Taj resonates with Air India’s heartbeat

BY INVITATION

Taj resonates with Air India’s heartbeat

By R K Krishna Kumar

09.10.2021

The return of Air India to its original home is a momentous event. It will take some time to fly AI again under the Tata banner. A man who will be truly happy is Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons and, at one time, chairman of AI, after nationalisation. This time, after a lot of hard work, and no doubt, deep study, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has boldly moved forward. AI is no ordinary brand. After J R D Tata founded it in 1932, he nursed the airline for several decades and made it a luminous star amidst other airlines like PanAm, TWA and Swiss Air, many of which have since disappeared. His passion for detail accompanied by his vision for India made AI what it became — a legendary leading global airline carrying the Indian flag.

I will touch upon the foundation of the relationship between the House of Tata and AI. In Tatas, one company that resonates with the heartbeat of AI is the Taj Group of Hotels. What connects them is the powerful focus on doing everything possible to make customers supremely comfortable and happy.

Long before management jargon coined phrases like ‘customer centricity’, the purpose of being an enterprise dedicated wholly to look after its guests was an overriding passion of both organisations. The secret of the Taj brand and AI’s legacy was the care and commitment that was crafted into their service philosophy, in some ways the trail leads to the founder himself, Jamsetji Tata, who founded the Taj Mahal hotel. Many will remember the supreme example of this passion when terrorists attacked Taj on November 26, 2008. Both Ratan Tata and I were witness to the horrible siege of the Taj for three days and three nights. It was extraordinary that so many employees of the Taj continued in their positions including the telephone operators and the staff of the kitchen during the attack. We unfortunately lost 12 of our employees. The world recognised this and the Taj dome under fire became a global symbol of service above self.

AI has historically shared the bonding with its customers in the same manner as the Taj. Perhaps, because AI for so many years had different leaders under government control the original philosophy of perfection including in maintenance, upkeep and profitability had become frayed and the brand lost its sheen over time.

It will be a challenging task not only to fully revive the airline but also make it profitable. It will summon the most intensive technological changes for which Chandra must have his plans ready. The Tata Group has investments in two other airline entities, viz Vistara and AirAsia, and with the acquisition of AI it will call for a major strategic restructuring reflecting market realities. We must also remember that when the shadow of the pandemic passes, international air travel, and importantly domestic air travel, will grow exponentially.

It was a bold and daring decision of the government to take forward its economic reforms agenda by privatising the fabled airline. With Ratan Tata’s guidance and Chandra’s consistent track record of delivering performance, I believe that AI will again become a flying beacon of India’s international success.

(The writer is Tata Trusts trustee)

Docs may be wrongly tagging patients as diabetics

Docs may be wrongly tagging patients as diabetics

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:09.10.2021

Several senior citizens may be wrongly tagged diabetic and pre-diabetic based on the elevated levels of blood sugar seen in the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) – a standard test for diabetes, senior diabetologists say. They have now called for age-specific cut-offs for the test to minimise risks of needless treatment and its side effects.

Results from a pan India study, published in Acta Dibetologica, shows the HbA1c levels increase with age in nondiabetic individuals. “This means, we cannot have the same normal for all adults. Laboratories should report age adjusted normal values for all their lab tests,” said senior diabetologist Dr V Mohan from the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. “Else, we will be initiating needless treatment in elderly people and increase risk of serious side effects of the medicines,” he said.

The test is done to find the average level of blood sugar over three months and is hence considered robust and reliable. When glucose builds up in the blood, it binds to the haemoglobin —a protein found in red blood cells. Since these cells live for three months, the test shows the average level of glucose in blood for the three months. If the level is below 5 and 5.6%, its considered normal and those who have values between 5.7 and 6.4% are considered prediabetic. The value for diabetics is above 6.5%.

Scientists used data collected from the Indian Council of Medical Research – INdia DIABetes (ICMR–INDIAB) study in people above 20 years from across India. The age-wise distribution of HbA1c from 14,222 people showed in this group. Scientists used data from 1,077 others from the CURES study conducted in Chennai for validation. Analysis showed HbA1c levels increased gradually with age from about 5.16 in the 20–29 years group to 5.49% in those above 70 years. The validation study (CURES) showed HbA1c was 5.35% in 20–29 years and 5.74% in above

70.

“The pan India data showed a 0.08% increase in HbA1c for every decadal increase in age. This increase was more significant in women and urbanites. “Many elderly people may have physiological changes in their ability to regulate blood glucose. This means marginally elevated HbA1c levels need not always be indicative of pathology,” said diabetologist Dr R M Anjana, who was a part of the study.

International passenger traffic at city airport spikes

International passenger traffic at city airport spikes

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:09.10.2021

As travel has resumed, international passenger traffic has recorded a steady spike at the Chennai airport.

The airport handled 83,000 passengers in August as against 53,000 passengers in July. It is ranked third after Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Bengaluru handled 80,000 international passengers in August, as per statistics from Airports Authority of India (AAI). Sources said that the numbers for Chennai are projected to touch close to a lakh for September and October. In the pre-Covid days, the airport used to handle around 5lakh international passengers.

Though scheduled international flights are yet to resume, there is a huge demand from people travelling for education, business and leisure.

AAI and airlines officials said that the pent up demand for travel will help the airport touch pre-Covid level patronage by end of the year if scheduled flights are resumed in November.

Sri Lanka and Thailand opening up for vaccinated travellers following European countries, the ongoing Dubai expo and the IPL in the UAE are set to boost demand for travel for leisure and business in the coming weeks from the city. The government of India's decision to resume issuing visas for tourists arriving by charter flights from October 15 will also boost inbound travel.

Sri Lanka, Thailand, countries in the Middle East are the most popular destinations from Chennai. S Baskar, managing committee member of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) said, “International travel is bound to increase in the coming months."

A sample survey by Thomas Cook and SOTC among their customers across metros showed that around 77% of the respondents wanted to fly abroad for leisure in October-November-December period.

Rajeev Kale, president & country head, Thomas Cook (India) Limited said, “Our survey highlights strong travel demand for the last quarter 2021."

Let HC Judges Retire When SC Judges Do, At 65

Let HC Judges Retire When SC Judges Do, At 65

This will cut pendency, plus historical reasons for different retirement ages no longer hold

Arunav Kaul

08.10.2021

“How is this irrational? There has to be some reason for it,” said the Supreme Court in April in response to a petition which sought to increase the retirement age of high court judges from 62 to 65, to bring it at par with SC judges. The petition contended that the difference in the retirement ages between the two constitutional courts of the country is irrational and arbitrary and hence these must be made uniform.

The case was finally withdrawn by the petitioner but it has raised an important issue: Are the retirement ages different to show that SC judges are more important than HC judges or are there deeper historical reasons? Do the reasons still subsist and or is the time ripe to make the retirement ages uniform?

The divide has pre-independence roots

The Government of India Act 1935 was one of the first formal documents that categorically laid down the retirement age for judges. It formally established the Federal Court of India, the predecessor of the present Supreme Court of India, and laid down the retirement age at 65 years for judges of the Federal Court and 60 years for judges of HCs.

Why such a gap? The answer lies in the report of the Joint Committee on Indian Constitutional Reform set up before the passing of the 1935 Act. It opined that having a different retirement age would be necessary to secure the services of the judges from HCs.

Abhinav Chandrachud has further explained how it was contended that senior judges from HCs who were already in an established position in various prestigious courts would not be willing to relinquish the rest of their tenure for a junior position with an uncertain future at the newly established Federal Court. Hence, the additional five years were added as an incentive.

The different ages concretised in the coming years. Although the initial draft of the Constitution stated that judges of HC would retire at 60 or a higher age not exceeding 65 years based on the law fixed by state legislatures, this was eventually amended. Given past practices of retirement and health concerns at an old age, retirement age for HC judges was fixed at 60.

But SC-HC equation has changed since then

Having an age gap in retirement certainly made sense in the earlier days of SC. For instance, George H Gadbois Jr notes in his book that Justice KC Das Gupta was one of the first chief justices from a presidency HC to accept the nomination to SC in 1959 nearly a decade after the establishment of the latter court. Other chief justices showed a “reluctance to leave the glamour of a prestigious post to become the most junior SCI judge”.

However, today SC is one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, elevation to which is also seen as a matter of great prestige. Moreover the 14th Law Commission recommended even way back in 1958 that rules could be established to make it a duty for judges of HCs to accept the offer to serve at SC. Subsequently, a constitutional amendment in 1963 increased the retirement age of HC judges to 62. This was done soon after an increase in the retirement age of central government employees from 55 to 58 based on the recommendations of the Second Pay Commission which looked at health and life expectancy.

Give HC judges more time on the job

Years later in 2010, another constitutional amendment bill was introduced in Parliament to increase the retirement age of HC judges from 62 to 65. The standing committee on the bill pointed out that increasing the retirement age would impact both the vacancies and the high pendency of cases. This bill eventually lapsed but increasing the retirement age of HC judges would indeed reduce pendency, as well as provide judges ample time to spend on the bench.

On average, as of September 1, HC judges are being appointed at the age of 51. This provides them with a little over a decade before retiring. Increased retirement age will allow them to adjust to the rigmaroles of the new position and discharge their duties for a longer duration.

The bottomline is that when historical reasons are no longer relevant, it is best to amend policies so they reflect contemporary needs. So government should seriously look into the possibility of making the retirement age uniform for judges of HCs and SC. This would be the prudent approach.

The writer is a human rights lawyer

‘Can’t throw out candidates for smudging answer sheets’

‘Can’t throw out candidates for smudging answer sheets’

Highly Inequitable To Dismiss Efforts Over Scratches: HC

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:08.10.2021

The Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that it would be highly inequitable to throw the candidates for competitive examinations out at the threshold on account of having smudged a particular answer and the fact that there were vacancies as such. The HC has passed these orders while directing the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) to evaluate the OMR sheet of a woman candidate, who had appeared for the post of Physical Training Instructor (PTI) examination but her answer sheet, was not evaluated because one of the answers was smudged/scratched by her on the sheet.

Justice G S Sandhawalia passed these orders while allowing a petition filed by Suman Devi, who was a candidate for the post of PTI teacher in Haryana. She had appeared for the written examination held on August 23, 2020, but her answer sheet was not evaluated by the HSSC as one of the answers was found to be smudged and there was a cutting as such.

The petitioner has stated in her writ petition that she was an earlier appointee against the initial advertisement and got selected on April 30, 2010, and had worked in the department for around 10 years. However, her previous selection was set aside by the HC as well as the apex court. Thereafter, the entire selection process was to be redone while giving a chance to the earlier appointees.

The petitioner was a candidate under BCB category, for which 216 posts had been advertised and, required 45% marks to secure minimum qualifying prescribed marks in the written test. It was pointed out by the petitioner, who appeared in person, that on account of scratching and smudging of one of the questions on the OMR sheet, her question paper has not been evaluated.

The HC was informed that the commission has given certain benefits, as such, to candidates for certain questions and if the said benefit is given, the petitioner would make the grade of 90 marks. “Resultantly, the HSSC, is directed to ensure that if the petitioner has made the qualifying cut after deleting the benefit which is to be awarded against the smudged questions, result be declared and the same benefits be given,” the HC has ordered while allowing her plea.

The HC passed these orders while directing the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) to evaluate the OMR sheet of a woman candidate

DU refutes prof ’s claims that Kerala students are being given preference

DU refutes prof ’s claims that Kerala students are being given preference

Shinjini.Ghosh@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:08.10.2021

Following a row over comments on students from a particular state board being given preference by Delhi University during admissions, a statement was issued by the varsity on Thursday refuting the same.

DU registrar Vikas Gupta said over 60,000 students had applied to the university under the first cutoff list out of which over 46,000 were from CBSE. At the end of the last day of approvals from college principals, applications of over 31,000 students from CBSE and 2,365 of students from Kerala Board of Higher Secondary Education were accepted, he added.

There were 1,540 students from Board of School Education, Haryana and 1,429 from Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations.

The remarks by DU professor Rakesh Kumar Pandey on the “inexplicable rush” of students from Kerala had drawn flak from several quarters. Students’ Federation of India and National Students Union of India announced that they would hold demonstrations at DU’s Arts Faculty and Kirori Mal College, respectively, on Friday.

Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had staged a sit-in protest on Wednesday stating that the high cutoffs had led to students from “only few state boards” being admitted to the varsity.

In the statement, Gupta said, “Being a central university, University of Delhi equally and uniformly values the academic credentials of all candidates irrespective of their states and school boards. This year, too, equal opportunity was maintained by accepting applications based on merit only.”

Refuting the claim of students from a particular state board being “favoured”, Gupta added, “Being a prestigious central university with a long legacy of quality teaching and research, candidates across the country aspire to study in our colleges, departments and centres. It is our utmost responsibility to maintain justice and equity to all meritorious candidates coming not only from Indian states, but also from abroad.”

Nuthan Kiron Raj, a former student of Hindu College and a member of Telangana Students’ Association, said, “Such a statement is derogatory and condemnable. It was a very biased and prejudiced statement. There can be faults in the grading system, but singling out a particular state is unjust. As we don’t have a common grading system throughout the country, there can be differentiated grades. But that doesn’t give anyone the right to give a distorted statement against a particular state.”

Pens-only and extra blank circle: CBSE’s plan for Boards in Nov

Pens-only and extra blank circle: CBSE’s plan for Boards in Nov

Datesheet, Detailed Guidelines For Term-1 MCQ Exams Next Week

Manash.Gohain @timesgroup.com

New Delhi:08.10.2021

Candidates appearing for the MCQ-type Term 1 CBSE Board Exams this November will be allowed to use only pens to mark answers. The OMR answer sheets will, however, have an additional blank space/circle for the students to use if they decide to change their response to a question.

“If four options to answer a particular question are provided, there will also be an additional blank space. If the students, during revising or for any other reason, realise that they have marked the wrong choice, they can strike it off, darken the correct circle and write the same (like1, 2, 3 or 4 or a, b, c or d) in the additional blank space. A combination of intelligent character recognition (ICR) and optical mark recognition (OMR) techniques will be used to evaluate such responses,” CBSE controller of examinations Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj told exclusively to TOI.

He also said the practical exams will be conducted by own schools of the candidates.

He said, “Marks scored in the practical exams have always been questioned and very often we have seen significant variations in marks obtained by the same student in theroretical and practical exams. CBSE wants the school to be responsible and assess students on actual performance. The Term 1 practicals are to be conducted by schools themselves. Based on the present Covid situation and the vaccination drive underway, we are expecting that Term 2 practicals would be conducted by the CBSE”.

With around 40 days for the exams to begin, schools and candidates are eagerly waiting for the schedule and guidelines of the exams. To that, Bhardwaj said, “CBSE will issue the instructions after it finalises the complete scheme (of the exam) and we will apprise all the stakeholders with all aspects of the exam.”

TOI has learnt that students can expect the announcement of exam dates and guidelines in another four to five days once the Board gets the complete list of candidates (the last date is October 9, 2021).

The CBSE has split the board exams into two parts — Term 1 and Term 2. A candidate’s final score will be calculated on the basis of his/her performance in both Terms. As per the new scheme, Term 1 will be a 90-minute objectivetype exams, while Term 2 will be a 120-minute subjective tests. Both will have practicals.

On the marking system, Bhardwaj said each question will carry equal marks and candidates will get options as well.

IN FOR A REVAMPED SYSTEM

Take 2nd dose or get barred from public places in Indore

Take 2nd dose or get barred from public places in Indore

Indore:08.10.2021

Health authorities have asked district administration to take strict measures for completing second dose of Covid-19 doses among people resisting it.

The authorities seek deterrent measures to disallow overdue/due people from entry to public places to complete vaccination.

The district has around seven lakh overdue/ due people eligible for second dose administration but not turning out as drive lost momentum in the last one month or so. District Immunisation in-charge Dr Tarun Gupta said, “Because of lower turn out of people for taking their second dose despite becoming eligible is a cause of concern. The vaccine gives maximum protection after two dose inoculations.”

“Those who have taken the first dose and not come for the second dose are resisting it because of fake confidence of protection, vaccine apprehensiveness, complacency”, said Dr Gupta.

An adult person become due after completing a gap of 84 days after first dose in case of Covishield and for covaxin it is 28 days. The overdue people are those, who aren’t taking their second doses after 14 days of prescribed gap in Covishield and seven days in Covaxin. TOI on October 6 reported how the mass vaccination drive lost momentum.

Following it, the district administration in the last week wrote to secretaries, presidents of all associations to ensure full immunization of their members. TNN

Indoreans get jab at a mobile vaccination centre

PG resident doctors protest hike in fees, non-payment of pandemic allowance

PG resident doctors protest hike in fees, non-payment of pandemic allowance

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:08.10.2021

Resident doctors pursuing post-graduation courses in various medical colleges in Karnataka boycotted elective work on Thursday, while seeking reduction in academic fees and payment of Covid-19 allowances. However, they called off the protest by the evening after the medical education minister assured them that their allowances will be paid soon.

Doctors said that although the Covid allowance was announced in May, none have received it yet. The allowance amounts to Rs 10,000 a month per resident doctor.

Emergency services, ICUs and Covid-related services were unhindered by the strike since doctors only boycotted only elective services. Authorities at Victoria Hospital said faculty, staff, senior residents and fellowship persons of all departments managed OPDs on Thursday.

The resident doctors’ other demand — reduction of tuition fees — is yet to be addressed. “The minister said it will take time to decide as there are technical issues involved,” said a Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors office bearer.

The association revealed the state government had hiked fees from Rs 23,000 to Rs 1.3 lakh in 2019. There are around 5,000 resident doctors in the state. The association says fees for PG courses in the neighbouring state of Kerala is only Rs 11,500, while Rajasthan charges Rs 12,000. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh charge no fees. In Maharashtra, it is Rs 90,000. At the same time, the stipend is the lowest in Karnataka amongst these states at Rs 45,000-Rs 55,000. In Delhi and Gujarat, it is as high as Rs 85,000.

“Although the government and public glorified us as Covid warriors, it is of interest to note that, as young doctors, have in reality paid the government a hefty sum of money to do this thankless job,” the association said. “Umpteen representations were made to the government and administration in the past year to waive fees for the year 2021-22 in view of the fact that the past academic year was solely spent on Covid-19 care with near nil academics and clinical exposure in our chosen specialities. Government has no explanation for the hefty fee hike from thousands to lakhs.”

About 65-75% of patients in state-run hospitals are managed by resident doctors and one-fifth of them had contracted Covid-19, they said.

WARRIORS IN THE LURCH: Members of Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors during their demonstration on Thursday

Demand for travel bookings surges beyond pre-Covid levels

Demand for travel bookings surges beyond pre-Covid levels

Swati.Mathur@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:08.10.2021

A steady increase in Covid vaccination, combined with easing of travel restrictions and the ensuing festive season, have led to a surge in demand for travel that service providers say is even higher than pre-Covid levels.

TOI spoke to multiple players including Thomas Cook India Ltd (TCIL), SOTC Travel Ltd, MMT, Booking.com and Yatra and each said bookings for travel in the last quarter of 2021 have been witnessing a big surge.

A joint survey of 2,500 customers by TCIL and SOTC, showed the UAE, particularly the ongoing Dubai Expo 2020, to be the biggest drivers of demand for international travel in the coming months. A similar assessment of travel appetite by Booking.com, on the other hand, found the UAE, France and UK, Switzerland and Italy were the top five international destinations picked by Indian travellers between October 1 and November 30.

The TCIL survey also said that almost 77% of its surveyed customers were keen on international travel, and that apart from the Dubai Expo 2020, venues of IPL and T20 World Cup matches have been good crowd pullers too.

The pent-up demand for travel also seems to be impacting holiday durations and budgets, with most willing to loosen their purse strings for a chance to set out again. A majority of travellers appeared keen to take week-long breaks at least, while budgets, TCIL said, ranged for anything between ₹70,000 (for a four-night trip) to upwards of ₹2,50,000 per person for luxury packages.

TCIL’s Rajeev Kale said customer response has also prompted his company to tailor demand-based curated products.

Full report on www.toi.in

India to issue tourist visas from Oct 15

India to issue tourist visas from Oct 15

Bharti Jain & Saurabh Sinha TNN

New Delhi:08.10.2021

Announcing the opening up of the country to international tourists almost 19 months after tourist visas were suspended due to outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the home ministry on Thursday said it will begin issuing fresh tourist visas in a phased manner, starting with foreigners arriving on chartered flights, from October 15 onwards.

While fresh tourist visas will be granted to foreigners entering India via chartered flights with effect from October 15, 2021. The facility will be extended to foreigners coming in flights other than chartered ones from November 15, 2021. An officer explained that ‘other than chartered flights’ meant that fresh tourist visas may initially be granted to foreigners coming in from countries with which India has an ‘air bubble arrangement’. As and when demands builds up and commercial flights also start operating, tourist visas will be issued for those entering India by commercial flights.

All due protocols and norms relating to Covid-19, as notified by the ministry of health & family welfare from time to time, shall be adhered to by the foreign tourists, carriers bringing them into India and all other stakeholders at landing stations, the home ministry said in a statement.

During a virtual event with a cross-section of people from Goa last month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the central government was taking steps to welcome back foreign tourists.

Full report on www.toi.in

BOOST FOR TRAVEL INDUSTRY

UK yes to Indian vax, junks 10-day quarantine order

UK yes to Indian vax, junks 10-day quarantine order

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:08.10.2021

From October 11, Indians who have been fully vaccinated with WHO-approved Covishield will not be required to undergo the mandatory 10-day quarantine on arrival in the UK, ending a standoff between the two countries.

The travellers who have had their second doses — of Covishield or another UK approved vaccine — at least 14 days before landing in the UK will not be required to take a pre-departure Covid test or the day 8 test following their arrival.

It said cleared travellers only needed to take a Covid test on day 2, which also can be the less expensive “lateral flow” test instead of an RTPCR test. The decision came hours after MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi described the UK’s earlier decision to quarantine fully vaccinated Indians as “discriminatory”.

Visas for foreign tourists from Oct 15

Almost 19 months after suspending tourist visas, the Centre said it will begin issuing tourist visas for foreigners arriving on chartered flights from October 15. P 14

We’ll have 4,000 O2 plants: Modi

India will soon have 4,000 oxygen plants, said PM Modi on Thursday while digitally inaugurating 35 pressure swing adsorption oxygen plants set up under the PM Cares Fund across the country. P 14

Sero positivity in TN above 60%

Barring four districts, the sero positivity rate across Tamil Nadu was above 60%, shows the results of the third sero survey study by the directorate of public health. P 6

British high commissioner calls for more Britain-India flights

It said cleared travellers only needed to take a Covid test on day 2, which also can be the less expensive “lateral flow” test instead of an RTPCR test. The decision came hours after MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi described the UK’s earlier decision to quarantine fully vaccinated Indians as “discriminatory”.

British high commissioner to India Alex Ellis tweeted on Thursday night: “No quarantine for Indian travellers to UK fully vaccinated with Covishield or another UK-approved vaccine from October 11. Thanks to Indian government for close cooperation over last month.” In a video message, Ellis said, “We have been actually open for Indian travellers for months. We have been issuing thousands of visas to students, business travellers, tourists.… Some of the noise about this issue over the last few weeks just shows how keen people are to travel to the UK.”

He added, “Let’s open up more flights between the two countries. Let’s get British tourists able to come into India, they are desperate to do so. Let’s facilitate business travellers who are trying to come into India with e-visas.”

UK’s secretary of state for transport Grant Shapps tweeted: “I’m making changes so travellers visiting England have fewer entry requirements by recognising those with fully-vaccinated status from 37 new countries and territories, including India, Turkey and Ghana.” The UK had so far not accepted India’s Covishield certification due to which travellers were treated as unvaccinated and required to undergo 10-day quarantine with expensive Covid tests on day 2 and 8 of arrival. India had from October 4 reciprocated by imposing similar conditions from arrivals from the UK.

SC: What is basis of fixing income limit of ₹8L for EWS category?

QUESTIONS APPLICATION OF SAME INCOME CRITERIA

SC: What is basis of fixing income limit of ₹8L for EWS category?

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi  08.10.2021

: Questioning the Centre on the basis for fixing an annual income limit of ₹8 lakh for the economically weaker sections (EWS) category, which is the same for determining the creamy layer for OBCs, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked if it had conducted a study or exercise before taking the decision.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Vikram Nath and B V Nagarathna, which is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Centre’s decision to implement OBC and EWS reservation in the All India Quota for medical admission, raised the question on how the same income criteria could be applied across the country. How can a person’s earning in a small town or village be equated with those earning the same income in a metro city, it asked. The petition said per capita income of states are different and applying the same criteria may not be reasonable as the bar should be linked with cost of living or per capita income.

“What is the basis of fixing of ₹8 lakh criteria? Whether there was any study done before taking the decision. You have to demonstrate on what was the data or statistics on the basis of which it was done,” the bench said. It said even House Rent Allowance given to a government employee is not same and depends on place of posting and suggested that income criteria for EWS reservation should be linked to cost of living of a place instead of making it uniform across the country.

It said the income limit fixed for the OBC category for determining creamy lawyer could not be mechanically implemented in the EWS category as well. It said that there was no concept of social backwardness for the EWS category who are from forward classes and the creamy layer criteria for the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes may not be an automatic fit.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for the petitioners, contended that a scientific system needs to be adopted by the government while determining economically weaker sections. His view was supported by senior counsel Shyam Divan who was appearing for a group of MBBS doctors who approached the court against the Centre’s decision.

Full report on www.toi.in

Can’t cancel SC certificate as person went to church: Madras HC

Can’t cancel SC certificate as person went to church: Madras HC

Court pulls up officials for assuming woman had changed religion just because she married a Christian

Published: 07th October 2021 05:44 AM 

By Express News Service

MADURAI: Criticising a scrutiny committee for cancelling the community certificate of a Scheduled Caste woman on the assumption that she converted to Christianity, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court quashed the cancellation order, and advised the committee to deal with such matters with a broad mindset in the future.

Hearing the petition filed by a woman doctor from Ramanathapuram, a Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice M Duraiswamy, noted that the committee had assumed that she converted to Christianity, because she had married a Christian and also displayed a ‘cross’ symbol at her clinic.

“It is possible that the petitioner accompanied her husband and children for Sunday matins, but the mere fact that a person goes to church does not mean that he or she has altogether abandoned their original faith. The conduct of the officials reveals a certain degree of narrow-mindedness which our Constitution does not encourage. Nothing may be presumed upon a member of a particular community respecting another community or another religion and, indeed, that is the Constitutional mandate and not otherwise,” the Chief Justice observed.

Holding that the officials took the decision without proof, the judges quashed the cancellation order and ordered restoration of the petitioner’s community certificate. Earlier, the government counsel had cited a notification passed in 2015, and argued that the petitioner could have moved an appeal before the government department concerned instead of approaching the High Court.

However, the judges pointed out that as per a G.O. passed by the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department in 2007 for formation of the scrutiny committee, the petitioner was right in approaching the High Court. According to the G.O, appeal against decisions taken by such committees could only be filed before the High Court and Supreme Court.

Kerala woman gives birth on board Air India London-Kochi flight

Kerala woman gives birth on board Air India London-Kochi flight

Giving birth on a flight is not something unheard of, but the state of mind of each individual on board witnessing the event, especially the fellow travellers, is beyond imagination.

Published: 07th October 2021 06:29 AM 

By Aishwarya Prabhakaran

Express News Service

KOCHI: Giving birth on a flight is not something unheard of, but the state of mind of each individual on board witnessing the event, especially the fellow travellers, is beyond imagination. But, rest assured, there will be nurses and doctors nearby, given the famed Malayali presence in the healthcare sector, especially nurses, globally. And hence, there’s always help at hand, even if an emergency arises midair.

Air India crew and health workers

with the woman and baby after the

delivery | Source: Twitter

A similar incident took place on Tuesday morning on Air India’s flight from London to Kochi. A Keralite woman who boarded the flight with her family experienced labour pain after the flight took off from London and was crossing over the Black Sea, a large inland sea situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe. The 29-week pregnant woman was lucky enough as the Kerala-bound flight had two doctors and four nurses to help her deliver the baby boy.

Shinu Suresh, a Kollam-based co-passenger on the flight, shared on his Twitter handle how the Air India cabin crew, health professionals and passengers extended all help they could offer to the mother and newborn.

“The flight turned into an operation theatre in a short span. All passengers were trying to help them in one way or another. Indeed, teamwork,” he tweeted.

An Air India spokesperson said the doctors informed the crew that both the mother and newborn needed medical care at the earliest. “The situation was intense. We took the necessary steps and arrangements for the flight to land in Frankfurt and arrange a medical team at the airport to carry the mother and newborn to the hospital safely,” the spokesperson.

The spokesperson told TNIE that the woman complained of stomach pain after she had her meal on the flight. She informed the cabin crew that she was seven months pregnant and was going into labour. The flight had sufficient medical supplies (first aid kits and universal precaution kit (UPK) and physician kit) to perform the delivery. Hence, the baby was born prematurely, both the mother and baby needed medical care at the earliest, the doctors informed the crew. Thus, the flight was diverted to Frankfurt.

“The mother, newborn and a family member of the woman were deboarded at Frankfurt airport,” he added.

The flight reached Kochi airport at 9.45am on Wednesday. “The AI-150 crew members were felicitated at the airport for their timely action,” said an official at CIAL. “The flight was supposed to reach Kochi at 3.45am. It had more than 170 passengers on board,” he added.

The Kollam-based passenger tweeted an update on the mother and baby he got from the medics who helped with the delivery. “Spoke to the medics who helped deliver the baby. Both mom and baby are doing well,” he tweeted.

LG clears deck for new DU VC to take charge

LG clears deck for new DU VC to take charge

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:07.10.2021

Lieutenant governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday approved chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s proposal to relieve Yogesh Singh from the post of the vice-chancellor of Delhi Technological University.

Singh was appointed as the new vice-chancellor of Delhi University on September 22.

In an official order issued, Delhi government’s department of training and technical education said: “Lieutenant governor Anil Baijal has approved the proposal recommended by the chief minister for relieving Yogesh Singh from the post of vice-chancellor of Delhi Technological University on October 7 to enable him to join Delhi University as the vice-chancellor.”

The order added that JP Saini, vice-chancellor of Netaji Subhas University of Technology would be assigned additional charge of DTU’s vice-chancellor for a period of three months or till Singh’s successor is selected.

Delhi Technological University will also be organising a farewell for Singh on Thursday.

423 from UK sent to 10-day home quarantine in 3 days

423 from UK sent to 10-day home quarantine in 3 days

Sidhartha.Roy@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 07.10.2021

Over 400 UK nationals who have arrived in Delhi since Monday have been sent for mandatory home quarantine. Sources said that even transit passengers from the UK who were going to other states had to give their sample for an RT-PCR test at the Delhi airport. No passenger has tested positive for Covid-19 yet.

The central government has decided to impose the “reciprocal” quarantine conditions on the British nationals after the United Kingdom refused to reconsider its decision to treat fully-vaccinated Indians as unvaccinated. The new regulation was issued on October 4 by the Union health ministry, which are applicable to all UK nationals arriving in India, regardless of their vaccination status.

The new regulation includes a pre-departure Covid-19 RT-PCR test within 72 hours before travel, Covid-19 RT-PCR test on arrival at the airport and another RT-PCR test on Day 8 after the arrival and mandatory quarantine at home or in the destination address for 10 days after arriving in India. Prior to the new regulation, the British nationals had to undergo extra screening upon arrival due to the UK’s own surge in December. This included seven days in home quarantine and an RT-PCR test at the airport on arrival.

A total of 423 United Kingdom nationals have arrived in Delhi in 10 different flights since the new regulation came into effect, including 56 in one flight at the time of going to the press. The passengers have to give a self-affidavit, declaring that they will follow the guidelines dated October 4, 2021 and that they will remain in home quarantine for the next 10 days and get tested through RT-PCR on Day 8 from the day of arrival.

“Such safety protocols have already been there and for all international passengers who have to get screened by taking a Covid-19 RT-PCR test and remain in home quarantine. Only those who test positive for Covid-19 have to remain in institutional quarantine,” a senior Delhi government official said. “The only difference in this new regulation for the UK nationals is that the length of home quarantine is longer and the requirement of another test after eight days,” he said.

The official said that while all international passengers were screened for Covid-19, the UK nationals were being identified separately and it was ensured that they were put under surveillance separately. “Usually, passengers are asked to remain in home quarantine, but now in the case of UK nationals, the district officials at their destination are being alerted immediately and it is their responsibility to keep the passengers under a health surveillance,” he added.

“Also, not only passengers destined for Delhi and getting out of the airport arrival terminal, but also samples for the RT-PCR test for transit passengers are being taken. The authorities of the state they are visiting are informed and in case the test result comes out positive, the local authorities are alerted immediately,” he said.

GOVT OFFICIAL SAYS

Only the passengers who return positive test for Covid-19 have to remain in institutional quarantine

HC: Can’t help corpn staff not doing their job

HC: Can’t help corpn staff not doing their job

New Delhi:07.10.2021

Delhi High Court on Wednesday said it was not obliged to come to the aid of municipal workers and press for payment of their salaries when they were not discharging their functions on ground, leaving the capital in a “dismal state”.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh, hearing a batch of petitions on non-payment of salaries and pensions to teachers, hospital staff, sanitation workers and engineers employed by the municipal corporations, expressed its displeasure at the state of cleanliness and upkeep of the capital.

“While on the one hand, we are pressing for payment of salaries and pensions, it appears that the municipal employees, especially safai karamcharis, are not discharging their duties... As a result, in the city, there is an increase in the case of dengue, collection of garbage and malba, and broken roads and pavements,” the HC bench stated.

“Not a single piece of plastic has been removed from there. It continues to be just as dirty and shabby... cows are eating all that plastic. They will die,” remarked Justice Sanghi while referring specifically to the Sainik Farms area. PTI

US district court order opens doors for non-immigrant visa holders like H-1Bs

US district court order opens doors for non-immigrant visa holders like H-1Bs

Lubna.Kably @timesgroup.com

07.10.2021

A US district court judge has prohibited the use of travel bans as an excuse to not process or issue visas, such as H-1Bs — a non-immigrant visa. While the US is gearing up to open its doors from November to fully vaccinated travellers, this decision by the district court of Columbia, pronounced on October 5, is good news for H-1Bs and their dependants (such as spouses holding H4 visas) who had found themselves stranded in India while visiting their family. H-1Bs who were allotted visas under the lottery mechanism also found themselves unable to get their visas processed.

Travel bans were imposed under a ‘presidential proclamation’ earlier by former President Donald Trump and later by President Joe Biden. A fallout was that visa processing came to a halt. No non-immigrant visas were issued unless the individual could claim a carve out under the ‘National Interest Exemption’, which itself was a challenging task.

On April 30, 2021, US President Joe Biden issued a proclamation restricting the entry of non-immigrants (green card holders were exempt from the ban) who were physically present within India during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the US. TOI had covered filing of the lawsuit by several individuals including Indian nationals in its edition of June 3.

The lawsuit complaint had stated: “Several plaintiffs are long-term employees of US companies, who have been stuck outside of the US and whose careers are at risk, as they cannot return to their jobs, homes, and communities.” Before the district court, they claimed that the proclamations had hurt them as the US department of state “has refused to process their non-immigrant visas”, “to schedule interviews or adjudicate their visa applications”, or “to issue the visas”. They said currently “…consular officials are categorically precluded from processing their visa applications unless they fall under an exemption, regardless of the capacity and reopening status of local consulates and embassies.” While Judge James E Boasberg did not order the department of state to immediately adjudicate the plaintiff’s cases he has debarred the use of the travel ban proclamation as an excuse to refuse visa processing. Greg Siskind, one of the immigration attorneys who represented the plaintiffs, said, “This is a pretty important win because it was specifically aimed at killing the illegal interpretation across the board. This will also hopefully bar a president in the future from abusing this power.”

E-token for entry to Mansa Devi temple

E-token for entry to Mansa Devi temple

Arvind.Bishnoi1@timesgroup.com

Panchkula:07.10.2021

The nine-day Ashwin Navaratra celebrations begin from Thursday and Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board (SMMDSB) has made special arrangement from maintenance of law and order to the facilities given to the devotees, who come in large number from across the country to pay their obeisance at the Mata Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula and Kali Mata temple in Kalka. Entry at the temple will be allowed only through e-token system and special e-token counters have also been set up. However, no capping on the number of devotees is fixed. Random Covid sampling of devotees would be done.

The SMMDSB officials have stated that a devotee could obtain e-token from their website www.mansadevi.org.in or through the three counters setup by the administration at the bus stand of Mansa Devi Temple, HUDA shopping complex and near the library near the main temple entry. The counters will remain open from 6am to 10pm to assist the devotees.

For preferential darshan facility, an amount of Rs 50 to be paid through the SMMDSB website and 10-person at one time would be allowed to go through lifts at the temple.

During the nine-day Navaratras, 20 special buses for devotees from Zirakpur bus stand, Sector-17 and 43 bus stands in Chandigarh among free auto rickshaw and e-rickshaws for elderly and physically disabled would be run for the devotees during the festival. For following of Covid-19 protocol, e-tokens would be given to the devotees, but no cap on the number of devotees has been fixed so far.

For law and order, a sufficient number of cops, bomb disposal teams would be deployed, for fire safety, two fire tenders would be appointed atthe Mata Mansa Devi Temple throughout the festival. Chief executive officer of SMMDSB Yetender Sen Gupta said they were all set for the nine-day festival and all necessary arrangements had been made in advance.

Mansa Devi temple all decked up to receive devotees for Navaratra

AI to fly over Hindu Kush on way to UK

AI to fly over Hindu Kush on way to UK

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  07.10.2021

The increased flying time for Air India nonstop between Delhi and UK and Delhi and North America since Afghan airspace closed on August 16 is going to reduce significantly with the airline deciding to fly over the mighty Hindu Kush range for the first time. This new routing will see Boeing 777s and 787s soaring over Tirich Mir (7,780 metres), the world’s highest peak outside the Himalaya-Karakoram range.

Since mid-August, nonstop flights on these routes, including PM Narendra Modi’s recent US journey on India One, have taken the longer route via south Pakistan below Afghanistan and then via Iran-Turkey instead of the shorter Pakistan-Afghanistan-Turkmenistan/ Uzbekistan route. Now heading straight north towards Kashmir, over the Hindu Kush range and then the usual route to the west will mean less flying time for passengers and fuel saving for AI at a time when fuel prices are on fire.

“The flying time for north American nonstop flights will come down by up to 40 minutes and for the UK (London and Birmingham) by 20 minutes — almost like before the Afghan airspace closed,” said an airline source. “Our nonstops between Delhi and mainland Europe will continue to take the south Pakistan route for now as determined by our cost benefit analysis.”

The sources said that on the return from north America, an aircraft will save four tonnes of fuel (one tonne while going and three on return). On a return UK flight, the saving will be 2.5 tonne. At the moment, due to travel restrictions in the United States (likely to be lifted from early November), there aren’t too many daily flights, but AI will still save 30 tonne per week using the Hindu Kush route.

“At $800 per tonne of fuel, the weekly saving alone is $24,000, or around Rs 18 lakh at the current currency exchange rate,” confided a source. “When restrictions are lifted and we mount more flights to north America, the savings will multiply. Once the Afghan airspace reopens, we will resume the old route.” Canada, for instance, has just permitted nonstop flights from India and AI has resumed its direct Delhi-Toronto and Delhi-Vancouver services.

Carrying less fuel will mean more payload in terms of passengers and/or cargo. So, the benefit of say, four tonne less fuel will be double — lesser fuel and the differential amount in extra payload.

For the high terrain route, Air India has prepared through extra simulator drills, trial runs and special precautions.

AIMING HIGHER

Now, pay ₹10-₹50 extra for taking a train from revamped stations

Now, pay ₹10-₹50 extra for taking a train from revamped stations

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:07.10.2021

Soon, you would have to pay a user fee ranging between Rs 10 and Rs 50 for boarding trains from stations that have been redeveloped or will be redeveloped in the near future. Similar charges will also be levied for de-boarding the trains at stations that have been revamped or will be revamped soon. This fee will be automatically added to the fare while booking tickets. The user fee would be in five categories, higher for AC First Class and subsequently less for AC-2, AC-3, Sleeper and unreserved classes.

The railway ministry will soon notify the fee, which will be an assured source of revenue for the private players who will develop these stations and the ministry hopes this will encourage more private players to bid for the projects.

Sources said though earlier the railways had sent the proposal to seek approval from the Cabinet, now a decision has been taken that the national transporter will notify the charges on its own and will come out with the detailed policy.

“We are hopeful of the notification in the next 4-5 days. It will bring clarity if the charges can also be levied on passengers boarding from or de-boarding at stations where redevelopment work is underway or if it will be applicable for only redeveloped stations,” said an official.The levy of the user fee will mean the train fare will increase.

For example, if a passenger books a ticket from New Delhi to Mumbai, then the ticket price would include the user fee of both stations.

However, if a passenger books a ticket from a smaller station to New Delhi or Mumbai, then the user fee would be 50% of the normal charge.

Sources said to begin with the railways may roll out the user fee regime at 50 stations.

COSTLY AFFAIR

‘Displaying Holy Cross no ground to cancel SC cert’

‘Displaying Holy Cross no ground to cancel SC cert’

Madurai:  07.10.2021

Can a Holy Cross and other religious symbols and practices displayed by a Dalit be cited to cancel his/her Scheduled Caste certificate? No, said the Madras high court, calling it a “bureaucratic narrow-mindedness” the Constitution never foresaw, reports K Kaushik.

In a recent order, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice M Duraiswamy held that merely because a member of the Dalit community married a Christian and her children have been recognised as members of her husband’s community, the SC certificate issued to her cannot be cancelled.

‘Conduct of authorities portrays a degree of narrow-mindedness’

The court made the observations while allowing a petition filed by P Muneeswari of Ramanathapuram district in 2016, seeking to quash a 2013 order passed by the district collector cancelling her community certificate. A doctor by profession, she was born to Hindu Pallan (a Scheduled Caste) parents and certified so in accordance with law. She then married a Christian and raised her children also as members of the Christian community.

Citing this, her certificate was revoked by the district authorities. When she challenged the decision in court, officials said they visited her clinic and found a Holy Cross hanging on the wall. On this basis, the officials conjectured that she had converted to Christianity and was, thus, disqualified from retaining the Hindu Pallan community certificate. Slamming the argument, the first bench said: "There is no suggestion in the affidavit that she has abandoned her faith or that she has embraced Christianity. It is equally possible that she, as a part of a family, may accompany her husband and children for Sunday matins, but the mere fact that a person goes to church does not mean that such person has altogether abandoned the original faith to which such person was born."

The judges further said: "The acts and conduct of the authorities portray a degree of narrow-mindedness that the Constitution does not encourage." It would do well for the members of the scrutiny committee to approach the matter with a broader mind than is evident in the present case, they said. Judges directed the authorities to restore the certificate originally issued in favour of Muneeswari with immediate effect.

‘Displaying Holy Cross no ground to cancel SC cert’

 ‘Displaying Holy Cross no ground to cancel SC cert’

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:07.10.2021

Can a Holy Cross and other religious symbols and practices displayed by a dalit be cited to cancel his/her Scheduled Caste certificate? No, said the Madras high court, calling it a “bureaucratic narrow-mindedness” the Constitution never foresaw. In a recent order, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice M Duraiswamy held that merely because a member of the dalit community married a Christian and her children have been recognised as members of her husband’s community, the SC certificate issued to her cannot be cancelled.