Latest news with #SanjayKumar
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bandi Sanjay dares Congress government to seek CBI inquiry into phone tapping case to bring ‘masterminds' behind it to justice
Alleging that the Congress was having a secret understanding with the BRS, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Saturday dared Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to seek a CBI inquiry into the telephone tapping case. Mr Sanjay was in Karimnagar to participate in the International Yoga Day celebrations held at the Dr BR Ambedkar stadium on Saturday. Later, speaking to the media, he questioned why Mr. Revanth Reddy, who had demanded a CBI probe into the phone tapping issue while he was the TPCC president during the BRS rule, failed to act upon it after coming to power. He alleged that the previous K. Chandrasekhar Rao-led dispensation filed dozens of cases against him. 'I was the first to speak out about the phone tapping. The tapping was conducted from Hyderabad and Sircilla. Everyone knows who is behind this,' he added. Mr. Sanjay Kumar said, 'Former Special Investigation Bureau (SIB) chief T. Prabhakar Rao, who is the prime accused in the phone tapping case, tapped the phone of BJP leaders, including mine. The accused did not just tap phones of BJP leaders but also of Congress and BRS leaders. Even judges were not spared.' The prime accused 'fled' the country after the Congress came to power, he criticised. 'Despite clear evidence that the phone tapping was done at the behest of the persons at the helm in the previous BRS government, why has no notice been issued to the masterminds behind the nefarious crime?' he asked. Stating that he had received a phone call from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the phone tapping case to testify before it, Mr. Sanjay said he will cooperate with the investigation and act as per law.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Will delaying the Census affect its implementation?
On June 16, the Registrar General of India under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification that India's population will be counted in 2027. Following demands by the Opposition parties, among other reasons, the government has also announced the inclusion of caste enumeration in the Census for the first time in independent India. The last Census was held in 2011. The exercise was to take place in 2021, but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has now been further pushed to 2027. Will delaying the Census affect its implementation? Sanjay Kumar and Poonam Muttreja discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Vijaita Singh. Edited excerpts: Was the Census deliberately delayed? Sanjay Kumar: The Census should have taken place in 2021, but that was the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since everything was stalled in 2020 and we were under a strict lockdown for a good part of that year, the Census could not take place. Do you see any political reasons for the further delay? Do you think the government wanted to time it with the delimitation exercise, which is frozen till 2026? Sanjay Kumar: I don't have an explanation for this delay. The pandemic was over by mid-2022. By the end of 2022, universities had opened, schools had gone back to a normal routine, and everyone had started going back to office. The delay for nearly three years after that is frankly inexplicable. I'm not sure why the government did not take the initiative earlier. I don't think it is because of the delimitation exercise, because every time delimitation takes place, the exercise uses the previous Census data. So the government could have began conducting the Census in 2023 as well. Even if it did start conducting the exercise in 2025, it would have made no difference to the work of delimitation. Can you tell us about the implications of a delayed Census? Poonam Muttreja: The delay has serious consequences for governance and development. India continues to use Census data from 2011 data in 2025. The ground reality has changed dramatically since 2011. Population growth, internal migration, urbanisation, and fertility patterns have all accelerated/changed. But policy continues to run on outdated assumptions. The delay effects nearly every sector. School enrolment projections are inaccurate. Vaccine coverage targets have missed the mark. Social welfare programmes such as PDS (public distribution system) and MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) cannot adjust to the actual population needs. The delay also affects disaster preparedness and infrastructure planning. This is going to be the first digital Census in India. Are there any concerns about that? Poonam Muttreja: Digitisation can bring in efficiency, reduce manual error, and allow faster data processing. But a fully digital Census also risks excluding the very people who are the hardest to reach, such as those in rural households and informal settlements, those belonging to marginalised communities, and women. They may not have smartphones, stable electricity, or digital access. Take women, for instance — only 33% of rural women use the Internet. Among women in low income households, mobile phone ownership is significantly low. A 'digital first' approach without safeguards could reinforce the existing gender bias. To succeed, this Census must retain door-to-door in-person enumeration, especially in areas that are difficult to access. The enumerators must be trained to work with diverse populations in regional languages and have an inclusive approach. Technology should support, not replace, the human engagement that is essential for collecting accurate data. The government is yet to announce any decision regarding the National Population Register (NPR), which is the first step towards the creation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC). In the 2021 Census, it was planned to be updated with the first phase of the Census. Do you think if the two are combined — the NPR and population Census — it may impact the process because of the controversies and fears around the NPR? Sanjay Kumar: If you are trying to do one piece of work and then you combine it with other work, there is a possibility of both getting tampered with. Things could get delayed, jumbled, and some information could get misrepresented. But do you see the Centre not going ahead with the NPR so that the Census is done in a hassle-free manner? Sanjay Kumar: I would be in favour of getting the Census done separately because we should not forget that this is being undertaken after a very long time — 16 years! This is the first time that caste enumeration is also taking place as part of the Census. So a new element is already there. Why overburden the enumerators? How difficult or easy will it be for the government to collect data on caste? In the Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011, around 40 lakh caste names were thrown up. There were instances of people writing their surnames instead of their community names. It was based on self-disclosure. What methodology do you think the government should follow to make the process robust? Sanjay Kumar: If we are raising questions about caste data, we can raise questions about the collection of other information as well. If people can answer questions about their assets, age, gender, and education, why should there be any difficulty in answering questions about caste? But yes, training is important. If we are able to train our enumerators well, the respondents will be able to answer most of the questions. The enumerators need to know that Varma, for instance, is a surname, not a caste. If a respondent mentions this surname as their caste, the enumerators will have to ask a follow-up question. Poonam Muttreja: Asking about a person's caste is not going to be difficult. The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government conducted a caste census nearly a decade ago, but never released the data. I think homework needs to be done well when we collect data on caste. Enumerators must understand all the caste sub-categories. Unless they themselves are well informed, they are not going to be able to deal with erroneous answers or inappropriate answers. Why do you think Census is important for a country? Poonam Muttreja: The world is changing rapidly and so many things are uncertain. In such a scenario, the Census is the most important aspect to consider in not only planning and policymaking, but also in the allocation of resources. It helps us understand how climate change is impacting us, changing population dynamics, and patterns of digitisation. In India, to understand the rapid increase in urbanisation and migration patterns, we need numbers. We also know that India is an ageing society. The number of aged people is going to nearly double in the next 20 years. You can't let people age and then start planning. So given the rapidly changing environment, planning, allocation of resources, targeting the poor and targeting those who are marginalised are all objectives. In fact, the whole purpose of having a caste census is to invest in the most marginalised communities. Do you think the government should consider reducing the 10-year period for conducting the Census so that we can have faster and more accurate data about these changes in society? Sanjay Kumar: Conducting the Census is a tedious, time-consuming process. It cannot happen overnight. The Census is not merely about counting the number of people. The government's policy formulation depends on the information collected during a Census. The large amount of information gathered is valuable for the government to implement various kinds of policies. We may feel that the government can do this every five years, but it is more appropriate to do it every 10 years. But we should make sure that the Census takes place on time and there is no break in between.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Education Ministry recommends 7 states to adopt common board for Classes 10th, 12th as analysis flags poor outcomes
The Ministry of Education has recommended seven states to adopt a common board for classes 10 and 12 after an analysis by the School Education Department flagged that these states accounted for 66 per cent of student failures last year, officials said. The seven states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Manipur, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal. There are a total of 66 school examination boards in the country, including three national-level boards and 63 state-level boards (54 regular and 12 open boards), while the top 33 boards cover 97 per cent of students, the remaining 33 boards cover just 3 per cent of students. 'Common board for class 10 and 12 is the way forward for ease of schooling. Not having a common board leads to poor academic outcomes. We have recommended these states to adopt a common board,' School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar said. A total of 22.17 lakh students failed Class 10, and 20.16 lakh failed Class 12 across the country in 2024. While the numbers have improved over the decade, officials say they remain a significant barrier to better retention and transition to higher education. 'Role of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in these states became important to engage the unsuccessful students in education. NIOS's present prominence around Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana (where there are least failure rates), needs to be expanded to other states. 'Standardisation of assessment process, curriculums, paper setting, elevation (to the next class), exam span also needs attention of Boards,' Kumar said. The analysis pointed out that open school boards performed poorly, with only 54 per cent of Class 10 and 57 percent of Class 12 students passing. 'Institutions like NIOS must step up efforts to prevent dropouts, supported by the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and increased parental engagement,' Kumar said. A major trend noted is that girls are outperforming boys across most boards, especially in science. More than 28 lakh girls passed in science, overtaking the 27.2 lakh in arts — a reversal of earlier trends and a rise from 23.3 lakh in 2022. The analysis flagged significant differences among students' performance in different mediums of instruction. Students taking exams in Odia and Malayalam mediums did significantly better than peers writing in Kannada, Telugu or Assamese, highlighting regional disparities. States like Kerala, Odisha and Manipur, which have integrated board systems, recorded pass rates above 97 per cent, with Kerala at 99.96 per cent. The analysis report also noted strong performances from Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVs), where 72 per cent of the students cleared NEET-UG. Students from Kendriya and Navodaya Vidyalayas also fared well in engineering entrance tests. The NVs are fully residential, co-educational schools providing quality modern education from Class VI to XII to talented children, predominantly from rural areas.
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
22 lakh students failed class 10 in 2024, Centre pushes for board standardisation in 7 states
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Education has recommended seven states to adopt a common board for classes 10 and 12 after an analysis by the School Education Department flagged that these states accounted for 66 per cent of student failures last year, officials said. The seven states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Manipur, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal. There are a total of 66 school examination boards in the country, including three national-level boards and 63 state-level boards (54 regular and 12 open boards), While the top 33 boards cover 97 per cent of students, the remaining 33 boards cover just 3 per cent of students. "Common board for class 10 and 12 is the way forward for ease of schooling. Not having a common board leads to poor academic outcomes. We have recommended these states to adopt a common board," School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar said. A total of 22.17 lakh students failed Class 10, and 20.16 lakh failed Class 12 across the country in 2024. While the numbers have improved over the decade, officials say they remain a significant barrier to better retention and transition to higher education. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo "Role of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in these states became important to engage the unsuccessful students in education. NIOS's present prominence around Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana (where there are least failure rates), needs to be expanded to other states. "Standardisation of assessment process, curriculums, paper setting, elevation (to the next class), exam span also needs attention of Boards," Kumar said. The analysis pointed out that open school boards performed poorly, with only 54 per cent of Class 10 and 57 percent of Class 12 students passing. "Institutions like NIOS must step up efforts to prevent dropouts, supported by the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and increased parental engagement," Kumar said. A major trend noted is that girls are outperforming boys across most boards, especially in science. More than 28 lakh girls passed in science, overtaking the 27.2 lakh in arts - a reversal of earlier trends and a rise from 23.3 lakh in 2022. The analysis flagged significant differences among students' performance in different mediums of instruction. Students taking exams in Odia and Malayalam mediums did significantly better than peers writing in Kannada, Telugu or Assamese, highlighting regional disparities. States like Kerala, Odisha and Manipur, which have integrated board systems, recorded pass rates above 97 per cent, with Kerala at 99.96 per cent. The analysis report also noted strong performances from Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVs), where 72 per cent of the students cleared NEET-UG. Students from Kendriya and Navodaya Vidyalayas also fared well in engineering entrance tests. The NVs are fully residential, co-educational schools providing quality modern education from Class VI to XII to talented children, predominantly from rural areas. Is your child ready for the careers of tomorrow? Enroll now and take advantage of our early bird offer! Spaces are limited.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Natgas demand drops 10% in May as monsoon arrives early
Domestic natural gas consumption declined 10 per cent year-on-year in May, as cooler temperatures and the early onset of the monsoon dampened demand from gas-based power plants . This led to a 15 per cent drop in liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports during the month. India consumed 5,918 million metric standard cubic meters (MMSCM) of natural gas in May, comprising 2,941 MMSCM of domestic production and 2,977 MMSCM of imports, according to the oil ministry data. Domestic gross production also fell 4 per cent year-on-year. The fertiliser and city gas distribution sectors remain the top consumers of natural gas in India. However, incremental demand during summer typically comes from gas-based power plants, which account for about 12-13 per cent of total gas consumption. In May, these plants operated at just 19 per cent of their installed capacity, generating only about half the electricity they produced in the same month last year. Gas-fired power is more expensive than coal-based generation, but it usually finds buyers during extreme heatwaves when cooling demand spikes. "Last May, we had very high demand from gas-based power plants. In addition, this May, multiple planned and unplanned shutdowns at fertiliser plants also contributed to the decline in gas consumption across the country," said Sanjay Kumar, marketing chief of the nation's largest gas marketer GAIL . "This year, the summer has been unusually mild compared to the long, harsh season last year," said another gas company executive, adding that gas-based plants have remained mostly idle. In addition to weak demand from power generators, elevated international gas prices also dampened Indian imports, industry executives said. The Asian spot LNG benchmark JKM averaged $12 per mmBtu in May-a level many Indian buyers found unaffordable, opting instead for liquid fuels. Domestically produced gas is generally cheaper than imported LNG. But declining domestic output has reduced the availability of these lower-cost supplies. Refiners and factories keep switching between gas and liquid fuels based on their relative economics.
