Now, final year UG students can pursue 4th year to bag honours degree

Now, final year UG students can pursue 4th year to bag honours degree

ByNiraj Pandit, Mumbai

Mar 05, 2024 07:56 AM IST

UGC allows third-year UG students to extend for honours or research degree. They must choose a college with a PG center and complete a bridge course for transition.

In a significant step, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced that all the third- or final year undergraduate (UG) students enrolled under choice-based credit system (CBCS) can extend another year to bag an honours or research degree.

However, these students will have to pick a college with a postgraduate centre to pursue the fourth year and will also have to sign up for a bridge course, which will be decided by the respective university, to streamline their transition, an UGC circular said.

The initiative will benefit 91 autonomous colleges across Maharashtra, who have decided to implement the four-year UG programme under the New Education Policy (NEP) from the current academic year.

M Jagadesh Kumar, UGC chairman, said, “Students currently enrolled in and actively pursuing a UG programme under CBCS are eligible for a four-year programme. The respective university may offer bridge courses, which could be either through online or offline, to facilitate their smooth transition into the extended programme.”

This provision, Kumar said, is essential to ensure existing students can fully avail the benefits of the four-year UG programme. “Over 200 universities have successfully implemented the four-year UG programme, leveraging their robust PG programme and research facilities. Consequently, these universities are encouraged to motivate enrolled students to extend their studies to the fourth year.”

Shailendra Devlankar, director of higher education, said, “Presently, postgraduate departments at all universities in the state have CBCS. But this decision will benefit the 91 autonomous colleges who are implementing NEP from the current academic year. From the next academic year, the state government is set to implement NEP in all the colleges; so CBCS will eventually be introduced, and students will get the benefits under NEP.”

Air India-Vistara merger gets Singapore's conditional approval

Air India-Vistara merger gets Singapore's conditional approval

Reuters | Mar 5, 2024, 04.36 PM IST

Air India-Vistara merger gets Singapore's conditional approval

Singapore's competition watchdog said on Tuesday it has approved the merger between Tata Group-owned Air India and sister airline Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines, subject to certain conditions.

Singapore's flagship carrier announced its plan to merge Vistara and Air India in November 2022, in a bid to create a dominant full-service airline in the domestic and international markets.

While India's antitrust body approved the deal in September last year, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) had identified certain competition concerns regarding the merger.

The watchdog said the parties possessed the majority of the market share among airlines operating direct flights on four routes of concern - between Singapore and Indian cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Tiruchirapalli.

To address the concerns raised by the watchdog, the parties have proposed to maintain capacity on the said flights at pre-COVID levels, appoint independent auditors to monitor compliance with capacity commitments and submit annual as well as interim reports.

"CCCS considers the proposed commitments sufficient to address the competition concerns arising from the transactions," the watchdog said on Tuesday.

Singapore Airlines and Air India did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

According to the terms of the deal, autos-to-steel conglomerate Tata would hold 74.9% of the combined entity, while Singapore Airlines will own the remaining 25.1%.

AI-Vistara merger gets approval from Singapore panel

TNN | Mar 6, 2024, 06.01 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has granted conditional approval for merging Vistara - which is owned 49% by Singapore Airlines (SIA) - into Air India. SIA will hold 25.1% stake in the merged AI, with Tatas having the remaining stake.

The CCCS "identified some competition concerns" in this transaction, especially as these airlines have a significant number of flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Tiruchirapalli on the Indian side and Singapore on the other.

"Even though a number of competing airlines provide air passenger transport services on these routes, the parties have sustained substantial market share in recent years. CCCS also found that the price and capacity coordination between the parties arising from the confluence of the transactions would significantly restrict competition on the affected routes," the regulator said in a statement.

Air India Express commences Chennai- Kuwait direct flights Flights can now be booked on the airline’s award-winning mobile app and website, airindiaex

 Air India Express commences Chennai- Kuwait direct flights Flights can now be booked on the airline’s award-winning mobile app and website, airindiaex

https://www.dtnext.in/news/business/air-india-express-commences-chennai-kuwait-direct-flights-772116

When saviours suffer: Why so many ‘docs to be’ are taking extreme step

When saviours suffer: Why so many ‘docs to be’ are taking extreme step

TNN | Feb 26, 2024, 09.48 AM IST

NEW DELHI: One out of 64 MBBS students and four out of 58 post-graduate medicos who died by suicide in the last five years were from Delhi. At least 122 medical students, 64 of them pursuing MBBS and 58 studying at various levels in post-graduate courses, died by suicide and 1,270 students dropped out of medical colleges across India during this period. This data has been revealed by National Medical Commission (NMC) in response to an RTI.

Of the students who dropped out of colleges, 153 were studying MBBS and 1,117 were pursuing post-graduate courses. “One out of 64 MBBS students and four out of 58 post-graduate medicos who died by suicide were from Delhi. Among dropout students, three MBBS students and 155 post-graduate students were from Delhi between 2018 and 2022,” according to the information provided by NMC to RTI activist Dr Vivek Pandey.

President of Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), Dr Aviral Mathur, said these statistics shed light on the complex issues that extended beyond academic pressures alone. While the rigorous demands of medical education undoubtedly contributed to student stress, it was important to recognise that the underlying reasons for these suicides were multifaceted, he said. “Exaggerated duty hours (stretching without breaks up to 36 hours on certain days), inadequate rest periods, hostile work environment created by some toxic seniors and a lack of time off for PG students are significant factors contributing to burnout and mental health challenges. Furthermore, many institutes still lack proper redressal mechanisms and counselling services for at-risk students, leaving them without essential support systems in times of need,” Mathur said.

He further said that family-based stressors, coupled with the immense academic workload and clinical responsibilities, created a challenging environment for students. Additionally, the issue of language barriers, especially for students from diverse linguistic backgrounds, further exacerbated their difficulties in acclimatising to the academic and social aspects of medical education.

“One of the main reasons of this alarming data of suicide is a punitive system that discourages them from dropping out of the course, which exerts psychological pressure on budding doctors and force them to commit suicide,” said national chairman of FAIMA doctors’ association, Dr Rohan Krishnan. He further said that in Delhi, there was no uniform bond policy. While the central govt’s medical colleges — Lady Hardinge, Safdarjung and RML hospital — and Delhi govt’s Maulana Azad medical college and UCMS do not have any bonds, Army college and ESI have them.

“In these colleges, if a student wants to leave after admission, they are bound to pay Rs 50 lakh penalty and will not be able to take exams for next three years. The amount of the bond varies from state to state,” he said, adding that there was no way out for such students. This is happening due to policy failure on part of the govt and the commission. The students should get a free exit if they don’t want to continue the course,” Krishnan said.

“The medical education policy requires massive reforms. This should be an important data when NMC inspects the medical college for grant of permission/renewal or seat increment,” said secretary general, IMA Junior Doctors network, Dr Shankul Dwivedi. He added that this data was concerning as it reflected the stressful learning environment and compromised mental health. This was a loss of potential skilled manpower for the country who would have served the country at least for 40 years, Dwivedi said.

According to doctors, addressing these challenges requires a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, including educational institutions, healthcare providers, policymakers, and student organisations. “Together, we must work towards creating a nurturing environment that prioritizes student well-being, fosters resilience, and ensures that no student feels unsupported or alone in their journey through medical education,” said Mathur.

Most MBBS students who died by suicide from 2018-2022 were from Kerala, shows RTI reply

Most MBBS students who died by suicide from 2018-2022 were from Kerala, shows RTI reply

9 MBBS student suicides were reported in Kerala medical colleges while 11 PG students died by suicide in Maharashtra and Karnataka each.

MBBS student suicides between 2018 and 2022 were highest in Kerala, reveals RTI reply. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Vagisha Kaushik | February 28, 2024 | 08:49 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Of 64 MBBS and 58 postgraduate medical students who died by suicide between 2018-2022, as found in an RTI reply, the highest number of PG student deaths were reported in Maharashtra and Karnataka while Kerala medical colleges saw the most number of MBBS student suicides.

Vivek Pandey, a social and political activist, filed a fresh Right to Information (RTI) seeking details from the National Medical Commission regarding the number of UG and PG student suicides during the last five years as well as the number of students who dropped out of colleges.

As per the information provided in the RTI reply, 11 postgraduate students died by suicide in medical colleges of Maharashtra and Karnataka each while nine MBBS students died by suicide in Kerala medical colleges.

The number of student dropouts in the last five years was over 1,200. 153 MBBS students and 1,117 PG students left medical colleges, as per the data. 17 students each from Maharashtra and Karnataka left MBBS courses between 2018 and 2022.
Student suicide: State-wise number of deaths

In case of PG student suicides, the MD Clinical branch saw the most deaths. Three students of JSS Medical College, Mysore died by suicide, two in 2018 and one in 2020. Four student suicides were reported in M S Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore – one in 2018, two in 2019 and one in 2022. Even in Gujarat, most of the student suicide cases were found in MD Clinical.


State

Number of student suicides

Andhra Pradesh

1


Bihar

1


Chhattisgarh

1


Delhi

2


Gujarat

9


Haryana

1


Himachal Pradesh

1


Karnataka

11


Kerala

1


Madhya Pradesh

1


Maharashtra

11


Odisha

1


Puducherry

4


Rajasthan

6


Tamil Nadu

1


Uttar Pradesh

5


Uttarakhand

1


In case of MBBS student suicides, the deaths in Kerala were reported by nine different colleges, however, Thiruvarur Government Medical College in Tamil Nadu lost three student lives.

State

Number of student suicides

Andhra Pradesh

5


Bihar

1


Delhi

1


Gujarat

5


Haryana

1


Jammu and Kashmir

1


Jharkhand

1


Karnataka

5


Kerala

9


Maharashtra

3


Mizoram

4


Odisha

3


Puducherry

3


Rajasthan

5


Sikkim

1


Tamil Nadu

8


Telangana

1


Uttar Pradesh

4


West Bengal

3


If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. Those in distress or having suicidal thoughts or tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling 9820466726 or visiting AASRA’s official website or can call iCALL on 9152987821. Here are some more helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.

Microsoft’s Windows 11 Copilot gets smarter with new plugins and skills

Microsoft’s Windows 11 Copilot gets smarter with new plugins and skills

Frederic Lardinois@fredericl / 11:30 PM GMT+5:30•February 29, 2024

Image Credits: Microsoft

You may not have a Copilot key on your PC’s keyboard yet, but if you’re a Windows 11 user, you’ll soon be able to use Copilot for a lot more everyday tasks on your desktop. Starting today, Microsoft is adding skills that will allow Copilot to change more Windows 11 settings for you and plugins for services like OpenTable, Shopify and Kayak. That’s on top of new AI editing integrations into default apps like Clipchamp and Photos, as well as some improvements to widgets (which nobody pays attention to but Microsoft still hasn’t given up on yet) and the Windows snap functionality that helps you organize your various application windows.

The new skills will roll out in late March. With those, you’ll be able to perform actions like turning your battery saver on and off; showing device, system and battery information; launching live captions and the text-to-speech Narrator; displaying your IP address; and emptying your recycle bin.

In some ways, it’s not these specific skills that are all that interesting but the future they hint at where the Copilot will live up to its name and can automatically handle more complex tasks on your PC for you. A lot of the AI device experiments we’ve seen in recent months focused on mobile, but the endgame for Microsoft here seems to be to have a general PC copilot that can open and manipulate apps on your device for you — or maybe replace some of those applications altogether.

That’s also where the new plugins come in. Restaurant reservations through OpenTable, travel reservations through Kayak and a Shopify integration are surely only the start here, too. These features will roll out over the next month.

At the same time, Microsoft is now also integrating more AI features into its existing Windows apps. The first is a generative erase feature in the Photos app, comparable to what Google has long enabled in Google Photos on mobile (but not nearly as powerful as Photoshop’s generative fill). The second is a feature that automatically removes silence from videos in the Clipchamps video editor. This feature is available today.

Microsoft Copilot will soon be able to summarise and analyse files

Microsoft Copilot will soon be able to summarise and analyse files

Microsoft is testing a new Copilot feature that will allow users to upload files to the AI chatbot so it can summarise or analyse them.

By: Tech Desk

New Delhi | Updated: March 5, 2024 08:12 IST

Microsoft recently overhauled the Copilot app design on Android and iOS.

Microsoft is testing a new Copilot feature that enables the AI-powered chatbot to analyse and summarise files. The new functionality makes it easy for users to share files with the chatbot.

First spotted by the known tinkerer Leopeva64 on X, the new update to Copilot adds a new ‘Add a file’ button that allows users to share files directly from their local machines, following which the chatbot can read the contents of the file and answer queries specific to that data.

Apart from summarising data, the AI-powered assistant can also help you find a specific piece of data and even ask for more information about the topic. Ever since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, people have been using chatbots to summarise and understand a large amount of data without having to manually go through it.

While this may not be useful for people who don’t feed the chatbot with documents, it is really handy for those dealing with a large amount of data. It looks like the ability to analyse and summarise data using Copilot is currently available on the Canary version of Microsoft Edge, but there is no information on when it will be available to everyone.

Microsoft has been constantly adding and testing new Copilot features since its launch last year. When Copilot turned one earlier this month, the tech giant announced that the chatbot can now edit AI images generated using Designer.

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First uploaded on: 04-03-2024 at 17:21 IST