UAE to launch green visa to attract talent and funds

UAE to launch green visa to attract talent and funds

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

07.09.2021

The UAE tops the list of hosting the largest number of immigrants from India, stated to be 3.5 million, according to a 2020 UN report. With the UAE set to roll out green visas and expand the eligibility for golden visas, this number may grow by leaps and bounds. Technology workers from India will stand to benefit as UAE plans to focus on hiring coders and attract technology companies.

In a press conference on Sunday, under the banner of ‘Projects of the 50’ which is a series of development and economic projects, aimed at making UAE an ideal destination for highly skilled individuals and investors, a restructuring of the entry and residency system was announced. A green visa will be rolled out, which expands the selfresidency status (in other words employer sponsorship is not required) to investors, entrepreneurs, highly skilled individuals, top students and graduates. Green visa holders can sponsor their parents and kids who are up to the age of 25, said a UAE government press release.Another stream of visa that was announced was the federal freelancers visa for self-employed workers based in the UAE and overseas in specialised fields such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and digital currencies. The existing Golden Visa eligibility will be expanded to include managers, CEOs, specialists in science, engineering, health, education, business management and technology.

Another regulatory change that was announced is that on loss of a job, the visa holder and dependents can stay in the UAE for up to 6 months, instead of just 30 days. Business trip permits will also upped from 3 months to 6 months.

TOP JOB DESTINATION?

Another fake email of MSU VC in circulation

Another fake email of MSU VC in circulation

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Vadodara:07.09.2021

‘Hello, Help Needed, email me back asap’ — a fake email with this text in the name of M S University vice-chancellor (VC) professor Parimal Vyas has been circulating in the university circles since Sunday.

Even as the university authorities have approached the cybercrime department with a request to investigate, the email has created quite a flutter as it is the second instance where specific circles are receiving fake email in Vyas’ name.

“After it came to my notice, I have already warned everybody through social media platforms that such a fake email in my name is in circulation and they should remain alert,” Vyas told TOI.

University authorities said VC’s email account has not been hacked nor is there any data breach of the official contacts.

“Some miscreant has created a new email account that seems to be that of the VC. The email that many in the university circle have received is not from the official email id of the VC. So far, it could be traced to Nigeria,” said Dr Viral Kapadia, deputy director of MSU’s computer centre.

Interestingly, the officials believe that it is the handiwork of some insider, in all probability, someone from the Faculty of Arts.

“Most of the recipients are teachers of the Faculty of Arts and even the timings of sending the emails are not uniform,” said Kapadia. adding, so, it seems this is the work of someone who is trying to gather email ids of teachers and sending the emails to whomever he or she can.

‘16 years of hearings punishment enough’

LENIENCY SHOWN

‘16 years of hearings punishment enough’

Train Ticket Black-Marketer Sentenced To One Day In Court

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:07.09.2021

A local court handed down a minor punishment — sitting in the courtroom for one day — for the blackmarketing of railway tickets after observing that the accused regularly attended court hearings for 16 years and this itself was punishment enough for him.

The accused’s behaviour of religiously attending proceedings for 16 years paid him at the end of the trial. There were in all 62 hearings and adjournments during the course of the trial.

The case involved Ashok Bhumihar (39), a resident of Delhi Darwaza, who was caught buying railway tickets from the reservation counter on March 25, 2004. Railway police force lodged a complaint against him under Section 143 of the Railways Act, which provides for ‘penalty for unauthorised carrying on of business of procuring and supplying of railway tickets’. It entails punishment of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 10,000. Bhumihar was booked because he was found in possession of tickets without a licence to sell them.

The accused denied the charges and claimed that he had bought the tickets for relatives. However, the court did not believe him and held him guilty of black-marketing. The court awarded him punishment on September 3 but rejected the prosecution’s demand for harsh punishment.

While holding him guilty, additional chief metropolitan magistrate B R Rajput said, “Because of such persons, railway tickets are black-marketed and poor and needy passengers do not get reservations on trains and cannot travel in proper conditions. If this black-marketing is not stopped, many passengers will have to continue to face hardships on daily basis.” However, the court was lenient on Bhumihar. It ordered him only to sit till the rising or the court (TRC) and pay a Rs 5,000 fine. The court said, “This is a 2004 case and the accused remained present for the hearings on a regular basis. His presence in court for 16 years is punishment enough.”

State govt hikes DA from 17% to 28%

State govt hikes DA from 17% to 28%

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Gandhinagar:

Here’s some good news for government employees.

The state government has accepted the long-pending demand of employee associations to raise the dearness allowance of government employees and pensioners. Nitin Patel, who is deputy chief minister, finance minister and spokesperson of the state government, said that the state government has decided to raise the DA from present 17% to 28%. The increased benefit will be applicable from September salary.

“The Centre raised the DA by 11% from July so we have decided to raise the DA of state government employees in the same way. Arrears of July will be paid in October before the Diwali while the August arrears will be paid in January 2022. The additional monthly burden on the exchequer will be Rs 378 crore. The state government has 9.6 lakh employees and pensioners. Panchayat and other government category employees will get similar benefits,” Patel said.

Make law panel suggestions binding, says HC

Make law panel suggestions binding, says HC

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:07.09.2021

Consider making the Law Commission of India a statutory body or give it a constitutional status so that its recommendations would be binding on the government, the Madras high court has told the Centre.

Suggesting a suitable constitutional amendment in this regard, a division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice B Pugalendhi also directed the Centre to appoint chairman and members to the law commission within three months.

The court passed the order on a plea moved by K Pushpavanam of Madurai seeking a direction to the Centre to propose a comprehensive legislation in the field of ‘Torts and State Liability’ as per the directions of the Supreme Court in MCD V Uphaar Tragedy Victims Assn case and Vadodara Municipal Corporation case.

Allowing the plea, the bench said: “What is the use of constitutional courts in passing judgments, giving recommendations for enacting laws, when they are not actually acted upon by the legislature? What is the use of having a law commission without its recommendation being acted upon?”

Though the separation of powers between Judiciary, Executive and Legislature has not been specifically spelled out in the Constitution, it is maintained without crossing their respective boundaries. However, the way in which things are moving, it is very difficult to maintain the limits or the boundaries as the legislature fails consistently to take notice of many of the court’s suggestions, which have been in the interest of the society to enact laws, the judges said.

“It is still worse with regard to acceptance of recommendations of the law commission, which after getting inputs from various stakeholders and discussions on various issues, were made to the government to enact law. They are neither accepted nor acted upon and are kept in cold storage for decades together,” the court added.

One such recommendation was made by the first law commission as early as in 1956 recommending to the Centre to enact a law covering the field of liability of state in tort. Pointing out several such instances, the court said: “If that is the position, this court is of the opinion that restraint shown by courts in exceeding its jurisdiction to encroach upon the field of legislature should be given up.”

PM urges healthcare workers to minimize vaccine wastage

PM urges healthcare workers to minimize vaccine wastage

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi/Shimla:07.09.2021

Stressing that the government is focusing on swiftly ramping up Covid vaccination coverage across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged healthcare workers to reduce wastage of jabs as it can help save 10% of expenditure on inoculation.

The PM was interacting with healthcare workers and beneficiaries of Covid vaccination programme of Himachal Pradesh, which has inoculated 100% of its adult population with at least the first dose. He also emphasized the need to achieve similar coverage of the second dose. “Using the Covid vaccine carefully can reduce the expenses of vaccination by 10%,” Modi said. Himachal chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and BJP president J P Nadda were also present at the event.

Referring to the landmark achievement of administering of more than one crore vaccines in a single day, twice in the last week of August, the PM lauded the efforts of health workers, doctors, medical professionals and teachers. “India is creating a record by administering1.25 crore vaccines every day. The number of vaccines administered in a single day by India is more than the entire population of several countries,” he said.

Full report on www.toi.in

Covid-19 drug Tocilizumab’s biosimilar version gets emergency use authorisation

New Delhi:

In a move that is expected to boost India’s battle against Covid-19, the drug regulator has granted emergency use authorisation to Hetero’s biosimilar version of Tocilizumab for treatment of critically ill Covid-19 patients in India.

Hetero announced that the drug would be available from September-end under brand name Tocira. Hetero’s Tocira 400mg/20ml is the biosimilar version of Roche’s Actemra/ RoActemra. The drug is currently distributed by Cipla in India under license from Roche. TNN

Online nuptials can be registered under Special Marriage Act: HC

Online nuptials can be registered under Special Marriage Act: HC

Kochi:07.09.2021

Weddings under the Special Marriage Act can be registered without insisting on physical presence of the parties, the Kerala high court said on Monday.

However, the challenge was identification of both the parties by the marriage officer and one of the options for that was the use of technology like facial recognition or biometrics, the court said. Noting that the court does not have the expertise to work out modalities for use of technology for such matters, a bench of Justices A Muhamed Mustaque and Kauser Edappagath impleaded the department of information technology and the ministry of external affairs as parties in the matter.

The bench directed the central government’s lawyer to seek instructions on policies on facial recognition and other data tools for identification of the parties.

The court was hearing a batch of pleas referred to it by a single judge on whether a wedding under the said Act could be solemnised/registered online via video conference without insisting on the physical presence of the bride and the groom.

The single judge, Justice P B Suresh Kumar, was of the view that parties to an intended marriage can certainly be permitted to solemnise it through exchange of words through video conference.

However, he referred the matter to a larger bench as two other judges of the court had ruled that solemnisation of marriages under the said Act via videoconference would dilute the provisions of the Act and that physical presence of both parties was mandatory. Appearing to agree with the view of Justice Kumar and the contentions of the petitioners, the bench on Monday said, “We have no hesitation to hold that a marriage under SMA can be registered without insisting on physical presence of the parties before the marriage officer. However, the marriage officer must be in a position to identify the parties. But the manner in which such identification can be made online is a concern for us.” PTI

‘PHYSICAL PRESENCE NOT MANDATORY’

CBI arrests 4 more in JEE (Mains) exam manipulation racket

CBI arrests 4 more in JEE (Mains) exam manipulation racket

New Delhi:07.09.2021

The CBI has arrested four more people in connection with their investigation into the case of alleged manipulation of JEE (Mains) 2021 examination. Earlier, the agency had arrested seven suspects in the case.

The arrests include an assistant professor, Sandeep Gupta, of a private engineering college in Sonipat and three other staffers posted there. The other suspects have neen identified as Arvind Saini and Kuldeep Garg who work as lab technicians and Tulsi Ram, a peon at the same college.

As per the initial probe, at least thirty candidates are believed to have availed the services of the gang till now. Cops are now looking for a Bangalore-based suspect who used to arrange for “expert solvers” in the scam. These solvers took remote access of the computer which was assigned to their students at different colleges and then solved the paper for them in order to get them a higher rank. TNN

Heavy rain triggers landslide on Salem-Yercaud ghat road

Heavy rain triggers landslide on Salem-Yercaud ghat road

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Salem:07.09.2021

A huge boulder rolled on to the Salem-Yercaud ghat road following a heavy raintriggered landslide on late Sunday evening. Workers from the state highway department were pressed into service to clear the boulder.

Continuous heavy downpour triggered the landslide near Vazhavadhi, a village on Salem-Yercaud road via Kuppanur route on late Sunday evening. Police officials at the Kuppanur check post stopped vehicular traffic on the stretch after they were notified about the landslide by the locals. After clearing the stretch, the highway department allowed all vehicles to Yercaud from Monday morning. An official from the state highway department said traffic was not affected due to the landslide.

“At the same time, the road may be weakened due to soil erosion,” the official said.

He said that they were allowing bikes and cars on the ghat road at present. “We have advised all the drivers to drive slowly when they pass the ghat road including the landslide area,” the official added.

According to an official from the meteorological department, Yercaud received continuous rain for the last few days. “Shervaroy hills received 78mm of rain on Thursday, 127mm on Friday, 21mm on Saturday and 18mm on Sunday,” the official said.

NATURE’S FURY: Continuous heavy downpour triggered the landslide near Vazhavadhi

City university wins AICTE clean & smart campus award 2020

City university wins AICTE clean & smart campus award 2020

Chennai:07.09.2021

SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), Kattankulathur, received the first prize in AICTE national level clean and smart campus award 2020 — a campus first step towards sustainability. The certificate of excellence was presented by Union minister of education Dharmendra Pradhan to university vicechancellor C Muthamizhchelvan. Department of networking and communications assistant professor P Supraja was given the Visvesvaraya Best Teacher Award 2021 in recognition of her teaching excellence in technical education. TNN

Docus should allow both parents’ names: HC

Docus should allow both parents’ names: HC

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:07.09.2021

Remarking that it would be appropriate if columns are provided to include names of either or both parents of a child applying for official documents, the Madras high court has issued notice to the Union and state governments on a PIL. The petitioner also wanted the court to direct the government to permit single parents to include their name alone in such documents.

When the plea came up for hearing on Monday, the first bench of chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu said: “It may be more appropriate if the column or columns in the printed forms permit either or both (parents) as per the wishes of the applicant.” It then adjourned the hearing to November 1.

The petitioner, B Ramkumar Adityan, said children should be able to use the names of either their mother or father. Citing the steady and sizable increase in the number of single-parent adoptions in the past 30 years, he said challenges for single parent adoption had greatly reduced. Many factors may have encouraged this drift. “One such factor can be the growing acceptance of one parent families due to divorce or separation and unmarried single women raising a child on their own. Other factors such as increasing literacy and financial independence of women may have also fairly contributed in making single parent adoption popular,” he said.

But still several public and private institutions and almost all documents in all departments such as affidavits, deeds, oaths, schools, banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, licences, registrations, permits, identity cards, orders, records, legal documents, official documents, court documents and applications of any nature continue to issue forms that require the father’s name alone and require the father to sign off as the guardian, he said.

It would be appropriate if columns are provided to include names of either or both parents of a child applying for official documents, the Madras high court observed and issued notice to the Union and state governments on a PIL

SC takes up doctors’ PILs challenging quota move

 SC takes up doctors’ PILs challenging quota move

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:07.09.2021

Five days before the National Eligibilitycum-Entrance Test (NEET) for all-India quota seats in undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses, the Supreme Court on Monday entertained two PILs filed by doctors from 15 states and union territories challenging the Centre’s decision to introduce 27% OBC and 10% economically weaker section (EWS) reservations for these seats.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Vikram Nath and Hima Kohli issued notices to the Centre, Medical Counselling Committee and National Board of Examination after hearing arguments made by senior advocates Arvind Datar and Vikas Singh, who appeared for the 27 doctors from Chhattisgarh, Goa, UP, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab.

Recently, the Madras high court had upheld the 27% OBC reservation in all-India quota in government medical colleges across states but struck down the 10% EWS quota on the ground that it allowed the total reservation to go past the 50% ceiling. Datar said that these fresh writ petitions can be heard along with the petitions challenging the Madras HC order.

The petitioners said that in 2007, the Supreme Court had introduced a reservation of 15% for SCs and 7.5% for STs in the AIQ scheme.

With the introduction of the OBC and EWS quotas, the total reservation in AIQ seats would shore up to 59.5%, which would be in breach of the landmark Supreme Court judgment in Indra Sawhney case in which a constitution bench had capped the total reservation at 50% to prevent reverse discrimination of merit.

Court refuses to defer NEET-UG exam

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to defer the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test scheduled for September 12 and rejected the plea of a batch of students seeking its postponement because of its clash with CBSE compartment examination and other competitive test. A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar said that around 16 lakh students who will be taking medical entrance examination and it cannot be postponed on the plea of a few. TNN

தமிழ்நாடு திறந்தநிலை பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் 14 ஆண்டுகளில் பட்டப் படிப்பு முடித்த 209 கைதிகள்: 925 பேர் சான்றிதழ் படிப்புகளை முடித்து அசத்தல்

தமிழ்நாடு திறந்தநிலை பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் 14 ஆண்டுகளில் பட்டப் படிப்பு முடித்த 209 கைதிகள்: 925 பேர் சான்றிதழ் படிப்புகளை முடித்து அசத்தல்

சென்னை

தமிழ்நாடு திறந்தநிலைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம் மூலமாக கடந்த 14 ஆண்டுகளில் 209 கைதிகள் பட்டப் படிப்பையும், 925 பேர் சான்றிதழ் படிப்புகளையும் முடித்துள்ளனர்.

தமிழ்நாடு திறந்தநிலைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம் 81 பட்டப் படிப்புகள், 21 திறன் மேம்பாட்டுப் படிப்புகள் ஆகிய 130 கல்விசார் பாடவகைப் பிரிவுகளை தொலைதூரக் கல்வி அடிப்படையில் வழங்கி வருகிறது.

குறிப்பாக, சென்னை, கோவை,கடலூர், மதுரை, பாளையங்கோட்டை, புதுக்கோட்டை (மாவட்ட சிறை), சேலம், திருச்சி, வேலூர் ஆகிய 9 மத்திய சிறைச்சாலைகளில் திறந்தநிலைப் பல்கலைக்கழகத்தின் கல்வி மையங்கள் மூலம் கடந்த 2007 முதல் பட்டப் படிப்புகள் கற்பிக்கப்படுகின்றன.

அதேபோல, 9 சிறைகள், 3 பெண்கள் தனிச் சிறைகள் மற்றும் புதுக்கோட்டை பார்ஸ்டல் பள்ளி ஆகியவற்றில், மகாத்மா காந்தி சமுதாயக் கல்லூரி கடந்த 2010-ல்தொடங்கப்பட்டது. இதில் தொழிற்கல்வி, பட்டயப் படிப்புகள் உள்ளிட்டசான்றிதழ் படிப்புகள் கற்பிக்கப்படுகின்றன. இவற்றைப் படிப்பதற்கு எந்த வயது உச்சவரம்பும் கிடையாது.

இந்நிலையில், தமிழ்நாடு திறந்தநிலை பல்கலைக்கழகம் ‘இந்து தமிழ்’ நாளிதழுக்கு வழங்கிய புள்ளிவிவரங்களின்படி, 2007-ம் ஆண்டு முதல் 2020-ம் ஆண்டுவரை இளநிலை மற்றும் முதுநிலைப் படிப்புகளில் 6 பெண்கள் உட்பட 609 கைதிகள் சேர்ந்துள்ளனர்.

அதிகபட்சமாக திருச்சி மத்தியச் சிறையில் 151 பேரும், அதற்கு அடுத்தபடியாக சென்னை மத்திய சிறையில் 130 பேரும், கடலூர் சிறையில் 116 பேரும், கோவை சிறையில் 77 பேரும் சேர்ந்துள்ளனர்.

அதேபோல, புதுக்கோட்டை சிறையில் இதுவரை 5 பேரும், வேலூரில் 19 பேரும், பாளையங்கோட்டையில் 55 பேரும், மதுரை சிறையில் 56 பேரும் சேர்ந்துள்ளனர்.

அதன்படி, பட்டப் படிப்புகளில் சேர்ந்து படித்த கைதிகளில் இதுவரை எம்பிஏ படிப்பில் 6 பேரும், எம்சிஏ படிப்பில் ஒரு கைதியும் பட்டம் பெற்றுள்ளனர். இதர முதுநிலை பட்டப் படிப்புகளில் 46 பேரும், இளநிலை பட்டப் படிப்புகளில் 4 பெண்கள் உட்பட 156 பேரும் பட்டம் பெற்றுள்ளனர். அதன்படி, மொத்தம் 209 கைதிகள் பட்டதாரிகளாகியுள்ளனர்.

மேலும், மகாத்மா காந்தி சமுதாயக் கல்லூரி மூலமாக 65 பெண்கள் உட்பட 765 பேர் பட்டயப் படிப்புகளையும், 160 ஆண் கைதிகள் தொழிற்பயிற்சி பட்டப்படிப்பையும் சேர்த்து மொத்தம் 925 பேர் சான்றிதழ் படிப்புகளை முடித்து அசத்திஉள்ளனர்.

எனினும், 2017, 2018, 2019 மற்றும் 2020 ஆகிய நான்கு ஆண்டுகளில் சென்னையில் 11 பேர், கோவையில் 11 பேர், மதுரையில் 8 பேர் என மொத்தம் 30 கைதிகள் மட்டுமே பட்டப் படிப்புகளில் சேர்ந்துள்ளனர். ஆனால், 2007-ம் ஆண்டுமுதல் தற்போதுவரை சேலம் சிறையிலிருந்து இதுவரை ஒரு கைதிகூட பட்டப் படிப்பில் சேரவில்லை.

இதுகுறித்து சிறைத் துறை அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கூறும்போது, “சிறையில் அன்றாடப் பணிகளைச் செய்து ரூ.150 முதல் ரூ.300 வரை சம்பளம் பெறும் கைதிகளால் பட்டப் படிப்பு மற்றும் சான்றிதழ் படிப்புகளைத் தொடருவது கடினமாக உள்ளது. சில கைதிகளுக்கு அவரது உறவினர்கள் வெளியே இருந்து பண உதவி செய்கிறார்கள். அதனால், அவர்களால் படிக்க முடிகிறது. ஆனால், கல்வி மீது ஆர்வமுள்ள சில கைதிகளுக்குக் கட்டணம் செலுத்தி உதவ உறவினர்கள் யாரும் இல்லை. சிறைக் கைதிகளுக்குக் கல்விக் கட்டணம் மிகப்பெரிய தடையாக இருக்கிறது” என்றார்.

இது தொடர்பாக பல்கலைக்கழக துணைவேந்தர் கோ.பார்த்தசாரதி கூறும்போது, "சிறைக் கைதிகளின் மனதை கல்வியின் பக்கம் திருப்பும் நோக்கில் நாட்டிலேயே முதல்முறையாக தமிழகத்தில்தான் சிறைகளில் பட்டப் படிப்பு படிக்கும் வசதியை, திறந்தநிலைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம் தொடங்கியது. 50 சதவீத கல்விக் கட்டண தளர்வுகள் கைதிகளுக்கு வழங்கப்படுகிறது.

அதேபோல, கரோனா காலகட்டத்தில் தேர்வுக் கட்டணம் செலுத்தச் சிறைவாசிகள் மிகவும் சிரமம் அடைந்தனர். இதனால், தேர்வுக் கட்டணத்திலிருந்து கைதிகளுக்கு விலக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டது. கைதிகளுக்கு இலவச கல்வி வழங்க சாத்தியம் இருக்கிறதா என்ற கோணத்திலும் நாங்கள் ஆலோசனை செய்துவருகிறோம். சிறையிலிருந்து சலுகைமூலம் கல்வி பயிலும் கைதி, விடுதலையான பின்னரும் அதே சலுகையுடன் தனது படிப்பைத் தொடர முடியும். இது இந்தியாவில் வேறு எங்கும் இல்லாத சிறப்பு அம்சமாகும்.

சிறையிலிருந்து பட்டம் அல்லது சான்றிதழ் படிப்பு முடித்து வெளியே வரும்போது, சமுதாயத்தில் அவர்களுக்கென தனி அங்கீகாரம் கிடைக்கும். கல்விக் கட்டணத்துக்கு உதவ பொதுமக்கள் முன்வர வேண்டும்" என்றார்.

14 ஆயிரம் கைதிகள்

2021-ம் ஆண்டு மே மாத புள்ளிவிவரங்களின்படி, தமிழகத்தில் உள்ள சிறைச்சாலைகளில் 13 ஆயிரத்து 985 ஆண்கள், 611 பெண்கள் என மொத்தம் 14 ஆயிரத்து 596 கைதிகள் உள்ளனர்

No mention of pay hike in policy note upsets Tamil Nadu doctors

No mention of pay hike in policy note upsets Tamil Nadu doctors

The 18-page policy note had various infrastructural plans for the health department which would be implemented at a cost of Rs 4,280 crore utilizing the funds under the 15th finance commission.

Published: 06th September 2021 04:38 AM 

They also said that this GO was originally in 2009, during the previous DMK government. (Express Illustration)

By Omjasvin M D

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Government doctors in Tamil Nadu are disappointed as their long pending demand for a pay hike finds no mention in the latest policy note of the health department released in recently. The 18-page policy note had various infrastructural plans for the health department which would be implemented at a cost of Rs 4,280 crore utilizing the funds under the 15th finance commission.

Dr A Ramalingam, Convenor, Federation of Government Doctors Association, said it is disappointing as there is no mention of implementation of GO 354 in the policy note, which provides a salary for government doctors as per Pay Band Four. The GO 354 provides doctors a pay-hike after completion of 5, 9, 11, and 12 years of service instead of the present 8,15,17, and 20 years.

“Instead of implementing GO 354, the government announced GO 293, which provides allowances to doctors. Allowances are important but the government needs to address the issue of pay-hike,” said Dr. Ramalingam. A section of doctors is disappointed because when they held a fast unto death protests in 2019, it was the present Chief Minister MK Stalin, who then was the opposition leader, who took part in the protests and assured that the GO 354 would be implemented when the DMK comes to power.

They also said that this GO was originally in 2009, during the previous DMK government. “We fought against the previous government as they did not implement this. But the status quo is continuing now,” said Dr. Ramalingam, adding that he is hopeful the government may at least implement it in the future.

Both the State and Union government doctors join the profession after MBBS with the same base salary of 56,100. However, after completion of 13 years, the latter earns Rs 1,23,000 while the State government doctor earns only Rs 86,000.

Dr S Perumal Pillai, Executive Member, Federation of Government Doctors Association said not implementing the GO 354 is a huge disappointment for all the 18,000 doctors in the State. “They have announced so many new projects for health department but all these will be successful only if the issues of doctors are addressed. The doctors stood in the frontline in the first and second waves and now they say a third wave is coming. It is high time our needs are addressed,” he said.

On the other hand, the government recently, in its GO 293 argued that the GO 354 cannot be implemented in the State as unlike the Union Government doctors, State doctors were allowed to practice at private hospitals too.

Wedding cluster in village leads to Covid surge in Nagapattinam

Wedding cluster in village leads to Covid surge in Nagapattinam

After a few months, the district over the past one week has been witnessing a spike in the number of positive cases.

Published: 06th September 2021 04:51 AM |

By Express News Service

NAGAPATTINAM: A series of weddings in the recent past at Panchanathikulam West has led to a surge in Covid-19 cases in the district, with the village alone contributing nearly half in daily caseload.

After a few months, the district over the past one week has been witnessing a spike in the number of positive cases. The district on Sunday recorded as many as 46 new cases. In this backdrop, the Health and Family Welfare Department on Sunday discovered as many as 20 Covid-19 cases in Panchanathikulam West alone. Following the results, all 20 villagers, including a 10-year-old girl, were shifted to the government Hospital and the village was disinfected.

As a precautionary measure, Collector Dr A Arun Thamburaj conducted an inspection and reviewed the situation on ground. The Collector told The New Indian Express, “We are closely monitoring the situation. It is said that most of them participated in wedding ceremonies recently. Fever camps are being conducted and the situation is being monitored closely.”

It may be noted that recently, Annapettai village in the district also recorded a rise, contributing as many as 11 cases on a single day. On Saturday, Thagattur village recorded six cases on the same day.

SC/ST doctors in Telangana allege bias in promotions

SC/ST doctors in Telangana allege bias in promotions

One of their key demands was to establish a roaster system to ensure that eligible doctors from the SC/ST community also got a chance to hold senior posts.

Published: 05th September 2021 01:40 PM | Last Updated: 05th September 2021 01:40 PM | A+A A-

By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Alleging discrimination in the way senior administrative positions of the Health Department are filled, the Telangana SC/ST Government Doctors Association staged a protest in Hyderabad on Saturday, September 4, 2021, demanding parity and transparency in the process.

The protesting doctors stated that despite their seniority and years of experience, they were left out of key positions not only at the level of District Medical and Health officers (DMHO), but also at the level of Principals, Director of Health and Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad Commissioner.

“Of the 100-odd doctors eligible to hold these senior posts, nearly 70 belong to SC/ST groups. Yet none of them have been placed in senior positions of administration,” said Dr Babu Rao, head of the association.

The doctors further said that several key positions were currently held by people of one specific caste. This has been the case for the past 6-7 years, they claimed. One of their key demands was to establish a roaster system to ensure that eligible doctors from the SC/ST community also got a chance to hold senior posts.

Five youth killed as speeding MUV crashes into lorry in Chennai

Five youth killed as speeding MUV crashes into lorry in Chennai

When asked if Naveen, who was behind the wheel, had consumed alcohol, the traffic investigation police said a conclusion can be arrived at only after the arrival of autopsy reports.

Published: 06th September 2021 04:35 AM |

Five youngsters were killed as their car rammed a truck in Perungalatur, in Chennai. (Photo | Express)

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Five youngsters died during the wee hours of Sunday after their multi-utility vehicle lost control, brushed past a heavy vehicle, and collided with a trailer lorry parked on the roadside in Perungalathur.

The deceased persons are Aravind Shankar (21) of K K Nagar, Naveen (21) and Raja Harish (21) of Mettur in Salem district, Rahul (20) of Pudukottai, and Ajay (21) of Tiruchy. Chromepet traffic investigation police told The New Indian Express that the five died on the spot and their bodies were damaged severely in the mishap. The premium-segment vehicle was reduced to rubble, indicating the high speed at which the vehicle was running, the police said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the incident happened between 1.30 am and 2.20 am near a private Information Technology company on GST Road in Perungalathur. CCTV visuals released by the police showed the MUV brushing past a heavy vehicle and ramming a trailer lorry laden with iron rods. On information, the Fire and Rescue Services personnel were pressed into action to retrieve the mangled remains of the bodies. All of them were shifted to Government Chromepet Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Except Naveen, the other four were fresh engineering graduates from a private college in Thoraipakkam. Police sources said that the four of them had campus interviews scheduled on Monday. When asked if Naveen, who was behind the wheel, had consumed alcohol, the traffic investigation police said a conclusion can be arrived at only after the arrival of autopsy reports. Chromepet traffic investigation police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.

Retired hurt, or any other plan?

HYDERABAD CONFIDENTIAL

Retired hurt, or any other plan?

06.09.2021

Ever wondered what happens to the various IPS and IAS officers who retire? The government has appointed several retired babus as advisors in the past seven years, but their services are never utilised once they bid adieu after superannuation. Case in point is retired chief secretary SK Joshi, who was appointed as an advisor (irrigation), but he is conspicuous by his absence in official meetings, especially the crucial KRMB and water-sharing meetings. There are more such instances, so will the ‘advisors’ be dropped for good in future?

Top cop’s job up for grabs?

After VC Sajjanar’s sudden transfer from the high-profile job of Cyberabad top cop, our sources say that more changes are on the cards. Once a favourite poster boy of officialdom, former Cyberabad commissioner CV Anand, who is currently on deputation to the central forces, may get a shot at the Hyderabad police chief’s post. Another IPS officer, Vijaykumar, has reportedly come back to the state after completing his deputation and is waiting for a top posting. It remains to be seen as to who makes it to the top seat in the police department soon if changes do happen.

Any takers for collector’s job?

Is the Medchal collector’s post jinxed? So, it seems that as the government recently shifted and posted collectors for eight districts, Medchal still doesn’t have a full-time collector. Presently, Medak collector S Hareesh is in-charge of Medchal and Preeti Mohanty has also acted as incharge collector for Medchal. Is finding a collector for the crucial Medchal district so tough or the government has other plans?

Two power centres

Is it a case of not putting eggs in one basket? It seems there are two power centres in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). While DS Lokesh Kumar is technically head of the GHMC, there is another power centre at Buddha Bhavan, where GHMC’s enforcement wing boss Vishwajit Kampati operates. While a little birdie says there are rumours that the enforcement wing chief and the GHMC commissioner have some differences in opinion, GHMC sources say the enforcement wing chief is hardly seen in the corridors of power. Vishwajit, who was superintendent of Rajanna-Sircilla district, was literally handpicked by KTR and brought to GHMC.

Karvy trivia

Here is a little trivia for all of you. Did you know that among the more than one lakh victims of Karvy stock broking scam, there are several IAS and IPS officials from the Telugu states? Despite trading and investing in stocks, our sources say they have not come forward and complained. Many All India Service officers and senior babus, who are clients of Karvy, have lost huge amounts of money, but the question is, will they file a complaint? Only time will tell.

No takers for this one

The Telangana Civil Supplies Corporation has been headed by a retired IAS officer V Anil Kumar for over a year now. The talk in the corridors of power is that not many regular IAS officers are keen on occupying the post of the commissioner of civil supplies as it is considered a hot seat. The incumbent is always under the direct supervision of the chief secretary and the chief minister given the fact that paddy procurement is crucial to keep the farmers happy. The flip side, sources say, is the strong nexus between some of the officials of the corporation and the rice millers, and breaking it is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Tailpiece: Neta and Abhineta

If politicians are what they are, actors are proving to be on a par with them in playing political games or are even better on the political turf during elections. Elections to the Movie Artistes Association (MAA) are to be held in October and national award-winning actor Prakash Raj is vying to become president and is calling the right shots. Two other actors, Jeevitha Rajasekhar and Hema, are also known to be in the fray for the top post, but they are now in Prakash Raj’s panel. While Hema is contesting for the post of vice-president, Jeevitha will be fielded for the post of general secretary. With two of the most vociferous women in his panel now, Prakash Raj hopes to make all the right kind of noises in the run-up to the polls.

Coimbatore private schools stop students with pending fees

Coimbatore private schools stop students with pending fees

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Coimbatore:06.09.2021

District chief education officer (CEO) N Geetha said she had been receiving complaints from parents about private schools preventing their wards from attending physical classes, as they have failed to settle the pending fees.

“I have received seven such complaints in person on the first day of school reopening. My office continues to receive such complaints. We have asked the schools not to disallow the students from attending the classes,” she said.

Geetha has also warned of action against the schools if she were to receive written complaints from parents, as the state government had asked the schools not to prevent students from attending the classes.

A senior official with the CEO office said while some cases were genuine, there were also deliberate attempts by parents not to pay the fees.

Pointing out that a parent, who had enrolled three daughters to a private school, hadn’t paid their fees last year, the officer said while the former was ready to pay the first term fee for the current academic year, he was reluctant to pay the pending fees.

“I had lost my job during the pandemic last year. While I have managed to get back to work, it will take time to set my finances right. I can pay the first term fees of this academic year, but I can’t afford to pay the pending fees,” said the parent who approached the CEO office seeking intervention.

The official said the school management was not ready to forgo the pending fees of all the three children. “We too find it unfair on our part to ask the schools to make unreasonable fee waivers.”

Academicians said the issue was mostly faced by the schools on the outskirts of the city, while the known ones in the city with a higher fee structure were able to collect the fees, as they were preferred by the parents who could afford the fees.

Admission to the first category of schools, they said, depended on the quality teachers. “To retain teachers, the schools need to pay them more. Since the fees collected from the students is the main source of their revenue, the schools are insisting on payment of pending fees.”

D C Elangovan, general secretary, Federation of Associations of Private Schools in Tamil Nadu, said the high court had a few months ago asked the schools not to insist on fees from parents, who were facing financial issues.

Polytechnic lecturers exam from Oct 28 to 30

Polytechnic lecturers exam from Oct 28 to 30

06.09.2021

Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) announced that polytechnic lecturers recruitment exam will be held on October 28 to 30. Around 1.26 lakh candidates had applied for the exam that was scheduled in May last year and postponed due to the pandemic. The exam will be a computer-based test. The board had notified 1,060 vacancies in government polytechnic colleges in 2019. TNN

Ex-Union health secretary Keshav Desiraju dead

Ex-Union health secretary Keshav Desiraju dead

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  06.09.2021

Bureaucrat, scholar and public health expert Keshav Desiraju, a former Union health secretary, passed away on Sunday at a city hospital, where he was admitted following health complications. He was 66.

He died on the birth anniversary of his illustrious grandfather S Radhakrishnan, former President of India, which is celebrated as Teachers Day.

An IAS officer from the 1978 batch of the Uttarakhand cadre, he held several key positions in Tamil Nadu and at the Centre. He grew up in Mumbai, where he first heard M S Subbulakshmi, on whom he penned a critically acclaimed book, “Of Gifted Voice: The Life and Art of M S Subbalakshmi”.

He had a masters degree in economics from the University of Cambridge and a masters degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Expressing his condolences, chief minister M K Stalin said Desiraju was a multi-faceted personality whose interests extended beyond bureaucracy and administration.

He was known for his advocacy of mental health and improving public health. Desiraju was one of the architects of the National Mental Health Policy 2016.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, former Union minister Jairam Ramesh, and CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant took to social media to express their condolences.

Jairam Ramesh told TOI that he had close ties with Desiraju and recalled meeting him as a child. “His aunt and my mother were school mates. His uncle and my father-in-law were school mates. He moved to Chennai to be near his aunt and also for his passion for carnatic music. I was planning to call him and was shocked to hear about his death,” Jairam Ramesh said.

Waste dump on lake bed extends to road

Waste dump on lake bed extends to road

Chitlapakkam Residents Fume As Restoration Efforts Go Waste

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  06.09.2021

Despite directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the garbage dump on the banks of Chitlapakkam lake hasn’t been cleared, much to the chagrin of the residents, who initiated a civic movement to revive the lake. The waste mound now stretches to the road.

A segregation unit and an incinerator were set up on the Chitlapakkam lake bed a year and a half ago. Waste collected by the town panchayat is taken to this segregation unit for sorting and then taken either to the incinerators or dump yard. But this sorting is not being done regularly and the waste has been piling up, say residents. The town panchayat with 18 wards and around 50,000 residents collects 11 to 15 tonnes of waste daily.

The water body saw a reprieve owing to residents’ associations’ consistent efforts over several years — both physical and virtual — by filing petitions in courts and by creating awareness through social media campaigns. A portion of the lake was used as a garbage dump by the public and the local body for decades and there were several encroachments. “Despite restoration efforts, the lake bed is used for sorting waste,” a resident said.

Residents complain that unsorted waste now extends from the lake bed to the nearby road.

According to a member of civic action group, Chitlapakkam Rising, the garbage has not been cleared for weeks together despite repeated complaints. Stray cattle and dogs feed on the garbage, which is harmful to them, the member said.

“The recent rain has made things worse. The stench from the area is so strong. The water body is right at the entrance of the town panchayat limits, it is not very welcoming,” said K Thiru, a resident.

Residents say the rotting muck also pollutes the groundwater in the neighbourhood.

Sunil Jayaraman, another member of Chitlapakkam Rising, said NGT directions to clear the garbage hasn’t been adhered to by the town panchayat authorities.

Earlier this year, NGT had suo motu directed the town panchayat to shift the solid waste management resource recovery park on the Chitlapakkam lake bed and also observed that solid waste management rules have not been followed. It had also asked for a factual report from TNPCB and Chengalpet district collector on the matter.

When contacted, an official with the town panchayat told TOI that the waste would be cleared soon and that they are planning to move some of the waste to a recycling unit in Keerapakkam.

SOURCE OF POLLUTION: The NGT had asked panchayat officials to shift out the garbage segregation unit from the Chitlapakkam lake bed

Acting on tip, cops stop rekla race, seize 14 horses; 53 arrested

Acting on tip, cops stop rekla race, seize 14 horses; 53 arrested

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  06.09.2021

Police on Sunday morning stopped a rekla race that was to be held at a ground in Veerapuram near Avadi. Police seized 14 horses and nine mini trucks. Fifty-three people were arrested.

Police received a tip about a rekla race being organised on Sunday and reached the spot to find mini trucks arriving with the horses and carts. The arrested included organisers Mohammed Irfan, 26, of Mount Road, Prakash, 32, of Saligramam and Dinesh, 27, of Virugambakkam. Hari and Saravanan, who were among thr organisers and were earlier questioned, are absconding. Police learned that they had shifted the race venue to Vallakottai Murugan temple in Sriperumbudur after realising that police were deployed at the venue in Veerapuram. They had alerted participants about the change through WhatsApp. Sources said the organisers awarded winners ₹1,000 to ₹5,000. “The prize money, winners and details of horses were shared on WhatsApp itself,” said an investigating officer.

State police in 2020 prohibited organising rekla races as roads were blocked causing traffic disruptions and animals were abused.

New award to celebrate teachers

New award to celebrate teachers

Chennai:6.09.2021

To inspire and motivate teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic, The Times of India in association with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, has instituted the ‘Teacher’s Excellence Award’. Teachers from Tamil Nadu can register, nominate themselves under various categories such as years of experience, stream, grade they handle.

Registrations will be open till September end. For more details teachers can visit www.amrita.edu/tea2021 . This will have zonal and state winners, shortlisted by an eminent jury panel. An independent partner will audit the process.

Launching the award, school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Sunday, said, “Government school teachers are very well informed and go through competitive and aptitude tests to qualify. Government schools have smart classes, science and maths kit and teachers who can handle the advancements well. We are looking for counsellors to offer mental health support to students and teachers, and also provide career guidance to Class XII students.”

A session on emotional intelligence and experiential learning was conducted with expert speakers Dr Shoury Kuttappa and Ruchi Mohunta. TNN

Weekend and festival travel picks up pace

Weekend and festival travel picks up pace

Tourism Experts Bullish On Footfalls As Vacationers Head To Favourite Getaways

After a lull of more than a year, people have begun travelling for leisure during extended weeking holidays includingfor vinayaka Chaturthi and Puja. The boost is also because companies are switching from work from home to work from offices.

Booking trends show Chennai, Kodaikanal, Ooty, Yercaud, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Puducherry, Goa, Jaipur and Srinagar are the destinations searched or booked in September and November, as per data from online portals. Travel agents too are reporting a similar trend.

Nishant Pitti, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip, said that compared to August 2021, there was a jump of almost 63% for the long weekend of Vinayaka Chaturthi on September 10-12, 2021 in terms of forward air bookings. “Earlier, we noticed a jump of 54% for the long weekend of Janmashtami...”

A strong vaccination drive and the recent decision on RT-PCR exemption are playing a crucial role in improving the travel sentiment. “Our booking trends reveal destinations such as Goa, Jaipur, Leh, and Srinagar have recorded huge growth in passenger volumes flying out of metro cities.”

Ritu Mehrotra, regional manager (South Asia) at Booking.com, said that with more Indians getting vaccinated and ease in travel restrictions, travel intent was being converted into bookings. “... As per data from our platform, some of the top booked destination in South India by Indian travellers from September to November 2021 include Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pondicherry. We are also seeing intent for international travel pick up with France, Uk ,Canada, Maldives and Switzerland being top searched destinations from September to November 2021."

In the post-pandemic world, there is an increased emphasis by travellers on health, safety and flexibility while booking accommodation. “When it comes to accommodation, besides hotels which is one of the top preferred accommodation choices by travellers, alternative accommodations such as resort, guesthouse, homestay and apartments are also preferred,” she added.

M K Ajith Kumar of Asia Pacific Travels said many people prefer destinations that can be reached by a long drive because families do not want to mingle with people on public transport. Bengaluru, Puducherry, and Yercaud are popular.

T Sundar, who plans to travel to Bengaluru next week, said, “I have been stuck at home for more than a year. I wanted to take a break.”

People are also spending money to experience the best during travel. Nishant Pitti said, “More business class tickets signifies that travellers are now spending more on travel as well. Bookings for 4 and 5-star properties have almost doubled as travellers prefer high-end hotels owing to safety issues. The average stay duration has also gone up from 3.2 days to 4.7 days.”

4 engg grads & friend die as car rams truck

4 engg grads & friend die as car rams truck

Sindhu.Kannan@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 06.09.2021

Four engineering graduates, who came to the city to take part in a campus recruitment drive, and their friend lost their lives after their car rammed a parked truck on GST road early on Sunday. The accident occurred at Perungalathur near Chennai.

The victims were identified as Raja Ganesh, 21, of Trichy, Naveen, 21, of Mettur, Ajay, 21, of Trichy, Rahul, 20, of Pudukottai, and Arvind Shankar of Chennai. Except Navin, who was driving the car, the others were engineering graduates of Hindustan University. They had come to the city on Friday to take part in the campus interview scheduled for Monday.

On Friday, they went to their college and got their course completion certificates. They were staying at their friend’s room in Kelambakkam and had visited a few places in Chennai on Saturday. They decided to go for a drive towards Perungalathur and return to their room when the accident took place.

MANGLED: The five bodies were retrieved after an hour-long operation and sent to Tambaram GH for postmortem

Truck laden with iron rods was parked at the spot for 2 days

Police checked the CCTV camera footage from the accident spot and found that around 1.30am, Naveen lost control of the car while trying to overtake a truck. The car hit another vehicle and then rammed a trailer lorry laden with iron rods parked on the roadside.

The bodies were recovered by fire and rescue services personnel after an hour-long operation and sent to the Tambaram GH in Chromepet for postmortem. The car was completely mangled and they had to pull out the bodies from underneath the truck.

Some motorists said such illegal parking of trucks on roadside was posing a risk to other road users. Officials had failed to act against the truck that had remained parked at the spot for more than two days. The deaths could have been averted if the truck was removed from the spot, they said. Relatives and friends of the victims were inconsolable on seeing the bodies of the victims at the mortuary. The Chrompet traffic investigation police have registered a case of rash driving.

MBBS 1st year students in MP to read about Hindutva icons

MBBS 1st year students in MP to read about Hindutva icons

Bhopal:  06.09.2021

MBBS students in Madhya Pradesh will be lectured about RSS founder K B Hedgewar, Bhartiya Jana Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyaya, Swami Vivekanand and B R Ambedkar as part of the first-year foundation course, state education minister Vishwas Sarang said on Sunday and added the move is aimed at instilling social and medical ethics among the students.

The move evoked a sharp reaction from the opposition Congress which accused the BJP of trying to “thrust” its agenda on the people. The BJP, however, justified the move, saying all the sections of society should know about the patriots who are the “ideals for the nation”.

Hedgewar and Upadhyaya are hailed in high esteem, apart from other Hindutva leaders, by the Sangh, believed to be the ideological mentor of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

The minister said the first year MBBS students will also learn about Maharshi Charaka, one of the principal contributors to the Ayurveda, and sage Sushrut, known as the father of surgery in India.

“The students of the firstyear course of MBBS will be lectured about Hedgewarji, Upadhyayji, Swami Vivekanandji, Ambedkarji and other great personalities. Lessons on these great personalities will inculcate values, principles, social and medical ethics in the students,” Sarang told PTI.

The next academic session for MBBS students is likely to start by this year-end.

“The National Medical Council (NMC) has said that ethical values should be the part of the foundation course in the first year (of MBBS). So we thought of incorporating these great personalities for building the character of students,” he said.

The minister said states finalise the content of the foundation course. PTI

Doc performs 101 tubectomies in 7 hrs, C’garh orders a probe

Doc performs 101 tubectomies in 7 hrs, C’garh orders a probe

Raipur: 06.09.2021

The Chhattisgarh government has ordered an investigation against a surgeon and Mainpat block health officer for performing 101 tubectomies in seven hours at a sterilisation camp held recently.

Surguja chief medical health official Dr Sisodiya said the camp was organised on August 27 at a community health centre in Mainpat. The same day, Dr Jibnus Ekka performed 101 surgeries in seven hours.

Meanwhile, no casualty has been reported and all patients are said to be stable.

The matter came to light as only 30 surgeries are allowed in a day. The health department issued an inquiry order to ascertain the reason for flouting norms of sterilisation camp.

As per Mainpat BDO RS Singh, several women turned up at the camp and urged the surgeon to perform the operation saying they had come from distant villages and can’t travel frequently. He also submitted the consent letter of women claiming that surgeries were performed as per their will. Health officials, claimed it was a government run camp. TNN

CBI hunts for 3 key players, 10 others linked to JEE (Main) scam

CBI hunts for 3 key players, 10 others linked to JEE (Main) scam

New Delhi:06.09.2021

The CBI is looking for at least three key players and around 10 others who were involved in the racket of manipulating the JEE (Main) exam 2021, reports Rajshekhar Jha. Seven people, including two women have been arrested in the case till now. As per the initial probe, at least 30 candidates are believed to have availed the services of the gang till now.

Among the absconding prime suspects is a senior official of Noida-based firm Affinity Education who has gone underground since the raids and a Bangalore-based suspect who colluded with arrested suspect Ranjeet Thakur and arranged for “expert solvers”.

These solvers took remote access of the computer assigned to their students and then solved the paper for them in order to get them a higher rank. They are supposedly former engineering exam toppers and a few work as teachers as well.

Also under the scanner are a few staffers of the college in Sonipat apart from some invigilators who let the gang take control of the computer systems. CBI is also looking at the role of some other “education consultancy institutes” who were hand in glove with the gang. Certain hawala transactions are also being probed to establish the money trail.