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Time of India
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Isro ex-chief-led panel to onboard HEIs in new regulatory setup
NEW DELHI: In a key development on the much-delayed Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), the Centre has constituted an empowered committee under the chairmanship of former Isro chief K Radhakrishnan to facilitate the onboarding of higher educational institutions (HEIs) under the proposed regulatory framework. The ministry of education notified the committee on Friday, tasking it with resolving implementation issues and harmonising existing protocols to ensure a smooth transition. The committee is expected to submit its report within three weeks. With 18 members, the committee includes directors of leading institutions such as IIT-Bombay, IIM-Ahmedabad, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and VCs of Delhi University, Utkal University and SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur. Also on board are chairpersons of existing statutory bodies like the UGC, AICTE and NCTE. HECI was proposed under the National Education Policy 2020 as an overarching body to replace UGC and consolidate higher education regulation. It aims to bring all institutions under a single umbrella for academic standards, accreditation, and funding, while maintaining autonomy for domain-specific decisions through subject councils. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Upexi's $100M Solana Investment: What It Means for Shareholders bullseyealerts Read More Undo However, the legislation to establish HECI has faced delays since its draft in 2018, with various iterations seeking to address concerns. The panel's terms of reference include addressing 'specific difficulties of HEIs to be brought under HECI's purview so that appropriate clarifications may be issued,' and analysing 'regulatory protocols of different statutory bodies and recommending applicable protocols for HEIs to become multidisciplinary institutions.' It is also tasked with proposing ' mechanisms in view of HECI' for funding and technical support systems, and to 'suggest organisational structure of Standards Councils,' while ensuring that statutory bodies continue to lay down academic standards and coordinate between teaching and research.
Hindustan Times
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
NEET UG 2025: Over 12 lakh candidates qualified for MBBS admission
New Delhi: A total of 12,36,531 candidates have qualified the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2025, the results for which was declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday, marking a 6% decrease from last year, when 13,15,853 aspirants cleared the national-level test for admission to undergraduate medical and para-medical courses. A total of 5,14,063 male, 7,22,462 female and 6 transgenders are among the over 12 lakh qualified candidates. There are 9 male and only one female candidate among the top 10 rank holders and all of them belong to the general category. None of the 22,09,318 candidates who appeared for NEET-UG 2025 — held in pen-and-paper mode in a single shift on May 4 across 5,468 centres in 552 cities in India and 14 abroad — scored a perfect 720 marks. This marks a change from last year, when a record-breaking 17 candidates secured All India Rank (AIR) 1 with full marks (720) in the re-revised results, down from 67 in the first iteration which caused major controversy reaching the matter to Supreme Court and later paved the way for reforms in NNTA by a government appointed panel. Following reports of malpractices in NEET-UG 2024, which reached the Supreme Court, the Centre formed a seven-member panel led by former ISRO chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan in June 2024 to reform the NTA. The panel's report, submitted on October 21 last year, recommended that from 2025, the NTA will focus solely on entrance exams for higher education, excluding recruitment exams. Rajasthan's Mahesh Kumar is the NEET-UG 2025 topper with AIR 1 after scoring 686 marks. Utkarsh Awadhiya from Madhya Pradesh and Krishang Joshi from Maharashtra have secured second and third spots by scoring 682 and 681, respectively. NEET topper Joshi said that he switched to simple keypad phones during his exam preparations as smartphone was distracting him from studies. 'I took Akash Institute's coaching in Pune and cleared the exam in the first attempt. I studied for 7 hours at a coaching institute and 5 to 6 hours at home. In the initial days of my NEET preparations, I was experiencing distractions due to my smartphone and hence I switched to a keypad phone. After my NEET exam, I switched back to my smartphone. My parents and teachers supported me in my exam preparations,' Joshi told HT. Joshi is hoping to get admission in MBBS at prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi as 'it is the most renowned institution, and it has the topmost faculties to develop exceptional skills as a doctor.' According to students, coaching teachers and mentors, the difficulty level of question paper compared to last year is the reason behind a smaller number of students qualifying in NEET-UG 2025 even after the reduction in the cut-off marks from previous year. The NEET-UG exam 2025 consisted of 180 multiple choice questions (MCQs) with a total score of 720. Of the 180 questions, 90 questions are from Biology, 45 questions from both Chemistry and Physics with each question having a weightage of 4 marks. The NEET marking scheme follows a structured pattern where candidates receive 4 marks for each correct answer 1 mark is deducted for each incorrect response. No marks are given or deducted for unattempted questions. Compared to last year, the duration of the exam was reduced from 200 minutes last year to 180 minutes this year. This year, NTA also removed the provision for optional questions, introduced temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, there were two sections (Section A and B) in the NEET paper and from section B, candidates had to attempt 10 out of the 15 questions in Physics and Chemistry and 20 out of the 30 in Biology. Candidates got 20 additional minutes to attempt the questions in section B. A NEET aspirant from Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, Anika Mishra scored 585 marks last year but secured only 530 marks this year. 'I did well in the Biology and Chemistry part but the sentences in Physics questions were lengthy and I could not attempt all questions as I wasted my time reading them. 'Even though I could solve a few questions in physics, I could not mark them on the OMR sheet,' she said. Another NEET aspirant from UP's Hardoi Nitesh Patel said, 'Compared to last year, it took more time to solve physics questions. Last year, we were getting answers to questions in just one step by putting values in formulas but this year we could get answers only after solving questions in two-three steps.' Dr Rahul Chawla, a NEET mentor from Delhi, said that there was a change in pattern this year. 'Last year, questions were easy and hence we saw so many candidates scoring over 600 marks. I think this year paper was not that tougher and not that easier compared to last year.' Pritesh Maurya, a teacher at a NEET coaching centre in Lucknow, said that the language of questions this year was tougher than last year. 'Ideally, a student gets less than one minute to solve a question if he or she has to attempt all questions but this year students took 5 to 10 minutes to solve a question and hence we are seeing a smaller number of qualified candidates and a drop in qualifying cut-off marks.' Maximum, 1,70,684 candidates qualified from Uttar Pradesh followed by 1,25,727 from Maharashtra. Rajasthan, home to India's coaching hubs like Kota and Sikar, witnessed qualification of 1,19,865 candidates. The NEET UG 2025 qualifying cut-offs have been lowered for all categories compared to 2024. For general and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) candidates, the cut-off decreased from 720-162 marks to 686-144 marks, with 11,01,151 aspirants qualifying. For Other Backward Classes (OBC), the cut-off dropped from 161-127 to 143-113, with 88,692 candidates qualifying. The Scheduled Caste (SC) category saw a similar reduction from 161-127 to 143-113, with 31,995 candidates qualifying. For Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, the cut-off also fell from 161-127 to 143-113, with 13,940 qualifying. In government-run educational institutes, 10% of seats are reserved for candidates from the EWS category, 27% for OBC-NCL candidates, 15% for SC candidates, and 7.5% for ST candidates. The NEET qualified candidates will now majorly compete for 1,18,190 MBBS seats in 780 medical colleges, while others will opt for undergraduate dental, ayurveda, homeopathy, veterinary and para-medical programmes.
Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
CPM named in money laundering case: Can ED name a political party as accused?
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday (May 27) submitted a chargesheet in a special court in Kochi in connection with the 2021 Karuvannur Cooperative Bank money laundering case, naming the ruling CPI(M) as an accused. Here is a look at why and how the ED made the political party an accused in the case. The ED has listed the CPI(M), or CPM, as the 68th among a list of 83 accused. Among the 83, eight are CPI(M) functionaries, existing or former. Three senior leaders, K Radhakrishnan MP, former minister A C Moitheen, and senior leader M M Varghese, have been accused as persons who had served as district secretary of the party from 2011 to 2021. The CPM is a political party registered under Section 29A of The Representation of the People Act, 1951. Under this section, only an association or body of individuals can apply to register as a political party. The ED has made CPM an accused in the money laundering case under section 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which deals with offences by companies. According to the section, a 'company' means any corporate body and includes a firm or other association of individuals. The ED argued that as the CPM is identified as an association of individuals under the Representation of the People Act, it falls within the definition of 'company' under the PMLA. The Karuvannur Co-operative Bank money laundering case was initially investigated by the state Crime Branch, which said an estimated Rs 300 crore had been siphoned off from the bank. Later, the ED initiated a probe under the PMLA. The ED alleged that the three leaders — Radhakrishnan, Moitheen and Varghese — during their stints as the district secretary of the CPI(M) had helped people get illegal loans, of which a certain amount was channelised to the party fund. According to the chargesheet, a bank employee named Biju M K, who was made an approver in the case, had confessed before a magistrate court that the CPI(M) district committee members put pressure on the bank authorities to grant illegal loans. The party had maintained five illegal accounts with the Karuvannur bank and proceeds of crime were parked in these accounts, the ED claimed. Is it common for political parties as a whole to be accused? This is only the second instance where the ED has named a political party as an accused under the PMLA. Last year, it had named the AAP as an accused in the alleged liquor scam case.
Scroll.in
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
ED names Kerala CPI(M) in chargesheet about alleged cooperative bank fraud
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday named the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in a chargesheet pertaining to a case about money having been allegedly siphoned off from a bank controlled by the party, The Indian Express reported. The agency also named eight leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala in the chargesheet. They included Lok Sabha MP K Radhakrishnan, former state minister AC Moitheen and the party's former Thrissur district secretary MM Varghese. This was the second case in which the Enforcement Directorate named a political party as an accused entity under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. In May last year, the agency had named the Aam Aadmi Party as an accused in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. In Kerala, the Enforcement Directorate began investigating the case against Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders after the Crime Branch alleged that about Rs 300 crore had been siphoned off by party functionaries from the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank, The Indian Express reported. The Enforcement Directorate alleged that Radhakrishnan, Moitheen and Varghese – during their tenures as the district secretaries of the party in Thrissur – helped other accused persons procure illegal loans from the bank. A portion of these loans was allegedly funnelled to the party fund, according to The Indian Express. The chargesheet included the statement of a bank employee named Biju MK, who became an approver in the case. Biju reportedly told a magistrate court that members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s district committee pressured bank authorities to clear illegal loans, and obtained a portion of the loans from borrowers as contributions to the party fund. Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary MV Govindan alleged that the Enforcement Directorate's actions were part of a politically motivated conspiracy, The New Indian Express reported. 'The people of Kerala can see through these plots,' Govindan said. 'The CPM will confront the issue both politically and legally.' The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader referred to a statement by the Union Ministry of Finance before Parliament in March that there had only been two convictions out of the 193 cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate against MPs, MLAs and local body members in the last 10 years. 'This clearly exposes a politically biased approach intended to harass opposition leaders without evidence,' Govindan was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express. He claimed that the party had taken strict action against those allegedly involved in the bank fraud case.
Hindustan Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
ED names CPI(M) in Karuvannur bank fraud case
The Enforcement Directorate named the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and some of its top leaders including a sitting MP and MLA as accused in a fresh chargesheet in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank 'fraud' case on Monday, officials aware of the matter said. In its second set of final prosecution complaints before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kochi, the ED named former minister and current Alathur MP K Radhakrishnan, Kunnamkulam MLA AC Moideen and MM Varghese. All three of them were district secretaries of the party in Thrissur in different periods. This final complaint named 28 more people, taking the total number of those arraigned to 83. The money laundering probe stems from at least 16 FIRs registered by the Kerala police crime branch at Thrissur in July 2021 on charges of alleged financial irregularities in the CPI(M) controlled bank worth ₹150 crore. The ED started investigating after complaints of illegal sanctioning of loans to non-members of the bank in cash without sufficient collaterals and mortgaging properties of borrowers without their knowledge purportedly at the behest of the CPI(M) district leadership in Thrissur. The loans were reportedly issued in violation of existing cooperative banking rules and regulations. The directorate's complaint on Monday stated that the CPI(M) was listed as accused since 'the disbursement of the fraudulent loans were made by the bank officials on directions of the district leadership of the party as per the information provided by the secretary and the then manager'. 'The party has committed crimes such as interfering in the functioning of the Karuvannur bank, assisting the accused in fraudulently obtaining loans and thereby cheating the bank, knowingly sharing the money acquired through fraud, possessing that money with the intention of using it in the future while misrepresenting it as untainted and using that money to purchase assets,' the complaint said. 'From the investigations and evidences gathered, it is clearly established that the accused persons committed the offence of money laundering as defined under section 3 of PMLA and they are liable to be prosecuted and punished under section 4 of PMLA and the attached properties involved in the money laundering are liable to be confiscated in terms of section 8(5) of PMLA,' the complaint said. The Kerala CPI(M) termed the ED's charges against the party and its senior leaders as a ploy to 'hunt' them in the backdrop of elections and as 'violating all limits of democratic etiquette'. 'Leaders like K Radhakrishnan, AC Moideen and MM Varghese have been named in the chargesheet as part of a political conspiracy. As district secretaries of the party, they took efforts in exposing the actual accused in the fraud and saving the bank. These leaders stood with the state government, fought against the corrupt, restored the bank's operations and created a system to return money to depositors,' the party state secretariat said. The CPI(M) said the charges against the party leaders were certain to be dismissed in court. The party alleged that the names were added by the agency 'to insult the CPI(M) and protect the interests of the RSS.' 'They better remember that they are playing with fire,' the party added. Radhakrishnan, the Alathur MP, said there was a 'political' decision behind the arraignment of leaders like him. 'These are attempts to destroy the party and the government,' he said.
