BU convocation ceremony at Minto Hall today

BU convocation ceremony at Minto Hall today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:26.10.2021

For the first time, Barkatullah University (BU) will organise the convocation at Minto Hall. The function will be organised on Tuesday.

BU officials said that the degree will be given to the registered students by the Governor and Chancellor of the university, Mangu Bhai Patel.

Preparations of the function are being monitored by vice-chancellor professor R J Rao, registrar Dr I K Mansoori deputy registrar Ajit Srivastava, chairman and members of various committees.

Around 140 students will be receiving their degrees while 50 students will get PhD degrees. Other students’ UG and PG degrees too will be awarded in this convocation. Gold medals will also be given to 25 students, said the officials.

Ceiling for OBCs, EWS: Both ₹8L, but difference is in income components

Ceiling for OBCs, EWS: Both ₹8L, but difference is in income components

Subodh.Ghidiyal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:26.10.2021

The Rs 8 lakh income-ceiling for OBC ‘creamy layer’ as well as the cap to qualify as economically weaker sections (EWS) for forward caste quotas is same on the face of it, yet different in substance by way of what sources of income are included in the calculations making the math tougher for forward quotas. But, while projecting this substantive distinction between the two caps may help the government duck the charge that “unequals are being made equals”, the BJP regime is actively working to bring them at par.

The Supreme Court’s query to the government on how it arrived at Rs 8 lakh for EWS quota has prised open a tricky debate, the primary being if gradually, a parity is being drawn between the OBC category, which has social backwardness as a key parameter, and the EWS that largely comprises the forward communities with only poverty as criteria.

With all eyes being on the affidavit the social justice ministry will file in the apex court, it is evident that Rs 8 lakh is significantly different in the two categories, the income bar for EWS being a stricter norm than that for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The gross family income for EWS, beyond which a candidate is rendered ineligible for quotas, includes ‘income from all sources’ whereas the same in case of backwards excludes ‘salary’ and ‘agriculture income’. According to experts, ‘salary’ is the main difference between the two categories since agriculture income is not verifiable because it is not taxable.

Yet, any attempt by government to project the method of calculation of family income as being different and more exclusionary for EWS then for OBCs maybe fraught with risk — the reason being that the government plans to narrow the gap between the formula for two family incomes and virtually bring them at the same level.

The government has proposed to tweak the criteria for family income of OBCs by including ‘salary’ in the total income, which is a major departure from the governing 1993 memorandum on ‘creamy layer’ which lays down that ‘salary’ will not be part of the total income.

The cabinet proposal last February triggered a major opposition, including from the national commission for backward classes. It is since lying with the government and the issue is being treated as pending.

Though among other differences between OBC and EWS is the family size included in gross family income — which is larger for EWS than for OBCs, it is in practice seen as prone to misrepresentation, which only makes EWS ceiling strict on paper.

NEET-PG counselling will not start without approval: SC

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to put on hold the counselling for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) PG until it decides the validity of the Centre's decision to introduce OBC and EWS reservation in All India Quota (AIQ).

A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud said the NEET-PG counselling will not start without its approval as the court is examining a plea against the Centre's decision for medical admission. The Central government also assured the apex court that the counselling process will not commence till the Bench decides the matter.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, gave the assurance to the apex court, which the court took into the note. The Bench observed that students will be in serious problems if the counselling process goes ahead as scheduled. The top court was told that it has been announced that the counselling will begin from October 25.

The assurance of the Centre came after senior advocate Arvind Dattar, appearing for some NEET candidates, mentioned that by the time the court decides the pending batch of petitions, challenging the July 29 notification, introducing the quota from this academic year, the entire process of admission will be over and serious prejudice would be caused to the students. The SC was hearing a batch of pleas challenging the July 29 notice providing 27% quota OBC and 10% for EWS category for the admission in the NEET for all medical seats. ANI

Howrah train departs 26 minutes late to help child with brain tumour

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:26.10.2021

The Howrah Duronto special train on Sunday departed 26 minutes late from its originating station, Yeshwantpur, to ensure that a six-year-old girl who had made a recovery from brain tumour faced no difficulty during travel as she was on a breathing support machine.

South Western Railway officials said train no. 02246 to Howrah, which was supposed to leave at 11am from Yeshwantpur on Sunday, departed at 11.26am.

Jainab Mondal, the patient, had come to Bengaluru in mid-August and was on treatment at St Philomena’s Hospital for over two-and-a-half months. The girl had undergone surgery and also suffered from respiratory paralysis. During her recovery, she was on tracheostomy and a BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) machine, a respiratory assistive device that also travelled along with her to Howrah.

“With the BiPAP machine the child was stable. As a precautionary measure, the child was also given oxygen cylinders and an oxygen concentrator. As such the girl didn’t require it, but it was kept as a stand-by. The railway authorities wanted to crosscheck if it works given the voltage fluctuation on the train,” said Dr Rajeev V, head of department, pediatrics, St Philomena’s Hospital, Bengaluru. The train covered a distance of 1,953km and reached Howrah at 3.56pm on Monday, ahead of its scheduled arrival time of 4.45pm. SWR chief public relations officer Aneesh Hegde said: “The patient required an oxygen concentrator for the journey. But due to power issues inside the coach, the oxygen concentrator did not function so the kid required oxygen cylinder back-up, which was arranged for at Bangarpet with help from the railways.”

The incident came to light after Kedarnath Reddy, who was at Yeshwantpur station, tweeted. In the video, the child was seen being taken inside the coach on a stretcher.

Test only in Hindi, English: HC suspends central exam

Test only in Hindi, English: HC suspends central exam

Madurai:26.10.2021

The Madras high court has suspended an aptitude test for a centrally sponsored scholarship programme — Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana — slated for November 7 as the examination was to be held only in English and Hindi, reports K Kaushik.

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice M Duraiswamy ordered the postponement of the test while hearing a plea which sought the exam in all regional languages. The court also sought response from the Centre on the steps taken to conduct the exam in multiple Indian languages.

KVPY is a national programme of fellowship in basic sciences funded by the Centre’s department of science and technology.

Test can’t be in just Hindi & English: HC

Rejecting \ Centre’s submission that it does not have adequate personnel to assess answers given in various languages and that it may be difficult to find an equivalent term in local languages for scientific words, the judges said: “It would not do for the Centre to say that it does not have qualified assessors to appreciate the material put up by non-Hindi and Englishspeaking aspirants. If at all, it is the deficiency with the Centre and young aspirants from non-Hindi and non-English speaking belts in the country should not suffer on such grounds.”

The main objective of the exam is to identify students with talent and aptitude for research, to help them realize their academic potential and to encourage them to take up research careers in science by providing fellowships.

Even if it is a token scholarship of Rs 5,000, it amounts to recognition of a young mind and every Indian of such age should be entitled to equally participate in the process and exhibit their talent, said the court.

It is possible for a bright young mind groomed in Assamese language or another young prospect from deep in rural Odisha to be able to come up with brilliant ideas that the KVPY project aspires to tap into. Merely because the aspirant may not be adept at Hindi or English languages may not amount to the aspirant being disqualified, observed the judges.

Attack on MSU dean: Court acquits three after 23 years

ORDER IN ABSENTIA

Attack on MSU dean: Court acquits three after 23 years

Complainant, Defendants Didn’t Turn Up For Trial

Jay.Pachchigar@timesgroup.com

Vadodara:26.10.2021

More than two decades after the then dean of MS University’s science faculty was allegedly attacked by three BSc students, the court acquitted the three accused of all the charges.

The dean in his police complaint had claimed that he was attacked after he refused to pass one of the three students who had failed an examination.

A botched up investigation or failure on part of police in gathering evidence wasn’t the reason for the acquittal though. Interestingly, the then dean Bonipailo Beekepailo Christian, who had lodged the case at Sayajigunj police station, and the three students Lakulish alias Lalo Purohit, Vanrajsinh Raj and Vishal Parikh did not appear during the trial.

Only one eye-witness, who was a clerk in the faculty, turned up for his testimony, but he too could not remember the names of the students who had attacked the dean.

As per the details of complaint registered by Christian, on August 20 in 1998 when Christian was present in his office, Parikh, Raj and Purohit stormed into his office and asked Christian to pass Parikh in an examination which he had failed.

When Christian said that he cannot pass Parikh illegally, the trio abused him and attacked him with a chair.

As he moved aside, Christian did not suffer any injuries. Later, Christian lodged an offence of trespassing, assault and insult at Sayajigunj police station against the trio.

When the case came up for trial after the police filed chargesheet, neither of the accused remained present despite summons being issued. The court then decided to continue the trial in their absence. During the trial, the testimony of just one eye-witness Kirit Patel was recorded.

Patel stated that Christian had left Gujarat to settle at his native place long ago. While one witness, who was a senior clerk, passed away and another witness had since changed his home and his new address was not available.

Patel said that the alleged incident did take place inside the dean’s office and some students had abused him and also he had fallen off his chair. However, he failed to recognize any of the students involved in the attack or recollect their names.

The court of additional chief judicial magistrate J A Baxi considered Patel’s statement and also noted that no concrete evidence was presented against the accused to prove them guilty.

The court passed the order of their acquittal in their absence.

The dean was attacked after he refused to pass one of the students

No new self-financed colleges for now: GU

No new self-financed colleges for now: GU

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad  26.10.2021

: The Gujarat University (GU) has decided not to give further permission for new colleges on self-financed basis. At the meeting of the university’s Need committee held on Monday, it was decided to approve new classes in the existing colleges rather than having more colleges.

The university has decided to first fill up the vacant seats in BCom and BA courses the admission for which is going on.

“If students couldn’t get admission, then only the university will think about approving additional classes in the existing colleges,” said an official.

The GU officials said that the meeting of the Need committee is held if a proposal to approve new colleges is moved by the management. The committee takes the decision after evaluating the prevailing situation.

A proposal to convert Gujarati-medium colleges to English-medium was also moved which was kept in abeyance after the committee members opined that they need to discuss the proposal in detail.

10 flights delayed, two cancelled, one diverted

10 flights delayed, two cancelled, one diverted

Ahmedabad:26.10.2021

Ten flights departing from Ahmedabad airport on Monday were delayed ranging from 30 to 200 minutes .

These include flights to Bengaluru, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kishangarh, Delhi, Chennai and Goa. Besides, two more flights to Delhi and Goa, were cancelled. Early on Monday, a Goa-bound flight was diverted to Mumbai.

While the flight operated by SpiceJet departed on time from the city airport around 5am, due to bad weather, it could not land in Goa and as a result, was diverted to Mumbai. The flight reached Goa by 10.30am, confirmed sources. TNN