T boy gets perfect score in NEET, shares No. 1 rank with two others

T boy gets perfect score in NEET, shares No. 1 rank with two others

Nirupa.Vatyam@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  02.11.2021

Mrinal Kutteri

from Telangana, Delhi’s Tanmay Gupta and Maharashtra girl Karthika G Nair scored a perfect 720 to be declared joint toppers of this year’s National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test for admission to undergraduate medical courses, according to the results announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday night.

In all, two Telugu states bagged four places in the top 20 list. Apart from Kutteri, Chandam Vishnu Vivek and Gorripati Rushil, both from Andhra Pradesh, and Khandavally Shashank from Telangana secured an all- India rank of 5.

In 2020, as many as eight students from the two states — three from Telangana and five from AP — figured in the top 20 list.

Mrinal Kutteri

Confusion for hours as NTA mailed results

I want to do MBBS from AIIMS, Delhi and become a surgeon one day,” Kutteri, told TOI soon after the results were announced. The elated topper said the fact that no one pressurised him to study or follow a particular timetable actually helped him to prepare for the test at his convenience and secure the first rank.

But hours of confusion preceded the celebrations on Monday as NTA, which conducted the test, emailed the results to every candidate even before there was an official confirmation on the release of the results. This started from around 6 pm when many could not access their results on the official NEET website. “It would have been better if the results were made available on the website first. I was very tense as I couldn’t access my results, but all my friends got theirs,” said Rushil, a student from Sri Chaitanya, Vijayawada. He is one of 12 students from the country to secure all-India 5th rank. Rushil said he could access his results only around 9 pm.

The institutes too said that students were anxious as they couldn’t access their results on the website. “It took us more than two hours to figure out that the topper was from our institute. The servers were down,” said K Seshagiri Raju, deputy director, Aakash Educational Services Limited (Telangana).

Meanwhile, four students from Telangana-- Kasa Lahari, Emani Srinija, Dasika Sri Niharika, and Pasupunoori Sharanya — secured a spot in the list of top 20 female toppers in the country. Another Telugu student, Adireddi Srinivas, made it to top 10 male (person with disabilities) candidates list while several others from the two states figured in the toppers list in categories such as EWS, SC, ST, and OBC-NCL.

‘No pressure helped me prepare well’

— Nirupa Vatyam

Hyderabad:

City boy Mrinal Kutteri is on cloud nine as he managed to secure the top rank and is certain of getting a seat in his dream institute—AIIMS, New Delhi. Kutteri said that right from his childhood, he dreamt of becoming a doctor and is very happy with his NEET result. He said that his parents never forced him to study or get into a particular field. “Even when it comes to my studies, they never told me when or how to study. I lost count of how many times I prepared my timetable. No one tried to impose anything and I think that is what helped me in excelling,” he added.

›Related report: P8

HC quashes 10.5% vanniyar quota, calls it ‘discriminatory’

HC quashes 10.5% vanniyar quota, calls it ‘discriminatory’

Repeals It Citing Seven Grounds

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:02.11.2021

Holding that castebased reservation is impermissible, the Madras high court has quashed 10.5% quota law for vanniyars, introduced by the AIADMK government minutes before the Election Commission announced the April 2021 assembly election.

“Treating vanniyar community as a separate class from the other MBCs amounts to discrimination among same category of castes,” ruled a division bench of Justice M Duraiswamy and Justice K Murali Shankar on Monday.

The court decided to quash the reservation as unconstitutional on seven grounds, which included the competency of the state to provide reservation based on caste, whether reservation can be provided without quantifiable data on population, socio-educational status and representation of the backward classes in services.

Classification in name of caste is treating equals unequally: Court

Holding that the very basis of classification in the name of caste is a clear case treating equals unequally, resulting in reverse discrimination within the MBC, the judges said: “We conclude that there is no data, much less quantifiable data, available with the state before the introduction of the law, to show the three different degrees of backwardness to make three sub-categories, as mandated by Indra Sawhney case, nor there is a data to show the inadequate representation of a group.”

Ticking off the micro-classification of MBCs into MBC (vanniars), MBC (DNC) and other MBCs as being wholly arbitrary, the judges said there is absolutely no acceptable reason for the division. There is no material or data to differentiate MBC(V) from other MBC as a separate class.

Treating one caste — vanniakula kshatriya, including ‘vanniyar’, ‘vanniya’, ‘vannia gounder’, ‘gounder’ or ‘kander’, ‘padayachi’, ‘palli’ and ‘agnikula kshatriya’ — as separate class while treating the similar castes differently is discrimination, the judges held, adding that the impugned law categorised 6 subcastes and 115 other castes into two sets and tried to give higher proportion of reservation to one caste and deprive the others.

More importantly, referring to the union government’s constitutional 102nd amendment denuding states of the power to include castes in reserved lists, the judges said: “The Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018, came into existence on11.08.2018 and the Constitution (105th Amendment) Act, 2021, was enacted on 19.08.2021 and whereas the impugned Act 8 of 2021 came to be enacted on 26.02.2021 and therefore, we hold that as on the date of enactment of the impugned Act, the State Legislature has no power to enact such legislation and accordingly, the State Legislature has no competency to pass the impugned Act. The state legislature has no competency to enact Tamil Nadu Special Reservation of seats in educational Institutions including Private Educational Institutions and appointments or posts in the services under the State within the Reservation for the Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities Act, 2021”.

Also, as per Article 31-B of the Constitution, until the Act placed in Ninth Schedule is amended or repealed by the competent legislature, the said Act shall continue to be in force, the court said. Therefore, without amending the 1993 Act, bringing a special legislation to provide internal reservation to vanniyar community is against the Constitutional provisions, the judges said.

When counsel arguing in favour of the state law sought to highlight the fact that quashing it would put a question mark on the prospects of candidates who had already been admitted under the10.5% quota, the court said: “It has been made clear through an interim order that admissions and appointments made providing the reservation will be subject to the outcome of the pleas. Suspending the order will only complicate the issue.”

The judges further recorded that ‘so far as the reservations for Muslims and arunthathiyars are concerned, the population figures are enumerated in every census and based on that, the backwardness and inadequate representation has been studied and a valid commission report has been submitted.

Is the state government empowered to do internal reservation. The Constitution has given enough explanation. The legislation providing for internal reservation is cancelled

– MADRAS HIGH COURT

Madras HC quashes 10.5% Vanniyar quota

Madras HC quashes 10.5% Vanniyar quota

Madurai:02.11 2021

The Madras high court on Monday quashed the 10.5% reservation provided to Vanniyars, a Most Backward Community (MBC) in Tamil Nadu, in government jobs and admission to educational institutions, saying it was unconstitutional.

The Tamil Nadu assembly had in February passed the then ruling AIADMK-piloted bill providing internal reservation of 10.5 % for Vanniyars, with the incumbent DMK government issuing an order in July for its implementation. It had split the aggregate 20% reservation for MBCs and denotified communities into three separate categories by regrouping castes and provided 10% plus sub-quota for Vanniyars, formally known as Vanniakula Kshatriyas. PTI

Premium non-payment can get claim rejected: SC

Premium non-payment can get claim rejected: SC

New Delhi: 02.11 2021

An insurance claim can be rejected if the policy has lapsed on account of non-payment of premium, said the Supreme Court. It also stressed that the terms of an insurance policy have to be strictly interpreted.

The apex court observation came while setting aside an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that ordered additional compensation in a road accident case. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M Trivedi said it is a well-settled legal position that in a contract of insurance there is a requirement of Uberrima fides, ie good faith on the part of the insured.

“It is clear that the terms of insurance policy have to be strictly construed, and it is not permissible to rewrite the contract while interpreting the terms of the policy,” the bench said.

The SC was hearing an appeal filed by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) against the judgement of the NCDRC that had set aside the order passed by the state commission.

In the case, the woman’s husband had taken a life insurance policy under the Jeevan Suraksha Yojana from LIC under which a sum of Rs. 3.7 lakh was assured by the company. Besides this amount, in case of death by accident an additional sum of Rs. 3.7 lakh was also assured. The insurance premium of the said policy was to be paid six-monthly. However, there was a default in payment. On March 6, 2012, the husband of the complainant met with an accident and succumbed to injuries on March 21, 2012.

“In the instant case, the policy had lapsed on October 14, 2011, and was not in force on the date of accident, ie on March 6, 2012. It was sought to be revived on March 9, 2012, after the accident in question, and that too without disclosing the fact of the accident which had taken place on March 6, 2012,” the SC said. PTI

SERIOUS LAPSE

11% hike in DA for Punjab staff, pensioners from July 1

11% hike in DA for Punjab staff, pensioners from July 1

Move To Cost State Extra ₹440cr Per Month

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chandigarh: 02.11 2021

Acceding to the demand of the state government employees and pensioners, the Punjab cabinet on Monday decided to enhance the dearness allowance (DA) by 11% , taking it to 28% from 17%. The hike will be implemented retrospectively from July 1, 2021.

After the cabinet meeting, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the employees were the backbone of the state administration and reiterated his government’s “firm commitment to accord the highest priority to their welfare”. He said with this decision, the state government would have to bear an additional monthly burden of Rs 440 crore on account of enhanced DA.

Channi said the state government had resolved most of employees’ issues to their satisfaction and resultantly they have called off their strike and resumed the work with immediate effect. He also announced that the employees’ who were recruited after January 1, 2016, would also be given the benefit of a minimum 15% increase in the revised pay at par with other employees. However, the pay of a junior employee would not be fixed higher than that of his senior while fixing the revised pay.

Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi addresses a press conference on Monday

Bill for new varsities soon

Decks have been cleared for the establishment of Lamrin Tech Skills University Punjab at Railmajra, Balachaur, SBS Nagar, and Plaksha University Punjab at IT City, SAS Nagar with Punjab cabinet’s approval for conversion of ordinances into bills. According to a spokesperson of the chief minister’s office, the cabinet also gave approval to place these bills in the forthcoming session of Punjab legislative assembly for conversion into Acts.

‘State agreed to 15% pay hike’

Sukhchain Singh Khaira, convener of the Punjab Sanjha Mulajam Manch, said the state government has agreed to also increase the 15% salary of those employees who have joined the service after January 2016. Earlier, they were not being given this benefit. “Now the state government has given new option and the employees can opt for the benefit of the 6th Pay Commission either from the date of joining the service or from the date of promotion,” Khaira said.

‘Black Diwali’ for NHM contract staff

After five day of hunger strike for the regularisation of their services, Punjab’s National Health Mission (NHM) contractual employees will now observe a "black Diwali" outside chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s residence. On the fifth day of their protest on Monday at Kharar’s civil hospital, the association of 12,000 contractual employees also demanded equal pay for equal work. Association president Dr Inderjeet Singh Rana submitted a memorandum of demands to the senior medical officer.

Biometric attendance to resume from Nov 8

Biometric attendance to resume from Nov 8

New Delhi:02.11.2021

With Covid-19 cases on the decline, the central government on Monday ordered resumption of biometric attendance for all levels of its employees from November 8 onwards.

Biometric attendance, which involves pressing one’s finger on the scanner of a biometric machine, was discontinued across all central government offices since last year, as a precautionary measure against spread of Covid-19. Attendance was instead being maintained through physical registers. TNN

NEET results: Two K’taka boys bag all-India 5th rank

NEET results: Two K’taka boys bag all-India 5th rank

Farheen.Hussain@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:02.11.2021

Two students from Karnataka — Jashan Chhabra and Meghan HK — have bagged the fifth all-India rank at the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2021, scoring 715 out of 720 marks.

The National Testing Agency on Monday evening shared scorecards with students via email and the result is now available onneet.nta.nic.in. Jashan is from Mangaluru and Meghan from Pramati Hill View Academy, Mysuru. Meghan had created history by topping all streams in the CET — engineering, Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, agriculture, veterinary science and pharmacy.

“I had expected a rank in the top 10 and knew that I will score 715 after checking the answer keys,” he told TOI. Meghan said his parents — who are educators —set him on the right path of preparation. “They made sure no obstacle could bother me. The pandemic was challenging and it was difficult to maintain discipline initially. But my teachers encouraged me to speak to them a lot, asked me to make a schedule and work in that direction,” he said.

When Meghan had topped the CET exams, he had shared with TOI that though he was happy with the results and was aspiring to become a doctor and awaiting the NEET results. “One college that I had dreamed of joining is AIIMS, New Delhi. For now, I hope to pursue oncology but I have heard that students change their course during their internship phase,” he said.

In addition to helping people, he also likes to comfort them and make them feel comfortable. Meghan studied for 10 hours a day but did not compromise on his hobbies. “I advise other aspirants to plan their day, week and month. The journey towards the exam is a marathon and must be built step-by-step. There will be many frustrating moments but talk to people you are close to and compete with yourself,” he said.

Jashan, who completed his XIIth from Mount Carmel Central School in Mangaluru, said he studied for the love of the subjects which made his preparations a breeze. “There were hiccups due to the pandemic. But my love for the subjects and support from my mother made it easy,” Jashan said. “I joined Aakash Institute where I prepared for the exams during Class XI and XII. The focused preparation helped me crack it,” he said.

Sinchana Lakshmi with 658 marks topped the list of girl (PwD) candidates. While Harshitha Gangadharappa Negalu bagged fourth place, Shaiksha Nayaka BP stood eighth in the list of ST toppers. Other students from the state in the top 100 are Varun Aditya and KV Pranav from Sri Chaitanya Techno School Marathahalli and JP Nagar, respectively.

Australia recognises Covaxin, opens door for Indians’ entry

Australia recognises Covaxin, opens door for Indians’ entry

Saurabh Sinha & Swati Bharadwaj TNN

New Delhi/Hyderabad:  02.11 2021

Australia will recognise Covaxin, apart from Covishield, allowing those vaccinated with them entry into the continent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked his Australian counterpart and “dear friend” Scott Morrison for “recognition of India's Covaxin.” “It is an important step forward in the post-Covid partnership between India and Australia,” he said.

While WHO emergency use listing for Bharat Biotech’s vaccine is awaited, 16 countries have so far recognised Covaxin for travel purposes. These include Australia, Estonia, Greece, Iran, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

Australia’s high commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell on Monday tweeted that the country’s drug regulator has “determined that Covaxin (manufactured by Bharat Biotech) vaccine would be 'recognised' for the purpose of establishing a traveller's vaccination status. Importantly, recognition of Covaxin, along with the previously announced recognition of Covishield (manufactured by AstraZeneca), means many Indian citizens, as well as other countries, will now be considered fully vaccinated on entry to Australia.” 

The Australian health ministry website says the “recognition is for travellers aged 12 and over who have been vaccinated with Covaxin.” Those who have received two doses of Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)-approved or recognised vaccine at least 14 days apart are regarded as fully vaccinated from seven days after the second dose. This includes homologous (two doses of the same vaccine) and heterologous (two doses of two different TGAapproved or recognised vaccines) schedules.

“In recent weeks, the TGA has obtained additional information demonstrating these vaccines provide protection and potentially reduce the likelihood that an incoming traveller would transmit Covid-19 infection to others while in Australia or become acutely unwell due to Covid-19,” the website says.

“Importantly, recognition of Covaxin, and BBIBPCorV, along with the previously announced recognition of Coronavac (manufactured by Sinovac, China) and Covishield (manufactured by AstraZeneca, India), means many citizens of China and India as well as other countries in our region where these vaccines have been widely deployed will now be considered fully vaccinated on entry to Australia. This will have significant impacts for the return of international students, and travel of skilled and unskilled workers to Australia.”

Indonesia 1st to approve SII’s Novavax

New Delhi:

Biotechnology firm Novavax Inc and its partner Serum Institute of India on Monday said they have received the first emergency use authorisation (EUA) for Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine, in Indonesia. The vaccine will be manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) in India and marketed by it in Indonesia under the brand name Covovax, Novavax Inc said in a statement. "The National Agency of Drug and Food Control of the Republic of Indonesia, or Badan Peng was Obat dan Makanan (Badan POM), has granted emergency use authorisation (EUA) for Novavax' recombinant nanoparticle protein-based COVID-19 vaccine with Matrix-M adjuvant," it added. Initial shipments into Indonesia are expected to begin imminently, the statement said. PTI

Three share top NEET rank with perfect score, 56% candidates qualify

Three share top NEET rank with perfect score, 56% candidates qualify

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

02.11.2021

Three candidates — Delhi’s Tanmay Gupta, Mrinal Kutteri from Telangana and Maharashtra girl Karthika G Nair — scored a perfect 720 to be declared joint toppers of this year’s National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical courses, according to results announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday night.

In all, 8,70,074 (56.34%) of the 15,44,275 candidates who appeared for the test qualified. In continuation of the trend in the past, the number of female candidates who qualified is 1.19 lakh higher than male candidates.

NTA has not used age as tiebreaker for announcing the ranking for candidates scoring identical marks in all three subjects— biology, chemistry and physics. Thus there are three No 1 All-India rank holders while there are 12 candidates who were placed at rank 5 as they scored 715 and have identical marks in all the three subjects as well. However, after the three No 1 rank holders, the next candidate was ranked 4th. Two candidates each have been ranked 17th and 19th.

Thus, the top 20 candidates share five All-India rankings (1, 4, 5, 17 and 19). Of them, three each are from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, two each from Delhi, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and one each from Bihar, Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana.

NEET-UG 2021 was conducted on September 12 and it recorded one of the highest attendance in five years, as 95.63% of 16.14 lakh aspirants took the test. Last time, the medical entrance recorded 94% attendance in 2017 when 11.38 lakh were registered, while in 2018 it recorded an alltime high of 97%.

Two cases of impersonation have been detected so far and three Covid-positive candidates were allowed to take the exam in isolation in Kerala.

The range of qualifying marks this year dropped as compared to last year. While the range of qualifying marks for General and EWS category had been set at 720-138 as against 720-147 in 2020, the cut-off for OBC, SC and ST came down to 137-108 from 146-113 in 2020. Similarly, the qualifying marks range for General/ EWS PwD candidates is 137-122 as against 146-129 in 2020. This year’s qualifying marks range for disabled among OBC, SC and ST candidates is 121-108.

NTA, which conducted the test, has also emailed the results to every candidate.

The results got delayed this year due to a stay by the Bombay High Court, which was overruled by the Supreme Court on October 28.

Two from state shine in NEET-UG exams

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:  02.11 2021

Two candidates from the state have made it to the Top 100 All India Rankings (AIR) in the latest NEET (UG) 2021 results that were declared by National Testing Agency (NTA) late Monday evening.

Both the candidates, Shlok Soni and Prasham Shah, have scored 705 out of 720 marks in the exams that were held on September 12. While Shlok Soni has secured AIR-60, Shah has bagged AIR-100.

“I want to get admission in AIIMS-Delhi but it seems a little difficult looking at my rank. My aim was to secure a place in Top 50 AIR. I joined coaching classes for NEET exam preparation from Class 8. My father is an orthopaedic surgeon at a hospital in Ankleshwar. As the exams got delayed due to Covid-19, I started feeling tense,” said Shah. He said the bright side of the lockdown was that he got to spend almost a year with his family members.

Shah, with AIR-100, resides in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati area. His father is an ENT surgeon.

“The exam paper was tougher this time as compared to last year. There were some tricky questions that were tough to crack. I have got the marks that I expected. It’s not important how many hours you study, it’s important how well you study,” said Shah. He did not completely give up on mobile phones and gadgets but used them in a limited manner while preparing for the exams.

About 70,000 candidates from Gujarat had registered for the NEET exams this year. Candidates who cleared NEET are eligible for admission to MBBS, BDS, BAMS and other undergraduate medical and dental courses.

NEET (UG) – 2021 was conducted in 13 languages including English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Assamese, Malayalam, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

The NEET (UG) – 2021 will consist of one question paper containing 180 multiple choice questions from Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (Botany and Zoology).

Guv urges graduates to prepare for climate change consequences

Guv urges graduates to prepare for climate change consequences

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Coimbatore:  02.11 2021

Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi on Monday took part in the 42nd Annual Convocation of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and urged students and researchers to prepare for the uncertain disastrous consequences of climate changes. He stated that the changing monsoon patterns, rising sea levels, deadly heatwaves, intense storms, and flash floods posed a great threat to the agriculture sector. The governor at the event conferred degrees on 2,602 graduates and research scholars from TNAU and its affiliated colleges.

Addressing the students, he said, “Although our country today is foodgrain surplus, the corresponding benefit of it has not gone to our farmers as the majority of them are subsistence and small. There exists a paradoxical situation where the gross food production in the country is surplus and the bulk of food producers are poor.

“This has arisen due to decades of distorted agriculture policies, which benefited a few big farmers but did not help the overwhelming majority, who are small and marginal.”

He added, “I am informed that the incremental income due to the adoption of TNAU crop varieties, management technologies, and farm machinery by the Tamil Nadu farming community was worth ₹10,433 crore per annum.” Trilochan Mohapatra, secretary of the Union department of agricultural research and education, said that only 40-45% of the agricultural area in Tamil Nadu is rainfed. “It is important to harvest rain, store it and effectively use it through micro-irrigation,” he added.

Car crushed, newly weds die

Car crushed, newly weds die

Chennai:  02.11.2021

In a tragic turn of events, a newly wed couple died in a ghastly accident at Kadambathur in Tiruvallur district after a multi axle concrete mixer truck toppled over their car on Sunday night.

The deceased — Manoj Kumar, 31, of Arakkonam and Karthika, 30, of Perungalathur — had tied the knot on October 28.

On Sunday, the two were driving back from a gathering organised by Karthika’s relatives. On reaching Kadambathur at 9.45 pm, they were hit by a concrete mixer truck plying on the opposite side towards Chennai. The truck driver reportedly lost control while negotiating a curve. The high-impact collision caused the truck to topple and fall on the car crushing the couple to death. The truck driver fled the scene . A few passersby alerted police.

A crane was brought to remove the dead bodies from the mangled car. The Mappedu police registered a case and the bodies have been sent to Tiruvallur Government Hospital. Police are trying to trace the driver using the registration number of the truck. TNN

Three candidates get perfect score in NEET, share no. 1 rank

Three candidates get perfect score in NEET, share no. 1 rank

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi  02.11 2021

Three candidates — Delhi’s Tanmay Gupta, Mrinal Kutteri from Telangana and Maharashtra girl Karthika G Nair — scored a perfect 720 to be declared joint toppers of this year’s National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test for admission to undergraduate medical courses, according to the results announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday night.

In all 8,70,074 (56.34%) of the 15,44,275 candidates who appeared for the test qualified. In continuation of the trend in the past, the number of female candidates who qualified is 1.19 lakh higher than male candidates.

NTA has not used age as tie-breaker for announcing the ranking for candidates scoring identical marks in all three subjects — biology, chemistry and physics. Thus there are three No 1 All-India rank holders while there are 12 candidates who were placed at rank 5 as they scored 715 and have identical marks in all the three subjects as well. However, after the three No 1 rank holders, the next candidate was ranked 4th. Two candidates each have been ranked 17th and 19th.

Full report on www.toi.in

2 Namakkal students score 710 of 720 marks in NEET

2 Namakkal students score 710 of 720 marks in NEET

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

02.11.2021

Geethanjali S A and M Pravin of Namakkal scored 710 marks of 720 in National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2021, results of which were declared on Monday. While Geethanjali was ranked 23rd nationally, Pravin was ranked 30th. Last year, for the same marks, Tamil Nadu’s Srijan got all India 8th rank. This year, 1,10,971 candidates from TN registered for the test.

Trainers said students this year scored higher marks compared to previous year due to more time for preparation as the exam was postponed to September 12 following the second Covid-19 wave.

Geethanjali, of Green Park Coaching Centre, told TOI she could not express her happiness.

Geethanjali S A and M Pravin

Three candidates score a perfect 720

Three candidates from across the country scored a perfect 720 to be declared joint toppers of NEET-2021. Of the 15,44,275 candidates who appeared for the test , 56% qualified for admission to undergraduate medical courses. P 13

State topper studied for 18 hours a day

“I was aiming for a rank, but did not expect first rank in the state.” The girl who prepared for nearly 18 hours a day and wrote at least 50 mock tests, said she wanted to become a surgeon. “I also have another idea. To become an IAS or IPS officer after pursuing civil service examinations after completing my MBBS.” she added. Her father C Anbarasu is a poultry farmer, mother A Sumathi a home maker, while her sister S A Sangamithra is a final year MBBS student at Dharmapuri government medical college. Pravin, from the same coaching centre, wants to become a cardiologist. “Coaching and model examinations held at the coaching centre helped me a lot,” he said. His father M Madeshwaran rents material for construction work, while his mother M Jaya is a home maker. Hayagrivas M B of Mogappair in Chennai, who secured 705 of 720 and got all India 56th rank, said he expected better marks. The student of Velammal Vidyalaya in Mel Ayanambakkam said, “I want to join either AIIMS in New Delhi or Jipmer in Puducherry.”

Mixed reality Apple device soon

Mixed reality Apple device soon

San Francisco: Tech giant Apple is reportedly planning to launch its long-rumored mixed-reality device as early as next year. In the latest edition of Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman claims Apple is planning to unleash its own pricey device with advanced chips, displays, sensor, and avatar-based features as early as next year, reports Apple Insider. The headset will include “both AR and VR capabilities, which could offer a “mixed reality experience that can handle games in high-quality virtual reality”. The upcoming headset would likely not be aimed at consumers, but instead be geared towards developers and business customers. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s headset will lead the “next wave of user interface revolution” and change market consensus that AR/VR devices are mainly for gaming.

incredible viewing

Maxima launches smartwatch

New Delhi: Popular watch manufacturer Maxima on Monday launched a new smartwatch Max Pro X6 in the Indian market. Maxima Max Pro X6 comes in multiple colours variants including black, silver, gold with peach strap, gold with black strap for Rs.3,999. The smartwatch features a Realtek RTL8762D chipset. It connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth v5.0 and is compatible with devices featuring iOS 9.0 or Android 5.0 and above. The watch features a 1.7-inch super bright HD screen for an incredible viewing experience, ensuring zero viewing problems, even on the sunniest of days, the company claims. It also has a Bluetooth calling feature and comes with an inbuilt mic and high-definition speaker.

Telangana boy is NEET topper

Telangana boy is NEET topper

BYTELANGANA TODAY

PUBLISHED: 2ND NOV 2021 1:34 AM

Hyderabad: Three students, including one from Telangana Mrinal Kutteri, have shared the all India first rank in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2021 results which were declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday. Mrinal Kutteri obtained 99.9998057 percentile.

Other students who shared the all India first rank were Delhi’s Tanmay Gupta and Maharashtra’s Karthika G Nair.

Another student from Telangana, Khandavally Shashank, secured the fifth rank in the entrance test. Two students from Andhra Pradesh — Chandam Vishnu Vivek and Gorripati Rushil — secured 5th rank with a score of 715.

Kasa Lahari, who bagged all India 30th rank, stood at ninth position among female toppers in the country. She topped among the female students in the State.

A total of 16,14,777 students registered, of whom 15,44,275 appeared and 8,70,074 candidates were declared qualified in the entrance test.

Based on reports, close to 15 candidates were identified using unfair means during the exam and their result has been cancelled, the official added.

The NEET-UG exam was held on September 12 with over 95 per cent of the registered candidates appearing for the medical entrance exam. A record 16.14 lakh candidates had registered for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) this year.

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Ker HC | One-year mandatory internship for foreign medical graduate; HC holds residential internship in India is not mandatory if already done abroad

Ker HC | One-year mandatory internship for foreign medical graduate; HC holds residential internship in India is not mandatory if already done abroad

CASE BRIEFSHIGH COURTS

Published on October 26, 2021By Editor

Kerala High Court: P.B.Suresh Kumar, J., held that the requirement for Medical students who had studied abroad to undergo CRRI for obtaining permanent registration under State Medical Register was inconsistent with prevailing provisions.

Background

The petitioner, an Indian citizen enrolled for obtaining medical qualification without obtaining Eligibility Certificate insisted in terms of Section 13(4B) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, which she obtained later on in 2017. She graduated in 2019, thereupon, she underwent one year internship in the various teaching hospitals under the Dubai Health Authority.

The petitioner cleared the Screening Test in terms of Section 13(4A) of the IMC Act in order to become eligible to be enrolled in a State Medical Register in India as well and applied for permanent registration under State Medical Register. Her application for registration was rejected by the State Medical Council, the Council insisted on requirement of Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship (CRRI) in any one of the medical institutions approved by the Medical Council of India for foreign medical graduates before granting permanent registration to them in terms of Ext.P21 decision taken by the State Medical Council on 20-10-2017 in order to ensure that they learn and gain clinical experience and exposure about the epidemiological and clinical profile of local community.

Analysis and Findings of the Court

In the backdrop of above, the Court was to address following questions:

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

Regulation 11 of Screening Test Regulations, 2002 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. Therefore, internship is not insisted for appearing in the Screening Test and the only requirement for appearing in the Screening Test is that the candidates should possess a primary medical qualification.

Noticing that the State Medical Council did not have a case that the petitioner did not possess a primary medical qualification as defined in the Regulations at the time when she applied for and cleared the Screening Test, the Bench held that the stand of the State Medical Council that only students who had completed internship as part of the medical course undertaken by them in the medical institution abroad were entitled to appear for the Screening Test was unsustainable.

Whether a person who obtains Eligibility Certificate after taking admission in a medical institution abroad, be denied enrolment on a State Medical Register, if he/she satisfies all other eligibility criteria for the same?

On the issue that the petitioner had obtained Eligibility Certificate only after taking admission in the medical institution abroad, the Bench observed that the Council had no case that the petitioner would not have been issued Eligibility Certificate, had she applied for the same before taking admission for the medical course in the medical institution abroad.

Section 13(4B) of the IMC Act itself provides that in case any person obtains any medical qualification without obtaining Eligibility Certificate, he shall not be eligible to appear for the Screening Test concerned. Noticing the fact that the petitioner was permitted by the competent authority i.e. Indian Medical Council to appear for Screening Test and the fact that she had cleared the Screening Test were not disputed by the State Medical Council, the Bench remarked,

“True, the State Medical Council, while considering applications for registration, both provisional and permanent, has the power to verify whether the candidate has obtained Eligibility Certificate, but that does not mean that the State Medical Council is empowered to adjudicate the right of a person to obtain Eligibility Certificate and to appear for the Screening Test, ignoring the decisions taken by the Medical Council of India in this regard.”

Accordingly, the stand of the Council that the qualification obtained by the petitioner could not be regarded as one in accordance with the provisions of the IMC Act as she had not obtained Eligibility Certificate before taking admission, so as to become eligible to be enrolled as a medical practitioner in the State Medical Register was held to be unsustainable.

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?

As per the IMC Act and Regulation 11 a person who obtains medical qualification granted by medical institutions outside India recognised for enrolment as 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.

Since the fact that the petitioner had obtained a medical qualification granted by a medical institution in a country outside India recognised for enrolment as medical practitioner in that country and the fact that she had cleared the Screening Test were not in dispute, including the fact that the petitioner had completed one year internship after acquiring the primary medical qualification, the Bench held that the State Medical Council was obliged to grant permanent registration to the petitioner and they could not insist that the petitioner should undergo CRRI for the said purpose.

Whether the State Medical Council is empowered to take decisions in the nature of Ext.P21?

Opining that a person who is entitled to registration in a State Medical Register in terms of the provisions of the IMC Act could not be denied registration by the State Medical Council, and the medical qualifications of foreign medical graduates who satisfy the requirements in the said provision are deemed to be recognised medical qualifications for the purpose of the IMC Act, the Bench was of the view that the requirement in terms of Ext.P21 that such medical graduates should undergo CRRI for claiming permanent registration was inconsistent with the requirement in terms of the IMC Act and also the Regulations.

“The IMC Act is one relatable to Entry 66 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution and the TCMP Act is one relatable to Entries 25 and 26 of List III of the Seventh Schedule. In other words, Ext.P21 decision of the State Medical Council being inconsistent with the provisions contained in the IMC Act, the same is invalid and unenforceable.”

Conclusion

In the result, the writ petitions were disposed of 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. [Sadhiya Siyad v. State of Kerala, WP(C) No. 2992 of 2021, decided on 20-10-2021]

Kamini Sharma, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.

Appearance by:

Counsel for the Petitioner: Santhosh Mathew, Arun Thomas, Jennis Stephen, Vijay V. Paul, Karthika Maria, Veena Raveendran, Anil Sebastian Pulickel and Divya Sara George

Counsel for the State: Titus Mani and N.Raghuraj, SC, TCMC & KNMC

Special task force found Rs 2,000 crore unused govt funds: PTR

Special task force found Rs 2,000 crore unused govt funds: PTR

Addressing reporters at the Secretariat, Rajan termed the STF’s findings an interim report. “This is just a trailer. We will be coming out with more such findings,” he said.

Published: 02nd November 2021 05:34 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Unutilised funds amounting to Rs 2,000 crore have been unearthed by a Special Task Force (STF), Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan announced on Monday. The task force was constituted to identify government funds stashed outside the treasury department’s ambit.

Addressing reporters at the Secretariat, Rajan termed the STF’s findings an interim report. “This is just a trailer. We will be coming out with more such findings,” he said. As government funds are often shifted to accounts outside the view of the treasury system, Rajan said the STF built a database by collating data of bank accounts where government money had been parked as on March 31, 2021 from multiple sources such as banks, district collectors, government departments, and other quasi-governmental entities.

The minister said an Integrated Financial and Human Resources Management System would be put in place so there is no idling of funds in the future. The system would involve digitisation of the treasury system by integrating it with human resource and budget management.

“Some schemes will be implemented through intermediate agencies of the government such as companies, societies, and local bodies. For this, a State-level Public Financial Management System will be established in association with agency banks. The bank balances of the agencies for implementing the scheme will be in plain sight of the finance department after withdrawal from the government treasury,” he said.

Further, the minister said the release of funds from the treasury will be done only after the funds from the previous withdrawal completely utilised. If the funds are not used within the specified time period, they will be returned to the government.

Stating that the term of the STF would be extended till March 31, 2022, Rajan said it will continue to audit reported data, specifically under categories of ‘available balances’ and ‘liabilities’, and reconcile the data collected from the department heads, district collectors and banks. “It is possible that further amounts of unutilised funds could be identified for return to the government treasury,” he said.

State govt will introduce a policy for MSME loans: FM

Thehe Chief Minister’s Economic Advisory Council has backed the State government’s initiatives in data-centric governance, he said. “As part of the initiative, beneficiary-linked databases of government programmes such as the Public Distribution System and Old Age Pension scheme are analysed by the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency.

Databases, such as the Civil Registration System, which maintains births and deaths, can enable new additions (to the families) and deletions (on deaths in the family) to be carried out directly into the Family Card database. This would be cost-effective and result in effective implementation,” he said. The minister said that there is a plan for the government to seek a payments bank licence from the RBI.

“The quantum of welfare payments is huge and if the State has its own bank, we can see how much money is spent,” he said. Asked if fuel prices impacted the government’s expenditure with inflation setting in, he said there was no impact as the prices hadn’t risen drastically. Rajan said the State will introduce a policy by to guarantee MSME loans. The sector was urging the government to float a Credit Guarantee Corporation with large capital to rescue struggling small industries.

‘Pension given to Deceased persons’

PTR said, over the last few months, it was found that deceased persons were receiving pensions and monthly allocation of rice. He said while analysing crop and jewellery loan data, several irregularities were found

Indigo flyers suffer at Bengaluru airport due to baggage system failure

Indigo flyers suffer at Bengaluru airport due to baggage system failure

Indigo was bombarded on social media with complaints from harried flyers whose flights were yet to take off or who had landed at various airports without their baggage.

Published: 01st November 2021 11:15 PM 

Chaos at Bengaluru airport on Monday morning as flyers of Indigo had to wait for hours for their departures due to baggage failure. (Photo | EPS)

By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) operator Bangalore International Airport Limited tried to play down the issue of the baggage system failure on Sunday by claiming in an official statement that it was set right within 15 minutes. But the reality came to the fore on Monday morning when flyers on Indigo flights continued to suffer massive delays for the second consecutive day. The baggage issue was finally set right by 12.20 pm but as a cascading effect, flights continued to be delayed most of Monday.

Flights of all airlines, barring Indigo, were operated as per schedule. Indigo was bombarded on social media with complaints from harried flyers whose flights were yet to take off or who had landed at various airports without their baggage.

Giving details of why Indigo was specifically impacted, a source told TNIE that only Indigo had a separate baggage screening procedure with dedicated baggage screening belts in a space earmarked as BMA area. "Due to the heavy load on the baggage system, it suffered a failure. Two of the baggage belts were impacted. Indigo operates the maximum number of flights from Bengaluru and hence had this sophisticated system in place. All the other airlines have a normal system in place," he said.

Another source said that a daily average of 120-plus flights from Indigo presently depart from the airport. "Its punctuality figures on Sunday and Monday were extremely bad. A majority of these flights were delayed by a minimum of three to four hours. Other airlines operating a lesser number of flights did not have any issues."

What is appalling though is that both BIAL and Indigo finally put out tweets alerting passengers about the baggage issue on their official handles only on Monday morning, a full day after much chaos at Bengaluru airport. They were only responding to individual tweets the previous day.

Indigo declined to give any fresh statement about the issue on Monday despite repeated requests. BIAL in a statement said, "A technical issue in the Baggage Handling System had disrupted baggage sortation at Benglauru airport on October 31 and the first half of November 1. This has had an impact on the flights of Indigo airlines. The baggage sortation issue has been resolved at 1220 hrs today, 1 November 2021. Bengaluru airport is extending all its support to Indigo to manage the situation and is working closely with the airline to ensure that the misconnected bags reach passengers," it said.

It has been reliably learnt that the equipment had been purchased from abroad by BIAL and hence it had to be set right only with technical assistance from there, which was the reason for the delay in rectifying it.

Railways pulling back concessions for senior citizens?

Railways pulling back concessions for senior citizens?

The concession has been suspended since regular trains stopped operations on March 22 last year.

Published: 01st November 2021 06:13 AM

By B Anbuselvan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Even as select trains are set to return with unreserved coaches from Monday, with the composition of regular trains of pre-Covid times, the Railways is yet to resume its concession for senior citizens.

The concession has been suspended since regular trains stopped operations on March 22 last year. With the Covid-19 pandemic receding and vaccination coverage increasing in most of the States, the Railways has resumed more than 90 per cent of pre-Covid trains in Southern Railway and a few other zones. However, the trains were running with reserved coaches.

Now, as lockdown restrictions have been relaxed in Tamil Nadu and in Kerala, the unreserved coaches of trains operated during day hours are set to resume so as to cater to office-goers. “When the trains are going to run with the same composition of pre-Covid period, the railways should treat them as regular trains and extend concessions for the elderly,” said B Siva Kumar, member, Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee (DRUCC), Madurai division.

However, officials from the Southern Railway said the trains having unreserved coaches are still being considered as reserved specials and that concessions are not allowed. “The railway board has not taken any policy decision yet on resuming the concessions,” said an official.

Naina Masilamani, member, DRUCC, Chennai division said protecting the elderly is a responsibility of the government and that the concession should never be considered as a freebie. “The delay is unacceptable and deplorable,” he added.

Edward Jeni, a passenger in Nagercoil said: “If the concession causes huge revenue loss, the railways should consider resuming concession at least only for sleeper class, second class and unreserved tickets. AC class travellers may be asked to pay full fare until the railways takes policy decision.”

Railways’ move a follow-up?

In the last two decades, multiple committees appointed for restructuring the railways administration have recommended withdrawing the concession for senior citizens and children. After much deliberation, in July 2016, the railways made elderly concession optional in while booking ticket.

A year later, in July 2017, the railways incorporated a few more changes in IRCTC, enabling the provision for passengers to give up partial and full concession of fare for senior citizens. Since March 2016, the railways has withdrawn the 50 per cent concession given for children aged between 5 and 12 while reserving tickets.

In the case of senior citizens, while women are eligible for 50 per cent concession, men can avail 40 per cent concession in all classes. The minimum age limit for a woman is 58 and a man is 60.