Mask is medicine until vaccine: Modi

Mask is medicine until vaccine: Modi

27/06/2020

LUCKNOW : Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Indians on Friday to wear masks and maintain social distancing until a Covid-19 vaccine is not found, adding that the battle for “lives and livelihood” would not stop until it was won.

Speaking at the launch of the Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan over video conference, Modi also attacked opposition parties over their handling of past crises while lauding UP for its “hard work” in saving lives during the pandemic. The state job campaign, aimed at creating employment and infrastructure, is part of the ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan’ that the PM launched on June 20 for 116 districts in six states. p5

COVID-19 effect: CM urges PM to back State on cancelling final exams

COVID-19 effect: CM urges PM to back State on cancelling final exams

‘Issue relevant instructions to apex bodies conducting professional courses’

27/06/2020

Safe option: The State has decided not to hold final year exams of non-professional courses and professional courses File PhotoAtish Pomburfekar

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to instruct relevant apex bodies to cancel final year/semester exams of professional courses in view of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a letter dated June 25, the Chief Minister said, “Considering the current COVID-19 situation, the State Disaster Management Authority, in a meeting on June 18, decided not to conduct final year/semester examinations of non-professional as well as professional courses, and award degrees to students based on a formula to be decided by universities.”

“Further, an option would be given to students who want to take examinations whenever they are held,” he said. Mr. Thackeray told Mr. Modi that it was also decided to get the decision on professional courses endorsed by the respective apex authorities as these are regulated by national level apex bodies like All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Council for Architecture (COA), Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Bar Council of India (BCI), National Council For Teachers Education (NCTE), and National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT).

“I request you to instruct the national-level apex authorities to endorse the decision of the State government regarding cancellation of final year/final semester examinations of professional courses and to issue necessary guidelines to universities in this regard,” Mr. Thackeray said in the letter.

He added that students and parents are concerned about the final year/semester examinations of the academic year 2019-20 and commencement of the next academic year in view of the prevailing crisis. “The present atmosphere caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not conducive to conduct examinations or classes in educational institutes,” the Chief Minister said in the letter.

‘Need uniform guidelines’

Requesting Mr. Modi to issue uniform guidelines, the CM tweeted that Maharashtra Government has taken a decision to not conduct the final year/final semester examination of non-professional courses as well as professional courses as the present atmosphere is not yet conducive to conduct any examination or classes.

Schools to remain shut till July 31

Schools to remain shut till July 31

27/06/2020

Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said schools in Delhi will remain closed till July 31 keeping in mind the current situation due to the pandemic.

Mr. Sisodia after a meeting with the Directorate of Education said a plan would be designed to reopen schools post July in a way that would prepare students to adjust to the new circumstances. “The aim of today’s meeting was to design a plan of action for schools so that whenever they reopen after July, they are well prepared,” said a DoE official. The government said a district-wise report based on the suggestions from teachers, student and parents were presented at the meeting. Suggestions like primary classes should be held once or twice in a week with a strength of 12-15 students in a class, classes on alternate days, and reduction of the syllabus were discussed. For Classes 9 and 10, it was suggested that it should be taken in small groups once or twice a week while others were of the opinion that Class 10 students should have classes daily, the government said. The suggestion made to the Minister was that online classes should not be withdrawn and online library facilities should continue.

International routes will be opened case by case: DGCA

International routes will be opened case by case: DGCA

‘Scheduled commercial operations suspended till July 15’

27/06/2020

Passengers stranded abroad have been coming back in batches.PTIPTI

While most international flights will remain suspended in the country till July 15, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday said it was considering re-opening some overseas routes on a case-by-case basis.

“Scheduled commercial passenger operations will remain suspended till 23.59 hours of July 15,” said the DGCA in a circular, extending its earlier restriction that was in force till June 30. It added, “international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis (sic).”

While domestic flights resumed in the country from May 25, the ban imposed on international flights is in place for more than three months. The DGCA barred international flights from March 23.

Vande Bharat Mission

The only flights operating on international routes right now are those by Air India, and some domestic carriers, under the Vande Bharat Mission for repatriation of Indians. Some international airlines are also conducting relief flights to evacuate foreign nationals from India.

The circular from the DGCA comes at a time when the Ministry of Civil Aviation has said it will enter into bilateral agreements with the U.K., the U.S., France and Germany for creating travel bubbles to allow passage for air travellers.

Recently, the U.S., France and the UAE raised objections over Air India’s special flights under the Vande Bharat Mission aimed at repatriation of Indians from around the globe. While the U.S. has sought permission to operate flights to India, France has objected to Air India ferrying passengers into the country from India. The UAE too is known to be in discussions with the Indian government and has discussed a “formula” that can be used to allow the airlines of the two countries to carry passengers.

‘Ready to bring back students for NEET’

‘Ready to bring back students for NEET’

27/06/2020

The Union government on Friday informed the Kerala High Court that it was ready to bring back students in Gulf countries, who had registered for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), under the Vande Bharat mission to enable them to write the test scheduled for July 26.

The submission was made by the Centre when a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a directive to sanction examination centres in Gulf countries for NEET came up before a Division Bench. The Centre said the students could be brought back to the country under Vande Bharat, if they made the required applications before the embassies or consulates concerned.

The court had earlier asked the Centre to inform it about the possibility of bringing back the students to the country to write the examination when counsel for the National Testing Agency and the Medical Council of India (MCI) had submitted that it would not be possible to allot examination centres abroad for NEET. Unlike the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), NEET was a uniform entrance examination for admission to all medical courses. Besides, it was not feasible to conduct NEET in online mode, they had submitted.

The court reserved its verdict in the case.

Seized vehicles will be released after lockdown, say police

Seized vehicles will be released after lockdown, say police

27/06/2020

The traffic police have said that all vehicles seized for violating prohibitory orders will be released only after the lockdown is lifted.

As Chennai and parts of its adjoining districts were under a complete lockdown, the police prohibited gathering of more than five people in public places and implemented restrictions on the movement of vehicles from June 19. They set up vehicle checkpoints with iron barricades at 288 places.

As of Thursday, 33,455 seized vehicles were parked at police stations, on the roadside and private parking lots hired by the police.

Even parking lots in shopping malls were being used.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, A. Arun said, “Until now, personnel have booked over 33,000 cases against motorists for being out without passes or valid reasons. We have detained 26,334 vehicles. We will not release any vehicle until the lockdown is over. We have detained more than 1,500 cars as well.”

SC okays CBSE plan for Class X, XII exams

SC okays CBSE plan for Class X, XII exams

Assessment results to be out by July 15

27/06/2020

The Supreme Court accepted a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) scheme, where students of Class X and XII will be assessed for the exams cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic by taking an average of their best performance in the papers they have already taken.

The cancelled exams were originally scheduled between July 1 and 15.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the CBSE, said the assessment scheme was available on the official website. “Assessment of the performance of students in the cancelled examinations will be done based on the assessment scheme,” a three-judge Bench, led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, referred to the CBSE notification in a 10-page order.

The assessment results will be out by July 15.

The Bench said its order and the notification would govern “any petition pending in this court or any other court concerning the subject of conducting examinations for Classes 10 and 12 by the CBSE scheduled from July 1 to July 15”.

The ICSE, represented by senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, said it would have a “slightly different” assessment scheme from that of the CBSE. It had also cancelled exams scheduled between July 1 and 14. Mr. Gupta informed the court that its scheme would be available on its website in a week.

According to the CBSE scheme, students of Class X and XII, who have completed their exams, will be assessed on their performance.