NEET results: Leena is only student from state in top 25

NEET results: Leena is only student from state in top 25

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jaipur:02.11.2021

Leena Khandelwal  was the only student from the state to secure a place in the top 25 in the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), the results of which were announced on Monday. With AIR 23, she is all set to join an elite medical institution.

Alwar resident Leena will be the first doctor in her family. She secured 710 out of 720 marks in the exam. She said she believed in her capabilities and prepared for NEET from NCERT syllabus. “Preparations done with similar type of study materials, notes, modules and NCERT syllabus is enough. I believe that if we prepare with the one type of study materials constantly, then we can score better. If you use different study materials or books, you tend to get confused,” said Leena.

The last two years have been challenging for everyone because of the pandemic. Coming to online classes after offline classes caused some problems in the beginning for Leena but she soon adjusted to the system. Leena was a classroom student from Allen Career Institute for the last two years.

Uttar Pradesh resident Aman Tripathi, who secured AIR 4, was studying in Kota for the last three years.

A classroom student of Allen Career Institute Kota, Aman said hard work has no substitute and consistency is the key. “Constant support is all that an aspirant needs for exam preparation. I believe in consistency and made a proper study plan before starting my preparation. I kept myself away from distractions — social media, relatives, friends. It’s self-study that helped me get a grip on the subjects,” said Aman.

BRINGING HOME LAURELS

T boy gets perfect score in NEET, shares No. 1 rank with two others

T boy gets perfect score in NEET, shares No. 1 rank with two others

Nirupa.Vatyam@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  02.11.2021

Mrinal Kutteri

from Telangana, Delhi’s Tanmay Gupta and Maharashtra girl Karthika G Nair scored a perfect 720 to be declared joint toppers of this year’s National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test for admission to undergraduate medical courses, according to the results announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday night.

In all, two Telugu states bagged four places in the top 20 list. Apart from Kutteri, Chandam Vishnu Vivek and Gorripati Rushil, both from Andhra Pradesh, and Khandavally Shashank from Telangana secured an all- India rank of 5.

In 2020, as many as eight students from the two states — three from Telangana and five from AP — figured in the top 20 list.

Mrinal Kutteri

Confusion for hours as NTA mailed results

I want to do MBBS from AIIMS, Delhi and become a surgeon one day,” Kutteri, told TOI soon after the results were announced. The elated topper said the fact that no one pressurised him to study or follow a particular timetable actually helped him to prepare for the test at his convenience and secure the first rank.

But hours of confusion preceded the celebrations on Monday as NTA, which conducted the test, emailed the results to every candidate even before there was an official confirmation on the release of the results. This started from around 6 pm when many could not access their results on the official NEET website. “It would have been better if the results were made available on the website first. I was very tense as I couldn’t access my results, but all my friends got theirs,” said Rushil, a student from Sri Chaitanya, Vijayawada. He is one of 12 students from the country to secure all-India 5th rank. Rushil said he could access his results only around 9 pm.

The institutes too said that students were anxious as they couldn’t access their results on the website. “It took us more than two hours to figure out that the topper was from our institute. The servers were down,” said K Seshagiri Raju, deputy director, Aakash Educational Services Limited (Telangana).

Meanwhile, four students from Telangana-- Kasa Lahari, Emani Srinija, Dasika Sri Niharika, and Pasupunoori Sharanya — secured a spot in the list of top 20 female toppers in the country. Another Telugu student, Adireddi Srinivas, made it to top 10 male (person with disabilities) candidates list while several others from the two states figured in the toppers list in categories such as EWS, SC, ST, and OBC-NCL.

‘No pressure helped me prepare well’

— Nirupa Vatyam

Hyderabad:

City boy Mrinal Kutteri is on cloud nine as he managed to secure the top rank and is certain of getting a seat in his dream institute—AIIMS, New Delhi. Kutteri said that right from his childhood, he dreamt of becoming a doctor and is very happy with his NEET result. He said that his parents never forced him to study or get into a particular field. “Even when it comes to my studies, they never told me when or how to study. I lost count of how many times I prepared my timetable. No one tried to impose anything and I think that is what helped me in excelling,” he added.

›Related report: P8

HC quashes 10.5% vanniyar quota, calls it ‘discriminatory’

HC quashes 10.5% vanniyar quota, calls it ‘discriminatory’

Repeals It Citing Seven Grounds

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:02.11.2021

Holding that castebased reservation is impermissible, the Madras high court has quashed 10.5% quota law for vanniyars, introduced by the AIADMK government minutes before the Election Commission announced the April 2021 assembly election.

“Treating vanniyar community as a separate class from the other MBCs amounts to discrimination among same category of castes,” ruled a division bench of Justice M Duraiswamy and Justice K Murali Shankar on Monday.

The court decided to quash the reservation as unconstitutional on seven grounds, which included the competency of the state to provide reservation based on caste, whether reservation can be provided without quantifiable data on population, socio-educational status and representation of the backward classes in services.

Classification in name of caste is treating equals unequally: Court

Holding that the very basis of classification in the name of caste is a clear case treating equals unequally, resulting in reverse discrimination within the MBC, the judges said: “We conclude that there is no data, much less quantifiable data, available with the state before the introduction of the law, to show the three different degrees of backwardness to make three sub-categories, as mandated by Indra Sawhney case, nor there is a data to show the inadequate representation of a group.”

Ticking off the micro-classification of MBCs into MBC (vanniars), MBC (DNC) and other MBCs as being wholly arbitrary, the judges said there is absolutely no acceptable reason for the division. There is no material or data to differentiate MBC(V) from other MBC as a separate class.

Treating one caste — vanniakula kshatriya, including ‘vanniyar’, ‘vanniya’, ‘vannia gounder’, ‘gounder’ or ‘kander’, ‘padayachi’, ‘palli’ and ‘agnikula kshatriya’ — as separate class while treating the similar castes differently is discrimination, the judges held, adding that the impugned law categorised 6 subcastes and 115 other castes into two sets and tried to give higher proportion of reservation to one caste and deprive the others.

More importantly, referring to the union government’s constitutional 102nd amendment denuding states of the power to include castes in reserved lists, the judges said: “The Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018, came into existence on11.08.2018 and the Constitution (105th Amendment) Act, 2021, was enacted on 19.08.2021 and whereas the impugned Act 8 of 2021 came to be enacted on 26.02.2021 and therefore, we hold that as on the date of enactment of the impugned Act, the State Legislature has no power to enact such legislation and accordingly, the State Legislature has no competency to pass the impugned Act. The state legislature has no competency to enact Tamil Nadu Special Reservation of seats in educational Institutions including Private Educational Institutions and appointments or posts in the services under the State within the Reservation for the Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities Act, 2021”.

Also, as per Article 31-B of the Constitution, until the Act placed in Ninth Schedule is amended or repealed by the competent legislature, the said Act shall continue to be in force, the court said. Therefore, without amending the 1993 Act, bringing a special legislation to provide internal reservation to vanniyar community is against the Constitutional provisions, the judges said.

When counsel arguing in favour of the state law sought to highlight the fact that quashing it would put a question mark on the prospects of candidates who had already been admitted under the10.5% quota, the court said: “It has been made clear through an interim order that admissions and appointments made providing the reservation will be subject to the outcome of the pleas. Suspending the order will only complicate the issue.”

The judges further recorded that ‘so far as the reservations for Muslims and arunthathiyars are concerned, the population figures are enumerated in every census and based on that, the backwardness and inadequate representation has been studied and a valid commission report has been submitted.

Is the state government empowered to do internal reservation. The Constitution has given enough explanation. The legislation providing for internal reservation is cancelled

– MADRAS HIGH COURT

Madras HC quashes 10.5% Vanniyar quota

Madras HC quashes 10.5% Vanniyar quota

Madurai:02.11 2021

The Madras high court on Monday quashed the 10.5% reservation provided to Vanniyars, a Most Backward Community (MBC) in Tamil Nadu, in government jobs and admission to educational institutions, saying it was unconstitutional.

The Tamil Nadu assembly had in February passed the then ruling AIADMK-piloted bill providing internal reservation of 10.5 % for Vanniyars, with the incumbent DMK government issuing an order in July for its implementation. It had split the aggregate 20% reservation for MBCs and denotified communities into three separate categories by regrouping castes and provided 10% plus sub-quota for Vanniyars, formally known as Vanniakula Kshatriyas. PTI

Premium non-payment can get claim rejected: SC

Premium non-payment can get claim rejected: SC

New Delhi: 02.11 2021

An insurance claim can be rejected if the policy has lapsed on account of non-payment of premium, said the Supreme Court. It also stressed that the terms of an insurance policy have to be strictly interpreted.

The apex court observation came while setting aside an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that ordered additional compensation in a road accident case. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M Trivedi said it is a well-settled legal position that in a contract of insurance there is a requirement of Uberrima fides, ie good faith on the part of the insured.

“It is clear that the terms of insurance policy have to be strictly construed, and it is not permissible to rewrite the contract while interpreting the terms of the policy,” the bench said.

The SC was hearing an appeal filed by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) against the judgement of the NCDRC that had set aside the order passed by the state commission.

In the case, the woman’s husband had taken a life insurance policy under the Jeevan Suraksha Yojana from LIC under which a sum of Rs. 3.7 lakh was assured by the company. Besides this amount, in case of death by accident an additional sum of Rs. 3.7 lakh was also assured. The insurance premium of the said policy was to be paid six-monthly. However, there was a default in payment. On March 6, 2012, the husband of the complainant met with an accident and succumbed to injuries on March 21, 2012.

“In the instant case, the policy had lapsed on October 14, 2011, and was not in force on the date of accident, ie on March 6, 2012. It was sought to be revived on March 9, 2012, after the accident in question, and that too without disclosing the fact of the accident which had taken place on March 6, 2012,” the SC said. PTI

SERIOUS LAPSE

11% hike in DA for Punjab staff, pensioners from July 1

11% hike in DA for Punjab staff, pensioners from July 1

Move To Cost State Extra ₹440cr Per Month

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chandigarh: 02.11 2021

Acceding to the demand of the state government employees and pensioners, the Punjab cabinet on Monday decided to enhance the dearness allowance (DA) by 11% , taking it to 28% from 17%. The hike will be implemented retrospectively from July 1, 2021.

After the cabinet meeting, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the employees were the backbone of the state administration and reiterated his government’s “firm commitment to accord the highest priority to their welfare”. He said with this decision, the state government would have to bear an additional monthly burden of Rs 440 crore on account of enhanced DA.

Channi said the state government had resolved most of employees’ issues to their satisfaction and resultantly they have called off their strike and resumed the work with immediate effect. He also announced that the employees’ who were recruited after January 1, 2016, would also be given the benefit of a minimum 15% increase in the revised pay at par with other employees. However, the pay of a junior employee would not be fixed higher than that of his senior while fixing the revised pay.

Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi addresses a press conference on Monday

Bill for new varsities soon

Decks have been cleared for the establishment of Lamrin Tech Skills University Punjab at Railmajra, Balachaur, SBS Nagar, and Plaksha University Punjab at IT City, SAS Nagar with Punjab cabinet’s approval for conversion of ordinances into bills. According to a spokesperson of the chief minister’s office, the cabinet also gave approval to place these bills in the forthcoming session of Punjab legislative assembly for conversion into Acts.

‘State agreed to 15% pay hike’

Sukhchain Singh Khaira, convener of the Punjab Sanjha Mulajam Manch, said the state government has agreed to also increase the 15% salary of those employees who have joined the service after January 2016. Earlier, they were not being given this benefit. “Now the state government has given new option and the employees can opt for the benefit of the 6th Pay Commission either from the date of joining the service or from the date of promotion,” Khaira said.

‘Black Diwali’ for NHM contract staff

After five day of hunger strike for the regularisation of their services, Punjab’s National Health Mission (NHM) contractual employees will now observe a "black Diwali" outside chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s residence. On the fifth day of their protest on Monday at Kharar’s civil hospital, the association of 12,000 contractual employees also demanded equal pay for equal work. Association president Dr Inderjeet Singh Rana submitted a memorandum of demands to the senior medical officer.

Biometric attendance to resume from Nov 8

Biometric attendance to resume from Nov 8

New Delhi:02.11.2021

With Covid-19 cases on the decline, the central government on Monday ordered resumption of biometric attendance for all levels of its employees from November 8 onwards.

Biometric attendance, which involves pressing one’s finger on the scanner of a biometric machine, was discontinued across all central government offices since last year, as a precautionary measure against spread of Covid-19. Attendance was instead being maintained through physical registers. TNN