Class 11 boy runs away with ₹33L cash after parents scold him for gaming

Class 11 boy runs away with ₹33L cash after parents scold him for gaming

Chennai: 20.11.2021

A Class 11 boy, who left his house in Washermenpet with ₹33 lakh in cash and 213 sovereigns of gold ornaments after his parents restricted him from playing online games, was traced to Tambaram within 24 hours by the city police on Thursday. The 15-year-old was planning to run away to Nepal with the stolen booty.

Police said Prakash (name changed), son of a metro water contractor Venkat Kumar from Mottai Thottam in Washermenpet used to spend several hours playing online games. He was addicted to these games and used his parents’ smartphones even during the online classes.

After noticing this, his mother who works as a professor at a women's college in Vallalar Nagar, scolded him and restricted his screen time.

On Wednesday, Prakash left his house did not return for over two hours. His worried parents searched for him in the entire neighbourhood and inquired with all his friends. At home, they found the cash and gold ornaments worth ₹75 lakh gone from the safe. They immediately contacted the Washermenpet deputy commissioner of police Shiva Prasad and filed a missing complaint. The police worked in special teams and tracked Prakash using his phone with the help of cyber crime sleuths. He was traced to a lodge near Tambaram, where a police team was rushed to rescue him.

Initial inquiries revealed that the boy was getting ready to pledge a portion of the gold in a pawn shop and had already booked a flight ticket to Kathmandu in Nepal.

The police team managed to bring the boy back to Washermenpet and reunited him with the family along with the valuables.

39,500 from state clear NEET UG, to vie for 12,700 seats

39,500 from state clear NEET UG, to vie for 12,700 seats

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:19.11.2021

Of the 68,000 candidates who took the NEET UG 2021 exam from Gujarat, 39,570 have qualified.

They will now compete for the 12,707 seats at medical, dental, ayurveda and homeopathy colleges in the state.

“In the general category, 9,521 candidates qualified while 7,303 have cleared from the EWS category. In the OBC category, 15,706 candidates cleared NEET UG while 4,043 qualified in the SC category 4,043 and 3,096 in the ST category,” said a source in the admission committee.

Tha admission committee has started online registration for medical, dental, homeopathy and ayurveda seats from November 17.

There are 30 medical colleges in the state with 5,550 MBBS seats,12 dental colleges with 1,255 seats, 2,242 seats at 33 ayurveda colleges and 36 homeopathy colleges having a total capacity of 3,710 seats.

In all there are 12,707 seats for which the Admission Committee for Professional Under Graduate Medical Educational Courses (ACPUGMEC) will conduct admissions this year.

Skin-to-skin contact not a must in Pocso offences: SC

Skin-to-skin contact not a must in Pocso offences: SC

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:19.11.2021

Holding that physical contact with a child with sexual intent could not be trivialised by excluding it from the ambit of sexual assault, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that skin-toskin touch is not essential and even indirect touch amounts to an offence under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. A bench of Justices U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi quashed two judgments of the Bombay HC which held that “skin to skin” contact was essential for proving offences under Pocso Act, and said such a narrow interpretation would defeat the purpose of the Act.

HC verdicts passed in Jan led to considerable outrage

The high court ruling had caused widespread consternation as it could have allowed offenders to exploit the “skin-to-skin” contact reference to escape the ambit of the law. “The act of touching any sexual part of the body of a child with sexual intent or any other act involving physical contact with sexual intent, could not be trivialised or held insignificant or peripheral so as to exclude such act from the purview of “sexual assault” under Section 7,” it said.

It noted use of gloves, cloth, or contact through clothes, or even use of condoms, could have been excluded in the light of the HC orders despite sexual intent. The HC verdicts passed in January led to considerable outrage and it was attorney general K K Venugopal who challenged the verdict before the Supreme Court saying the orders were outrageous and will have wider ramifications on 43,000 Pocso cases registered every year in the country.

Later on, the National Commission for Women and Maharashtra goverenment also filed an appeal against the HC verdicts. Allowing their pleas, the bench said that any narrow and pedantic interpretation of the provision which would defeat the object of the provision, cannot be accepted.

“Restricting the interpretation of the words “touch” or physical contact” to “skin to skin contact” would not only be a narrow and pedantic interpretation of the provision contained in Section 7 of the Pocso Act, but it would lead to an absurd interpretation of the said provision. “Skin to skin contact” for constituting an offence of “sexual assault” could not have been intended or contemplated by the legislature,” Justice Trivedi, who penned the judgment for herself and Justice Lalit, said.

NCW welcomes SC order in skin-to-skin case

New Delhi:

The National Commission for Women has welcomed the Supreme Court’s order setting aside the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench’s judgment that held that skin-to-skin contact was necessary for the offence of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. On February 4, NCW had filed an SLP before the Supreme Court challenging the judgment stating that it would set a dangerous precedent for women safety.

The commission while filing the SLP had raised concern that the order had far reaching ramifications for women and children, exposing them to a desensitised society. “The commission welcomes the SC verdict today and believes that the apex court’s decision in the matter will uphold the legal and constitutional safeguard for women and children,” NCW said in the statement. TNN

Tirumala caught in massive flood, flights to Tirupati hit

Tirumala caught in massive flood, flights to Tirupati hit

Amaravati\Tirupati:  19.11.2021

Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, was caught in a massive flood of unprecedented scale on Thursday, leaving hundreds of pilgrims stranded even as a heavy downpour under the influence of a depression in Bay of Bengal battered the temple-town Tirupati and many parts of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.

The four ‘maada streets’ adjoining the main temple on Tirumala Hills, remained flooded, as was the Vaikuntham queue complex (cellar). Darshan of the God was virtually stalled as pilgrims could not venture out because of the inundation. The Japali Anjaneya Swamy temple on Tirumala was inundated and idol of the God submerged. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams officials made arrangement for free food and accommodation for the pilgrims stranded on the holy hills. TTD executive officer K S Jawahar Reddy declared a holiday on Friday for the office staff in view of the situation. The two ghat roads leading to the Tirumala Hills were closed for traffic following the flood and landslides, official sources said. The pedestrian stairway leading to the temple from Alipiri was also closed down, they said.

The Tirupati International Airport at Renigunta also remained inundated, forcing the authorities to stop landing of incoming aircraft. Airport director S Suresh said two passenger flights scheduled to land in Tirupati from Hyderabad and Bengaluru were asked to return. A scheduled flight from New Delhi has been cancelled due to the prevailing weather condition, he added.

The TTD additional executive officer’s office in Tirumala remained marooned, as were many guest houses. A landslide damaged three rooms at the Narayanagiri guest house complex but nothing untoward has been reported as the rooms were unoccupied, official sources said. Pilgrims staying in other rooms in Narayanagiri and nearby S V guest house were shifted to other accommodation. In Srinivasa Mangapuram near Tirupati, two autos were washed away as the Swarnamukhi rivulet remained in spate. A bridge on the Renigunta-Kadapa highway remained in a precarious position at Anjaneyapuram. A truck was stranded on the bridge, causing a traffic jam on either side, even as police reached the spot for a rescue operation.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to Chittoor district collector M Hari Narayanan and reviewed the situation. PTI

IN DEEP WATER: Ghat roads of Tirupati which lead to Lord Venkateshwara Temple closed following heavy rainfall in AP’s temple town on Thursday

Covid test lapses by 1 min, pregnant woman & 2 others denied boarding

Covid test lapses by 1 min, pregnant woman & 2 others denied boarding

Petlee.Peter@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:19.11.2021

A family of three, including a pregnant woman, was denied boarding an Indi-Go flight to Dubai, citing that the 48-hour validity of their RT-PCR negative test reports had lapsed by one minute. They were not allowed to board the flight even though they took Rapid RT-PCR tests at the airport for ₹3,000 each.

All Indian passengers headed to the UAE must clear this pre-departure test, besides carrying RT-PCR negative reports not older than 48 hours. Rukhsar Memon, 28, husband Suhail Syed, 39, and his mother Mamtaz Munawar, 63, had come to Bengaluru for their annual holiday at their Nandidurga Road home on October 9 this year.

On Tuesday morning, the family went to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to board the IndiGo flight 6E 95 from Bengaluru to Dubai scheduled to take off at 1.15pm. As per pre-departure requirement for UAE travellers, the three, including13-week pregnant Rukhsar, took Rapid RT-PCR tests outside KIA and secured negative reports for ₹9,000 before reaching the IndiGo check-in counter around 10am on Tuesday. Then came the shocker.

“We were denied boarding for the 1.15pm flight on Tuesday as the IndiGo ground staff said our initial RT-PCR test reports showed that our samples were collected at 1.15pm on Sunday,” recalled Suhail, who works as a sales executive with a Dubai-based health insurance firm. The airline calculates the 48-hour validity period from the time of sample collection.

The IndiGo ground staff told the family that by the time the flight takes off at 1.15pm, their RT-PCR reports will be “aged one minute over the mandated 48 hours”. “We requested the IndiGo manager at the airport to kindly consider us since we were well within the 48-hour validity when we reached the airport. My pregnant wife and my elderly mother were travelling with me. The employees were rude to us, especially the airline manager, as they dragged us for three long hours and finally denying us boarding,” said Suhail on his family’s ordeal.

Full report on www.toi.in

இந்தியா செல்லும் பெண் சுற்றுலா பயணியருக்கு அமெரிக்கா எச்சரிக்கை

இந்தியா செல்லும் பெண் சுற்றுலா பயணியருக்கு அமெரிக்கா எச்சரிக்கை

Updated : நவ 18, 2021 06:39 | Added : நவ 18, 2021 06:37 |

புதுடில்லி : 'பெண்களுக்கு எதிரான குற்றங்கள் அதிகரித்து வருவதால், பெண் சுற்றுலா பயணியர் இந்தியாவுக்கு தனியாக பயணம் மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டாம்' என, தங்கள் நாட்டு சுற்றுலா பயணியருக்கு டில்லியில் உள்ள அமெரிக்க துாதரகம் அறிவுறுத்தி உள்ளது.

டில்லியில் உள்ள அமெரிக்க துாதரகம் தங்கள் நாட்டு சுற்றுலா பயணியருக்கான பயண ஆலோசனை அறிக்கையை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது. அதன் விபரம்: இந்தியாவில் பெண்களுக்கு எதிரான பாலியல் வன்முறைகள் அதிகரித்து வருவதாக அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.

சுற்றுலாதலங்கள் உட்பட பல்வேறு இடங்களில் கொடூரமான வன்முறைகள், பாலியல் பலாத்காரங்கள் அதிகரித்துள்ளன. எனவே அமெரிக்க சுற்றுலா பயணியர், குறிப்பாக பெண்கள் தனியாக இந்தியாவுக்கு பயணம் மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டாம். இவ்வாறு அதில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Unique QR Codes In Judgments/ Orders, Advocate Information Management System: New Initiatives By Madras High Court

Unique QR Codes In Judgments/ Orders, Advocate Information Management System: New Initiatives By Madras High Court: In a press release by the Registrar General of Madras High Court, several notable initiatives, including those implemented and those that will be brought in place with effect from 15th November...

MBBS graduates could need double internships to practice in India

MBBS graduates could need double internships to practice in India

By Sumi Sukanya dutta| Express News Service | Published: 16th November 2021 02:48 AM

NEW DELHI: Securing registration to practice medicine in India could get tougher for students pursuing medicine abroad as they will now be required to do double internships — once in the country where they got the MBBS and again in India — as per new norms about to be released.

About 10,000-12,000 students from the country go abroad every year to pursue MBBS.

As of now, these medical graduates, except those who get their degrees in US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, are required to clear the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination and do a mandatory one-year internship in a recognised Indian medical college before they can get their registration.

Most of them, however, do not do internships abroad and return to India after completing 4.5 years of the MBBS degree.

Aruna V Vanikar, president of the undergraduate medical education board at the National Medical Commission, told this newspaper that the process of issuing licenses to such graduates is being made more “stringent” as part of a reform push in medical education.

“As of now, there are instances of medical graduates with just 3-3.5 years from many sub-standard colleges abroad and we need to put a stop to such cases,” she said. Vanikar added that these graduates will have to spend at least 15-18 months following their degree before they can get a license to practice.

The guidelines are expected this week for public feedback before the final notification.

Starting 2023, when the National Exit Test gets implemented, all final-year medical students will need to take it in two steps. All local MBBS students will start internships in the colleges where they graduated. Foreign students successful in the NEXT step 1 exam will have internships in designated sites.

After a mentor-certified internship, they will need to appear for the NEXT step 2 exam and can get a license only after clearing it. Medical education activist Vivek Pandey said that the new proposal may make it more difficult for foreign medical graduates to pursue a career in India.

Poor scores in FMGEs

The passing percentage in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination for students who get their MBBS abroad is just 10-20% every year. The FMGE is a prerequisite to get a license for medical practice in India

Raj teachers allege bribe for transfer, leave min red-faced

Raj teachers allege bribe for transfer, leave min red-faced

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jaipur:17.11.2021

In a major embarrassment for school education minister Govind Singh Dotasra, teachers from across the state told Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday that they had to pay bribes to get a transfer.

Addressing a felicitation programme held for state teachers in Jaipur, Gehlot asked them if they had to pay money for transfers and the teachers responded with a unanimous “yes”. Gehlot looked at Dotasra, who was sitting on the dias, and reacted by saying that it was bad and promised to bring a concrete transfer policy soon, which the government employees have been demanding for decades.

When Gehlot completed his speech, Dotasra rushed to the mike and claimed that he and his staff were clean.

“Everyone sitting here knows the fact that I have never accepted one cup of tea. But we need a good transfer policy which will soon be worked out,” said Dotasra.

Education minister Govind Singh Dotasra during the felicitation programme held for state teachers

Corruption has become a new normal in the state: Poonia

Jaipur: Reacting to the allegation of corruption in transfers, BJP state president Satish Poonia said that corruption had become the basic “etiquette” in the state. "Corruption has become a new normal in the state. The state campaign 'Prashashan Ke Sang' has become 'Prashashan Risthedaro Ke Sang' and doesn't need any proof," said Poonia. He said that Congress MLAs Bharat Singh, Hemaram Choudhary and Deependra Singh Shekhawat were given evidence of corruption many times.

Taking a dig at the Gehlot government, former education minister Vasudev Devnani also tweeted that teachers alleging corruption in front of Gehlot showed the true governance in the state.

About 99 government teachers were felicitated by the government with a certificate and Rs 21,000 cash prize each. Gehlot also said that the establishment of Mahatma Gandhi English medium schools in the state was a revolutionary step in the field of education. With the opening of these schools, the dreams of children of farmers, the poor, and labourers living in villages to study in English medium has come true.

›CM hints at cabinet rejig, Dotasra may be dropped,

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR MIND TO INNOVATE

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR MIND TO INNOVATE

Pursue higher degrees, but make them useful

Avik.Das1@timesgroup.com

From his days in school in Guwahati, Mrinal Bhattacharjee wanted to be an engineer. He loved doing his science class experiments. “Going to college, it felt like computer science would be a cool subject to study. I thought it allowed problems to be solved quicker, allowed you to see your solutions at work,” he says. And that’s what he did at NIT Karnataka.

Bhattacharjee, who is today a principal engineer with US data management company NetApp’s India centre, has seven patents to his name. He joined NetApp in 2004, and filed his first patent three years later. It was on file systems, around how to take a snapshot of the data at any given time. “A snapshot is a point-intime copy of your data. That is the core building block of data protection,” he says.

While the snapshot was the end result, a lot of background work was automatically done in the system to preserve the file. Bhattacharjee found a way to minimise the background process so that it reduced the system load.

Just like for other patent holders featured in this column, the maiden patent was a lesson for Bhattacharjee in understanding how to write a patent application, talk to patent lawyers and patent committees to figure out whether an idea is patentable.

His next patents were again in data storage management. “When data comes in, we need to decide where we will place data, which is essential to be able to retrieve it quickly. Data placement algorithms are an essential part of the data storage system. We redesigned the system, rewrote the whole thing to work on solid state drives which could have 100 processors. That enabled NetApp to have hybrid systems (combining flash memory and hard disk drives).”

He says a patenting mindset requires first to have a desire to solve problems in interesting ways. “And then, when you have a company culture that fosters innovation, a set of people you can brainstorm with, things become relatively easy,” he says.

While he did not pursue higher education, he advises others to take it up. “It is not impossible to innovate without a higher degree, but if one goes for it, one must take it seriously, make sure it is helpful in the innovation journey,” he says.

A patent he has most recently filed is related to data protection against ransomware, a malware which has become a raging cyber security threat. Bhattacharjee’s innovation identifies a potential virus quickly and immediately cuts off the storage system so that the virus cannot encrypt the data. “It feels great to be solving real world customer problems,” he says.

When you have a company culture that fosters innovation, a set of people you can brainstorm with, things become relatively easy.

Mrinal Bhattacharjee PRINCIPAL ENGINEER, NETAPP

KGMU strike hits patient care, many forced to return

KGMU strike hits patient care, many forced to return

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:  17.11.2021

Patient care services in the out patient department (OPD) were impacted at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) on Tuesday after the university employees went on an indefinite strike demanding higher pay scale. After holding talks, the strike has been put on hold for a month.

While several patients had to return without consultation even after taking an appointment weeks in advance, the university claimed no surgeries were affected and patients were taken care of in the OPD.

After the day-long strike, the employees and KGMU administration held a meeting on Tuesday evening following which the employees decided to hold off their protest for the next one month based on assurances made on the day.

KGMU employees, under the leadership of their association president Pradeep Gangwar, have been demanding pay scales at par with their counterparts in SGPGI.

In a letter by the directorate of medical education (DGME) to KGMU registrar on the day it was conveyed that cadre restructure of KGMU employees is in process at the government level.

“Against the university’s list of 42 cadres, government order has been received for two cadres. The status of restructuring 14 other cadres is in the final stages which will be completed in the next one month. The process to expedite decisions on the remaining cadres is also being tried,” the DGME’s letter read.

The day’s protest became a huge problem for several patients who had come to KGMU from far and wide, many of whom had to return without getting any consultation.

Jitendra Pratap Singh, who came from Rae Bareli to get a consultation in the neurology department OPD, said, “I made an appointment two weeks ago. Now I am being told that OPD is not functional. I am at a crossroad now not knowing what to do,” he rued.

Similarly, Keshav Chandra from Gorakhpur said, “I had to wait for three hours to get my registration done to consult with doctors, but there was nobody at the counter to start the process. I had traveled with great difficulty on Tuesday and had to return without any respite with an aggravated abdominal pain. No one heard my requests.”

MD, MS exam delay: Probe sought in letter to CJI, nat’l rights panel

MD, MS exam delay: Probe sought in letter to CJI, nat’l rights panel

Neel.Kamal@timesgroup.com

Bathinda:17.11.2021

Twelve postgraduate (MD/MS) students of the 2018 batch of Adesh Medical University, Bathinda, have their careers hanging in a balance for five months now. They have written to National Medical Commission to direct the university to conduct their final exams, but to no avail.

The 12 students had completed their three-year course in May 2021. The final exams should have been held in May-June. However, the students are embroilled in a court case with the university over the fee structure for the course. Upon their representation, a health and human rights activist on Tuesday wrote to the Chief Justice of India, chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court, and the chairman of National Human Rights Commission to order an immediate inquiry into the circumstances of the exam and to order that they be conducted to save the career of students.

The problem about the structure of tuition fee of these MD/MS students started from their admission in 2018. The state government had fixed tuition fee at Rs 19.5 lakh for the full courses ofall medical institutes in the state, but the Adesh University had fixed its fee at Rs 49.32 lakh after challenging the state government-fixed tuition fee in the high court. The students paid Rs 19.5 lakh each, but the issue of close to Rs 30 lakh remained unresolved. The students claimed that they were being forced to pay remaining the Rs 29.81 lakh and told that the final exam will be conducted only after the balance was paid. Students, not wanting to be named, said they had written to National Medical Commission, but to no avail.

Upon getting a representation from students, Dr Vitull K Gupta, who is the chairman of Association of Physicians of India (Malwa Branch), sent representations to the CJI. He said in the past also, he had sent representations to the Union health minister and National Medical Commission, but no action was taken.

National Medical Commission had issued an advisory to all medical colleges vide a letter dated June 22 to hold exams for final-year postgraduate students at the earliest convenient time, depending on the Covid-19 situation. Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, and SGRD University of Health Sciences, Amritsar, have conducted the exams.

University registrar Jagdev Singh did not respond. Its deputy registrar, Kulwant Singh, said as per NMC guidelines, the process is on to conduct the exams as early as possible. As there was a delay in new admissions in the MD/MS courses, there is a delay in exams for the outgoing batch, he added. Denying that students were being harassed for fee, he said the matter was sub-judice. “We have never demanded fee from students. Even the application has been filed twice in the court for early hearing of the case,” he added.

No nod for four new colleges to start MBBS admissions this year

No nod for four new colleges to start MBBS admissions this year

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: 17.11.2021 

In a blow to the state, the new medical colleges in Chikkamagaluru, Haveri, Yadgir and Chikkaballapur are unlikely to begin academic operations this year as the National Medical Commission (NMC) has turned down requisitions for 150 undergraduate seats each from 2021-22, official sources said.

An NMC team recently inspected these colleges and objected to the lack of buildings. Staff recruitment was also still ongoing.

“If not for the pandemic, we would have completed the process of appointing staff in all four colleges,” a source in the medical education department said. “Construction work also took a beating because of the pandemic. However, it’s now taking place at a fast pace in Chikkaballapur and Chikkamagaluru.”

Sources said the NMC objected to the plan to begin operations from a private building. A team from Delhi inspected the colleges in August 2021. In October, a video conference was held with the heads of the medical colleges to review progress.

However, in the first week of this month, NMC, in official communication, shot down approval to start the first MBBS batch in all four colleges. Medical education minister K Sudhakar was unavailable for comment.

“However, in the past, some colleges that received communication denying approval were given the goahead by the end of the mopup round of UG medical counselling,” the source said. “The recruitment process is likely to be over by December, and we will once again approach the NMC. If staff recruitment is complete and the required equipment, hostel and other infrastructure are in place, the NMC may approve two of the four colleges this year.”

Currently there are 8,900 UG medical seats in Karnataka and it would have gone up to 9,500 if the 600 seats were approved. Of the available UG medical sets, 2,900 are in government colleges.

“We are confident the seats in Chikkamagaluru and Chikkaballapur will be approved since most staff have been recruited,” said Dr Jayakara SM, vice chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences. Should that happen, the state will get 300 more seats for 2021-22.

In 2019, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute (Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute) was granted approval and the first batch began from 2019-20.

While seeking approval for the fresh batch in 2020, the government had written to the Centre saying the new medical college was needed to reduce the doctor-patient ratio of 1:10260 in Karnataka. As per the World Health Organisation, there must be one doctor for every 1,000 population.

“NMC looks at three primary factors while considering approval: The college must have the required infrastructure, faculty and a medical college hospital. In all the four new medical colleges, these factors are in the preliminary stage as all work was halted during the pandemic,” said sources.

In four new medical colleges, the government had made alternative arrangements to begin the course near district hospitals. “In Chikkamagaluru, the land allocated for the college was in a forest area and it required clearances from the forest department. In Yadgir, construction began in January and that may take some more time,” said officials.

Foreigners can now submit registration requests online

Foreigners can now submit registration requests online

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:17.11.2021

The home ministry has allowed all applications and information related to registration of foreigners in India to be submitted to the registration officer through the electronic mode.

A new rule has been added to the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, providing registration reports of foreigners to be submitted electronically. Any application or information under the rules can be filed online , after which the registration officer will verify its genuineness.

Only if necessary will the applicant or informant be called for a personal appearance for the purpose of this rule.

“The purpose of the amended rules is to ease travel and stay by foreigners in India by eliminating the outdated procedures and replacing them with digitised formats. The initiative fits in with the ‘ease of living’ and ‘ease of doing business’ theme of the Modi government,” said a spokesperson for the ministry.

The latest amendments in the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, according to a gazette notification dated November 12, omits Rule 7(1) specifying the procedure of registration and to whom the registration report must be presented.

Bank misplaces FD records of senior citizen, told to pay

Bank misplaces FD records of senior citizen, told to pay

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Vadodara: 17.11.2021

He had invested his hard-earned Rs 7,000 as two fixed deposits (FD) in Bank of Baroda in June 1998 for 20 years thinking that the money would help him during his retirement years. But in 2018 and 2019 when the two FDs were to mature Pravinchandra Shah, who lives in Makarpura, was shocked to know that the bank did not have any records of it.

Shah pursued the issue with the bank since 2018, but the money was never paid out to him.

However, the consumer court came to his rescue recently. The court ordered the bank to pay the matured amount of Rs 65,342 along with interest and compensation of Rs 2,000.

As Shah did not get any positive response from the bank, he had filed a complaint at the consumer forum in November 2019. He told the court that the bank did not have records of his FDs. When he approached senior officials of the bank, he was told that as the bank’s system had changed, his FDs’ account numbers had changed and he was assured of the payment. But Shah never got the money and instead learnt that the bank had deducted tax at source even as he had filled forms 15H and 15G and the rate of interest was reduced without informing him.

The bank was sent notice to appear before the forum and respond to Shah’s complaint, but the bank’s representatives never remained present. Since Shah had submitted all documentary evidence and they were not opposed by the bank, the court upheld the evidence. The court ordered the bank to pay the promised sum of Rs 65,342 to Shah within two months.

Admissions for dental and MBBS courses to begin today

Admissions for dental and MBBS courses to begin today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:17.11.2021

The online registrations for medical, dental, homeopathic and ayurveda seats will begin from November 17. Presently, there are 30 medical colleges in the state with 5,550 MBBS seats, 12 dental colleges with 1,255 seats, 33 Ayurveda colleges with 2,242 seats and 36 colleges with a total capacity of 3,710 seats.

In all, there are 12,707 seats for which the Admission Committee for Professional Under Graduate Medical Educational Courses (ACPUGMEC) will undertake the admission process this year.

Gujarat government is working on a plan to ensure that there is one medical college in every district of the state. For this, the department will have to set up about seven additional medical colleges in districts that do not have a single college, said sources.

The proposal is in lines with the Centre’s vision to have one college in every district of the country over the next five years.

The state government is also planning to set up eight new medical colleges in the state in the next two years. They will add 1,200 MBBS seats, representing about 21% of the total number of prevailing seats in Gujarat, said sources in the state’ health department.

The new medical colleges in Morbi, Godhra and Porbander are expected to start in the 2021-22 academic year. The inspection process by National Medical Commission (NMC) has been completed.

In the next academic year, the state health department aims to start new medical colleges in Rajpipala, Navsari, Jam Khambhaliya, Botad and Veraval.

India resumes vaccine exports after 8 months

India resumes vaccine exports after 8 months

Indrani.Bagchi@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:17.11.2021

Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Iran have been the first recipients of resumed vaccine exports from India almost eight months after they were halted due to rising cases of Covid.

The Centre had stopped vaccine exports as the brutal second wave hit India in April-May this year. Its only after India had administered close to a billion doses of vaccines did the government relax restrictions. Commercial contracts were also kept in abeyance as production was procured for domestic use. India resumed its exports to the Covax facility with the first lot of doses landing in African countries. Adar Poonawalla, chief of Serum Institute of India, was quoted by Axios news website as saying that by this week, he expected Covishield doses to land in African countries.

"I think by the tenth of November you're gonna see the first — if not a bit sooner — you're gonna see the first doses arrive in Africa," Poonawalla told Axios. Once shipments begin, Poonawalla said around 30 million doses per month could be supplied to COVAX.

Home stickers for fully vaccinated?

In a bid to add momentum to the door-to-door Covid vaccination campaign, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya suggested use of stickers for residences where both doses have been given, which would help vaccinators involved in the drive and encourage others to take their shots. TNN P 8

Vax supplies no longer a constraint now

India now has a long list of vaccines—Covavax, Corbevax, ZyCovD, Gennova’s mRNA vaccine—at various stages of regulatory approval. The first 50 million doses of SIIproduced Covavax will make its way to Indonesia this week though the vaccine is yet to be greenlighted by India’s DCGI, the WHO or the US FDA.

While the government is focusing on getting more Indians covered by the second jab, it’s clear that supplies are no longer a constraint. Vaccine manufacturers are chomping at the bit, because they need to go out to the world with their exports.

However, there remain fears about a third wave and a repeat of the shortages faced during the second wave as well as uncertainties about production volumes and timelines of manufacturers. Here, government sources say they were hobbled by the slow rollout of Covaxin by Bharat Biotech.

TNeGA to launch e-Office for paperless governance

TNeGA to launch e-Office for paperless governance

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:

17.11.2021

During the lockdown, private firms allowed their employees to work from home (WFH). But the state government was unable to do so. Now, the Tamil Nadu egovernance agency (TNeGA) has a solution for this if any need arises in the future.

TNeGA has designed a tool named 'e-Office', which will help employees to access their office files from homes.

Using their username and password employees can login to e-Office, scan hardcopies of office files, work on the uploaded documents, prepare notes, and transfer it to their colleagues for reference, said a senior TNeGA official.

"We will get to know from where and for how long a file has remained pending. Also, there is no way a file can go missing. Even if there was a fire accident etc, they can be retrieved," the official added.

The agency is planning to launch 'e-Office' at all departments and district collectorates and has created 50,000 email points for this purpose. In the first phase, the tool is to be made available for 3,500 employees at the state secretariat. Archives in offices over there will be digitised before the launch in January.

M Anbarasu, president of Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association, said that it was practically impossible to implement 100% paperless governance from a remote location. Some government welfare schemes involve physical inspections, and such field inputs can be recorded digitally. Only matters related to finance can be dealt with using such tools, he said.

MG Devasagayam, retired IAS official, said that they tried it way back in 2007 when the Madras high court directed the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to act on building violations. But there was literally no support from the staff. So, the initiative was dropped.

"Also, it is important to see what is digitised. Are projects and violations worth thousands of crores going to be digitised? Dealing with daily routine alone will provide us convenience but not transparency," he said.

Singapore to limit quarantine-free entry

Singapore to limit quarantine-free entry

The benefit may not be available for Vande Bharat passengers as of now, says statement by city-state

17/11/2021

Long wait: Passengers waiting to get tested for COVID-19 at the international airport in Chennai. B. Velankanni Raj VELANKANNI RAJ B

JAGRITI CHANDRA SUHASINI HAIDAR NEW DELHI

A day after including India on its Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) programme, Singaporean officials say quarantine-free entry may not be allowed for Indians taking Air India’s Vande Bharat flights, unless talks on a special bilateral arrangement result in an agreement.

In a detailed document on frequently asked questions on VTL, Singapore said only commercial scheduled passenger flights were eligible to be designated as VTL flights and since the Vande Bharat Mission flights were Government charter relief flights, they were not eligible. India has thus far not reopened regular international travel and has restricted flights to only those from 28 countries that have negotiated an “air travel bubble” system with the Government, that do not include Singapore.

“As Vande Bharat Mission flights are chartered repatriation flights, they are not eligible to be designated as VTL flights,” the statement released said, adding that negotiations with the Ministry of Civil Aviation was under way to work out a compromise that would allow a “partial” restoration of international flights for Singapore as a “temporary” measure.

In a statement on Tuesday, Singapore International Airlines on Tuesday asked passengers to be “patient” while talks were on.

Singaporean media had reported a surge in bookings for SIA flights after the announcement of the VTL programme, and at a press meet, Transport Minister S. Iswaran said Singapore aimed two flights a day each from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai by November 29. Travel agents in India said they were eager for the return of regular flights.

Govt. allows meals on all domestic flights

Govt. allows meals on all domestic flights

17/11/2021

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Tuesday allowed airlines to serve meals on board all domestic flights. The service was banned on flights shorter than two hours during the second wave of COVID-19.

“The airlines operating flights on domestic sectors may provide meal services on board, without restriction on duration of the flight,” an order said on Tuesday.

Moderate rush of pilgrims at Sabarimala on Day 1

Moderate rush of pilgrims at Sabarimala on Day 1

17/11/2021

Offering prayers: Devotees waiting for darshan at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Tuesday. Leju Kamal

STAFF REPORTER PATHANAMTHITTA

Braving inclement weather conditions, devotees began trekking the Sabarimala hillock to offer prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple on Tuesday.

In view of a regulation on the entry of devotees due to heavy rain, the day witnessed only a moderate rush of pilgrims. Only those who have booked slots in the virtual queue system are being permitted to the temple from the base camp at Pampa-Triveni.

Devaswom Minister K. Radhakrishnan held a review of the arrangements in place at Pampa and the Sannidhanam along with Travancore Devaswom Board president K. Ananthagopan.

According to the Minister, over 13 lakh people have already booked slots for darshan through the virtual queue system and the pilgrim footfall is expected to improve as the weather conditions stabilise.

“As more devotees begin to arrive, the traditional Sabarimala path via Neelimala-Appachimedu may be opened to devotees. The departments concerned have been directed to set up two health centres along this route,” said the Minister.

Univs told to hold all exams in offline mode

Univs told to hold all exams in offline mode

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:

17.11.2021

Citing the decline in Covid-19 cases in the state, the Tamil Nadu higher education department on Tuesday directed all state universities to conduct all exams only in offline mode.

A section of students in Madurai and engineering college managements asked the department to continue with unsupervised online exams for upcoming exams.

"The offline examinations may be held by following the standard operating procedures and guidelines issued by the government. It applies to all polytechnic, arts and science, engineering, colleges of education and university departments," higher education secretary D Karthikeyan said in a circular to all universities.

Professors from Anna University said the quality of graduates will improve only if exams are held offline. The university also decided to postpone the semester exams by two weeks to give time for colleges to prepare students for offline mode exams.

"The exams were originally scheduled to start from December 13. Now, the university decided to start the semester exams for students studying in third, fifth and seventh semesters from December 27," an official from Anna University said.

Madras University is also planning to conduct physical mode exams from the last week of December.

Anna University former vice-chancellor E Balagurusamy, said the state government's decision to conduct physical mode exams is a welcome move.

"The state government should not yield to the pressure from students and college management. In the interest of quality of education, the government should stick to their decision as the unsupervised online exams led to copying and other malpractices," he said.

Caught in quota tussle, MBBS, BDS admissions delayed

Caught in quota tussle, MBBS, BDS admissions delayed

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:

17.11.2021

Even two weeks after the declaration of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) results, the Tamil Nadu government is yet to call for applications for MBBS and BDS admissions, increasing anxiety and stress among medical aspirants. The delay also would affect students who may not get a medical seat as admissions would be closed to other professional courses by the time medical counselling ends.

Officials said the state has decided to wait for clarity over cases related to special quota for vanniyars and economically weaker sections (EWS) which are pending before the Supreme Court.

Dharani, a medical aspirant who has scored above 450 marks in NEET, said, the anxiety increases everyday as there was no information about admissions. "It has been two weeks since the NEET results were declared. The government is yet to call for applications. I want to know which college I would get admission to for my score," she said.

Another aspirant from the city who has scored 500, said she was stressed over the delay in admissions. "This year, the conduct of the NEET and declaration of results were delayed. There is no update about all-India quota admissions and state quota admissions so far. My friends who have selected engineering and other courses have started going to colleges. Even if the selection committee starts admission now, we will be able to go to medical college only in January 2022," she said.

After the 10.5% special quota for vanniyars was struck down by the Madras high court, the state government filed an appeal against the HC's order. A decision also expected in a few days on the petitions challenging the centre's decision to implement a 27% quota to OBCs and 10% reservation to EWS within all-India quota (AIQ) seats.

“We normally don’t start counselling here until at least one round of counselling is completed by the Medical Counselling Committee under the directorate general of health services,” said a senior official from the directorate of medical education. “This will give toppers an opportunity to choose seats from AIQ. Once they pay their fees and join a college, they are not allowed for counselling here. If we hold counselling before them there will be unnecessary movements,” the official said.

Meanwhile, health minister Ma Subramanian said the state would start counselling only after two rounds of counselling for all-India quota seats.

Mistaking for ex-wife, man hacks 32-year-old inside bank

Mistaking for ex-wife, man hacks 32-year-old inside bank

According to a police officer, the man attacked the woman mistaking her for his former wife, Susmitha, who is also an employee at the same bank.

Published: 16th November 2021 06:33 AM 

By Express News Service

KOZHIKODE: In a case of mistaken identity, a man hacked a 32-year-old woman inside a bank thinking her to be his former wife. Sreeshma suffered injuries when a drunk Biju, 47, attacked her inside the Cooperative Rural Bank in Nanmanda at 2pm. Police said the Nanmanda native is under treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and her condition is stable.

According to a police officer, the man attacked the woman mistaking her for his former wife, Susmitha, who is also an employee at the same bank. “Biju came to the bank to confront his ex-wife. He entered the cashier’s cabin where Sreeshma was sitting and hacked her from behind with a knife. She managed to escape from attack with minor injuries on hand. Other bank staff, who rushed to her rescue, soon caught him and handed over him to the police,” said the officer.

Susmitha, who is the regular cashier at the bank was on leave on Monday and Sreeshma was in her seat. Biju did not know that his former wife was on leave. Since Sreeshma was wearing a mask, the man may not have identified her, the officer said. Biju and Susmitha had divorced recently. However, exact motive behind the attack could be ascertained only after a detailed interrogation, the police said. The accused was charged under Section 324 (for stabbing) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC.

HC reserves order on medicine exams

HC reserves order on medicine exams

SagarKumar.Mutha@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad: 16.11.2021

Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana high court on Monday reserved his orders in a batch of petitions filed by MBBS students and their parents challenging the alleged faulty pattern of their first year annual examinations and seeking a second supplementary examination to save them from losing another year.

The students have already lost almost a year due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The students have been complaining about the missing multiple choice questions (MCQs) section in their exams. National Medical Commission (NMC) regulations and guidelines say that 20 per cent of the question paper must contain MCQs whereas the Kaloji health university has completely eliminated this section, they said.

When the court questioned the varsity whether it was willing to conduct a second supplementary exam as a one-time measure because the pandemic crippled all spheres of life, the university said it had to obtain NMC permission. However, the NMC counsel said that it was for the university to explain whether it deviated from the pattern fixed by the NMC. The judge reserved his orders.

Rlys looking to turn general coaches into AC compartments

Rlys looking to turn general coaches into AC compartments

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 16.11.2021

The railways is exploring the option to convert general coaches in long distance trains into AC compartments in its bid to provide a comfortable ride to the passengers who can’t pay high fare.

Sources said these coaches will have seating arrangements for 100-120 passengers and hence the fares would be much less so that common people can travel in these coaches. These compartments would be fully reserved and would have automatic closing doors. TOI has learnt that the brainstorming sessions on this plan have started in the railway ministry. The first AC General Class coach is likely to be manufactured in the Railway Coach Factory at Kapurthala in Punjab.

Though all long distance trains except premier ones such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Vande Bharat had unreserved general compartments before the Covid-19 pandemic, now all such coaches run as reserved compartments. Officials said if common passengers can get comfortable ride in AC coaches at affordable fare, then this should become a priority of the railways. Recently, railways introduced AC economy class coaches with lower fare than AC-3 tier as an option for passengers who opt for travel in sleeper class coaches. It also started the maiden service of an all-AC economy train.