Bidar college offers scholarships worth ₹5cr for NEET repeaters

Bidar college offers scholarships worth ₹5cr for NEET repeaters

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:29.10.2020 

Shaheen Educational Institute, Bidar, will provide scholarships worth Rs 5 crore for long-term NEET repeaters from this academic year, with a focus on those in financial distress because of floods and coronavirus.

Abdul Qadeer, chairman, Shaheen Education Foundation, said: “This year, 400 -- or 10% -- government medical seats in the state will be bagged by meritorious students of Shaheen. Last year, it was 327 (8%).” In all, about 1,600 students got trained for NEET in Shaheen PU College last year.

As per the institution, scholarships will be offered at all its branches in the country and preference will be given to Kannada-medium students from Karnataka. More than 2,000 students are expected to benefit from the scholarship this year. Students who have lost their parents due to coronavirus will be provided NEET training for free. Students can register for free on the website for the scholarship. November 1is the last day to register for the long-term NEET repeater scheme.

Over 15,000 students are enrolled across 42 branches of the institution throughout the country in 12 states, including Karnataka. This year, the toppers in NEET included Karthik Reddy (710/720 Marks in NEET, Karnataka State Rank 1st and All India NEET Rank 9th) and Arbaaz Ahmed (700/ 720 Marks in NEET, Karnataka State Rank 3rd).

How UP youth moved to Bidar, cleared NEET

How UP youth moved to Bidar, cleared NEET

Farheen.Hussain@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:29.10.2020 

A 23-year-old BSc graduate from Uttar Pradesh, son of a farmer, cleared NEET this year in his sixth attempt after he moved to Karnataka to prepare for the entrance examination at a PU college in Bidar.

Mohammed Anas did not let financial difficulties, repeated failure or lack of resources suppress his childhood dream of becoming a doctor.

After a friend told him in 2017 about Bidar’s Shaheen PU College conducting special NEET coaching for aspirants, Anas, a science graduate with three attempts at NEET by then, decided to shift from UP’s Muzaffarnagar to Karnataka without losing time. The college is part of Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions.

Anas comes from an economically disadvantaged family and he has four siblings. During school and college days, Anas realised he did not have resources or time to join a medical college.

Want to serve people who can’t afford treatment, says UP boy

After my 12th, I started appearing for entrance exams and never scored over 200 marks (out of 720),” Anas told TOI, adding he joined the college for a BSc degree in a big compromise of his dream.

Once in Bidar, Anas went back a few steps, attending I PU classes. “In 2017, I scored 333 of 720; in 2019, I scored 531, but couldn’t bag a seat in UP. This year, I have scored 663 and have a fair chance of landing a free government seat in a UP college,” Anas said.

How did the youngster stay motivated in the face of numerous roadblocks and the pandemic? “I knew the only way for a better future for me and my family was achieving this. I had to do this to give back to my family, and my society. I want to serve the people who can’t afford treatment,” he said.

At times, he felt demotivated and unsure about finding a decent rank. But he stayed focused on studies and timetable with zero distraction and support from his institution. “Our chairman visited us to keep us motivated. We had a support system among friends and teachers,” he said.

Abdul Qadeer, chairman, Shaheen Education Foundation, said when Anas came to his institute, they realised he was bright but his basics were weak. “We worked to strengthen his basics,” he said.

Who created Setu app? CIC raps govt’s ‘lack of info’

Who created Setu app? CIC raps govt’s ‘lack of info’

New Delhi: 29.10.2020 

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has issued a strongly worded showcause notice to the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) and the National Informatics Centre asking why a penalty under the RTI Act should not be slapped on them for obstructing information regarding the Aarogya Setu app, prompting the ministry to later say that all information was on the app’s website.

The CIC slammed the ministry and NIC for “prima facie obstruction of information and providing an evasive reply” over a query regarding the app. Noting that none of the chief public information officers was able to explain as to who had created the app and where the files were in response to an RTI query filed by complainant Saurav Das, information commissioner Vanaja N Sarna described the responses of MeitY and NIC as “extremely preposterous”. TNN

Activist: Abdication of responsibility

Activist Saurav Das, who filed the appeal with the CIC on Aarogya Setu app, said, “It’s been downloaded by over 150m Indians, but the government says it has no idea who developed it. This is a complete abdication of responsibility.” P 8

Portal has all info on Aarogya Setu, including privacy policy, says govt

The ministry issued a statement to say that as per the orders of the CIC, chief public information officers of MeitY, National E-Governance Division and NIC have been directed to appear on November 24 and MeitY was taking necessary steps to comply with the order. It clarified that “there should be no doubt with regard to the Aarogya Setu app and its role in helping contain Covid-19 pandemic in India”. It stated the app has been developed by NIC in collaboration with volunteers from the industry and academia and all details and documents, including privacy policy, data access and knowledge-sharing protocols issued on May 11, have been uploaded on the portal, aarogyasetu.gov.in.

The RTI applicant sought to know from the government details about creation of app, the law under which it was functioning and whether the government was planning to bring a separate legislation on handling of data collected by the app. Saurav Das then approached the CIC.

Full report on www.toi.in

Times View: Call it the strange case of the missing app creator and ask Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery. The unacceptable reply to the RTI would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. This is not something where we can have the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

City dentist rescued by AP cops from abductors

City dentist rescued by AP cops from abductors

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad/Anantapur:  29.10.2020  

The dentist who was abducted from his clinic in Bandlaguda on Tuesday was rescued in Anantapur on Wednesday by AP cops after they were alerted by Cyberabad police of the likely route taken by the kidnappers.

The main accused Mustafa is a close relative of dentist Behjat Hussain’s (56) wife. He had hatched the plot to get Rs 10 crore in ransom to recoup his losses in business. While seven have been arrested, including six from city and one from the vehicle in Anantapur, Mustafa and 5 others are absconding.

Hussain, a resident of Kismatpura, was abducted from his under-construction clinic at Bandlaguda by four burqa-clad men on Tuesday afternoon. On being alerted by locals, Cyberabad police launched a manhunt to nab the kidnappers by forming 12 special teams.

A few hours after the kidnap, the accused sent a voice message to Hussain’s family through WhatsApp demanding Ra 10 crore as ransom in the form of bitcoins.

Police analysed call details from WhatsApp

They also threatened to kill the victim and his family if the ransom was not paid in 48 hours. Police analysed the call details from the WhatsApp message and tracked their movement.

A few suspects were detained including Md Raheem (18) of Chandrayangutta, who kept a watch on the movement of the dentist, Sumit Chandrakanth Bhosale (28), Akshay Balu Vairekar and Vicky Datta Shinde of Pune, Md Imran and Md Irfan from Yellammabanda for giving logistical support. Based on the confession of the accused and technical evidence, Cyberabad police alerted Anantapur cops about the movement of the accused in a Bolero vehicle towards Karnataka.

Rapthadu sub inspector PT Anjaneyulu and his team first spotted the gang near Marur toll plaza in Anantapur district at 2 am on Wednesday. After an an hour long chase, police surrounded the gang, forcing the accused to abandon the vehicle along with the dentist. Police managed to arrest one of the kidnappers, Sanjay, 19, a student from Udipi in Karnataka.

“Anantapur police intercepted the kidnappers while they were escaping towards Kanaganapalli and rescued the victim,” Cyberabad commissioner V C Sajjanar said.

“Mustafa used to stay in Australia and he incurred huge loss in business. Subsequently, he returned to India and started real estate business in Hyderabad and Pune. Mustafa, who knew about the financial condition of Hussain, hatched a plan to kidnap him along with his friend Mubashir alias Khaled,” Sajjanar said. The duo roped in other accused from Hyderabad, Pune and Karnataka to execute the plan.

Six other accused are absconding.

Couple leaves kid in taxi on way home from airport

Couple leaves kid in taxi on way home from airport

Tamaghna.Banerjee@timesgroup.com

Kolkata:29.10.2020 

A six-year-old boy, sleeping in the backseat of a yellow taxi, was left behind in the vehicle by his parents, who had apparently forgotten to get him down while rushing to get their luggage off the taxi’s boot on Tuesday evening, hours after they flew back to Kolkata from Lucknow.

But, thanks to the fast intervention by cops and a quick thinking by the cabbie, the child was reunited with his parents within an hour after he had gone missing.

The incident happened around 7.30pm on Tuesday after the family of four — a couple in their late 30s and their two kids aged 10 and 6 — took a pre-paid taxi from Kolkata airport. The family had returned from Lucknow and were heading to their Alambazar home near Dakshineswar.

The man had sat on the frontseat while the mother with her two kids were in the backseat. While their 10-yearold daughter was awake, the six-year-old son, who was sitting right behind the driver’s seat, had dozed off.

“After getting down at their home, they started taking out the luggage from the car. But none had noticed that the boy was left behind. The father said only after they went up home they realised that the boy had never got out of the car. They had the taxi’s counterfoil slip where our traffic control room’s number was printed, along with the car’s registration number. They called us and sought help,” said Dhritiman Sarkar, DC (traffic), Bidhannagar City Police.

Upon receiving the SOS call, cops contacted the prepaid counter at airport where a staffer checked database and called up the taxi owner. He then contacted the driver — Devtadeen Koery — and asked him to check if there was a kid in the backseat. Koery was surprised to find the boy still sleeping with his head against the car’s rear right door. “In my14-year-long career, I have seen people leaving behind mobiles and bags. But I have never seen someone leaving a child behind. Since he was tucked at the rightmost corner, I couldn’t even spot him in rear-view mirror. I had almost reached airport by that time and took the child to the nearest traffic guard,” said Koery.

Once he was taken to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport traffic guard, cops called his parents, who rushed to take their kid back.

Devtadeen Koery, the taxi driver

No phasing out nursing diploma course: Centre

No phasing out nursing diploma course: Centre

Hemali.Chhapia@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  29.10.2020 

In a huge respite for nursing aspirants across the county, the ministry of health and family welfare has “not found feasible” the plan to stop the popular General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) course. This means, the Indian Nursing Council, which has stopped giving permission to start new GNM colleges across India since 2019 to phase out the diploma programme from 2020-21 academic year, will have to roll back its plan.

The GNM course, which has produced close to 1.2 lakh nurses so far, is a popular entry point for thousands of humanities and commerce high school graduates who want to shift to health sciences. Around 3,000 GNM nursing schools across the country offer the three-year diploma programme.

According to a March 14 notification issued by the council, the last admission for the GNM course was to be the 2020-21 academic year. But, several nursing associations had expressed concerns that the closure would have led to a shortage of nursing staff, especially in rural areas. There was to be an economic impact too as the Indian Nursing Council (INC) had plans to upgrade all GNM colleges to BSc nursing institutes, which would have meant that aspirants would have had to shell out more for a nursing degree.

“The matter has been examined in the ministry and it has not been found feasible to stop entry to GNM courses at this stage, and the proposal has not been acceded to,” said the ministry’s circular, a copy of which is with TOI.

INC member Ramling Mali said, “GNM graduates are more willing to work in rural areas, as also in non-branded hospitals. The notification from the ministry to not permit the discontinuation of the GNM course rings respite to thousands of nursing aspirants.”

Many feel that healthcare costs would have risen too. A BSc degree costs Rs 3-5 lakh, while a GNM course costs about Rs 1 lakh. While the academic eligibility for BSc demands science in class XII, GNM is open to even those from non-science backgrounds.

“Upgrading GNM centres to BSc colleges and training the faculty would have all had a bearing on the total fees which would have made this course out of reach for many. For the rather poorer section of the society, the professional degree of nursing is all that they can afford,” said Dr Balasaheb Pawar, president of Maharashtra’s Private Nursing Schools and College Managements’ Association. He said he received support from Dr Bharti Pawar, who is nominated to the INC as a member of the Lok Sabha.

JEE (Mains) topper, dad held for using proxy to clear exam

JEE (Mains) topper, dad held for using proxy to clear exam

Rokibuz Zaman@timesgroup.com

29.10.2020  

Guwahati: A JEE (Mains) topper, and his doctor father, were arrested on Wednesday in Assam for allegedly using a proxy candidate to appear in the test on his behalf. Three others were also arrested in connection with the crime.

The examination was held in September this year.

Additional DCP, Guwahati, Suprotiv Lal Baruah, said, “Neel Nakshatra Das, a student, was arrested on charges of allegedly appointing a proxy candidate to appear in the exam. He is the son of Dr Jyotirmoy Das. Two other arrested persons are employees of a private company. We are also investigating the role of a city-based coaching centre.”

The other accused have been identified as Hamendra Nath Sarma, Pranjal Kalita and Hirukamal Pathak. Baruah said an FIR was filed last week by one Mitradev Sharma at Azara police station here, alleging that Neel Nakshatra, who had a percentile of 99.8, allegedly did not appear for the test held on September 5.

Full report on www.toi.in