New Delhi: Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay will go completely online next semester and not call students for face to face lectures in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, its director said on Thursday.
The decision, the first by any IIT, followed deliberations that went on till late night Wednesday.
IIT Bombay | File Photo | Photo Credit: NDTV
“After a long deliberation in the Senate, we have decided that the next semester will be run purely in the online mode so that there is no compromise on the safety and well being of the students. The COVID pandemic has made us rethink the way we impart education to our students, IIT-Bombay director Subhasis Chaudhuri said in a statement to the media.
“To ensure that our students begin the academic year without further delay, we are planning on extensive online classes details of which will be informed to all students in due course of time,” he added.
Other IITs are also likely to follow suit. However, no final decision has been taken yet.
Anantnag: Jammu Kashmir Police came under sharp criticism for not registering an FIR against Arnob Goswami owned Republic Bharat TV for running a fake news about the ransacking of the house of a slain Pandit Sarpanch in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Republic TV which is known for its anti Muslim rants ran a ticker that the house of a deceased Pandit Sarpanch Ajay Pandita Bharti has been ransacked. Pandita was shot dead by militants some days ago in Larkipora area of the district.
SSP Anantnag Mr Sandeep took to Twitter and asked Republic TV to stop spreading fake news. SSP said his house is safe and attached the photographs of the house along with the tweet.
Police sources told News Agency KNT that shortly after the fabricated news report was run by Republic TV, SSP Anantnag Mr Sandeep sought details from concerned SHO, who not only sent the photographs of the house of deceased Pandita to SSP but also confirmed that Republic has run a fake news.
Netizens reacted sharply to the tweet of SSP Mr Sandeep. Majority of them demanded lodgement of an FIR against the Republic TV and the Reporter, even some questioned the conviction of police, saying it is quick to act against local Reporters only.
“Let us assume this fake news would have been run by any local Reporter…..We know about the repercussions,” wrote a netizen.
Police have lodged various cases against the local organizations and Reporters for running alleged fake news reports but at the same it never bothered to act against non Kashmiri media outlets.
A couple of years ago a Kashmiri Pandit known for his communal remarks posted a fake news claiming that Muslims have set a temple in Anantnag on fire. No action was initiated against him.
On the other hand police registered an FIR against a news agency for reporting facts about a protest in Srinagar. The news agency had reported that CRPF fired a rubber bullet that was hit on the foot of a lady. Police refuted this fact and registered an FIR, even though the doctor treating the girl had admitted that she had received a rubber bullet in her foot. (KNT)
Maj Gen (Dr) G G Dwivedi, who commanded a Jat battalion in this sector in 1992, and was subsequently the defence attaché to China in 1997, said that he is not surprised by the recent Chinese belligerence.
The peaks around the Galwan valley last saw bloodshed in 1962, when Chinese soldiers opened fire on a company of 5 Jat on October 22, killing 36 soldiers and capturing company commander Major S S Hasabnis. It marked the start of the 1962 war.
Maj Gen (Dr) G G Dwivedi, who commanded a Jat battalion in this sector in 1992, and was subsequently the defence attaché to China in 1997, told The Indian Express over the phone that he is not surprised by the recent Chinese belligerence.
“It is part of China’s ‘nibble and negotiate policy’. Their grand aim is to ensure that India does not build infrastructure along the LAC, change the status of Ladakh, cosy up to the US and join the anti-China chorus caused by Covid-19. It is their way of attaining a political goal with military might, while gaining more territory in the process.’’
Dwivedi recounted the time he commanded 16 Jat in Pangong Tso and Hot Springs area in 1992. There was no tension between the two countries at that point. “We used to patrol up till Hot Springs and so did they. The Ladakh Scouts controlled the Galwan valley and did not encounter any problems either. We would learn of Chinese patrols from the red Hong Mei cigarette packets they left behind and graffiti on the rocks that read ‘Chung ko (This is China)’.” Dwivedi said the Indian troops would retaliate by scribbling ‘This is India’ on the rocks.
Things have changed, and Beijing is worried about India’s recent actions of reorganising Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and improving infrastructure in the region, Dwivedi said. “It has high stakes in PoK as the $60-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) traverses through it, and it is also the site of the proposed $9 billion Diamer Bhasha Dam, a joint project of China and Pakistan.’’
He said that China’s current aggressive behaviour also coincides with pressure on President Xi Jinping, who is the chairperson of the Central Military Commission, due to opposition around the globe due to Covid-19 and the economic slowdown at home.
The PLA’s aim, said Dwivedi, is to dominate Durbuk-DBO road, strengthen its position in the Fingers area, halt the construction of link roads in Galwan-Pangong Tso and negotiate de-escalation on its terms.
“They have quietly and steadily built a lot of infrastructure along the LAC, and now they want to dominate the hilltops. Any military man will tell you that this matters because if you don’t occupy the hilltops, you are like a sitting partridge.’’
On the way forward, Dwivedi said India must be firm on restoration of status quo as on April 30. “We must be firm on that, they should go back. We started to disengage but the Chinese did not, they want to consolidate their gains and make us accept the new LAC alignment.”
Negotiations depend on how strong you are on the ground. “Right now, the Chinese have an edge, we must neutralise it. We must either push them back or occupy some other place that affects them.”
Military action, said Dwivedi, should be accompanied by political, diplomatic and economic action. “We must isolate China in the geo-political arena and ensure a consensus in our favour. Last but not the least, let us present a united front as a nation and win the propaganda war as well.”
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is considering advising colleges and universities to cancel their final year examinations and semester examinations in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
It may also recommend further delays in the academic calendar, with the next session pushed back to October.
On Wednesday, Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank tweeted that he had advised the UGC to revisit its earlier guidelines on these issues. “The foundation for revisited guidelines shall be health and safety of students, teachers and staff,” he said.
This comes a day before the Supreme Court hearing on cancellation of Class 12 and 10 examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) due to the spread of COVID-19. The Ministry and the CBSE told the court that a final decision on the issue would be communicated by Thursday. The Class 12 examination is scheduled to begin on July 1.
In April, a UGC panel, headed by Central University of Haryana Vice-Chancellor R.C. Kuhad, had recommended that final year examinations could be held in July, while intermediate semester students could be graded based on internal assessment or examinations where possible. UGC’s guidelines, based on the panel’s report, had also recommended that the new academic year begin on August 1 for the second and third year students, and September 1 for the first year students.
However, Ministry officials say the Kuhad panel has updated its suggestions due to the rapid spread of the pandemic. UGC will consider its recommendations to cancel the examinations and delay the calendar, and is likely to issue fresh guidelines later this week.
There are concerns regarding the alternative assessment methodology to be adopted if examinations are cancelled. Internal assessments usually translate to project work. “For a small college with 500 students in the final year, their project reports can be checked and graded. But for large State universities, with two to three lakh students from affiliated institutions, it will be impossible to check that many project reports,” said a senior official, detailing the difficulties. Another option would be to use students’ performance in previous semester examinations instead.
Although UGC’s guidelines are only advisory in nature, with each university making its own decision in accordance with local conditions and State government rules, several Vice-Chancellors said they would await the Central body’s norms before taking a final call.
UGC regulates 945 universities across the country, including 412 State universities and 53 Central universities. All educational institutions have been closed since mid-March, although many have continued classes through online and distance education.
Fatehpur (UP): A 28-year-old man was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur for allegedly raping his minor cousin, resulting in pregnancy, police said on Wednesday.
According to them, the crime allegedly took place seven months ago in the Fatehpur’s Malwan area. The pregnancy was detected after the 14-year-old girl underwent an ultrasound, they said.
SP Kapil Dev Mishra said according to the FIR, the girl was raped by her cousin Jaikaran Pal in a forest area and the accused threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed it to anyone.
The girl’s family lodged a complaint after they came to know that the girl was pregnant, police said.
New Delhi: India overwhelmingly trusts Prime Minister Narendra Modi to handle China, which is now a bigger enemy than Pakistan, and the country thirsts for revenge against the attack on Indian soldiers in Ladakh on June 15, according to the latest IANS CVoter Snap Poll.
The poll, conducted just days after the incidents in Ladakh, gives a very sharp barometer of the country’s mood. Modi enjoys high level of trust, but the fundamental change is now that China is considered a bigger enemy than Pakistan.
Former Defence Minister George Fernandes had flagged the China threat many a time, but at that point of time it had not become a dominant national discourse.
However, the country wants retribution against China and is seeking suitable revenge but does not feel that suitable steps have been taken against China. Not just Opposition voters, but even BJP voters want a suitable reply to China and the public mood is against normalising business or trade ties with China.
Yashwant Deshmukh, Founder-Director, CVoter International, said, “The question has gone beyond trustworthiness. The nation supports PM Modi but there is a fundamental shift that now China is seen as a bigger enemy. However, the public mood wants a befitting reply to China.”
Modi enjoys overwhelming trust quotient in the IANS CVoter Snap Poll on national security measures with almost 89 per cent respondents reposing trust in him.
China is now clearly problem number 1 for India. As per the snap poll, 68.3 per cent say China is a bigger problem for India than Pakistan, while only 31.7 per cent see Pakistan as a bigger threat.
The public is still waiting for retribution against China. More than 60 per cent feel that China has not got a befitting reply and a minority of 39.8 per cent feels that Indian government has given a suitable reply.
The trust in the government is higher than the Opposition parties. As much as 73.6 per cent trust the government more than the Opposition parties on matters of national security, while only 16.7 per cent trust the Opposition parties more.
There has been an ongoing spat between the government/BJP and the Congress on the escalation on the China border.
The snap poll had a question on whether as a protest to China, the common people of India will stop buying Chinese products, i.e., mobile phones, TV, electronics that are made in China. The answer is that 68.2 per cent people said they will boycott Chinese goods but a sizeable number of 31.8 per cent said nothing of this sort will happen and people will continue to buy Chinese goods.
The ratings for former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who has been at the forefront of attacking Modi, are not good. As much as 61.3 per cent said they do not trust Rahul Gandhi at all on matters of national security while the remaining almost 39 per cent said they trust him.
Indian and Chinese troops, along with contingents from other countries, participated in the Victory Day military parade in the Russian capital of Moscow on Wednesday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the event, the 75th anniversary of the Victory Day celebration to mark the end of Second World War, along with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe.
Rajnath Singh: Proud that Indian Armed Forces are participating in Victory Day parade
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweets, “Attending the Victory Day Parade at Red Square in Moscow today to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory of the Soviet People in the great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. I am proud that a Tri-Service contingent of the Indian Armed Forces is also participating in this parade,” he says.
Attending the Victory Day Parade at Red Square in Moscow today to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory of the Soviet People in the great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
I am proud that a Tri-Service contingent of the Indian Armed Forces is also participating in this parade. pic.twitter.com/0zBiaKH5r1
WATCH | Indian troops take part in Victory Day military parade
A Tri-Service contingent of the Indian Armed Forces participates in the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia:
#WATCH Russia: A Tri-Service contingent of Indian Armed Forces participates in the Victory Parade at Red Square in Moscow, that marks the 75th anniversary of Russia's victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War. pic.twitter.com/jamcyb6C9m
New Delhi: With 14,933 people testing positive for coronavirus in a single day, India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 4,40,215 on Tuesday while the death toll rose to 14,011 with 312 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The number of recoveries also surged with 2,48,189 patients cured so far, while there were 1,78,014 active cases, according to the updated official figures at 8 am. One patient has migrated.
During the last 24 hours, a total of 10,994 COVID-19 patients have recovered, taking the recovery rate to around 56.38 per cent amongst coronavirus infected patients, an official said.
Of the 312 fresh fatalities reported till Tuesday morning, 113 were from Maharashtra, 58 from Delhi, 37 from Tamil Nadu, 21 from Gujarat, 19 from Uttar Pradesh, 14 from West Bengal, 9 from Haryana, seven each from Rajasthan and Telangana, six from Madhya Pradesh, five each from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, three from Jammu and Kashmir, two each from Bihar and Punjab and one each from Chhattisgarh, Goa, Odisha and Uttarakhand.
Centre seeks details on the formulation to verify claims.
Hours after yoga guru Baba Ramdev unveiled an Ayurvedic medicine — ‘Coronil and Swasari’ — on Tuesday, claiming that clinical trials on COVID-19 affected patients had shown favourable results, the Central government asked Patanjali Ayurved Limited to stop advertising the drug and sought details on its claimed “successful trial and cure”.
Yoga guru Ramdev addresses the media during the launch of ‘Coronil’ and ‘Swasari’ ayurvedic medicines, claimed by Patanjali Ayurved to cure coronavirus disease, in Haridwar on June 23, 2020. | Photo Credit: PTI
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Ayush on the claims made by Haridwar (Uttrakhand)-based Patanjali Ayurved in treating COVID-19, the Ministry noted that it had taken cognisance of the news being recently flashed on its drug by the company. Facts of the claim related to the drug and details of the stated scientific study are not known to the Ministry, the statement said.
According to the latest update by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), 14,011 deaths have been recorded due to the infection so far in the country. (Twitter)
List of details
Patanjali Ayurved has been asked to provide, at the earliest, details of the name and composition of the medicines being claimed as successful in COVID-19 treatment; site(s)/ hospital(s) where the research study was conducted; the protocol, sample size, Institutional Ethics Committee clearance, Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI) registration, and results data of the study, and to stop advertising/publicising such claims till the issue had been duly examined.
The Ministry has also requested the concerned State Licensing Authority of the Uttarakhand government to provide copies of the license and product approval details of Ayurvedic medicines being claimed as useful in the treatment of COVID -19.
Regulated by Act
“Also, the concerned Ayurvedic drug manufacturing company has been informed that such advertisements of drugs including Ayurvedic medicines are regulated under the provisions of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 and Rules thereunder and the directives issued by the Central Government in the wake of COVID outbreak. The Ministry had also issued a Gazette Notification on April 21, 2020 stating the requirements and the manner in which research studies on COVID-19 with Ayush interventions/medicines should be undertaken,’’ the Ministry said.
‘100 patients’
Meanwhile, scientists associated with the trial said they had not yet published the results. Dr. Abhishekh Sharma, Assistant Professor of Medicine, National Institute of Medical Sciences, and among those who supervised the trial, said that 100 patients, who had tested positive for the virus, were recruited for the trial. Of them, 50 were given the medicine and five dropped out midway. The remaining 50 were administered a placebo.
“69% of the 45, when tested on the third day, were found clear of the virus and half of those on the placebo recovered,” said Dr. Sharma. That works out to 31 of those on the treatment tested negative, and 25 of those on placebo tested negative.
No other details on the profiles of the COVID-19 positive persons — the degree of sickness in those who enrolled for the trial, their age, whether they were on other medication prior to enrolment — were immediately available.
Clinical trial registry
A check on the clinical trial registry, where all trials must be registered, showed that a wide spectrum of patients were solicited. They were “asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic, moderately symptomatic and those aged 15-80”. The original aim of the study was to check the status of patients at day 3, day 7 and day 14, and whether they had improved immunological parameters due to the medicine. The medicine regime involved are the Tablet Swasari Ras (500 mg), Tablet Pure Ashwagandha Extract (500 mg), Tablet Pure Giloy Extract (500 mg), Tablet Pure Tulsi Extract (500 mg) and Anu Taila (nasal drop), according to information on the clinical trial website.
IIT Bombay | File Photo | Photo Credit: NDTV
