India's rain-hit first T20I against SA called off
Durban, Dec 10: India's desire to start the process of finding an ideal combination for the T20 World Cup 2024 suffered a minor dent as their first match against South Africa was abandoned without a ball being bowled after persistent rain here on Sunday.
In fact, even the toss did not take place.
Now, the 'Men in Blue' are left with just five T20Is two more against the Proteas and three games against Afghanistan at home in January ahead of next year's showpiece in the West Indies and the USA.
In that context, India would have liked to make a head start to their search for a perfect blend at Kingsmead but rain put paid to those hopes temporarily.
With the IPL 2024 preceding the T20 World Cup, the Indian think-tank will certainly bank on the league to identify the ideal 15 for the marquee event.
India stand-in captain Suryakumar suggested as much.
"I feel there are limited T20s going forward, before the T20 World Cup. But then we play 14 league games in the IPL as well," Suryakumar had mentioned during his pre-match press meet on Saturday.
But then nothing really can supplant the confidence a player can accrue while performing well in international matches, and the weight of a good outing doubles if the touring destination is South Africa.
It also offers the management a more realistic yardstick about a player's ability.
The first-time visitors to the 'Rainbow Nation' such as Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh etc would have been eager to get that unique taste of cricket here and now they would have to wait till Tuesday for the second match at St George's Park at Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth.
From a leadership perspective, Suryakumar has done a very fine job while stepping in for injured Hardik Pandya during the home T20I series against the Aussies.
Suryakumar led from the front in India's 4-1 series victory.
The 33-year-old would have liked to make a winning start here against the Proteas to underline his credentials to give the bigwigs another name potentially to consider for the captain's role, if it ever comes to that.
It wasn't entirely amusing then to hear the Mumbai man talking about his comfort while shepherding a young side.
"From personal point of view, it (captaincy) is a big responsibility. I really enjoyed it in the last series (against Australia). I would love to do the same (winning the series) in the coming series in South Africa.
"But from a larger perspective, we'll see what comes ahead but for now let's focus on the series," he had said on Saturday.
The Durban T20I could also have handed India a chance to test their options for the sixth bowler slot, something that assumes importance as Pandya's fitness continues to be iffy.
They, perhaps, could have tried the part-time spin of Tilak Varma, who recently bowled a few overs for Hyderabad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Suryakumar did not provide a definite answer to the sixth bowling conundrum, but said they have enough personnel in their ranks to fill in that role.
"It is not like we don't have a sixth bowling option. When the right time comes, you will see the sixth bowler or maybe the seventh or eighth (bowler)," he had said.
But for now, India will have to hit the meeting room and reinforce their plans ahead of the second match.
Not so great news from Durban as the 1st T20I has been called off due to incessant rains.#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/R1XW1hqhnf
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 10, 2023
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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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