States can fill 85% seats through NEET-II, says Apex Court

May 4, 2016

New Delhi, May 4: The Supreme Court on Tuesday told states opposing the National Eligibilty-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) that they can still fill their share of 85% seats for MBBS and BDS courses through Phase II of the exam.

picA three-judge bench presided over by Justice Anil R Dave, which began hearing applications, including one filed by Karnataka seeking permission to conduct their own test, asked the Centre, Medical Council of India and the CBSE to respond to their plea by Thursday.

“Filling up 85% seats is still reserved with you only. The students, who have not filled the form (for NEET Phase I on May 1) can still avail the opportunity for the next phase to be conducted on July 24,” the bench told Karnataka’s Advocate General Madhusudan Naik.

The All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Examination, hitherto conducted by the CBSE, was held to fill the all-India quota of 15% seats in colleges in states. The single test, now called NEET, is expected to save students from hassles of appearing in multiple examinations.

Senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for Karnataka’ s Association of Private Medical Colleges, contended that there was statutory arrangement allowing the colleges to hold their own examination in English and vernacular language for which all arrangements had already been made. Venugopal cited the recent suicide by an IIT-JEE aspirant in Kota, saying that students, particularly from the rural background, were undergoing a lot of stress as time for preparing for a common entrance test was very short.

The bench, also comprising Justices Shiva Kirti Singh and Adarsh K Goel, said: “The students from rural background still can’t pass your test without coaching. Even the best students are found from the most backward regions.”

The court was also not apparently convinced with the plea for students who studied in vernacular medium facing difficulty, as it said the names of scientific terms are generally same in the regional languages.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Gujarat, claimed every scientific term in English had its distinct name in Gujarati.

Senior advocate L N Rao, appearing for Vellore-based Christian Medical College, said the state cannot take its right to conduct its own examination, started since 1993, for filling 85% seats from students of the minority community.

The court, however, told him those unsuccessful in the examination still had to appear for other tests. “You may have an excellent reputation, no doubt, but you cannot say that you would not get students of your choice from an all-India examination,” the bench said.

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News Network
July 22,2020

Warangal, Jul 22: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an outlet in Telangana's Warangal has started selling 'anti-corona' tea. The tea has become an instant hit with the locals as the beverage is laced with natural immunity-boosting ingredients.

"We sell tea named 'anti-corona'. It has natural immunity-boosting ingredients such as ginger, black pepper, cinnamon powder, among other things. A mixture of these ingredients boosts our immunity," Shiva, the owner of the tea shop said.

"Better immunity is needed to fight the coronavirus infection in the body. So we have started preparing this tea and selling it during the coronavirus pandemic," he added.

Prabhakar, a customer at the tea stall said, the tea was a "corona special tea," and it has Ayurvedic mixtures which help to boost the immunity of the human body.

"The tea is prepared after adding the Ayurveda mixtures to milk. This is good for your health. I, along with my family members and friends, come here every day. We drink this tea thrice a day," Prabhakar added.

According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 46,274 COVID-19 cases in Telangana. Meanwhile, India's coronavirus count stood at 11,92,915 on Wednesday morning.

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News Network
June 23,2020

New Delhi, Jun 23: The meeting between Indian Army's 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his Chinese counterpart got over after around 11 hours, sources said.

"Today's meeting between the Corps Commander-level officers of India and China is over. The meeting which started at 11:30 am went on for around 11 hours. More details awaited," sources said.

The meeting started at around 11:30 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) opposite Chushul to defuse the tensions in Eastern Ladakh sector due to Chinese military build-up, the sources said.

This is the second meeting between the two corps commanders. They had met on June 6 and had agreed to disengage at multiple locations. India had asked the Chinese side to go back to pre-May 4 military positions along the LAC.

The Chinese side had not given any response to the Indian proposal and not even shown intent on the ground to withdraw troops from rear positions where they have amassed over 10,000 troops.

India is also likely to discuss the change in rules of engagement on the LAC where the forces have been empowered to use firearms in extraordinary circumstances, sources had said.

They said India will also ask China to honour the commitment given during June 6 talks to disengage in the Galwan valley completely and other places.

The build-up of Chinese air assets including strategic bombers by the PLA Air Force in fields near Indian territory close to Ladakh is also likely to figure in discussions.

India and China have been involved in talks to ease the ongoing border tensions since last month.

However, last week as many as 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the face-off in the Galwan Valley after an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.

The Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in the violent clash.

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News Network
February 3,2020

Mumbai, Feb 3: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, whose party severed ties with the BJP after the state elections, on Monday said that if somebody breaks a promise, "pain and anger is obvious".

"No, I did not get any shock," Thackeray said in an interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana while talking about forming an alliance with NCP and Congress, and becoming the Maharashtra Chief Minister.

"I am a son of Shiv Sena Pramukh (Balasaheb Thackeray), several people tried to give a shock to me but they didn't succeed. This is a field where you have to accept in the beginning that there will be a bit pushing and pulling," Thackeray said.

He added that accepting the Chief Minister's post was not a shock for him and neither was it his "dream at any point of time".

"But I can say one thing for sure that I had decided to go to any level to fulfil the promise which I made to Balasaheb Thackeray. I want to further clear it that me becoming Chief Minister is not the fulfilling of the promise made to Shiv Sena Pramukh but it's just a step towards that. I will fulfil every promise which I made to my father," Uddhav Thackeray said.

"There are several types of shock. Did people like it or not, it is the important part. I have spoken on this issue (alliance with NCP and Congress) several times and even people have understood this. Making promises and keeping them are two different things. If someone breaks a promise, pain and anger is obvious," he added.

The Chief Minister said that he does not know if BJP "has come out their shock till now or not."

"But I have to say if they had kept their promise what would have happened, what a big deal had I asked for? Did I ask for stars and moon? I only asked for what was decided before Lok Sabha polls, when we decided seat distribution," he said.

He further said, "Maharashtra and the country are watching (who betrayed/shocked whom), I don't need to say much on this."

Soon after the Assembly election results, Shiv Sena demanded rotation of the chief minister's post and equal power-sharing in the state government, which was rejected by then ally BJP. The weeks of political stalemate led to the imposition of President's rule on November 13.

Firm on its demands, Sena, the second-largest party in the state, did not hesitate to cobble up with the ideological opponents -- NCP and Congress -- and was given the chief minister's post.

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