With Times NIE, win a ticket to dream course

With Times NIE, win a ticket to dream course

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.07.2021 

As a part of the ongoing virtual career guidance webinar for the students who have completed class XII in 2021, Times NIE, in association with Bharath University, is conducting a series of online aptitude tests for the participating students on July 18. The test - ‘BEAT IT’ (Bharath Engineering Aptitude Test, with emphasis on Information Technology), will provide students with an exclusive opportunity to get admission into Bharath University.

The top scorers will also get a chance to win a scholarship for their dream course. The 60-minute-long test will comprise questions on physics, chemistry, maths and computer science. No additional admission fees and test charges will be involved in this. Students taking the test will also get rewards. To register, visit https://docs.google.com/forms d/19sXJ19Ru5 ytJRPW_ 6OGG25Y7xZa-OhFp9v5OK_GwvAE/edit

NEET to be held in more TN districts

NEET to be held in more TN districts

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

16.07.2021 

National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2021 will be aditionally held in Chengalpet, Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Tirupur districts, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said. NEET this year will be held in 18 TN districts against 14 in 2020.

Health minister Ma Subramanian, who met Pradhan in Delhi on Thursday seeking exemption from NEET for Tamil Nadu, said the Centre promised to consider TN’s demand. “We presented all problems including disadvantages for students in rural areas, the difference between CBSE and state board syllabus and people’s sentiments against the test. We also handed over the recommendation of the AK Rajan committee.”

The state has urged the Centre to cancel all national level exams like NEET as it did with CBSE boards. During his maiden visit to Delhi, Subramanian called on Pradhan and health minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

In June, TN constituted a committee headed by retired high court judge AK Rajan to study the impact of NEET. After submitting the report on Wednesday, Justice Rajan said most people did not want NEET. “We also told him that at least 13 students who could not get MBBS seats ended their lives. The education minister understood our concerns. He told us there were similar concerns in his state Odisha as well. The state will make all efforts to get exemptions from the entrance,” he said.

Minutes after the meeting, Pradhan tweeted that he had told Subramanian the Centre will add more NEET centres in Tamil Nadu. " Also, shared with him that to cater to regional aspirations, the number of languages being offered this year have been increased to 11 from 13 with the addition of Malayalam and Punjabi. The exam is already being conducted in the Tamil language,” he tweeted.

EXPERT ADVICE

EXPERT ADVICE

Healthy tongue: These exercises are a mouthful  Experts: Can Help With Sleep, Swallowing

Kamini.Mathai@timesgroup.com

15.07.2021 

Good sleep, easier breathing and an overall healthier lifestyle – could it all possibly be at the tip of your tongue? Just like with every muscle, say dentists, the tongue too needs its fair share of work-outs and strengthening exercises to keep it in tip-top shape.

"Strengthening, functional training, posture correction are needed to keep the tongue strong,” says dentist Dr Shifa Shamsudeen, who is launching her non-profit ‘The Tongue Foundation' in the city on Friday to create awareness on a muscler that is often taken for granted and neglected.

Poor tongue posture can also lead to problems such as speech impediments, snoring and sleep apnea, says Dr Seema Alice Mathew, oral & maxillofacial surgeon at Dr Mehta's Hospitals. “The tongue is a powerful muscle. Now, if the tongue falls back while sleeping it can obstruct the airway and cause sleep apnea, especially in someone who is obese,” she says.

During breastfeeding, the tongue naturally touches the upper palate. But in bottle-feeding, the tongue is pushed down, which is not natural, explains Dr Shifa.

In terms of breathing, the gas nitric oxide (NO) – a natural chemical and mechanical viral barrier --is produced in the paranasal sinuses and excreted into the nasal airways. “But when you have a slightly open mouth – a result of a weak tongue – you are engaging in passive mouth breathing, which means the NO effects are partially lost predisposing one to respiratory infections,” says Dr Shifa. “Remember, the upper jaw isn’t just the roof of the mouth, it’s the floor of the nose. In its resting position, the tongue must touch the roof of the mouth.”

Divya S, speech-language pathologist at Pebbles Centre for Child Development, says one of the ways to strengthen the tongue and jaw is to apply something semi-solid and slightly sticky to the roof of the mouth – caramel chocolate for instance – and then try to remove it with the tongue.

“The processed soft foods that we eat use the cheek muscle more than the tongue muscle, thus weakening the latter. That’s why we also need to feed the tongue with a diet of whole grains and give it a workout,” says Dr Shifa.

In largest order so far, Centre to buy 66cr vax doses for ₹14,505cr

In largest order so far, Centre to buy 66cr vax doses for ₹14,505cr

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:16.07.2021 

The government is placing its largest order yet of covid vaccines at 66 crore doses worth ₹14,505 crore to procure Covishield and Covaxin shots that will help it to meet the vaccine availability projections it had made in the Supreme Court.

The order is in line with the Centre’s estimate of 135 crore doses being available between August and December as stated in its affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on June 26. Apart from the order for 66 crore doses, the government has made an advance payment to reserve 30 crore doses of Hyderabadbased Biological-E’s Corbevax vaccine, official sources said.

This means a total of 96 crore doses are expected to be available on account of government procurement during August-December. While the 96 crore doses comprises the Centre’s share of 75% of the total manufactured doses, the private sector will also have another 22 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin available during the period.

Aid for 1,071 teachers who died on poll duty

The UP government will compensate the families of 2,020 of its employees who died of Covid-19 while on panchayat election duty in April and May. Of them, 1,071 were teachers or education staff. In May, the government had said just three teachers had died on poll duty. Initially, the government counted only those who had died within 24 hours of poll duty. As the election was under way, TOI had on April 24 first reported that several teachers had died after panchayat election duty with Covid-19 symptoms, while teachers’ unions put the toll at 1,621 after the polls ended.

39.49 crore vax doses administered across country till Thursday

The order and other anticipated supplies, said officials, will help India remain on track to ensure vaccination for the 18 plus population by the year end.

The total production of Covishield and Covaxin in August-December is placed at 88 crore doses. Despite a shortfall of around 3.5 crore doses in July, Covaxin production is put at 38 crore in this period, slightly less than the 40 crore mentioned in the SC affidavit. The glitches in its production are understood to have been sorted out.

Apart from Covishield, Covaxin and Corbevax, the government’s estimate of 135 crore doses also included Sputnik V and Zydus Cadila’s vaccine. While Sputnik V locally manufactured supplies are yet to start, Cadila’s approval is pending. Ten crore Sputnik and five crore Cadila are estimated to be available this year according to the Centre’s affidavit.

The government aims to inoculate the entire adult population above 18 years age by December.

A total of 39.49 crore doses have been administered across the country till Thursday 7pm.

The Centre has indicated availability of 13.5 crore doses during July, which would translate into an average 50 lakh doses per day. While daily vaccinations have been modest in July so far with a little over 5 crore doses given so far in the month, the states have been asked to ramp up sessions along with that in the private sector where pick up has been slow so far.

Full report on www.toi.in

NEET 2021

 

vaccination

 

பயிற்சி டாக்டர்களுக்கு ஊக்கத்தொகை உயர்வு?

பயிற்சி டாக்டர்களுக்கு ஊக்கத்தொகை உயர்வு?

Added : ஜூலை 15, 2021 00:55

சென்னை:தமிழகத்தில் பயிற்சி டாக்டர்களுக்கு கூடுதலாக, 10 ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் ஊக்கத் தொகை உயர்த்தப்பட உள்ளது.

சென்னை தலைமை செயலகத்தில், மக்கள் நல்வாழ்வுத் துறை அமைச்சர் சுப்பிரமணியன், செயலர் ராதாகிருஷ்ணனுடன், தமிழக உறைவிட டாக்டர்கள் சங்கத்தினர் பேச்சு நடத்தினர். அப்போது, ஊக்கக் தொகை உயர்வு கோரிக்கையை விரைந்து நிறைவேற்றுவதாக, அவர்களுக்கு அமைச்சர் நம்பிக்கை தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இது குறித்து, அச்சங்கத்தின் நிர்வாகி டாக்டர் விக்னேஷ் கூறியதாவது:ஊக்கத் தொகை உயர்வு கோரிக்கை குறித்து, பலமுறை அரசிடம் வலியுறுத்தி வருகிறோம். தற்போது, எம்.பி.பி.எஸ்., பயிற்சி டாக்டர்களுக்கு, 21 ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் வழங்கப்படுகிறது. அமைச்சரிடம் நடத்திய பேச்சை தொடர்ந்து, 3,000 ரூபாய் கூடுதலாக உயர்த்தப்பட உள்ளது.

அதேபோல், முதுநிலை பயிற்சி டாக்டர்களுக்கு, 38 ஆயிரம் ரூபாயில் இருந்து 48 ஆயிரம் ரூபாயாகவும்; உயர் சிறப்பு முதுநிலை டாக்டர்களுக்கு, 43 ஆயிரம் ரூபாயில் இருந்து 55 ஆயிரம் ரூபாயாகவும் உயர்த்தப்படும் என, அமைச்சர் நம்பிக்கை தெரிவித்துள்ளார். இரண்டு வாரத்தில் இதற்கான அரசாணை வெளியிடுவதாகவும் தெரிவித்துள்ளார். அதனால், நாங்கள் இரண்டு நாட்கள் பணி நிறுத்த போராட்டத்தில் ஈடுபடப் போவதாக அறிவித்திருந்தோம். தற்போது, அதை ஒத்தி வைத்துள்ளோம்.இவ்வாறு அவர் கூறினார்.