IP University to introduce orphan children quota with full fee waiver from 2025-26

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (IPU) has decided to introduce an orphan children quota in its various programs, in addition to the existing Single Girl Child quota introduced last year.
The university's Academic Council has approved the introduction of this quota, effective from the academic session 2025-26. Under this quota, one additional seat will be reserved in each university schools and programs, and the selected students will be eligible for 100% fee waiver under the university's EWS scheme.
The Vice Chancellor, Padma Shri Prof (Dr) Mahesh Verma, said that the university aims to provide education to all, including orphan children who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or some other reasons. The university will also strive to provide financial assistance to these students under various government schemes.
IP University will be one of the first universities in the country to introduce this quota. Detailed guidelines will be available on the university's website soon.
The Academic Council meeting also discussed introducing a separate PhD program for working professionals, lateral entry in MBA (Fire and Industrial Safety), and adding Spanish and other popular foreign languages to the certificate courses.
Other decisions include introducing a five-year BA-MA Philosophy program, four-year BEd Special Education programs in three new disciplines and a Post-MSc Diploma in Radiological Physics.
The university will also establish an 'In-Situ Center for Indian Knowledge System and Technology Innovation' to promote Indian knowledge traditions.
With MSc in Microbiology and some other certificate & diploma programs, Narela campus will be operational soon.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Mint

25 minutes ago

• Mint

Covid-19 now endemic in India, say government scientists as cases decline

New Delhi: Covid-19 has become endemic in India, top scientists at the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) monitoring the virus have said, ruling out the risk of any severe fresh outbreak. The current situation, they noted, is marked by small, isolated episodes rather than large waves of infections. This assessment is reflected in the steadily declining number of active cases. India's active caseload dropped to 5,012 on Sunday, down from 5,976 on Friday, according to official data. Two new deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the total fatalities this year to 112. Scientists attribute the decline to high population immunity and the continuing mildness of the virus. The current spread is largely driven by Omicron sub-variants NB.1.8.1 and LF.7, which have so far remained less virulent. 'When transmission efficiency increases, the peak comes faster and the decline is also faster,' said Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, national chair at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and former head scientist at the agency. 'Covid-19 has become endemic in India. The concerning part is that we don't want new infections, but the good news is that new variants over the last three years have remained mild or milder.' He also noted that many infections now go undetected but still contribute to building antibody responses in the population, a natural form of immunization that limits severe illness. The testing levels have declined, and comprehensive data on current infections remains limited. 'Presently, there is no very good record of the number of tests being done, and it needs to be done scientifically. But there are no significant adverse clinical symptoms to be concerned about,' one senior DBT scientist said. Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, public health expert and past president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Cochin, said that Covid-19 is now behaving like a cyclical disease, with temporary immunity leading to periodic rises in cases. 'As the level of immunity in the population drops, the virus is able to infect more people and cases will naturally rise. However, due to past vaccination and exposure to the virus earlier, immune memory protects against severe disease and death,' he said. Vulnerable individuals, he added, should remain cautious, especially during periods of surge. Jayadevan also pointed out that SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve in response to the human immune system, leading to recurring infection cycles roughly every 6 to 12 months. 'The reported number of cases is always an underestimate because of limited testing,' he said. Influenza, which is also circulating, remains a significant contributor to disease burden, he added. Earlier, Mint reported that a spike in cases during April was driven by the JN.1.16 sub-variant of Omicron. In May, most cases were linked to recombinant sub-lineages such as LF.7 and LP.8.1.2. As per government guidelines, all hospitalized Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) patients and 5% of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) cases continue to be tested for Covid-19. Positive SARI samples are routinely sent for genome sequencing. The health ministry reported 1,197 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing total recoveries this year to 19,435. Authorities continue to advise precautions, including avoiding crowded places when unwell and following Covid-appropriate behaviour. 'In hospitals too, patient load has come down and most cases are now manageable at home,' said Dr Vikas Maurya, head of the respiratory department at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

Time of India

11 hours ago

• Time of India

‘Forthcoming mass extinction will be the first one engineered by humans'

Chennai: If one were to write the history of humankind from a climatic perspective, it would have a pre-2024 era and a post-2024 era. A rapid increase in carbon levels in the atmosphere posed serious threats to the environment, calling for immediate redress, Poovulagin Nanbargal coordinator G Sundarrajan said here on Saturday. In the last 10,000 years, the current juncture of existence was the most crucial as humankind faced five risks simultaneously for the first time — climate change, mass extinction, spread of diseases/infections such as Covid-19, pollution, and inequality. "There have been mass extinctions before as well. But the forthcoming mass extinction [of a species] will be the first one to be engineered by humans," Sundarrajan said at an editors' meet on climate change, organised at Anna Centenary Library. He stressed the need for holistic coverage of climate change by the media and offered suggestions to spread awareness among the public. He called for setting up a "climate desk" in all media organisations to come out with news stories pertaining to climate change. "All forms of news must be approached from a climate change angle, and news about the marginalized, who are most affected by global warming, must be given more coverage," it said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Forget Furosemide, Use This Household Item To Help Drain Edema Fluid WellnessGuide Learn more Undo Projects and technologies proposed as solutions to climate change must be critically examined for their authenticity. False solutions must be identified and called out, he said. Melting of glaciers, rise in global average temperature in a short time, and gender and caste aspects of climate change were discussed at the meeting. The event was held in coordination with the Chennai Press Club. Poovulagin Nanbargal presented one copy of each of its published books to the club's president, Suresh Vedanayagam.

Hans India

2 days ago

• Hans India

Airborne fungal spores may help predict Covid, flu surge: Study

New Delhi: Monitoring fungal spores in the outdoor air can predict surges in flu and Covid-19 infections, according to a study. Researchers from Lynn University in Florida, US, discovered that airborne concentrations of fungal spores -- but not pollen -- were strongly linked to increases in flu and Covid-19 cases. When airborne concentrations of fungal spores rose, the scientists often saw a jump in infections within a few days. The study models were able to predict flu and Covid-19 surges with high accuracy, particularly in the fall season. However, pollen didn't show the same connection or prediction. 'The findings from our study suggest that monitoring airborne fungal spore levels could help predict short-term outbreaks (spikes) of flu and Covid-19, giving public health systems an early warning signal,' said Felix E. Rivera-Mariani, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Lynn. 'Our findings also highlight the potential role of environmental factors -- not just person-to-person spread -- in contributing to the incidence of respiratory viral infections. That could open new doors for targeted public health alerts, especially in areas with high outdoor airborne fungi," Rivera-Mariani added. In the study, the team examined daily data from 2022 to 2024, in two major health regions in Puerto Rico—San Juan and Caguas. The data included the daily incidence of people diagnosed with Covid-19 and flu, and the concentrations of airborne fungal spores and pollen recorded on the same days. The scientists then implemented statistical and machine learning models to see if high levels of these environmental exposures could predict spikes in flu and Covid-19 cases within the same week or the following week (called lag-effect). 'The findings may help inform environmental risk alerts, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly or those with asthma and allergic rhinitis,' Rivera-Mariani said. The study was presented at ASM Microbe 2025 in Los Angeles, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.