Cyclone Mandous aftermath: one dead, over 5000 hectares crop damaged in Andhra Pradesh
Amaravati (PTI): One person died in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh and over 1,000 people have been lodged in relief camps following heavy rainfall under the influence of cyclone 'Mandous', in some southern districts of the state.
SPSR Nellore and Tirupati districts were on alert due to possibility of flash floods in minor rivers-- Kandaleru, Maneru and Swarnamuki. The list of vulnerable mandals and villages have been sent to the district administrations for taking necessary precautionary measures, according to a government status report as on 8.30 am on Sunday.
Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at isolated places in the state on December 11 and 12, it said.
K Padmavathi, a resident of Darjipalli village in YSR Kadapa district died on Saturday due to wall collapse.
A total of 4,647.4 hectares of agriculture and 532.68 hectares of horticulture crops were damaged due to rains while 170 houses were destroyed.
As many as 140 SDRF and 95 NDRF personnel have been deployed in four districts to be pressed into service in case of any eventuality.
Cyclone alert messages have been sent through common alert protocol (CAP) to over one crore subscribers spread across the six districts, which are likely to be affected due to heavy rains during December 8-10.
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Will implement recommendations of expert panel on NEET-UG exam: Centre to SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it would be implementing all the corrective measures suggested by its seven-member expert panel on exam reforms after reviewing the National Testing Agency's functioning in holding NEET-UG last year.
The top court on August 2, last year refused to annul the controversy-ridden NEET-UG of 2024, saying there was no sufficient material on record at present to indicate a systemic leak or malpractice compromising the integrity of the examination.
It had also expanded the remit of the seven-member expert panel, headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Radhakrishnan, to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and recommend exam reforms to make the NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate), transparent and free from malpractices.
On Thursday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, apprised a bench comprising justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra that the Centre-appointed committee has filed its report and the government will be implementing all the recommendations.
“We are going to implement all the recommendations and it (matter) can be listed after six months,” the law officer said.
“The matter is adjourned for three months. List this special leave petition in the month of April,” the bench said.
The entire report has not been placed on the records as it also contained some details regarding issues like printing of questions etc.
On October 21 last year, the top court had extended the time granted to the Centre-appointed seven-member expert panel to file its report on exam reforms.
The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admission in undergraduate medical programs.
While expanding the scope of the expert panel, the top court had flagged multiple lapses on the part of NTA like the security breach at an examination centre in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh where the rear door of the strongroom was opened and unauthorised people were permitted to access question papers, transportation of question papers by e-rickshaws and distribution of wrong set of question papers among the candidates.
Besides Radhakrishnan, other members of the expert committee are Randeep Guleria, B J Rao, Ramamurthy K, Pankaj Bansal, Aditya Mittal and Govind Jaiswal.
The bench said the remit of the committee, in addition to the tasks that it has been entrusted with by the Union government and the NTA, shall encompass examination security and administration, data security and technological enhancements.
Its responsibilities will also include policy and stakeholder engagement, collaboration and international cooperation, and recommendations for providing mental health support to students and training of NTA staff, it said.
Over 23 lakh students took up the NEET-UG in 2024 for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses.
In November last year, the top court dismissed a petition seeking review of the August 2 verdict by which it had refused to allow a fresh NEET-UG 2024 examination.
