TOP 10 indian educational institutions-2023 RANK UniversityScore 86.69 IIT Madras IISc, Bengaluru 83.09 1 3 IIT Delhi 82.16 1 4 IIT Bombay (Source: NIRF) 1 1 1 2 81.28 1 5 IIT Kanpur 1 6 AIIMS, Delhi 1 7 IIT Kharagpur 1 8 IIT Roorkee 1 9 IIT Guwahati chennai l tuesday l june 06, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION Nirf rankings 2023 out, iIT-M best institution for 5th year running Seven IITs — Madras, Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee and Guwahati — figured among the top 10 in the overall rankings 1 10 JNU, Delhi 77.23 72.14 71.82 71.66 68.78 67.44 IISc, AIIMS, JNU among top 10 institutions Miranda house ranks as best college Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (2 ), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi (6th), and Jawaharlal Nehru University (10th) are among the top 10 non-IIT institutions in the overall ranking. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) evaluates institutions on various parameters like teaching, resources, research, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity etc | P2, P9 ■ nd While IIT-Madras retained the top spot in the overall rankings and in the engineering category, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was adjudged the best university and Miranda House the best college in the country ■ For management studies, the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is the best as per the rankings while for medical, it is AIIMS, Delhi 8th edition of the rankings was released by Union MoS for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI GRP books unnamed Rly officials, CRS starts probe H emant K umar R o ut Heat delays opening of TN schools: June 12 for Classes 6 to 12 & June 14 for 1 to 5 @ Bhubaneswar Rajnath Singh with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, in Delhi on Monday | Express India, US firm up roadmap on def industrial ties New framework ahead of Modi’s visit to US M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi India and the US on Monday concluded a roadmap for defence industrial cooperation that is expected to create access to cutting-edge technologies besides co-producing military platforms, at a meeting defence minister Rajnath Singh had with visiting US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin here. The US Department of Defence (DoD) said the roadmap “will fast-track technology cooperation and co-production in areas such as air combat and land mobility systems; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; munitions; and the undersea domain.” The initiative aims to change the paradigm for bilateral cooperation, including specific proposals that could provide India access to cutting-edge tech and support defence modernisation plans, the DoD said. Sources said the discussions included General Electric’s proposal to manufacture GE414 express read Ambulance driver, two others killed in pile-up Tiruchy: Three people, including an ambulance driver, died and five others were injured in a fourvehicle pile-up near Thanneer Pandal in Perambalur district. Early on Monday, a van collided with a tractor and landed on the other side of the road. Some time later, a bus rammed an ambulance called in to save the passengers in the first crash | P4 Three killed in fresh violence in Imphal West Guwahati: Three people were killed and three others injured when suspected Kuki militants opened fire at Phayeng in Imphal West district on Monday. It comes as security forces have destroyed two camps of the militants near Sugnu and Serou in Kakching district over the past two days | P8 jet engines in India, which is “in a mature state”. The Indian side asked the US to increase local sourcing for manufacture. The US was requested to establish MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facilities in India for equipment in use with the Indian armed forces. Sources added that capacity building, including maritime domain awareness and strategic infrastructure, were also discussed. The Ministry of Defence said, “Both sides will identify opportunities for co-development of new technologies and co-production of existing and new systems.” The regional security environment was also discussed, including the IndoPacific. Austin also held talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. His trip was meant to do the spadework before bigticket deals are announced later this month when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his of ficial state visit to Washington. E x p ress ne w s ser v i c e @ Chennai The Government Railway Police (GRP) has registered a case against unnamed railway officials for the horrific pileup of trains on Friday that killed over 250 passengers. The FIR was booked under various sections, including 304-A (causing death by ne gligence), 337 Odisha (causing hurt by act entrain dangering life and per- tragedy sonal safety of others) Railway officials at the station manager’s room at the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district on Monday | PTI and 338 (causing grievous hurt) of IPC. Culpability of railway employees will be de- press, who are learned to have The probe team also inspecttermined during investiga- said that the signal was green ed the panel and signal room tion, said the FIR registered at as the train entered the loop at the Bahanaga Bazar station Cuttack. GRP sources said the line and that the speed of the before interacting with the staprobe will be done by two DSP- train was within permissible tion manager, two station surank officers. limits. Their statements indi- perintendents and other railThe Railways began its own cated a fault in the interlock- way staff, who were present at probe on Monday with a team ing system. the time of the accident. led by Commissioner of RailBoth the loco pilots suffered “We have started the inquiry . way Safety (CRS) of the south serious injuries and are un- We visited the spot and ineastern circle, Shailesh Kumar dergoing treatment at AIIMS, spected many things. The Pathak, visiting the accident Bhubaneswar. Though their probe will take time. It will be site. They also met the loco pi- condition is stable, the assist- premature to say anything lot and assistant loco pilot of ant loco pilot is scheduled to now,” Pathak told reporters at the ill-fated Coromandel Ex- undergo a surgery . the accident site. As intense heat continues to keep Tamil Nadu on the boil, the state government has postponed reopening of schools for Classes 6 to 12 to June 12 and Classes 1 to 5 to June 14. The classes were scheduled to reopen on June 7. Reopening of schools in Puducherry too has been pushed to June 14. The decision was taken after school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi met chief minister M K Stalin at the secretariat to discuss the issue on Monday This is the second time . reopening of schools has been postponed due to the heatwavelike condition in the state. When summer holidays be- Airfares have surged sharply over the weekend, especially on routes that were earlier serviced by Go First. In some cases, the fare is now 10 times higher than what it what just days ago. On Monday, the cost of an economy class ticket on a non-stop Delhi-Mumbai flight for Tuesday ranged between `16,000 and `30,000. On the DelhiChennai route, the prices ranged between `17,000 and `32,000. To address the situation, Union aviation minis- ter Jyotiraditya Scindia held a meeting with the Airlines Advisory Group and urged all airlines them to self-regulate their ticket prices. “The airlines must self-monitor airfares on certain select routes that have seen considerable surge pricing of late, particularly those that were earlier being serviced by Go First. A mechanism for ensuring reasonable pricing within the high RBDs (Reservation Booking The airlines must self-monitor airfares on certain select routes that have seen considerable surge pricing of late Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union aviation minister k e r a l a 1 st s t a t e free internet for poor E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ T’Puram Six years after announcing its intention to make access to the internet a basic right, the Kerala’s Left government on Monday launched its most ambitious project to this end — the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON). A first-of-itskind in the country, the project aims to provide free internet connectivity to 20 lakh economically-backward families. In its first phase, K-FON will aim to provide free internet to 14,000 households and 30,000 government offices in the state. So far, 17,412 government institutions and 2,015 homes have been serv- iced. Additionally, 9,000 households have been linked by cable. General customers can access services, with the basic rate starting at `299 per month for a 20 Mbps connection. The state government has obtained a category 1 licence to provide basic internet services as part of the project, in addition to the internet service provider (ISP) category B unified licence to officially provide internet services. BSNL will be the internet service provider. Inaugurating the project, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said all houses and government offices in the state will be provided with broadband connectivity and inter- Designator) may be devised by airlines. This shall be monitored by the DGCA,” Scindia said after the meeting with the Airlines Advisory Group. Go First stopped flying on May 3, which led to a reduction of capacity at a time when the peak domestic air travel period is around the corner. IndiGo and the Air India group have been accused of using the demand-supply mismatch to raise ticket fares. Mark Martin, founder and CEO of Martin Consulting, net services as soon as possible. “Internet services have already been made available in offices and homes under KFON,” he said. “India has the most number of internet shutdowns in the world. It is in such a country that a state government is uniquely involved in making internet available to all. As such, the K-FON project is becoming another example of the government’s and our nation’s popular alternative policies,” the Pinarayi said. The Congress-led UDF opposition boycotted the K-FON launch alleging corruption and lashed out at the government over the `4 crore project when various welfare schemes and pension payments were stalled due to lack of funds. In Puducherry, too, schools will now reopen only on June 14, Chief Minister N Rangasamy said Monday. Schools in the UT were originally scheduled to restart on June 1 after summer vacation, but the opening date was rescheduled to June 7 due to heat. said that it is very important for the government to set checks and balances to protect consumers’ interests, especially from price cartelisation by airlines. “A fresh body should be enacted to monitor ticket prices on an ongoing basis. India is one of the world’s largest aviation markets and therefore it is mandatory that common travelers should not suffer on account of duopolies (referring to IndiGo and Tata Group airlines),” Martin told this newspaper. Meanwhile, Scindia urged airlines to provide free cargo services to the families of those who died in the Odisha rail accident. Arikomban tranquilised, moved to KMTR forest J E YA L A K S H M I R A M A N U J A M @ Theni After a battle of nine days, rogue tusker ‘Arikomban’ was tranquilised and translocated to an area deep inside the forest in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) late on Monday . A team of forest personnel and four veterinarians tranquilised the tusker early on Monday and loaded it into a truck with the support of three kumkis at Chinnaovulapuram village in Chinnamannur block in Theni district. According to sources, the lorry carrying the tusker entered KMTR via Manimuthar check post on Monday evening. The animal would be released deep inside the forest later in the day. According to some sources, the elephant was Arikomban being translocated on a truck on Monday | Express tired because of the journey and an injury was also spotted on its trunk. To prevent Arikomban from touching live wires during transit, forest department has asked Tangedco to disconnect power to Manjolai residential units. A few SDPI cadres, who staged protest in Manimuthar against the translocation of the elephant to KMTR citing man-animal conflict, were arrested.  P5 first indian Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve director selected for UNESCO award M S T hanaraj @ Ramanathapuram In a first for an Indian, Ramanathapuram wildlife warden and director of Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, Bakan Jagdish Sudhakar, has been selected for UNESCO’s Michel Batisse Award for effective biosphere reserve management. The Indian Forest Service officer will receive the award and deliver a lecture on his case studies at a function to be held in Paris on June 14. The $12,000 award is given once every two years in memory of Dr Michel Batisse for outstanding achievement in management of biosphere reserves across the globe. The award was instituted in 2004 following a decision of the International Coordinating Bakan Jagdish Sudhakar Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO. According to an of ficial statement from UNESCO, MAB had received nominations from 16 eligible candidates this year. In March 2023, the advisory committee members recommended Bakan Jagdish’s name for the 2023 award for his case study titled “Development of Sustainable Livelihood and Community Based Biodiversity Conservation and Environ- ment Protection”. In 2021, Sharon Wright of Australia has won the award for her work in Noosa Biosphere Reserve. Speaking to TNIE, Bakan Jagdish Sudhakar said, “We are doing various works at Gulf of Mannar Biosphere. We have submitted details about six projects, including creation of plastic-free zones at Dhanushkodi and Ervadi areas continued on p5 Pondy schools too will reopen on June 14: CM Airfares surge 10X, govt for self-regulation A rsha d K han @ New Delhi gan, the state education department had said schools will reopen on June 1 for Classes 6 to 12 and on June 5 for Classes 1 to 5. June 7 was chosen as meteorological department said heat would start subsiding from June 5, the school education minister had then said. However, with the meteorological department now stating that heat would continue to remain high, the reopening date has been postponed again. The met office said the heat spell will continue for a few more days and maximum temperature may hover around 40-42 degree Celsius in isolated areas in TN, including Chennai and neighbouring districts.  through check posts and collection, mangrove forest management on coastline, integrated growth of communities and environmental management, and protection of species including endangered ones, among others. We have submitted case studies of six such works to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).” continued on p5 activist’s video Nudity not obscene by default: Kerala High Court E x p ress ne w s S er v i c e @ Kochi The Kerala High Court on Monday observed that nudity should not be tied to sex and the mere sight of the naked upper body of a woman should not be considered as sexual or obscene by default. The court made the observation while discharging activist Rehana Fathima in a case registered for posting a video on social media in which her two minor children were seen painting on her semi-nude body . The prosecution sought tio argue that the naked upper body of the petitioner is exposed in the video, and hence, it is obscene and should be considered pornographic material that involves children. The court watched the video in the open court. The twominute video shows the petitioner’s son carefully, with utmost professional concentration, painting the image of a phoenix in the upper part of her body A little girl is . also seen in the video painting on paper, the court said. “There is no reason to believe that an ordinary man viewing the video would become depraved, debased and encouraged to lasciviousness. In the strict sense, the petitioner did not show her bare chest, as the body paint covered her breast. It can never arouse any sexually explicit feeling in the mind of a prudent man,” Justice Kauser Edappagath said. The court observed that the depiction of the naked body of a woman cannot per se be termed obscene, indecent, or sexually explicit. The body is the most fundamental space over which an individual shall have autonomy, the court stated. “Every individual is entitled to the autonomy of his/her body — this is not selective on gender,” said the court. Painting on the upper body of a mother by her children as an art project cannot be characterised as a real or simulated sexual act, nor can it be said that the same was done for sexual gratification or with sexual intent, the court observed.