News Analysis India

Category: Nation

  • ‘Even If 0.001% Negligence…’: Supreme Court Slams Exam Body NTA Over NEET Row |

    NEET 2024 Exam Result Row Latest News: With the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination facing all-around criticism, the Supreme Court has slammed the National Testing Agency for the alleged irregularities and negligence in conducting the prestigious national exam for medical college aspirants. “Even if there’s 0.001% negligence on anyone’s part, it should be thoroughly dealt with,” said the top Court while hearing the petitions filed by aspirants challenging the exam result.

    The results for the medical entrance examination, taken by 2.4 million students on May 5, were announced on June 4. Allegations of an exam paper leak soon emerged, with 67 students reportedly achieving perfect scores of 720/720.

    The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 8. The top court emphasized the importance of fairness in the examination process, stating, “As an agency conducting the examination, you must act fairly. If there is a mistake, acknowledge it and outline the corrective action. This approach inspires confidence in your performance.”

    Grace marks were allegedly given to compensate for lost time at the exam centres. Numerous student organizations have protested against the alleged NEET irregularities, including incidents of incorrect question papers being distributed, Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets being damaged, and delays in sheet distribution.

    Last week, the National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the Supreme Court that the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates in the NEET-UG exam would be revoked, offering these candidates the opportunity to retake the exam on June 23. The results of the re-test are expected to be released before June 30.

    Candidates who opt not to retake the exam will have their original scores reinstated, minus the extra marks.

    Bihar police have arrested 13 people in connection with an alleged NEET paper -leak while the Gujarat Police have arrested some persons accused of compromising an entire exam centre in Bharuch.

  • PM Modi to Release ₹20,000 Crore for Farmers in Varanasi Today – Full Details |

    PM Modi In Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on June 18 and 19, Tuesday and Wednesday. According to PMO press release, the Prime Minister will participate in PM Kisan Samman Sammelan in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi at around 5 pm. 

    PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 

    During the event, the Prime Minister will grant certificates to more than 30,000 women from self-help groups (SHGs) Krishi Sakhis. PM Modi, after being sworn in as Prime Minister for the third time, signed his first file authorising the release of the 17th installment of PM Kisan Nidhi, reflecting the commitment of the government towards farmer welfare. In continuation of this commitment, the Prime Minister will release the 17th installment amounting to more than Rs 20,000 crore, to around 9.26 crore beneficiary farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through Direct Benefit Transfer today.

    So far, more than 11 crore eligible farmer families have received benefits of more than Rs. 3.04 lakh crore under PM-KISAN. Krishi Sakhi Convergence Program (KSCP) aims to transform rural India through the empowerment of rural women as Krishi Sakhi, by imparting training and certification of Krishi Sakhis as Para-extension Workers. This certification course also aligns with the objectives of the “Lakhpati Didi” Program.

    PM Modi’s Visit To Varanasi 

    At around 7 pm today, PM Modi will witness the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, and later, at around 8 pm, he will perform puja and darshan at Kashi Vishwanath temple.

    PM’s Action In Bihar 

    In Bihar, the Prime Minister will visit the Ruins of Nalanda at around 9.45 am. The ruins of Nalanda were declared a UN Heritage Site in 2016. At around 10.30 am, he will inaugurate the new campus of Nalanda University in Rajgir. The Prime Minister will also address the gathering on occasion.

    The university is conceived as a collaboration between India and East Asia Summit (EAS) countries. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by several eminent people, including the heads of missions from 17 countries.
    The campus has two academic blocks with 40 classrooms, with a total seating capacity of around 1900. It has two auditoriums with a capacity of 300 seats each. It has a student hostel with a capacity of around 550 students. It also has various other facilities, including an international center, an amphitheatre that can accommodate up to 2000 individuals, a faculty club, and a sports complex, among others.

    The Campus is a ‘Net Zero’ Green Campus. It is self-sustaining with solar plants, domestic and drinking water treatment plants, a water recycling plant for reusing wastewater, 100 acres of water bodies, and many other environment-friendly facilities.

    The University has a deep connection with history. The original Nalanda University, established around 1600 years ago, is considered to be among the first residential universities in the world. 

  • Amit Shah Chairs High-Level Meeting In Delhi To Review Manipur Security Situation |

    New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a high-level meeting in the national capital to review the security situation in Manipur.

    Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Intelligence Bureau Chief Tapan Deka, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Army Chief (Designate) Lt General Upendra Dwivedi, GoC Three Core HS Sahi, Security Advisor to Manipur Kuldiep Singh, Manipur Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi, Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh and Assam Rifles DG Pradeep Chandran Nair joined the meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs in North Block, Delhi.

    The meeting comes a day after Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uike called on the Home Minister at his office and learned to be briefed about the situations in the north-eastern state.

    The meeting was held at the Ministry of Home Affairs as fresh violence was reported in the northern state.

    The northeastern state has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3 last year following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category.

    In fresh violence, several houses belonging to both Meitei and Kuki communities were burned by unknown miscreants in Kotlen following the murder of a person earlier this month, the Manipur Police said.

    Around 600 people from Manipur’s Jiribam area are now taking shelter in Assam’s Cachar district following fresh violence reported in Manipur’s Jiribam area.

    The Cachar district police have heightened security along the bordering areas.

  • BJP, Congress Gear Up For Assembly Elections; Parties Field Candidates For July 10 Bypolls |

    New Delhi: As states are set to conduct by-polls for their assembly seats, on Monday BJP announced the name of the state election in-charge for Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir. Saffron party appointed Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Maharashtra while Dharmendra Pradhan and Biplab Kumar Dev were appointed as election in charge and co-in-charge for Haryana. 

    BJP released a list of appointed candidates on microblogging site X which also consists the names of Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Hemanta Biswas Sharma as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Jharkhand while  Kiran Reddy was appointed as election in charge for Jammu and Kashmir.

    States are going for by-polls on June 10, the party announced the name of its candidate on Monday. AAP fielded Mohinder Bhagat for by-election to the Jalandhar West Assembly constituency in Punjab while BJP nominated Sheetal Angural for the same constituency.  BJP also announced the names of the candidates contesting for by-polls from the West Bengal assembly constituency — Manas Kumar Ghosh from Raiganj, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin (SC), Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagda (SC) and Kalyan Chaubey Bhattacharya from Maniktala constituency.

    The Congress party has also approved the names of Dr Pushpendra Verma and Hardeep Singh Bawa to contest in by-polls from Harmirpur and Nalagarh Assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh while Lakhpat Butola and Qazi Nizamuddin are going to contest in by-polls from Badrinath and Manglaur Assembly constituencies in Uttarakhand.

  • 15 Dead, 60 Injured After Kanchenjunga Express Collides With Goods Train Near Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri |

    Kanchenjunga Accident: At least two rear compartments of the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express derailed on Monday after a goods train collided with it near New Jalpaiguri station in West Bengal. According to reports, atleast 15 are feared dead, and 60 are injured after the unfortunate accident. Taking to X, PM posts: 

    PM @narendramodi has announced that an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the railway mishap in West Bengal. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000. https://t.co/2zsG6XJsGx


    — PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 17, 2024

    Express which runs between Silchar in Assam to Sealdah in Kolkata was Sealdah bound when a goods train hit it from behind near Rangapani station, located close to New Jalpaiguri in North Bengal, according to Sabyasachi De, Chief Public Relations Officer – Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). Atleast two rear compartments were derailed under the impact of the collision from behind by the locomotive of the goods train near Rangapani station, about seven km from North Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri station. 

    CM Mamata Banerjee Initiates Action 

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a post on X, said: “Shocked to learn, just now, about a tragic train accident, in Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district. While details are awaited, Kanchenjunga Express has reportedly been hit by a goods train.

    Shocked to learn, just now, about a tragic train accident, in Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district. While details are awaited, Kanchenjunga Express has reportedly been hit by a goods train. DM, SP, doctors, ambulances and disaster teams have been rushed to the site for rescue,…


    — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) June 17, 2024

    “DM, SP, doctors, ambulances and disaster teams have been rushed to the site for rescue, recovery, medical assistance. Action on war-footing initiated.”

    Minister Vaishnaw: Rescue Operations Going On 

    Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said rescue operations are being carried out on a war footing. “Unfortunate accident in NFR zone. Rescue operations going on at war footing. Railways, NDRF and SDRF are working in close coordination. The injured are being shifted to the hospital. Senior officials have reached the site,” Vaishnaw posted on X. Sealdah Eastern Railway has set up a control desk at Rangapani station. 

    Unfortunate accident in NFR zone. Rescue operations going on at war footing. Railways, NDRF and SDRF are working in close coordination. Injured are being shifted to the hospital. Senior officials have reached site.
    — Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) June 17, 2024

    #WATCH | Goods train rams into Kanchenjunga Express train in Darjeeling district in West Bengal, several feared injured

    Details awaited. pic.twitter.com/8rPyHxccN0
    — ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2024

     

    How Did The Accident Happen?

    Sources in the Railways said that the goods container train overshot the signal and hit the rear parcel coach of the Kanchanjunga Express. Officials are reviewing the situation, the Railway officials said. The accident took place at Rangapani area in the Katihar Railway Division ahead of New Jalpaiguri Junction at around 8:45 am today.

  • India Advocates for Lasting Peace in Ukraine at Swiss Summit, Emphasizes Dialogue and Diplomacy |

    Ukraine Peace Summit: India shares its view on the Swiss summit regarding peace in Ukraine on Sunday, affirming its commitment to engage with all parties involved, including both sides of the conflict, to facilitate peace in Ukraine. 

    “India shares the global concern over the situation in Ukraine and supports any collective desire to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict. We will continue to engage with all stakeholders, as well as the two parties to the conflict, to contribute to all earnest efforts to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine,” said Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West) Ministry of External Affairs, who represented India at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, hosted by Switzerland at Burgenstock.

    The Indian delegation attended the opening and closing plenary sessions of the summit, which began on June 15 and concluded on June 16, bringing together representatives from 92 countries and organisations. Russia was not invited to the summit while China decided not to attend it.

    In a brief address, the senior Indian diplomat said, “Our participation in this summit and continued engagement with all stakeholders is with a view to understanding different perspectives, approaches and options to find a way forward for a sustainable resolution of the conflict.”

    Accordingly, New Delhi will continue to engage with all stakeholders as well as the two parties to the conflict to contribute to all earnest efforts to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine, Kapoor said, according to the Ministry of External Affairs press release.

    “In our view, only those options acceptable to both parties can lead to abiding peace. In line with this approach, we have decided to avoid association with the Joint Communique or any other document emerging from this summit,” Kapoor said.

    The release also said that India continues to believe that such a resolution requires a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict. “India’s participation in the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, as well as in the preceding NSA/Political-Director level meetings based on Ukraine’s Peace Formula, is in line with our clear and consistent approach that enduring peace can be achieved only through dialogue and diplomacy,” said MEA. “We continue to believe that such a peace requires bringing together all stakeholders and a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict.” the MEA added.

    According to MEA, “We deem it important to join this gathering that seeks to explore the way forward to a negotiated settlement of a very complex and pressing issue.”

  • NEET 2024 Row: Dharmendra Pradhan Warns NTA Officials, Says ‘Won’t Be Spared If…’ |

    NEET 2024 Row: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday assured action against National Testing Agency officials if they are found guilty of the ‘irregularities’ in the conduct of 2024 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate). The Minister added that the improvement in NTA, which conducts NEET exam, is needed.

    “On the recommendations of the Supreme Court, the order has been given for re-test of 1,563 candidates. Some irregularities have come to light in two places. I assure students and parents that the government has taken this seriously,” Pradhan told ANI.

    “Even if the big officials of the NTA are found guilty, they will not be spared. A lot of improvement is required in NTA. The government is concerned about this, no culprit will be spared, they will get the harshest punishment,” he added.

    The NTA told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the scorecards of 1,563 candidates who got ‘grace marks’ in the NEET-UG exam will be cancelled and the candidates will have a chance to reappear for the exam on June 23 and the results will be declared before June 30.

    The NTA told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that a committee has been constituted to review the results of over 1,563 candidates who were awarded ‘grace marks’ to compensate for the loss of time suffered while appearing for NEET-UG.

    “The Committee has decided to cancel the scorecards of 1563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates who were given grace marks and these students will be given the option to take a re-test,” NTA said.
    “The exam will be conducted on June 23 and the results will be declared before June 30,” it added.

    Many student organizations have protested over the 2024 NEET-UG exam issue. Members of the NSUI (National Students’ Union of India), students’ wing of the Congress, held a protest over the issue in Delhi on Saturday.
    Members of the Kerala Students Union (KSU) staged a protest on Saturday in Kerala and urged authorities to investigate the alleged irregularities surrounding the NEET-UG exam.

  • Minister Suresh Gopi Clarifies ‘Mother Of India’ Remark on Former PM Indira Gandhi |

    Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Sunday clarified his comments on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, where he referred to her as “Mother of India”, and said it was a “contextual reference.” The BJP MP said that it was a contextual reference, while he was elaborating on the role of late Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran, who Gopi had earlier described as a “courageous administrator.”

    Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Gopi said, “It was a contextual reference. I was talking about the true worth of leader Karunakaran. Like how to the Congress and non-Congress people of Kerala, even though there might be founders and co-founders, the administrational quality and efforts that result totally to the benefit of people, Karunakaran should be the father of Congress in Kerala. In the context of that, I had referred to Indira Gandhi as the mother of Congress in India.”

    Earlier, Gopi, who was inducted as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Tourism, referred to veteran leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxists, EK Nayanar and K Karunakaran, as his “political gurus.Simply because my father’s family was a Congress family, my mother’s family worked up to the formation of Janasangh in Kerala…I was in the SFI. But the reason behind my shift was not political. It was emotional. I will live my life emotionally as well, being acceptable to all classes of life, all segments of life, all levels of life,” the BJP MP said on Sunday.

    “My parentage, my traditions, the essence of Sanatana Dharma–I have to perform all those valuable traits. Simply because Indira Gandhi is Congress, and for that draconian act of hers, I cannot sway away from attributing. I call her the real architect of India post-independence until her death,” he added.

    Notably, Suresh Gopi defeated K Karunakaran’s son, K Muraleedharan, in the Thrissur constituency in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. The actor-turned-politician has become the first Lok Sabha BJP MP from Kerala after winning the Thrissur constituency. He defeated the ruling Left Democratic Front candidate, V.S. Sunilkumar, by a margin of 74,686 votes.

    Gopi was sworn in as Minister of State in the Modi 3.0 cabinet. He assumed charge as Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas as well as the Ministry of Tourism on Tuesday morning, earlier this week. 

  • Delhi Water Shortage: Atishi Urges Delhi Police Commissioner To Protect Major Pipelines |

    New Delhi: As Delhi is suffering from a water crisis, AAP leader and Delhi  Minister Atishi Marlena wrote a letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora and urged him to deploy the police personnel across the major pipelines of the national capital to protect it from miscreants.

    In the letter to the commissioner, She requested police personnel to patrol and protect major pipelines for the next 15 days.

    “To stop miscreants or people with ulterior motives from tampering with water pipelines which have now become Delhi’s lifelines. At this juncture, any foul play and sabotage will worsen the already difficult water shortage being faced by the people of Delhi,” said in the letter, ANI reported.

    She said that the Delhi Jal Board has patrolling teams for the main water distribution network which carries raw water to the Water Treatment Plants (WTPs).

    Atishi added that the ground patrolling team found damaged water supply pipelines in places like South Delhi Rising Mains which carries water from Sonia Vihar WTP to South Delhi. 

    “This was near the DTL substation in Garhi Medhu. Our patrolling team found that several large 375 mm bolts and one 12-inch bolt had been cut from the pipeline, causing the leakage- The fact that several large bolts had been cut seems to indicate foul play and sabotage,” she said in a letter.

    Atishi further mentioned that the maintenance team worked for six hours to fix the leakage issue, worsening the water shortage in South Delhi.

    “Our maintenance team worked for six hours continuously and repaired the leakage, but this meant that we had to stop pumping water for 6 hours and 20 MGD of water was not pumped during this time. As a consequence, a further 25 per cent of water shortage will be experienced in South Delhi,” the letter read.

  • Clash Between Two Communities Over Cow Transport In Telangana’s Medak, Section 144 Imposed |

    New Delhi: Section 144 has been imposed after a clash erupted between two communities near Ramdas Chowrasta in the Medhak district of Telangana over the alleged illegal transport of cows, police said.

    The senior police said that Section 144 is imposed in the area and currently the situation is under control.

    “The police imposed Section 144 in the area and the situation is under control now,” Medak Superintendent of Police Office B Bala Swamy said.

    A few individuals have been taken into custody and the investigation is on as the cases are being registered against both parties and the situation is under control for now, the police officer said.

    According to police, the scuffle broke out when leaders from Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leaders stopped the transportation of the cows. Rather than filing a complaint, they staged a protest.

    “The scuffle led to two persons receiving injuries. After that, both parties staged a protest on the road. The hospital where the injured persons were receiving treatment was also attacked,” Swamy said, ANI reported.  

    What Is Section 144?

    Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prohibits the gathering of four or more people in an area and is usually implemented to avoid any protests that could lead to violence and riots.