Land dispute costs students MBBS seats

Land dispute costs students MBBS seats

Decision To Halt Admission At Kanyakumari College Follows NMC Directive To TN 

PushpaNarayan@timesofindia.com 

Chennai : The Tamil Nadu Medical Selection Committee has withdrawn the provisional MBBS allotments made to students at Kanyakumari Medical Mission Research Centre, a private university, for 2024-25. The decision comes after the National Medical Commission asked the state govt not to admit students during the ongoing counselling till further notice since the permission granted to the univer sity to start the MBBS course with 100 seats has been put on hold. 

The state will accommodate five govt school students who were admitted through the 7.5% quota. The provisional admission given to 95 other students has been with drawn. “We have given appointment orders to five govt school students under the 7.5% govt quota. We will accommodate them in other colleges. The number of seats will be adjusted next year,” he said. The results of round 1 allotment for the remaining 95 seats -under the state quota and management quota -have been cancelled as the committee had offered only provisional admissions, he said. Later in the evening, the state released the revised allotment after withdrawing 100 seats from the seat matrix. 

"Students have been allotted seats based on their merit in NEET and the rule of reservation," officials said. On Friday, NMC told the state govt that the private university, which submitted its application for the establishment of a new medical college, was granted permission on Aug 10 for 100 seats, NMC, in a communication to the state, said. In the meantime, the apex body has received a writ  petition filed by M/s. Michael Builders and Developers Pvt. Ltd. before the Delhi High Court contesting the college's claim to the land. The company has attached a district court order too. The NMC said it had put the “letter of permission” granted to the college for 100 MBBS seats on hold

Vande Bharat meets a long-pending demand of train users in Tiruchi

Vande Bharat meets a long-pending demand of train users in Tiruchi

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Madurai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express on Saturday.

The Hindu Bureau

TIRUCHI  31.08.2024 

Rail passengers in Tiruchi will get a daytime train service to Bengaluru with the introduction of the Vande Bharat Express between Madurai and Bengaluru Cantonment via Tiruchi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the train along with the Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil Vande Bharat inaugural specialsthrough video conference on Saturday.

The Madurai-Bengaluru Cantonment Vande Bharat inaugural special will leave Madurai at 12.30 p.m. and reach Tiruchi at 2.05 p.m on Saturday.

The Tiruchi Railway Division has planned a grand reception for the new train. The train will leave Tiruchi at 2.10 p.m. and reach Bengaluru Cantonment at 9.30 p.m. via Karur, Namakkal, Salem and Krishnarajapuram.

The regular service of the Madurai-Bengaluru Cantonment-Madurai Vande Bharat Express (20671/20672) will begin from September 2 for six days a week except Tuesdays.

The train (20671) will leave Madurai at 5.15 a.m. and reach Tiruchi at 6.50 a.m. It will depart Tiruchi at 6.55 a.m. and reach Bengaluru Cantonment at 1 p.m. with stops at Karur, Namakkal, Salem and Krishnarajapuram. In the return direction, the train (20672) will leave Bengaluru at 1.30 p.m. and reach Tiruchi at 7.20 p.m. It will depart Tiruchi at 7.25 p.m. to reach Madurai at 9.45 p.m.

The regular service of the Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil -Chennai Egmore Vande Bharat Express (20627/20628) will be operated from September 2 for six days a week except Wednesday.

The train (20627) will leave Chennai Egmore at 5 a.m. and reach Tiruchi Junction at 8.55 a.m. It will depart Tiruchi at 9 a.m. to reach Nagercoil at 1.50 p.m with stops at Dindigul, Madurai, Kovilpatti and Tirunelveli. In the return direction, the train (20628) will leave Nagercoil at 2.20 p.m. and reachTiruchi Junction at 6.45 p.m. It will leave Tiruchi at 6.50 p.m. to reach Chennai Egmore at 11 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu secretary S. Pushpavanam has welcomed the introduction of Vande Bharat between Madurai and Bengaluru via Tiruchi and thanked Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for meeting a felt need of the railway users. The council has reiterated its demand for one more night train from Tiruchi to Bengaluru to meet the growing demand.

Vistara to merge with Air India from Nov. 12

Vistara to merge with Air India from Nov. 12

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI  3.08.2024

The sun will set on Vistara on November 12 when the airline will move to the Air India brand with its flights carrying the ‘AI’ flight code instead of its ‘UK’ designator, and flight bookings too, moving to the latter’s web portal thereby completing the merger between the airlines.

Starting September 3, passengers will no longer be able to book tickets with Vistara for travel on or after November 12. Vistara will continue to take bookings and operate flights as usual till November 11.

The merger was announced by Vistara and AI soon after Singapore International Airlines (SIA) said the Indian government approved the plan for foreign direct investment in AI.

SIA, which held a 49% stake in Vistara along with Tata Sons, will now hold 25.1% in the combined entity in return for an investment of ₹2,058.5 crore.

NEWS 30.08.2024

 

Father cannot demand return of divorcee daughter’s ‘stridhan’ from her in-laws:

Father cannot demand return of divorcee daughter’s ‘stridhan’ from her in-laws: 

SC WOMAN IS THE SOLE OWNER OF HER ASSET

 Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesofindia.com 

New Delhi : Supreme Court Thursday ruled that a woman is the sole owner of her ‘stridhan’, the gold ornaments and other articles given by her parents at the time of marriage, and said that after divorce, her father has no authority to demand return of those gifts from her erstwhile in-laws. P Veerabhadra Rao’s daughter was married in Dec 1999 and the couple migrated to the US. After 16 years of marriage, the daughter filed for divorce. 

A Louis county circuit court in Missouri granted divorce by mutual possessions, material and financial, were settled between the parties through a separation agreement. She remarried in May 2018. Three years later, Rao filed an FIR against his daughter’s erstwhile in-laws in Hyderabad seeking return of her ‘stridhan’. 

The erstwhile in-laws unsuccessfully moved Telangana HC for quashing of the FIR. Then they appealed against HC order in SC. 

A bench of Justices quashed the case against the in-laws and said the father had no locus standi to seek return of his daughter’s ‘stridhan’ as that belonged solely to her.

Univ of Southampton first foreign varsity to set up campus in India

Univ of Southampton first foreign varsity to set up campus in India 

UNDER UGC REGULATIONS 

New Delhi : The UK’s University of Southampton has become the first foreign university to set up its offshore campus in India as part of University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations under the new National Education Policy 2020. Ranked among the top 100 higher educational institutions globally, the university will set up its campus in Gurgaon and the first academic session is likely to start in July. The de- grees awarded by the India campus of the University of Southampton will be the same as in the host university. 

UGC chairman Jagadesh Kumar said the university will offer courses in subjects focusing on business and management, computing, law, engineering, art and design, biosciences and life sciences. In 2023, UGC had announced ‘Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India Regulations’ under NEP 2020. 

“This will be the first foreign university to be issued ‘letter of intent’ under UGC regulations for setting up of Indian campuses of foreign universities,” the education ministry said. TNN

Govt staff irked by appointment of retd officials, consultants

Govt staff irked by appointment of retd officials, consultants

Julie.Mariappan@timesofindia.com  30.8.2024 

Chennai : Days after Union govt scrapped lateral entry in services due to opposition from various quarters, Tamil Nadu govt employees criticised state govt for hiring retired officials a s consultants in multiple departments. The Tamil Nadu Secretariat Association (TNSA) lodged a complaint with the chief minister, alleging that numerous appointments are being made without any established guidelines. 

The association members said retired officials from the law department, formerly holding the positions of additional secretary or joint secretary, have been occupying roles in Secretariat departments and various committees. Retired additional secretaries have been appointed as consultants in departments such as special programme implementation, environment, climate change, and the forest department, all on contract basis. They alleged that even the project monitoring units are managed by consultants. 

“Govt tendency to take policy decisions on the advice of consultants, ignoring work of employees, is against social justice,” the TNSA stated in its complaint. The association contended that the previous AIADMK regime had employed a few retired officials, mostly IAS officers, as consultants, in a limited manner. They argued, however, that the current regime appointed consultants without any guidelines. The increasing appointment of consultants by state govt ‘silently’ contradicts its own ‘Dravidian model’ governance, particularly in light of DMK's opposition to recruitment of lateral entrants in Central services, which was deemed against social justice, it said. 

Taking to X, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss questioned the process of appointing specialists for the mission management unit for drug-free Tamil Nadu, noting the absence of reservation.