joe.

At present, the state has 22 government medical colleges offering 2,750 MBBS seats, 13 self-financing medical colleges and close to 10 deemed universities. This year, the state will apply for an increase of 100 seats each in Tirunelveli and Madurai medical colleges to 250 seats. “As a policy we have decided that we will add one new college every year. Whether or not that happens we will increase the number of seats in all government medical colleges to 250,” he said.

Flight info

Snag forces AI flight to return to Singapore

Murali N. Krishnaswamy

CHENNAI, AUGUST 26, 2018 00:00 IST

It was en route to Chennai

Air India’s operations on the Mumbai-Singapore-Chennai-Singapore-Mumbai sectors were affected on Friday after the aircraft experienced a snag. The airline operates the route with a single aircraft using flight numbers AI 342/347/346/343, respectively. On August 24, after completing the first leg of Mumbai-Singapore (AI 342), the flight left Changi airport for Chennai (AI 347) and was to arrive at 10.30 a.m.

After being airborne for about 40 minutes near Malaysian airspace, the crew experienced a significant “technical problem” and decided to return to Singapore. An Air India spokesperson said the aircraft, a 256-seater Boeing 787-8 (VT-ANS), had to be grounded. The airline made alternative arrangements to fly the passengers to Chennai. The airline scheduled Saturday’s flight (August 25) with another Boeing 787-8.

Medical Admissions

Medical admission more competitive as scores & cut-off rise

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:

If admission to government medical colleges was competitive, entry to general category MBBS seats at expensive deemed universities was equally tough this academic year.

The allotment list released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) after the mop-up round shows that the lowest score of a candidate entering a deemed university is 165 marks in NEET 2018 – 69 marks over the qualifying score — after emptying nearly all seats in the general category.

Last year, students with just-pass score of 107 managed to get general category seats in such universities. “Many factors played a role. While students performed better this year, new rules introduced by the DGHS prevented students from needlessly blocking seats,” said Sri Ramachandra University dean Dr S Anandan.

In some colleges like Varanasi-based Institute of Medical Science the cut-off was 603 and at least six colleges in the country had a cut-off of above 450 marks. The lowest score of 165 was recorded at Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences in Puducherry. With 1,350 seats in eight universities, Tamil Nadu’s lowest entry score was 180 at Sree Balaji Medical College, Chennai and VMKV Medical College, Salem. The DGHS may return 145 NRI seats to the colleges, which may be converted into general category seats and filled.

Education counsellors said that in more than 50% of the 41 colleges the cut-off increased in the second and mop-up rounds. At least 21 colleges, including four in the state, recorded their lowest cut-off during the first round. In the mop-up round, barring three colleges, almost all the universities recorded a higher cut-off compared to round 2.

“After the DGHS tweaked rules, students who were unsure of getting seats in state quota or private colleges picked up seats in round 1. If students drop out too there was no problem. So students with a cut-off as low as 187 were allotted seats in the first round,” said S Chandrasekar, a counsellor at a private coaching centre.

But students were asked to take a “calculated decision” about continuing with round 2. If they register afresh or continue with round 2, they would have to take the seats allotted or forfeit a ₹2 lakh fee. They would have to register afresh and again pay the fee for the mop-up round for deemed universities. If candidates refuse seats at the mop-up round, they would lose the money and chances of joining other counselling. “The fear of losing ₹2 lakh allowed only serious students into the counselling arena,” said dean of VMKV Medical College, Salem, Dr K Prakasam.

PIL petition to curb practice of ‘ghost’ lecturers in medical colleges

A division bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the direction, while disposing of a PIL petition from Change India, by its director A Narayanan, of Virugambakkam, on Thursday.
 
Published: 17th August 2018 02:24 AM 

 
 
By Express News Service

CHENNAI : The State Medical Education department has been directed by the Madras High Court to submit its comments on a letter, dated May 12 last, of the Medical Council of India (MCI) and take necessary action within eight weeks, on a PIL petition seeking to curb the practice of engaging ‘ghost’ lecturers, assistant professors and associate professors to impart education to the students of medical colleges in the State.

A division bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the direction, while disposing of a PIL petition from Change India, by its director A Narayanan, of Virugambakkam, on Thursday.

The bench noted that the MCI had, while acting on a representation from the Tamil Nadu Doctors Association, sought his comments from the secretary, Medical Education Department, to take further necessary action on May 12 last.

In the above said circumstances, the bench said that it can only direct the Medical Education secretary to furnish his comments to the MCI to enable it to take further necessary action, within eight weeks. On receipt of comments, the MCI should proceed in accordance with law, the bench added.Narayanan had filed the petition for a direction to the MCI to curb the practice.

‘Consider the work pressure of policemen’

Chennai: The Director General of Police has been directed by the Madras High Court to consider and pass orders within six weeks on a representation from a woman advocate to minimise the arduous duties of the police personnel. This will help in stopping policemen from committing suicide under the work pressure. A division bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the direction when a PIL from Rajalakshmi of Tiruvallur came up for hearing on Thursday. The petitioner submitted that policemen’s suicide incidents were on the rise. The causes are stress, work load, and non-availability of leave, she said.

Notice to Centre, State govts

Chennai: A division bench of the Madras High Court has ordered notice to the State and the Centre on a PIL petition praying for a direction to initiate punitive action against the police personnel responsible for the alleged lapse in providing security to AICC president Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Chennai to pay homage to former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who died at Kauvery Hospital in the city on August 8 after prolonged illness.

Rly told to submit report on safety

Chennai:A division bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Southern Railway general manager to submit by September 17 a comparative study report relating to provision of safety doors in all coaches of suburban and MRTS trains originating from Chennai. The bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad gave the direction when the PIL petition came up for further hearing on Thursday.

‘Digilocker’ can be used instead of driving licence: Director General of Police

The app was launched in July, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 
Published: 17th August 2018 02:27 AM |

 
Image used for representational purposes.

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Clearing the doubt whether motor vehicle riders will be exempted from prosecution if they use the national digital locker system called ‘Digilocker’ instead of carrying their original licence, the Director General of Police issued a statement that this facility was valid.The app was launched in July, 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Centre-certified app can be downloaded onto the mobile phone which would help store documents, including licence, on DigiLocker which, when shown on demand to the department, is considered as the original.

This is mainly aimed at helping one consolidate all important papers at one place and avoid carrying hard copies of the documents.However, previously the state police were confused because under the Motor Vehicle Act, every motorist is to carry original driving licence and according to section 130 of the Act, the driver of the motor vehicle in any public place shall, on demand by any police officer in uniform, produce his/her licence for examination by any police official.

After complaints were filed from across the state seeking clarification on the issues, the statement said the Digilocker app is also valid. Explaining the app, a senior police officer said one has to link his or her Aadhaar car and the cell number, provided the inspecting officer is also registered as a requester on the app to cross-check the documents.

The system provides 1GB of storage space in which users can store identification cards issued by multiple authorities, education certificates, PAN cards, driving licence as well as vehicle ownership documents and is part of the NDA government’s Digital India push to curtail the use of physical documents.
However, in certain cases including impounding, the original licence has to be produced, the statement added.

Sections available

My Certificates: Which enables users to update the URI’s of the documents issued to the user by government departments or other agencies. The other lists of documents which are uploaded by the user which are within 10MB in size. Only pdf, jpg, jpeg, png, bmp and gif file types can be uploaded.

My Profile: The user profiled as available in the UIDAI database.
My Issuer: Details of the issuers’ names and the number of documents issued to the user by the issuer.

My Requester: Details of the requesters’ names and the number of documents requested from the user by the requesters.

Directories: The complete list of registered issuers and requesters along with their URLs.

When Vajpayee touched her feet

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MADURAI, AUGUST 17, 2018 00:00 IST



Vajpayee paying obeisance to Chinnapillai at a function in New Delhi in 2001.Special arrangementHandout 

Chinnapillai was presented the Stree Shakti Puraskar by the former PM in 2001


For Chinnapillai, leader of Kalanjiyam — a women’s self-help group (SHG) of the Madurai-based Dhan Foundation — what happened on January 4, 2001, in New Delhi is still the stuff of dreams.

She had gone to the national capital at the invitation of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, draped in her best cotton sari and wearing her worn-out rubber slippers, to receive the Stree Shakti Puraskar from the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Her name was called out.

After presenting her the award, the Prime Minister looked into her eyes and then the unthinkable happened. He quickly bent to touch her feet. She tried to hold his hands, but he completed his obeisance. She reciprocated the gesture.

Fond memories

Ms. Chinnapillai melted in the applause that filled Vigyan Bhavan. Her eyes welled up with tears. Later, in his speech, Mr. Vajpayee said that he saw ‘shakti’ in Ms. Chinnapillai’s face.

She is shocked that the man who touched her feet as Prime Minister has died. She made a vain attempt six months ago to meet him on a visit to New Delhi. “I would have gone to New Delhi to pay my respects to the departed leader, but I am not well now,” she said.

Ms. Chinnapillai, a resident of Mathur village in Madurai district, owes her global fame to Mr. Vajpayee. And the moment which makes her shudder, remains frozen in her memory.

Now, robots greet passengers at Chennai airport

STAFF REPORTER

CHENNAI, AUGUST 17, 2018 00:00 IST




Tech friend:Humanoid robots interacting with visitors at the Chennai airport on Wednesday.Special Arrangement 

‘Mitra’ deputed on a trial basis at the domestic terminal

The Chennai airport has two new staff to assist passengers.

Named Mitra, the humanoid robots, were deputed on Wednesday to guide passengers inside the terminals.

The two robots — one each at the departure and arrival halls of the domestic terminal — greeted passengers on Independence Day and interacted with them.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said they would soon introduce the robots in the international terminal too after seeing the response from passengers.

“These are on trial basis for now. They can walk around the terminal, wish passengers and talk to them. In a few days, we will programme them to assist passengers on various queries and guiding them to security checks and respective boarding gates,” an official said.

A bunch of children who came to the airport to see the robots were thrilled to communicate with it.

T.N. gave him the numbers to become PM

B. Kolappan

CHENNAI, AUGUST 17, 2018 00:00 IST



Vajpayee with Jayalalithaa. 

First the AIADMK and then the DMK proved ideal allies of the BJP

The BJP may be struggling to find its feet in Tamil Nadu, but it was this State that offered the required numbers to A.B. Vajpayee to become the Prime Minister in 1998 and again in 1999.

The shifting sands of politics both in the State and the national level saw the DMK, the AIADMK and the MDMK abandoning their Dravidian moorings and joining hands with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the late 1990s.

In 1998, AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa, smarting under the rout in the 1996 election, knit together an alliance that included the BJP. The front secured 30 Lok Sabha seats in that election.

The series of bomb blasts that rocked Coimbatore on February 14, 1998, just ahead of an election campaign meeting of the then BJP president L.K. Advani also played a major role in the victory of the AIADMK-BJP combine.

Besides the AIADMK, other constituents of the alliance — the PMK, MDMK and Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy, who won the Salem constituency — were accommodated in the Union Council of Ministers. However, the relationship between the BJP and the AIADMK proved to be a roller-coaster ride from the beginning. Jayalalithaa turned sharply critical of the Vajpayee regime after some time. Jayalalithaa also sought to take credit for the formation of the Vajpayee government when she declared that it was the AIADMK that introduced the party to the people of Tamil Nadu. Her remark that Mr. Advani suffered from “selective amnesia” further strained their ties.

Political storm

Subsequently, a ‘tea party’ hosted by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy brought together Jayalalithaa and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and caused a political storm. Though she withdrew the support of her party MPs, her allies, including the MDMK and the PMK, stayed with the BJP alliance.

Soon after the Vajpayee government fell, losing the trust motion by one vote, the DMK stepped in to fill the gap created by the AIADMK. It was Murasoli Maran who said “No party is untouchable” and cleared the path for an alliance between the BJP and the DMK for the 1999 election. The alliance won 26 seats.

Mop-up round for MBBS, BDS vacancies begins

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, AUGUST 17, 2018 00:00 IST



One more chance:The results of mop-up round of the counselling will be announced on August 20. Candidates will have to report to their respective colleges between August 21 and 26.

FILE PHOTOG_SRIBHARATH 

3,042 seats available; candidates have to lock their choices by August 19

The medical counselling committee of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has called for a mop-up round for the 3,042 vacancies for MBBS and BDS seats in deemed universities and ESIC medical colleges.

Registration for the mop-up round began on Thursday and will end at 5 p.m. on August 18. Candidates will have to lock their choices by August 19 and the results would be announced on August 20. Candidates will get five days’ time from August 21 to 26 to report to their respective colleges.

After the mop-up round, the DGHS will provide the vacant seats to the respective colleges and will also provide a merit list of candidates who can be called for counselling.

Among the deemed universities in the State, the most number of seats vacant in the management/paid category are in Chennai-based Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital with 116 seats, followed by ACS Medical College and Hospital, which has 81 vacancies.

The colleges are banking on the final mop-up round that would permit them to call students based on the merit list handed to them by the DGHS.

A smooth affair

Medical college officials, however, said seat filling had been smooth though two court cases had eaten into the time allotted for the admission process.

A source in Sri Ramachandra Medical College said it was among the first to fill all the seats last year also and it expected to do well this year too.

T. Gunasagaran, Dean of Saveetha Medical College, said in the mop-up round, they would fill 15 to 20 seats.

“The process has gone smoothly and people have understood the process well. The candidates know they will have to make a firm choice,” he said.

MASTER STROKE

When I persuaded Wadekar Sir to let me open

SACHIN TENDULKAR  17.08.2018

It’s really shocking, very troubling to hear that Wadekar Sir is no more. Our relationship went back a long way. It was in 1992 when he joined the team as manager. We’d grown up hearing stories about the brand of cricket he brought into the Mumbai camp — the khadoos way of playing the game.

We first went to Zimbabwe and from there to South Africa with him, and during that trip, grew familiar with him. It took us time, around six months, to break the ice, but over a period of time, I got to know him really well.

The three of us —Vinod (Kambli), Wadekar Sir and I spent a lot of time together. Post practice, we would go to his room, or he would come to ours and chat a lot. With us, he was like a friend. We were really close to him. The age difference between us was never a factor. I could tell him anything and so could he.

On the morning of our ODI against New Zealand at Auckland in 1994, our opener Navjot Singh Sidhu, woke up with a stiff neck. By then, we (me and Wadekar) had built a good rapport, so I could walk up to him and tell him anything. I went to him and said: ‘Sir, give me one chance to open the innings. I know I can go out there and hit the bowlers. And if I fail, I’ll never come to you.’ I told him to discuss this with Azhar (Mohammad Azharuddin, the then India skipper), and since I was the vice-captain, the three of us could meet.

That’s where good coaches come in. They understand all these things. Deep within, he must’ve somewhere had that confidence that I could go out there and do it. It worked beautifully (I scored 82 off 49 balls), also because of the relationship we shared — we had trust and confidence in each other. For the first two years of my ODI career, I used to bat at No. 6, and then for another yearand-a-half, I batted at No. 4. But after that game, things changed. I could actually go out and control the game, rather than terms being set for me.

We had complete confidence in him. He brought the best out of us. In that period, we really stretched and focused hard and he played a huge role in that. He was at the forefront of putting together a formidable team in place — one that would be unbeatable at home. To play three spinners here was his brainchild. He was very shrewd. He knew how to stay a step ahead of the game. He had a great cricketing mind.

We kept bumping into each other after he quit as the India manager in 1996. I last met him during the launch of the Mumbai T20 league. Vinod (Kambli) and I went to his house to offer our condolences, and we’ll go today for the funeral too. (AS TOLD TO GAURAV GUPTA)

HEART TO HEART

Wadekar: The link between India’s two Little Masters

Ajit is gone, but Arre, kaay re, will remain with me

SUNIL GAVASKAR: 17.08.2018

Sunil, sorry, he is no more’. Those devastating words conveyed to me that ‘my captain’ Ajit Wadekar had passed away. Just a little while earlier, I was trying to help put him in the car to rush him to the hospital since the ambulance was going to take another 15 minutes to arrive and even then it looked like it was a hopeless battle.

Ajit Wadekar was my captain when I made my debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and he was my skipper when I got my India cap. So for me he was always ‘captain’. That he was from Shivaji Park Gymkhana and I was from Dadar Union Sporting Club, its great rival, then made no difference as I was a fan first. Those days there was hardly a single weekend where you didn’t read about Wadekar getting a century. He was so prolific in local and Ranji Trophy cricket that it was a surprise to many that he made his India debut as late as 1966 against Garry Sobers’ West Indies team. Five years later, it was against Garry Sobers’ team that he led India for the first time and went on to win the series, beating West Indies for the first time. A couple of months after that he led India to another historic win when India beat England in England for the first time.

He was unkindly called a lucky captain by those who couldn’t stomach the fact that he had replaced the charismatic Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as the skipper. The then Chairman of selectors, batting legend Vijay Merchant, was also pilloried by some for it was his casting vote that made Wadekar the new Indian captain then. Even after these twin wins and another in India a year later, neither Vijay Merchant nor Ajit Wadekar got the credit they deserved for bringing India those hat-trick of wins. Ajit retired from Test cricket suddenly when he was left out of the West Zone team for the Duleep Trophy by a committee led by another Indian great, Polly Umrigar and thereafter concentrated on his banking career and also cricket administration with the Mumbai Cricket Association.

He also was a successful manager/coach of the Indian team in the early ‘90s. When some of us sportspersons requested the Maharashtra Government for a plot of land to build an apartment block, it was Ajit who took the lead and there was Umrigar also in the society formed showing that he harboured no hard feelings towards his senior. Being the promoter, he got the top floor of the building when it was built and since I was on the floor immediately below him, he used to always joke, ‘I am the only one on top of Sunny’. In recent times, with my travel schedule, we hardly met but whenever we did, he would as usual come up with a joke in his easy drawl.

There’s hardly been a day when I haven’t mimicked his arre kaay re at least once and not just me but even Sachin Tendulkar told me that he too says the same at least once a day.

My captain is no more but he will always be with me when I say, arre kaay re. RIP, Captain.

PMG





Sunil Gavaskar (right) is introduced to Queen Elizabeth II by his captain Ajit Wadekar at Lord’s in the 1971 series



Sachin Tendulkar says Ajit Wadekar played a vital role in his progress

‘Atal was more than a colleague, he was my closest friend for 65 years’

Mohua.Chatterjee@timesgroup.com: TOI 17.08.2018

I will miss Vajpayee immensely…” This was the first reaction of BJP veteran L K Advani, who was in public life with the late former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee for nearly 65 years.

The 90-year-old former deputy PM was speechless when he heard the news of Vajpayee’s death around 5.30pm on Thursday. Advani had visited AIIMS where Vajpayee was admitted for nearly nine weeks on Thursday morning and sat in a waiting room for an hour, along with daughter Pratibha and aide Deepak Chopra.

He remained restless and refused to meet anyone after the visit, till their former colleague and ailing leader Jaswant Singh’s wife arrived to meet him. The two shared the grief of losing their ‘Atalji’.

The pall of gloom over the Prithviraj Road residence of Advani was palpable when the BJP veteran sat down to write his condolence message.

He wrote: “I am at a loss for words to express my deep grief and sadness today as we all mourn the passing away of one of India’s tallest statesmen, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To me, Atalji was more than a senior colleague — in fact he was my closest friend for over 65 years. I cherish the memories of my long association with him, right from our days as pracharaks of RSS, to the inception of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the struggle of the dark months during the Emergency leading to the formation of Janata Party and later the emergence of Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980... His captivating leadership qualities, mesmerising oratory, soaring patriotism and above all, his sterling humane qualities like compassion, humility and his remarkable ability to win over adversaries despite ideological differences have all had a profound effect on me in all my years in public life. I will miss Atalji immensely.”

Later, he visited Vajpayee’s residence. In the last few years, Advani used to be among the first callers here on December 25, Vajpayee’s birthday.

BY INVITATION

His weapon was the word, not the sword

MJ AKBAR  TOI 17.08.2018

The distance between Treasury benches and its “loyal” Opposition in Britain’s House of Commons is, famously, the length of two swords plus one inch. The inference is clear. Politicians might be at daggers drawn, but democracy cannot afford drawn swords.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee would have sniffed at such political architecture. His weapon was the word, not the sword. His wordplay had the flexibility of oratory and the principles of a humanist. His language was as mellifluous as his smile; even when the cut and thrust of debate demanded a touch of verbal stiletto, it was tempered by the goodwill of geniality rather than the bitterness of angst.

Some associates disliked his overt or covert generosity to opponents. He wasn’t bothered. He could be hurt when recipients of his generosity reciprocated with malice. But this did not much bother him either. He did what he did because he believed it was the right thing to do.

Anger was part of neither his personality nor his preference. If memory serves, he was angry in public just once, at a rally in Delhi in January 1977, after 19 months of draconian Emergency during which Mrs Indira Gandhi had imprisoned India and exiled India’s democratic values. India was still numb, and depressed. No one believed that Mrs Gandhi could be defeated in the impending general election. No one knew that India was smouldering beneath a fragile surface.

On that cold January evening, Vajpayee’s speech, heavy with sarcasm, sparkling with promise, and infused with faith in the Indian people, lit the fuse that led to a revolution.

He was angry not merely because he had been sent, in a brazen exercise of injustice, to jail; or because the courts had been impaled; or because the political process had been usurped by Congress. He was angry because democracy had been grievously wounded. He was a democrat because his heart was passionate about liberty; and his head said that India, with its ancient philosophy of pluralism, could only function as a democracy. Dynasties, in contrast, believed in supremacy and exclusion; it was no accident that Mrs Gandhi began to visibly nurture a dynasty only during this obnoxious Emergency. Vajpayee’s main concern was the future of India and Indians. He was a champion of democracy because he was a servant of the people. That is the logic of freedom.

Vajpayee was not weaned on silver spoons; he wrote his own destiny. His father was a school-teacher. He was born into an emerging middle class, the backbone of India. His virtues, inherited from civilisational values, became the foundation on which he could structure his formidable talents. He did not enter politics to become prime minister of India. Even independence seemed psychologically distant when, as a student in 1942, he joined Gandhi’s Quit India movement to, in the words of the Mahatma, “do or die”. When he became a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951, no contemporary believed it would one day lead a national government, albeit in a slightly altered avatar. Power, when it came, was a by-product of commitment.

Any conscientious prime minister wears a crown of thorns during the day and sleeps at night on a bed of nails. But above all, this responsibility tests two qualities: vision, on the strategic balance, and crisis management, on tactical scales. As prime minister, Vajpayee wrote an indelible chapter in India’s history with the detonation of one fusion and two fission bombs on 11 May 1998, and two additional fission devices two days later. Previous PMs had shied away from traversing the last mile of a national vision. Vajpayee’s cool, and silent, steps to this visionary horizon took the world’s breath away. For India, it was a moment of rebirth.

Vajpayee’s leadership was tested by Kargil. Pakistan’s onslaught, thinly veiled by familiar military deceit, had the advantage of surprise. Vajpayee’s resilience, patience and belief gave our armed forces the leadership they needed for victory.

There was much surprise, and even a hint of contradiction, when the leader who went to Lahore for peace, hosted Pervez Musharraf, the architect of Kargil, at the Agra summit. But Vajpayee, who dreamt of resolution, understood a critical fact: peace is possible only when security is achieved. Between a nuclear arsenal and Kargil he had proved to Pakistan the futility of terrorism and war. It was now up to Pakistan to abandon both and build amity between two sovereign nations. Alas, Pakistan never seems to be awake when history beckons.

As is well known, Vajpayee was also a brilliant poet. There have been many writers [and more re-writers] who have done well enough in politics; but the combination of poet and politician is rare. Uniquely, Vajpayee was equally honest to both poetry and politics. That is what lifted him from excellent Prime Minister to a hero of his generation.

The writer is MoS external affairs





POSTER BOYS: With MM Joshi & LK Advani

Retd justice Karnan refuses to vacate govt flat in Kolkata

Rohit Khanna TNN

Kolkata:17.08.2018

Retired justice C S Karnan has told the West Bengal housing department and the registrar general of the Calcutta high court he could not be evicted from his flat at Rosedale Complex in New Town till his order against eight Supreme Court judges were not executed. He said he wanted to continue at the Rosedale flat that served as his home and “make-shift court”.

Karnan was given the accommodation when he was transferred to the Calcutta high court.

The new development over the Rosedale Complex started when the housing department wrote to the judicial department secretary last month, mentioning that the retired judge had to vacate the government-maintained flat, which had to be given out to others. A few days later, the registrar general of the Calcutta HC sent a letter to Karnan. When contacted, Karnan said, “I have sent a reply to the housing department and the registrar general of the Calcutta HC. I have also sent copies to the International Court of Justice, Netherlands and the United Nations Security Council.”

Govt launches its website for disaster management

Chennai:17.08.2018

Against the backdrop of growing incidence of disaster, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday launched a web portal, www.tnsdma.gov.in, exclusively for disaster management. The government also signed a memorandum of understanding with Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) to provide training and disaster risk management strategies for government staff involved in disaster management.

The website, a comprehensive one, provides a wide range of services, including active alerts, helplines for each district, rainfall info, risk governance, policy and plan, capacity building, vulnerability assessment, awareness and programmes. Emergency contact numbers of various agencies are hosted on the website. “It provides a platform to people affected by disaster to upload the photographs and messages and get their problems highlighted. Monitored by the state-level officers, the district administration concerned will be communicated immediately for action for which they should register. Volunteers can also register their names,” revenue administration, disaster management and mitigation commissioner K Satyagopal said. Nongovernment organizations and first responders can also register.

Links are provided for weather updates, regional forecast, Chennai weather update and heavy rainfall warning from meteorology department, earthquake bulletin and tsunami early warning from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services. Along with Bangkok based ADPC, the state will provide a long-term training programme for government staff. Satyagopal said, “Final details are being worked out for programmes in Chennai and other districts. ADPC’s association is for a longer period to build capacity among staff.” TNN

TN REMEMBERS ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE

Brand Vajpayee was in high demand in TN in 90s

Jayaraj.Sivan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:17.08.2018

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was able to make inroads into the Dravidian heartland of Tamil Nadu with ease, first through an electoral tie-up with the AIADMK in 1998. Even as that alliance was snapping shortly a year after it was forged, Vajpayee pieced together an alternative with another Dravidian major, the DMK.

More than Vajpayee wanting to ally with the AIADMK and the DMK, it was J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi who were keen on tying up with the BJP under Vajpayee, said M Kasinathan, political analyst. As the BJP was emerging on the national scene after kar seva and the Ayodhya marches, Jayalalithaa saw an opportunity to regain a foothold in the political power struggle. She felt a tie-up with the BJP would help gain importance on the national scene and also weaken a slew of cases filed by central agencies against her. The grand alliance that included the PMK and the MDMK stumped Karunanidhi.

There was a Tamil Nadu link to his government’s undoing too. The infamous Delhi tea party that pulled down his government was scripted by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, an MP from Tamil Nadu, and was played out by his ally Jayalalithaa and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. After the truck ended, Jayalalithaa claimed it was she who introduced Vajpayee to the people of TN. The journey with the AIADMK was a roller-coaster ride for Vajpayee all through. Trouble began even before the government could be formed as Jayalalithaa delayed her party’s letter of support to his government, said political commentator R Rangaraj.

There was no looking back since then and the BJP made huge inroads in TN. People in Karunanidhi’s inner circle in the ‘90s say he felt he missed a chance to tie up with Vajpayee in 1998. He grabbed it a year later by extending support to salvage Vajpayee’s government. Karunanidhi’s larger game plan was to keep Jayalalithaa out of power, both in Tamil Nadu and at the Centre.

Karunanidhi’s nephew Murasoli Maran, who saw a chance of becoming a Union minister, played a key role in sealing the alliance. In the process, Karunanidhi even embraced his estranged colleague and MDMK leader Vaiko. Despite the Vajpayee government falling in 1999, the BJP-DMK alliance continued and formed the government at the Centre that year.

BJP’s dabbling with major alliance partners in Tamil Nadu ended with the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. Since then, both the DMK and the AIADMK have been hesitant about any electoral truck with the BJP.

People cutting across party lines who happened to interact and move closely with Vajpayee were swayed by his aura. Leaders like Vaiko, despite falling out with the BJP, held Vajpayee in high esteem.



GOLDEN ERA: A September 2003 photo of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee being received by DMK president M Karunanidhi at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, where he had gone to meet Murasoli Maran

Flight Info

IndiGo to operate bi-weekly Vijayawada-Singapore service

Tharun Boda

VIJAYAWADA, AUGUST 16, 2018 00:00 IST

Tentative plan is to launch the service in early October

IndiGo, which recently made the Vijayawada airport as a hub for its aircraft, has come forward to operate bi-weekly service to Singapore responding to a tender call by the Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Ltd (APADCL).

This takes the State’s ambitious plan of starting an international flight service from the airport in the capital Amaravati a step closer to fruition.

“The tendering process has been completed and the airlines came forward to fly on the new sector. The State government has in principle approved the deal and assured it the Viability Gap Funding (VGF). We are awaiting the formal approval and modalities from the government before signing the final agreement. Tentatively the service will be launched on October 2,” APADCL chief executive officer Virender Singh told The Hindu .

“Though the airline was not keen initially it came in after the tender call that assured the VGF,” Mr. Singh said.

According to its aviation policy, the State provides VGF if the airline fails to get at least 50% occupancy on the specified sector. “We are confident that every flight will have 60-70% occupancy and no funding may be required. But the VGF would take care of the losses, if any.” Once the agreement is signed, the timings of the scheduled flights would be decided.

With the city airport not being included in the bilateral air service agreements by the Centre yet, the outset of international services got allegedly stalled and the Corporation has planned to run unscheduled chartered flights by hiring an airline that could run the business on its behalf.

The inordinate delay has dashed the hopes of the State which is expecting to have direct flights to destinations in West Asia.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had in June announced that the Vijayawada-Singapore service would be launched soon. Earlier it was also announced that Singapore’s SilkAir would be operating unscheduled flights as per the State’s requirement.

A domestic carrier could operate international services from Vijayawada without special permissions.

Rain News

பவானி, தாமிரபரணி ஆறுகளில் வெள்ளப்பெருக்கு: ரயில்கள் தற்காலிக ரத்து

By DIN  |   Published on : 15th August 2018 08:16 PM 

நெல்லை மாவட்டம் தாமிரபரணி ஆற்றில் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள வெள்ளப் பெருக்கால் குறுக்குத்துறை சுப்பிரமணிய சாமி கோவில் நீரில் மூழ்கியது. தென்காசி பகுதியில் பெய்துவரும் தொடா் மழையின் காரணமாக தென்காசி-குற்றாலம் பிரதான சாலையில் அமைந்துள்ள யானைப்பாலம் சிற்றாற்றில் வெள்ளப்பெருக்கு ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. இதனால் ஆற்றுப்பகுதிக்கு செல்ல வேண்டாம் என்று மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர் அறிவுறுத்தியுள்ளார். 
கனமழை மற்றும் நிலச்சரிவு காரணமாக கொல்லம்- செங்கோட்டை இடையிலான அனைத்து ரயில்களும் தற்காலிகமாக ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளதாக தெற்கு ரயில்வே அறிவித்துள்ளது. செங்கோட்டை அருகே  வெள்ளம் காரணமாக பண்பொழி-வடகரை சாலையில் போக்குவரத்து துண்டிப்பு. 

ஈரோடு மாவட்டத்தின் பவானிசாகர் அணையின் மொத்த கொள்ளளவான 120 அடியில் 117 அடி புதன்கிழமை நிரம்பியது. அணைக்கு நீர்வரத்து 43,300 கன அடியாக உள்ளது, அணையில் இருந்து 43,500 கன அடி உபரி நீர் வெளியேற்றப்பட்டு வருகிறது.

இதனால் பவானி ஆற்றில் ஏற்பட்ட வெள்ளப்பெருக்கு காரணமாக கோபிசெட்டிபாளையம் அருகே அரசூர், கணேசபுரம் பகுதிகளில் வீடுகளுக்குள் நீர் புகுந்தது. எனவே அப்பகுதியினர் பத்திரமாக மீட்கப்பட்டு முகாம்களில் தங்க வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர். பவானி ஆற்றின் கரையோரப் பகுதிகளான அண்ணாநகா், கொடிவேரி, புஞ்சைபுளியம்பட்டி, கள்ளிப்பட்டி உள்ளிட்ட 20-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட கிராமங்களில் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான விவசாய  நிலங்களில் வெள்ள நீா் புகுந்து பெரும் சேதம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. 

Train News

விருதுநகர் ரெயில் நிலையத்தில் நிறுத்தம்: அந்தியோதயா எக்ஸ்பிரசில் வந்த பயணிகள் தவிப்பு

தாம்பரம்–நெல்லை அந்தியோதயா எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ரெயில் நேற்று விருதுநகர் ரெயில்நிலையத்தோடு நிறுத்தப்பட்டதால் நெல்லை வரை பயணச்சீட்டு பெற்ற பயணிகள் பரிதவிப்புக்குள்ளாயினர்.

பதிவு: ஆகஸ்ட் 16,  2018 04:15 AM

விருதுநகர்,

தாம்பரம்–நெல்லை வரை அந்தியோதயா எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ரெயில் இயக்கப்படுகிறது. நள்ளிரவு தாம்பரத்தில் இருந்து புறப்பட்ட இந்த ரெயில் நேற்று மதியம் விருதுநகர் ரெயில் நிலையத்தில் நிறுத்தப்பட்டது. கோவில்பட்டி– மணியாச்சி இடையே பராமரிப்பு பணிகள் நடைபெறுவதால் விருதுநகர்– நெல்லை இடையே இந்த ரெயில் ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும் மாலை விருதுநகரில் இருந்து தாம்பரத்திற்கு இந்த ரெயில் புறப்பட்டுச் செல்லும் என்றும் ரெயில்வே அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்தனர்.

ஆனால் அந்த ரெயிலில் பலருக்கும் நெல்லைவரை டிக்கெட் கொடுக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது. அதனால் பயணிகள் அதிகாரிகளிடம் வாக்குவாதத்தில் ஈடுபட்டனர். இதுபற்றி ஏற்கனவே ரெயில்வே நிர்வாகம் அறிவிப்பு வெளியிட்டுள்ளதாகவும் பயணிகளிடம் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.

அப்போது பயணிகள் விருதுநகர்–நெல்லை இடையே இந்த ரெயில் ரத்து செய்யப்படுவதாக ரெயில்வே நிர்வாகம் ஏற்கனவே முடிவு செய்திருந்தால் நேற்று தாம்பரத்திலிருந்து நெல்லைவரைக்கும் எங்களுக்கு பயணச்சீட்டு வழங்கியது ஏன் என்று கேள்வி எழுப்பினர். குறைந்தபட்சம் இந்த ரெயில் மதுரை வந்த உடனாவது மதுரை ரெயில் நிலையத்தில் இதுபற்றிய அறிவிப்பு செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தால் நாங்கள் மாற்று ஏற்பாடு ஏதாவது செய்து நெல்லை சென்றிருப்போம் என்று தெரிவித்தனர்.

பல பயணிகள் வேறு ரெயில் மூலமாகவோ பஸ் மூலமாகவோ நெல்லை செல்வதற்கு தங்களிடம் பணம் இல்லை என பரிதவிப்புடன் கூறினர். விருதுநகர்– நெல்லை இடையேயான கட்டணத்தை ரெயில்வே நிர்வாகம் திருப்பி தரவேண்டும் என்று அவர்கள் வலியுறுத்திய போது அதற்கு உடனடி வாய்ப்பில்லை என்று ரெயில்வே அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்தனர்.

ரெயில்வே நிர்வாகம் குறிப்பிட்ட ரெயில்நிலையங்களுக்கு இடையே ரெயில் போக்குவரத்தை ரத்து செய்திருந்தால் அந்த ரெயில் நிலையங்களுக்கு இடையேயான பகுதிகளுக்கு பயணச்சீட்டு வழங்கியிருக்கக்கூடாது. பயணச்சீட்டு வழங்கும் இடத்திலேயே இது பற்றி தெரிவித்திருக்க வேண்டும். நிர்வாகத்தின் குறைபாட்டால் பயணிகளை பரிதவிக்க விடுவது ஏற்புடையதல்ல. இனியாவது இம்மாதிரியான குழப்பங்கள் ஏற்படுவதை ரெயில்வே நிர்வாகம் தவிர்க்க வேண்டும்.

Rain News

நீலகிரி, கோவை, நெல்லை, தேனி, திண்டுக்கல், கன்னியாகுமரி ஆகிய 6 மாவட்டங்களில் இன்று கன மழை பெய்யும் என்று அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

பதிவு: ஆகஸ்ட் 16,  2018 05:30 AM

சென்னை,

சென்னை வானிலை ஆய்வு மைய இயக்குனர் பாலச்சந்திரன் கூறியதாவது:-

வடமேற்கு வங்கக்கடல் பகுதியில் நிலைகொண்டிருந்த குறைந்த காற்றழுத்த பகுதி, காற்றழுத்த தாழ்வு மண்டலமாக வலுப்பெற்று உள்ளது. இந்த காற்றழுத்த தாழ்வு மண்டலம் ஒடிசா கடற்கரை பகுதியில் புவனேஸ்வருக்கு தென்மேற்கே சுமார் 30 கி.மீ. தொலைவில் நிலைகொண்டு உள்ளது. இது மேற்கு, வடமேற்கு திசையில் நகர்ந்து செல்லக்கூடும்.

இந்தநிலையில் ஈரப்பதத்துடன் கூடிய மேற்கு திசைக்காற்று, இந்த குறைந்த காற்றழுத்த தாழ்வு மண்டலத்தை நோக்கி தமிழக பகுதிகள் வழியாக செல்ல உள்ளது.

எனவே அடுத்து வரும் 24 மணி நேரத்தில் இன்று மலைப்பகுதிகள் அடங்கிய நீலகிரி, வால்பாறை உள்ளிட்ட கோவை மாவட்ட பகுதிகளில் ஓரிரு இடங்களில் மிக கனமழை பெய்யக்கூடும். மேலும் தேனி, திண்டுக்கல், நெல்லை மாவட்டங்களில் கன முதல் மிக கனமழை பெய்யக்கூடும். கன்னியாகுமரி மாவட்டத்தில் ஓரிரு இடங்களில் கனமழைக்கு வாய்ப்பு உண்டு.

தமிழகத்தின் இதர பகுதிகளிலும் புதுச்சேரியிலும் அனேக இடங்களில் லேசானது முதல் மிதமான மழை பெய்யக்கூடும். சென்னை மற்றும் புறநகர் பகுதிகளை பொறுத்தவரையில் இடைவெளி விட்டு சில முறை மழை பெய்யக்கூடும்.

வடக்கு ஆந்திரா கடற்கரை, வடக்கு வங்கக்கடல் பகுதிகளுக்கு அடுத்த 24 மணி நேரத்துக்கு மீனவர்கள் செல்லவேண்டாம் என்று எச்சரிக்கப்படுகிறார்கள்.

இவ்வாறு பாலச்சந்திரன் தெரிவித்தார்.

செங்கோட்டையில் 27 செ.மீ. மழை

நேற்று காலை 8.30 மணியுடன் முடிவடைந்த 24 மணிநேரத்தில் பெய்த மழை அளவு வருமாறு:-

செங்கோட்டை 27 செ.மீ., சின்னக்கல்லார் 21 செ.மீ., பேச்சிப்பாறை 20 செ.மீ., பாபநாசம் 19 செ.மீ., வால்பாறை 16 செ.மீ., தேவலா, பெரியாறு தலா 13 செ.மீ., நடுவட்டம் 11 செ.மீ., குழித்துறை, அண்ணா பல்கலைக்கழகம் தலா 9 செ.மீ., கூடலூர் பஜார், தரமணி தலா 8 செ.மீ., பூதப்பாண்டி, நாகர்கோவில், டி.ஜி.பி.அலுவலகம்., பூந்தமல்லி, சென்னை விமானநிலையம், தாம்பரம், மைலாடி தலா 7 செ.மீ., அம்பாசமுத்திரம், சென்னை நுங்கம்பாக்கம், திருவள்ளூர், ஸ்ரீபெரும்புதூர் தலா 6 செ.மீ. மழை பெய்துள்ளது. மேலும் 100-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட இடங்களில் மழை பதிவாகி உள்ளது.

Income tax news

அரசு ஊழியர்கள் கவனத்திற்கு ! வருமான வரி பற்றிய முக்கிய செய்தி

நிதி ஆண்டிற்கு Quarter 1,2,3&4 என வருமான வரி தாக்கல் செய்ய வேண்டும் அதை தாங்கள் தான் தாக்கல் செய்ய வேண்டும் என அலுவலர் (Drawing Officer) கூறியிருப்பார்.........

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சம்பளம் வழங்கும் அலுவலர் Section 203 ன் படி Quarter 1,2,3&4 ல் நமது வங்கி கணக்கில் வழங்கப்பட்ட  ஊதியம் (credited pay) மற்றும் ஊதியத்தில் பிடித்தம் செய்த வருமான வரி தொகை (Amount of Tax Deducted) , அரசு

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நாம் எவ்வித பணமும் யாரிடமும் கொடுக்க தேவையில்லை...

பணம் கொடுக்காமல் இருந்தால் நமக்கு அலுவலர் கட்டாயம் Income Tax Return Form (ITR-V) வழங்கிவிடுவார்.....

பின் சதுரங்க வேட்டை படம் மாதிரி நம் மனதை வசியப்படுத்தும் வார்த்தையாக அரசு ஊழியர்களே தாங்கள் ஏதேனும் வங்கியில் Loan பெற சென்றால் Form-16 கட்டாயம் தேவைப்படும். ஆகையால், Form-16 தேவைப்படுபவர்கள் ரூ.200 கொடுத்து வாங்கி கொள்ளுங்கள் என கூறும் நிலை தொடரும்.....

வருமான வரி தாக்கல் செய்யும் போதே Automatically generate
Form -16 ...... .                             
வருமான வரி பிடித்தம் செய்வது சம்பளம் வழங்கும் அலுவலரின் கடமை. Form-16 வழங்குவதும் Drawing Offer கடமை.

தமிழ்நாடு  நிதி விதி தொகுப்பு 86(a) -ன்படி வருமான வரி பிடித்தம் IT சம்மந்தப்பட்ட அலுவலர் மற்றும் பணம் பெற்று வழங்கும் அலுவலரே பொறுப்பாளர்.

தங்களது ஊதியத்தில் வருமான வரி பிடித்தம் செய்து Form-16 ஐ சம்பளம் வழங்கும் அலுவலர் தர மறுத்தால் புகார் அளிக்கும் முகவரி

The Commissioner,
Income Tax (TDS) ,
7th Floor , New Block,
Aayakar Bhawan,
121, M.G.Road ,
Chennai-34.

SSTA