More students to get free rides, but smart-bus-pass route avoided again

More students to get free rides, but smart-bus-pass route avoided again

Over five years ago, the Transport Department proposed to introduce smart cards to monitor expenses incurred in offering subsidised travel.

Published: 02nd October 2021 07:03 AM 

By Express News Service


CHENNAI: Over five years ago, the Transport Department proposed to introduce smart cards to monitor expenses incurred in offering subsidised travel. But the plan remains a non-starter, even as transport corporations are reeling under a fund crunch.

The Transport Department had in 2015-16 proposed to introduce smart bus pass cards with a barcode or QR code to prevent the misuse of travel concessions given to school and college students in government buses. The government had intended to use digital scanners to read these cards.

Monitoring of free bus passes was necessitated after the number of beneficiaries exceeded 32 lakh in 2015, when the State government extended the free-travel facility to students of community colleges, government-aided private ITIs, music colleges, and Chennai Corporation ITIs. Besides, students of private arts and science colleges, polytechnic and engineering colleges are eligible for a 50 per cent fee concession in government buses. Till 2013, free travel was only allowed for students of schools and government colleges, polytechnic institutes and ITIs.

The expenses incurred by transport corporations through free travel stood at Rs 440-450 crore per year till 2013-14, and rose to Rs 730 crore in the next few years. For 2021-22, the government earmarked Rs 1,300 crore for seven transport corporations.


During the previous regime, the then transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar repeatedly said smart cards for students would be rolled out between 2018 and 2019. But the proposal remained on paper, allegedly due to issues in finalising contractors.

With schools set to reopen for Classes 1 to 8, the Transport Department’s engineering arm — Institute of Road Transport (IRT) — recently invited bids for issuing bus pass cards to 25.21 lakh students. “These cards will be regular plastic cards without additional security features. We have started working to issue regular bus passes,” said an IRT official.

A senior MTC official said, “Only when schools reopen will we know the actual number of beneficiaries, and only then will bus passes be issued. As of now, there is no plan to issue smart cards.”

Cost of free rides continues to rise

Free travel cost transport corporations Rs 440-450 crore per year till 2013-14, and the expenses rose to Rs 730 crore in the next few years. This year, the government has earmarked Rs 1,300 crore

MP Med varsity lodges FIR against its official

CAMPUS CONTROVERSY

MP Med varsity lodges FIR against its official

...For Not Returning 911 Answersheets

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jabalpur:02.10.2021

In a new controversy at MP Medical Sciences University the varsity had lodged a complaint with police that more than 900 answersheets that were sent to deputy registrar for signature are not being returned by her. The deputy registrar has also threatened to move the state women commission.

In-charge vice-chancellor of Madhya Pradesh Medical Sciences University, Dr Prabhat Budholiya said, “Answer sheets were sent to the deputy registrar Dr Puja Sharma for her signature, but she had not returned 911 copies. A notice was issued to her for returning the answersheets, in which it was said that if she fails to return the answersheets by September 16, then an FIR will be lodged against her. In her reply to the notice, she said she doesn’t have any answersheets. We have made a formal complaint with Garha police station in this regard on September 28.”

Garha police station incharge, Rakesh Tiwari said, “A written complaint has been made by university management. It is being investigated. Police have issued a notice to the university and asked it to provide some documents. Apart from it notice has been issued to both the parties for registering their statements.”

Deputy registrar, Dr Puja Sharma said, “The university management had issued notice asking me for returning the answersheets of paramedical students. The management was provided the receipt and receiving letter related to submission of these answersheets that were already submitted. The management is now asking me to return the answersheets of nursing students, which were not given to me.”

“I was a member of the committee that was constituted for probing into the scams related to illegal appointments and I am being harassed for that. As per norms, there should have been an departmental enquiry, but a complaint was made against me to the police,” she said.

Tit for tat: India to impose 10-day quarantine for Brits

Tit for tat: India to impose 10-day quarantine for Brits

In Addition, 3 RT-PCR Tests Required

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:02.10.2021

In what marks a definite dip in India-UK ties, the government has decided to impose “reciprocal” quarantine conditions on British nationals after the UK refused to reconsider treating fully vaccinated Indians as unvaccinated, due to issues about the Indian certification process.

Government sources said the ministry of health and family welfare will issue new regulations that will be applicable to all UK nationals arriving in India, regardless of their vaccination status. This comes in the wake of UK’s intransigence despite discussions on technical issues and the British high commissioner to India claiming that there were no issues or doubts over either country’s vaccine certification process.

The Indian decision will include pre-departure Covid-19 RT-PCR test within 72 hours before travel, Covid-19 RT-PCR test on arrival at airport, Covid-19 RT-PCR test on Day 8 after arrival and mandatory quarantine at home or in the destination address for 10 days after arrival in India.

UK nationals already have to undergo screening when they arrive in India. The existing rules were put in place since the UK’s own surge in December. These include seven days in home quarantine and an RT-PCR test on arrival.

The new regulations will mirror the UK’s own, which increased quarantine to 10 days and two RT-PCR tests, one at arrival and one on Day 8. The difference is the added test in India. The new regulations are a step-up. The turbulence comes after the new UK rules generated a sharp backlash in India.

Address the aged as ‘elderly’ instead of ‘older persons’: Naidu

Address the aged as ‘elderly’ instead of ‘older persons’: Naidu

New Delhi:02.10.2021

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday urged people to address the aged as “elderly” instead of “older persons” and said society needs to be sensitised towards the challenges faced by them.

“In principle, I do not like to address them as ‘older persons’ but prefer to call them as elderly. I would urge everyone to address aged people as elderly and not as older persons. This is also in line with our culture and traditions,” he told a gathering at the ‘Vayo Naman’ programme in the honour of senior citizens on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons.

The various strata of the society need to be sensitised towards the challenges faced by the elderly as the problems relating to old age are not experienced nor fully comprehended by others and media and NGOs should take up sensitization drives to educate people in this regard, he said. PTI

Neet-aspirants-challenge-mha-notification-treating-ocis-at-par-with-nris-for-admissionN

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/neet-aspirants-challenge-mha-notification-treating-ocis-at-par-with-nris-for-admissions-182674#.YVbFe8y-Dok.link

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/neet-aspirants-challenge-mha-notification-treating-ocis-at-par-with-nris-for-admissions-182674?fbclid=IwAR1GjUWkQ83mTymqotO21MKiP0uBNuXaiOJztZmwjqffxatBCnlUCt4YHIU

The Supreme Court on Thursday passed an interim order allowing Overseas Citizens of India(OCI) candidates to participate for the NEET-UG counselling i

 The Supreme Court on Thursday passed an interim order allowing Overseas Citizens of India(OCI) candidates to participate for the NEET-UG counselling i

https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/neet-ug-supreme-court-permits-oci-candidates-to-appear-counselling-in-general-category-2020-21-nri-182782

NEET: OCI candidates can appear in general category

NEET: OCI candidates can appear in general category

Court says they need not be treated on a par with NRIs

01/10/2021

Krishnadas RajagopalNew Delhi

The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) candidates to participate in the NEET-UG 2021 counselling in the general category.

A Bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari was hearing a challenge to a March 4, 2021 notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs directing OCI candidates to be treated on a par with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) for the purpose of NEET. This would mean that successful OCI candidates would have to pay the higher fee paid by NRIs for medical seats in India.

An NRI is an Indian citizen residing abroad. An OCI is a foreign national of Indian origin who is registered as an OCI cardholder under Section 7A of the Citizenship Act.

‘Seats taken away’

The government, represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, justified the notification, saying OCIs were “foreigners” who had pledged allegiance to a foreign state. Allowing them to participate in the general category meant taking a chunk of the seats away from young Indian citizens who aspired to study medicine and work as doctors in India. Ms. Bhati said there was a very high possibility that OCIs would use the scarce medical education resources in India and then return to their countries with their degrees.

The court, while appreciating the point made by Ms. Bhati, said the sudden implementation of the March 4 notification, starting with the current academic year itself, was arbitrary.

“We are of the view that at least for the current academic year 2021-2022, the petitioners are entitled to be considered eligible for all the medical seats which the OCIs were eligible for before the issuance of the impugned notification dated March 4, 2021. Therefore, we direct the National Testing Agency to declare the result of the examination taken by the petitioners (NEET-UG 2021) and the eligible petitioners are permitted to appear for the counselling in the general category,” the court directed in its order.

The court, on Ms. Bhati’s insistence, clarified that the order allowing the OCIs to compete in the general category was confined to the 2021-2022 academic year alone. During the hearing, Ms. Bhati said OCIs had voluntarily taken up the citizenship of another country.

Justice Murari observed that the government recognised these people as OCIs and gave them rights. It was now not right on the government’s part to take it away from them all of a sudden.

Justice Nazeer said the country was known for its spirit of inclusiveness. Besides, the number of OCIs who had participated in NEET, around 400, was miniscule.