Soon, you can order Aavin products online

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan 
 
CHENNAI, May 11, 2018 00:00 IST



Business boost:The portal will also update milk producers about payment and track milk trucks in real time.File photo
Work on for e-commerce portal as part of integrated dairy management system

In a few months’ time, Aavin customers will be able to place orders online. Already, work has begun on its e-commerce portal, which is part of an integrated dairy management system.

Right from updating milk producers about their payment to real-time tracking of milk trucks and monitoring all their dairies and silos, the system would even keep track of attendance of the staff.

A trial is under way in Erode where producers are receiving text messages on the quantity and quality of milk collected each day, said Aavin Managing Director C. Kamaraj.

The system was developed by the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI), which recently appreciated the online sales initiative of skimmed milk powder by Aavin through the NCDFI e-marketing portal. It received the appreciation for the financial years 2016-17 (5,406 tonnes) and 2017-18 (7,022 tonnes).

The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation, whose brand is Aavin, sells 20,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder every year, of which around 700 tonnes is consumed in retail. This year, Aavin plans to sell around 3,000 tonnes of milk power in the retail segment as well, Mr. Kamaraj added.

Aavin produces skimmed milk powder in Salem, Erode, Dharmapuri, Madurai and Tiruvannamalai. These plants have a combined capacity of 9 lakh litres of drying a day. Aavin procures 28 lakh litres of milk daily in the State, which is 4 lakh litres more than last year.

Fewer engg. colleges in the counselling race 

R. Sujatha 
 
Chennai, May 11, 2018 00:00 IST


Across India, 239 institutes have been approved for total closure; number of engineering colleges in T.N. down by 20 this year

The number of colleges that have sought approval from the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) for programmes in engineering, architecture, management and hotel management and catering has come down.

In each of these disciplines, scores of colleges have not renewed their approval and the number of seats has also fallen significantly.

According to data accessed by The Hindu , this year 32,62,262 seats are available in various courses as against 35,52,199 seats last year.

Across the country, 239 institutions have been approved for total closure.

AICTE chairman Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, who was in the city earlier this week, said data specific to Tamil Nadu was being compiled. But according to the information provided by the Minister for Higher Education K.P. Anbalagan in April, this academic year 567 engineering colleges will admit students as against 587 last year.

In 2017-18, of the 2,67,651 seats only 1,52,704 seats were filled, he said.

Progressive closure

A look at last year’s data on the AICTE website shows that it had approved requests from 94 institutions in Tamil Nadu for progressive closure of courses, including diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate engineering subjects.

Some institutions have sought closure of several programmes.

Some of these programmes include traditionally popular ones such as civil engineering, automobile engineering, (UG) electronics and communication (diploma) and even computer science engineering. In many colleges the master’s programme in computer application has been closed.

New trend

There has been a sudden surge of interest in pharmacy courses. This academic year the AICTE has given approval to 1,055 institutes to offer diploma courses and 1,204 institutes degree courses. As many as 338 more institutes will offer diploma courses in pharmacy and 212 additional institutes will offer degree courses as compared to last year.

T. Ilango, Registrar of the Tamil Nadu Pharmacy Council, said with better job opportunities for pharmacy graduates the students are opting out of engineering. The number of private colleges offering pharmacy courses had increased from 47 to 65 in two years, he said.

Rs. 40 crore transported in open trolley 

B. Pradeep 
 
NALGONDA, May 11, 2018 00:00 IST

Only 3 cops escorted the hired vehicle

In an apparent major security lapse and breach of banking procedures, the State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank and its sponsored bank — Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) — transported crores of money in an open trolley on Thursday.

Uncovered fresh currency packed in bundles, totalling about Rs. 40 crore were loaded on a hired trolley and was being transported to APGVB, less than a kilometre away, with three constables of the Armed Reserve Police escorting it, according to the police.

In view of the launching of the Rythu Bandhu scheme on Thursday, large quantities of cash was reportedly kept with SBI’s R.P Road main branch at the town’s Clock Tower Centre.

All the five banks selected for distribution of cash in the district were being supplied from SBI’s money chest. According to APGVB branch manager B. Madhu, the bank never had a cash van.

Kejriwal’s nephew arrested for graft 

Jatin Anand 
 
NEW Delhi, May 11, 2018 00:00 IST


Vinay Bansal after he fainted at the Tis Hazari court in Delhi on Thursday. He had to be hospitalised.Sushil Kumar Verma
Linked to Rs. 4.9 cr. scam in construction of drainage network: anti-graft agency

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s nephew Vinay Bansal was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch on Thursday for his involvement in an alleged Rs. 4.9 crore scam related to the construction of a drainage network in north-west Delhi awarded to his firm by the PWD three years ago.

More arrests, ACB sources claimed, including those of serving Delhi government officials, were in the offing. Mr. Bansal, who according to the ACB owns 50% stake in M/s Renu Construction Company along with his late father Surender Bansal, was picked up from his home in northwest Delhi’s Pitampura area at 4 a.m. “The decision to arrest him was made on the basis of the CPWD report received by us recently,” a senior official from the ACB, who asked not to be named, said when asked about the timing of the arrest, considering that the FIRs had been registered a year ago.

The FIRs were registered on the basis of a complaint by Rahul Sharma, founder of NGO Roads Anti-Corruption Organisation, who alleged irregularities in the grant of contracts for roads and sewer lines in 2015-16.

Sent to judicial custody

Mr. Bansal was sent to a day’s judicial custody by a city court, where he fainted and had to be hospitalised, according to the ACB official.

He was was arrested on the basis of an assessment report putting his firm in the dock “on several counts” in relation to the quality of construction material used, financial irregularities and overlooking of procedural penalties as per the CPWD in the construction of a drain located in Bakoli village, north-west Delhi.

NEET SS 2018

PLEA: MAY DILUTE CB-CID PROBE

‘MKU probe report to be in sealed cover’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 11.05.2018

In an indirect restraint on circulation of the contents of retired IAS officer Santhanam committee report on the Nirmala Devi issue, the Madras high court said the report should be kept in a sealed cover till further orders.

“Since an apprehension has been expressed that the report of the committee is likely to be submitted before the present petition could be heard finally, and in which event the criminal investigation by CB-CID may likely be diluted, this court is of the considered view that if any report is submitted by the committee before the next date of hearing the same shall be kept in a sealed cover and await further orders from this court,” a vacation bench of Justices V Parthiban and P D Audikesavalu saidon Thursday.

The Revolutionary Youth and Students Federation had moved the court stating that if the Santhanam committee appointed by the governor was allowed to file its report on the Madurai Kamarajar University sex scandal, it might dilute the criminal investigation carried out by the CB-CID.

The federation sought to restrain the committee from filing its report till the CBCID concludes its probe.

As the government pleader opposed the PIL saying that the Madurai bench had dismissed a similar PIL, the bench directed the pleader to produce a copy of the dismissal order before the next hearing.

HC suggests varsity rope in credit card company to remit fee

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 11.05.2018

As Anna University dilly-dallied in proposing a solution to the problem faced by aspiring engineering students, from rural areas, who faced difficulties in remitting the fee for online counselling, the Madras high court has suggested the university to rope in a credit card company that can collect money from students and remit them online. As of now, payment can be done only through credit, debit cards or internet banking.

A vacation bench of Justice V Parthiban and Justice P D Audikesavalu made the suggestion and directed the additional advocate-general Manishankar to get instructions from the university on the possibilities of implementing the proposal.

The issue pertains to a batch of pleas seeking a direction to the university to conduct counselling for engineering courses in online and offline modes. When they came up for hearing on Wednesday, the bench made it clear that the university cannot expect rural students to remit the fee only through the three modes of payment, as the chances of them having access to a bank account in itself was doubtful.

On Thursday morning, the additional advocate-general informed the court that the university would consider accepting the payment through demand draft and sought time to confirm the same with the university authorities. However, the additional advocate-general later informed the court that payment through DD was not possible, as online system would permit access to login only after successful payment of the fee.

To this, the court suggested that a credit card company could be requested to open counters at the facilitation centres and accept cash payment from students that, in turn, can be remitted on their behalf online. The bench then directed the additional advocate-general to get instructions from the university on the suggestion and posted the pleas to Friday for further hearing.