37-foot tall Hanuman statue installed at Melur

37-foot tall Hanuman statue installed at Melur

25/10/2021

Special Correspondent Tiruchi

A 37-foot statue of Hanuman, one of the tallest statues for the deity in the State, was installed on the banks of the Kollidam river at Melur in Srirangam on Sunday.

The statue has been installed on a two-acre premises owned by the Srirangam-based Sanjeevana Anjaneyar Swamy Trust. A large number of devotees from across the State witnessed the installation ceremony.

The statue was sculpted at Thirumurugan Poondi near Tirupur. A team of sculptors led by Muthu and Ilayaraja worked for more than two years to chisel the 120 tonne statue out of a single rock.

R. Vasudevan, Managing Trusty of the Sanjeevana Anjaneyar Swamy Trust, said that it had cost ₹40 lakh to erect it. A strong pedestal had been built in commensurate with the weight of the statue. The statue was brought on a customised trailer having 46 wheels about a few weeks ago. Though there were no major hurdles in transporting it till Srirangam, it took a few days to reach Melur due to the narrow approach road.

Plea in HC to allow use of first letter of mother’s name as initial

Plea in HC to allow use of first letter of mother’s name as initial

School insists on first letter of father’s name as initial

25/10/2021

The petitioner says her daughter preferred the first letter of her mother’s name as the initial.

Staff Reporter MADURAI

A woman from Karur district moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday seeking relief after the authorities of the government school where her daughter was studying had insisted that they should provide the first letter of the father’s name as initial of the girl, despite the fact that all government records carried the first letter of the mother’s name as initial.

The petitioner, M. Pothumponnu of Kadavur taluk in Karur district, said her daughter P. Kaviya was studying in class IX in Kadavur Government High School.

The petitioner said her husband had deserted the family and she was living with her parents. She was taking care of the family and the educational expenses of her daughter.

She said at the time of school admission itself she had provided the first letter of her name as the initial to her daughter and all government records, including Aadhaar card, carried the same.

She said her daughter preferred the first letter of her mother’s name as the initial and not that of her father’s name.

Under these circumstances, her daughter applied for a scholarship examination. But, the school authorities advised her to provide the first letter of her father’s name as initial. She said the authorities had told her that the issue would be raised at the time of class X public examination too.

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy sought a response from the State. The court adjourned the hearing till October

Over 10,000 health insurance claims of govt. staff rejected

Over 10,000 health insurance claims of govt. staff rejected

Collectors asked to constitute district-level audit teams

25/10/2021

Dennis S. Jesudasan CHENNAI

Over 10,000 claims made by Tamil Nadu government employees and pensioners under the New Health Insurance Scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially between July 2020 and August this year, have been rejected. Since the number of claims rejected is huge, district-level teams have been constituted to audit the claims.

At a meeting to review the cashless treatment provided under the NHIS between July 1, 2020, and August 31 this year, “it was found that around 10,929 claims had been denied for various reasons,” the Commissioner of Treasuries and Accounts informed the Collectors.

The Commissioner asked the Collectors to constitute district-level teams to conduct sample studies of such cases and submit a detailed report before this month-end. The teams will each consist of the chief/senior medical officer, a treasury officer and a staff member of the insurance company. They will also undertake periodical sample studies (every two months) at major hospitals, and send reports to the office of the Commissioner of Treasuries and Accounts.

“Almost every employee has had to fight to get the insurance claims. There are also some inherent flaws in the scheme,” said P. Frederic Engels, State coordinator of the Contributory Pension Scheme Abolition Movement.

He highlighted a specific issue in the implementation of the scheme. Though the scheme was awarded to one company, there are two third-party administrators, he said. While one company had been earmarked for a few districts, the remaining districts had been allocated to another.

“It has been effected with a mere circular. When a government employee is admitted to a hospital in another district while travelling or after an accident, the third-party administrator says the other third-party administrator manages the affairs of that district. This causes an unnecessary burden on the patient. The cashless treatment is never cashless. Reimbursement should not be allowed at all, since it dilutes the very concept,” he said.

There are over 9.33 lakh State government employees and about 7.31 lakh pensioners in the State.

More lockdown relaxations in TN, theatres can function with 100% occupancy from November 1

More lockdown relaxations in TN, theatres can function with 100% occupancy from November 1

So far, all kinds of shops, restaurants and bakeries were allowed to function till 11 pm. This restriction has been removed.

Published: 23rd October 2021 08:00 PM |

By T Muruganandham

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Extending the lockdown for 15 more days from November 1, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday announced more relaxations. However, the ban on festivals and political events will continue.

The following relaxations come into force with immediate effect:

So far, all kinds of shops, restaurants and bakeries were allowed to function till 11 pm. This restriction has been removed.

Similarly, at all stadia, both contact and non-contact sports will be allowed.

Swimming pools can be used for therapeutic purposes.

From November 1, the following relaxations come into force:

In all schools, Classes 1 to 8 will be allowed on a rotation basis.

Theatres can function with 100 percent occupancy.

All indoor cultural programmes are allowed. Individual liquor bars can function.

Intra-district and inter-district public transport (ordinary and air-conditioned buses) will be allowed with 100 percent seat occupancy. However, this will not be applicable on buses to Kerala.

All film shootings can take place with a sufficient number of workers. All those engaged in shooting should have been vaccinated.

Anna Management Training Institute, SIRD, Bhavanisagar Officers Training Institute and other government training institutes and centres can function with 100 percent trainees.

Stop 'Fraudulent' Practice Of Recovering Late Fee Imposed On Colleges By Universities From Students: Allahabad HC Directs UP Govt

Stop 'Fraudulent' Practice Of Recovering Late Fee Imposed On Colleges By Universities From Students: Allahabad HC Directs UP Govt: The Allahabad High Court recently directed the Uttar Prad

Foreign Medical Graduates Who Interned In Country Of Study Not Required To Undergo Another Internship In State: Kerala High Court

Foreign Medical Graduates Who Interned In Country Of Study Not Required To Undergo Another Internship In State: Kerala High Court

Hannah M Varghese

23 Oct 2021 3:30 PM

The Kerala High Court has held that a medical graduate from a foreign university who has fulfilled all requisite qualifications as per the norms prevailing in that country to become eligible to be enrolled as a medical practitioner therein, need not undergo another internship in the State to be registered with the State Medical Council to practice Medicine in terms of the Travancore Cochin Medical Practitioners Act, 1953.

Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar directed the State Medical Council to grant permanent registration to the petitioner within two months without insisting her to undergo a compulsory internship when she applies for the same.

However, it was clarified that the Council may persuade foreign medical graduates to undergo internship for diseases and treatments peculiar to the State. It added,

"It is made clear that this judgment will not preclude the State Medical Council from bringing to the notice of the National Medical Commission the requirement, if any, for the foreign medical graduates to undergo internship afresh to get acclimatized with the diseases and requirements of treatment peculiar to the State in order to bring in force appropriate statutory amendments."

Brief Facts:

The plea was filed by Sadhiya Siyad, an Indian citizen who was admitted to the Dubai Medical College for Girls in 2014 and had graduated 2019. She had obtained the Eligibility Certificate as mandated by the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 to pursue medicine from a foreign institution in the year 2017.

Pursuant to completing her course, the petitioner underwent a one-year internship at various hospitals under the Dubai Health Authority till September 2020. Following this, she cleared the licensing examination conducted by the Dubai Health Authority.

Accordingly, she became eligible to be enrolled as a medical practitioner in the country and was registered as one in November 2020.

The petitioner also cleared the Screening Test under Section 13(4A) of the IMC Act to become eligible to be enrolled in a State Medical Register in India as well.

According to the petitioner, she is entitled to practice medicine in India and thereby preferred an application in the State for provisional registration.

However, the State Medical Council directed the petitioner to file an affidavit to the effect that the provisional registration will only be used for completing Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship (CRRI) in any institution approved by the Medical Council of India.

The petitioner's case was that since she has already undergone an internship in the country of education as part of the medical course undertaken by her, she is entitled to permanent registration straightaway in the State.

On that note, as soon as she received her provisional registration, the petitioner instituted a writ before the Court seeking a direction to the State Medical Council to grant permanent registration to her.

Observations of the Court:

The questions before the Court were:

Is a person who has not undertaken an internship as part of the medical course undertaken by her abroad eligible to appear in the Screening Test provided for under Section 13(4A) of the IMC Act?

Regulation 11 provides that candidates who qualify the Screening Test may apply to any State Medical Council for provisional or permanent registration and the State Medical Councils shall issue provisional registration to such candidates, who are yet to undergo one-year internship in an approved institution and issue permanent registration to such eligible candidates who have already undergone one-year internship, as the case may be.

The Court found that this shows that internship is not insisted for appearing in the Screening Test and that the only requirement for appearing in the Screening Test is that the candidates should possess a primary medical qualification as defined in the Regulations.

Since the State Medical Council did not have a case that the petitioner did not possess a primary medical qualification, it was held that the stand of the Council that only students who have completed an internship as part of the medical course undertaken by them in the medical institution abroad are entitled to appear for the Screening Test is unsustainable.

Can a person who obtains an Eligibility Certificate in terms of Section 13(4B) of the IMC Act after taking admission in a medical institution abroad, be denied enrolment on a State Medical Register if she satisfies all other eligibility criteria for the same?

The State Medical Council has no case that the petitioner would not have been issued the Eligibility Certificate, had she applied for the same before taking admission for the medical course in the medical institution abroad.

In the circumstances, it was found that the stand of the State Medical Council that the qualification obtained by the petitioner cannot be regarded as one in accordance with the provisions of the IMC Act as she has not obtained Eligibility Certificate before taking admission, so as to become eligible to be enrolled as a medical practitioner in the State Medical Register, is unsustainable.

The petitioner had satisfied all the eligibility criteria for registration under the provisions of the IMC Act and the regulations made thereunder. As such, the Court held that she cannot be denied registration on the said ground.

Whether a person who obtains a medical qualification from a medical institution abroad and undertakes one-year internship thereafter in the country of education and satisfies all other eligibility criteria for enrolment on a State Medical Register be insisted to undergo CRRI for the said purpose?

The Court noted that a person who obtains medical qualification granted by medical institutions outside India, is recognised for enrolment as a medical practitioner in that country and who clears the Screening Test in terms of Section 13(4A) of the IMC Act, is entitled to be enrolled as a medical practitioner on any State Medical Register if he has already undergone one-year internship.

The petitioner had satisfied all the said conditions. Therefore the bench ruled:

"...according to me, the State Medical Council is obliged to grant permanent registration to the petitioner and they cannot insist that the petitioner shall undergo CRRI for the said purpose."

Accordingly, the petition was allowed directing the State Medical Council to permit the petitioner to apply for the permanent registration, and if applied, grant permanent registration to the petitioner without insisting her to undergo CRRI, if the application of the petitioner is otherwise in order.

Advocates Santhosh Mathew and Elza Joe appeared for the petitioners while Standing CounselsTitus Mani and N Raghuraj appeared for the respondents in the matter.

Case Title: Sadhiya Siyad v. State of Kerala & Ors.

No. of 2nd dose recipients dips at KMC vax clinics

AWARENESS DRIVE PLANNED

No. of 2nd dose recipients dips at KMC vax clinics

Saikat.Ray@timesgroup.com

Kolkata:23.10.2021

Witnessing a sharp drop in the number of second dose recipients at the civic vaccination clinics, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided to launch an awareness drive particularly in areas where the second dose recipients are yet to turn up.

According to an internal vaccine data recorded by the KMC clinics across Kolkata, the civic body is in search of 21% of the recipients who had taken their first shot from the civic vaccination clinics but didn’t turn up for their second dose. When the KMC medical officers at the clinics first noticed such mismatch, they formed a team of honorary health workers in August and sent them from door-to-door of select neighbourhoods to woo the recipients of second dose to be present at the civic clinics. The initiative yielded results as 1.5 lakh recipients finally took their second dose from over 50 vaccination clinics.

According to a KMC health department official, the allocation of Covishield vaccine for each civic clinic was sufficient for inoculation of second dose recipients across 144 wards and the recipients should take the opportunity at the earliest. “The supply of vaccines has been steady and sufficient for the past two months. This is the right time the recipients should respond to our appeal and queue up at our clinics to get inoculated till the stocks last,” said a KMC medical officer.

Records with some KMC clinics in areas like Tollygunge, Jadavpur, Behala, Kidderpore, Metiabruz and EM Bypass reveal a poor attendance of second dose recipients in the past few weeks. For instance, several clinics in Tollygunge recorded a 50% attendance of second dose recipients. “We were given 200 doses today. At the end of vaccination hours we recorded presence of 90 second dose recipients and 10 first dose recipients,” said a medical officer at a KMC clinic in Tollygunge.

Atin Ghosh, a member in KMC Board of Administrators overseeing the health department, said: “Now, even senior citizens can take the opportunity of avoiding crowd and take second shot at our clinics.”

HC: Just taking cash illegally inadequate for graft charge

HC: Just taking cash illegally inadequate for graft charge

Lalmohan Patnaik TNN

Cuttack:23.10.2021

The Orissa HC has ruled that mere acceptance of any amount by way of illegal gratification or its recovery is outside the scope of the proof of demand and is not sufficient to bring home the charge under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The single-judge bench of Justice S K Sahoo said, “The proof of demand of illegal gratification is the essence of accusation of the offences under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and in the absence thereof, the charge would fail.” The complainant cannot be placed on any better footing than that of an accomplice and corroboration in material particulars connecting him with the crime has to be insisted upon, Justice Sahoo ruled.

The ruling by the vacation bench came on Thursday, while allowing the criminal appeal of Sanatan Dash, who was convicted for taking a bribe of Rs 500 and sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment by the special judge vigilance in Bhubaneswar nearly 18 years ago.

“The prosecution evidence with regard to the demand and acceptance of a bribe amount of Rs 500 by the appellant from the complainant for passing his house rent bill appears to be shaky in nature... the impugned judgment suffers from perversity, the same cannot be sustained in the eye of law and accordingly, I am constrained to give benefit of doubt to the appellant,” Justice Sahoo said in his 37-page judgment.

IAS officers have no right to claim cadre of choice: SC

IAS officers have no right to claim cadre of choice: SC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:23.10.2021

The Supreme Court has said a candidate cannot claim allocation of cadre of his/her choice as a matter of right after qualifying civil services examination as he/she opts for serving anywhere in the country with “eyes wide open”.

A bench of justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian passed the order while adjudicating a 14-year legal battle of a IAS officer to get Kerala cadre as it was her home state. Kerala High Court had passed the order in favour of A Shainamol and directed the Centre in 2017 to change her cadre from Himachal Pradesh to Kerala.

The apex court, however, quashed the HC order and said that issue of allocation of cadres was well settled by the apex court in various judgments and the consistent view of the Court has been that even if the name of the candidate appears in the merit list, such candidate has no right to claim appointment.

“In the light of Rajiv Yadav (case), the allocation of cadre is not a matter of right. It was held that a selected candidate has a right to be considered for appointment to the IAS, but he has no such right to be allocated to a cadre of his choice or to his home state... Allotment of cadre is an incidence of service. The applicant as a candidate for the All-India Service with eyes wide open has opted to serve anywhere in the country. The State has no discretion of allocation of a cadre at its whims and fancies,” it said.

ISC exams to begin on Nov 22, ICSE on Nov 29; will be offline

ISC exams to begin on Nov 22, ICSE on Nov 29; will be offline

Jhimli.Mukherjeepandey@timesgroup.com

Kolkata:23.10.2021

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations late on Friday announced fresh dates for the ISC and ICSE first semester exams. ISC exams will begin on November 22 and end on December 20, while ICSE will be held from November 29 to December 16.

A circular, signed by council chief executive and secretary Gerry Arathoon, was sent to school heads with the new schedule. It also stated that the exams would be conducted in offline mode at the candidates’ respective schools.

The ISC exam will be oneand-a-half hours long. Most ICSE papers will be an hour long, though some like Hindi and mathematics will be for an hour and a half. ISC exams will start at 2pm while ICSE will start at 11am. This has been done to sanitise the school premises between the two exams, school heads said.

While ISC will start with the English literature paper on November 22, ICSE will start with the English language paper on November 29. The circular also said that in addition to the scheduled time for each exam, an additional 10 minutes will be given to read the paper. The question paper-cum-answer booklet will be given 10 minutes ahead of the scheduled start time.

Earlier, the council had planned to hold online exams for the first semester from November 15 for both ISC and ICSE.

School heads happy with move

On October 22, the council had sent a circular postponing the exam for “reasons beyond (their) control”. Friday’s circular clarified that the council had received a large number of mails from school heads, students and parents saying that non-availability of devices, irregular power supply and network and bandwidth problems would make it difficult to take the test online. Hence, the decision was made to switch over to offline mode.

School heads sounded happy with the move. “At least this gives an even platform for all children to write the test,” said Rupkatha Sarkar, principal of La Martiniere for Girls.

“When the exams were postponed, students were highly disappointed. We, too, had done a lot of preparation for the online test and were a bit bewildered, but we knew that the council was working out something better,” said John Bagul, South City International School principal.

“We will now wait for the council to hold a meeting and give us the details of the modalities of the offline exam,” said Richard Gasper, principal of St Augustine’s Day School, Kolkata.

School heads wondered whether the question paper-cum-answer booklet would contain OMR sheets that would be automatically corrected and make declaration of results faster. Some felt that there were chances of normal sheets where students would have to tick right answers.

Create portal for students’ grievances: Guv to univs

Create portal for students’ grievances: Guv to univs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:23.10.2021

Governor Anandiben Patel on Friday directed the vice-chancellors of state universities to launch a single-window system for addressing students’ grievances.

The portal, said Patel, should resolve issues in a time-bound manner. She also said students should be involved in various committees instituted for functioning of universities.

Patel, who was viewing the NAAC presentation prepared by Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, said universities should adopt 30% syllabus under the NEP based on local needs. The universities, said Patel, should create their research policy and upload it on their websites. The document should provide details of all facilities to be provided to students undertaking research.

Patel advised universities to undertake research on feedback on various government (Centre and state) schemes. Patel said that around 30% of the beneficiaries are not eligible for government schemes. To combat this, we need to know the reasons and provide solutions, she said. She added that for transparent and quality research work, universities should make optimum use of the Shodhganga portal.

The governor also stressed upon development of smart class and conduct of online classes. She said universities should address the drawbacks pointed out by the NAAC committees in past.

She also asked universities to keep track of outdoor activities, hold alumni meets and sign agreements with industries for generating employment. She added that universities should make their students visit jails, old age homes, child care homes and hospitals under extra-curricular activities for their personal growth.

The governor also batted for transparency in appointments.

Tooth bone decay? Now, get it reconstructed with own cells

Tooth bone decay? Now, get it reconstructed with own cells

KGMU To Begin Stem Cell Implant

Vivek Singh Chauhan TNN

Lucknow:23.10.2021

Patients suffering from decay of tooth bone will soon be able to get it treated through stem cell implant in the dental faculty of King George's Medical University (KGMU).

A stem cell lab is being constructed in the oral pathology and microbiology department and soon a CO2 incubator machine will be installed in it.

The machine will be able to preserve stem cells taken out from the decayed tooth bone and multiply them through incubation. The cluster of cells thus obtained would be then used to reconstruct the tooth bone and in root canal therapy.

So far, patients whose teeth are extensively damaged have to either use dentures or get metallic implants.

The stem therapy will provide patients another option of getting the tooth bone reconstructed with their own cells. The stem cells incubated in the lab can also be used in other patients provided they match certain medical parameters required for such implants.

Head oral pathology and microbiology department Prof Shaleen Chandra said, “The construction of the lab will be completed within a week. Thereafter, the incubation machine procured through state government aid will be installed. The machine provides a stable environment designed to mimic a cell’s natural environment that is ideal for stem cell growth.”

“Dental stem cells obtained from naturally lost or surgically removed teeth can be incubated in the machine and used for dental treatment. To use stem cells exacted from a person in another, the human leukocytes antigens (HLA) of the two must match. The HLA are proteins in the human immune system that play a crucial role in accepting or rejecting an implant,” he added.

This will be the second CO2 incubator machine in KGMU. A unit is already functional at the Centre for Advanced Research. However, it would be used for the first time in any dental education institution in Lucknow.

‘Foreign entity’ WA can’t contest Indian law: Govt

‘Foreign entity’ WA can’t contest Indian law: Govt

Abhinav.Garg@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:23.10.2021

The Centre has opposed petitions by WhatsApp and its parent firm Facebook challenging the new IT Rules for social media by terming the global messaging platform as an “out and out foreign commercial entity”.

In an affidavit filed before the Delhi HC, the Centre said being a foreign commercial entity, WhatsApp can’t challenge the constitutionality of an Indian law, adding the firm doesn’t have a place of business in India and is engaged in the business of propagating information created by its users.

“Constitutionality of a provision of law cannot be challenged by a foreign commercial entity on the ground of it being violative of Article 19 rights. The said rights are only available to citizens,” the affidavit submitted.

Defending the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 and its proviso allowing traceability of the originator of a message, the government said it is meant to help law enforcement prevent offences.

SC notice to former MD of Twitter India

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear UP government’s plea against the Karnataka HC order quashing notice of personal appearance issued former Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari over an allegedly offensive video on the platform. The SC issued notice to Maheshwari who was transferred to the company’s US office. P 11

‘WA has tech to trace sender sans affecting other users’

Citing earlier Supreme Court rulings, the government said it is duty bound to take all steps necessary to identify people who create and circulate electronic information on sexual crimes. It also questioned the claim of WhatsApp that traceability will lead to breaking the end-to-end encryption feature of the platform, saying there is technology available with the company to trace the sender or the creator of a message without intercepting other users.

“Under its privacy policy, personal data of users would be shared with Facebook, which can be used for profiling. Such profiling is also feasible on political and religious views and can be used for any activity which can harm security of the nation, besides affecting individual privacy,” it said.

The Facebook-owned WhatsApp said the requirement of intermediaries enabling the identification of the first originator of information in India upon government or court order puts endto-end encryption and its benefits “at risk”. It has urged the HC to declare Rule 4(2) of the Intermediary Rules unconstitutional, ultra vires to the IT Act and illegal and sought that no criminal liability be imposed on it for any alleged non-compliance with Rule 4(2) which requires to enable the identification of the first originator of information.

Accepting any amount illegally not enough for graft charges: HC

Accepting any amount illegally not enough for graft charges: HC

Court Observes While Acquitting Man Given 2-yr RI For ₹500 Bribe

Lalmohan Patnaik TNN

Cuttack:23.10.2021

The Orissa HC has ruled that mere acceptance of any amount by way of illegal gratification or its recovery is outside the scope of the proof of demand and is not sufficient to bring home the charge under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The single-judge bench of Justice S K Sahoo said, “The proof of demand of illegal gratification is the essence of accusation of the offences under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and in the absence thereof, the charge would fail.”

The complainant cannot be placed on any better footing than that of an accomplice and corroboration in material particulars connecting the accused with the crime has to be insisted upon, Justice Sahoo ruled.

The ruling by the vacation bench came on Thursday, while allowing the criminal appeal of Sanatan Dash, who was convicted for taking a bribe of Rs 500 and sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment by the special judge vigilance in Bhubaneswar nearly 18 years ago.

“The prosecution evidence with regard to the demand and acceptance of a bribe amount of Rs 500 by the appellant from the complainant for passing his house rent bill appears to be shaky in nature. When there is absence of sufficient, cogent and reliable evidence on record to establish the guilt of the appellant beyond all reasonable doubt and the impugned judgment suffers from perversity, the same cannot be sustained in the eye of law and accordingly, I am constrained to give benefit of doubt to the appellant,” Justice Sahoo said in his 37-page judgment, a copy of which is in possession of TOI.

The impugned judgment and order of conviction of the appellant under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the sentence passed on December 3, 2003 are hereby set aside and the appellant is acquitted of all the charges, Justice Sahoo’s order read.

The ruling by the vacation bench came on Thursday, while allowing the criminal appeal of Sanatan Dash, who was convicted for taking a bribe of Rs 500 and sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment nearly 18 years ago

500g hairball removed from girl’s stomach for second time

500g hairball removed from girl’s stomach for second time

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Surat:23.10.2021

A hairball weighing around 500 gram was removed from the stomach of a girl studying in Class XI. The surgery was performed at New Civil Hospital (NCH).

Doctors found that the girl had developed the issue for the second time. Around four years ago a hairball almost the same size was removed from her stomach.

The 16-year-old girl, a resident of Ghod Dod Road area, had stopped eating properly which led to her losing weight. Noticing a change in her food intake, her family got the girl examined at a private clinic. Medical examinations revealed a hairball in her stomach.

The girl’s mother works as housemaid and was unable to pay for the surgery at the private clinic. Later, the girl was brought to NCH where the doctors performed surgery and removed the hairball.

“It is a rare case in which the girl had developed the same problem twice due to her habit of eating hairs. After the previous surgery the family did not get her treated for depression hence she continued eating hair,” said Dr Nimesh Verma of NCH.

Doctors noticed that the girl is suffering from depression. She plucks hair from or head and also eats those collected in a comb. The exact reason behind her depression will be known only after her psychiatric treatment, the doctors said

Bombay HC orders special NEET exam for 2 students after invigilators goofed up

Bombay HC orders special NEET exam for 2 students after invigilators goofed up

Two Solapur students who were given the wrong answer sheet for the NEET exam on 12 September will get a second chance. The Bombay high court ordered NTA to conduct the examination again for these two studentsTwo medical aspirants approached the Bombay high court on September 24 to request that the NTA be ordered to hold a special NEET exam for them since invigilators did not give them a matching set of question and answer sheets on September 12. 

Updated on Oct 21, 2021 09:47 PM IST

By Kanchan Chaudhari

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) afresh for two medical aspirants – Vaishnavi Bhopale and Abhishek Kapse – from Solapur district as they had received mismatching test booklets and answer sheets due to inadvertence of the invigilators.

The division bench of justice RD Dhanuka and justice Abhay Ahuja directed NTA to give the aspirants an advance notice of 48 hours about the date of the retest and the exam centre and to declare the petitioners results in two weeks.

Bhopale and Kapse had moved HC on September 24 through advocate Pooja Thorat, seeking directions to NTA to re-examine them by holding a separate test. They stated that when they had appeared for NEET at Shree Swami Narayan Gurukul International School at Solapur on September 12, their invigilators started giving test booklets and answer sheets to the 12 students in their class five minutes late. They added that the invigilators mixed up the booklets and sheets. While Bhopale received a test booklet of Code 04 and answer sheet of Code P4, Kapse got test booklet of Code P4 and answer sheet of Code 04. They immediately pointed it out, but the invigilators harshly silenced them by threatening them with dire consequences for causing nuisance and disturbance in the examination hall, said their petition.

Even thereafter, the petitioners said, they tried to reason out with the examiners to provide them matching booklets and sheets by pointing out that it would result in complete non-evaluation of their answer papers. They added that the invigilators checked codes appearing on all the booklets given to all the students, but did not rectify the mistake.

Their counsel, advocate Pooja Thorat, pointed out that clause 7 of the Test Booklet Code for NEET mandates the invigilator to rectify the mistake and provide correct test booklet and answer sheet to the student concerned in such a situation. She also pointed out that subsequently, the school and its principal admitted the mix-up in his communication with NTA officials, stating that it was an inadvertent mistake and called upon the testing agency to help the two students.

NTA, however, informed HC through its counsel advocate Rui Rodrigues that it was unable to find a solution to the petitioner’s problem, prompting HC to order a re-examination of the petitioners.

Tamil Nadu: Government order relaxing age-limit bring cheer to PG Teacher aspirants

Tamil Nadu: Government order relaxing age-limit bring cheer to PG Teacher aspirants

As per the new G.O. issued on October 18, general category aspirants will be able to apply till 45 years of age.

Published: 21st October 2021 11:07 AM 

By Jeyalakshmi Ramanujam

Express News Service

The teacher aspirants are all upbeat as the State government, on Monday, issued a G.O. relaxing age-limit criteria for the aspirants of Post Graduate-Teachers Recruitment Board (PG-TRB) examination. As per the new G.O. issued on October 18, general category aspirants will be able to apply till 45 years of age.

That's not all. Adding to the teacher aspirants' joy is TRB's move to change the eligible criteria in its software. The board is now asking the candidates whether they studied in Tamil Medium from class I to X.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, an aspirant, Davamani, said TRB's eligibility criteria change will help her avail certain percentage of reservation under Persons Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM). "Though I have 20 years of experience in private schools, I was not eligible to apply for PG-TRB according to the earlier G.O. The change in eleigibility criteria will help more than 500 aspirants land job," she said.

It was on September 9 that TRB issued notification to fill 2,207 PG teacher vacancies. At that time, the upper age-limit for the aspirants was fixed as 40.

CM announces 3% DA hike, Diwali bonus for employees

CM announces 3% DA hike, Diwali bonus for employees

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jaipur:22.10.2021

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday announced a 3 per cent increase in dearness allowance (DA) and ad-hoc bonuses for the state government employees ahead of Diwali. This decision was taken after the Centre approved a 3 per cent hike in DA and dearness relief (DR) for central government employees and pensioners.

“The chief minister has approved a 3% increase in DA for state government employees and dearness relief (DR) payable to pensioners on the lines of central government employees. Now, DA and DR will be payable to the state employees and pensioners at 31% from July 1, 2021. Earlier, the DA rate was 28% for state employees and pensioners,” an official statement read.

About 8 lakh employees, who are drawing salaries on the basis of Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Salary) Rules-2017, and 4.40 lakh pensioners will get the benefit of this decision. Apart from state employees, the employees of panchayat samitis and zila parishads will also benefit from this decision.

The increased amount of DA - from July 1 to September 30 - will be deposited in their general provident fund accounts. It will be paid in cash in October salary.

The state government will bear a financial burden of nearly Rs1,230 crore annually for the hike. Similarly, Gehlot has also approved ad-hoc Diwali bonuses for about 6 lakh employees in the state. This benefit will be provided to state employees drawing pay in the Pay Matrix Level-12 or Grade Pay-4800 and below. State Service Officers (Gazetted) will not get this benefit. The bonus will also be paid to panchayat samiti, zila parishad and work-charged employees.

The ad-hoc bonus will be calculated for the year 2020-21 on the basis of maximum emoluments of Rs 7,000 and a month of 31 days. It will be payable for a period of 30 days. In this way, each employee will get a maximum ad-hoc bonus of Rs 6,774.

This time, 50 per cent of the bonus amount will be paid in cash and the remaining 50 per cent will be deposited in their general provident fund accounts. The state government will bear an additional financial burden of Rs 500 crore on this.

Forgery of degrees to be non-bailable

Forgery of degrees to be non-bailable

Jaipur:22.10.2021

The state government is mulling to make forging degrees or certificates a non-bailable offence.

The decision was taken during the first round of talks held between a sixmember delegation of Rajasthan Berozgar Ekikrit Mahasangh and principal secretary to the chief minister Kuldeep Ranka to discuss the demands of the unemployed youth in the state on Thursday. TNN

T starts process to set up eight medical colleges

T starts process to set up eight medical colleges

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:22.10.2021

The government has set the ball rolling for establishment of eight new government medical colleges (teaching hospitals) in Telangana ahead of National Medical Commission (NMC) inspection, which is likely in December.

The government had submitted applications to establish teaching hospitals in Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool, Mahabubabad, Bhadadri-Kothagudem, Jagtial, Sangareddy, Mancherial and Ramagundam. Ahead of the NMC inspection, the director of medical education (DME) has begun the recruitment process to fill up professor, assistant professor and associate professor posts in these colleges.

“We completed the application process for the eight colleges in September. We are expecting the NMC visit, tentatively, by Novemberend or December. As per guidelines, we have started the recruitment process in the way of absorptions, promotions and contractual basis,” DME, Telangana, Dr K Ramesh Reddy said.

The last date for submitting applications by qualified candidates is October 28 following which the final selection list would be released by the DME on October 31 and selected candidates have to join by November 7. Considering the NMC team might visit these colleges in December, the DME has made it clear that selected candidates should not have appeared for NMC assessment on and after July 31, 2021, since the assessment is for the academic year 2021-22.

Establishment of these colleges would add another 1,200 medical seats in the state. The DME officials were also focusing on establishing 12 departments, including cardiology, neurology and gastroenterology, in these new institutions. “We are also modifying the buildings as per NMC guidelines wherever required. The roads and buildings department is taking care of the college buildings,” Reddy added.

The last date for submitting applications by qualified candidates is October 28 following which the final selection list will be released by DME on October 31 and selected candidates have to join by November 7

HC poser to govt on doctors’ plea against vax order

HC poser to govt on doctors’ plea against vax order

New Delhi:  22.10.2021

Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response of Delhi government on a plea by two doctors challenging its order prohibiting healthcare, frontline workers and teachers from attending their offices on failure to get even first dose of Covid-19 vaccine by October 15. The doctors, working in a government hospital, claimed that it violates their fundamental right right to earn a livelihood and right to attend office. Justice Rekha Palli, who issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its reply on the petition, listed the matter for further hearing on February 3. PTI

Govt employees to get concession if buying e-vehicles

Govt employees to get concession if buying e-vehicles

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chandigarh:22.10.2021

The Haryana government has decided to give a special concession to its employees on the purchase of their first e-vehicle. In addition, financial assistance of up to Rs 5 crore will be given for research and development in the field of e-mobility to any state-, national- or international-level institute in the state.

Sharing the details, deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, who also holds the portfolio of industries and commerce department, shared this information on Thursday after a meeting on ‘Haryana Electric Vehicle Policy-2021’ with senior officers of various departments.

He claimed the government was working to ensure that the policy being formulated for e-vehicle in Haryana would be the best policy in the country.

He said that for the formation of the policy, three rounds of discussions had been held with the officials and, on Thursday, the final consultations were held. The policy would be released in the next one month, he added.

The electric vehicle policy would be focusing on the manufacturers, user drivers and people setting up charging stations, in which special exemptions would be given to them, he said, adding that the state government was emphasising on promoting two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheeler e-vehicles.

He said while e-vehicles would be given exemption at the time of registration in the policy, the commercial vehicles converted from petrol or diesel to electric would also be given concession.

‘FCRA tightened to stop funds transfer biz’

‘FCRA tightened to stop funds transfer biz’

22.10.2021

New Delhi:

The Union government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that no NGO had a fundamental right to receive funds from abroad and argued that the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to stop the NGOs from making chain-transfers of foreign funds a business. In its response affidavit, the Centre said the amended section 7 only restricts transfer of foreign contributions

US-vaccinated couple gets Mum rail passes

US-vaccinated couple gets Mum rail passes

Richa.Pinto@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:22.10.2021

Hours after TOI reported that a senior citizen couple vaccinated in the US was being denied railway passes — as their vaccination status does not show on Co-Win — the authorities swung into action and handed the couple their passes on medical grounds.

A relieved Angela Fernandes, 65, and her husband Cajetan, 71, went to Borivli station booking office on Thursday afternoon, paid and collected the passes.

The couple had got the Moderna vaccine in January this year in California. They had gone there to meet their son in February 2020, but got stuck as the pandemic raged.

Thanking TOI, Angela said: “Around 9am, we got a call from a senior railway officer who enquired about the matter in detail. He asked us what would be a convenient time for us to go to the station and said he would speak to the officer concerned.”

The couple needed railway passes to travel to a hospital in Wadala regularly for treatment. “It was a genuine issue and we issued them passes on medical grounds,” said Western Railways CPRO Sumit Thakur.

Kolar teacher eats rat-kill laddoos by mistake, dies in hospital

Kolar teacher eats rat-kill laddoos by mistake, dies in hospital

Bhopal:22.10.2021

A 57-year-old private school teacher mistakenly consumed sweets laced with rat-kill powder, kept by his family members on the kitchen stand in Kolar y on September 18. When his condition started deteriorating, his family members rushed him to hospital where he died while undergoing treatment two days later. Acting on information, Kolar police registered a case and started investigation. Investigation officer ASI Rajendra Ken said that deceased Gajraj Singh Tomar, 57, a resident of Rajharsh Colony. The sweets were prepared to kill rats in the house, said police. TNN

Colon cancer lower in India due to veg-rich diet: IISER study

Colon cancer lower in India due to veg-rich diet: IISER study

Ramendra.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:22.10.2021

Gut associated problems such as inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, colon cancer and such others have a much lower incidence in India compared to the western countries due to consumption of plant-based diets rich in complex polysaccharides that provide a supportive growth environment for good bacteria in the gut.

Researchers of IISER (Bhopal) in their study have concluded this which was recently published in a prestigious high-impact international publication journal “Biofilms and Microbiomes”. Incidentally, it is the biggest gut metagenome study ever done in the country so far.

The research team was led by Dr Vineet K. Sharma, associate professor, Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Bhopal, and comprised Vishnu Prasoodanan PK, Shruti Mahajan, Dr Ashok K Sharma, Dr Darshan B Dhakan, Dr Abhijit Maji and collaborator Dr Joy Scaria.

Associate professor, Vineet Sharma said that by studying the largest gut metagenome of 200 samples from healthy individuals from six diverse geographical regions of India, the IISER team has shown that the bacterium Prevotella copri is the most abundant in Indian human gut which can constitute upto 70% of the total gut bacteria despite the diversity in the choice of meals, preparation-styles, and usage of spices across India.

“A unique and comprehensive Prevotella Genome Database (PGD) and Prevotella Gene Catalogue (PGC) was constructed in this study by including 2,204 genomes and 2.9 million genes to study this bacterium,” said Dr Sharma. Researchers have also identified the presence of an array of genes encoding plant-polysaccharide metabolising enzymes as clusters in this bacterium. “The other non-western countries that also consume plant-based fibres in diet such as Madagascar, Peru and Tanzania also mimicked the results from India, whereas the western populations (USA, Netherlands, Spain and Italy) consuming diets rich in protein and fat and poor in plant-based fibres had poor abundance of this bacteria,” claimed Dr Sharma.

Another important outcome of this study is the presence of inflammation associated with Prevotella species in western populations possibly due to transmission of Prevotella bacteria from mouth to gut that makes them more susceptible for Prevotella-associated gut inflammatory diseases.

These findings emphasize the role of high fibres for a healthy gut microbiome and provide leads for designing new prebiotics and probiotics for the Indian and western populations.

Samples were collected from six different locations to capture the maximum diversity in the gut metagenome of the Indian sub-population, including Madhya Pradesh, Delhi-NCR , Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar and Kerala.

IISER research is the biggest gut metagenome study ever done in India