Zika virus detected in mosquito species in Karnataka's Chikkaballapura district
Bengaluru (PTI): Zika virus has been detected in a mosquito species in Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka following which blood samples of people with high fever have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for examination, officials said on Thursday.
The virus was detected in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes after samples from six waterbodies in Chikkaballapura were collected and sent for examination in August last week, they said.
Following confirmation of the presence of Zika virus in the mosquito samples collected from Talakayalabetta in the district, an alert was issued in a five kilometre radius of the area as a precautionary measure to contain the breeding.
The officials stressed that the virus has been detected only in mosquito samples collected from the Talakayalabetta waterbody and no cases have been detected in people yet.
Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said no person has been tested positive for Zika virus. "The virus has been detected in a mosquito pool. This report came 10 days ago. Don't be afraid of Zika virus," he said.
"We will be monitoring the situation. A few people were showing some symptoms of fever and rashes. They have been kept in the hospital and checked. Their samples have been sent. Some of them have also been discharged from the hospital. They are okay," he said.
"We will be looking into it. We are taking preventive measures. Our people are on the job The only precaution we need to take is on pregnant women where it might affect the child. So far, nothing of that sort is there. I request people not to panic. Our department is fully looking into it. Hopefully, there will be no breakout of it anywhere," he told PTI videos.
State Health Commissioner D Randeep told PTI, "Zika virus was found in a mosquito pool in Chikkaballapura and not in any humans as of now. Samples of three patients with fever have been sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology. These patients are doing fine."
Chikkaballapura District Health Officer Dr Mahesh Kumar said mosquito samples were collected from six sites by the entomologist team of the state government in August last week and "we received the reports on October 25".
According to reports, mosquito samples collected from five sites tested negative but those collected from the Thalakayalabetta waterbody in Shidlaghatta taluk were found to be positive for Zika virus.
"Since the day we received reports, an alert was issued in the five-kilometre radius of Thalakayalabetta. We have taken all preventive measures at the field level. We formed 53 teams. Each team has two members who have been surveying 888 houses surrounding the five km radius of that area. We have been getting screenings done regularly," he told PTI.
As a precautionary measure, blood samples of 33 patients have been sent to the NIV here. Twenty nine of them are antenatal cases and four samples are of patients with high fever. "We are waiting for the results, which are expected to come in another 10 days," he added.
"Samples are being collected regularly. All these patients whose blood samples have been sent are doing fine. Only one patient with a fever had to be admitted to the district hospital here but the patient has been discharged," Kumar said.
According to health officials, all precautionary measures have been taken to control the mosquito breeding around houses.
Health awareness is being created; people have been made to understand the importance of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in and around houses.
Mosquito fogging is being done near the area where the Zika virus was detected and the revenue department has also been urged to cooperate with the health department and take necessary action to contain further spread of the virus.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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