NEWS TODAY 10.10.2024

 

Medical teachers on contract get pay hike

Medical teachers on contract get pay hike

10.10.2024

Gandhinagar : The state govt on Wednesday announced pay raises for contracted medical teachers in govt medical colleges. According to a notification issued by the health department on Wednesday, their monthly salaries have been increased by 30% to 55%, depending on their positions. Quoting state health minister Rushikesh Patel, a govt statement said that the move aims to address the shortage of medical professionals in govt hospitals affiliated with medical colleges. 

“The decision is expected to attract and retain qualified doctors and teachers in these institutions, thus helping healthcare services across the state to improve,” the minister said. It will be implemented from Oct 9 and applies to medical teachers who are not involved in private practice. Professors will now earn up to Rs 2,50,000 per month, associate professors up to Rs 2,20,000 per month, assistant professors Rs 1,38,000 per month and tutors, up to Rs 1,05,000 per month, the statement said. In Feb 2024, health minister had announced that state had collected Rs 671 crore from MBBS doctors who had opted out of mandatory one-year rural service after completing their education. TNN

‘TN to act against med colleges over high fees’ Health Min Tells Panel To Look Into Complaints

‘TN to act against med colleges over high fees’ Health Min Tells Panel To Look Into Complaints 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  10.10.2024

Chennai : The Tamil Nadu govt would recommend action against medical colleges for charging excessive fees, health minister Ma Subramanian said Wednesday. The selection committee had received two complaints from parents about colleges that demanded “prohibitively high fees”, he said. These complaints would be sent to the fee committee for further action, he said. In July, the committee on the fixation of fees for self-financing professional colleges, headed by Justice R Pongiappan, recommended no increase in tuition fees for MBBS and BDS courses. The committee fixed up to ₹4.50 lakh towards tuition and special fees for students joining through the govt quota in selffinancing colleges, ₹13.5 lakh for students joining through the management quota and ₹24.5 lakh for the NRI quota. 

For private medical universities, the fee is higher. “Colleges asked for a fee increase this year, but the committee declined. The prescribed fee does not include hostel, mess and transportation charges. Colleges can charge separately for this,” Subramanian said. However, colleges could not make a killing out of this, he said. “If the charges are unreasonable, parents can file complaints along with the required evidence and documents. We will urge the committee to initiate action against the colleges,” he said. 

Health secretary, two former state university VCs, DME and a CA are members of the committee. Parents and student counsellors say this may have no effect. “Last year, more than 20 complaints were filed before the committee. We have not heard of any action,” said student counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. “If the state is serious, it must ask colleges to declare the fee in the prospectus and on the webpages. This will allow parents and students to make informed choices during the admission process,” he said.  Most parents agreed. “We expected an additional fee of may be ₹1-₹2 lakh. We were surprised when it was almost equal to the tuition fee,” said a parent whose child was allotted a seat in a medical college in Namakkal. “We paid a prescribed fee of ₹4.5 lakh and an additional ₹4 lakh. They insisted that it should be in cash and haven’t given us any receipt. We paid because we did not want to lose the seat,” he said. Another college in Chennai, which started admissions this year, charged parents ₹3.50 lakh as an additional fee.

NEWS TODAY 9.10.2024

 

Rainfall set to steadily increase, cover most parts of Tamil Nadu this week, predicts RMC

Rainfall set to steadily increase, cover most  parts of Tamil Nadu this week, predicts RMC



The Meteorological department has forecast that Chennai would experience light to moderate rain in some areas till Friday.File photo

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI  10.10.2024

Rainfall is set to steadily increase and cover most parts of the State this week, paving the way for the onset of the northeast monsoon, Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, has said.

While the southwest monsoon has been retreating rapidly, and is expected to completely withdraw in a few days, the RMC has forecast heavy rainfall to continue till October 15 in many districts.

In its extended forecast for two weeks, the India Meteorological Department had predicted that the northeast monsoon would likely set in around October 15. Officials at the RMC, however, said the date of onset would be determined in one or two days after the criteria of monsoon arrival were analysed. Some conditions include complete withdrawal of the southwest monsoon, setting in of the easterly winds close to the Tamil Nadu coast, and a fairly widespread rainfall wherein 50% of the weather stations receive rain.

Multiple weather systems that are prevailing now would enhance easterlies and rainfall over the State. A low pressure area over Lakshadweep and the adjoining Arabian sea, which is one of the weather systems, is likely to gain strength as a depression.

P. Senthamarai Kannan, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said the interaction between various weather systems would influence wet weather. The cyclonic circulation over Sri Lanka and its neighbourhood, which would oscillate its position close to the Tamil Nadu coast, would also influence heavy rainfall in various parts of the State till October 14. The RMC has predicted that large swathes of the region would receive light to moderate rain till October 14. Enhanced rain has been forecast for 10 districts, including Salem, Karur, Tiruchi, and Krishnagiri, with an yellow alert – indicating heavy rainfall of above 6.4 cm – for Thursday.

More districts, including Dindigul, Cuddalore, Virudhunagar and Madurai, would continue to receive heavy rain till October 15. An orange alert has been sounded for Tamil Nadu and Kerala, indicating the possibility of rainfall of very heavy intensity (11.5 cm to 20.4 cm) on October 12, 13, and 14. Very heavy rainfall may lash isolated places in districts in the northern parts and the delta region. In the past 24 hours, ending 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday, several interior places and some coastal places received rainfall. Moderate rain continued till the evening at various places such as Valparai (5 cm), Thuvakudi in Tiruchi district (4 cm) and Ramanathapuram (3 cm).

The Meteorological department has forecast that Chennai would experience light to moderate rainfall in some areas till Friday.

CMC Vellore, Azim Premji Foundation to establish medical college in Chittoor

CMC Vellore, Azim Premji Foundation to establish medical college in Chittoor

Christian Medical College, Vellore, and Azim Premji Foundation  on Wednesday signed a partnership agreement.

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai  10.10.2024

Christian Medical College, Vellore, has planned to set up a medical college in Chittoor with support from Azim Premji Foundation.

The Foundation will provide ₹500 crore grant to set up a college and upgrade the existing 120-bed hospital into a teaching hospital with 422 beds.

Director of CMC Vellore Vikram Mathews said the new medical college would replicate the model of medical education, healthcare delivery, research and outreach. The hospitalis celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2025.

Azim Premji Foundation’s chief executive officer Anurag Behar said it was a privilege to set up an institution with CMC Vellore, which was an exemplary institution with a deep social commitment for high quality education and healthcare.

CMC Vellore’s Principal Solomon Sathishkumar said the Chittoor campus had begun with allied health science courses and a College of Nursing five years ago. He hoped the new medical college would evolve into a resource for advancing the discipline of primary-cum-secondary healthcare. The two organisations have been collaborating since 2020.

RGGGH rolls out tags for patients’ attendants to ease crowding

RGGGH rolls out tags for patients’ attendants to ease crowding

1 of 2 Colour-coded: A staff strapping an identification tag on the wrist of a patient’s attendant at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai on Wednesday.

 B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM prevnext

Every patient admitted to the hospital to receive two attendant tags; in view of the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar hospital, the Chief Secretary had instructed healthcare facilities to take measures to restrict number of attendants and visitors in a phased manner, say RGGGH authorities; restricting crowding would help in infection-control as well, says dean Theranirajan

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI  10.10.2024

The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) has introduced a tag system for patient attendants to restrict crowding and ensure safety of healthcare professionals on the hospital premises. From now, every patient admitted to the hospital will receive two attendant tags.

In the light of the rape and murder of a post-graduate medical student at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Chief Secretary had instructed healthcare facilities to take measures to restrict the number of attendants / visitors in a phased manner to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals, according to RGGGH authorities.

In a step towards this, RGGGH had put up boards specifying visiting time (7 a.m. to 9 a.m., 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) in many places, including the admission counter, emergency and outpatient department, a month ago. On Wednesday, the hospital rolled out a tag system to allow two attendants per patient, E. Theranirajan, dean of RGGGH, said.

“Every day, there are about 400 to 450 admissions at the hospital, and nearly 350 discharges. In many instances, each patient has about 10 to 15 visitors. This leads to crowding at the hospital. We have now introduced three colour tags — yellow for attendants of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Units, green for attendants of patients admitted to super speciality departments, such as vascular surgery and nephrology and blue tags for attendants of those admitted to the general wards, such as general medicine and general surgery,” he explained.

The tags would be given at the admission counter. As of now, the names of the patients are being written on the tag. “Each patient can have two attendants. This is because sometimes, one attendant may have to accompany them during investigations and they may require help in other circumstances,” he further said.

“Restricting crowding would help in infection-control as well. We will review the tag system after 15 days to see if any course corrections are essential,” he said.

Ratan Tata, a titan of Indian industry, takes his final bow

Ratan Tata, a titan  of Indian industry,  takes his final bow

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI  10.10.2024

Tata Group’s chairman emeritus and veteran industrialist Ratan Naval Tata passed away at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai late on Wednesday. He was 86.

“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved Ratan,” his family said in a statement.

“We his brothers, sisters, and family take solace and comfort in outpouring of love and respect from all who admired him. While he is no longer with us in person, his legacy of humility, generosity and purpose will continue to inspire future generations,” the family said.

Mr. Tata is survived by his younger brothers Jimmy and Noel and stepmother Simone.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid rich tributes to Mr. Tata, describing him as a visionary business leader and an extraordinary human being. “One of the most unique aspects of Shri Ratan Tata Ji was his passion towards dreaming big and giving back. He was at the forefront of championing causes like education, healthcare, sanitation, animal welfare to name a few,” he said on X.

OpenAI's ChatGPT 4.0 Canvas explained: This new feature will change how you use AI chatbots

OpenAI's ChatGPT 4.0 Canvas explained: This new feature will change how you use AI chatbots

Canvas essentially turns ChatGPT into a full workspace rather than just a chatbot. Whether you’re writing, coding, or managing a project, Canvas keeps everything organised and makes the process smoother

Danny D'CruzeNew Delhi,

Updated Oct 08, 2024, 8:29 PM IST

ChatGPT

OpenAI has launched a new tool called Canvas powered by GPT 4o that changes how users interact with AI chatbots. Canvas is designed to make working with AI simpler and more productive by giving you a dedicated space to create, edit, and manage documents and code—all within ChatGPT. Canvas keeps you focused by eliminating the need to switch between tools or repeat commands, allowing you to make real-time changes and keep everything seamless.

Govt invites applications for top NMC posts and its four boards, complete overhaul on agenda

Govt invites applications for top NMC posts and its four boards, complete overhaul on agenda

The NMC that had replaced the Medical Council of India faces a management crisis, with the administration raising the issue with the health ministry on several occasions seeking reforms

Priyanka Sharma

Published 8 Oct 2024, 09:37 PM IST

The government has sought applications for the posts of president, secretary and members of NMC, and key positions in the four boards under the NMC.

New Delhi: The health ministry has invited applications to fill posts at the country's medical education regulators following a management crisis at the National Medical Commission (NMC).

It has sought applications for the posts of president, secretary and members of NMC, and key positions in the four boards under the NMC—the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB), Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) and Medical Assessment Rating Board (MARB).

The NMC that had replaced the Medical Council of India faces a management crisis, with the NMC administration raising the issue with the health ministry on several occasions seeking reforms as reported by Mint earlier.

Mint reported on 27 September that the NMC has sought government intervention to resolve an internal crisis with its four autonomous boards working at cross-purposes, two people aware of the development said. The commission had had to cancel several public notices following poor internal consultations, and had flagged the matter to the Union health ministry.

“While reviewing applications of the medical colleges to the health ministry in July and August, it came to our notice that many such applications have seen conflicting decisions within boards,” the first person said on the condition of anonymity.

Increasing mismanagemet

The disarray comes in the wake of an outcry over leaked question papers in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) that selects candidates for various undergraduate medical courses. NMC, which replaced the erstwhile Medical Council of India, administers NEET, taken by more than 2.3 million candidates this year.

According to a person aware of the matter, while UGMEB imposed penalties on one college, PGMEB allowed the same institution to increase the number of seats. In another case, MARB allowed a college to increase the number of PG seats, only for PGMEB to reduce them. Mint could not identify the institutions involved. The NMC has taken the matter to the health ministry several times, including as recently as August, the people cited above said.

Withdrawing official communications due to poor internal discussions has become frequent, the second official said. On 16 August, PGMEB issued a notice discontinuing all courses under the umbrella of the College of Physicians & Surgeons (CPS), Mumbai. However, it was withdrawn on 30 August after it was challenged in the Bombay High Court. Similarly, the UMEB on 31 August issued Competency-based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) Guidelines, 2024, before withdrawing it on 5 September.

The NMC was created by a government notification on 24 September 2020, aiming to introduce objectivity, transparency and fairness in the processes, and to provide more operational flexibility and ensure prompt decision-making to improve the quality of medical education. The four boards were envisaged to achieve these objectives, functioning independently with well-defined powers and responsibilities.

A former NMC member said the individual boards are not empowered to issue notifications; only the NMC secretariat may do so. “In fact, between 2021 and 2022, I submitted in writing that the boards were going above the head of NMC, and they cannot take decisions without NMC's order,” the former member said on the condition of anonymity.

Dr J.L. Meena, a former MARB member, said he had raised his concerns about the conduct of the boards to NMC in April. “I myself wrote to the NMC leadership regarding mismanaged boards within NMC. Boards are not doing roles as defined in NMC Act,” he said.

Queries sent to the Union health secretary, the health ministry spokesperson and the NMC secretary remained unanswered.

In December, former NMC secretary Vipul Aggarwal highlighted these issues in a letter to the health ministry, saying the separation of powers between boards was disregarded and the commission is reduced to a “mere rubber stamp”. Mint has seen a copy of the letter.

The letter said the boards were acting independently of each other and the NMC, leading to poor transparency, accountability and grievance redressal, potentially damaging the standards of medical education and harming the NMC's image. The boards had misinterpreted their autonomy to mean independence, and were directly interacting with the ministry and outsiders, potentially leading to serious embarrassment, the letter stated. It suggested the NMC's supervision should be with the NMC secretariat, headed by the secretary.

Aggarwal declined to comment on this matter. “I am not part of NMC now and it is hardly within my responsibility,” Aggarwal told Mint.

The NMC typically imposes meagre fines of a few lakhs of rupees and allows erring institutions to renew their licences without getting deficiencies rectified, alleged Dr. Neeraj Bedi, former medical superintendent of a private medical college in Bhopal, calling it illegal and unethical. At many medical institutions, deans and medical superintendents defer to management demands and the roles themselves are defunct, he said.

“NMC's regulation on Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, (MSMER), 2023, clause VIII, which deals with penalties, recommends denial of permission or renewal to medical college applications. This practice is bringing down the quality of medical education in the country. NMC has miserably failed to regulate as apex medical education statutory body to deliver,” Dr. Bedi said.

Dr R.V. Asokan, national president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), recalled the autonomous tenure of the Medical Council of India. The council had nurtured medical education in India and produced world-class doctors in India for seven decades after independence, Asokan said, adding the NMC has been structurally defective and constrained in many ways.

Leave hostel for new MBBS batch, med college house surgeons told

Leave hostel for new MBBS batch, med college house surgeons told

Amrita.Didyala@timesofindia.com 09.10.2024 

Hyderabad : In a move highlighting the issue of inadequate infrastructure in medical colleges set up in the last few years, the govt medical college in Nalgonda has asked house surgeons to vacate hostels to accommodate the new MBBS batch. In a written circular, the college principal has asked 18 house surgeons to move out. 

These house surgeons, who are among the 142 students from the first batch of the college set up in 2019, have been told to vacate by Oct 13. “ We have spent our entire MBBS and internship in poor conditions ,” said a house surgeon, adding that a salary of ₹25,600 salary is too little. The hostel accommodation, on the other hand, costs only ₹600 per month, which the authorities have offered to return in case the fee had been paid in advance. 

A new hostel building for boys and a new college building has come up in the meantime but is not being inaugurated, said Junior Doctors Association Nalgonda Branch. “As per NMC rule, 80% of house surgeons should be ac commodated, but it is not being done,” said Abdul Samad, president of TJUDA Nalgonda. “There is some work pending. Moreover, it is for new MBBS students. The current hostel facility is a rented one, which is why it is difficult to accommodate house surgeons any more,” said principal Dr N Srivani.

Brother rapes 15-year-old when she confides in him about rape by father

Brother rapes 15-year-old when she confides in him about rape by father

 TIMES NEWS NETWORK  09.10.2024

Bhopal : A 15-year-old minor’s father raped her several times over nearly two years and when she mustered the courage to tell her elder brother about it, he too raped her in Shivpuri district.

Police have arrested both the accused, and a probe is underway in the case. The incident took place in a village under Dinara police station of the district. As per the complaint made by the minor, her 56-yearold father raped her for nearly two years. When she informed her 19-year-old elder brother, he too raped her and even shot obscene videos of her . Dinara Police Station Incharge, Vinod Bhargav, said, “The family included the accused father, his elder son who is also an accused, the survivor, and her younger brother. The mother of the children left her husband a few years ago and went somewhere else.”

 “The minor then informed her younger brother and other members of her extended family, who then brought her to the police station. A case was registered on her complaint on Oct 6, and on Monday, the accused were produced before court, which sent them to jail. A detailed investigation was being carried out,” Bhargav said.

Block edu officer gets anticipatory bail in dead employee’s salary case

Block edu officer gets anticipatory bail in dead employee’s salary case 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 09.10.2024

Bhopal/Jabalpur : The Madhya Pradesh high court refused anticipatory bail to three accused but granted relief to one in a case involving the fraudulent withdrawal of salary for three years after an employee's death. Justice AK Paliwal, while hearing the matter, granted anticipatory bail to the current block education officer (BEO) of Niwas in Mandla district, Shobha Iyer, but denied the same to Vijay Kumar Shrivastav, assistant grade III in the BEO office, and two former BEOs, Ramnarayan Patel and Anand Ku mar Jain. 

A case was registered against them when it was discovered that the salary of a deceased govt employee, Gyan Singh Dhoomketu, who passed away on April 13, 2020, continued to be credited into the account of another person, Satish Kumar Burman, a computer operator. The fraudulent payments spanned the tenures of former BEOs Patel and Jain, with Vijay Kumar Shrivastav, a clerk in their office, allegedly colluding in the act. The court, however, noted that Shobha Iyer joined as BEO at Niwas only in March 2023 and immediately flagged the anomaly upon discovery, leading to her filing a complaint. 

Advocate Amrit Ruprah, representing Iyer, argued that her client, a 61-year-old woman, had no involvement in the embezzlement. Iyer was unaware of the irregularities until she assumed charge. It was Iyer who halted the disbursement of the deceased employee's salary and brought the matter to the attention of authorities. The court granted bail to Iyer, taking into account her limited involvement and her role in exposing the fraud. However, the court denied bail to the other accused, citing their direct responsibility during the period of the embezzlement