Telangana: 2 different papers given in MBBS exam

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

PublishedJan 29, 2019, 1:18 am IST

The students showed the two sets of papers which the health university had given to different colleges.

The students gave the exam in the morning and received a message in the afternoon that it had been cancelled. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Two different sets of Pharmacology Paper-1 were given to second year MBBS students for their final exam on Monday, which led to the cancellation of the exam. Students said they were not willing to write the exam again.

The students showed the two sets of papers which the health university had given to different colleges. The students gave the exam in the morning and received a message in the afternoon that it had been cancelled.

Student Arvind P. said, “This is the final pharmacology exam and we are not willing to write a re-exam. It is not the fault of the students. They must not force us for a re-exam.”

The Telangana Junior Doctors Association stepped in and conducted a poll where all students wanted the papers to be corrected and no one voted for a re-exam. Medical students of Osmania, Gandhi, Nizamabad, Warangal, Mahbubnagar, Adilabad, Medicti, Apollo and SVS participated in the poll.

The Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences in its message to colleges and students said the exam had been cancelled for technical reasons but did not elaborate.

Income Tax sleuths raid 74 Saravana Stores, Lotus Group properties in Tamil Nadu
A total of 74 places are being covered as part of the raids and a team of 70 tax officials are undertaking the operation with police assistance.

Published: 29th January 2019 10:17 AM 

Saravana Stores. (Photo | Store website)
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax (IT) department conducted raids at 74 locations linked to G Square/ Lotus Group realtors and Saravana Stores on Friday morning.

Seventy-two of these locations are in Chennai, and the two others are in Coimbatore, said a top Income Tax source.

G Square Realtors Private Limited is a Private incorporated on October 12, 2012. It is classified as Non-govt company and is registered at Registrar of Companies, Chennai. Its authorized share capital is Rs. 100,000 and its paid-up capital is Rs. 100,000. It is involved in Building completion. Similarly, Lotus Ventures & Infrabuild Private Limited is a Private incorporated on September 13, 2012. Both the companies are located in Century Business Centre in TTK Road in Alwarpet.


Both the companies have similar share capital and the directors are Krishnan, Sreejith, Rangaswamy Ramajayam and Sreekala. The details of the directors could not be known. Similarly, there have been similar companies floated by the directors in Harrington Road and other areas also. The Income Tax department has also targetted Saravana Stores and raids are going on.

The premises of Saravana group's owner Yogirathinam Pondurai are also being covered as part of the action, they said. A team of 70 tax officials are undertaking the operation with police assistance, they added.

The department had last month conducted large-scale raids on a number of popular eateries of the state including Saravana Bhawan outlets.

(With inputs from PTI)

97 per cent of striking Tamil Nadu government teachers return to work

Temporary appointments will be made to fill the vacancies created by teachers who are still participating in the strike or have been suspended.

Published: 29th January 2019 04:38 PM


JACTTO-GEO members stage protest in front of Thiruvalluvar statue in Madurai. (Photo | K K Sundar/EPS)

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A week after teachers from Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisations (JACTTO-GEO) started their indefinite strike, 97 per cent have returned to work, said Rameswara Murugan, the Director of School Education, speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

"Most teachers have returned to work after the public fear that government schools cannot be trusted with. The situation is close to normal now," he said.

He further added that temporary appointments will be made to fill the vacancies created by teachers who are still participating in the strike or have been suspended.


"Disciplinary action will not be taken on those who have returned to work. It will be taken only on those who are yet to return," he said, adding that the seats of teachers who are still in the strike, will be treated as vacancies and be given to teachers who are seeking transfer.

He emphasised that even elementary school teachers, who were the most active during the strike, have returned to work.

The association has a nine-point demand list in which they urged the government to repeal the new pension scheme and revert to the old one, settle 21-month pay arrears according to the new pay commissions guidelines, settle pay anomalies for secondary teachers and regularise the jobs of part-time staff and teachers working at Anganwadis.

In addition to these, the association has asked the government to not employ elementary school teachers in Anganwadis.

BSNL exchange case: Charges against Maran brothers and five others may be framed on Wednesday

The court is expected to frame charges against the seven accused afresh after some of them had challenged the earlier proceedings of the trial court.

Published: 29th January 2019 01:58 AM 

Former Union Telecom and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran (File | PTI)

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A CBI special court here has directed former union minister Dayanidhi Maran, his business magnate brother Kalanidhi Maran and five others accused in the BSNL illegal telephone exchange case to appear before it on Wednesday.

The court is expected to frame charges against the seven accused afresh after some of them had challenged the earlier proceedings of the trial court. The Supreme Court had recently ordered charges to be framed again, based on the petitions of the accused.

The alleged multi-crore scam was first reported in The New Indian Express in 2011, based on a preliminary investigation report prepared by the Central Bureau of Investigations. Subsequently, the CBI in December 2016 filed a charge-sheet which said that Dayanidhi Maran, during his tenure as union telecom minister between 2004 and 2007, set up an illegal telephone exchange at his residences at Chennai and New Delhi and caused a loss of Rs 1.79 crore to BSNL, a government-run telecom company.

The trial of the case since then dragged as the accused had filed many petitions challenging the trial and the procedures of the trial court. After the recent order of the Supreme Court to yet again frame the charges in the case afresh, the trial court judge R Vasanthi on Monday ordered all seven accused to be present in the court on Wednesday for framing of the charges in the case.K B Brahmadathan and M P Velusamy, then senior officials of the BSNL, were also among the accused in the case.

77 breast cancer cases detected in Kilpauk Medical College Hospital

The State Health Department also launched the exclusive Breast Clinic at the hospital, the first-of-its kind facility in the government sector in the State on January 3.

Published: 29th January 2019 01:53 AM 

Digital mammogram machine at the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital. |

Express Photo Services
By Sinduja Jane

Express News Service

CHENNAI: In less than a year of the launch of digital mammogram machine at Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, 77 patients were diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the data shared by the hospital.

“In June, the State Health Department launched Rs 3.2-crore 3-D mammogram, a new breast imaging procedure machine, was installed at the hospital. From June to January till date, the hospital screened 1,868 women for breast cancer, out of whom 77 were diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dr P Vasanthamani, Dean, Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital.

Speaking to Express Vasanthamani said, “On an average, monthly we are seeing 10 breast cancer positive cases. From June till date, we did biopsy for 140 suspected cases out of which 66 were diagnosed with benign lesion and 77 with malignancy. It will take just less than 15 minutes to tell the result if there is no problem. But, it will take one or two days to confirm if it is cancer,” she added.

After the launch of mammogram, the State Health Department also launched the exclusive Breast Clinic at the hospital, the first-of-its kind facility in the government sector in the State on January 3. The facility was inaugurated by Dr V Shanta, chairperson, Adyar Cancer Institute, in the presence of Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar.

“The Breast Clinic is getting less referral cases and most cases come on their own. The facility is helping in diagnosing the breast cancer in early stage,” said Vasanthamani.

According to doctors, the machine will detect even 4-mm-size lesions also accurately. This will help diagnose breast cancer in the initial state itself and remove the lesion.

It will also save extensive therapeutic procedures.

The procedure is covered under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The mammogram is recommended only for high-risk group. High-risk groups are people who would have family history of cancer, chronic diabetes and high blood pressure.

Madras University gets Rs. 50 crore MHRD grant

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, JANUARY 29, 2019 00:00 IST

Quality enhancement to be priority: V-C

The University of Madras has received Rs. 50 crore from the Ministry of Human Resource Development for upgrading their research capabilities. It is among the 150 universities and colleges chosen for the project across the country.

A total of 10 universities belonging to category I will get Rs. 100 crore and 17 universities falling into category II will receive fund of Rs. 50 crore.

Madras University Vice-Chancellor P. Duraisamy told The Hindu the grant was for “research, innovation and quality improvement” under phase 2 of the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan.

“About Rs. 15 crore will be used for improving employment opportunities of students and entrepreneurship development. The rest, Rs. 35 crore, will be used for innovative research and collaboration with a top foreign university,” he said.

The V-C further added, “The MHRD has identified 15 top Universities like Harvard, MIT and UC Berkeley. We will identify one or two Universities in due course depending upon our research strength and collaborate.” The digital launch of the programme will be held on February 3 through video conferencing.

Suspend strike till the end of academic year: judge to teachers

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI, JANUARY 29, 2019 00:00 IST


Refusing to relent:Members of Jactto-Geo protesting in Chennai on Monday.R. Ragu

Jactto-Geo asked to respond to Justice Kirubakaran’s appeal today

Justice N. Kirubakaran of the Madras High Court on Monday made a fervent appeal to government school teachers to suspend their strike till the end of the current academic year.

The judge asked the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Organisations and Government Employees’ Organisations (Jactto-Geo) to respond to his appeal by Tuesday.

During the hearing of a related case, he was informed that a Division Bench, led by Justice M. Sathyanarayanan, had on Wednesday directed the teachers to return to work forthwith and adjourned a PIL petition to February 18. Similarly, a Bench, led by Justice K.K. Sasidharan, at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, had simply adjourned a case to February 18.

Making it clear that he, as a single judge, did not want to encroach upon the powers of the two Division Benches, which were already seized of the matter, Justice Kirubakaran said his endeavour was only to see to it that students did not suffer due to the ongoing strike, especially when the annual examinations were round the corner.

“Teachers are not mere workmen. They are like Godly figures. I studied in a government school and named my Class I teacher during my oath-taking ceremony. Such is the stature of teachers. How can they go on strike? Will they accept if teachers of their children in private schools go on strike?” the judge asked G. Sankaran, counsel for a teachers’ association.

Greater responsibility

He pointed out that government school teachers should bear greater responsibility as only children from marginalised sections of society and those in rural areas study in government schools. “They must also realise that at least they have a job [at a time] when the country is facing an acute unemployment problem, with even engineers willing to work as sweepers,” he said.

The judge also disapproved of the demand of Jactto-Geo for the withdrawal of the new contributory pension scheme and the implementation of the old pension scheme. Stating that the new pension scheme had been implemented even for Central government employees, the judge wondered whether it was fair on the part of the State government employees to demand a return to the old pension scheme.

Poser to protesters

“If the students fail in their public examinations due to your strike and then file a civil suit seeking damages from their teachers, what will they do?” the judge asked. In his reply, Mr. Sankaran said it would be the responsibility of the State government, and not individual teachers, to compensate the students in such a scenario.

Disagreeing with the submission, the judge asked, “Why should the State pay compensation when you are on strike?”

He also took exception to some union leaders, affiliated to different political parties, using inappropriate language while referring to government officials during meetings held to address Jactto-Geo members. Seeking to know what the government had done so far to bring the strike to an end, the judge directed Special Government Pleader C. Munusamy to get instructions from the School Education Department by Tuesday.