Karnataka cabinet expansion likely on January 13: CM Yediyurappa

Politics

This comes after BS Yediyurappa met top BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and JP Nadda, in New Delhi on Sunday.

PTI

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday said that the much-awaited cabinet expansion is likely to take place on January 13. This comes soon after he met top BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the party's national president JP Nadda, in New Delhi on Sunday. "We have finalised seven names. January 14 is the festival. Most probably the oath-taking ceremony will take place on January 13 afternoon. I will confirm the names and portfolios later," the chief minister told reporters after arriving in Bengaluru from Delhi. Earlier, speaking to reporters in New Delhi after meeting Nadda and Amit Shah, Yediyurappa said that he would give good news soon. "On cabinet expansion, there was a detailed discussion. You will get good news soon," the chief minister told reporters after an hour-long meeting held at Shah's residence in Delhi during which state party in-charge Arun Singh was also present. He, however, evaded queries on whether he would be able to complete his tenure, as there has been speculation about a possible leadership change in the state following murmurs of discontent in the party. Sources said the cabinet rejig is most likely to take place before January 20. The chief minister said this was the "last meeting" to discuss the cabinet expansion and the final names will be cleared as early as possible. The state can have a total of 34 ministers and has 27 now. There was a "positive, fruitful and satisfactory discussion. I am happy with the discussion... we will wait for their instructions," he said, adding the central leadership has assured its support. The cabinet expansion in the state has been on the cards for over a year now, and the delay has led to some unease in the state unit. The chief minister said he suggested some names and expressed confidence that the central BJP leadership will respond positively. "One hundred per cent, this is the last meeting. They are going to clear the names as soon as possible," he said replying to a query. Asked if he is confident about completing his tenure as chief minister, Yediyurappa replied, "It is a question which only you can answer." Amid reports of simmering discontentment among a section of legislators on the functioning of the government and certain ministers, the chief minister recently held region wise meetings with party MLAs for two days. All 118 BJP MLAs have expressed faith in Chief Minister Yediyurappa's leadership, state ministers had said on Tuesday, while asserting that the government was stable. However, it was not clear if the leadership issue was discussed during Yediyurappa's meetings with senior BJP leaders on Sunday. Apart from the cabinet rejig, the chief minister said there were discussions also on the upcoming bye-polls in the state for one parliamentary and two Assembly seats. "They asked me to send the names of the candidates at the earliest for clearance," he said, adding the leadership also told him to ensure the party's victory on all three seats. The senior party leaders also expressed happiness over recent gram panchayat results, Yediyurappa added. Yediyurappa's son and state BJP Vice President BY Vijayendra also stressed that the discussions on cabinet expansion were complete. "The chief minister has said clearly that there won't be...further talks on cabinet rejig. All issues have been discussed in detail," he said. Vijayendra accompanied the chief minister to Delhi but was not present during the meetings with BJP leaders. The cabinet rejig is expected to be a tightrope walk for the chief minister, considering that there are too many aspirants, from the party's old guard to Congress and JD(S) rebels who are now BJP legislators. Among those in the ministerial race in the state are MLAs Umesh Katti, Munirathna, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, MP Renukacharya, Aravind Limbavali and SR Vishwanath. Three MLCs — CP Yogeshwar, MTB Nagaraj and R Shankar — are too aspiring for a ministerial berth. Another MLC, AH Vishwanath, was also in the race but his hopes were dashed when the Karnataka High Court on November 30 barred him from becoming a minister until at least May this year. Bye-polls are scheduled for Maski and Basavakalyan assembly seats and Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency. While Maski fell vacant due to the resignation of Congress MLA Pratap Gouda Patil in 2019, the bye-poll to Basavakalyan and Belagavi seats were necessitated following the death of their representatives B Narayan Rao and Suresh Angadi, respectively, due to the coronavirus.

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2K3iKzP
via IFTTT

Hospitals say syringes supplied by feds waste vaccine doses

Some syringes aren’t efficient enough to extract a sixth dose, according to hospital lobbyists.

from Health Care https://ift.tt/3bu2NxM
via IFTTT

Karnataka farmers to sell rice to Reliance Retail, unions warn of predatory pricing

Farm laws

This comes within months of Karnataka amending the state APMC Act, which allows farmers to directly sell their produce outside APMC yards.

TNM Staff

Representational image

More than a thousand paddy farmers in Karnataka’s Raichur have agreed to sell their produce directly to Reliance Retail at a rate marginally higher than the minimum support price (MSP) through an intermediary company. This comes within months of Karnataka amending the state Agricultural Marketing Committee (KAPMC) Act, which allows farmers to directly sell their produce even outside APMC yards. "On behalf of 1,100 farmers, who are our company's shareholders, an agreement has been signed on January 6 to sell about 1,000 tonne of their paddy (Sona Masoori rice variety) to Reliance Retail at Rs 1,950 per quintal (100 kg), which is Rs 100 above the MSP of Rs 1,850 per quintal," Swasthya Farmers Producing Company (SFPC) Managing Director V Mallikarjun told IANS. "Since the agreement was signed, the farmers, until Saturday, have delivered about 100 tonne to Reliance Retail, which has taken a warehouse of the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) on lease in the town," he added. The balance 900 tonne will be delivered to Reliance Retail warehouse over the next 9-10 days at the rate of Rs 100 tonne per day. "Though the farmers are getting Rs 100 more per quintal than the MSP, they have to bear the cost of sacks (gunny bags), transport and loading/unloading charges of the paddy at the warehouse from their fields where they harvested recently," Mallikarjun said. He added, “We will credit the sale proceeds of the paddy to the farmers' bank accounts directly after Reliance Retail makes the transaction with us. A third party will assess the moisture content in the paddy, which should be 16% for good quality." Karnataka, on January 1, notified the KAPMC Act, which restricts powers of the APMCs and allows farmers to sell their produce directly even outside the APMC yards to anyone who pays more than the MSP, fixed by the state government. While fetching a higher price than the MSP will come as a relief to farmers, farmer unions have warned of predatory pricing by corporations and spoken in favour of the government guaranteeing the MSP. Sachin Meega of Kisan-Khet Mazdoor Congress expressed apprehensions over the development. He said, “It is no doubt that the corporates will offer better prices than the MSP for the first 12-18 months but when the APMC system collapses, they will not give farmers even the MSP. This is what has happened with Jio sim cards.” He added that this with the three new laws that have been passed by the Union Government, over which farmers from multiple states are protesting in the national capital, will leave farmers at the mercy of big companies. Citing the special dispute resolution framework in the  Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (union govt law), he said now farmers can’t even contest the company’s claims in a civil court. This he said will leave smaller farmers at greater misery he said stating that they may not have the financial powers to approach the High Court or the Supreme Court.a

Body 2: 

(With IANS inputs)

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/35ruVh7
via IFTTT

NMIMS students allege harassment by online proctor during exams

Crime

The incident highlighted privacy concerns related to online proctoring and the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has written to the University Grants Commission (UGC) about it.

Prajwal Bhat

Representational image

An incident has come to light raising concerns about safety and privacy of students as well as their personal data due to the proctoring practice being employed by many colleges for exams. Students of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) have alleged harassment by a proctor, an official hired by the institute to invigilate exams online. The proctor, named Amit, allegedly started cyber stalking some of the students and contacted them on WhatsApp. Amit allegedly reached out to two students who sat for an examination at the institute. Proctors have access to the student's webcam and can even ask students to change the view of their webcam. "Two of my batchmates were harassed by a proctor named Amit. He repeatedly contacted the students during the exam and even on WhatsApp after the exam ended. When officials were informed about this, they insisted that students continue with their examinations and not let this situation affect her studies," a student at the institute told TNM. Mumbai-based NMIMS has students from all over India. It is among the many institutes including Delhi Technological University, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, SRM University, Chennai, Mumbai University and IIT-Bombay, which have used proctoring technology for its exams in the last few months. According to the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), proctoring technology uses Artificial Intelligence powered algorithms to keep a check on candidates during online exams. It uses facial recognition, surveys and records surrounding audio of the student's room and monitors changes in their line of sight by capturing photographs at 15-20 second intervals to catch unfair practices during exams. It also monitors a student's screen. Harassment In the NMIMS case, screenshots shared by students show that the proctor repeatedly asked the student to lower their webcam during the exam. Screenshots also showed the proctor reaching out to students on social media platforms. "Today I was proctoring you when you are giving your exam. I don't know suddenly while scrolling I saw you and ... I thought to contact you and after applying my source I got your number. Don't take me wrong," read one of the messages shared by students. In both cases, students said it was the same proctor named Amit who contacted them. "He had called from two different numbers but they had the same WhatsApp photo and Truecaller identified both numbers as belonging to Amit," a student said. On Saturday, two new cases emerged with relation to proctoring, though it is not yet clear if they are related to Amit. A student has alleged that their Aadhaar number was used to apply for loan while another student found that a screenshot of her screen with her face was taken without her permission and stored on the proctor’s system. NMIMS responds The institute issued a statement about the allegations on Friday evening. "NMIMS condemns the proctors' behaviour and this is absolutely unacceptable from our end. NMIMS has zero-tolerance for any activities by anyone, that is in violation of NMIMS's code of conduct and values," a statement shared on the institute's social media account said. "NMIMS has raised these concerns with our technology partner, METTL Management. They have assured that they are taking the strictest action, including approaching the police against the proctors indulging in such behaviour and violating the code of conduct. They have also assured us that they will be taking all the necessary steps and following thorough due diligence processes while engaging proctors. We assure students that the METTL is not permitted to capture students' personal information," it added.   pic.twitter.com/AFUyDga5gK — NMIMS (@nmims_india) January 8, 2021 Privacy concerns The case has highlighted privacy concerns pertaining to online proctoring. On Saturday, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) wrote to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of Education raising concerns about the technology used in exam proctoring. IFF stated that it is a highly invasive technology. "Use of this highly invasive technology has led to higher levels of stress and anxiety in students who have already been one of the worst affected groups in the pandemic. The constant threat of being flagged by the technology for a perceived wrongful action in addition to the stress of the exam being given leads to a student having heightened anxiety level," the note by IFF read. It stated that the technology collects data such as full name, date of birth, address, phone number, scans of government-issued identity documents, educational institution affiliation, and student ID numbers. In addition to this, photographs are taken and sound is monitored. "While such gathering and retaining of data is objectively harmful, the harms are increased in India where we do not currently have a data protection law in place to ensure the data privacy of students," added IFF.

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/38vIKNO
via IFTTT

Karnataka CM Yediyurappa to meet Home Minister Amit Shah over upcoming bye-polls

Politics

Yediyurappa, however, did not divulge if the two would also deliberate on the much-awaited cabinet rejig in Karnataka.

PTI

File image

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa Sunday said he will meet Home Minister Amit Shah during the day to discuss state politics and finalise candidates for the upcoming by-polls as he arrived in the national capital on a day-long visit. The much-awaited cabinet rejig in the state may also come up for discussion during his meeting with the central BJP leadership, he said. "I am going to discuss the political situation in Karnataka," the CM told reporters after landing in Delhi. "Recently, we won the gram panchayat elections in a very big way. Within a month, we are going to face two parliamentary and an assembly by-polls. We have to finalise the candidates. We will discuss all these issues with Amit Shah and other important leaders," he added. The BJP leader said while his appointment with the home minister is confirmed, he will also try to meet JP Nadda, the party's national president. Asked about the steps taken to check the spread of COVID-19 in the state, the chief minister said, "In Karnataka, the COVID-19 situation is under control. We are taking all precautions." Earlier before leaving the Bangalore Airport, he hinted that the cabinet expansion may also come up for discussion during his meeting with the party high command.. "I don't know. I will discuss all the issues," he told reporters at the airport when asked if a cabinet rejig is likely this week. The cabinet expansion in the state has been on the cards for over a year now, but it could not take place, giving some anxious moments to ministerial aspirants and also leading to dissatisfaction. Among those in the ministerial race are MLAs Umesh Katti, Munirathna, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, M P Renukacharya, Aravind Limbavali and S R Vishwanath. Three MLCs -- C P Yogeshwar, MTB Nagaraj and R Shankar -- are too aspiring for a ministerial berth. Another MLC, A H Vishwanath, too was in the race but his hopes dashed when the Karnataka High Court on November 30 barred him from becoming a minister until at least May this year. The state can have a total of 34 ministers and it has 27 now. By-polls are scheduled for Maski and Basavakalyan assembly segments, and Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency. While Maski fell vacant due to the resignation of sitting Congress MLA Pratap Gouda Patil in 2019, the by-polls to Basavakalyan and Belagavi seats have been necessitated by the deaths of their representatives B Narayan Rao and Suresh Angadi, respectively, due to coronavirus. "I will discuss all other issues with the party high command and wish to return in the night," the chief minister said before he departed.

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/3qaz8hp
via IFTTT

K’taka Min stops KSRTC bus, pulls up driver for refusing to pick up students

Controversy

The incident took place on Saturday in Koratagere taluk of Tumakuru district.

TNM Staff

File image

Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar was on his way to Madhugiri in Tumakuru on Saturday when he noticed that a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus drove past some schoolgoing children at a bus stop without stopping, although they flagged down the vehicle. Appalled, the Minister overtook the KSRTC bus in his car, blocked it and questioned the driver and the conductor for not stopping for the school-going children. A resident in Tumakuru told TNM that some buses refuse to pick up students since they carry a student bus pass and do not pay for every ride on the bus. Pulling up the driver and conductor for their high-handedness and refusal to pick up school students, Suresh Kumar not only sought explanation but also directed them to compulsorily stop and pick up school children on their route. Reacting over the incident, KSRTC tweeted, "The matter has been forwarded to the respective division to examine and take necessary action." This incident comes after schools in Karnataka have recently reopened for the first time since March. The schools were shut since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular classes for Class 10 and 12 resumed from January 1. Since then, at least 236 teachers and non-teaching staff across schools in Karnataka have tested positive for the coronavirus. The coastal district of Uttara Kannada is the most affected, with 20 school staff members contracting the novel coronavirus. Incidentally, Madhugiri is one of the places in the state other than Chikkaballapur and Ballari where teachers have not tested positive for coronavirus. Following the advice of the Karnataka Technical Advisory Committee (K-TAC), schools for classes 9 and 11 are also set to resume from January 15. However, a final decision on this is yet to be made.

Body 2: 

(IANS)

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/38rkY5o
via IFTTT

Beef stalls in Mangaluru set on fire

Crime

A few days ago, right-wing groups such as Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad had called the stalls “illegal”.

TNM Staff

Representational image

In less than a week since the Karnataka government passed the stringent anti-cow slaughter law, incidents of arson against beef stalls have been reported in Mangaluru’s Ullal. According to reports, three makeshift beef stalls were set on fire by unknown miscreants in Olapete, near a market, in the wee hours of Saturday. The Ullal Police have registered a case against unknown persons. Following the incident, top police officers, including City Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar, visited the spot, reported The Times of India. According to the report, all these stalls were operating with valid licenses. The report quoted Ayyub Manchila, Vice-President, Ullal City Municipal Council, as saying that arrangements will be made for all persons who have been affected due to this act of arson. Daijiworld reported that the stalls were termed “illegal” by right-wing groups, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The report said that the two organisations had also petitioned the civic body and the police on January 7, demanding to halt their business. According to reports, the stalls were set up as the main market area is undergoing renovation. The report identified the owners of the stall as MC Bava, MC Khader and Hanif. It also quoted the owners saying that they have been doing business in the area for many years. This incident has prompted strong reactions from the Congress party in the state. Former Minister and Mangaluru MLA UT Khader demanded that those who lost their stalls be allowed to conduct business at the same place. He said that he has also spoken with the City Police Commissioner about the incident and demanded the arrest of the miscreants. He said this attack was done to create communal disharmony in society.  The local block-level leaders have said that if the miscreants are not arrested promptly, then they will hold protests.

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/3bsSYjE
via IFTTT