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 ■ ■ BHUBANESWAR l friday l june 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION HC strikes down Nitish govt’s quota bump-up RA M ASHA N K AR @ Patna IN a major setback to the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, the Patna High Court on Thursday set aside the state government’s move to raise quotas for deprived classes from 50% 65%. A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order on a bunch of petitions that opposed the Bihar Reservation (for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes) (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the Bihar (in admission in educational institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023. The bench, also comprising Justice Harish Kumar, set aside the amendments brought by the state government in November 2023 as ultra vires and being violative of equally under the Indian Constitution. The amendments had resulted in the reservation cap for government jobs and educational institutions touching 75% after adding 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Sections. The amendments were based on the findings of a caste s u r - vey. Following the survey, the state government increased the quota for Scheduled Castes to 20%, Scheduled Tribes to 2%, Extremely Backward Classes to 25% and for Other Backward Classes to 18%. The petitioners argued the hike in reservation by the state government was beyond its legislative powers. “The amendments are violative of the Supreme Court verdict passed in the case of Indira Sawney versus Union of India whereby a maximum ceiling of 50% was laid down. The quota hike was also discriminatory in nature and violative of the fundamental rights to equality and guaranteed to the citizens by Article 14, 15 and 16,” they told the HC. Reacting to the HC verdict, the BJP’s Bihar unit chief and deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary said the government would move the Supreme Court against the order. panel to scrutinise NTA The Election Commission said eight aggrieved candidates have sought verification of tampering or modification of micro-controller chips in EVMs UGC-net paper leaked on the dark net Institutional failure of NTA: Govt E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Regarding the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam for junior reUnder fire over alleged irregu- search fellows, assistant profeslarities in the NEET-UG and the sors, and PhD scholars, Pradhan UGC-NET, Union Education Min- revealed that the exam paper had ister Dharmendra Pradhan on been leaked on the Telegram site. Thursday admitted that consecu- He, however, added that the govtive paper leak cases affecting the ernment was committed to mainlives of at least 35 lakh students taining the integrity of the examirepresent an institutional failure nation process and sought people’s of the National Testing Agency trust in the system. (NTA). Pradhan said although an antiHe announced the formation of cheating bill had been approved by a high-level panel to scrutinise the both Houses of Parliament earlier functioning of the NTA, this year, the law miniswhich conducted those try is currently refining exams. The panel will the associated regulacomprise eminent inditions. “At present, we viduals, sociologists lack effective measures and education experts to confront such chalwho will examine the lenges (paper leaks),” NTA’s structure, funche said. tioning, exam process“Modern software es, transparency and such as Telegram is ofdata management, he ten utilised to leak By taking said. exam questions. When Pradhan’s announce- responsibility, we have administering exams to rectify the system. ment came a day after for PhD scholars, enWe are committed to the NTA cancelled the suring high standards exams with zero errors. UGC-NET after it got is crucial. Despite the I request everyone to conformation that the difficulties, we are comnot spread rumours question paper was mitted to addressing Dharmendra Pradhan leaked on the dark net. them. New examinaThe matter is now untion dates for the UGCder investigation by the CBI. NET will be announced shortly ,” Addressing concerns about the he said. NEET-UG as well, Pradhan said The results of the NEET-UG isolated instances of malpractice conducted on May 5 across 4,750 should not unfairly impact lakhs centres with approximately 24 of students who legitimately lakh candidates was announced on passed the exam. He urged the Op- June 4. An unprecedented 67 stuposition not to politicise the mat- dents got the perfect score of 720 ter and assured strict actions on 720, raising concerns about posagainst any the guilty, including sible irregularities in the test. NTA officials. NEET-UG is gateway for admis“Let us have faith in our sys- sions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and tems; no irregularities or malprac- related courses in both governtices will be tolerated by the gov- ment and private institutions ernment,” he said. nationwide. tech initiative Govt to set up ATMs for providing rice to NFS beneficiaries E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Students protesting over alleged malpractices in the NEET-UG and the UGCNET exam, in New Delhi on Thursday | PTI HC proceedings on NEET-UG stayed, SC notices to NTA, govt S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a nt y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed all proceedings before various high courts on the the conduct of the NEET-UG exam and issued notices to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Centre on a fresh bunch of pleas against irregularities in the exam. A two-judge vacation bench of justices Vikram Nath and S V N Bhatti was hearing the NTA’s request to transfer all cases filed in various high courts on the matter to itself. The bench tagged it along with other pending pleas for hearing on July 8. The court reiterated its refusal to stay the counselling. More than 35 petitions have been filed in the top court, including a fresh petition by a group of 20 students, seeking the scrapping of the NEETUG 2024 and an SC-monitored probe by the CBI or any other independent agency into the alleged irregularities. “All this has been argued from day one and they (some petitioners) have been wanting stay of counselling. We have denied that. Ultimately , if all of you succeed, everything will go,” the bench told the petitioners, one of whom sought deferment of the counselling till July 8. The BJP government on Thursday announced to set up rice ATMs across the state to provide the foodgrain to beneficiaries under the national food security programme. The first rice ATM will come up in the capital city within a week, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra told mediapersons after taking charge of the department. “The rice ATM will be first set up in Bhubaneswar within a week. The PDS beneficiaries will be provided with a card. The beneficiaries will receive their monthly quota of rice on insertion of the card in the ATM. This facility will be extended to all districts of the state in a The rice ATM will phased manner,” said the be first set up in minister. Bhubaneswar The BJD government had within a week. The taken up an initiative in 2022 PDS beneficiaries to introduce grain ATMs on will be provided pilot basis in urban areas of with a card and receive their quota the state but the project could of rice on insertion not take off. The grain ATM of the card in the was part of several partner- ATM. This facility ship agreements signed with will be extended to the World Food Programme all districts in a (WFP) in 2021. Transforma- phased manner tion of the public distribution KC Patra, Food system and paddy procure- Supplies minister ment, grain ATM and smart mobile storage units were some of the projects to be taken up under the agreement. Patra further said the state government will procure kharif paddy from the farmers at `3,100 per quintal as against the minimum support price of `2,300 per quintal announced by the Centre on Wednesday “After the central govern. ment revised the paddy MSP to `2,300 it will help the state government as the additional cost of `917 per quintal has come down to `800 per quinContinued on P5 tal,” he said.
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