NEWS TODAY 09.03.2024

 

Former Delhi University ad-hoc professor booked for opening ‘pakoda’ stall outside varsity

Former Delhi University ad-hoc professor booked for opening ‘pakoda’ stall outside varsity

Dr Ritu Singh started the 'pakoda' stall after 192 days of protest outside the Arts Faculty against alleged caste harassment and illegal termination from services

By: Express News Service

New Delhi | Updated: March 7, 2024 22:46 IST

An ad-hoc psychology professor, Dr Singh joined the Daulatram College in 2019 but was removed within a year, and her contract was not renewed. (Instagram/ Dr Ritu Singh)

The Delhi Police on Thursday said they booked Dr Ritu Singh, a former ad-hoc professor of Delhi University, for allegedly encroaching an area outside the varsity premises with her ‘pakoda’ stall.

“We sent a team to remove the stall as it was impeding public movement in the area,” said a senior police officer. An FIR has been registered against Dr Singh under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation).

A former ad-hoc psychology professor, 28-year-old woman from the Dalit community took to frying pakoras earlier this week, after 192 days of protest outside the Arts Faculty against alleged caste harassment and illegal termination from services. Dr Singh had joined Daulatram College in 2019 but was removed within a year, and her contract was not renewed.

On this, Dr Singh told The Indian Express, “I have no job, so I took to the streets to sell ‘pakodas’ to make my own bread in this very same university that awarded me my degree. This is where I am, after being wrongly terminated from my services.”

“There have been several attempts to silence my protest against the injustice which took place. My cart ‘PhD pakode wali’ is also part of my protest… I started this cart on Sunday, without causing any inconvenience to anyone at gate number 4 of the Arts Faculty, where I earlier held my protest… A day or two later, police visited the spot, asking me for my licence for the cart and threatened me to leave the premises… I could have been served a notice in a dignified manner, but what was the need to book me under a case for this?” she asked.

Dr Singh said she would return to the university on Friday to run a mobile cart and make a special statement on International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8 every year.

In August 2020, Dr Singh was not given the joining letter, following which, she took the matter to the Delhi High Court.

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

First uploaded on: 07-03-2024 at 16:59 IST

தமிழக அரசு மருத்துவர்களின் கோரிக்கையை நிறைவேற்றுக - அரசுக்கு அன்புமணி வலியுறுத்தல்

 தமிழக அரசு மருத்துவர்களின் கோரிக்கையை நிறைவேற்றுக - அரசுக்கு அன்புமணி வலியுறுத்தல்

அன்புமணி ராமதாஸ்

சென்னை: மத்திய அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு இணையாக ஊதிய உயர்வு வழங்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்ற தமிழக அரசு மருத்துவர்களின் கோரிக்கையை ஆய்வு செய்து முடிவு எடுக்க வேண்டும் என்று சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் ஆணையிட்டுள்ள நிலையில், உயர் நீதிமன்றத் தீர்ப்பை செயல்படுத்த வேண்டும் என பாமக தலைவர் அன்புமணி ராமதாஸ் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இது குறித்து அவர் வெளியிட்டிருக்கும் அறிக்கையில், “மத்திய அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு இணையாக ஊதிய உயர்வு வழங்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்ற தமிழக அரசு மருத்துவர்களின் கோரிக்கையை 6 வாரங்களுக்குள் ஆய்வு செய்து முடிவு எடுக்க வேண்டும் என்று சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் ஆணையிட்டுள்ளது. 15 ஆண்டுகளுக்கும் மேலாக வலியுறுத்தப்பட்டு வரும் கோரிக்கையை நிறைவேற்ற அரசுக்கு உயர் நீதிமன்றம் ஆணையிட்டிருப்பது வரவேற்கத்தக்கது.

தமிழக அரசின் மருத்துவத்துறையில் பணியாற்றி வரும் பல்வேறு மருத்துவர்கள் தொடர்ந்த வழக்குகளை சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்ற நீதிபதி ஆர்.என்.மஞ்சுளா விசாரித்து வந்தார். இந்த வழக்கில் அண்மையில் தீர்ப்பளித்த அவர், மத்திய அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு இணையாக ஊதியம் வழங்க வேண்டும் என்ற கோரிக்கை குறித்து ஆய்வு செய்வதற்காக 2009 ஆம் ஆண்டில் அமைக்கப்பட்ட குழு கடந்த 2021 ஆம் ஆண்டு பிப்ரவரி 17 ஆம் நாள் தமிழக அரசிடம் அறிக்கை தாக்கல் செய்து விட்ட நிலையில், அதை செயல்படுத்துவது குறித்து அடுத்த 6 வாரங்களுக்குள் முடிவு எடுக்க வேண்டும் என்று ஆணையிட்டார்.

7 ஆவது ஊதியக்குழு பரிந்துரைப்படி மத்திய, மாநில அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு வழங்கப்படும் தொடக்கநிலை ஊதியம் ரூ.56,100 என்ற ஒரே அளவு தான். ஆனால், ஐந்தாவது ஆண்டிலிருந்து இந்த ஊதியம் மாறுபடத் தொடங்குகிறது. இதற்குக் காரணம் மத்திய அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு முறையே 4, 9, 13, 20 ஆகிய ஆண்டுகளின் இறுதியில் வழங்கப்படும் காலம் சார்ந்த ஊதிய உயர்வும், பதவி உயர்வும் மாநில அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு 8, 15, 17, 20 ஆகிய ஆண்டுகளின் இறுதியில் தான் வழங்கப்படுவது தான். இதனால் 14-ஆம் ஆண்டில் தொடக்கத்தில் மத்திய அரசு மருத்துவர்கள் பெறும் அடிப்படை ஊதியமான ரூ. 1.23 லட்சத்தை, மாநில அரசு மருத்துவர்கள் 20-ஆவது ஆண்டில் தான் பெறுகின்றனர்; 14-ஆவது ஆண்டில் தமிழக அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு ரூ.86,000 மட்டுமே கிடைக்கிறது.

இந்த முரண்பாடுகள் பல பத்தாண்டுகளாக நீடித்து வரும் நிலையில், அவற்றை களைய வேண்டும் என்பதற்காக மருத்துவர்கள் தொடர்ந்து போராடி வருகின்றனர். அரசு மருத்துவர்களின் கோரிக்கைகளில் உள்ள நியாயத்தை தமிழக அரசும் மறுக்கவில்லை. இது தொடர்பான வழக்கு சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் விசாரணைக்கு வந்த போது, 2021 ஆம் ஆண்டில் அளிக்கப்பட்ட பரிந்துரை மீது தமிழக அரசு இன்னும் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்காதது ஏன்? என்று நீதிபதி வினா எழுப்பினார். அதற்கு விடையளித்த தமிழக அரசு, பரிந்துரை அறிக்கை தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்ட நேரத்தில் சட்டமன்ற தேர்தல் நடத்தை விதிகள் நடைமுறைக்கு வந்து விட்டதால் தான் பரிந்துரைகளை செயல்படுத்த முடியவில்லை என்று நீதிபதியிடம் தெரிவித்தது.

அரசு மருத்துவர்களின் கோரிக்கைகள் குறித்து தமிழக அரசு வாக்குறுதி அளிப்பது இது முதல் முறையல்ல. இந்தக் கோரிக்கைகளை வலியுறுத்தி கடந்த 2018-ஆம் ஆண்டு அரசு மருத்துவர்கள் போராட்டம் நடத்திய போது, அவர்களின் கோரிக்கை குறித்து ஆய்வு செய்ய அமைக்கப்பட்ட சுகாதாரத் துறை கூடுதல் செயலர் தலைமையிலான குழு, 354-ஆவது அரசாணையின் எதிர்கால சரத்துகளின்படி 5, 9, 11, 12 ஆகிய ஆண்டுகளில் காலம் சார்ந்த ஊதிய உயர்வு வழங்க பரிந்துரைத்தது.

அவற்றை ஆய்வு செய்து விரைந்து முடிவு எடுக்கும்படி உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தின் மதுரைக்கிளையும் ஆணையிட்டது. அதன்பிறகும் இரு முறை மருத்துவர்கள் வேலைநிறுத்தம் செய்தனர்; அப்போது கோரிக்கைகளை நிறைவேற்றுவதாக அரசு விடுத்த வேண்டுகோளை ஏற்று மருத்துவர்கள் போராட்டத்தைக் கைவிட்டனர். ஆனால், தமிழக அரசு, மருத்துவர்களின் கோரிக்கைகளை இப்போது வரை நிறைவேற்றவில்லை.

தமிழ்நாடு அரசு மருத்துவர்களின் கோரிக்கைகள் நியாயமானவை. கேரளம், கர்நாடகம், புதுச்சேரி ஆகிய மாநிலங்களில் அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு மத்திய அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு இணையான ஊதியம் வழங்கப் பட்டு வருகிறது. அவர்களுக்கு இணையான கல்வித்தகுதியும், பணிச்சுமையும் கொண்ட தமிழக அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கும் அவர்களுக்கு இணையான ஊதியம் வழங்குவது தான் சரியானதாக இருக்கும்.

எனவே, இனியும் தாமதிக்காமல் சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்றத் தீர்ப்பின்படி, தமிழக அரசு மருத்துவர்களின் ஊதியம் தொடர்பான குழுவின் பரிந்துரையை தமிழக அரசு உடனடியாக ஆய்வு செய்ய வேண்டும். சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்றம் அளித்த 6 வார கெடு முடிவதற்குள் தேர்தல் நடத்தை விதிகள் நடைமுறைக்கு வந்து விடக் கூடும் என்பதால், அதை செயல்படுத்த முடியாத நிலை ஏற்படலாம். எனவே, கெடு முடியும் வரை காத்திருக்காமல், தமிழக அரசு மருத்துவர்களுக்கு அவர்களின் பணிக்காலத்தின் 5, 9, 11, 12 ஆகிய ஆண்டுகளில் ஊதிய உயர்வு வழங்க தமிழக அரசு முன்வர வேண்டும் என்று வலியுறுத்துகிறேன்” எனத் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

HC Rules Private Medical Colleges Must Pay GST on Affiliation and Inspection Fees

HC Rules Private Medical Colleges Must Pay GST on Affiliation and Inspection Fees 

DC Correspondent 28 October 2023 9:31 PM (Update:29 October 2023 3:02 AM) 

 Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court made it clear to private medical and nursing colleges which are affiliated to the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences that they must pay GST on the affiliation fee and inspection fee, with arrears from July 2017. A division bench comprising Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Alishetty Lakshmi Narayana dismissed about 35 petitions filed by private medical colleges against the university’s GST demand notice. The university had been directed by the GST authorities to collect and deposit the GST dues from July 2017 on affiliation and inspection fee paid by private institutions. The colleges said that certain categories of services provided by educational institutions were exempt from GST among which was collection of entrance fee and this would include the affiliation and inspection fee. The court after considering all aspects including judgments of other High Courts was not inclined to quash the university’s demand notice.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/281023/hc-rules-private-medical-colleges-must-pay-gst-on-affiliation-and-insp.html

Flipkart UPI launched as e-commerce major's own unified payments facility: All you need to know

Flipkart UPI launched as e-commerce major's own unified payments facility: All you need to know

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

Mar 03, 2024 02:54 PM IST

Flipkart UPI has been launched in collaboration with Axis Bank.

Flipkart has launched its own Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services in collaboration with Axis Bank. The facility is called Flipkart UPI, and, its launch comes at a time when e-commerce companies have been launching their own UPI handles to service their customers better, and to avoid redirection to third-party apps for payments.

“Flipkart UPI seamlessly merges the convenience and cost-effectiveness of UPI with the trusted efficiency customers expect from us,” Dheeraj Aneja, Senior VP, Fintech and Payments Group, Flipkart, said in a statement.

“We are committed to delivering the best-in-class commerce experience to customers by offering safe and convenient payment options along with a wide array of rewards and benefits such as Supercoins, Brand Vouchers, and others,” Aneja added.

All you need to know about Flipkart UPI:

(1.) Flipkart UPI, which is for both online and offline payments within and outside the Flipkart app, will initially be available only for Android users.

(2.) To use the service, people must first create a UPI ID on the Flipkart app, after which they can make payments to merchants and individuals, in addition to paying bills without switching apps.

(3.) The facility will be spread across Flipkart group companies including Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Flipkart Health+, and Cleartrip.

(4.) Flipkart UPI will reduce dependence on third-party UPI apps such as Amazon Pay, Google Pay, Paytm, and PhonePe.

(5.) According to the e-commerce giant, its marketplace has more than 50 crore registered users and over 14 lakh sellers. Additionally, in February, as many as 1210 crore UPI transactions were made for a total value of ₹18.3 crore, rising 61% from the year-ago period.

Now, final year UG students can pursue 4th year to bag honours degree

Now, final year UG students can pursue 4th year to bag honours degree

ByNiraj Pandit, Mumbai

Mar 05, 2024 07:56 AM IST

UGC allows third-year UG students to extend for honours or research degree. They must choose a college with a PG center and complete a bridge course for transition.

In a significant step, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced that all the third- or final year undergraduate (UG) students enrolled under choice-based credit system (CBCS) can extend another year to bag an honours or research degree.

However, these students will have to pick a college with a postgraduate centre to pursue the fourth year and will also have to sign up for a bridge course, which will be decided by the respective university, to streamline their transition, an UGC circular said.

The initiative will benefit 91 autonomous colleges across Maharashtra, who have decided to implement the four-year UG programme under the New Education Policy (NEP) from the current academic year.

M Jagadesh Kumar, UGC chairman, said, “Students currently enrolled in and actively pursuing a UG programme under CBCS are eligible for a four-year programme. The respective university may offer bridge courses, which could be either through online or offline, to facilitate their smooth transition into the extended programme.”

This provision, Kumar said, is essential to ensure existing students can fully avail the benefits of the four-year UG programme. “Over 200 universities have successfully implemented the four-year UG programme, leveraging their robust PG programme and research facilities. Consequently, these universities are encouraged to motivate enrolled students to extend their studies to the fourth year.”

Shailendra Devlankar, director of higher education, said, “Presently, postgraduate departments at all universities in the state have CBCS. But this decision will benefit the 91 autonomous colleges who are implementing NEP from the current academic year. From the next academic year, the state government is set to implement NEP in all the colleges; so CBCS will eventually be introduced, and students will get the benefits under NEP.”

Air India-Vistara merger gets Singapore's conditional approval

Air India-Vistara merger gets Singapore's conditional approval

Reuters | Mar 5, 2024, 04.36 PM IST

Air India-Vistara merger gets Singapore's conditional approval

Singapore's competition watchdog said on Tuesday it has approved the merger between Tata Group-owned Air India and sister airline Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines, subject to certain conditions.

Singapore's flagship carrier announced its plan to merge Vistara and Air India in November 2022, in a bid to create a dominant full-service airline in the domestic and international markets.

While India's antitrust body approved the deal in September last year, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) had identified certain competition concerns regarding the merger.

The watchdog said the parties possessed the majority of the market share among airlines operating direct flights on four routes of concern - between Singapore and Indian cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Tiruchirapalli.

To address the concerns raised by the watchdog, the parties have proposed to maintain capacity on the said flights at pre-COVID levels, appoint independent auditors to monitor compliance with capacity commitments and submit annual as well as interim reports.

"CCCS considers the proposed commitments sufficient to address the competition concerns arising from the transactions," the watchdog said on Tuesday.

Singapore Airlines and Air India did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

According to the terms of the deal, autos-to-steel conglomerate Tata would hold 74.9% of the combined entity, while Singapore Airlines will own the remaining 25.1%.

AI-Vistara merger gets approval from Singapore panel

TNN | Mar 6, 2024, 06.01 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has granted conditional approval for merging Vistara - which is owned 49% by Singapore Airlines (SIA) - into Air India. SIA will hold 25.1% stake in the merged AI, with Tatas having the remaining stake.

The CCCS "identified some competition concerns" in this transaction, especially as these airlines have a significant number of flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Tiruchirapalli on the Indian side and Singapore on the other.

"Even though a number of competing airlines provide air passenger transport services on these routes, the parties have sustained substantial market share in recent years. CCCS also found that the price and capacity coordination between the parties arising from the confluence of the transactions would significantly restrict competition on the affected routes," the regulator said in a statement.

Air India Express commences Chennai- Kuwait direct flights Flights can now be booked on the airline’s award-winning mobile app and website, airindiaex

 Air India Express commences Chennai- Kuwait direct flights Flights can now be booked on the airline’s award-winning mobile app and website, airindiaex

https://www.dtnext.in/news/business/air-india-express-commences-chennai-kuwait-direct-flights-772116

When saviours suffer: Why so many ‘docs to be’ are taking extreme step

When saviours suffer: Why so many ‘docs to be’ are taking extreme step

TNN | Feb 26, 2024, 09.48 AM IST

NEW DELHI: One out of 64 MBBS students and four out of 58 post-graduate medicos who died by suicide in the last five years were from Delhi. At least 122 medical students, 64 of them pursuing MBBS and 58 studying at various levels in post-graduate courses, died by suicide and 1,270 students dropped out of medical colleges across India during this period. This data has been revealed by National Medical Commission (NMC) in response to an RTI.

Of the students who dropped out of colleges, 153 were studying MBBS and 1,117 were pursuing post-graduate courses. “One out of 64 MBBS students and four out of 58 post-graduate medicos who died by suicide were from Delhi. Among dropout students, three MBBS students and 155 post-graduate students were from Delhi between 2018 and 2022,” according to the information provided by NMC to RTI activist Dr Vivek Pandey.

President of Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), Dr Aviral Mathur, said these statistics shed light on the complex issues that extended beyond academic pressures alone. While the rigorous demands of medical education undoubtedly contributed to student stress, it was important to recognise that the underlying reasons for these suicides were multifaceted, he said. “Exaggerated duty hours (stretching without breaks up to 36 hours on certain days), inadequate rest periods, hostile work environment created by some toxic seniors and a lack of time off for PG students are significant factors contributing to burnout and mental health challenges. Furthermore, many institutes still lack proper redressal mechanisms and counselling services for at-risk students, leaving them without essential support systems in times of need,” Mathur said.

He further said that family-based stressors, coupled with the immense academic workload and clinical responsibilities, created a challenging environment for students. Additionally, the issue of language barriers, especially for students from diverse linguistic backgrounds, further exacerbated their difficulties in acclimatising to the academic and social aspects of medical education.

“One of the main reasons of this alarming data of suicide is a punitive system that discourages them from dropping out of the course, which exerts psychological pressure on budding doctors and force them to commit suicide,” said national chairman of FAIMA doctors’ association, Dr Rohan Krishnan. He further said that in Delhi, there was no uniform bond policy. While the central govt’s medical colleges — Lady Hardinge, Safdarjung and RML hospital — and Delhi govt’s Maulana Azad medical college and UCMS do not have any bonds, Army college and ESI have them.

“In these colleges, if a student wants to leave after admission, they are bound to pay Rs 50 lakh penalty and will not be able to take exams for next three years. The amount of the bond varies from state to state,” he said, adding that there was no way out for such students. This is happening due to policy failure on part of the govt and the commission. The students should get a free exit if they don’t want to continue the course,” Krishnan said.

“The medical education policy requires massive reforms. This should be an important data when NMC inspects the medical college for grant of permission/renewal or seat increment,” said secretary general, IMA Junior Doctors network, Dr Shankul Dwivedi. He added that this data was concerning as it reflected the stressful learning environment and compromised mental health. This was a loss of potential skilled manpower for the country who would have served the country at least for 40 years, Dwivedi said.

According to doctors, addressing these challenges requires a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, including educational institutions, healthcare providers, policymakers, and student organisations. “Together, we must work towards creating a nurturing environment that prioritizes student well-being, fosters resilience, and ensures that no student feels unsupported or alone in their journey through medical education,” said Mathur.

Most MBBS students who died by suicide from 2018-2022 were from Kerala, shows RTI reply

Most MBBS students who died by suicide from 2018-2022 were from Kerala, shows RTI reply

9 MBBS student suicides were reported in Kerala medical colleges while 11 PG students died by suicide in Maharashtra and Karnataka each.

MBBS student suicides between 2018 and 2022 were highest in Kerala, reveals RTI reply. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Vagisha Kaushik | February 28, 2024 | 08:49 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Of 64 MBBS and 58 postgraduate medical students who died by suicide between 2018-2022, as found in an RTI reply, the highest number of PG student deaths were reported in Maharashtra and Karnataka while Kerala medical colleges saw the most number of MBBS student suicides.

Vivek Pandey, a social and political activist, filed a fresh Right to Information (RTI) seeking details from the National Medical Commission regarding the number of UG and PG student suicides during the last five years as well as the number of students who dropped out of colleges.

As per the information provided in the RTI reply, 11 postgraduate students died by suicide in medical colleges of Maharashtra and Karnataka each while nine MBBS students died by suicide in Kerala medical colleges.

The number of student dropouts in the last five years was over 1,200. 153 MBBS students and 1,117 PG students left medical colleges, as per the data. 17 students each from Maharashtra and Karnataka left MBBS courses between 2018 and 2022.
Student suicide: State-wise number of deaths

In case of PG student suicides, the MD Clinical branch saw the most deaths. Three students of JSS Medical College, Mysore died by suicide, two in 2018 and one in 2020. Four student suicides were reported in M S Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore – one in 2018, two in 2019 and one in 2022. Even in Gujarat, most of the student suicide cases were found in MD Clinical.


State

Number of student suicides

Andhra Pradesh

1


Bihar

1


Chhattisgarh

1


Delhi

2


Gujarat

9


Haryana

1


Himachal Pradesh

1


Karnataka

11


Kerala

1


Madhya Pradesh

1


Maharashtra

11


Odisha

1


Puducherry

4


Rajasthan

6


Tamil Nadu

1


Uttar Pradesh

5


Uttarakhand

1


In case of MBBS student suicides, the deaths in Kerala were reported by nine different colleges, however, Thiruvarur Government Medical College in Tamil Nadu lost three student lives.

State

Number of student suicides

Andhra Pradesh

5


Bihar

1


Delhi

1


Gujarat

5


Haryana

1


Jammu and Kashmir

1


Jharkhand

1


Karnataka

5


Kerala

9


Maharashtra

3


Mizoram

4


Odisha

3


Puducherry

3


Rajasthan

5


Sikkim

1


Tamil Nadu

8


Telangana

1


Uttar Pradesh

4


West Bengal

3


If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. Those in distress or having suicidal thoughts or tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling 9820466726 or visiting AASRA’s official website or can call iCALL on 9152987821. Here are some more helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.

Microsoft’s Windows 11 Copilot gets smarter with new plugins and skills

Microsoft’s Windows 11 Copilot gets smarter with new plugins and skills

Frederic Lardinois@fredericl / 11:30 PM GMT+5:30•February 29, 2024

Image Credits: Microsoft

You may not have a Copilot key on your PC’s keyboard yet, but if you’re a Windows 11 user, you’ll soon be able to use Copilot for a lot more everyday tasks on your desktop. Starting today, Microsoft is adding skills that will allow Copilot to change more Windows 11 settings for you and plugins for services like OpenTable, Shopify and Kayak. That’s on top of new AI editing integrations into default apps like Clipchamp and Photos, as well as some improvements to widgets (which nobody pays attention to but Microsoft still hasn’t given up on yet) and the Windows snap functionality that helps you organize your various application windows.

The new skills will roll out in late March. With those, you’ll be able to perform actions like turning your battery saver on and off; showing device, system and battery information; launching live captions and the text-to-speech Narrator; displaying your IP address; and emptying your recycle bin.

In some ways, it’s not these specific skills that are all that interesting but the future they hint at where the Copilot will live up to its name and can automatically handle more complex tasks on your PC for you. A lot of the AI device experiments we’ve seen in recent months focused on mobile, but the endgame for Microsoft here seems to be to have a general PC copilot that can open and manipulate apps on your device for you — or maybe replace some of those applications altogether.

That’s also where the new plugins come in. Restaurant reservations through OpenTable, travel reservations through Kayak and a Shopify integration are surely only the start here, too. These features will roll out over the next month.

At the same time, Microsoft is now also integrating more AI features into its existing Windows apps. The first is a generative erase feature in the Photos app, comparable to what Google has long enabled in Google Photos on mobile (but not nearly as powerful as Photoshop’s generative fill). The second is a feature that automatically removes silence from videos in the Clipchamps video editor. This feature is available today.

Microsoft Copilot will soon be able to summarise and analyse files

Microsoft Copilot will soon be able to summarise and analyse files

Microsoft is testing a new Copilot feature that will allow users to upload files to the AI chatbot so it can summarise or analyse them.

By: Tech Desk

New Delhi | Updated: March 5, 2024 08:12 IST

Microsoft recently overhauled the Copilot app design on Android and iOS.

Microsoft is testing a new Copilot feature that enables the AI-powered chatbot to analyse and summarise files. The new functionality makes it easy for users to share files with the chatbot.

First spotted by the known tinkerer Leopeva64 on X, the new update to Copilot adds a new ‘Add a file’ button that allows users to share files directly from their local machines, following which the chatbot can read the contents of the file and answer queries specific to that data.

Apart from summarising data, the AI-powered assistant can also help you find a specific piece of data and even ask for more information about the topic. Ever since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, people have been using chatbots to summarise and understand a large amount of data without having to manually go through it.

While this may not be useful for people who don’t feed the chatbot with documents, it is really handy for those dealing with a large amount of data. It looks like the ability to analyse and summarise data using Copilot is currently available on the Canary version of Microsoft Edge, but there is no information on when it will be available to everyone.

Microsoft has been constantly adding and testing new Copilot features since its launch last year. When Copilot turned one earlier this month, the tech giant announced that the chatbot can now edit AI images generated using Designer.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd

First uploaded on: 04-03-2024 at 17:21 IST

Health ministry asks NMC to defer minimum standards for medical colleges — ‘unrealistic’

Health ministry asks NMC to defer minimum standards for medical colleges — ‘unrealistic’

National Medical Commission nearly doubled bed, faculty, and patient requirements for new and existing medical colleges in August 2023 notification.

SUMI SUKANYA DUTTA

05 March, 2024 08:00 am IST

New Delhi: The Union health ministry and the National Medical Commission (NMC) are not on the same page about the 2023 Minimum Standard Regulations Under-Graduate (MSR-UG), which lays down the guidelines for setting up new medical colleges and initiating new courses, besides regulating student intake capacity.

Medical education regulator NMC, thePrint has learnt, updated the regulations in a notification in August 2023. The notification nearly doubled the number of hospital beds, faculty members, patients, etc., required to set up new medical colleges, increase seats in existing colleges, or start new courses from the 2024-25 academic year.

Sources in government said the Union health ministry feels the new regulations have “unrealistic” infrastructure and faculty requirements, which medical colleges are finding difficult to fulfill.

“We have asked the NMC to defer the MSR-UG guidelines for two years and suggested a review of the regulations before their implementation,” a top official in the health ministry told ThePrint.

The Print reached health secretary Apurva Chandra via emails and phone calls but received no response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.

The 2023 MSR-UG also included a controversial clause, which said the NMC would permit new MBBS colleges and more undergraduate seats in existing colleges based on the state population — 100 MBBS seats for every 10 lakh population. The NMC, however, deferred the plan after pushback from southern states, which have already breached this ratio.

Now, health ministry sources have cited a letter by the All India Medical Education Federation (AIMEF), a voluntary association of government and non-government medical institutes, saying that 58 medical colleges applied for an increase in MBBS seats this year, but 56 faced rejection under the 2023 MSR-UG. ThePrint has seen a copy of the letter.

The letter, undersigned by Dr Virendra Kumar, managing director, AIMEF, has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), apart from the health ministry and the NMC. It also said that of the 253 applicants seeking renewal of UG courses, 212 faced rejection under the new regulations.

The Print could not independently verify the authenticity of the letter as there was no footprint of the association on the internet.

Dr. Aruna Wanikar, chairperson of the NMC UG board, said the regulations were announced after consultations with medical institutes and government representatives, intending to raise the standards of existing and new colleges.

“If we have to, we will defer the new regulations, or else, we will review them. But, the reality is that many institutes, even today, are not following the Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system (AEBAS) and close-circuit TV monitoring that also has to link with the NMC national command centre despite these regulations existing from before the 2023 MSR-UG. We are just trying to enforce stricter norms for raising the standard of medical training,” she said.

Overall, 708 institutes in the country offer an MBBS degree to students. The number of UG medicine seats in India was 1,08,848 in 2023.

TN forms panel to redeem universities from audit mess

TN forms panel to redeem universities from audit mess

The committee will investigate the irregularities and may waive the refunds previously sought, in eligible instances.

Express News Service

Updated on:

29 Feb 2024, 8:12 am

CHENNAI: To deal with the huge backlog of audit objections regarding funds in the 13 state universities, the government has formed a high-level committee headed by the principal secretary of the higher education department, to expeditiously clear the pending objections. Welcoming the move, officials from the universities said the will help effectively clear the objections and pave the way for receiving timely grants.

“Citing the audit objections, the state government has not been releasing funds to the universities due to which, the universities are struggling to manage expenses. If the audit objections are cleared, it will be a great relief for us,” said a senior official at a state university. A government order in this regard was issued on Tuesday.

The decision was taken after the universities complained to the higher education department that they were unable to resolve the objections at the regional level and that a state-level committee might be helpful in resolving the issues.

In the eight-member committee, the special director of local fund audit will act as the member secretary while the deputy director will be the special invitee. The assistant director, deputy secretary of the higher education department, registrar and finance officers of the universities concerned and representative of the principal secretary of the state finance department will be other members of the committee.

The committee will investigate the irregularities and may waive the refunds previously sought, in eligible instances. Similarly, it has to prescribe a methodology for settling the outstanding audit paras, especially pensioners, to explore the possibility of devising common policies, procedures and internal control mechanisms governing the key aspects of the functioning of universities.

The committee will monitor timely audit, submission of the annual accounts and audit reports and suggest to the vice chancellor and syndicate body to take appropriate action in case of serious irregularities. It will also recommend ways to recover losses from the staff concerned in case of irregularities. The panel will meet at least once every quarter.

Notably, in the 13 state universities, thousands of audit objections have been pending for several years due to which they are unable to get grants from the state government. Most of the local fund audit objections are related to salary discrepancy, promotion, and appointment. In some cases, the pensioners are not receiving retirement benefits due to the pending audit objections.

Secondary grade teachers’ stir enters 10th day, MIN urges them to resume work

Chennai : A total of 9,354 secondary grade teachers across the state have been participating in the strike called by the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association demanding equal pay, for the past 10 days. “The basic pay for teachers who were appointed before June 1, 2009, was Rs 8,370. It was Rs 5,200 for those who were appointed on or after that date. The pay gap is widening with every pay commission. The salary difference has now reached more than Rs 20,000. More than 20,000 teachers are adversely affected due to this,” an association member said. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Tuesday asked the teachers to return to work considering that students’ examinations are approaching. Minister said a three-member committee has been formed to look into the issues and provide suggestions. After that, issue will be taken to CM, he added.

Madras University staff strike work after IT Dept action blocks salary payments

Madras University staff strike work after IT Dept action blocks salary payments

Madras University has been unable to pay salaries to its staff after Government of India's Income Tax department froze over 50 bank accounts of the university.

Staff strike work after IT Dept freezes MU bank accountsMartin Louis - EPS
Binita Jaiswal

Updated on:
01 Mar 2024, 3:14 pm

Teaching and non-teaching staff of the University of Madras staged a protest at the main gate of the varsity's Chepauk campus on Friday, condemning the state government for ignoring the plight of the university.

Over 800 employees of the university, from faculty members to housekeeping staff, participated in the protest.

Madras University has been unable to pay salaries to its staff after Government of India's Income Tax department froze over 50 bank accounts of the university.

The Income Tax department froze the account after demanding Rs 424 crore as dues dating as far back as 2017.

The notices were issued after the Income Tax Department reclassified Madras University as a private university, pointing out that it does not get at least 51% of its funding from the government.

The staff strike disrupted classes for the students. "We sat in the classrooms for three hours, waiting for our teachers, but none turned up," said S Sabari, a postgraduate student.

"We have locked the main gate of the university and are not allowing anybody to enter the campus. None of the staff is on duty today. We will continue this indefinite strike until the state government allocates funds to tide over the financial crisis caused due to the Income Tax department’s action," said a member of the joint action committee of teaching and non-teaching staff associations.

Meanwhile, in a circular issued on Thursday, the university registrar asked all the teaching and administrative staff to not indulge in any type of protest inside the campus.

The university administration had expressed hope that the bank accounts of the university frozen by the IT department would be unlocked by Friday noon, following which they would be able to pay salaries. However, the teachers say the university does not have money for salaries.

"The IT department has already deducted Rs 12.5 crore from the university account. Even if the accounts are defrozen, the university will have to break its corpus fund to pay salaries and we are against using the corpus. The government should immediately step in and release grants for salaries," said a faculty member of the university.

The teachers alleged that citing audit objections, the government has not been providing grants properly to the university since 2017. "While the audit objections are related to only 5% to 10% of the funds, the state government has reduced funding by almost 75%," said a professor.

Microsoft introduces Copilot AI chatbot for finance workers in Excel and Outlook

Microsoft introduces Copilot AI chatbot for finance workers in Excel and Outlook

PUBLISHED THU, FEB 29 202411:00 AM ESTUPDATED THU, FEB 29 20241:42 PM EST

Jordan Novet@JORDANNOVET

KEY POINTS

Microsoft is launching a Copilot for Finance, which it said will be able to perform a handful of common role-specific actions in Excel and Outlook.
After testing the new tool, Microsoft’s own finance department has seen time savings, the company said.

Charles Lamanna, corporate vice president for business applications and platforms at Microsoft, speaks at a press event in San Francisco on Feb. 28, 2024.

Jordan Novet | CNBC

Microsoft on Thursday announced that it will release a Copilot chatbot that can perform key tasks for people working in finance. The software company will first offer the tool in public preview. Pricing details will follow.

Many business software providers, including HubSpot and Salesforce, have been working to supercharge existing products with generative artificial intelligence, in the hope of making clients more efficient. The craze began after startup OpenAI in 2022 launched the ChatGPT chatbot, which can spit out natural-sounding text or other content with a few words of human input.

The typical company comprises a variety of groups in which employees perform specialized work. “We want every one of the departments to be enabled and enriched with a Copilot,” Charles Lamanna, a Microsoft corporate vice president, said in an interview with CNBC in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Microsoft already has a Copilot for general-purpose industrial use in Office applications, and it has released Copilots designed for sales and customer-service workers.

The Copilot for finance will initially run a variance analysis, reconcile data in Excel and speed up the collections process in Outlook. The software can draw on information stored in SAP and in Microsoft Dynamics 365. Additional features will come to the finance Copilot later this year, Lamanna said.

The Japanese advertising agency Dentsu will use the Copilot for finance tasks, Lamanna said.

Microsoft said its finance department provided input into the development of the new Copilot and that it’s seen some early benefits from using it.

Comparing data taken from different systems is “something every finance team on the planet does a lot of,” said Cory Hrncirik, modern finance lead in Microsoft’s office of the chief financial officer. A couple of thousand people on a financial planning and analysis team each spend one or two hours doing reconciliation each week, and with the new Copilot, that takes more like 10 or 20 minutes per week, he said.

The idea is to help these employees spend fewer hours on tedious tasks and provide time for more engaging work that can contribute more to the company. But Microsoft’s finance employees aren’t required to use the new Copilot, Hrncirik said.

If many finance professionals in a given company take advantage of those automations, though, the company might be able to close its books more quickly.

“That is one of the big pitches for CFOs,” Lamanna said.

UAE parents relieved as India announces medical exam centres in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah

UAE parents relieved as India announces medical exam centres in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah

Testing agency to hold the NEET-UG entrance tests for 2024 in 14 international centres worldwide

by

Nasreen Abdulla

Published: Wed 21 Feb 2024, 10:07 AM

Last updated: Wed 21 Feb 2024, 11:13 PM

Indian parents in the UAE were relieved as the National Testing Agency (NTA) of India announced the inclusion of several foreign testing centres for its medical exam, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.

In a tweet on Tuesday, the NTA revealed that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) 2024 would take place in 14 international centres.

In a notice dated February 20, the NTA wrote, “In continuation of the public notice dated February 9, 2024, it has been decided that the exam will be conducted in foreign cities.” Testing centres in other cities worldwide will include Lagos, Singapore and Bangkok.

Most parents reacted with relief and joy. “I have no words to express my happiness,” said Sherin Shafeeq, whose daughter has been preparing for the exam for over two years. “I have been praying fervently for a resolution of the issue since the first notice came out.”

Sherin said she was hopeful and had yet to fill out the form for a centre in India. “My daughter’s coaching centre had asked us to hold off filling in the application form until as late as possible to see if there was any chance of foreign centres to be announced,” she said. “I am truly grateful to everyone who took the initiative to get the international centres for the NEET exams.”

Last week, Khaleej Times reported that no foreign centres were listed in the initial document released by NTA. Speaking to KT, parents voiced their concern about removing centres, saying how it severely affected their plans.

Many parents feared that travelling to India for the test might impact their children's performance, and accompanying guardians would have to take time off work, manage other kids staying back in the UAE, and expensive air tickets might add to their monthly budget.

In 2021, India first opened international centres for the NEET-UG exams — a prerequisite for all students aspiring to study medicine in India and some international countries. The move came after thousands of students could not travel to India during the Covid-19 pandemic. It relieved parents who had been petitioning for centres outside India for years. However, no international centres were listed in the initial document this year, but the number of centres in India increased.

Now, almost two weeks after its first announcement, the NTA has announced the decision to conduct the entrance exam in several cities worldwide.

According to the NTA notice, any student who has already selected centres in India and paid the fee without the option for foreign centres will have the opportunity to correct their centre and country choice during a correction window. This window will open after the registration window closes.

Alka Malik, Founder and Managing Director of coaching centre Ascentria, said they were overjoyed with the move. “It’s so wonderful that they have considered the situation of NRI students,” she said. “Some parents who have already registered are concerned about missing the correction window, but we are making sure to keep track of it and inform parents when the window opens.”

The NTA as an independent, autonomous and self-sustained organisation that was set up by India’s Ministry of Education to conduct the NEET-UG and other such competitive exams last year.

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Periyar University V-C allows Registrar to retire, ignoring govt. directive to suspend him

Periyar University V-C allows Registrar to retire, ignoring govt. directive to suspend him

February 29, 2024 07:41 pm | Updated 07:41 pm IST - Salem

M. SABARI

Registrar (full additional charge) K. Thangavel speaking at his farewell function at Periyar University on Thursday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Despite a directive from the Higher Education Department to Periyar University Vice-Chancellor R. Jagannathan to suspend Registrar (full additional charge) K. Thangavel on corruption charges, Mr. Thangavel was allowed to retire on Thursday.

The Association of University Teachers (AUT) said that by allowing Mr. Thangavel to retire, the V-C had challenged an elected government.

An inquiry committee constituted by the government to probe various allegations against Mr. Thangavel had confirmed seven charges, including misappropriate of funds. Consequently, on February 7, Higher Education Department Secretary A. Karthik directed the Vice-Chancellor to suspend Mr. Thangavel. He pointed out that Mr. Thangavel was due to retire on February 29.

However, Mr. Jagannathan wrote to the department seeking material evidence against Mr. Thangavel. On February 27, the Secretary sent a letter to the V-C with the material evidence enclosed, and instructed him to suspend Mr. Thangavel.

On Thursday, a farewell function was organised in the Computer Science Department for Mr. Thangavel, who was also head of the department.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the members of the Periyar University Employees’ Union (PUEU) and the Periyar University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) staged protests against the Vice-Chancellor for not acting against the Registrar. The university administration issued a memo to 33 persons who participated in the protests.

Periyar University Registrar (in-charge) P. Viswanathamurthi issued a memo to PUTA president V. Vaithianathan for participating in the protest, and sought a written explanation in five days.

AUT president M.S. Balamurugan condemned Mr. Jagannathan for his “continuous, utter indifference and apathy” towards directives from the government. He said that the V-C had posed an unlawful challenge to the State.

According to him, it also exposed the V-C’s “double standards” in “victimising” unpreferred teachers such as K. Premkumar, the general secretary of PUTA, “whose illegal and purposely protracted” suspension was nearing completion.

“The AUT urges the State government to immediately remove the V-C, as his challenge to the State should not be tolerated anymore,” Mr. Balamurugan said.

Mr. Jagannathan and Registrar (in-charge) Viswanathamurthi were not available for comment.

Go digital: No need for exact tender in MTC, SETC buses in Chennai

Go digital: No need for exact tender in MTC, SETC buses in Chennai

Transport Secretary Phanindra Reddy said the UPI payment system will soon be extended to TNSTC buses.

Udhayanidhi Stalin distributing electronic ticketing machines to conductors in the presence of Transport Minister S S Sivasankar at a function in Guindy | express

B Anbuselvan

Updated on:29 Feb 2024, 7:42 am

CHENNAI: Commuters in Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) and the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) buses can pay for their tickets through UPI, credit, or debit cards from now on. Launching the cashless payment system on Wednesday, Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin distributed 26 electronic ticketing machines (ETM) to conductors in the presence of Transport Minister S S Sivasankar at a function held in Guindy.

During the same event, he also flagged off 50 BS VI non-AC buses for MTC that were purchased for Rs 20 crore and launched the home delivery of new driving licences, renewed licences, registration certificates and other vehicle and transport-related documents to applicants.

Alby John Varghese, Managing Director, MTC, told TNIE that the digital payment system will be rolled out on 129 buses operating from the Central bus depot from Thursday onwards. “Within the next two to three weeks, all MTC buses will be equipped with the cashless payment system,” he said.

Varghese further said that the initial batch of 50 new buses for MTC arrived on Wednesday, and 50 more are expected to arrive soon. “These 100 buses will be distributed among eight to nine depots, improving connectivity to the new Kilambakkam terminus and other areas. Additionally, the number of services via Chennai bypass (CMBT - KCBT) will be increased,” he added. MTC operates buses on 696 routes with a fleet capacity of 3,150 vehicles and carries around 31 lakh to 32 lakh commuters a day.

Official sources from SETC said, “Electronic ticketing machines have been introduced on buses running to Rameswaram, Gudalur, and Kanniyakumari from Chennai. Following a trial period, this system will be expanded to all routes in the coming days. Travellers will be able to make payments using credit and debit cards, as well as UPI applications.” The SETC carries about 75,000 commuters a day with a fleet strength of over 800 buses.

The implementation of electronic payment systems in public transport corporations in the state has long been overdue. Difficulties in tendering exact change for ticket fares had many times led to verbal altercations between commuters and conductors. In response to numerous complaints, on November 1 last year, the MTC issued a circular specifically instructing conductors not to demand exact change from commuters during the journey.

Explaining the ordeal, an MTC bus conductor said, “The problem of demanding exact fare was a result of lower denomination currencies (Rs 10, Rs 20, and Rs 50) and coins becoming scarce among commuters. Small vendors and street traders have also largely shifted to UPI as ATMs mostly dispense only Rs 200 and Rs 500 notes. This cashless payment transition will benefit both bus crew and travellers.”

Transport Secretary Phanindra Reddy said the UPI payment system will soon be extended to TNSTC buses.