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Ex-VCs ask Modi for full ‘IoE’ grant to Anna University

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:01.10.2019

Former vice-chancellors of Anna University have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give 100% financial support to one of the oldest technical institution in the world to enable it to get Institute of Eminence (IoE) status.

“I humbly request you to treat Anna University on a par with other central institutions and extend 100% financial support to enable the university to become an Institute of Eminence,” E Balagurusamy, former vice-chancellor of Anna University, said in a letter to the PM.

“It is really matter of pride and honour to note that Anna University is one of the two state universities to receive this distinction. This recognition would certainly make Anna University a world class institution and enable it to break into top 100 global rankings in near future,” he said.

The university, one among 10 shortlisted, is yet to get IoE status due to the delay in getting the letter of commitment of funding from the state government. Under the IoE scheme, the Centre would give ₹1,000 crore to central government institutions over five years to enable them become global institutions. State universities will get the status if the state government concerned will commit to pay half the amount, with the Centre giving the rest.

“For more than two centuries, the university has produced hundreds of stalwarts in engineering and technology who have contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of our nation,” Balagursamy pointed out in his letter.

Anna University, established in May 1794 as a School of Survey Engineering, is the oldest engineering school in India and the first modern technical school established outside Europe at that time. It became a College of Engineering in 1858 and a technical university in 1978.

K Karunakaran, former vice-chancellor of Anna University of Technology, Coimbatore, has also written to the Prime Minister Modi urging him to give full financial support to Anna University.

“Even though it is a state university, considering the contribution to the development of our country and reputation at various levels for more than two centuries (225 years), I submit to the PM to consider it as a special case for granting full financial support,” he said.

After Neet impersonation, CB-CID probing marksheet tampering now

Student On Leave Studying Abroad: Cops

Pushpa Narayan & A Selvaraj TNN

Chennai:01.10.2019

Impersonation may not be the only illegality in medical admissions this year. Police are suspecting tampering of NEET marksheets by a student, who managed to secure admissions in a government medical college, where tuition fee is low.

The Dharmapuri Government Medical College dean Dr K Srinivasaraj received a complaint on email that one of his first year students, Mohammad Irfan, had tampered with his NEET marksheet. “By that time we had also received directions from the directorate of medical education asking us to verify documents and match photographs of students. But Irfan wasn’t in college. We have asked him to appear before us for verification,” Dr Srinivasaraj said. Since the inquiry process isn’t completed the college is yet to file a police complaint.

On Monday, the CB-CID police, who have been investigating the medical admissions scam, also received another tip off about about Irfan. “We have detained Irfan’s father Mohammad Shafi. He told us Irfan has applied for medical leave and hasn’t been in college since September 8. Now, we found that he is now pursuing medicine at the Anna Medical College in Mauritius,” a senior police official said. It is still not clear whether Irfan obtained permission from the Medical Council of India or submitted original documents to the college in Mauritius before admissions. The police have sought information including the certificates he submitted during medical counselling and admission in TN for further inquiry. “We will know details only when we hold an inquiry,” said a senior police official. Dharmapuri medical college deputy dean Dr Murugan said the complaint mentions that he changed his NEET score from 207 to 407. The email did not have any names, he said.

Many medical colleges, both government and self-financing, are yet to complete the verification process ordered by the directorate of medical education. The directorate had asked colleges to verify if the photos of first year MBBS students on NEET scorecards and admit cards matches with students in classrooms. Many medical colleges, including the Chennai-based Madras Medical College, withheld final reports because some of their students have been on leave.

Meanwhile, state health secretary Beela Rajesh will be meeting officials from National Testing Agency and the Medical Council of India on October 9 to discuss the irregularities in the admission process. “Tamil Nadu was the first to spot the scam. We will provide all updates to the centre on ways to prevent them. We will be asking for photographs of students and biometrics scans,” health minister C Vijaya Baskar told reporters.

Police are suspecting tampering of NEET marksheets by a student, who secured admissions in a government college

CHEATED 14YRS AGO

CBI court convicts bank manager for ₹3cr loan fraud

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:01.10.2019

A CBI special court in Chennai on Monday convicted an Indian Bank manager for cheating the bank of ₹3.27 crore 14 years ago.

Branch manager T V Srinivasan and advocate K Nagabhushanam were sentenced to undergo three years imprisonment and fined ₹10 lakh each for forging documents to obtain a housing loan.

Srinivasan, from 2003 to 2005, colluded with five others including the owner of Raj Builders, Rajendra Prasad, now dead, in getting a loan of ₹3.27 crore sanctioned, special public prosecutor M V Dinaker said.

The manager approved housing loans to 68 government employees on basis of forged income certificates, without physically identifying them. The 68, all low-ranking officials at Integral Coach Factory, Southern Railway, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Municipal Corporation, were supposed to use the loans to build houses on a 4.67 acre plot at Galivari Nagar, Arakkonam.

K Nagabhushanam was instrumental in forging salary slips and income certificates, the prosecution said. In 2009, Indian Bank in an internal audit found that all the documents submitted were forged and the housing loan accounts turned inoperative. A complaint was filed with the Economic Offences Wing of CBI, which arrested seven people in 2010 under Prevention of Corruption Act and for cheating. Rajendra Prasad and one other person, Kumari, died during the trial.

Denying the allegations, counsel for the accused submitted that the entire documents were forged by the employees and there was no role of the bank manager who only carried out his duty. He also submitted that the entire money was recovered by the bank through sale of the property and there was no loss to the bank.

S Jawahar, Judge for XI special court for CBI cases, Chennai, said the accused cheated the bank by sanctioning loans for people who were not eligible and created illegal gains and sentenced Srinivasan and Nagabhushanam. The three others arrested were acquitted.

450 AYUSH seats vacant across state

Chennai:01.10.2019

More than 450 seats in ayurveda, siddha and homeopathy colleges are vacant under government and management quota at the end of the counselling conducted by the selection committee based on merit in NEET scores.

The sole unani institution in the state – Government Unani Medical College that has 50 seats — had 41 vacancies at the end of counselling. “To join unani, candidates should have qualified both in Urdu and NEET. We did not have that many candidates this year,” said a senior official in the selection committee. In addition there were 101 government quota seats in self-financing AYUSH colleges. “We couldn’t fill most management quota seats. We have asked Centre to reduce NEET eligibility. Or all the seats will remain vacant,” he said. TNN

Thieves steal all wheels of new car
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:01.10.2019

A man who had parked his month-old car outside his home at TVS Colony, Anna Nagar woke up on Monday morning to find that someone had stolen all four wheels.

The JJ Nagar police said Mahesh Babu, who works in a private firm, usually parked his Maruti Ciaz for the night at a relative’s house two streets away, but had left it on the road outside his home as he planned to visit a temple early on Monday to get puja done for the car.

Police suspect that someone well-versed with automobile mechanics was behind the theft as they managed to unbolt all four wheels and no one heard a thing even though it is a residential locality.

Mahesh doesn’t have space within his house’s compound to park the car and usually did not park outside his home. On Monday morning, there were a few stones beside the car, whose body was resting on the road.

Police were scanning CCTV camera footage to identify the culprits. Police said that it could have been the handiwork of a gang as it would be difficult for one person to carry away all four wheels at once. They are also checking on autorickshaws moving in the locality at the time of the incident.

Several residents of TVS Colony said that two years ago, miscreants escaped with a wheel from a car parked on the roadside. They appealed to police to intensify patrolling in the area.

WHO’S BEHIND THE WHEELS? The month-old car was parked outside the woner’s house on the night of the incident

Subashree aces global English proficiency test

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:01.10.2019

The dream of R Subashree, who died after an illegally erected banner fell on her, to study in Canada could have come a step closure to reality, had she been alive.

Her test result in IELTS examination which is an international test of English proficiency for non-native speakers, showed she had achieved C-1, a top rank, in the exam. The result was couriered to her house on Sunday.

Subashree died after an illegally erected banner fell on her. “It’s one of the painful moments,” her father R Ravi told TOI. “It was her dream, ambition and career. Everything just disappeared like a daydream,” he said.

After almost 20 days leave, Ravi went to work on Monday. “I want to start the usual life. God has assigned me and my wife Geetha to do more to this world and we will do it,” said Ravi.

Subashree’s mother R Geetha said, “To study abroad was her dream. She used to tell us tales about her foreign trips. She planned to take me and my husband to Canada with her and settle there in the future.”

Ravi said the score would have helped her enrol in MBA and MS courses, which she had planned to do simultaneously, at a leading university in Canada.

Subashree, who fell on the road after being knocked off her two-wheeler by a falling banner erected in connection with a marriage in the family of AIADMK ex-councillor C Jayagopal, was fatally run over by a tanker truck.

Jayagopal was arrested by a special team from a hideout in Denkanikottai on September 27. His brother-in-law Meganathan was apprehended on September 28.

PM Modi takes language route to enter Tamil hearts

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:01.10.2019

Countering allegations that his government attempts to impose Hindi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to play the Tamil pride card in Chennai on Monday. On his maiden visit to Tamil Nadu after being voted back to power at the Centre, he sought to recall his statement in the US that Tamil is the oldest language in the world.

“When I spoke in Tamil to the Indian community in America during my recent visit and said Tamil is the oldest language in the world, it was widely reported in all the media in the US,” he told supporters outside the airport. Modi also recalled his speech at the UN meet, quoting ancient Tamil poet Kaniyan Pungundranar’s famous verse, “Yaadhum Oorey Yaavarum Kelir (we belong to all places, and to everyone).” The PM even greeted supporters, mostly partyworkers, at the airport, with a ‘vanakkam’.

MESSAGE TO TN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with governor Banwarilal Purohit and chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday at IIT-M’s 56th convocation | P 2

‘Should make India meet expectations of world community’

Hours later, at the 56th convocation of IIT-Madras, the Prime Minister invoked Tamil again in the presence of chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam. “We are in the state of Tamil Nadu, which has a special distinction. It is home to the oldest languages in the world, Tamil,” he said, drawing loud applause from the packed hall at Students Activity Centre of IIT-Madras.

At the airport, Modi suggested a padyatra to mark the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. “We shall take up a padyatra, and shall spread the ideals of Gandhi through padyatras,” he said. Recalling his visit to the US, he said the world was looking to India with great expectations and that it was increasing by the day. “Now it is our responsibility to not only make India a great nation but also to see to it that it meets the expectations of the world community,” he said.

WARM GESTURE: IIT Madras director Bhaskar Ramamurthi presented a memento in remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 56th annual convocation of the institute on Sunday