Friday, January 28, 2022

‘Students instigated for violence on social media’

 VIOLENCE IN PRAYAGRAJ

‘Students instigated for violence on social media’

Suspended

Kapil.Dixit@timesgroup.com

28.01.2022

Prayagraj: Investigations into the violent agitationb y students on Tuesday and attempt to stop a passenger train near Prayag railway station on Thursday revealed that it was a pre-planned move by t rouble-makers who instigated students through different social media groups for violent protests as in B ihar.Police on Thursday arrested
one Rajesh Sachan , a resident of Kanpur Dehat who had created a WhatsApp group and allegedlyinstigated students byposting inflammatory messages.

On Wednesday, police had arrested two more student leaders Mukesh Yadav and Pradeep Yadav, residents of Kushi Nagar and Pratapgarh respectively who ha d led protesters. Meanwhile, senior police officials interacted with students and urged them not to in volve themselves in violence or agitation, claiming some student leaders were instigating them for their vested interests. Offic ials said students should refrain from such activities as FIRs can be lodged against them and police actioncould spoil their future.

Deputy SP, Colonelganj, Ajeet Singh Chauhan told TOI that the violent agitation was preplanned, and Sachan has been arrested for instigating students through social media.
Total three arrests have been made so far in this connectionincluding two student leaders who led protesters and made an abortive bid to stop a train and block rail traffic near Pray ag st ation on Tuesday, the DSP added.

Police had cane-charged protesting students and forced them out of hostel and hotel rooms after breaking open the doors with rifle butts.
After videos of police action went viral on social media, six policem en, including one inspector, two sub inspectors and three constables, were suspended on Wednesday o n charges of dereliction of duty on allegations of high-handedness while handling protest over alleged anomalies in examination conducted by Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) for various nontechnical category posts.

DSP said several groups were created area-wise on social media to instigate students in colleges and aspirants pre paring for competitive exams.

Cops carried out patrolling on Thursday appealing students to talk with officials and not to indulge in violence.

SSP, P rayagraj, Ajay Kumar had visited Baghara and adjoining areas on Wedn esday and appealed to students to focus on their studies and not to involve themselves in activities disrupting l aw and order.

Issuing a clarification, Prayagraj police said they used mild force after students pelted stones from the hostel. Cops said theyh ad video-graphed the entire agitation near the station where students had assembled to stop a train. “We scanned the video footage and identified two student leaders who were leading the protesters and arrested them,” said a senior cop.

Undertrial escapes custody from KGMU

 

Undertrial escapes custody from KGMU



TIMES NEWS NETWORK

28.01.2022

Lucknow: An undertrial prisoner on Wednesday fled from police custody from KGMU where he was admitted for treatment for self-inflicted neck injuries. The accused, Satveer Singh, was booked for murder and loot by Vibhuti Khand police and named in a case in Gonda.
Lucknow police lodged a case against two constables who were guarding him for dereliction of duty.

“Satveer allegedly used a disposable blade to slash his neck on January 18 night at Lucknow district jail. He was admitted to jail hospital but the hospital authorities referred him to KGMU where  he was brought on the same day and was treated on January 19. Doctors advised him to remain admitted there for some days. For security, two constables Ankur and Arvind were deployed in day duty shift (from 9am to 9pm) and constables Ravi Kumar and Yogesh Kumar in night shift (from 9pm to 9am),” said ACP Chowk, IP Singh.

“However, the jail officials received an SoS around 9am on January 26 that Satveer had escaped from the police custody when constables Ravi Kumar and Yogesh Kumar were taking charge of duty from their fellow constables in the day shift duty,” Singh said, adding that police are looking for Satveer.

Cured patient sends obscene contents to hospital docs

Cured patient sends obscene contents to hospital docs



TIMES NEWS NETWORK

28.01.2022

Pune: A group of woman doctors and staffers at a private hospital on Bund Garden Road barely had any inkling aboutwhatwas in store for them when they made follow-up calls to a man from a city in Andhra Pradesh whom they had treated for some ailment in 2019.

The man sentvulgar texts and obscene photographs to their phone numbers, police said.

On Wednesday, the Koregaon Park policeregistered a case after a staffer (29) from the hospital lodged a complaint accusing the man of outraging her modesty.

The complaint contained details of texts and photos sent to three others, including woman doctors, police said. “One of our teams will soon go to the city (name withheld by police) in Andhra Pradesh to arrest the man,” said inspector Deepali Bhujbal of the Koregaon Park police.

When contacted, a senior doctor from the hospital told TOI, “This is the first time that we have come across such an incident. The man, who was our patient, abused and sent vulgar messages to our staff members whenever they called him for follow ups. ”

The police have registered a case under sections 354-A (showing pornography against the will of a woman; or making sexually coloured remarks) and 354-D (stalking) of the IPC, besides the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.

More Covaxin doses to be made available next week

 More Covaxin doses to be made available next week


Piyush.Bhusari@timesgroup.com

28.01.2022

Pune: More Covaxin doses would be made available across the state from the next week because thousands in the 15-18 years’ category would become eligible for its second dose.

CoWIN data revealed that around 30 lakh teenagers had been vaccinated so far in the state. In the Pune district, around 2. 85 lakh teenagers have received their first shot.

State immunisation officer Sachin Desai told TOI, “In the past few days, the government has distributed over18 lakh doses of Covaxin across the state and more doses are likely to come from the Centre next week. There is absolutely no issue over the stock of Covaxin at present and for the second dose from the next week. ”

Sanjay Deshmukh, assistant director, health services, Pune circle, told TOI, “We distributed around 1. 2 lakh doses of Covaxin across Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and rural units in the past few days. ”

Sanjay Patil, the chairman of the Indian Medical Association’s Hospital Board of India, Pune chapter, said, “Amid Omicron variant, we should not forget Delta. It is still there and so are the other variants. Once immunised, it takes at least two weeks for the immunity to develop. Hence, it is very neces-sary to get vaccinated. ”

According to the CoWIN data, a total of 34,357 beneficiaries were vaccinated in the dis- trict till 7pm on Thursday. A total of 1. 65 crore doses of vaccines have been administered in the district so far.

Pimpri Chinchwad areas lead district in precaution jab count

Pune: The PCMC areas are faring better compared to those in Pune civic limits and rural areas on the precaution dose front.

Over 14,000 elderly beneficiaries (out of 44,000 expected) have taken the third shot so far in the PCMC areas. In the Pune civic limits, merely 4,407 beneficiaries have received their third shot. In the rural areas, a total of 5,972 beneficiaries opted for it till now, stated the district health office data.

Pimpri Chinchwad municipal commissioner Rajesh Patil told TOI, “The number of elderly beneficiaries would have been better if we had known their facts and figures. The beneficiaries are scattered now as they can take their jabs in other parts of the district or the state. We are lacking the focused attempt. To streamline this, we are bringing housing societies on board with us.”

Sanjay Deshmukh, assistant director, health services, Pune circle, said the lack of intensity of the third wave resulted in less response to the drive in the past few days. Even the comorbid senior citizens were not turning up at the sites.

Railway exam violence: 6 tutors among 22 booked

 Railway exam violence: 6 tutors among 22 booked


Faryal.Rumi@timesgroup.com

28.01.2022

Patna: An FIR was lodged on Wednesday against six teachers of different pri vate coaching centres in the city, including YouTuber‘Khan Sir’, and 16 othersinconnectionw ith violentprotests over the Railway Re cruitment Board’s no n-technical popular category (NTPC) examination. ‘Khan Sir’, as he is popular ly known, runs a coaching centre in P atna. Patrakar Nagar police station SHO Manoranjan Bharti said apart from Kh an Sir, five other teachers – SK Jha, Navin, Amarnath, Gagan Pratap and Gopal Verma – have been booked. “Four protesters – Kishan Kumar, Rajan Kumar, Rohit Kumar and Vikram Kumar – who were arrested from Rajendra Nagar terminal had accused the six teachers of in stigating the job aspirants,” he said. The accused have been booked under various sections of the IPC, including 147 (rioting), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from d ischarge of his duty).

The FIR wa s registered on the basis of the statement of some protesters who had been taken into custody during the violent protests at Rajendra N agar terminal here on Monday. The teachers have been booked for “inciting the mob” that indulged in vandalism , set trains on fire and caused extensive damage to railway property across the state since January 24. The protests erupted after the RRB and NTPC issued fresh notifications a few days ago with a provision of two examinations . Those who have passed the earlier examination and are waiting for the posting have been asked to clear the mains examination. The previous examination Will be treated  as a preliminary e xamina tion.

In his YouTube channel, ‘Khan Sir’ had said, “You have put an add itional exam burden on those who have passed the earlier examination. Even if they are ready for mains examination, how could they prepare for it in less than one month’s time? Preparing for the mains examination is not possible in less than o ne month. ”

Patna DM Chandrashekhar Singh said those named in the FIR would be gi ven an opportunity to defend themselves. “They can present their point of view to police. Action w ill be taken against the guilty,” he sai d. Meanwhile, sources in the railway ministry s aid since law and order is a state subject, the respective state police would carry out the investigation. They pointed out that protests erupted in parts of Bihar and UP which have high concentration of coaching institutes. They said the coaching institutes would be kee non more applicants qualifying after the first roundas that would directly help their business.

Fraud portal of online shopping busted

 Fraud portal of online shopping busted


TIMES NEWS NETWORK


Vadodara: Two persons, who used the mobile phone number of an unsuspecting citizen to carry out fraud worth lakhs of rupees, have been arrested by the cybercrime sleuths in the city. The accused duo is suspected to have conned many people in the past, the police said.

According to the cybercrime sleuths, Dhaval Patel, a resident of Atladara, had filed a complaint against unidentified persons some months ago. Patel told the police that his wife Nidhi started getting innumerable calls on her number from many people across the country. The callers demanded the products they had bought from a website blazeshop. live.

“Investigations revealed that the accused had posted Nidhi’s mobile number on the website. The website accepted payments but didn’t deliver the products. The buyers used to call on Nidhi’s number for inquiry,” the police said. Patel as well as his wife were unaware that her number was being misused.

The cybercrime sleuths then contacted the customers who had bought products from the website through online payment. It led them to a bank account where the money transferred by customers was deposited. “The bank account was in the name of Gaurav Brahmbhatt, a resident of Anand, and the registered mobile number linked to the bank account was in the name of Nikunj Dave, a resident of Valsad,” the police added.

The bank account had Rs 5. 35 lakh in deposits. The cops tracked down the duo’s location and arrested them. Investigating officials said that the duo must have siphoned a big amount by defrauding dozens of persons by using the fake shopping website. “We are trying to ascertain if they have committed similar frauds in the past apart from recovering the money they siphoned from unsuspecting customers,” the police said.

MBBS BDS CHOICE FILLING TILL JAN 31


 

FLIGHT INFO


 

COURT NEWS


 

Back to digital mode With shooting Covid cases and the fast spread of the Omicron variant, many schools are switching back to online classes to keep everyone safe

 Back to digital mode

With shooting Covid cases and the fast spread of the Omicron variant, many schools are switching back to online classes to keep everyone safe

Respedit.Chennai@timesgroup.com

28.01.2022

Much hope had been pinned on this new year with students looking forward to returning to their campuses soon. The third wave has hit a high in the country and is pushing up cases to an unprecedented level. The variant cannot be taken for granted just because it is mild at the moment, and the rate of hospitalisation is still not alarming. Safety restrictions at this stage are inevitable, and educational campuses have yet again been one of the first to be shut down for students’ safety.
“We were excited about going back to the classroom. Unlike other institutions, some classes in our school were being held in online mode so we were really looking forward to meeting each other. However, things did not happen as per our plan. We received a message from our principal during early January stating that physical classes shall be suspended until further notice,” says a school student.

DIGITAL HUB

While none knows for sure as to when children can go back to classrooms, experts feel that virtual learning needs to be made more effective. According to them, virtual classrooms must be made more interactive so that students do not lose interest. Keeping in mind that many students may face internet issues, some schools are developing avirtual platform which can be accessed even if the bandwidth is low. A digital library is being loaded with class lectures. Students can download and access it when they have proper connection. Two years since the pandemic struck, schools and teachers have become much more flexible in their approach. LABORATORY CLASSES

While theoretical classes can be taught online, the issue is with lab sessions.Compared to last two years, teachers are now making videos and sharing it virtually with a feel of the lab. They are getting themselves filmed while demonstrating and sharing it along with related lecture classes. The videos help students understand what happens inside a lab when the experiment is conducted. These demonstration videos are especially for those students who may have internet issues to watch them real time. HYBRID LEARNING

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. While government and private offices can function with min-imum workforce, schools, colleges and universities have been closed down to keep students safe. It is time to be positive. We need to understand that online classes mean students can continue with their regular learning without getting exposed to the infection. If experts and industry buzz is to be believed, we are heading towards fluid hybrid learning system.

Hybrid learning solutions will continue to play an essential role given the new normal in education. Edtech solution providers have brought forth a slew of products such as view board interactive displays, collaborative projectors, touch monitors, and writing devices. MAKING IT WORK

E-learning will continue to be the foundation of this new system. Therefore, it is important to understand that students need to be comfortable to deliver their best in this ever-evolving system. The key to this lies in paying attention. On their part, teachers have been developing newer tools that can help students sustain their atten-tion. Keeping a few minutes aside for a Q&A session is one of them. Showing junior classes slides wherever possible helps them to grasp a concept better. Online learning is no substitute for offline learning but for the moment we need to make the best of what is available.

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Result delay hits govt hosps, many forced to go to pvt labs

 Result delay hits govt hosps, many forced to go to pvt labs



TIMES NEWS NETWORK

27.01.2022

Hyderabad: Amid an increase in Covid-19 cases, a delay of three to four days in getting RT-PCR test results at government hospitals and urban primary healthcare centres is forcing people to get tested at private labs.

Serpentine queues are being seen at all Basti Dawakhanas, UPHCs, area and district hospitals.

“On a daily basis, there are more than 900 to 1,000 people visiting government ho-spitals. Most of them are showing Covid-19 symptoms and have to undergo tests, increasing the load. Many of our staff members are also down with the infection. However, we are trying to deal with as many cases as we can,” said K Shankar, superintendent of Fever Hospital. Testing at private diagnostic centres costs anywhere between ₹500 to ₹1,500. Due to delayed results, self-testing rapid antigen kits are being preferred by many people.

There is also huge rush for home testing services as several patients are feeling weak.

Girls worst hit in access to eduduring pandemic: Parl panel

 Girls worst hit in access to eduduring pandemic: Parl panel


Ambika.Pandit@timesgroup.com

27.01.2022

New Delhi: As the surging third wave puts the focus back on the pandemic’s impact on children’s education, the findings of a parliamentary committee highlights how the Covid crisis has disproportionately affected girls, especially their education.

The committee on women empowerment, in its report presented during the winter session of Parliament in December, called for urgent measures to prevent girls from poor families, impacted by closure of schools and lack of digital access, from dropping out of school.

On a specific question about the effect of the pandemic on enrolment and retention of girls in schools, especially from among the sociallyand economically-backward groups in  schools, the education ministry submitted before the panel that “school closure in India affected 320 million children enrolled from pre-primary to tertiary levels of education. It has been estimated that of these, about 158 million are female students”.

The submissions and recommendations are part of the report on ‘Empowerment of Women Through Education with Special Reference to Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao Scheme’. The committee has observed that in the post pandemic scenario, the probability of more adolescent girls dropping out of school permanently to help with household tasks and childcare due to economic hardships of their families is very high.

The panel has recommended incentivising participation that can help more girls continue their schooling with measures like targeted scholarships, conditional cash transfers, provision of bicycles, access to smart phones and hostel facilities.

The panel observed that as per the ‘unified district infor mation system for fducation (UDISE )’ data for 2018-19, the gross enrolment ratio of girls decreased from 96. 72 in elementary classes to 76. 93 in secondary classes and to 50. 84 in higher secondary classes. It also pointed out that the dropout ratio of girls during 2019-20 was 15. 1. Times View:

This is another worrying example of the socially disastrous fall-outs of the pandemic. Authorities must take suitable steps to ensure that girls aren’t forced to drop out. In the long term, it would gravely hurt the nation’s interests.

Why medical PG aspirants are fretting at entrance tests

 Why medical PG aspirants are fretting at entrance tests


TIMES NEWS NETWORK

27.01.2022

New Delhi: The MBBS students who were to appear for the medical masters’ entrance exam this year in March have been thrown into an undesired circumstance.

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, the apex body to hold the NEET PGentrance exam,announced it will be held on March 12. The eligibility criteria require candidates who have completed a year of internship or are likely to finish it before May 31.

This has raised concern among students aspiring to sit for the exam as many of them couldn’t complete the internship due to compulsory Covid duties from April last year.

The resident doctor's association of the Centre-run Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has written to the NBE requesting to revise the eligibility criteria for students undergoing internships. The RDA also mentioned that many of the students had delayed joining of internship due to personal health as well as issues like loss of family members during the wave.

“Due to these reasons, it is impossible that many candidates will complete the internship by May 31, thus making them ineligible to sit for the NEET PG 2022 and eventually leading to wastage of entire year. Thus as per the existing criteria, thousands of students across the nation will be deprived of the opportunity without any fault on their part,” read the letter.

Tirupati to become Sri Balaji, Vijayawada gets NTR’s name

 

Tirupati to become Sri Balaji, Vijayawada gets NTR’s name

Devotees Abroad Happy, Appreciate AP Govt’s Decision

Samdani.MN@timesgroup.com

27.01.2022

Amaravati: The temple town of Tirupati is becoming a new district and will be named after the presiding deity Lord Sri Balaji.
Devotees of Lord Sri Venkateswara overseas are happy about the proposal an d appreciated the state government’s decision,onsocialm edia. However, devotees in AP, particularly in Tirupati, seemed to have been not convinced with the proposal as the name Sri Balaji is p opular onlyin north India.

“It will be better to keep the name simply as Tirupati or name it after Sri Venkateswara or Sri Srinivas instead of Sri Balaji,” said Srikanth Reddy, a resident of Tirupati.

The r elease of draft n otification proposing names for a few otherdistricts has m ostly  gone down well with the locals. In a significant political move, the YSRCP g overnment decided to name Vi j ayawada district after the founding president of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and former chief m inisterNT Rama Rao. The TDP, which was in power for almost 14 years afte r the death of NTR, did n ot a ttempt to name a district after the legendary actor and party founder.

Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy promised to name a district after NTR during the last election campaign.

“This is the difference between Jagan and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu. While Jagan is a man of deeds, Naidu had always tried to deceive people,” alleged civil supplies minister Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao (Nani).

However, the birth place of NTR, Nimmakuru in Krishna district, is now part of Pamarru assembly consti- tuency and went to the newly proposed Krishna district by retaining M achilipatnam as district headquarters.

Sources said that the state government has decided to name Vijayawada district after NTR in order to protect the historical significance of Krishna distr ict named after the river Krishna and also port town of Machilipatnam.

Saint, legendary musician and p oet Annamayya’s name has been proposed for Rajampet district. Tallapaka Annamacharya (Annamayya) wa s born in Kadapa district and scripted and composed hundreds of keerthanas praising Lord Sri Ve nkateswara and Lord Vishnu. Rajampet district lost both the name and the district headqu arter status. Rayachoti townis g oing to be the district headquarters for Annamayya district covering Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency.

Araku Lok Sabha constituency will be named a fter revolutionary freedom fighter Alluri S itaramaraju.

Full report on www. toi. in

Covishield, Covaxin dose price may be capped at ₹425 after market nod

 Covishield, Covaxin dose price may be capped at ₹425 after market nod


27.01.2022

New Delhi: The price of Covishield and Covaxin, the Covid vaccines which are expected to soon get regular market approval from India’s drug regulator, is likely to be capped at ₹275 per dose plus an additional service charge of ₹150, official sources said.

According to them, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has been directed to start working towards capping the  price to make the vaccines affordable.

As of now, Covaxin is priced at ₹ 1,200 per dose while Covishield costs ₹ 780 in private facilities. The prices include ₹150 service charge. Both the vaccines are only authorised for emergency use in the country.

An Subject Expert Committee on Covid-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation on January 19 recommended granting regular market approval to Covid vaccines Covishield and Covaxin for use in the adult population subject to certain conditions.

“The NPPA has been asked to work towards capping the price of the vaccines. The price is likely to be capped at ₹275 per dose along with an additional service charge of ₹150,” an official source said.

PTI

Madurai AIIMS a non-starter even after 3 yrs

 Madurai AIIMS a non-starter even after 3 yrs



TIMES NEWS NETWORK

27.01.2022

Madurai: Thursday marks three years since Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences in Madurai with much fanfare, but no construction has taken place at the site yet. Though it was stipulated to be completed in 45 months, work is expected to start only next year.

When the announcement for the premier medical institution was made about seven years ago, it was seen as a flagship scheme that would bring in votes for BJP and its allies in the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for 2019. It was the then finance minister Arun Jaitley who announced the project in February 2015 bringing much joy to the people of Tamil Nadu. However, delays had bogged down the project ever since.

It was announced in August 2020 that construction would start after the agreement was signed with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in December that year. But the agreement dragged on till March 2021. Then arose the controversy of  the then AIADMK government not handing over the land required for the construction to the Union government.

A case in this regard was filed in the Madurai bench of Madras high court and the state government informed that it had handed over the land on November 3.

However, nine months after signing the agreement with JICA, the project continues to be on paper. The shocker came after the administrative meeting of Madurai AIIMS in June when it was announced that construction would begin only in 2023 and be completed in 2026, four years beyond its initially scheduled completion in September 2022.

New system for train detection on key routes

New system for train detection on key routes



TIMES NEWS NETWORK

27.01.2022

Chennai: The railways is installing a new train detection system on all the main routes — Central-Gudur, Central-Jolarpet and Egmore-Tambaram — and will be able to run services even if tracks are flooded and signals malfunction.

The multi-section digital axle counter (MSDAC) that uses electromagnetic sensors to count wheels and detect trains, their direction and speed on a track has already been installed on some sections that are prone to flooding and will be extended to the entire Chennai division in two years.

The state-of the-art system has been installed on Guduvancheri-Chengalpet third line, Egmore-Kodambakkam, Avadi-Pattabiram stretches and at stations like Chennai Egmore, Chennai Central, Omalur, Salem Town, Erode, Virapandy Road, Tirupur, Ernakulam Town, Kayamkulam, Quilon, Irumpanam in 2021-22, said Southern Railway additional general manager B G Mallya during the Republic Day celebrations on Wednesday.

Sources said sections like Egmore-Kodambakkam and Avadi-Pattabiram are prone to water logging and the new system would come in handy when signals don’t work. Work to install sensors and allied equipment on Avadi-Ambattur section is on and will be completed soon. All main routes from the city have been divided into small sections where installation will be taken up.

Chief public relations officer B Guganesan said the new system is more reliable for detecting trains not affected by the condition of tracks like water logging and traction currents. “It also helps in easy integration and implementation of a centralized traffic control and train protection system (KAVACH). The new system is being provided as a replacement to the existing systems which have completed their service life,” he added.

Other safety measures being carried out include complete track renewal of 182km along with deep screening of 788 track km till December 2021, installing 19 hot axle box detectors and online monitoring of rolling stock to detect defective wheels, bearings of coaches and locomotives.

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

FCRA licence: SC denies relief to 6k NGOs

 FCRA licence: SC denies relief to 6k NGOs



TIMES NEWS NETWORK

26.01.2022

New Delhi: In a setback to 6000 NGOs whose FCRA licence could not be renewed because of their failure to apply within the stipulated time period, the Supreme Court declined their pleas forcontinuationof their l icence and asked them to make representation to the government.

Abench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheswari and C T Ravikumar turned down the plea for interim relief after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the NGOs were at fault themselves for not applyingfor renewal of licence. He submitted that the government extended FCRA licence for 11,594 NGOs, which had applied for renewal, till their applications were decided and the same relief could not be given to those which failed to apply.

Taking note of the Centre's submission, the court said the aggrieved NGOs can make representation to the Centre which will take the decision as per l aw.

The court was hearing a petition fi led by US-based NGO Global Peace Initiative which has been founded by an Indian and working closely with many NGOs, including the Missionaries of Charity. The NGO, founded by Kilari Anand, pleaded the apex court that NGOs played a very crucial and important role in reaching out to people and helped the country during the Covid pandemic which had been duly acknowledged by the government, and the Prime Minister’s Office itself. Cancellation of licences of close to 6000 NGOs at this juncture will hamper relief efforts and lea d to denial of aid to citizens in need, it said. "The work done by these NGOs helped millions of Indians. The sudden and arbitrary cancellation of FCRA registration of thousands of these NGOs violates the rights of the organisations, their workers as well as the millions of Indians who they serve. This is especially relevant at a t ime when the country is facing the third wave of the Covid-19 virus," it said.

AP govt nod to increase districts from 13 to 26

 AP govt nod to increase districts from 13 to 26


Samdani.MN@timesgroup.com

26.01.2022

Amaravati:The Andhra Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday gave the green signal for creation of 13 new districts, which will take the number of districts in the state to 26. The reorganisation process is likely to be completed by Telugu New Year, Ugadi, in April.

While 24 Lok Sabha constituencies would be converted into districts, Araku Lok Sabha constituency in Visakhapatnam tribal agency area will be divided into two districts. A resolution regarding creation of new districts was  circulated to all cabinet ministers and their consent came late on Tuesday night. After getting the cabinet nod, planning secretary GSRKR Vijayakumar met chief secretary Sameer Sharma and handed over the recommendations.

The planning department has already readied a comprehensive roadmap for creation of the new districts in the state.

Sources said Sharma also conducted a video conference with district collectors and apprised them about the issuance of the notification.

What about children’s concerns, HC asks T

 What about children’s concerns, HC asks T


SagarKumar.Mutha@timesgroup.com
26.01.2022

Hyderabad: Agreeing with the concerns that the third wave of Covid-19 may adversely affect unvaccinated people like children, the Telangana high court on Tuesday directed the state government to convey to the court within three days the steps its health authorities have taken to cater to the needs of the children.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili said this while resuming the hearing in the Covid-19 batch PILs. The bench said the medical kits being supplied during the state’s door-to-door survey to those who were found suffering from fevers were general in nature. “Children may need special kits in tune with their requirements. Also, tell us what happened to your promises of setting up more children hospitals to face the third wave challenge,” the bench said addressing the state government.

Kowturu Pavan Kumar, counsel for one of the petitioners, brought to the notice of the bench the fact that as many as 1. 75 lakh people were identified with fevers during the state survey. But, the daily medical bulletin of the health department was showing the Covid-19 cases at around 3,000 per day, he said.

Supporting this view, senior counsel L Ravi Chander said the statistics being furnished by the state “are like the proverbial emperor’s new clothes”. Everyone knew that they were not correct. At least let the state government ensure social distancing and mask norms. “Nobody is wearing the mask outside. No one is qu-estioning them on the road,” he said. Ravi Chander further said: “Let the director of public health appear before this court and answer the queries of the petitioners. ”
The bench then directed the state government to penali- se those who were not wearing masks and roaming freely. The bench sought a detailed report from the health department.

It wanted the DPH or any other expert to appear before the court virtually on January 28, the next date of hearing.

After brief drop, cases on rise again

Hyderabad: After a brief dip, the number of Covid-19 cases in Telangana saw an upward trend with the state recording 4,559 cases on Tuesday.
With the rise in cases, the number of active cases across the state stood at 36,269 and the total number of cases jumped to 7.43 lakh. The death toll rose to 4,077 after the state recorded two Covid-19 fatalities.
Of the 4,559 cases, 1,450 were recorded in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits followed by 432 in Medchal-Mal- kajgiri and 322 in Rangareddy districts.

As many as 1,961 Covid-19 affected people recovered on Tuesday pushing the total number of recoveries since the onset of pandemic at 7,03,008. While the case fatality rate was constant at 0.55 per cent, the recovery rate dropped further to 94.57 per cent. At 201 Covid-19 cases, Hanamkonda was among the districts that recorded high number of cases followed by 145 at Khammam, 138 at Nalgonda, 112 at Karimnagar, 96 at Peddapalli and 93 at Bhadadri Kothagudem among others.

Why the delay in appointment of permanent VC, asks JNUTA

 Why the delay in appointment of permanent VC, asks JNUTA


TIMES NEWS NETWORK

26.01.2022

New Delhi: With M Jagadesh Kumar completing a year as Jawaharlal Nehru University’s acting vice-chancellor, JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Tuesday raised several questions to the education ministry over the non-appointment of a permanent VC despite it being over a year.

The teachers’ body claimed that significant policy decisions were being pushed through by Kumar and that they would have far-reaching consequences for the varsity.

“Directives issued by the Ministry of Education and provisions of JNU’s own statutes explicitly forbid vice-chancellors whose tenures are formally over from taking decisions on policy matters of a substantive nature. Several other central universities that had a similar vacancy have had new ap-pointees. What then explains the delay in the case of JNU?” it asked.

In a statement, JNUTA also said that “financial bottlenecks due to administrative incompetence have meant that regular academic and outreach programmes have suffered and that several faculty members have had to face cutbacks in research support. ”

“Regarding filling of teaching posts, particularly the reserved positions, there have been inordinate delays due to wilful misrepresentation of the roster system by the vice-chancellor, to rectify (for) which faculty members had to move court. While the new roster still has many limitations that have been pointed out by the petitioners, the administration has made no attempts to rectify these anomalies,” JNUTA said.

Claiming that the functioning of the university over the past year was “less than satisfactory,” the teachers’ body asked, “Can a caretaker VC be allowed to run the university as per his own personal whims and fancies? Can the ministry afford to remain silent in such a situation. . . ? and how soon will the ministry announce a full-time VC for JNU?”

Senior officials of the university administration could not be reached for a comment.

Jamia VC, historian among Padma winners

 Jamia VC, historian among Padma winners



TIMES NEWS NETWORK

26.01.2022

New Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia vice-chancellor Najma Akhtar was conferred the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, on Tuesday.

Akhtar, who had assumed charge in 2019, had scripted history for being Jamia’s first woman VC.

Soon after the list of awardees was announced by the government, Akhtar told TOI, “This recognition is a matter of huge honour for every woman. I might be older to some and younger to some but ultimately, we are all the same. The fact that the President and the Prime Minister had decided to appoint me as the first woman VC at a  central university like Jamia had also meant a lot. ”

“Jamia is now among one of the best universities and it’s a desirable place to be. We are constantly working for ordinary people. This is an honour my university has earned, I’m only its representative,” Akhtar said. She said the recognition will only compel her to work harder and take education further.

“The work done by the university in the field of education, health and development was not only for itself, but for communities in the neighbourhood too and today, that has received recognition,” Akhtar added.

Renowned history and po- licy scholar JK Bajaj, who specialised in the study of Indian society, was also awarded the Padma Shri in the field of literature and education.

Reacting to the announcement, Bajaj said, “This is a recognition for the work my colleagues and I have been doing at the Centre for Policy Studies to comprehend the country from an Indian perspective. It feels good to know that quiet, systematic, scholarly and foundational work is also getting public recognition in today’s India. ”

The Centre for Policy Studies is a social science research institute that is ideologically aligned with the RSS. Headquartered in Chennai, its work is concentrated on the issue of demographics, society, agriculture and history, among others.

Tara Jauhar, writer and educationist who dedicated her life to propagating the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, was also among those who were awarded the Padma Shri.Engineer, academician and technocrat Dilip Shahani was honoured with the Padma Shri by the government for playing an instrumental role in India’s electronic voting machine platform.

Pandemic effect: Gen medicine gets an edge

 Pandemic effect: Gen medicine gets an edge



Sruthy Susan Ullas

TNN

26.01.2022

Bengaluru: Fees of a few PG medical courses in Karnataka colleges under ‘NRI and others’ quotas have been increased for the coming academic year, with college-wise revisions pegged between 5% and 50%. General medicine, which costs around Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1. 2 crore in some top bracket colleges, is vying with radiology as the most-sought-after specialization this time round, mainly due to the raging pandemic that has headlined its importance among medical students.

Fees for general medicine and radiology are nearly the same – at Rs 1. 2 crore a year – under NRI quota in at least one private college in Bengaluru. Interestingly, the general medicine course in the government-owned Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute costs Rs 1. 1 lakh a year, or a tenth of the NRI-quota fee.

“Earlier, general medicine was not as well paid as that of a radiologist. With the pandemic, the importance of an intensivist, who is either specialised in general medicine or anaesthesia with additional training has become extremely important. The demand for both courses has gone up,” said an official of a deemed university.

Karnataka has 3,084 postgraduate medical seats for  2021, the seat matrix for which was announced on the Karnataka Examinations Authority website on Monday. As many as 926 seats are in the government quota, 39 in the government PWD quota, 1,186 in private quota, 396 for in-service candidates and 537 for NRIs.

Interestingly, there has been a steep hike in fees for general medicine in NRI/others quota as mentioned on the KEA website. In Shivashankarappa Institute of Medical Sciences, Davanagere, the fee has seen nearly a 50% rise, up from Rs 60. 1 lakh in 2020 to Rs 90. 1 lakh in 2021. In MS Ramaiah, the fee this year is Rs 85. 1 lakh as against Rs 70. 1 lakh last year. Jaya Jagadguru Murugharajendra Medical College, Davanagere, is charging Rs 90. 1 lakh as against Rs 80. 1lakh last year.

In Vydehi Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre, Bengaluru, the fees is Rs 75. 1lakh, a hike of Rs 5 lakh from last year. At Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, students have to pay Rs 1. 2 crore for a general medicine seat in the NRI quota, same as last year, and Rs 1. 3 crore for a PG seat in radiology. The fees under the government quota is Rs 7. 1lakh and private quota Rs 11. 5 lakh. The NRI quota fees for pediatrics, general medicine, ophthalmology and gynaecology in this college is quoted at Rs 1. 2 crore on the KEA website.

Kerala posts highest daily count of 55,475; Maha sees 86 deaths

 Kerala posts highest daily count of 55,475; Maha sees 86 deaths


26.01.2022

In terms of fresh cases, the third-wave surge continued to slow in the country despite a massive surge in Kerala, which posted its highest-ever daily count of 55,475. Close to 2. 87 lakh new cases were reported in the country on Tuesday, up from 2. 54 lakh on the preceding day. Last week, daily cases had hit a high of 3. 47 lakh on Thursday.

Deaths were up sharply in Maharashtra, which reported 86 fatalities on Tuesday, the highest daily toll in 110 days. Of these, Mumbai recorded 10 deaths.

Other states grapplingwith surging deaths on Tuesday included Kerala (70), Karnataka (52), Tamil Nadu (48), Gujarat (28), Chhattisgarh (23), Assam (19), Haryana (18), J&K (14) and Andhra Pradesh (12). These were among 12 states and UTs that reported their highest single-day deaths during the third wave on Tuesday. Daily fatalities remained high in several other states, includ- ing Bengal (36), Delhi (31), Punjab (30) and Rajasthan (22). On Tuesday, daily cases saw a big spike in just two states/UTs — Kerala and J&K.

While Kerala reported a very high positivity rate of 49. 4% (with one out of every two tests giving a positive result for Covid), J&K posted 6,570 new cases, the highest single-day count in the UT since the start of the pandemic. While the next two-three days are likely to reveal whether the third wave will rise any further than last week's high, the count of active cases registered a slight fall for the second day running.

India’s Covid cases top 4cr, 3rd wave tally now over 50L  Daily Deaths Cross 500, Up 27% In A Day

Recorded infections of Covid-19 in India crossed 4 crore on Tuesday, with 50 lakh fresh cases added in the last three weeks alone during the Omicrondriven third wave of the pandemic in the country. India’s Covid case count continues to be the second highest in the world after the US, where nearly 7.3 crore cases have been logged till date. India had reached the 3-crore mark in total cases on June 22, 2021, when the second wave was waning. During that wave, the country saw the count rise from 2 crore to 3 crore in just 40 days. Meanwhile, daily deaths rose by a steep 27% in a day, with 571 fatalities repor- ted on Tuesday, the highest daily count in five months since Aug 25, 2021, when 603 deaths were recorded. The toll on Monday was 449.

Caught cheating in exam, BBA student shoots self at home

 

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Caught cheating in exam, BBA student shoots self at home



TIMES N EWS N ETWORK

26.01.2022

Indore: A 21-year-old student of Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) allegedly shot himself at home in Indore’s Niranjanpur area on Tuesday afternoon.

The deceased, identified as Pravin Shukla, was reported to have taken the extreme step after being caught cheating during an examination on Tuesday, the police said. He studied at a private college. His family said that his mobile phone was seized by the college authorities.

Police said Pravin used a licenced weapon of his father, who is an assistant sub-inspector (traffic), to kill himself. “His classmates said he was caught cheating in the exam on Tuesday morning. He came home and shot himself with his father’s rifle,” station in-charge Indramani Patel told the media.

Pravin was living alone in the house for  the past year as his parents had moved out to Chhoti Paltan area. In CCTV footage of the society, the youth is seen coming back from college on a motorcycle at 11. 47am. He parks his bike and takes the stairs.

Deceased's brother-in-law, Dipendra Tripathi, who lives in the same township, said  that he used to come back from the college before noon and have lunch at their house. On Tuesday afternoon, when he did not come for lunch till 1pm, they tried calling him on his mobile phone, but nobody picked it up. Later, his wife (Pravin’s elder sister) went to check on him and found the gate locked from the inside. When he did not respond to the doorbell for long, she called her father to come with another key and they checked inside only to find him lying in a pool of blood in the bathroom. “The rifle along with ammunition was brought home during Diwali for puja,” Tripathi told TOI.

Toddler drowns in bucket at Chengalpet

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