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DU gets time till Sept 29 for final exams

The Delhi University’s dithering on its planned Open Book Exams (OBE) for final year students has not only had the students in a tizzy, but such indecisiveness had also irked the Delhi High Court, which yesterday(July 7) directed the university and the HRD ministry to take a clear stand on whether they recommend cancellation of final year examinations.

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Delhi High Court

Delhi HC bench to hear petitions to find a solution to the mess

While the Delhi University (DU), in the face of stiff opposition and protests, may have developed cold feet and had started thinking of postponing the final Open Book Exams (OBE) till after August 15 (or even later, originally scheduled for July 10), the Delhi High Court, resuming its hearing today (July 8) in the issue, has referred the case to the Division bench which sits tomorrow.

What was presented to the court today essentially were new office memoranda (OM) and SOP issued by the Universities Grants Commission (UGC) – issued today – in which the university has been given time to conduct the exams by September 29.

It was also made known to the court that universities have been allowed the option of conducting the exams online or offline or through a blend of both. This is subject to the residential status of the students.

Counsel Sunita Ojha, appearing for the Union of India (UoI), reiterated that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has even given permission to hold physical written and oral exams. This was as per the advisory issued to DU.

It was informed that the decision was taken in a meeting yesterday (July 7) by a high-powered committee to postpone the exams. Today two fresh petitions have been filed which say that because of the enormous uncertainty that has arisen from the repeated postponements of exams by the university, the students should be allowed a closure and be promoted on the basis on previous marks of previous or internal exams.

It was also said that a large number of emails have been sent by students and issues have been raised that will come into the picture in the case of a postponement. These were issues such as their inability to pursue post grad studies in the US and/or the UK where transcripts have to be submitted by July-August. There was also the inability to gain employment in PSUs etc.

Several students have informed that their family members have been found COVID positive and some have been found positive themselves, so they cannot appear for exams. More than 500 emails have come from students who have suffered mental trauma because of the ongoing uncertainties arising out of continuous postponement.

The admissions issue

It has been alleged that the DU has been treating this exam issue without thinking about the plight of the students. The issue had reached the offices of HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, who held a meeting yesterday and now it s learnt that the university is also looking for an extension of its admission window. This will allow students appearing for engineering and medical entrance tests. While the JEE (Main), is scheduled for September 1 to 6, NEET is scheduled for September 13. JEE (Advanced) is set for September 27.

Yesterday, the Delhi High Court bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh, heard a petition filed by a final year PG student, Anupam, along with other students of Delhi University.

The students wanted a court directive on a June 6 notification of Delhi University which talked about conducting a remote, OBE for final year under graduate and PG students. This included students of School of Open Learning (SOL) and the Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB).

Advocate Akash Sinha, representing the petitioners, detailed the problems faced by students. These included the lack of access to proper internet facilities. Many students are stuck in areas where there is complete lockdown and hence no internet access through cafes. Then there are some students stuck in flooded areas. Above all, the mock tests conducted by Delhi University were full of glitches. Many students of the University did not have access to online classes and they do not have their books and study material with them, because they are stuck elsewhere. The appeal was that conducting exams under such circumstances would amount to severe injustice to the students.

Among the instruction that the court passed yesterday were the following:

  1. i)… the DU shall place on record the following data:
  2. a) The number of students who are studying in the final year of DU and the number of students who are registered for the final year examinations to be conducted through the online process;
  3. b) A state-wise break-up of the students and from where they have to take the examinations;
  4. c) Preparedness of the website portal for handling of the traffic during examinations, keeping in mind the recent technical glitches faced by students during the mock exams;
  5. d) The schedule of examinations i.e., evaluation of papers, date for announcement of results and date for issuance of transcripts. While preparing and placing on record the schedule before this Court, DU shall bear in mind the deadlines for all the final year students who have to seek employment, deadlines for postgraduate entrance examinations, deadlines for submission of documents to international universities where students may have secured admission etc.

The proposed inter-based exams have posed a serious logistical problem, as deposited before the court. It has also been reported that exam managers and operators from different parts in Haryana, Punjab and Assam seem to have no idea of the proposed OBE. They have reportedly said that they have not even received any notification.

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Ahead of Delhi Elections, Arvind Kejriwal launches Revdi Par Charcha campaign to seek feedback on freebies

Arvind Kejriwal said 65,000 meetings will be held across Delhi at micro levels by the AAP leaders and workers.

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Ahead of Delhi Elections, Arvind Kejriwal launches Revdi Par Charcha campaign to seek feedback on freebies

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday launched a campaign with a tagline Revdi Par Charcha to seek public feedback on freebies. The campaign comes ahead of the assembly elections, which is scheduled to be held in February.

Former Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal launched the campaign with his colleagues at the party office, saying while the opposition calls freebies as revdi, the party calls it services. This campaign will start on November 25 and will continue for 15 days until December 10, discussing the issues with common man.

Notably, the opposition has been targeting the AAP for providing free electricity, water and free public buses for women among other facilities. However, AAP feels freebies help citizens live a life of dignity.

Gopal Rai, AAP’s Delhi unit chief, said that so far, politicians used to enjoy the facilities, while citizens paid taxes. He continued that Arvind Kejriwal’s government decided that the people should also get the facilities like the politicians, adding the BJP called their attempt revdis. He said that AAP is launching the ‘Revdi Par Charcha’ campaign to discuss with the people in the city if the government should provide the facilities or not.

Launching the campaign, Arvind Kejriwal said 65,000 meetings will be held across Delhi at micro levels by the AAP leaders and workers. He said that AAP has six revdis for the people of Delhi. Mentioning that the Prime Minister and BJP have said several times that Kejriwal is providing freebies to the people that should be stopped, the former Chief Minister said that now people will now tell them if they want these six freebies.  He further concluded that if the BJP is elected here, they will stop these services immediately.

While listing the six services, the AAP national convenor said that Delhi is getting free electricity round the clock. He added that there was a time when Delhi used to see power cuts for 8-10 hours, but AAP ensured that the situation changed. He also noted that his party is providing free water, free pilgrimage to senior citizens, free bus rides to women, free world-class education and free medicine and treatments. Additionally, the pamphlet launched by Arvind Kejriwal also listed that soon the women in Delhi will get Rs 1,000 per month as well, later termed as the seventh revdi by the former Chief Minister.

Reports said that the paper will be circulated across the national capital. The paper also reads that if the reader feels they are getting huge water bills, they should not pay it. It mentioned that AAP will waive all water bills once Arvind Kejriwal is re-elected.

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Rahul Gandhi says air pollution in North India a national emergency, tourism declining, global reputation crumbling

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the air pollution in North India is a national emergency that needs a collective national response and not a political blame game. The Congress leader added that due to air pollution tourism is declining and “our global reputation is crumbling”.

It is a public health crisis that is stealing children’s future and suffocating the elderly, Gandhi said, adding an environmental and economic disaster that is ruining countless lives.

“As Parliament meets in a few days, MPs will all be reminded of the crisis by our irritated eyes and sore throats. It is our responsibility to come together and discuss how India can end this crisis once and for all,” the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

The former Congress chief said the poorest “among us suffer the most”, unable to escape the toxic air surrounding them. Families are gasping for clean air, children are falling sick, and millions of lives are being cut short, he added.

The Rae Bareli MP noted that the pollution cloud covers hundreds of kilometres. He said cleaning it up will require major changes and decisive action from governments, companies, experts, and citizens.

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

Gandhi also shared a video on a social media platform where he discussed the capital’s air pollution with environmentalist expert Vimalendu Jha. In the video, the Congress leader said he has been facing eye-burning and breathing issues and how the last week in Delhi has been terrible.

He said, “I tell my mother to leave town this month.” Jha explains to Gandhi that the sources of air pollution in Delhi are episodic and perennial. Episodic sources are firecrackers and stubble burning, which affect the month of November. “Vehicular contributes 50 per cent of Delhi’s pollution and construction-related roadside dust is another 30 per cent,” Jha said.

The Air Quality Index in Delhi has been severe since November 16, making it five consecutive days till Wednesday. On November 15, the average AQI was 396 (very poor).

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far.

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

Indian Navy officials on Friday said that an Indian fishing vessel with a crew of 13 collided with an Indian Naval submarine near the Goa coast. 

Following the incident, a massive search and rescue operation has been launched by the Indian Navy, which has deployed six ships and aircraft. Reportedly, while 11 crew have been rescued, two are still missing.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement and said that the vessel, Marthoma, collided with a Scorpene-class submarine about 70 nautical miles off the Goa coast. It added that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two are underway and are being coordinated with Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC). It further mentioned that additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts.

The statement said that the cause of the incident is being investigated. Notably, Scorpene-class submarines are a major part of India’s naval power in the Indian Ocean as they can undertake multifarious types of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance.

Reports said that the state-of-the-art technology utilised for the construction of the Scorpene-class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons. Furthermore, the attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on the surface.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy in its statement said that 13 crew members were aboard the fishing vessel at the time of the collision. It added that while 11 crew have been rescued so far, two fishermen are still reported missing.

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far. He stated that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two crew members of Marthoma are in progress and are being coordinated with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai. Additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts, he continued.

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