1. President Passes NEET Ordinance; State-Specific Entrances Allowed This Year
President Pranab Mukherjee passed an ordinance allowing states to hold their own medical entrance tests this year, bypassing the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), on Tuesday.
The decision was taken after consulting experts, before President Mukherjee left for China, reports The Hindustan Times.
Health Minister JP Nadda announced that NEET has been given statutory status, effectively making it the only entrance test for medical courses starting in the academic year 2017-18.
The ordinance supersedes the Supreme Court’s decision in the case, which directed all colleges to admit students based on their NEET score. Nadda however, clarifies:
The government was very clear from the beginning that it was in favour of NEET.
Seven states have opted for NEET so far, Nadda said.
However, this year, states can hold their own entrance tests for undergraduate courses. Candidates for the post graduate courses will be selected based on their NEET score.
Read the highlights of the announcement on The Quint.
2. A Month After New DGCA Norms, Air Ambulance Crash-Lands in Delhi
An air ambulance crash-landed near Delhi in Najafgarh on Tuesday evening, possibly because of engine failure. The aircraft had five passengers and two crew members onboard.
While one person was seriously injured, all passengers were rushed to the Rao Tularam hospital, police said.
The accident took place barely a month after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) framed rules for air ambulances, reports The Business Standard.
The KingAir C90 was carrying a heart patient from Patna to Delhi. The aircraft was intact and no casualties were reported.
Read the report on The Quint.
3. India Had to Stave China off to Sign Chabahar Agreement With Iran
India had to compete with China to sign the historic Chabahar Agreement as the neighbouring country was trying to woo Iran for the same, reports The Times of India.
Last month, a Chinese consortium had visited Chabahar’s free trade zone, expressing eagerness to invest in the strategically important port.
In January, Chinese President Xi Jinping had also visited Iran. The joint statement by the two countries included “development of ports” as one area of cooperation.
The port is important for India as it helps in bypassing Pakistan completely while reaching Afghanistan.
4. Lucknow Tops Fast-track Round to Gain Funding for Smart City This Year
Lucknow topped the fast-track round of selection of cities which will receive government funding for implementation of the smart city plan this year. According to the Union Urban Development Ministry, 12 other cities which also gained funding are as follows:
- Warangal, Telangana
- Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh
- Chandigarh, Chandigarh
- Raipur, Chhattisgarh
- New Town Kolkata, West Bengal
- Bhagalpur, Bihar
- Panaji, Goa
- Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Island
- Imphal, Manipur
- Ranchi, Jharkhand
- Agartala, Tripura
- Faridabad, Haryana
The government will provide smart city funding to 40 cities in the year 2017-18. The remaining 27 cities for the year will be decided in the second round.
Last year’s list of 20 smart cities announced previously were Bhubaneswar, Pune, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Visakhapatnam, Solapur, Davangere, Indore, New Delhi, Coimbatore, Kakinada, Belgaum, Udaipur, Guwahati, Chennai, Ludhiana and Bhopal.
Read the full report on The Quint.
5. Protest by DU Teachers to Delay UG Results
Delhi University teachers’ protest against increased working hours may lead to a delay in the results of under-graduate examinations, reports The Hindustan Times.
The direct working hours of assistant professors were increased from 16 hours to 24 hours per week. For associate professors, it went up from 14 to 22 hours per week.
The centralised evaluation process could not begin as the 3,000 teachers appointed for the job boycotted the process in protest of the government’s decision.
According to the head of the university’s teachers’ association, Nandita Narain, the protest will go on for four days.
6. France Refuses to Provide Bank Guarantee in Rafale Deal
In the ongoing negotiation with the French government, India is yet to respond to the latest offer by France, reports The Indian Express.
Days before the offer was made, the French government had refused to provide a bank guarantee in the deal. India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to buy 36 Rafale aircrafts form France.
The latest offer made through French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is 7.8 billion euro as against the initial offer of 10.5 billion euro, The Indian Express reports, citing sources.
The Indian Law Ministry has objected to France’s refusal to provide bank guarantee, the report claims.
7. Govt Tweaks Rules to Allow More Freedom for Deemed Universities
The Central government announced new regulations for deemed universities on Tuesday, reports Livemint. The new rules have provided increased academic, administrative and regulatory freedom to private education providers.
The minimum area of land required for the campus, for instance, does not need to be declared to gain status of a deemed university.
The new rules have also allowed the promoters of institutions to be their chancellors.
The course curriculum must also be revised every three years, according to the new rules.
While this may help some institutes, the new rules may fail to settle the issue of off-campus cells by reputed institutions.
8. Govt Will Not Ease Sourcing Norm for Apple in India
The government has refused to relax the sourcing norms for Apple to set up independent stores in India, reports The Economic Times. If the company wants to set a single brand retail store in India, 30 percent of the material should be Indian, according to sourcing rules.
Apple CEO Tim Cook’s recent visit failed to charm the Indian authorities who refused to relax the norms.
Also Read:
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While the tough decision will make production of Apple products in India difficult, refurbished phones maybe another option for the tech giant.
Read all about the scope of refurbished iPhones in India on The Quint.
9. Soda Plant Loses Fizz & Life
Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has virtually gifted a club soda plant to newly appointed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a victory gift, reports The Telegraph.
The plant based on the outskirts of Patna will be uprooted and placed in Siliguri, shedding employees from Bihar in the process.
Rambriksha Food and Beverage Pvt Ltd, a UB Group company, was severely hit after the Nitish Kumar government declared Bihar to be a dry state starting 5 April.
A part of the land of the factory was sold to settle bank loans and the employees of the factory will be unemployed by the end of May, said the company director and owner, Subodh Kumar (45).
From The Quint
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