Only one student in each desk, no gatherings: Karnataka releases SOP to conduct SSLC in July
Bengaluru, June 23: The Karnataka government on Wednesday set in motion the process to conduct the Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination or the 10th standard examination in July by releasing the standard operating procedure (SOP) for teachers.
While releasing the SOP, the Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said those in charge of the exam centres should abide by the SOP.
The SOP mandated sanitising the exam halls, furniture and toilets daily by spraying disinfectant solution before and after the exam.
There would be 12 children in the examination hall and only one student in each desk to maintain physical distancing.
Also, the SOP ordered students not to gather at any time.
In the rural areas, arrangements should be made to ensure that the test centres should be created in a manner that students need not go to the taluk-level to appear for the exam, the SOP said.
Vaccinating the teachers, staff and officials involved in conducting the examination with the cooperation of the district administration is mandatory, the Minister said adding that they need to make sure that they get a dose of the vaccine well before the exams.
According to Kumar, there should be two rooms reserved for candidates suffering from cough, common cold and flu.
There should be a thermal scanner, pulse oximeter, first aid boxes and hand sanitisers at the entrance.
Students would be given masks at the entrance of the health counters in the exam halls.
Also, there would be ambulances reserved in each Taluk for those involved in the SSLC examination.
There would also be a COVID care centre for those COVID- positive students to write the exam.
If anyone in the family is infected and the candidate is in isolation and is found to be healthy, he or she would be allowed to write the test at the nearby COVID Care Centre after testing the student.
Unlike other States, the Karnataka government decided to conduct the exam in two phases where objective type questions would be asked.
The government said the 10th exam cannot be avoided as it is crucial to decide the stream in which a student should study.
Last year, the government had successfully conducted the SSLC exams despite the fear expressed by the opposition parties and experts.
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Man booked for duping firm of Rs 6 cr by posing as Infosys CSR official
Bengaluru (PTI): An FIR has been registered against a man and his accomplices for allegedly cheating a firm of Rs 6 crore by falsely claiming to be associated with an IT company and promising to facilitate CSR funds for its projects, police said on Friday.
The crime is said to have taken place between September 1, 2025 and March 20, 2026, and after consultation with legal experts the company decided to file a complaint at the Devanahalli police station here, they said.
The FIR was registered on March 30 following a complaint by Mysore Mercantile Company, alleging that a person named Gagan N Deep approached them, posing as the Regional Head (CSR) at Infosys Ltd, they said.
According to the FIR, Deep claimed he reported to senior officials - Harsh J, Senior Regional Manager - Infrastructure, Facilities Operation, Public Relations and CSR Works, and Niladri Prasad Mishra, Senior Vice President and Head - Global Infrastructure and Climate Action.
The FIR alleged that the accused expressed interest in the activities of their associated trust, Heggunje Rajeeva Shetty Charitable Trust, Bangalore, and assured facilitation of CSR funds from Infosys Ltd.
It further stated that the accused sent a team of four to five individuals representing Infosys, including persons identified as Chethan and Tejas, to Udupi, Mangaluru and other places to verify the trust’s activities.
According to the complaint, the accused subsequently induced the complainant to pay an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to alleged regular vendors of Infosys as a condition for approval of CSR grants.
The complainant stated that a total amount of Rs 6 crore was paid, including Rs 1.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of Anitha Ventures and Rs 3.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of ANS Engineerings, apart from an additional cash payment of Rs 30 lakh allegedly handed over to the accused through his driver near Nandi Upachar Hotel in Devanahalli, as per his instructions.
The FIR further alleged that the accused issued a purported sanction letter dated October 21, 2025, allegedly from Infosys bearing the signature of Mishra, and executed a grant agreement dated January 8, 2026 between Infosys and the charitable trust for the construction of more than 855 houses across Karnataka with a total grant of Rs 179 crore.
Another grant agreement dated January 13, 2026 was also executed for construction of primary health care centres across the state with a total grant of Rs 178 crore, it stated.
However, the complainant later suspected that the representations made by the accused were false, the documents were fabricated, and the entire transaction was fraudulent in nature, as the accused dishonestly induced them to part with substantial amounts under the pretext of EMD for CSR grants.
"Despite repeated follow-ups neither has any grant materialised nor have the amounts been returned, and the accused is now unresponsive and deliberately avoiding communication," the FIR added.
A case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), Section 319(2) (cheating by personation), Section 336(3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating), police said, adding that further investigation into the matter is underway.
Efforts are being made to nab the suspects in the case, they added.
