BDU secures A+ ranking in third cycle 

Special Correspondent 
 
TIRUCHI, April 03, 2019 00:00 IST

Under NAAC’s new framework

Bharathidasan University has secured A+ ranking in the third cycle of accreditation under the new framework of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), placing itself on a strong pedestal to receive more Central funding and strengthening the reach of its distance education programme.

Bharathidasan University is the first State university in Tamil Nadu to get A+ accreditation with institutional CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of 3.32 on a four-point scale, after the new framework came into effect since July 2017, Vice-Chancellor P. Manisankar told media persons on Tuesday.

The seven Cumulative Grade Point Average criteria encompassed curricular aspects; teaching-learning and evaluation; research, innovations and extension; infrastructure and learning resources; student support and progression; governance, leadership and management; and institutional values and best practices.

The third cycle of NAAC assessment will be valid till April 1, 2024. The stride has placed BDU among top 15% of universities in the country with A+ and A++ status, the Vice-Chancellor said.

The latest score is well above the minimum of 3.26 points stipulated last year by University Grants Commission and Distance Education Bureau as eligibility for universities to offer distance education programmmes.

The university faced a disadvantage as it secured only 3.16 points in the second cycle of accreditation in 2013.

This time, the university secured 85.10% in qualitative metrics based on online submission of self-study report, and 77.1% in quantitative metrics through peer team visit last month, evaluated in the ratio of 70:30.

The five-member team visited all departments of the university from March 26-28.

By virtue of A+ ranking, BDU will be in a position to receive substantial funding under RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) and other Central schemes, Mr. Manisankar said.

Also, the university is looking forward to increasing the learning centres for distance education to 200, and restoring enrolment substantially.

Enrolment in distance education programmes fell drastically to 8,000 last year from 28,000 a few years ago due to NAAC stipulation of minimum points for universities to offer distance education programmes.

The strength was increased to 11,000 over the last one year. There is scope for restoring enrolment to the previous level since many institutions will evince interest to start learning centres following the latest National Assessment and Accreditation Council ranking, he added.

Report card

Secured 3.32 on a four-point scale

Assessment under seven CGPA criteria

Valid till April 1, 2024

Fillip to distance education programme

Increase in learning centres planned

Kenyan student sentenced to life 

Staff Reporter 
 
Salem, April 03, 2019 00:00 IST

A Kenyan student, who was studying at a private college here, was sentenced to life by the Mahila Court here on Tuesday for raping a 22-year-old Kenyan woman in 2016.

Eric Mulinge Nethuli (26) was studying Masters in Business Administration at a private college here in 2016.

The victim, who was also a student at the same college, reportedly invited Eric for dinner to her place and Eric raped her. A case was registered by Ammapettai All Women Police Station.

On Tuesday, the court sentenced him to six-and-a-half years of imprisonment under sections 342,352, 506 part 1, and Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act and life imprisonment under Section 376 - all to be served concurrently.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 17,500 on the convict.

He has been lodged in Puzhal prison.

MCC students go on strike 

Special Correspondent 
 
CHENNAI, April 03, 2019 00:00 IST

Seek details of report on two professors

Students of Madras Christian College went on strike on the campus on Tuesday, demanding that the authorities share the details of a report prepared on two professors from the zoology department.

A group of 34 students had filed a complaint with the college principal in the first week of February seeking action against two faculty members for sexual misconduct during a study tour organised a couple of months earlier.

The college had instituted a departmental inquiry, following which disciplinary action was initiated.

Severe action demanded

The students were, however, not satisfied with the response and demanded severe action against the teachers.

On Tuesday, the students staged a sit in, demanding that the report of the committee subsequently constituted to inquire into their complaint be read out to them.

After nearly two hours of talks when the students refused to back down, principal in-charge A. Duraisamy read out the report to the students.

The principal, R.W. Alexander Jesudasan, is out of the country and is expected to return on April 15.

The second committee included an alumnus, a lawyer and the head of women students.

Students were told that the report would be submitted on April 6 to the internal complaints committee for further action.

One of the protesters said the college had only decided to bar the erring faculty from participating in tours till 2022 and from examination-related activities.

After nearly two hours of talks when the students refused to back down, Mr. Duraisamy, read out the report to the students.

College has only decided to bar the erring faculty from participating in tours

Protesting student

Retired HC judge to head T.N. Lokayukta 

Special Correspondent 
 
CHENNAI, April 03, 2019 00:00 IST

P. Devadass
 

 
Judicial and non-judicial members also appointed

The Governor has appointed retired High Court judge P. Devadass as the chairperson of the five-member Lokayukta that was notified on Monday.

The notification was issued following the recommendations made by a search committee.

Four members

Former district judges K. Jayabalan and R. Krishnamoorthy are the two judicial members and retired IAS officer M. Rajaram and advocate K. Arumugam are the two non-judicial members of the anti-corruption body, according to the notification issued by the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department.

“The chairperson and the members shall hold office for five years from the day they enter office or the date on which they attain the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier,” stated the notification.

It was in December last year the State government constituted a search committee for submitting names for the posts of the chairperson and members of the Lokayukta.

Search committee

Retired High Court judge K. Venkataraman was the chairperson of the panel. Former Advocate General R. Krishnamoorthy and retired IPS officer A. Pari were the other members on the search committee. In July last year, the Tamil Nadu government passed the legislation in the Assembly a day before the deadline set by the Supreme Court in this regard.

In November that year, the State government notified the Tamil Nadu Lokayukta Rules, 2018.

Complaints against a public functionary can be submitted to the Registrar or the designated officer in person or by post, but anonymous complaints would not be entertained by the panel.

When the State government invited Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin to participate in the meeting called over constituting the search committee in December last year, he boycotted it, contending that his objections expressed before the passing of the legislation were ignored and the Bill was passed in a hurried manner.

Huge furore

It may be recalled that Mr. Devadass’ judgment in June 2015 during his tenure in the Madras High Court suggesting mediation between a rape convict and the survivor, resulted in a huge furore from across the country.

The judge had then recalled his judgment and eventually cancelled the bail granted to the rape convict.

HC on law degrees sans attendance 

 
B. Tilak Chandar, April 03, 2019 00:00 IST

Demands report on persons with such degrees in service

Taking serious note of the fact that law degree courses were completed by people who did not attend classes, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday sought a response from the State on how many persons with such law degrees were working in various departments.

A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and S. S. Sundar suo motu impleaded the Chief Secretary in the case and sought a report on such persons employed and whether they had been promoted.

The court was hearing the petition filed by advocate K. Karmegan of Virudhunagar, who brought to light an instance of a person having obtained law degree without attending classes.

Petition

The petitioner complained that R. Sivabagyam of Madurai, currently Law Officer with Madurai Corporation, had obtained her law degree from Al-Ameen College of Law in Bengaluru when she was a full-time employee of the Corporation.

He claimed that Sivabagyam was initially appointed as a nursing orderly and subsequently posted as typist and then promoted as Assistant on compassionate grounds.

When she had been employed as Assistant with the Corporation, she reportedly joined a law degree course and obtained her degree in 2000 without attending classes regularly. However, it was submitted that though she had completed her L.L.B. without permission from the Corporation, she was allowed to complete L.L.M.

She was then appointed as Law Officer, when she was working as Superintendent, based on her law degree.

The petitioner sought a direction to restrain her from carrying out her duties as Law officer.

He said that the degree obtained by her was invalid and action must be taken against the Bengaluru law college.

The court sought details of Sivabagyam’s salary, attendance and service register and adjourned the hearing.

Air Force doctor revives cancer patient who suffered cardiac arrest on-board IndiGo flight

A cancer patient from Bangladesh was on-board an IndiGo flight from Pune to Kolkata. She suffered a cardiac arrest midair. 

Following an announcement from the crew, the Air Force doctor volunteered and saved her with help of two other doctors.

Indrajit Kundu Kolkata  March 29, 2019

UPDATED: March 29, 2019 18:04 IST

Group Captain Dr. TVSVGK Tilak, who was onboard the IndiGo flight and volunteered to help the patient. (Photo: India Today)

A Bangladeshi passenger who suffered a cardiac arrest on board an Indigo flight from Pune to Kolkata was rescued by an Indian Air Force (IAF) doctor on Friday.

A middle-aged cancer patient from Bangladesh was on-board the Indigo flight number 6E-523, which took off from Pune early Friday morning. Her condition deteriorated midway and she collapsed inside the flight.

Soon an announcement was made by the crew seeking medical assistance from any doctor, if present among the passengers. Following which, IAF Group Captain Dr. TVSVGK Tilak, who was on-board the flight volunteered to help.

''On hearing that a patient requires medical assistance I alerted the air hostess. I attended the lady, a lung cancer patient and she was clearly in distress,'' Dr Tilak, who is posted at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, told India Today TV.

With the assistance of the crew, he began performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and revived the patient within a minute. Subsequently, a medical oncologist who was also travelling alongside Dr Tilak attended the patient and administered emergency medicine and oxygen.

"Two other colleagues luckily helped, one surgical oncologist and a neurosurgeon came and established the IV. We didn't have a nebuliser so we gave her an inhaler. Thereafter the patient was stabilised," the Air Force doctor said.

After the patient had recovered, the flight finally landed in Kolkata 45 minutes later at about 6am. The patient was rushed to a local hospital.

According to Dr Tilak, the patient was travelling with her daughter who had informed that she was already undergoing cancer treatment in Dhaka.

Happy that he could save a life, the Air Force doctor thanked IndiGo staff for their timely intervention to rescue the passenger during the emergency. "I'm thankful to the IndiGo crew. Although we didn't have all equipments but whatever was needed at that time was available," he said.

Result withheld over fee, MBBS students cry foul

Were shifted from Chintpurni college to GMCs

Balwant Garg & Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

aridkot/Patiala, March 30

The delay in the declaration of result of their final prof has left at least 75 MBBS students in the lurch.

The affected students, presently studying at government medical colleges at Amritsar, Patiala, and Faridkot, are of the 2014-15 batch of Chintpurni Medical College, which was shut following irregularities.

On the directions of the Supreme Court, 98 MBBS students were shifted to the three government colleges. While 41 were shifted to Faridkot, 30 Amritsar and 27 Patiala. A controversy started about two months back, when 18 students of Faridkot college, 30 Amritsar and 27 of Patiala college refused to pay Rs 3.22 lakh fee. They claimed that they would only pay fee as applicable for government students, not the government quota fee of private colleges.

While publishing the result of final prof part-II on March 28, the BFUHS withheld the result of these 75 students for non-payment of tuition fee.

The matter is sub judice ever since these students were shifted to the GMCs. The students and their parents have alleged that the Punjab and Haryana High Court has already directed the colleges to stick to the fee as per the government quota seat, which is Rs 28,350 until a final decision was taken.

They claim that last year, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), through a letter, had directed the colleges to take annual fees as applicable for government students.

On the other hand, the university authorities maintained that the letter was issued mistakenly and it was annulled by the department on March 6.

Dr Raj Bahadur, vice chancellor, BFUHS, said in the notification for the shifting of 98 students in September 2017, it was clearly mentioned that as the private medical colleges had refused to admit these students at government fee, they would pay government quota seat fee of private colleges, to which they had agreed.

A student of GMC, Patiala, said, “Ever since we were shifted from Chintpurni to GMC, we have been facing problems. Till date, the CMCH has not given our detailed mark sheets. Now when we are about to begin internship, we have been asked to pay lakhs of rupees within two weeks.”

Arun Batra, father of an affected student, said, “Earlier, the university had denied roll numbers to the students and now it has withheld the result. This is a case of contempt of court.”

Sushil Goyal, president, CMCH Parent Welfare Association, said, “The vice chancellor of BFUHS and Additional Health Secretary have turned a blind eye to the issue. The CM should intervene in the matter.”

Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, said, “If the matter is sub judice, I will not be able to comment, but the government has always helped these students. It was on Capt Amarinder’s directions that they were adjusted in government institutions in 2017 after the CMCH went bankrupt.”

Future at stake

In the absence of their result, if the 75 students fail to initiate one-year internship from April 1 onwards, they would not be eligible for NEET-PG, 2020, the entrance test for admission in MD and MS courses.

An employee can’t be kept under suspension for years together: Madras High Court

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | J STALIN

Published  Apr 1, 2019, 1:29 am IST

The judge said disposal of the criminal case may take long years by the competent court of law.

Madras High Court

Chennai: Holding that an employee cannot be kept under suspension for years together without any progress in departmental disciplinary proceedings, the Madras high court came to the rescue of an employee, who was under suspension for over 10 years. The court quashed an order of the Chennai Corporation dated April 24, 2008, suspending him from service for allegedly demanding and accepting bribe.

Allowing the petition filed by the employee R. Velmurugan, Justice S.M. Subramaniam directed the Chennai Corporation to reinstate him in service. The Chennai Corporation is directed to post the petitioner in any one of non-sensitive posts till the conclusion of the departmental disciplinary proceedings as well as the criminal case registered against the petitioner, the judge added.

Challenging the criminal case registered against the petitioner by the Department of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, the counsel for the petitioner stated that the said criminal case was still pending and the trial was in progress. However, keeping the petitioner under suspension for an unspecified period was bad in law, he added.

Counsel for the Chennai Corporation submitted that the petitioner was trapped and arrested for the allegation of demand and acceptance of bribe. Therefore, no leniency can be shown and the petition was liable to be rejected, she added.

The judge said prolonged suspension was bad in law. On initiation of disciplinary proceedings undoubtedly an employee shall be placed under suspension by the competent authority. However, competent authorities must ensure that departmental disciplinary proceedings initiated against the employee were concluded within a reasonable period of time. In the event of an enormous delay in concluding the departmental disciplinary proceedings, then the competent authorities must review the order of suspension for its revocation.

If it was not possible for the authorities to conclude the departmental disciplinary proceedings, then the order of suspension can be revoked and the employees shall be reinstated into service and posted in any non-sensitive post till the conclusion of the departmental disciplinary proceedings as well as the criminal case registered against him, the judge added.

The judge said disposal of the criminal case may take long years by the competent court of law. However, there was no bar for the disciplinary authorities to continue the departmental disciplinary proceedings even during the pendency of the criminal case. If the files, materials and other records were available with the authorities, then they were at liberty to continue the departmental disciplinary proceedings, conclude the same and pass final orders pending disposal of the criminal case, the judge added.

The judge said if an employee, after departmental disciplinary proceedings, was convicted by the competent court of law, then further actions shall be taken or the earlier orders shall be reviewed for issuing appropriate orders based on the conviction. There was no impediment for the authorities on initiation of fresh proceedings, if a public servant was convicted in criminal case by the competent court of law. This being the legal principles settled by the Constitutional Courts, the authorities need not keep an employee under suspension for an unspecified period.

Keeping an employee under suspension for long years and paying subsistence allowance for an unspecified period was causing financial loss to the state exchequer. Payment of subsistence allowance without extracting work was a financial loss to the state exchequer. Thus, the authorities must be vigilant and review the order of suspension periodically and if there was no impediment, conclude the disciplinary proceedings and pass final orders, the judge added.

The judge said in the case on hand, the order of suspension was issued long back and the petitioner was under continuous suspension without any progress in the departmental disciplinary proceedings as well as the criminal case. “This being the factum of the case, this court is of an opinion that there is no useful purpose would be served in keeping the petitioner under suspension for further period”, the judge added.

Vellore cash seizure: Action will depend on gravity of situation, says TN Chief Electoral Officer
Apart from Rs 78.12 crore, 328 kg of gold, 409 kg of silver and some other materials worth Rs 93.36 crore had been seized.

Published: 02nd April 2019 05:45 AM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI : Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo on Monday said the Election Commission of India would act, based on the ‘gravity’ of the situation in the Vellore parliamentary constituency where huge amounts of unaccounted money were seized earlier in the day. Asked whether the ECI would countermand the elections in Vellore constituency following the seizure of huge cash, Sahoo said, “The Commission will take into account many aspects before taking such a decision.

It is premature to talk about countermanding elections. We have to get a report from the District Election Officer as well as from the I-T department involved in the searches.” Sahoo also said that till Sunday, the total seizure of unaccounted money stood at Rs 78.12 crore.

Besides, 328 kg of gold, 409 kg of silver and some other materials worth Rs 93.36 crore had been seized. Responding to a question, the CEO said that so far, 80 FIRs had been filed against political functionaries on complaints of model code violations across the State.

Candidate moves Madras​ HC


Alleging that the raids conducted by I-T department at his premises are politically motivated and timed to prevent him from carrying on his campaign, Kathir Anand, son of DMK treasurer Durai Murugan and party candidate for Vellore, moved the Madras High Court on Monday.

TNSTC directed to pay Rs 36.7 lakh to victim’s kin

The victim, a materials manager in a private company, died in a hospital. He was the sole breadwinner.

Counsel for the transport corporation submitted that the accident was never caused by the bus.

Published: 01st April 2019 03:24 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Nearly three years after a State transport bus fatally hit a 47-year-old man near Marakkanam, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has directed TNSTC, Villupuram, to pay a compensation of Rs 36.73 lakh to the family. The deceased, A Sampathkumar, was going on a bike when the bus hit him and speed away.
According to a petition submitted by S Kausalya, the wife of the deceased, on May 17, 2016, a TNSTC bus plying near Palayar Madam on ECR hit the bike. The accident occurred because the bus was driven in a rash and negligent manner, the petitioner added.

The victim, a materials manager in a private company, died in a hospital. He was the sole breadwinner.

Counsel for the transport corporation submitted that the accident was never caused by the bus. 

The tribunal headed K Ayyappan observed that in a petition filed before the HC, the bus driver had specifically admitted that TNSTC Corporation had initiated disciplinary action against him. To this, the petitioner’s counsel argued that if the driver was not involved in the accident, the department should not have initiated action. The tribunal asked TNSTC to pay the compensation.

Courier firm to pay Rs 21,000 for bad service

Shobhit Shah, a resident of Narasingapuram near Mount Road, booked a parcel to be sent to Sithalapakkam, which never reached the person concerned.

Published: 01st April 2019 03:17 AM |

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: For failing to deliver a parcel and also losing it, District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai (South), directed the Franch Express to pay a compensation of Rs 21,000. Shobhit Shah, a resident of Narasingapuram near Mount Road, booked a parcel to be sent to Sithalapakkam, which never reached the person concerned.

The complainant submitted that by paying a sum of Rs 8,500 in 2012, he sent a Wii play console to one Preetha Chandrashekar in Sithalapakkam through the firm. However, the delivery was never made. The courier network also refused to refund the amount.

Denying the allegations, the courier network submitted that the parcel usually takes only 24 hours for delivery and if the door is locked or the address is wrong, the delivery shall not be done.

Considering the oral and documentary evidence, the forum presided by M Mony observed that the consignment usually reaches the destination within 24 hours, but in this case, the parcel was found to be missing. The forum directed the firm at Kilpauk to pay the compensation.

Colleges worried as UGC sends directive on Yoga day preparations

University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a letter to universities and affiliated colleges to start preparations for 5th International Day of Yoga (IDY) to be celebrated on June 21.

Published: 01st April 2019 03:30 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a letter to universities and affiliated colleges to start preparations for 5th International Day of Yoga (IDY) to be celebrated on June 21.
The commission has asked varsity authorities to organise “run up” event for the IDY on May 2, (50 days ahead of the event). Colleges and universities are concerned as amid the elections, they will be facing problem in making arrangements for the run up activities for Yoga day.

“Our staff is busy with election duty and examination arrangements and amidst all this we hardly have any manpower or time to make arrangements for IDY. Probably, after elections we will decide what to do on Yoga day,” said a principal of a city college.

“Elections in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 18 and after that we will have handful of days to organise the run up for the event. I do not know how we will make arrangements for the day,” said a senior faculty member of a university

The UGC has written to all Vice-Chancellors last week asking them to organise activities to promote Yoga among youth and invoke sentiments of National pride in proliferating Yoga to the rest of the world. 

In the letter, it has mentioned that the ministry of AYUSH has taken up preparation for celebration of International Day of Yoga with greater and more active participation of students and teachers during the current year celebration. The UGC has further suggested measures to the institutes to celebrate the IDY 2019 in a befitting manner.

The commission has suggested to universities and colleges to adopt yoga as a part of activities to encourage physical well-being and to focus on common yoga protocol(CYP) which consists of 45 minute sequence of relatively simple yoga drills. The UGC has also said in the letter to keep the essential facilities open during summer vacation for Yoga Programs to be attended by teachers and students. 

The letter addressed to Vice-Chancellors says “You are also requested to arrange such events as run-up activities on 2nd May 2019 (50 days to the event).”

Colleges worried as UGC sends directive on Yoga day preparations

University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a letter to universities and affiliated colleges to start preparations for 5th International Day of Yoga (IDY) to be celebrated on June 21.

Published: 01st April 2019 03:30 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a letter to universities and affiliated colleges to start preparations for 5th International Day of Yoga (IDY) to be celebrated on June 21.
The commission has asked varsity authorities to organise “run up” event for the IDY on May 2, (50 days ahead of the event). Colleges and universities are concerned as amid the elections, they will be facing problem in making arrangements for the run up activities for Yoga day.

“Our staff is busy with election duty and examination arrangements and amidst all this we hardly have any manpower or time to make arrangements for IDY. Probably, after elections we will decide what to do on Yoga day,” said a principal of a city college.

“Elections in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 18 and after that we will have handful of days to organise the run up for the event. I do not know how we will make arrangements for the day,” said a senior faculty member of a university

The UGC has written to all Vice-Chancellors last week asking them to organise activities to promote Yoga among youth and invoke sentiments of National pride in proliferating Yoga to the rest of the world. 

In the letter, it has mentioned that the ministry of AYUSH has taken up preparation for celebration of International Day of Yoga with greater and more active participation of students and teachers during the current year celebration. The UGC has further suggested measures to the institutes to celebrate the IDY 2019 in a befitting manner.

The commission has suggested to universities and colleges to adopt yoga as a part of activities to encourage physical well-being and to focus on common yoga protocol(CYP) which consists of 45 minute sequence of relatively simple yoga drills. The UGC has also said in the letter to keep the essential facilities open during summer vacation for Yoga Programs to be attended by teachers and students. 

The letter addressed to Vice-Chancellors says “You are also requested to arrange such events as run-up activities on 2nd May 2019 (50 days to the event).”

Huge cash haul from premises of Durai Murugan’s ‘associate’

APRIL 02, 2019 00:00 IST

Mr. Durai Murugan’s son Kathir Anand is contesting from the Vellore Parliamentary constituency in the general elections.

During the day, searches were also conducted at educational institutions and premises managed by Mr. Anand. At the time of going to print, the searches that began in the morning were still on at some of the locations in Vellore. Currency counting machines were also requisitioned from local banks.

While usually the I-T department maintains absolute secrecy of search operations, on Monday video clips and photos of cash bundles being examined were circulated all day on mobile messaging platforms, though the source of the same remained uncertain.

Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told journalists in Chennai that only on the basis of the I-T department’s report would they be able to conclude if the cash belonged to any candidate or party. While DMK president M.K. Stalin charged that the I-T searches were conducted at the behest of the BJP-led Central government to intimidate the Opposition, Mr. Durai Murugan alleged that there was a conspiracy to rescind the poll notification in Vellore Lok Sabha constituency and two Assembly constituencies in the region where bypolls are due. “They have miscalculated that by targeting they can intimidate the others in the DMK. Today it is me, tomorrow it will be someone else. But this is being done by those who can’t read the people’s mind,” he said.

Mr. Durai Murugan further alleged that his son had effectively been prevented from campaigning for the last three days by the ongoing searches. I-T officials had on Saturday searched Mr. Durai Murugan’s house and an engineering college in Christianpet near Katpadi managed by Mr. Anand and recovered Rs. 10.50 lakh “excess” cash and some documents. Searches were conducted on Monday at six places including at another DMK functionary Asther Ali’s house in Kalpudhur and a school managed by Mr. Anand. Though searches in these two premises were completed by evening, the outcome was not immediately known.

In another case reported from Coimbatore, the I-T department seized Rs. 9.83 crore in cash. “The assessee is a young man by the name G. Ramesh, the proprietor of Universal Trading Solutions, who was collecting deposits from the public promising high returns. He trades in the commodities market,” the EC said. In Tamil Nadu, Rs. 108.75 crore in cash and precious metals valued at Rs. 93 crore had been seized so far, it added.

Special fare train to clear summer rush

STAFF REPORTER

SALEM, APRIL 02, 2019 00:00 IST

The Southern Railway has introduced special fare special train to clear summer rush. According to a release, train no. 02197 Coimbatore - Jabalpur special fare special train will leave Coimbatore at 7.05 p.m on Mondays between June 10 and July 1 and would reach Jabalpur at 10.20 a.m on Wednesdays.

The train would stop at Palakkad, Shoranur, Tirur, Kozhikkode, Vadakara,Thalassery, Kannur, Payyanur, Khanhangad, Mangalore Jn, Mulki, Udupi, Kundapura, Mookambika Road Byndoor, Kumta, Karwar, Madgoan, Thivim, Kudal, Kankavali, Ratnagiri, Chiplun, Khed, Roha, Panvel, Igatpuri, Manmad, Bhusaval, Khanwa, Harda, Itarsi, Pipariya, Gadarwara and Narsinghpur. Advance reservations for the train would begin on April 2.

Trains rescheduled

The Southern Railway has rescheduled trains in Tiruchirappalli division on April 2 due to bridge works in the division.

According to a release, train no. 76836/76833 Karur - Tiruchi- Karur DEMU passenger is partially cancelled between Tiruchirappalli Junction and Tiruchi Fort. Train no. 56110 Erode -Tiruchirappalli Passenger is partially cancelled between Tiruchi fort and Tiruchirappalli Junction. Train no. 56713 Tiruchirappalli- Palakkad Town passenger is rescheduled to leave Tiruchirappalli Junction at 3 p.m. Train no. 56712 Palakkad Town -Tiruchirappalli Junction passenger will be regulated for two hours between Erode and Tiruchirappalli fort.

Changes in operation of trains

STAFF REPORTER

SALEM, APRIL 02, 2019 00:00 IST

The Southern Railway has cancelled a few trains due to pre non-interlocking work for commissioning of Arakkonam – Takkolam Detour line. The changes would affect services of trains between April 5 and 14.

According to a release, services of train no. 22208 Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Central Superfast AC express on April 7 and 10, train no. 22207 Chennai central-  Thiruvananthapuram Superfast AC express on April 5 and 9, train no. 12243 Chennai Central- Coimbatore Shatabdi express between April 11 and 14, train no. 12244 Coimbatore Junction - Chennai Central Shatabdi express between April 11 and 14, train no. 12682 Coimbatore - Chennai Central Superfast express on April 12 and train no. 12681 Chennai Central - Coimbatore Jn Superfast express on April 13 are fully cancelled.

Train no. 12680 Coimbatore Jn - Chennai Central Intercity express is short terminated at Katpadi for 10 days between April 5 and 14, train no. 12698 Thiruvananthapuram - Chennai Central Superfast express is short terminated at Jolarpettai for two days on April 6 and 13.

Train no. 22638 Mangalore Central - Chennai Central is short terminated at Chitteri for nine days between April 4 ad 12. Train No. 22638 Mangalore Central to Chennai central is short terminated at Jolarpettai on April 13.

Train no. 12679 Chennai Central - Coimbatore Intercity Express is partially cancelled between Chennai Central and Katpadi for 10 days between April 5 and 14 and the train would depart from Katpadi at 4.20 p.m. Train no. 12697 Chennai Central -Thiruvananthapuram Superfast express is partially cancelled between Chennai central to Jolarpettai on April 7 and 14 and the train would depart from Jolarpettai at 6.20 p.m.

Train no. 22637 Chennai Central to Mangalore Central West coast express is partially cancelled between Chennai central to Jolarpettai. The train will leave Jolarpettai at 3.15 p.m. on April 14.

Trains rescheduled

Train no. 22637 Chennai Central- Mangalore Central West Coast express scheduled to depart from Chennai Central at 12.05 p.m is rescheduled to leave at 1.20 p.m between April 5 and 13. Train no. 12695 Chennai Central- Thiruvananthapuram Superfast express scheduled to depart from Chennai central at 3.25 p.m is rescheduled to leave at 7.25 p.m on April 14. Train no. 12685 Chennai Central - Mangalore Central Superfast express scheduled to depart from Chennai Central at 5 p.m is rescheduled to leave at 7.35 p.m on April 14.

Diversions

Train no. 12970 Jaipur- Coimbatore will be diverted via Gudur- Renigunta- Katpadi skipping stops at Chennai Central and Arakkonam on April 9.

Train no. 22815 Bilaspur- Ernakulam will be diverted via Gudur- Chennai Egmore- Villupuram- Vridhachallam-Salem skipping routes at Renigunta, Katpadi, Jolarpettai on April 8. Train no. 17605 Mangalore- Kacheguda will be diverted via Jolarpettai A cabin, Yelanka, Dharamavaram skipping routes at Jolarpettai, Katpadi, Renigunta, Cuddapah on April 6.

Train no. 16351Mumbai Central- Nagercoil will be diverted through Gooty- Yelanka-Salem-Karur-Dindigul- Madurai skipping stops at Tiruttani, Arakkonam, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tiruchirappalli on April 13. Train no. 12690 Nagercoil- Chennai Central will be diverted through Tiruchirappalli-Vridhachallam-Villupuram-Chennai Egmore- Chennai Central skipping stops at Karur, Namakkal, Salem, Morappur, Tirupattur, Jolarpettai, Katpadi, Arakkonam, Perambur on April 7.

Train no. 22206 Madurai-Chennai central will be diverted via Dindigul- Tiruchchirappalli-Vridhachallam-Chennai Egmore skipping stop at Salemon April 11. Train no. 20601Chennai Central- Madurai will be diverted via Chennai Beach- Chennai Egmore-Villupuram-Vridhachallam- Tiruchirappalli –Dindigul skipping stops at Katpadi, Salem and Karur on April 12.

Train no. 18568 Kollam- Viskapattinam will be diverted via Katpadi- Villupuram- Chennai Egmore- Gudur skipping stops at Renigunta on April 5.

Train no. 22619 Bilaspur- Tirunelveli will be diverted via Gudur- Chennai Egmore-Villupuram-Vridhachallam-Salem skipping stops at Renigunta- Katpadi- Jolarpettai on April 9.

Train no. 22878 Ernakulam- Howrah will be diverted via Katpadi- Villupuram-Chennai Egmore-Gudur skipping stops at Renigunta on April 9.

High Court Bench directs recovery of compensation

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, APRIL 02, 2019 00:00 IST

Petitioner lost his legs after he came in contact with a live wire

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Joint Commissioner of Labour (Workmen’s compensation) to recover the compensation amount awarded by the Labour Commissioner Tribunal of Dindigul to a daily wager, who lost both his legs after coming in contact with a live wire during work hours.

Justice Abdul Quddhose said under Section 31 of the Employees Compensation Act, 1923, the Commissioner of Labour was empowered to recover the compensation awarded to a workmen as he was deemed to be public officer within the meaning of Section 5 of the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890.

Accordingly, the Commissioner should recover the amount within four months, the court said.

The court said that the award of compensation had attained finality as no appeal was preferred against the order. Though representation was made to the Collector for recovering the amount, it was the Commissioner of Labour alone who was empowered to recover the compensation. The Labour Commissioner Tribunal had awarded Rs. 4.72 lakh with an interest of 12% per annum to the daily wager.

The petitioner, S. Pandi of Dindigul, sought a direction to recover the compensation amount from his employer. He lost both his legs after he came in contact with a live wire at a construction site, where he was engaged as a daily wager.

HC asks State not to finalise PG medical, dental counselling results

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, APRIL 02, 2019 00:00 IST

Allows the process, which began on April 1, to continue

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday directed the Directorate of Medical Education not to finalise results of the ongoing counselling for medical and dental PG degree/diploma courses held under the Tamil Nadu State quota.

The four-day counselling forcandidates who qualified through NEET began on April 1.

Justice R. Mahadevan, allowing the counselling to continue, directed that results shall not be finalised for a period of two weeks and adjourned the hearing till then. The court was hearing the writ petition filed by P. Jeyakumar of Madurai, who sought a direction to restrain the Directorate of Medical Education from going ahead with PG counselling. The petitioner, an Assistant Surgeon, challenged the government order issued by the Health and Family Welfare department in March 2019 awarding 10% of NEET marks secured by Medical Officers working under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Services as incentive for securing a PG seat.

The grievance of the petitioner was that the GO categorised ‘difficulty of areas of work’ for the purpose of granting incentives. Candidates working at difficult areas in hills were eligible for 10% of marks secured in NEET per year of service. Similarly, it was nine per cent marks for working in difficult areas in plains, eight per cent for remote areas and five per cent for rural areas.

Dr. Jeyakumar, currently employed at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, said that this would adversely affect the chances of medical officers working in municipal and corporation areas, which are excluded from the purview of granting incentive marks.

He sought to restrain the Directorate of Medical Education from going ahead with the counselling.

283 PG seats allotted in govt. colleges on day 1 of counselling

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, APRIL 02, 2019 00:00 IST

Radiology and paediatrics are the most preferred courses

When it comes to a PG medical degree radiology continues to be the first choice of MBBS students. On the first day of counselling for PG medical State quota seats, toppers chose radiology.

The second choice was paediatrics. Similarly, two candidates with All-India Rank 9 and 10 in NEET have been allotted M.D. Radiodiagnosis in the Madras Medical College.

Medical educators said introduction of modern technology such as MRI and CT scans sways the students’ choice. For the past few years now, gynaecology is also being passed up, they added.

Single-window system

On Monday, the Directorate of Medical Education began the single window system of counselling for general categories for State quota seats in PG programmes in government and self-financing medical colleges.

As many as 367 of the 492 candidates called for counselling by the Selection Committee participated and 290 seats were allotted.

A total of seven seats were allotted in self-financing colleges and 283 in government ones.

While seven candidates opted out of counselling 125 candidates remained absent and 72 candidates chose to be wait-listed.

Classes commence on May 1 and the admission process will close on May 18.

Paracetamol: toe the line on proper dosage

Serena Josephine M.

CHENNAI, APRIL 02, 2019 00:00 IST

Excessive use is detrimental to children’s health, say doctors

When children have fever, the majority of parents invariably turn to a commonly used medication — paracetamol. While paediatricians consider paracetamol as a safe drug when given in the prescribed dose, any excess in dosage could be detrimental to the child’s health, even to the extent of causing damage to the liver, they add.

Recently, doctors at a private hospital received a child with serious damage to the liver. The child had fever and the parent administered paracetamol continuously for three days without checking the temperature. Three days later, the child was in a critical condition due to paracetamol toxicity, but went on to recover with treatment.

“Paracetamol is a safe drug when given in the correct dose. Any excess in dosage could cause acute liver cell failure. In such circumstances, children present with drowsiness, vomiting and extreme weakness. But paracetamol overdose may not always be symptomatic. Sometimes, symptoms may emerge two or three days later. So, it is important to make an early diagnosis to save children from acute hepatic failure,” said S. Balasubramanian, medical director of Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital.

He drew attention to U.K.’s NICE guidelines that say there is no need to treat fever unless it causes discomfort. “Most children may feel uncomfortable when the temperature is 101 or 102 degree Fahrenheit. Then, we need to relieve the discomfort,” he added.

Drops and syrups

P. Ramkumar, senior consultant paediatrician, Institute of Child Health and Government Hospital for Children, said there is basically confusion between paracetamol drops and syrup. “I frequently remind parents that there is a huge difference between the two. A dosage of paracetamol drops is five times more powerful than say, the same dosage of the syrup, but many are unaware of this,” he said.

Abdominal pain, irritability, generalised weakness, loss of appetite, jaundice, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, convulsions and coma are the symptoms of a paracetamol overdose. “Most of the bottles have the dose printed on them and parents should follow the instructions. It should be given once in six hours in the recommended dosage — not more than four times in 24 hours,” Dr. Ramkumar said.

T. Sivaraman, consultant, paediatric intensivist, pointed out that he does receive children with inadvertent overdose of paracetamol such as when it is given eight times instead of the prescribed four times.

A delay in seeking medical help will lead to liver failure requiring a transplant, he said, adding: “Children come to us with a history, dullness and vomiting. Parents might assume these are caused by the fever. We take their previous history into account and check for signs of toxicity. If we suspect paracetamol toxicity, the treatment is started immediately.”

Rs 85 crore Madras University deficit budget sparks concern, student fees may go up

TNN | Mar 31, 2019, 05.39 AM IST

CHENNAI: University of Madras on Saturday presented a budget with a deficit of ₹84.92 crore for 2019-20, sparking concern about the finances of the 162-year-old institution and the possible impact it may have on student fees that have remained unchanged for nearly 15 years.

The university is in a situation where costs are rising, but it has not been able to increase the fees. A resolution passed by the syndicate and senate to increase the fees was delayed by the governor’s office which wanted to know the social impact of the move.

Last year’s budget had a deficit of ₹61.02 crore on a total budget of nearly ₹250 crore, according to reports.At a meeting, the senate resolved that the university would have to use its resources properly and look to increase the revenue to make good the deficit. Professor S Karunanidhi asked how the deficit was going to be made up and sought for an action plan.

Professor Manivasakan said the funds to pay salaries would only last two or three months, adding that the university could be hurtling towards a situation similar to that faced by Annamalai University.

Senators asked vice-chancellor P Duraisamy, a distinguished economist, to take action to stem the fall and present a white paper on the finances.

One of the main reasons for the current situation, vicechancellor P Duraisamy said, was due to the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations that had increased the salary bill.

‘Salaries of those hired after 1996 not covered by grants’

Duraisamy said, “The state government has been requested to support the pension and retirement benefits under the old pension scheme”. Sources said ₹30 crore to ₹40 crore had been sought from the government.

The objections raised by the local fund audit, a process in which use of funds sanctioned by state and central government agencies are questioned, were also tabled at the senate meeting. Of the 73 audit objections raised, many have existed since 2004, but Duraisamy said the number of objections had dropped during his twoyear term.

Many of them dealt with improper appointments in the teaching and non-teaching wings. “We are paying salaries to non-teaching staff to the tune of ₹56 crore, but we are only eligible for ₹36 crore. In some cases, the stance of the university and auditors is different,” he said. The recruitment of assistant registrar/deputy registrar was not allowed as the university did not follow a government order to recruit 50% from the open market, he said.

Another major issue, Duraisamy said, was that the government had approved posts filled as per vacancy list prior to January 1996, but salaries for those recruited after that have not been covered by government grants.

Professor Jothi Sivagnanam demanded that the audit report include info about the total objections pending and the action taken, while professor Ramu Manivannan said the objections were due to financial abuses and urged Duraisamy to take action against past offenders.

Objections had been raised against the running of various centres, professor Manivasakan said and suggested adopting minimum qualification requirements to curb irregularities in appointments.

Expressing confidence that the crisis could be resolved, professor M Srinivasan requested the university to fill all teaching staff vacancies as even Supreme Court has given the nod.

Professor S Karunanidhi said an alumnus of the university had donated ₹80 crore for construction of a hostel many years ago and requested that the hostel be named after the person. “This would encourage more alumni to donate,” he said.

Qatar visa centre at Saligramam

TNN | Mar 31, 2019, 09.25 AM IST

CHENNAI: Qatar will open its visa centre in the city at Saligramam to facilitate hassle-free recruitment process and ensure speedy completion of procedures to obtain visas and residence permits for the State of Qatar. This is part of the seven such centres which will be opened across the country.

Work visa applicants will be able to sign on work contracts digitally, enroll their biometrics and undergo mandatory medical test.

The visa centre will be located at Shyamala Towers, east wing, 136 Arcot Road, Saligramam.

Already launched in New Delhi and Mumbai, the visa centers in Kochi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kolkata will be opened soon.

Fewer PG medical applicants this year

TNN | Mar 31, 2019, 09.56 AM IST

CHENNAI: The rank list for admission to postgraduate medical courses released by the state selection committee on Saturday had several surprises - fewer students had applied compared to 2018 in spite of more seats. Admission is also likely to get tougher as the number of students with high scores are more.

There were 10,297 candidates compared to 10,576 in 2018. While Dr C R Arunkumar with 1007.5/1200 and Dr V Tamilarasu with 1001.25/1200 got four digit scores, more than 22 had scores above 900, 240 above 800 and more than 1000 had more than 700. The rank list was published on www.tnhealth.org and www.tnmedicalselection.org and counselling will begin on Monday.

Incentive marks - up to 30% of NEET score were given to in-service candidates based on geographical area of work as per recommendation of the Justice A Selvam committee. Those in hilly areas will get up to 10% for each year, those in "difficult plain areas" 9%, those in remote areas 8%, and government doctors in rural areas 5%.

All three toppers are from in-service candidate list, 9 among the top 20 and 27 in top 100. "Toppers will have a big advantage. Many would have been allotted seats in round 1 of all India counselling.

And they have time till April 3 to join. They can come to state counselling to see if they have a chance of getting better course or college," said selection committee secretary Dr G Selvarajan.

However, those joining colleges through all India counselling can't participate in state counselling.

On March 11, the state uploaded prospectus for counselling. The state attempted to take the process online, but the selection committee has decided counselling will be off line. Courses will begin by May 1 and admissions closed by May 31.

This year there will be 899 PG medical seats and two diploma seats in the state bouquet apart from 177 seats in self-financing colleges and institutions.

In the dental category, there are 42 seats in government colleges and 105 in self-financing colleges. Last year, there were 981 PG and diploma state quota seats across 15 government colleges, including 117 vacant all India quota seats returned by the DGHS.

Low fare offers make travel to the US cheaper this summer

TNN | Apr 1, 2019, 06.59 AM IST

CHENNAI: A summer low fare sale introduced by Etihad Airways and Emirates and ticketing portals has brought down the air fare from Chennai to destinations in the US for travel in April and May.

Etihad’s offer of return fare starting at Rs 64,000 to the US is aimed at encouraging passengers who have not planned their trips to plan a holiday. But the offer has led to a general dip in airfare across airlines on the route.

The summer months are peak travel season as families travel to the US to meet relatives. There is a Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 decrease in the fare when compared to previous summer months because of the offer. As the airlines in the Middle East which fly via hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are offering cheaper tickets, the cost of air travel to the US has come down compared to the airlines which fly via Europe or the UK. People need not spend more than a lakh to travel to the US this summer.

The starting return fare for is at Rs 67,000 to New York and Chicago, while it is at Rs 80,000 to Los Angeles and Rs 68,000 to Washington for travel in mid-April. These fares should have been higher by Rs 10,000 usually.

“Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways are most preferred by travellers from Chennai. Etihad and Emirates have an offer running which has led to a dip in fare. But because of high demand some of the best fare are not available on weekends,” said Basheer Ahmed of Metro Travels. He said foreign airlines have started to introduce offers on routes from India to the US via the Middle East because the advance booking period window has reduced from six months to two months.

“People these days book tickets two to three months in advance on the route while there used to be long advance booking two years ago. The offers are being introduced because people did not book seats for travel in April and May well in advance this year, a trend different from last year. The fare cut will now cater to people who prefer to book tickets now for travel end of April or May.”

Flying by European airlines are not only expensive but the choice of hub is limited. After Dubai grew as a hub for transit to different destinations, European carriers have begun facing tough competition to attract passengers who travel to the US. Besides, the Middle Eastern countries have started to encourage travellers to make a stopover in Dubai or Abu Dhabi before proceeding to destinations in the US by offering easy transit visa.

Anna University faculty struggle to set exam papers

TNN | Apr 1, 2019, 07.04 AM IST

CHENNAI: Teaching faculty at Anna University have been advised to seek assistance from temporary teaching staff as many found it difficult to set question papers for the forthcoming semester exams.

Earlier this year, the university’s syndicate, the top-most decision making body, decided not to involve teaching fellows in exam-related work citing security reasons.

The university has more than 250 fellows recruited on contractual basis to handle engineering and humanities at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Amid protests by teaching fellows demanding regularization of services and re-designation of them as assistant professors (on contract), the university not only rejected their plea but also removed them from exam-related duties in order to prevent question paper leaks.

As many as 37 lower-level temporary staff were sacked in connection with leaks reported in 2017 and 2018, according to official data. By eliminating them from the exam process, the university heads has landed in a Catch-22 situation.

Many regular faculty, who were assigned the duty of setting up question papers for the end-semester exams scheduled in April/May 2019, are finding the process difficult, said a source from the university. “Some of the regular faculty members couldn’t set question papers for certain courses as they didn’t handle them. Besides, they were asked to prepare a large number of question papers within a short period of time,” said the source. 

According to an internal communication (copy accessed by TOI) to staff members, the university admitted that heads of various departments are likely to face issues in identifying alternatives for TFs to set question papers. So, the university has advised the heads of departments (HoDs) to obtain model question papers from teaching fellows who handled the course, along with assessment question papers and last year question papers.

“A faculty identified by the HoD will be given all these papers as a base to suitably set the question paper,” the internal communication added.

3-bank merger: BoB will be net job creator

Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:02.04.2019

The complete integration of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda (BoB) is expected to take nearly 18 months. But customers will reap the benefits much earlier. BoB will be providing cash deposit and withdrawal facility in all branches by May. In an interview with TOI, BoB MD & CEO P S Jayakumar speaks of what customers, employees and investors can expect. Excerpts:

What is the timeline for the integration?

The ATM networks have already been merged and customers will not face any charges. The merger of the three treasuries is effective today (April 1). The core banking integration will take 12 to 18 months. This was the time it took us to migrate from Finacle 7 to Finacle 10 (versions of the core banking software) — 12 months for preparation and six months for stabilisation of the platform. But customer experience in terms of consistency in various branches will be achieved much earlier. The first set of interoperable functions will be rolled out in the first week of May. These will include cash deposits, cash withdrawals, fund transfer and obtained statement of account. We have enabled this by connecting the data centres.

When will you rationalise branches? Do you feel there will be a need for a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS)?

Before we migrate branches, we must meet the technology preconditions for interoperability. We are unlikely to reduce the number of branches but may relocate them to markets where we are not present. For instance, in Horniman Circle (in Mumbai), we have two branches next to each other. We may relocate one of them to Navy Nagar or Malabar Hill. But in the next six months, I do not see this happening. We need more people. There will be re-skilling as we need more people on the sales side. We will be net job creators. As they say, you can’t shrink to glory.

Will you review the current partnership for selling third-party products?

For life insurance, our own group company (IndiaFirst Life) will be the primary provider. As far as wealth management is concerned, it is an open architecture.

Will the employee costs change because of the merger? How will you manage cultural challenges?

The government’s amalgamation statement makes it clear that the better of the three will be adopted. The compensation structure is almost identical, but there are areas like loan policy and insurance benefits that had to be rationalised. Other than that, the wage structures are almost identical. Culturally, there are a lot of similarities. So long as we can ensure that promotions and responsibilities are based on merit and not dependent on the predecessor bank, the cultural integration will happen faster.

What business would you look to grow in the merged bank?

We will pursue sources of growth that do not necessarily call for capital such as fee income lines — forex business, government business and remittances. The idea is to serve the target market, not just by merely giving them a loan. In retail, it will continue to be mortgages, education, personal loans and auto loans. We have invested a lot in analytics and the delivery platform for cross-selling. This will help us identify customers and sell more efficiently without formfilling or one more round of KYC.

17-yr-old killed in Bihar for attending school

Ajay Kumar Pandey TNN

Muzaffarpur:02.04.2019

A group of seven men allegedly killed a 17-year-old girl at Sanpura village of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar. Four of the seven accused have been arrested. The accused wanted her to stop attending school.

The matter came to light on Sunday evening when Asha’s brother Baban Rai lodged an FIR at Motipur police station against the accused for killing her on Friday night, and holding him and his wife hostage for several hours in their own house.

A co-villager, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the community members were against any girl pursuing studies beyond the matriculation level and the murder was a fallout of her defiance. “The girl and the accused are from the same caste. And the accused opposed the girl for continuing education at intermediate level,” he said.

Rai, who was not in the village at the time of the incident, said, “One Rajan Kumar called me up and told me that Asha had committed suicide. As soon as I reached my house, I saw her body lying in the room. Seven villagers forced me to perform her last rites at gunpoint.”

DSP (west) KM Prasad said, “A named FIR against seven people has been registered in this connection. Four of the seven accused have been arrested and are being interrogated.”

“Rai has alleged that the accused had been threatening his family of dire consequences if they continued sending Asha to school. Her coaching teacher was also told to strike off her name,” Prasad added.

Asha’s brother has alleged that the accused had been threatening his family of dire consequences if they continued sending her to school. Her teacher was also told to strike off her name

DSP K M PRASAD

Prices of essential med to go up by over 4%

Rupali.Mukherjee@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:02.04.2019

Prices of essential medicines, including painkillers, anti-infectives, supplements and antibiotics, will go up by over 4%, after the government gave its nod to the increase, in line with the annual Wholesale Price Index (WPI). Hike in prices of cardiac stents have also been allowed on the basis of WPI at 4.26% for calendar year 2018. The revision in prices of both stents and medicines will come into effect from April 1.

While prices of 871-odd medicines that are part of the National List of Essential Medicines are expected to go up by over 4%, ceiling prices of drug-eluting stents (DES) have been revised upwards of ₹30,080, and bare metal stent at ₹8,261(exclusive of GST). Prices of essential medicines are revised according to change in annual WPI, according to the Drug Price Control Order (2013).

Earlier, the price for DES (metallic and biodegradable) was ₹28,849, and bare metal stood at ₹7,923.

The DPCO 2013 lays down the provision for price revision in drugs, where manufacturers can revise the MRP of scheduled formulations once a year, in April, on the basis of the WPI of preceding calendar year, and, for this, no prior approval of government is required. Also, in case of a decline in wholesale price index, there shall be a corresponding reduction in the maximum retail price, it adds.

Those manufacturers who sell branded/generic, or both versions of scheduled formulations at a price higher than ceiling price (plus goods and services taxes as applicable), shall revise the prices downward, not exceeding the ceiling price specified (plus goods and services taxes as applicable), the notification says.

₹`11.5cr seized from warehouse of Katpadi DMK functionary
Cash Was Meant For Voters, Say Officials

Sivakumar.B @timesgroup.com

Chennai:02.04.2019

Officials of the I-T investigation wing, during a predawn operation on Monday, recovered ₹11.50 crore cash stashed in gunny bags and cardboard boxes at a cement warehouse in Vellore district.

The godown, owned by Poonjolai Srinivasan, a DMK functionary, is located close to his house in Katpadi. Most of the cash was ₹200 notes. Some were neatly packed in envelopes with details of municipal and village wards written on them. I-T officials said they were meant to be distributed among voters in those wards.

DMK treasurer S Duraimurugan’s son Kadhir Anand is the party candidate in Vellore Lok Sabha constituency. I-T officials have been searching the premises of Duraimurugan and Kadhir Anand since Friday night. During the search at their house in Katpadi, officials seized ₹10.5 lakh in unaccounted money and bundles of papers with ward details and amounts written on them. Asked about the papers, the father-son duo had told I-T officials that they were junk papers. The officials continued their searches at a college and school owned by the family in Vellore district and a farmhouse owned by Anand’s confidante, Chakravarthy.

On Monday, based on a tip, income tax officials swooped down on Srinivasan’s godown with revenue and police officers. “We have established a link between the papers seized from Duraimurugan’s house and the envelopes seized from the godown. Both had same details,” said a senior I-T official. “We will send a report to the election commission on the seizure,” he said.

CASH STASH: Most of the cash seized in Katapdi on Monday was in ₹200 notes, say officials | P7

ECI team to take stock of poll prep today

So far in Tamil Nadu, ₹78.12 crore in cash has been seized. Of that, ₹20 crore has been returned to the owners on production of documents to establish source of money, said EC officials. An election commission team led by chief election commissioner Sunil Arora is visiting Chennai on Tuesday to take stock of election preparedness and interact with political party leaders.

Duraimurugan said the BJP was threatening opposition parties by misusing central agencies. He said neither he nor his partymen would feel threatened. “Our leader has not reacted to the money seized on Monday as the money was found in a place which is not owned by him. He will react if the I-T s ays the money belongs to him,” said a senior DMK legal wing member.

SC clears path for pension hike of employees in all cos

But PF Corpus To Be Reduced As A Result

Prabhakar.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:02.04.2019

The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for higher pension to all private sector employees by dismissing a special leave petition filed by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) against a Kerala high court judgment.

The HC had asked EPFO to give pension to all retiring employees on the basis of their full salary, rather than capping the figure on which contribution is calculated at a maximum of ₹15,000 per month.

“We find no merit in the special leave petition. Accordingly, it is dismissed,” the SC ruled.

The only catch is that while pension will increase, the provident fund corpus will be reduced as the extra contribution will now go to the Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) rather than PF. However, the amount reduced is unlikely to be significant as the commutation of the part of increased pension will be sufficient to fill the gap.

The Centre had introduced the EPS in 1995, under which an employer was supposed to contribute 8.33% of the employee’s salary in a pension scheme. However, the contribution was capped at 8.33% of ₹6,500 (or ₹541per month). In March 1996, the government amended the act and allowed the contribution to be a percentage of the actual salary, provided the employee and employer had no objection.

On September 1, 2014, the EPFO amended the act to increase the contribution to 8.33% of a maximum of ₹15,000 (or ₹1,250). The amendment also stipulated that in case of those who availed the benefit of pension on full salary, their pensionable salary would be calculated as the average of the last five years’ monthly salary, and not of the last one year of average salary, as per earlier norms. This reduced the pension of many employees.

SC pension decision likely to settle issue once for all

Subsequently, the Kerala high court set aside the September 1, 2014 amendment and also reinstated the old system of calculating the pensionable salary as the average of the last one year’s monthly salary.

In October 2016, the Supreme Court directed the EPFO to accept the requests of employees to contribute to the pension scheme on the basis of full salary, with back date, and give pension on full salary.

A number of retired employees benefited from the scheme, including Parveen Kohli, a private sector employee got his pension revised from ₹2,372 per month to ₹30,592 per month. Kohli now works to get pension enhanced for other retired employees. However, even after the SC judgment, EPFO refused to accept contributions of employees of exempt companies, whose EPFs are managed by trusts, even when they were ready to contribute the due amount. Provident funds of most of the large PSUs like navratnas including ONGC, Indian Oil and others and large private sector companies are managed by trusts as per norms suggested by EPFO.

A number of high courts like Kerala, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madras, among others, ruled in favour of employees and asked EPFO to allow them to contribute.

Monday’s decision of the Supreme Court is expected to settle the issue once for all. Employees who have begun working after September 1, 2014, will also be able to avail the benefit of pension on full salary.

DVAC books former HR&CE joint commissioner for graft

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:02.04.2019

Former joint commissioner of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department (HR&CE) was booked in a corruption case by the special investigative cell of the DVAC. M Pugalendran is accused of appointing temporary staff as permanent employees and sanctioning and dispersing salaries in violation of government order during 2012-13. His action caused a loss of ₹19.21 lakh to the exchequer, the DVAC said.

The DVAC filed the FIR last Tuesday based on a preliminary inquiry and a case was registered against the officer. The DVAC said Pugalendran had served as the joint commissioner of HR&CE, Coimbatore region, from November 2011 to January 2013. He oversaw five temples with five executive officers working under him.

According to the DVAC, the five officers were instigated by Pugalendran to send recommendations for pay fixation for temporary staff working under them. Officials said Pugalendran issued orders for pay fixation of 46 temporary employees without obtaining a sanction order from seniors. He did not verify related files and documents before issuing the orders, officials said, adding that these employees were recruited as daily wagers and the move was a violation of the HR&CE Act. The DVAC said Pugalendran also passed orders for claiming pay arrears and other benefits for the 46 employees. Officials said this was done in lieu of monetary benefits by the accused Pugalendran.

The DVAC registered a case against the officer under Section 13(2) and 13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Pugalendran had already been removed from service, officials added.

M Pugalendran’s action caused a loss of ₹19.21 lakh to the exchequer, the DVAC said

General medicine popular choice for PG on day one of counselling

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  02.04.2019

On the first day of counselling for admission to postgraduate medical courses under the state quota, MD general medicine was the most popular choice with more than 94 of the 290 candidates allotted seats opting for it.

The surgical stream, on the other hand, had just 24 takers and one student opted for anaesthesiology.

“The career options for general medicine are much better today,” said Dr Senthil Kumar, who was waiting for his turn at the counselling centre outside the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital at Omandurar. “As a PG in general medicine, he can practice in a clinic specialising in diabetes, lifestyle diseases or as family physician. Or, there is an option of specialising in fields like cardiology or nephrology. Pay is good and work is less compared to surgery,” he said.

A total of 112 candidates — nearly 38% — made it to the allotted list on Monday, according to the state selection committee. Based on the state merit list, the state called 492 students for counselling. “The merit list was drawn up based on NEET scores along with incentive scores given to in-service candidates. According to the government order students were given a maximum of 30% marks over the NEET score depending on the geographical area and number of years they have served,” said selection committee secretary Dr G Selvarajan. After the incentives, all top 10 candidates from the allotted list were from government hospitals.

At the end of the day, the committee said only 367 candidates had attended counselling. Of these, 283 were allotted seats in government medical colleges, seven in self-financing colleges affiliated to Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University and 72 were waitlisted. Five other students decided not to take seats at the state counselling.

Some students who were happy with the seats allotted at the round 1 of all India counselling conducted by the Directorate General of Health Services did not turn up for counselling. “Some others came here to see if they had the option to get the college or course of their choice. It worked out for some. We are assuming that 125 of them did not turn up because they might have got the seat of their choice through the all India quota,” he said. The counselling will continue till Thursday and is likely to resume for the second phase after the second round of counselling for the all India quota is completed.

HC allows PG NEET counselling to go on

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court has directed the directorate of medical education not to publish the final list for NEET PG admissions in TN medical colleges, but has allowed the counselling, which began on Monday, to continue. The direction was in response to a petition by a Madurai-based government doctor who sought an interim stay on the counselling on the grounds that a government order passed on March 6 arbitrarily favours health officers working in municipalities and corporations. The PG NEET examinations were held on January 6, two months before the recent GO was passed. Dr P Jeyakumar, an assistant surgeon at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai since 2013, said for all these years, 10% of NEET marks secured by medical officers were awarded as incentive and he was of the impression that he would be eligible for the incentive. But by passing the GO, the department had categorized the working place for availing incentives under difficult areas in hills, difficult areas in plains, remote and rural areas. TNN

Govt uses ‘ghost report’ to set right wrong answer in job test, high court orders probe

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:02.04.2019

The Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) was left red-faced after its attempt to mislead the Madras high court with a bogus ‘expert report’ was exposed by a job applicant on Monday.

After the policeman proved that such an ‘expert’ never existed in IIT-Madras, the board admitted to ‘impersonation’ and said it had lodged a complaint against two people responsible for it. The court, however, called for a detailed response from the department.

The issue pertains to a recruitment drive conducted by the board for the post of subinspector (fingerprint) in 2018. S Arunachalam, a grade-II police constable, applied for the post and participated in the recruitment process. However, Arunachalam was denied appointment as he failed to secure the required marks in the written examination. Aggrieved, he approached the high court alleging that on account of a wrong key answer, half a mark was denied to him with which he would have become eligible for the appointment.

Opposing the plea, TNUSRB produced an ‘expert opinion’ from Dr D Murthi, professor, department of maths, IIT-M, dated March 1 which said the the petitioner had indeed entered wrong answer to the question and that the answer key was right. Based on the opinion, the high court dismissed his plea.

Impersonation case: Court to hear more details today

On Monday when Justice S M Subramaniam commenced his proceedings, Arunachalam’s counsel made an urgent mention stating that the ‘expert opinion’ produced by the board was ‘bogus’ as no such person named Moorthy exists in the list of faculty of IIT-M. “This apart, the RTI reply sent by the institute dated March 18, which is placed before the court says that there is no regular/guest/visiting faculty under the name professor D Moorthy in the department of mathematics,” he said.

Appalled over the submission, Justice Subramaniam sought a response from the additional advocate-general who represented the TNUSRB.

When the plea was taken up for hearing, additional advocate general admitted that there was an impersonation and submitted written instructions signed by the inspector-general of police and member-secretary of the board, in which it was stated that they had identified some impersonation in the matter and that a criminal complaint has been lodged with the Chennai city commissioner of police.

Based on the complaint, FIR has been registered against G V Kumar and D Moorthy, who had committed forgery with an intention to cheat the board, by furnishing false documents, the officers said.

However, pointing out that larger questions raised by the court as to the ‘sanctity’ of engaging Kumar for the purpose of obtaining ‘expert opinion’ and his status in the board are not explained by the authorities, the court directed them to file a detailed affidavit setting out the facts and circumstances by Tuesday.

Considering the seriousness of the allegations made, the court directed the registrar (judicial) of the court to keep the files of the petition in safe custody till next hearing.

Considering the seriousness of the allegations, the court directed the registrar of the court to keep the petition files in safe custody