Only intention of some univs is to mint money: HC

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:

04.01.2022

Terming a Salem based private deemed to be university a ‘commercial broker,’ the Madras high court has observed that the real intention of such universities is to mint money by giving certificates without providing quality education. “Such universities must realise that education is different from qualification,” a division bench of Justice S Vaidyanathan and Justice A A Nakkiran said.

The court made the observations on an appeal moved by a group of engineers working in Tangedco challenging the order of a single judge granting re-designation of posts of junior engineers who have obtained engineering degree through distance education as assistant engineers.

All the junior engineers obtained a degree in mechanical engineering through distance mode from Vinayaka Mission University, Salem. Since their representation for re-designation was not considered they moved the high court.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court suspended their degrees in a similar batch of petitions and said that the university was not justified in in- troducing any new courses in technical education without the approval of AICTE.

The apex court directed the AICTE to conduct an appropriate test to the degree holders giving them two attempts to clear the exam. Since the junior engineers cleared the exams in the second attempt, a single judge of the court directed the Tangedco to re-designate them as assistant engineers.

Aggrieved, a group of engineers who obtained degrees through regular mode have moved the present appeal. They contended that as per TNEB Service Regulations degrees obtained through distance mode are not recognised.

They further added that the re-designation has also shuffled the seniority. Concurring with the submissions, the court allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the single judge.

Prof gets patents for better LED bulbs, solar cells

Prof gets patents for better LED bulbs, solar   cells

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Puducherry: 04.01.2022

A team of researchers led by a Pondicherry University associate professor has obtained two patents for evolving technologies in the fields of photovoltaic and thermoelectric device processing to improve the performances of LED bulbs and solar cells.

The patent office granted research patents to the team led by associate professor (green energy technology) Periyasamy Thilakan for the invention of 'preparation of luminescent nanocrystalline indium-tin-oxide and 'preparation of wideband titanium dioxide antireflection coating for silicon solar cells'.

The team extracted nanocrystals of indium tin oxide and demonstrated that it can be used to light LED bulbs. "So far, indium tin oxide (ITO) is used as a transparent conducting electrode in optoelectronic devices, but it is not explored for LED applications though it has potential to use as a light-emitting material for LED bulbs. ITO is capable of its lightemitting capacity in the ultraviolet B range of wavelength (280nm to 315nm) at room temperature if it is grown in the form of nanocrystal without defects,” said Thilakan.

He said if the LED bulbs are made using these ITO light emitters, the white light coming out of these bulbs will have a better colour rendering index (CRI) than the presently used gallium nitride-based LED bulbs.

On the other technology his team got the patent, Thi- lakan said the output of a solar cell is directly proportional to the number of photon input. "Hence the reflection of such photons proportionally reduces the current output of the solar cell. We got the second patent for inventing the technology to prepare titanium nanocrystalline material, which is used as wideband anti-reflection coating on solar cells," said Thilakan.

The technology helps in reducing the reflection to less than 10% in the UV range of light. "This anti-reflection coating for silicon solar cells lower the spectral reflection values more than the antireflection coating currently in use," he said.

Pondicherry University vice-chancellor Gurmeet Singh lauded Thilakan and his team for obtaining the two patents.

Med student hangs herself in Thanjavur

 Med student hangs herself in Thanjavur

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thanjavur:

04.01.2022

A 19-year-old MBBS first-year student at a private college hanged herself to death in Thanjavur. Police identified the deceased as M Anushree of Natarajan Nagar in Madhakottai. She had been studying in Salem. Her father Mohanraj is a faculty at a private college in Thanjavur.

After returning home for the New Year holiday, Anushree was visibly upset and had been at home without talking to any of the family members, police said.

Mohanraj was away from home along with his family members on Sunday, with Anushree alone at home.

When they returned, Anushree was found hanging. On information, Tamil University police SI Abhirami rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry and sent the body to the government hospital.

TN govt to extend contract of docs recruited for mini clinics

 TN govt to extend contract of docs recruited for mini clinics

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04.01.2022

Besides, 4,448 health sub-centres have been converted to health and wellness centres under the universal health coverage programme. “The government, after careful consideration of the report by the Directorate of Public Health, has decided to not extend the scheme beyond 31. 12. 2021,” the GO said.

However, with the threat of Omicron, the government has decided to extend the contract of the doctors recruited for the mini clinics until March 31. Corporation heads have been told to redeploy the contract staff working in the mini clinics to fever camps and Covid-19 care centres, the health secretary said.

With the closure of the mini clinics, the government is expected to save ₹26. 71 crore a month.

Former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had in December urged the DMK government to run the clinics as the scheme sought to provide healthcare for the poor.

Health department officials told TOI that the scheme lost relevance in the state with UPHCs and door-to- door healthcare initiatives gaining ground. “It will be an unnecessary burden on the exchequer. We will take a call on retaining the staff after March,” an official said.

The corporation is planning to convert all the 196 mini clinic buildings into urban health and wellness centres. The centres will be set up at a cost of ₹88 crore, under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat comprehensive primary healthcare scheme. They would provide diagnosis and treatment for noncommunicable diseases, childbirth and neonatal issues.

TN govt shuts Amma mini clinics citing performance

Chennai:

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to discontinue the Amma mini clinics launched by the AIADMK government in December 2020, citing lack of performance.

The 1,950 mini clinics were launched for fever diagnosis, but since the second Covid wave ebbed in 2021, the clinics were used only as vaccination centres, officials said. According to a government order (GO 592) dated December 31, 2021, shared with TOI, health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan has said that the mini clinics have not reached a substantial level of performance, and with schemes like ‘Makkalai thedi maruthuvam’ and ‘Varumun kappom thittam’ now, the objective of providing easy healthcare access to people has been achieved.

 

Police crack down on mask violators

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Chennai:

04.01.2022

Amid Omicron variant threat, the city police have planned to book face mask violators in public places. The city police had banned people from visiting the beaches to celebrate New Year on December 31 and January 1, with entry and exit points blocked. Despite this, scores of people gathered and roamed along with the platform of the beach.

The Marina Beach witnessed a few thousand footfalls on Sunday.

The police teams comprising three inspectors of police and 15 other police personnel have been inspecting places where the public has been gathering to check for those who are roaming without a face mask. The police are asked to slap fresh cases against these violators under Sections 269 (whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) of IPC and Section 3 of The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

TNN

Dog bites girl in city apartment, pet owner held

 Dog bites girl in city apartment, pet owner held

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Chennai:

04.01.2022

A nine-year-old girl suffered grievous injuries after she was attacked by a German Shepherd dog in Nolambur. The pet owner, a 43-year-old woman, spent four days in jail before being released on bail on Sunday.

V Saraswathi, a Class IV student was walking in DABC Mithilam, an apartment complex on Sriram Nagar Main Road on December 28 when the pet of another resident of the complex attacked her. The pet owner was walking the dog when it broke lose. Scared of the dog, Saraswathi ran, and the canine chased her, biting her more than a dozen times. The girl was taken to a nearby hospital.

Nolambur police registered a case and arrested Vijayalakshmi, the owner of the dog, the day after the incident.

Blue Cross helps cops with CCTV footage

Vijayalakshmi was booked under Section 289 of IPC (causing danger to human life due to an animal). Later a magistrate court granted her bail.

Police, quoting doctors, said the girl returned home from the hospital on Saturday. Meanwhile, Blue Cross of India volunteers provided police CCTV camera footage that showed the dog had chased and bitten the girl after she panicked and ran, and that Vijaya had rushed to the girl’s rescue. Police said the dog, which has been kept in a shelter, would be handed over to the corporation sanitary inspector on Tuesday for medical tests.

 

Omicron tally nears 2k with 176 new cases

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

04.01.2022

India’s Omicron tally rose to 1,889 on Monday with 176 fresh cases even as a spurt in new infections pushed Rajasthan to the fourth-worst affected state after Maharashtra, Delhi and Kerala. Rajasthan reported 53 fresh cases, the second highest in the country on Monday after Maharashtra, which added 68 more cases to its tally. Rajasthan has pushed Gujarat to the fifth place in the Omicron tally.

Kerala added 29 cases on Monday while Gujarat and Karnataka reported 16 and 10 cases, respectively. For the second consecutive day, Delhi did not report any Omicron cases. With 68 new cases, Maharashtra’s tally grew to 578, which accounts for nearly 31% of India’s total cases. Of the total confirmed cases, 259 have already been discharged.

In Rajasthan, 43 of the 53 fresh cases were reported in Jaipur. While the state’s tally grew to 174, a health department official said 88 patients have already been discharged from hospital. Gujarat’s 16 cases took its tally to 152. Only 67 of these are active cases as 85 patients have recovered.

 

No Monday dip: India records 36,000 cases, a 115-day high

Infections See Nearly 6-Fold Rise In 1 Week

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Amit.Bhattacharya@timesgroup.com

04.01.2022

Despite a substantial dip in testing on Sunday, daily Covid-19 cases in India continued to rise, with Monday’s tally likely to cross 36,000 to a 115-day high. By late Monday night, the day’s case count stood at 35,565, with data from three states not yet available. Based on the trends of the last few days, the final tally is likely to be at least 36,500. The previous time the country had recorded a higher single-day case count was on September 10 last year, when over 37,868 cases were reported, as per TOI’s Covid database.

Daily cases invariably dip on Mondays due to lower testing and detections over the weekend. This is the first time in over four months that the case count has defied this trend. The last time this happened was on August 23. Cases had risen on that Monday because of a huge dip the day before due to the Raksha Bandhan festival.

This Monday, the national test positivity rate (TPR) jumped to over 4. 15%, from 3. 11% a day earlier, as the num- ber of tests fell by nearly 20% on Sunday to around 8. 9 lakh.

Monday was the seventh consecutive day of rising cases in the country. During this period, infections have risen nearly six times, up from 6,242 cases last Monday.

Maharashtra continued to post the highest number of daily cases among states, with 12,160 new infections detected on Monday, a slight rise from the previous day’s tally of 11,877. Mumbai logged 7,928 cases, a slight drop from Sunday’s number. Bengal posted 6,078 new cases, a marginal drop from the previous day's count of 6,153. With reduced testing, the state's TPR zoomed to 19. 59% from 15. 93% on Sunday. Goa reported an even higher TPR of 26. 43%, rising nearly 16 percentage points in a day as cases surged from 388 on Sunday to 631. Delhi cases numbers spiked to 4,099, up 28% from the previous day's tally of 3,194.

Amid these soaring numbers, the death toll from the virus has not been rising much. India recorded 77 deaths on Monday, a marginal increase from 58 on the preceding day. Taking old deaths reported on Monday into account, the toll rose by 118, with data from three states yet to be counted.

What's current status of NEET Bill in Tamil Nadu, ask students

What's current status of NEET Bill in Tamil Nadu, ask students

The future of the bill, which says that medical admissions in the State would happen by considering class 12 marks only, remains uncertain as it is still lying in the governor's office.

Published: 03rd January 2022 06:55 AM

Candidates queuing up for NEET counselling. (File photo| Radhakrishnan, Express)

By Binita Jaiswal

Express News Service

CHENNAI: In September, when the Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021, was passed in the State assembly, the DMK government raised the hope of many demanding the scrapping of NEET. However, in the last three months, there has been no progress in the matter.

The future of the bill, which says that medical admissions in the State would happen by considering class 12 marks only, remains uncertain as it is still lying in the governor's office and yet to be forwarded to the president for his assent. Amid all this, the students preparing for NEET and their parents are waiting for clarity regarding the implementation of the bill.

"To help me prepare myself better for NEET, my father switched my school from State Board to CBSE board last year. Now I am in Class 10. The government should at least give some clarity on whether we will get an exemption from NEET or not. If yes, I can happily go back to the State board school and save my parents’ money," said K Srikanth, a student undergoing NEET coaching at a centre in Velachery.

Parents, too, are equally worried. "The bill was passed, it made newspaper headlines and then the government forgot about it. It should be made clear whether the bill should be implemented from this academic year or not. This ongoing confusion is definitely affecting the children," said Shipra Venkateswaran, mother of a student.

Academician and former vice-chancellor of Anna University, E Balagurusamy, feels the move was nothing more than a political gimmick. "Scrapping of NEET in the State was a poll promise made by DMK and they fulfilled it by passing the bill without examining its practicability. The students should not get into all this and religiously prepare for NEET," said Balagurusamy.

The anti-NEET bill was passed on September 13 and then it was forwarded to the governor's office. RN Ravi assumed the office of the governor on September 18 and since then it’s lying in his office.

General Secretary for State Platform for Common School System, Prince Gajendra Babu, had filed an Right to Information (RTI) plea to know the current status of the bill and the governor’s office replied the file was under consideration. "There has been an undue delay. We urge the governor to send the bill to the president as soon as possible," said Babu.

Political gimmick?

Academician and former vice-chancellor of Anna University, E Balagurusamy, feels the move was nothing more than a political gimmick

Bengaluru income tax officer sends unique New Year calendars and greeting cards

Bengaluru income tax officer sends unique New Year calendars and greeting cards

Meet D Kumaresh, a government official, who loves blending arithmetic and creativity to create brain-teasing New Year calendars and greeting cards.

Published: 03rd January 2022 12:04 AM 

Bengaluru Income Tax officer D Kumaresh 

By Sanath Prasad

Express News Service

BENGALURU : If your New Year resolution was to get the better of the pandemic or to keep fit, here is D Kumaresh, whose resolution every year is to distribute New Year calendars and greeting cards. Mind you, this is not like any other regular calendar or greeting card.

It is a game of arithmetic with some brain-teasers and some titbits that appear informative and surprising. However, this year Kumaresh, who works in the Income Tax department in Bengaluru, has dedicated his eight-page creative to music maestro Ilaiyaraaja and the COVID warriors.

To celebrate the year 2022, the New Year greetings also consist of the 22 popular islands of Andaman and 22 interesting facts about the number 22. For someone who has been working on different sets and designs of greeting cards and calendars since 1993, working on this piece took just 30 minutes.

"It was very monotonous and boring to see the same set of greeting cards and calendars every year. I love mathematics and I decided to give the New Year greeting cards a twist with the play of numbers. I have worked on different themes every year, including a 2014 calendar dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar after his retirement in 2013," says Kumaresh, adding, "I do this as a hobby. I do not want to commercialise my creatives. So far, I have printed 1,000 copies of the 2022 greetings and calendars which I am distributing to close one."

Kumaresh starts work on this at the end of the year. As a tribute to Ilaiyaraaja this year, he has dedicated the calendar to the music maestro. Titled Maestro For All Moments, the calendar consists of dates that denote 31 different achievements and facts about Ilaiyaraaja.

"I have grown up listening to Raja sir's songs. I am a big fan of his keeravani raaga composition. I hope to visit him soon in Chennai and give him this piece," says the 57-year-old, who has created 100 calendars even going upto the year 2100. "The trick is to get the first and the last day of every month correct. The rest will automatically fall in place," he adds.

'The small intestine is about 22-feet long'; 'Dec 22, 1887 - Birth of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan'; 'Sikkim became the 22nd state in 1975' - here are 22 interesting facts about the number '22' that are printed on his New Year greeting cards. Not just that, inspired by his visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kumaresh has also listed the 22 popular islands of Andaman.

"The greeting card is a dedication to the COVID-19 warriors and also a tribute to Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra and the late Gen Bipin Rawat," says Kumaresh, adding, "I start collecting moments that make news in November. My purpose is to spread awareness on many social and scientific information that can educate the society at large."

Interesting facts about the number 22

The atomic number of Titanium is 22

April 22 1970 : The first Earth Day is celebrated

Aug 22 1987: Madras was founded

Feb 22, 1732: George Washington, the first US President was born

Nov 22, 1963: American President John F Kennedy was assassinated

NAAC accreditation helps streamline higher education

 NAAC accreditation helps streamline higher education

Several colleges and universities throughout the country have recently received accreditation from NAAC

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c-Aditya.Wadhawan@timesgroup.com

03.01.2022

National Assessment Accreditation Council (NAAC) approved 21 institutions as a recommendation for accreditation this month. Since NAAC accreditation ensures the qualitative analysis of teachinglearning outcomes at the higher educational institutions (HEIs) and helps them evolve systematically, academics foresee a brighter growth.

Speaking to Education Times, Debabrata Das, director, International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore that received NAAC A+ accreditation in the second cycle, says, “For achieving A+ accreditation, we focussed on upgrading the teaching-learning processes. Accreditation validates an institution’s programmes and courses of study. In the absence of accreditation, there would be no way to determine if the institution meets or exceeds minimum quality standards and also no means would be available to help students determine as to which institution to choose for enrolment. ”

The accreditations are also useful for employers to gauge the talent of the students. “The potential employers in the industry will have evidence regarding the quality of education received by their applicants,” says Das, underlining A+ Accreditation has compelled them to maintain a high-quality of teaching, research, industry and government partnership. “With an A+ grading, opportunities for research funding increase and that helps in building and facilitating better international partnerships in research and student exchange programmes. It increases enrolment, faculty recruitment and better placement opportunity. ”

Payal Mago, principal, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences, DU, which received A+ grade from NAAC, says, “The quality of teaching-learning outcomes in the college becomes systematic. To opt for NAAC, one needs to statistically evaluate the education under well-defined seven criteria of NAAC.

 These seven criteria are the moot points upon which the academic excellence of our colleges hinges. We also do our academic audit during NAAC accreditation, which is globally valid. ” “Educational institutions have to improve in the areas where they lag behind because NAAC accreditation cycle takes place every five years. For instance, in the first cycle of accreditation five years back, NAAC told us that our institution lagged behind in sports and the infrastructure was under-utilised on which we worked to improve,” she adds.

Najma Akhtar, vice-chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), that got A++ grade from NAAC, says, “We have improved our NAAC accreditation from A in the first cycle to A++ in the second cycle recently. NAAC accreditation streamlines the education system. ”

India’s Omicron count crosses 1,700-mark after 123 fresh cases

 India’s Omicron count crosses 1,700-mark after 123 fresh cases

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03.01.2022

India reported 123 Omicron cases on Sunday, the lowest in the last five days. India’s cumulative Omicron tally, after adding old unaccounted cases, stood at 1,711. Maharashtra recorded 50 fresh cases, taking the state’s total past the 500-mark to 510. Of the total cases in Maharashtra, 328 are from Mumbai alone, followed by Pune that has seen nearly 110 cases.

Kerala recorded the highest number of cases after Maharashtra on Sunday with 45 patients testing positive for the coronavirus variant, taking the southern state’s tally to152. State health minister Veena George said nine of the 45 patients came from high-risk countries while 32 came from low-risk countrie. Four persons contracted the new variant through their contacts.

Odisha recorded 23 new infections, its biggest singleday jump so far, taking the total tally to 37. Of the 23 fresh cases,10 have no recent history of foreign travel while 11 have returned from countries like Finland, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Syria and UK. Two are contacts of the person who has returned from Finland.

Telangana recorded five cases, taking the state tally to 84. Significantly, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, which had added big numbers to their Omicron tally in the last few days, did not report any case on Sunday.

TNN

School turns radio station to rid children of stage fright

 School turns radio station to rid children of stage fright

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Kevin.Mendonsa@timesgroup.com

Mangaluru:

03.01.2022

At lunchtime, a rural school in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district becomes a radio station so that students can overcome stage fright while singing, reciting, mimicking or cracking jokes.

At Mariambika EnglishMedium School at Bebdrabettu, 16km from Belthangady town, Radio Station, as it is called, started four years ago. The microphone went silent because of the pandemic when schools were shut, but when classes resumed on the campus, the students returned to sing and recite with more confidence.

Sister Leena, who heads the institution, said the brief was simple when they launched the station.

Every child would get an opportunity to perform and no one would be judged. “It started four years ago with an intention to help students from rural areas. The children had stage fear and we decided to dedicate 15 minutes every day so that they would come out of it. It is going good since then and the students have seen positive changes in them,” she said. The school has about 500 children from classes1to10.

She said the children are free to do anything they are good at. “Some sing, others crack jokes, do mimicry, talk on current affairs, conduct quiz, recite poems or enact skits. The teachers assign slots to the children according to class. On that day, those kids finish their lunch early and run to grab the microphone set up in the school corridor. Other children listen to them with speakers connected to each classroom.

Sister Leena said there was a change when the students returned to school after the lockdown. “We noticed they were bolder and more forthright after the pandemic. The participation is more active compared to pre-Covid days,” she said.

The initiative has grabbed the attention of the department of public instruction.

Shambhu Shankar, coordinator of the block resource centre in Belthangady taluk, visited the school.

“This activity improves the listening and speaking skills of students in their free time,” Shankar said, adding: “It helps to overcome stage fear too and it is 100% usage of their free time. I was overwhelmed while listening to a student talking about environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka in English. ”

 

Schools to observe situation, take a call

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Bangalore 

03.01.2022

GEAR Innovative International that had planned to restart offline classes by January 19 said it “will calibrate their action by January10”. “We believe attendance for offline classes will be affected because of the rising cases. Some trend might emerge by January 10,” said M Srinivasan, founder.

“We had plans of reopening after January 9. We will now watch the situation and make a decision next week,” said Shanthi Menon, principal, Deens Academy.

Some schools that were expected to reopen on Monday have deferred starting offline classes. A school in east Bengaluru informed parents that students will continue online class till January 7 and a decision on offline classes will be taken based on the situation.

A school in north Bengaluru postponed the physical reopening of campuses citing vaccination drive on campus for children of 15to 18year-olds by BBMP.

It plans to resume offline school- ing by January 10. Many campuses have tied up with private hospitals and BBMP for vaccination on the premises.

Several schools in the city have sought RT-PCR test reports of students returning from other states for physical classes. They said teachers will also be tested before they resume classes.

“We are unsure how the increase in cases will affect attend- ance. While we hope our section of parents will continue to send their children for offline classes, we request the government that schools should be the last to close if any situation arose. There has been no significant increase in cases from campuses. Schools cannot take the brunt for others’ fault,” said D Shashi Kumar, secretary, Association of Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka.

Educationists are worried that another round of closure would turn disastrous for kids, who have already lost one and a half years of offline classes.

Some schools postpone reopening, stick to e-class

Bengaluru:With Covid cases in Bengaluru on the rise, many private schools are worried that the attendance for in-person lear ning will again be af fected. Some of them have deferred reopening of physical classes after Christmas vacation.

Many schools said parents have started raising concerns over sending their children to campuses when classes resume after Christmas vacation. “We will continue both online and offline classes so as to not force parents to send children to campuses. We’ve received letters from many parents expressing their concerns as cases have started rising again,” said Mansoor Ali Khan, member, board of management, Delhi Public Schools.

Address update scam: Denim trousers cost ₹94k

 Address update scam: Denim trousers cost ₹94k

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:

03.01.2022

A pair of branded denim trousers cost a Vastrapur interior designer Rs 94,000, with cybercrooks siphoning off her money with a malicious link. She had clicked the link to get delivery updates, mentioned an FIR filed with the Vastrapur police station on Saturday.

The victim is Apurva Munet, 25, a resident of Samruddhi Apartments, who hails from Madhya Pradesh. She has been working as a senior interior designer with a private firm in Thaltej for the past two years.

She stated in her FIR that she had ordered one pair of denim trousers on November 28 and another on November 29 from a shopping portal of a leading denim company.

Munet said in her FIR that the pair she had ordered on November 28 was delivered on December 3. But there was no sign of the November 29 order. On December14, she searched for the customer care number of the delivery firm concerned. She called the number and a person asked her for the tracking ID and confirmed that her package was with the delivery firm.

She asked him if she could collect her package personally. But the man insisted that their courier would make the delivery.

The man told her to update her address by paying Rs 3 using a link sent to her. Following his instruction, she paid the money after which she received a confirmation message. Later, the man called and asked  for her preferred delivery time.

On December 14, at around 8. 30pm, she began receiving messages about money being deducted from her two bank accounts linked to a UPI payment app. In all, she ended up losing Rs 94,000. Having realized that she had been cheated, she approached Vastrapur police and filed a complaint. The Information Technology Act has been invoked as well.

Omicron test lure: Bank accounts emptied Cybercrooks Use Isolation Threat

 

Omicron test lure: Bank accounts emptied

Cybercrooks Use Isolation Threat

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:

03.01.2022

If you respond to an email promising a free Omicron test, you may let cybercrooks infect your device and empty your bank

account.

A senior police officer said that cybercrooks send emails with attached malicious links and files. If people open such a link or a file, their system —cellphone or computer — is compromised and criminals gain access tovital information.

Recently, the cyber cellof the state police issued an advisory on cybercrooks using the Omicron test lure.

In some instances, when someone hoping to get a free test clicks a link, bank account information is sought innocuously. Those gullible enough to divulge private information find their accounts emptied, according to the advisory issued by the cyber cell on December 30.

In many cases, people ended up sharing their details with fraudsters and lost their money in this time of crisis, said a poli- ce officer. The officer said that a formal complaint is yet to be filed in relation to such cheating cases.

“In most cases, people receive an email which is ostensibly from the National Health Service (NHS) of the UK,” the officer said. “The message offers the Omicron test. ”

The email senders also instill fear by saying that if the test is not taken, the recipient will be placedin isolationto prevent the spread of the infection, said the officer. “So people are lured with a free test and threatened by the prospect of isolation,” said another senior police officer. “Some people fall into the trap and are cheated. ” Sources in the state police said that cybercrooks also trawl the browsing history of a target and reach out if information on the Omicron test has been looked up.

Moreover, cybercrooks use addresses that appearto be from private and government hospitals. Police advise people to scrutinize domain names to checkthe authenticity of websites and report any suspicious activity on the cybercrime portal.

Officials use corona to mask RTI queries

 Officials use corona to mask RTI queries

Govt Bodies Cite Sec 4 of Epidemic Diseases Act To Decline Information

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Meghdoot.Sharon@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:

03.01.2022

What is cost incurred on treating patients at designated private Covid-19 hospitals in Ahmedabad? What is sanctioned strength, and vacancies of doctors and nurses at the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad? What are the names of persons whom SVP hospital has administered Remdesivir injections? How many Covid-19 deaths have taken place at AMC-run hospitals?

In all the above instances, information was not provided to applicants who filed queries under Right to Information (RTI) Act citing confidentiality clause as the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 is in force. Ever since the outbreak of Covid-19 almost two years ago, public authorities, especially those in the health sector, have been denying information by citing section 4 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, allege activists.

RTI activist Alpesh Bhavsar says earlier this year he sought information on patients treated by private designated Covid-19 hospitals and the expenses incurred. Six of the seven Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) zones said information was confidential under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, one zone provided it.

“The authorities cite section 4 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, but all we are seeking is information. There is no intention of initiating legal proceedings. When we appeal, authorities are then forced to provide information,” he said.

Section 4 of the said act has no mention of not providing information. It in fact grants protection to persons against legal proceedings for anything done in good faith, say activists. Section 4 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 reads – “Protection to persons acting under Act. No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything done or in good faith intended to be done under this Act. ”

In almost all such cases, RTI activists have had to go for appeals, with the respective public authority or the commission when a majority of the information should ideally be part of voluntary disclosure.

RTI activist Pankaj Bhatt sought information on th number of Covid-19 deaths in AMCrun hospitals since the outbreak. “The AMC cities confidentiality clauses, but the law regarding birth and deaths says these figures should be updated on the government website periodically,” Bhatt said.

‘Covid’ most searched on Google by Gujaratis

The ‘Year in Searches,’ annual analysis of the searches by Google for Gujarat region revealed that Covid-19 remained on top of the overall searches in 2021. The Gujaratis searched for symptoms of Covid-19, hospital bed availability near them, what is black fungus and optimum oxygen levels among others.

 

Panel: ₹8 lakh limit includes all family income

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03.01.2022

Answering the court’s questions on justification of the ₹8 lakh limit, the committee said, “The annual household income distribution of qualified EWS candidates for NEET-UG and JEE (Mains) for 2020 reveals that a mere 9 % and 8 . % of EWS candidates were found to be in the income bracket ₹5-8 lakhs, respectively. Inother words, most selected candidates who got the benefit of EWS reservation had annual family income lower than ₹5 lakh. That is whythe committee hascome to the conclusion that the existing annual income criteria of ₹8 lakh is not over-inclusive. ”

The government said it has accepted the Ajay Bhushan Pandey committee report, which recommended continuance of ₹8 lakh income limit with riders after a detailed analysis of the criteria. The committee differentiated it from the income criteria adopted to disentitle creamy layer among OBCs for quotas. The committee, comprising former finance secretary Pandey, Prof VKMalhotra of ICSSR and principal economic adviser to the government Sanjeev Sanyal, was set up on November 30 and submitted its report to the government on December 31. The committee said the “EWS may, however exclude, irrespective of income, a person whose family has 5 acres of agricultural land and above (included in the 2019 criteria which was challenged in SC). ”

The change from the 2019 EWS norms would be exclusion of residential assets criteria which was found to be difficult to collate and verify and a compliance burden. The residential asset criteria had drawn serious objections from the SC on the ground that the value of a residential asset varies substantially between urban and r ural areas.

The Centre had set up the committee to revisit 2019 EWS criteria after an SCbench headed by Justices D Y Chandra- chud on October 7 remarked, “Economic backwardness is a realistic thing. There is no doubt about it as people don’t have moneyto purchase books, to even have food. But as far as the EWS is concerned, they are forward class and there is no social or educational backwardness among them. So can you apply the same yardstick of ₹8 lakh limit for the creamy layer to the EWS? 

With regard to the EWS we are not dealing with social, educational backwardness. What was the basis of fixing the limit or have you lifted the criteria for the creamy layer and put it for EWS. ” The committee has pointed out that the ₹8 lakh limit includes all family income, including from agriculture sources making the exercise stricter than in case of OBC q uotas.

Full r eport onwww. toi. in

₹8L cap for EWS may affect OBC ‘creamy layer’

New Delhi:The central government’s strong defence against lowering ₹8 lakh income cap for the EWS eligibility may help it avert a backlash from the upper castes — who are the overwhelming beneficiaries of this quota — but in the process, it has take a stance that is likelyto a dversely affect its moves on crucial dimensions of OBC “ creamy layer”.

Faced with the prospect of making the EWS income cap more rigid, the ministry of social justice has showed the contrast between the ₹8 lakh for EWS and the same limit as OBC creamy layer cap, and arguing that the former is much morestrict. It hasspeltout that the family size for which the income is calculated for EWS is much bigger, and “income” includes “salaries” and “agricultural income”, while in case of OBCs, the “income” does not include “salaries and agri income”, r eports Subodh Ghildiyal

Retain ₹8 lakh EWS cap for admissions, suggests panel

Will Tweak Other Criteria Next Year: Govt To SC

New Delhi: The committee set up to evaluate the ₹8 lakh income limit for economically weaker section candidates in admissions to educational institutions recommended retention of the qualifying mark and the Centre informed the Supreme Court that it accepts the reasoning. This development may set in motion the resumption of the counselling process for the NEET-PG seats that is currently held up.

The Centre on Sunday told the Supreme Court that it would stick to the ₹8 lakh annual income limit criteria that entitles EWS candidates to a 10% reservation in ad- missions to educational institutions, including medical colleges, and government jobs, but promised to tweak other EWS-related criteria a bit from next year.

The committee advised implementation of its recommendations from next year, which would mean the EWS quota admissions for medical admissions for the present academic year, which is yet to be completed, would be on the basis of the 2019 criteria. “The existing system, which is going on since 2019, if disturbed at the end or fag-end of the process would create more complications than expected both for the beneficiaries as well as for the authorities,” the committee said. › Family income,

WB shuts schools; restricts flights from Delhi, Mumbai

 WB shuts schools; restricts flights from Delhi, Mumbai

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Kolkata:

03.01.2022

As Covid cases rose nearly 12-fold in just seven days, the West Bengal government brought back stricter curbs on Sunday shutting all educational institutions from Monday and restricting flights from Delhi and Mumbai besides asking all offices to operate with a half their workforce.

At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, chief secretary H K Dwivedi announced that only essential services will be permitted to operate between 10pm and 5am in the state till January 15 and flights from the Mumbai and New Delhi, which have both reported a large numbers of infections will ply only twice a week in view of the rising number of Covid cases.

West Bengal, which witnessed a sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases with a near 12fold rise in the last seven days, on Sunday reported 6,153 new infections, 1,641 more than the previous day, with Kolkata accounting for 3,194 new cases, a health bulletin released by the state government said.

Dwivedi said starting January 5, flights from the two metropolises will be allowed only on Mondays and Fridays till a decision is taken reviewing the pandemic situation.

The state government had earlier announced that flights from the UK will not be allowed for the time being.

“As part of the restrictions, flights from these two cities will operate only twice a week — Mondays and Fridays,” he said.

PTI

Prepare plan to expand vaccination coverage in poll-bound states: Centre

New Delhi: Amid rising Omicron infected Covid-19 cases in the country, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya asked states to make all possible efforts to scale up health infrastructure so that India can combat the surge. Besides, states were also advised to prepare a weekly plan to expand vaccination coverage, particularly in the five poll-bound states of Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur.

In a high-level meeting with states on Sunday to review preparedness of health systems at the state level and progress in vaccination coverage, Mandaviya asked states to leave no stone unturned in ramping up infrastructure to manage a high surge so that India escapes unscathed from this episode of Covid-19, the health ministry said in a statement.

TNN

How GH saved man from jaws of black fungus

 How GH saved man from jaws of black fungus

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Omjasvin.MD@timesgroup.com

Chennai:

03.01.2022

He spent two months in the ICU of the Rajiv Gandhi government general hospital (RGGGH) from August 11. Last month, Bhakyaraj 35, a farmer from the Cauvery delta, returned for a final check-up and to thank the doctors who cured him of rhino-orbital mucormycosis or the post-Covid complication called black fungus.

The treatment cost ₹25 lakh and half of it was borne by the government under Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme and a half of it was sourced through an NGO, by the government.

Bhakyaraj, a diabetic, was shifted from the Thanjavur general hospital to the RGGGH when his condition deteriorated. The specialists at the Chennai hospital had to deal with five life-threat- ening complications.

Interventional radiologist Dr S Kalpana said the main arteries leading to the brain were dilated. “We could not place a normal stent since the ballooning was longer than usual. We had to purchase two flow diverters costing ₹20 lakh. These are thinner stents that ensure smooth supply through the arteries. Aneurysm was treated by placing coils,” she said.

The doctors accessed the blood vessels through a 5mm incision in the patient’s hip. The whole process monitored by digital subtraction Angiography. The intervention was done on October 15 and the patient was discharged on October 26. RGGGH dean Dr E Theranirajan said the patient came back for a check-up on December 6 and he was doing fine. “The person’s life was saved because of the timely management by interventional radiology and other specialists at the RGGGH, along with support by the government,” he said.

Bhakyaraj’s wife, in a video message, said she did not have words to thank the government and doctors, who caured such a life-threatening illness free of cost.

More than 10 specialists, nurses, anaesthetists and health care assistants from various departments were involved in the treatment.