Only 500 allowed for Mys Dasara finale; -ve cert must

Only 500 allowed for Mys Dasara finale; -ve cert must

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru/Mysuru:06.10.2021

With the Dasara festival beginning on Thursday, the Karnataka government on Tuesday said only a maximum of 500 people will be allowed to attend Jumboo Savari (elephant procession) on Vijaya Dashami that marks the culmination of the nine-day festival at Mysuru Palace on October 15.

Guidelines issued by the government mandate a negative RT-PCR test report and at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine for officers and staff on duty and artists who perform at the festival.

Other attendees must wear facemask, maintain distance and ensure hand hygiene, the guidelines said.

Experts agree with WHO on booster shots

Are booster shots necessary after the two-jab course? Top scientists and virologists have concurred with the WHO view that Covid-19 vaccine booster doses may be needed only if there is evidence of insufficient protection against the virus over time. P 2

MYSURU DASARA

One vax dose a must for all participants, say guidelines

The local administration led by the district minister was urging the chief minister to allow at least 1,000 participants for the Dasara finale. But the CM turned down the request on the advice of the Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee. Last year, 50 participants and 300 viewers were allowed for cultural events in the festival.

Senior BJP functionary and former Congress chief minister SM Krishna will inaugurate the state’s flagship event atop Chamundi Hills on Thursday morning. Number of attendees for this event is restricted to 100.

According to guidelines, all participants, including government officials, will be asked to possess a negative RTPCR report (from a test done after October 4) to be allowed into the venues. They should have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and carry proof of the same, the order read.

The order said that “strict compliance with the guidelines” was necessary to “prevent the spread of Covid-19” and added that the events which cannot be held with proper social distancing will remain cancelled.

Though a low-key Dasara due to Covid-19 restrictions, all events, including the inauguration, Jumboo Savari, cultural events and the Vijayadashami procession, will be livestreamed so that people are not deprived of the annual cultural events. “Arrangements have been made to use social-media platforms to telecast the events real time,” Mysuru district minister ST Somashekar said.

Heavy police security will be ensured at important venues where cultural events will take place.

How depression & anxiety affect the body

How depression & anxiety affect the body

Mental Stress Can Aid Disease, Hit Fightback

Jane E. Brody

06.10.2021

It’s no surprise that when a person gets a diagnosis of heart disease, cancer or some other life-limiting or life-threatening physical ailment, they become anxious or depressed. But the reverse can also be true: Undue anxiety or depression can foster the development of a serious physical disease, and even impede the ability to withstand or recover from one.

The human organism does not recognise the medical profession’s artificial separation of mental and physical ills. Rather, mind and body form a two-way street. What happens inside a person’s head can have damaging effects throughout the body, as well as the other way around. An untreated mental illness can significantly increase the risk of becoming physically ill, and physical disorders may result in behaviours that make mental conditions worse.

In studies that tracked how patients with breast cancer fared, for example, Dr David Spiegel and his colleagues at Stanford University School of Medicine showed decades ago that women whose depression was easing lived longer than those whose depression was getting worse. His research and other studies have clearly shown that “the brain is intimately connected to the body and the body to the brain,” Spiegel said in an interview. “The body tends to react to mental stress as if it was a physical stress.”

Many people are reluctant to seek treatment for emotional ills. Some people with anxiety or depression may fear being stigmatized, even if they recognize they have a serious psychological problem. Many attempt to self-treat their emotional distress by adopting behaviours like drinking too much or abusing drugs, which only adds insult to their preexisting injury. And sometimes, family members and friends inadvertently reinforce a person’s denial of mental distress by labeling it as “that’s just the way he is” and do nothing to encourage them to seek professional help.

Anxiety disorders affect nearly 20% of US adults. That means millions are beset by an overabundance of the fightor-flight response that primes the body for action. When you’re stressed, the brain responds by prompting the release of cortisol, nature’s builtin alarm system. It evolved to help animals facing physical threats by increasing respiration, raising the heart rate and redirecting blood flow from abdominal organs to muscles that assist in confronting or escaping danger.

These actions stem from the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine, which stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and put the body on high alert. But when they are invoked too often and indiscriminately, the chronic overstimulation can result in all manner of physical ills, including indigestion, cramps, diarrhea or constipation, and an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

“Depression diminishes a person’s capacity to analyze and respond rationally to stress,” Spiegel said. “They end up in a vicious cycle with limited capacity to get out of a negative mental state.” Potentially making matters worse, undue anxiety and depression often coexist, leaving people vulnerable to a panoply of physical ailments and an inability to adopt with needed therapy.

According to Dr John Frownfelter, treatment for any condition works better when doctors understand “the pressures patients face that affect their behavior and result in clinical harm.” NYT NEWS SERVICE

EMOTIONAL ILLS

WHO may take call on Covaxin this month

WHO may take call on Covaxin this month

New Delhi:06.10.2021

The WHO’s approval for emergency use listing of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is expected to take a few more weeks to arrive. The decision, however, will be taken in October itself.

WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization is holding its meetings from October 4 to 8, during which it will examine the latest evidences to prepare policy recommendations for the best use of Covaxin. The policy guidelines will be issued once the EUL process is completed. TNN

WHO: EUL decision on Covaxin still pending

Though Covaxin was on the agenda of SAGE’s meeting on Tuesday, officials said the decision on EUL approval is still pending.

The WHO said in response to an email query from TOI: “The EUL decision on Covaxin is still pending. Bharat has been submitting data to WHO on a rolling basis and submitted additional information at WHO’s request on 27 September. WHO experts are currently reviewing this information and if it addresses all questions raised, WHO and the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) will carry out the risk/benefit assessment and come to a final decision whether to grant Emergency Use Listing to the vaccine.”

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) related to EUL is expected to convene its meeting next week. A final call will be taken based on the recommendations of both TAG and SAGE.

According to WHO, the EUL process is centred on determining if a manufactured product is qualityassured, safe and effective.

The WHO SAGE is responsible for issuing evidence-based policy recommendations for the best use of vaccines against Covid-19. “Such product-specific recommendations are issued once a vaccine is authorised through a regulatory process, including the assessment of safety and efficacy from phase III clinical trials,” it said.

Last student picked for AIIMS scored just 6% less than topper

Last student picked for AIIMS scored just 6% less than topper

06.10.2021

The actual scores in the entrance exam of those who got admission to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi differed very little, no matter which category they came from, reports Rema Nagarajan. While the ranks give an impression of huge differences between admitted students from various categories, their percentile scores vary by less than one and even the absolute marks differ by less than six percentage points between the topper and the last student selected.

In fact, not only were there no candidates with scores below 99th percentile among those who got admission, even their final percentage scores were well above 90% no matter which category they belonged to, an analysis done by TOIshows.

‘National SC/ST panel should demand data on admission’

For instance, in 2018 while over 3.74 lakh appeared for the exam, the lowest selected rank, which was from the scheduled tribe (ST) category, was 2,090 with a percentile score of 99.45 though the qualifying percentile level was 93.65 for tribals.

The competition is so close that several tie breaker scores have to be used to assign ranks. Ties — those with equal overall percentiles — were resolved using percentiles in the biology section of the paper followed by chemistry, physics and finally the candidate’s date of birth, with older candidates getting ranked higher.

The lowest selected rank from the SC category was 655 with a percentile score of 99.83, again well over the qualifying level of 40% marks equivalent to 93.65 percentile. The lowest selected rank from the OBC category was 188 equivalent to 99.95 percentile, against a qualifying level of 45%, equivalent to 97.01 percentile. For the general category, the qualifying level was 50% equivalent to 98.83 percentile.

In 2019 too, calculations show, there was a difference of less than six percentage points in the overall scores of the first rank and the last rank (3,000) that got admitted. The marks are not publicly announced. To understand how we arrived at them, see the accompanying box.

Anthropologist Dr Anna Ruddock notes in her book on AIIMS-Delhi called ‘Special Treatment’ that the ranking system acts as a management tool, suggesting a legitimate differentiation in achievement that actually disguises the homogeneity of marks among top-ranked students and ends up implying that OBC, SC, and ST candidates who score lower than the GC cut-off lack the necessary aptitude to study at AIIMS.

“Among those admitted in AIIMS-Delhi, there is hardly any difference between those from different categories because the OBC, SC and ST candidates selected represent a small proportion that has access to facilities and resources to be able to get in. The National SC/ST commission should demand anonymised data on admission into all such institutes and analyse it so that informed policies could be made on how to ensure inclusion of the most deprived within categories and across geographies,” said an AIIMS faculty member.

WIDE VARIATION

Restore old NEET-SS pattern: SC warns govt, NMC & NBE

Restore old NEET-SS pattern: SC warns govt, NMC & NBE

‘Med Studies, Profession Has Become A Biz’

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:06.10.2021

Accusing authorities of playing with the careers of aspiring super speciality doctors to benefit private medical colleges, Supreme Court on Tuesday gave 24 hours to the Centre, the National Medical Commission and the National Board of Examination in medical sciences to revert to the old question pattern for the NEETSuper Speciality Exams for the 2021-22 academic session.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Vikram Nath and B V Nagarathna sent out a loud warning: “You cannot be causing prejudice to the students. If there is a sense of obduracy (on the part of the authorities in not reverting to the old pattern of examination), the arms of law are long enough to deal with the obduracy. We have given you time till tomorrow [Wednesday] to reform. NMC and NBE are not doing any favour to the students. We are giving you an opportunity to correct yourself.”

Pointing out NEET-SS is unlike other examinations, Justice Chandrachud said, “The students prepare for years, right from their postgraduation in medicine days to get admission into super speciality courses after doing their masters. We know the private sector has invested money in offering the super speciality courses and their interest too has to be factored in while doing the balancing act. However, the interest of the students, who will be the torch bearers of advanced healthcare in India in future, cannot be sidelined.”

The bench said, “Our education system is so botched up. We do not have either a plan or vision. What is the great hurry in bringing into force the new pattern of examination? Heavens would not have fallen except for a few seats in private medical colleges going vacant. Why not postpone the new examination pattern to the next year to give sufficient time to the doctors?”

Repeatedly expressing doubts whether the change of exam pattern was meant to benefit only private medical colleges which demand a high capitation fee, the bench said, “The medical education, profession and the regulatory mechanism has become a business.”

The bench tore into the decision terming it as an attempt only aimed at filling seats in private colleges. There are a total of 414 medical colleges that offer super speciality courses of which 118 were run by the governments while 296 are private institutions.

A group of 41 doctors, preparing for NEET-SS examination scheduled for November 10-11, had complained that the authorities had arbitrarily changed the earlier pattern of examination (40% questions from general medicine and 60% from the super speciality course applied for) to a new pattern (100% questions from general medicine) more than a month after notifying the exam dates.

The Centre and NBE had filed an affidavit stating that the change of pattern was necessitated as many super speciality course seats have been going vacant because of the earlier pattern of exam and also offered to postpone the November 10-11 examination to January 10-11 to give sufficient time to the students to prepare for the new pattern of NEET-SS.

The Centre and NBE had filed an affidavit stating that the change of pattern was necessitated as many super speciality course seats have been going vacant because of the earlier pattern of examination

Colleges told to give student caste data

Colleges told to give student caste data

Shrinivasa.M@timesgroup.com

06.10.2021

Even as the caste census exercise is caught in a fierce debate, the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes has asked the Directorate of Collegiate Education (DCE) to furnish collegewise caste, sub-caste, category and gender details of final-year students in the state who have completed courses between 2011-12 and 2020-21.

Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde said that they have taken up the exercise to “compare educational and employment status” of people from different castes and categories and added that the process will take “some time” for completion.

Sources said that the DCE has asked college principals to update details of students on the Education Management Information System (EMIS) by October 12.

The commission has sought data through two separate forms: Caste and other details of students through proforma III; and caste-category details of employees and officials through employment proforma A. Authorities said that details of only those students who have cleared the final year have been sought. “Year-wise details have been sought,” said a college principal, confirming that the controversial exercise has already been set in motion.

Reprimanding student for indiscipline does not amount to abetment of suicide, says SC

Reprimanding student for indiscipline does not amount to abetment of suicide, says SC

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:06.05.2021

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a teacher reprimanding students for indiscipline or bunking of classes would not amount to abetment of suicide if an emotional and sentimental student takes the extreme step after being admonished as it is a solemn duty of a teacher to instil discipline in the pupils.

A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari quashed the criminal proceedings against a teacher of a private school who was booked for abetment after a class IX student committed suicide after being caught for bunking classes. FIR was filed against the teacher as he had reprimanded the student who also named him in the suicide note.

The bench, however, after examining the note, said a reading of it suggests the hypersensitive temperament of the deceased which led him to take such an extraordinary step and which would not ordinarily induce a similarly circumstanced student to commit suicide.

“It is a solemn duty of a teacher to instil discipline in the students. It is not uncommon that teachers reprimand a student for not being attentive or not being up to the mark in studies or for bunking classes or not attending the school. The disciplinary measures adopted by a teacher or other authorities of a school, reprimanding a student for his indiscipline, in our considered opinion, would not tantamount to provoking a student to commit suicide, unless there are repeated specific allegations of harassment and insult deliberately without any justifiable cause or reason,” Justice Murari, who penned the judgement, said.

The court said a simple act of reprimand of a student for his behaviour or indiscipline by a teacher, who is under moral obligations to inculcate the good qualities of a human being in a student would definitely not amount to instigation or intentionally aid to the commission of a suicide by a student.

“If a student is simply reprimanded by a teacher for an act of indiscipline and bringing the continued act of indiscipline to the notice of principal of the institution, who conveyed to the parents of the student for the purposes of school discipline and correcting a child, any student who is very emotional or sentimental commits suicide; can the said teacher be held liable for the same and charged and tried for the offence of abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC. Our answer to the said question is ‘No’,” the bench said.

“‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ an old saying may have lost its relevance in present days and corporal punishment to the child is not recognised by law but that does not mean that a teacher or school authorities have to shut their eyes to any indiscipline act of a student. It is not only a moral duty of a teacher but one of the legally assigned duty under Section 24 (e) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to hold regular meetings with the parents and guardians and apprise them about the regularity in attendance...,” the court said.

Bank of Baroda bets on super app

Bank of Baroda bets on super app

Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:4.10.2021

Bank of Baroda will position its new digital platform bob World as the main bank and all banking channels will be an adjunct to the primary platform. The public sector lender is adopting a strategy similar to SBI, which is working to integrate all services on its Yono platform.

Bank of Baroda MD & CEO Sanjiv Chadha told TOI that post-pandemic, the bank has seen a surge in digital transactions and twice the number of branch visits are happening on the app. “So rather than being an adjunct to the bank, it will be the bank and the other parts of the lender will become an adjunct. The thought was to enable everything that can be done in the branch within the app,” said Chadha.

“The way the app (bob World) is positioned, you can save, borrow, invest and pay. All four capabilities are in the app and are being scaled up every day. In addition to regular transactions, we are having things like airline ticket booking and shopping across merchants to bring the cheapest proposition to the customers,” said Chadha. The bank plans to extend use of the app from retail to businesses as well.

For the financial inclusion and to reach out to people who do not have digital access, the bank is also doubling the number of business correspondents to 50,000.

“It’s a matter of great pride for us that while we have a 6-7% share in banking. Our share in Jan Dhan Yojana is 15%. We have a very aggressive programme for increasing our business correspondent and increase their number from two for every branch to five BCs for every bank branch that we have,” said Chadha. The bank will however not be increasing its headcount as it has realised some efficiencies following the amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, which will enable the lender to redeploy staff.

SC upholds hike in payout from ₹10L to ₹2cr for accident victim

SC upholds hike in payout from ₹10L to ₹2cr for accident victim

Endorses HC Order On Basis Of Salary Slip, Tax Papers Filed By Kin

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:4.10.2021 

A Supreme Court bench of Justices R Subhash Reddy and Hrishikesh Roy has dismissed an appeal filed by the National Insurance Company Limited against an order of the Madras HC that enhanced the compensation paid to the family of an accident victim by 1,700% from 10.4 lakh to 1.85 crore based on Form-16, salary slip and other tax papers filed by the victim’s family.

On October 14, 2013, Subash Babu, a 35-year-old manager of a private firm, was killed in an accident while driving a car from Perumanallur to Erode. His wife and other family members who were travelling with him escaped with injuries. His wife, an eyewitness, told Tiruppur motor accident claims tribunal that a van which was going in front of their car turned right without showing any signal and their car rammed against the van and her husband died in the impact.

The tribunal, however, fixed 75% contributory negligence on the victim based on police FIR, which blamed Babu for negligent driving, and awarded Rs10.4 lakh as compensation by fixing Babu’s monthly income at Rs 20,000 per month.

Aggrieved by the order, the family moved the HC. In August 2018, Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice Krishnan Ramasamy of the Madras HC quashed the order of the tribunal and held that since there was no rebuttal witness provided by the insurance company, the accident happened only due to the negligence of the van driver. Taking into consideration the victim’s tax records and pay slip, the court fixed the victim’s annual income at 12.3 lakh and computed the compensation to be paid by the insurance company as 1.85 crore.

Agreeing with the HC ruling, the Supreme Court bench said, “In view of such evidence on record, there is no reason to give weightage to the contents of the FIR. If any evidence before the tribunal runs contrary to the contents in the FIR, the evidence which is recorded before the tribunal has to be given weightage.”

Pandemic slipping into endemic phase

Pandemic slipping into endemic phase

WATCH FOR VARIANTS Govt Must Ramp Up Genomic Sequencing, Say Experts

Kids Need Time To Reconnect And Socialise, Say Teachers

Experts Say Virus Is Still Around, Advise Extreme Care And Caution

BV.Shivashankar@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:4.10.2021

With fresh Covid-19 cases hovering in the 500-800 range for the past month and with no sign of a third wave of infections, experts suggest the viral disease may have lost its pandemic characteristics and could be getting closer to the endemic phase in Karnataka.

“Going by the stagnation in terms of new cases and the low test positivity rate (TPR), we can say Covid-19 is reaching the phase of endemicity in Karnataka,” said Dr MK Sudarshan, chairman, state Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). “There will be a new wave only if the novel coronavirus mutates and a new variant emerges. It is therefore important to step up vigilance and surveillance and keep a close watch for mutations, if any. It can be done through more aggressive genomic sequencing.”

The TAC has advised the government to step up current levels of genomic sequencing of test samples to track mutations of the virus. While the test positivity rate is around 0.5%, experts say it could be a pattern as pandemics normally have two or three waves of infections.

Once it becomes endemic, the virus spread will be restricted to local transmission without importation of infection from outside through travel history. Infected people will not suffer a serious form of the disease, and the fatality rate will be low.

Noted epidemiologist Dr T Jacob John said an endemic trend is being witnessed across the country, except in three states — Kerala, Mizoram and Meghalaya, where new cases are still relatively high. “However, the situation in Kerala has improved considerably, with daily cases being stable at around 12,000. So, Covid-19 is becoming endemic there too,” said Dr John.

Extreme caution

Dr V Ravi, virologist and nodal officer for genomic sequencing in Karnataka, said, normally, the process of genomic sequencing should be scaled up to around 10% in the given scenario, especially in districts like Bengaluru Urban and Mysuru where cluster outbreaks are known to occur.

“The situation calls for extreme caution, and vigilance and genomic sequencing needs to be increased. Although the prevailing endemic-like situation gives an impression that the virus is gone, it is still around,” Dr Ravi said.

Karnataka at present has four genomic sequencing laboratories located at Nimhans, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), IISc and Jawaharlal Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR).

But the state government has now taken steps to add six more labs to the list, with four new labs to be set up in medical colleges located in Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Hassan and Mysuru and another two at district hospitals in Vijayapura and Mangaluru.

Dr KV Trilok Chandra, health commissioner, said, “We have already procured of required equipment and the new genomic labs will be operational by this month end.”

PhD not mandatory for asst prof

PhD not mandatory for asst prof

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

4.10.2021

In a move to allow universities to fill the vacant posts, the Ministry of Education has lifted the mandatory requirement of PhD for applying to the post of assistant professors across Indian higher education institutes.

The criteria has been lifted temporarily for 2021.

In 2018, the government had directed that candidates would need PhD to apply for the post of assistant professor as NET will not be the only criteria for recruitment This was announced under the University Grants Commission (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and other Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2018.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the plan of implementing the policy has been put on hold for the current year due to Covid, however, it has not been cancelled. As per the existing norms, candidates who have been awarded a PhD degree in accordance with UGC will be exempted from the requirement of the minimum eligibility condition of NET/SLET/SET.

UPSC 2020 sees better women representaion

UPSC 2020 sees better women representaion

Over 28% women have qualified for the UPSC this year as against 23% in 2019

c-Puniti.Pandey@timesgroup.com

4.10.2021

Women candidates have scored decent ranking in the recently released UPSC 2020 results as half of the top 20 positions have been occupied by women from the diverse educational field. This year’s result confirmed a perfect balance in the male-female ratio in the toppers list. Also, there is a slight improvement in the number of women qualifiers as compared to the last few years. Over 28% women have qualified for the UPSC this year as against 23% in 2019. In 2018, 2017 and 2016 the percentage of women qualifying the exams were 24.24%, 24% and 23.33%, respectively. This year, out of the total 761 qualifiers, 545 were male candidates while there were 216 women. In 2019, against 632 male, 197 female candidates qualified.

Despite the improvement in numbers, women continue to have less than 30% representation in UPSC. Explaining the possible reasons behind this, Shreya Singhal, AIR 176 in UPSC 2020 says, “ Women have additional challenges and responsibilities, which act as a hindrance in the professional world. Women have to juggle between personal and professional lives and balance both. Despite this, there is a gradual increase in the representation of women in civil services over the years.”

Talking about the challenges that she faced during her preparation, she adds, “While my father and cousins have been pillars of strength, I too faced awkward questions from my relatives regarding my parents allowing me to study in a different city.” “Had it not been this time, I doubt if I would have got another year for preparation for the UPSC exam,” says Shreya, 25, who hails from a small town called Sarswa in Saharanpur. UPSC exams being tough, demand exhaustive preparation, which becomes restrictive for girls.

Several families from remote places hesitate to send their daughters to a different city for better preparation. “Not all families are broad-minded and liberal to allow girls to travel to a new place,” explains Shreya who moved to Jaipur and then to Delhi for higher education. She had been preparing at Residential Coaching Academy, Jamia Millia Islamia, after pursuing BTech from Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur (MNIT). Her father is a chemist and her mother is a homemaker.

Highlighting the challenges, AIR 15 Ria Dabi says, “There is a perception in society that women should look after the domestic front. Covid made the situation worse. Women living in rural areas face challenges such as reaching the far away exam centres, getting study material, financial issues and family constraints,” she adds. “With increasing number of women achieving top ranks, young girls have found their role models. This year, out of the top 25 candidates, 12 are women, which is the proof of change,” adds Ria, who is the sister of 2015 AIR 1 Tina Dabi. Inspired by Tina, Ria, 23, a graduate from Lady Shri Ram college, DU started to prepare at Career Launcher in 2019. Talking about the gradual change in the demography of UPSC, Shreya says, “Perceptions have changed after Tina Dabi emerged as the all India topper in UPSC in 2015. There is greater visibility for women candidates.”

Like doctors, law students to do rural service: Nalsa chief

Like doctors, law students to do rural service: Nalsa chief

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:4.10.2021

In a radical change in approach to provide free legal aid to people residing in every nook and cranny, Nalsa chairman Justice U U Lalit announced that like MBBS students hands-on internship, final year law students would be persuaded to act as paralegal volunteers in the hinterland and help in making the poor and the needy aware of their right to free legal assistance.

This novel approach to make the poor and needy, women facing sexual assault, harassment or domestic violence, physically challenged, acid attack survivors and destitutes aware about availability of completely free quality legal assistance is a milestone decision in the 25-year existence of National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa).

Justice Lalit said that Nalsa has held talks with Bar Council of India (BCI), which grants recognition to law colleges and prescribes the curriculum for law courses, and that BCI has agreed to make changes in the curriculum that would enable the final year law students to act as paralegal volunteers for at least six months.

There are as many as 530 law colleges across the country recognised by the BCI. If each law college has 50 seats in the final year course, then the 530 colleges would provide a healthy paralegal force of over 26,000 students, who can fan out to the hinterland and educate almost the entire rural population in a matter of months about their right to get free legal aid.

Justice Lalit said that Nalsa, in collaboration with state, district, taluk legal aid services authorities, paralegal volunteers and NGOs, would try to reach out each of the 6.65 lakh villages at least three times during the 45-day-long campaign, which would end on the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru on November 14.

The Nalsa chairman also said that the quality of legal aid has been a sore point for the last 25 years and promised a substantial improvement in the next few years.

Full report on www.toi.in

Students’ role vital in getting NEET relief: MP

Students’ role vital in getting NEET relief: MP

Trichy:4.10.2021

The role of the student community in consolidating the voice against the national eligibility-cum-entrance test (NEET) for selection to MBBS course is vital to getting exemption for Tamil Nadu from the test, said speakers at a state-level conference organised by Students’ Federation of India (SFI) here. Members of Parliament, educationalists and writers who attended the conference said the conduct of the test invades the state’s autonomy and demotivates medical aspirants.

DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva said there is a perception that only Tamil Nadu is opposing the entrance test, which must be changed by mobilising anti-NEET protesters from other states. Unity among NEET opponents was the need of the hour. “If we can achieve a solution in the projallikattu movement, why not in NEET? SFI’s role is vital to gather support across India. We must bring back education under the state list,” he said. He claimed that the AIADMK government did not take dedicated measures to get an exemption for the state. General secretary of the state platform for the common school system, Prince Gajendra Babu, said the Union government has to uphold the spirit of federalism by giving exemption to Tamil Nadu in NEET. TNN

3 students get TC for teasing blind teacher

3 students get TC for teasing blind teacher

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Namakkal:

Three students were issued transfer certificates (TC) on Sunday by a government school management in Namakkal district for their misconduct. The students were studying in Class IX in a government high school at Puduchatram near Rasipuram in the district. They danced in front of their history teacher, a blind person. “A few of the students took video when the trio was dancing in front of the teacher,” a teacher from the school said. The issue came to light on October 1 after the video went viral on social media.

Several people condemned the students’ mischievous behaviour before the teacher. The education department officials directed the government school management to carry out a detailed inquiry. “Based on the inquiry, the school headmaster called the parents to the school and reprimanded the students,” the teacher said, adding that at the end the students were issued TC.

MBBS admissions: Should you apply in India or go abroad?

MBBS admissions: Should you apply in India or go abroad?

Wondering if you should pursue MBBS from India or abroad? Here's everything you should know about seeking an admission to an MBBS course.

India Today Web Desk

New Delhi

September 28, 2021

MBBS admissions: What is better option between India vs abroad?

Every medical aspirant in India wants to get admission to India, but the seats are limited. Only 84,000 MBBS seats are available in medical colleges in India and 14 lakh students appear in the NEET exam. It makes it harder for medical students to get admission and, in that case, they choose to study MBBS abroad.

It is considered a better option for medical students. Apart from affordable fees, government and top medical universities, global working opportunities, students can get easy admission without any donation. Unlike India, foreign medical universities have sufficient medical seats. It accepts applications from international students.

This profession has become much in demand during pandemics. Everyone realised medical science is a field that is in a lot of demand amid the Covid-19. Many students off from medical courses due to the expensive tuition fees of private medical colleges in India. On the other hand, students can complete MBBS abroad between Rs 12 lakh to 25 lakh, including or excluding hostel and mess fees.

There are many countries in the world that are considered to be ideal for Indian students to study MBBS Abroad. Many of them have invested a lot in the education system for R&D. Due to this, medical education is pretty affordable.

Duration of MBBS in India vs abroad

The duration of MBBS studies varies between countries.

Students can complete their MBBS studies in just 5.5 years in India. That includes the training or internship duration (12 months).

On the other hand, countries like Russia, China, or Ukraine offer 6 years (Approximately) including internships under experienced professionals.

Major benefits of studying MBBS Abroad vs India

1. Affordable fee - MBBS fee in India starts from Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh (Private medical colleges). In comparison, the MBBS fee in developed countries like Ukraine is between Rs 14 to Rs 25 lakhs.2. World-class infrastructure - Not all colleges have their own hospitals to offer practical training to students in India. On the other hand, applicants will get training in the university hospital under experienced medical professionals.3. Top ranking medical colleges - Most of the colleges in India have a low ranking in the international ranking list. On the other hand, 30 Russian medical universities are listed in the top 100 medical universities in the world.

How can students get admission abroad?

When it comes to getting admission to a medical college, it all depends on qualifying for the NEET exams. After that, the next step is how good a rank you hold in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test. Finally, counselling and then the rest of the admission process. Colleges set their cut-off list and select only those students who fall in those criteria.

On the other hand, NEET rank does not play a vital role in MBBS Admission at MCI/NMC approved medical universities abroad. There will be no predefined cut-off for admission to medical colleges outside India. Aspirants just need to prove their eligibility and that's it.

There is a myth that every student must have heard that only those students apply for MBBS Abroad who are weak in the study. This is completely baseless. Students who scored 550+ are applying for admission to top medical colleges abroad. The reason behind that is the competition is high.

For seeking admission to colleges of countries like Ukraine, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, and Georgia, there is no entrance exam conducted. The only condition is that you complete the eligibility and just pass the NEET exam.

Future after MBBS abroad?

Most of the popular universities are approved by the National Medical Commission and the local government of that country. The Medical degree is valid in India and other countries as well. To practice in India, students have to pass the FMGE exam after MBBS abroad.

This test is important for foreign medical graduates to get verification for practicing medicine in India. The basics of clearing the MCI Screening Test in India are not so difficult that it can be cleared if students give proper time for preparation.

The students have to pass 150 questions out of 300, which is a 50% passing rate. If students want to work in another country, they have to pass the medical licensing exam of that country.

The authored article is written by Vishu Tripathi, CEO& Founder, Affinity Education

Corruption eating into society, observes Madras HC

Corruption eating into society, observes Madras HC

Corruption is rampant in all government departments and is gnawing at the society like termites, observed Madras High Court.

Published: 03rd October 2021 05:23 AM | Last Updated: 03rd October 2021 05:23 AM

Madras High Court Madras High Court

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Corruption is rampant in all government departments and is gnawing at the society like termites, observed Madras High Court. “In the olden days, bribe was demanded in revenue, registration, and corporation departments for doing extra work. Of late, corruption exists in almost all the departments because of the quiescent attitude of higher officials,” said a Division Bench of justices S Viadyanathan and AA Nakkiran.

The bench made the observations on Thursday while upholding a single judge’s order revoking the suspension of a policeman, Baskaran, caught in a bribery case in Madurai in 2014. The single judge had revoked the suspension on the grounds that higher officials concerned failed to initiate departmental proceedings against the policeman.

Disposing of the writ appeals filed by Additional Director General of Police and the Madurai City Police Commissioner, the bench said it was not known as to what prevented the officers from initiating departmental proceedings against the petitioner, charged with the “serious and grave offence” of taking bribe, and allowed to wander scot-free for quite a long time. Though the bench ordered police department to reinstate the policeman by November end, it said the department may initiate departmental action against him.

Stressing that officials in charge of initiating departmental action must be taught to do so in time, the bench said the order is applicable not only to the police department but also all government departments. It asked the chief secretary and the DGP to issue instructions to all the departments to distinguish between ‘ordinary suspension’ and ‘suspension on account of arrest and remand pursuant to registration of a criminal case’.

BDS Admission Given To Student Who Failed Class 12 Subject Cancelled After One Year; Rajasthan HC Asks NEET Counselling Board, College To Pay Rs 10 Lakh Compensation Each

BDS Admission Given To Student Who Failed Class 12 Subject Cancelled After One Year; Rajasthan HC Asks NEET Counselling Board, College To Pay Rs 10 Lakh Compensation Each

Sebin James30 Sep 2021 11:08 AM

NEET All India Quota: Plea In Supreme Court Challenges 103rd Constitutional Amendment And Income Limit Of Rs 8 Lakh Per Annum For EWS Category

"Minimum educational qualification was to be ensured by all the Authorities and only after verification of such fact that the admission processes should have been undertaken."

In a pertinent judgement, Rajasthan High Court has held the NEET Counselling Board and a Dental College guilty of serious lapses in thoroughly examining the School Certificate produced by the candidate at the time of provisional allotment and admission. The single-judge bench of Justice Ashok Kumar Gaur was considering the writ petition of a BDS student who was denied enrollment by Rajasthan University of Health Sciences, almost a year after his admission, when it was found out that he had failed in the subject of Chemistry in Senior School Examination.

The court, in its judgement, while holding the petitioner not eligible in the first place to have appeared in NEET UG 2019 Exams or to avail the option of continuing his course from hereon, made the following directions to the respondents:

"This Court, in the present facts of the case, deems it proper to issue direction to pay a compensation of Rs.10,00,000/- (Rs. Ten Lakhs only) to the petitioner by NEET Counselling Board and further the respondent - Darshan Dental Medical College And Hospital, Udaipur will also pay Rs.10,00,000/- (Rs.Ten Lakhs only) to the petitioner."

The court took into consideration the expenses incurred inclusive of fees already paid for the course, and impact of the loss of an academic year for the petitioner student due to the negligence of respondent authorities while deciding the quantum of compensation.

Facts

The petitioner appeared for the NEET UG 2019 exams and underwent the Counselling process after the Merit List was published. He was subsequently given provisional allotment to Darshan Dental Medical College and Hospital in July 2019. After allotment, he paid the requisite fees and submitted the mandatory documents including the Senior Secondary Certificate. Prior to the first-year exam in August 2020, he received a letter from the University pointing out his ineligibility to be enrolled, citing his failure in the Chemistry Paper of the CBSE Board Exams as the reason.

Submissions Made By Counsels

Petitioner Student's Counsel

Advocate Chandrabhan Sharma, for the petitioner, argued before the court that as per the CBSE mark sheet, his result has been shown as 'Pass'. The petitioner also acknowledged that, against Chemistry, it has been marked as 'Fail In Theory'. However, it was the contention of the petitioner that the minimum passing marks for all subjects are 33 and he had obtained more than that for all subjects including Chemistry.

Reference was also made by the petitioner to the NEET-UG, Medical & Dental Counselling Board's Information Booklet which specifies the eligibility criteria for applicants. It was the interpretation of the petitioner that the booklet does not specify pass marks in both theory and practical constituents of a subject if the result has been declared as 'Pass'.

According to the petitioner, the only requirement was 40% aggregate marks in all the subjects and securing individual pass marks for the same.

Petitioner's counsel further argued that the denial of enrolment was unjustified since the petitioner has completed one year at the College and the current situation has not been an after effect of the petitioner misleading the authorities.

Counsels For Rajasthan University of Health Sciences And CBSE

Advocate Ravi Chirania for the respondent University alleged a 'human error' from the part of CBSE in issuing the mark sheet and serious lapses from the part of NEET Examination Authority and Counselling Board in verifying the documents. Mere declaration in the mark sheet as 'Pass' won't bestow eligibility upon the petitioner unless he has passed both the theory and practical aspects of the subject.

Both the Respondent University and the CBSE drew the attention of Court to Clause 40.1 (ii) of CBSE Bye-Laws which states that if a subject involves practical work, the student must obtain 33 per cent in practical and theory separately, so as to have 33 per cent marks jointly, to pass each subject.

It was the contention of the Counsel For CBSE, Advocate MS Raghav, that the petitioner had opted for five subjects and one additional subject as per Clause 43 of Bye-Laws, hence he was declared as 'Pass' on the basis of those five subjects even when his positional grade for Chemistry was 'E'. He denied any kind of 'human error' on the part of CBSE.

Counsels For NEET Counselling Board & Dental College

NEET Counselling Board, in turn, with respect to the issue of document verification, submitted that it was the responsibility of the allotted/admitting college to check the original documents and the documents pertaining to the eligibility of the candidate, inclusive of the 12th Standard Marksheet. After examining if a student has passed in Chemistry, Physics, Biology and English subjects individually and had secured 40% marks as per the booklet, the concerned college was expected to report to the Counselling Board about the details of admission of the candidate via Online Reporting Module.

It was also their submission that the petitioner candidate, who belonged to the ST Category, was personally liable to make sure that he met the eligibility criteria For the ST Candidates as per the Booklet, including revocation of admission even after admission if any lapses from the part of candidate are identified at a later stage.

The counsel for Respondent Dental College, Advocate JR Tantia, in turn, tried to establish that it was the obligation of the NEET Committee To ascertain the veracity of original documents presented at the time of issuing provisional allotment letter to the candidate and that the college was merely honouring the decision of the Counselling Board as per their own information booklet.

Court's Findings

After examining the information booklet of NEET-UG Counselling Board and the submissions made by the concerned parties, Justice Ashok Kumar Gaur inferred that the petitioner has not met the mandatory criteria to pass the subjects of Physics, Chemistry and Biology/ Biochemistry individually when Clause 40.1 (ii) CBSE Byelaws is parallelly applied.

"This Court finds that a candidate, who appears in any of the examinations, has to ensure that he fulfills the minimum educational qualification and any other conditions, which are required before entering into fray for writing the examination. The specific requirement of educational qualification cannot be diluted by this Court, as the requirement of possessing and passing the subjects, is a pre-condition for making a candidate eligible."

The single-judge bench went on to note that "...Candidates/Doctors deal with the human lives, which are of immense importance.." and the petitioner had no right to seek permission to pursue the course even after a clear finding as to the lack of his qualification.

Regarding the responsibility of Respondents No. 3 & 4, i.e., Counselling Committee and Dental College, Justice Ashok Kumar Gaur reached the following conclusion:

"…Minimum educational qualification was to be ensured by all the Authorities, including NEET Counselling Board as well as the College and only after verification of such fact that the petitioner possessed the requisite educational qualification, the admission process should have been undertaken by these Authorities."

The court observed that neither of the parties can absolve themselves from liability by shifting the blame to one another. The court also recorded that the respondent college came to know of the discrepancy in qualification only when examination forms were to be filled and enrolment was to be done by the University, and the same can't be condoned by the reasoning that they were devoid of any options other than complying with the provisional allotment letter from NEET Committee in the previous year.

The court relied on the Apex Court judgements in Krina Ajay Shah & Ors. Vs. The Secretary, Association of Management of Unaided Private Medical & Dental Colleges & Ors. [(2016) 1 SCC 666] and S. Nihal Ahamed Vs. The Dean, Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute & Ors. [(2016) 1 SCC 662] whereby it has repeatedly considered the grant of compensation to the candidates if such candidates were not to be granted admission after lapse of time, so that the candidates could be given damages under "public law damages" theory.

As a result, the court recorded in its judgement the extent to which the NEET Counselling Board and Respondent College should compensate the ineligible petitioner student for negligence, i.e., Rs 10 Lakhs each.

Case Title: Nitendar Kumar Meena v. Rajasthan University of Health Sciences & Ors.

Case no.| Date: Civil Writ Petition No. 9052/2020| 14th September 2021

Coram: Justice Ashok Kumar Gaur

Counsel: Advocate Chandrabhan Sharma For Petitioner

Dr Vibhuti Bhushan Sharma, AAG – For Respondent State

Advocate Jai Raj Tantia- For Respondent College

Advocate MS Raghav – For Respondent CBSE

Advocate Ravi Chirania - For Respondent University

Shops near educational institutions to ensure employees are vaccinated

Shops near educational institutions to ensure employees are vaccinated

04/10/2021

Tanu Kulkarni Bengaluru

In an attempt to prevent COVID-19 clusters in schools, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has directed all shops and eateries around educational institutions to ensure that their staff are vaccinated.

This decision was taken in the wake of around 60 students of Sri Chaitanya Girls’ Residential School, near Electronics City, testing positive for COVID-19 last week. “All the school staff are vaccinated, but students during short breaks or after school hours often visit general stores and eateries to grab some refreshments. We want to ensure that people working there too are vaccinated so that the possibility of students contracting the virus is reduced,” said D. Randeep, Special Commissioner (Health), BBMP.

Proprietors who don’t comply will be ordered to down shutters until all their staff are vaccinated. Mr. Randeep, however, added that the civic body does not want to close the shops unless absolutely necessary, and that the priority is to ensure that everyone has vaccine coverage. “Our teams will verify this during the block-level vaccination programmes,” he said.

The civic body has entrusted the implementation of this order to the nodal officers in schools and the closest Primary Health Centre (PHC). “Nodal officers attached to schools and PHC staff can collaborate and ensure that shopkeepers have only staff who are vaccinated working at their stores,” Mr. Randeep said.

Move welcomed

The move has been welcomed by school managements, parents and teachers. Ritika S.,a parent of a Class 8 student said, “I have tried to tell my son to immediately return home after classes and not mingle with his classmates. But some days, he needs to get some photocopies and often stops to eat some snacks. It will help if the BBMP can enforce this rule,” she said.

School managements have supported the move. “I will ensure that shops and eateries around our school furnish vaccination details of their staff,” said Sumanth Narayana, founder, Shanthinikethana School.

Why 2 watches in the hands of Minister PDR? Because of the sentiment he expressed

Why 2 watches in the hands of Minister PDR? Because of the sentiment he expressed

The Rolex that my grandfather gave to my father has been in my hands for 30 years.

Written By WebDesk

October 2, 2021 8:35:49 am

Tamil Nadu finance minister PTR palanivel thiagarajan: Tamil Nadu finance and human resource development minister P.D.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan is one of the busiest Tamil Nadu ministers to date. He has two laptops, two watches and four pens. The issue of apologizing to authorities after being detained at the airport for taking away two laptops recently caused major repercussions.

Looking at his press conference and zoom meeting, the important thing that begs the question for us is why he has a watch tied in both hands. He himself has given an explanation as to why.

One of the watches he wore on his wrist was given to his father by his grandfather. He said he took the watch to the United States 30 years ago because it did not work and that he was repairing it.

Fitbit watch with a black watch tied to his other hand. He said he was using it to learn about his health activities. I use the Fitbit Watch heartbeat to know how far we have walked. You can talk on the phone with this Apple Watch. Listen to the song. This will allow you to answer phone calls if necessary. Therefore, it is inevitable for today's environment, he said

Kerala University of Health Sciences goes traditional for convocation

Kerala University of Health Sciences goes traditional for convocation

While female students of KUHS getting their degrees on the day will wear the state’s traditional saree, male students will sport off-white khadi ‘jubba’ and mundu.

Published: 04th October 2021 02:16 AM | Last Updated: 04th October 2021 02:16 AM

By Gopika Varrier

Express News Service

THRISSUR: Ditching the colonial gown and hat, Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) has decided to opt for traditional wear for its 14th convocation ceremony on October 5.

This is the first time in the state’s history that a university has decided to go for traditional attire during its convocation ceremony. Health concern is the main reason cited for the change as the university normally rents the gowns and hats for the function every year.

While female students of KUHS getting their degrees on the day will wear the state’s traditional saree, male students will sport off-white khadi ‘jubba’ and mundu. The dress code is the same for Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the KUHS staff participating in the ceremony. A ‘veshti’ weaved in Kuthampully will be worn by all irrespective of gender. KUHS Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnammal said, “Every year, the gowns and hats are taken on rent from Bengaluru or other cities just for the ceremony. We decided to make a change this year mainly due to health concerns, as using the gowns taken on rent from other states is risky, especially in view of the pandemic.”

“On a broader aspect, the gowns and hats have no connect with people here. However, the ethnic dress that we wear during festivals are close to our hearts,” he said As many as 14.229 students will be conferred with degrees at the ceremony. Also, for the first time, KUHS will award an honorary degree this year. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan will confer the honorary doctorate of science on Paul Swamidhas Sudhakar Russell, head of the Psychiatry department in Christian Medical College, Vellore. Russell has dedicated his life to study child psychiatry.