LIVE: Students want NEET, JEE exams to be held, says Education Minister

'We have received mails from students and parents who are in favour of holding exams', said the minister. Stay tuned news LIVE updates

9:46 PM

Students wants JEE, NEET to be conducted; over 1.7 million have downloaded admit cards: Pokhriyal

Over 1.7 million candidates have already downloaded their admit cards for JEE and NEET, and this shows that the students want the exams to be conducted at any cost, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" said on Thursday.
 

His comments came amid a growing chorus for postponement of the medical and engineering entrance exams in view of a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country.
 

"National Testing Agency (NTA) officials told me that over seven lakh candidates have downloaded the JEE-Main admit cards while over 1 million aspirants have downloaded the NEET admit cards. This shows that the students want the exams be held at any cost," Pokhriyal said.
 

"We have received mails from students and parents who are in favour of holding the exams, as they have been preparing for the exams for at least two to three years. The Supreme Court too opined that a full academic year cannot be wasted. After two deferments, the exam dates have been finalised," he added.
 

While the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is scheduled to be held on September 13, engineering entrance exam JEE-Main has been planned from September 1-6. Around 858,000 candidates have registered for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Main and 15.97 lakh have registered for the NEET.
 

9:44 PM

IDFC reports net loss of Rs 26.5 cr in Q1

IDFC Ltd on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 26.46 crore for the quarter ended June 2020.
 

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 5.18 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
 

However sequentially, the loss narrowed compared to Rs 242.92 crore net loss reported in the preceding quarter ended March 2020.
 

Total income (consolidated) fell to Rs 103.99 crore during April-June period, as against Rs 133.04 crore in the same quarter of 2019-20, it said in a regulatory filing.
 

IDFC First Bank Limited in June 2020 raised equity capital by way of issue of shares on preferential basis amounting to Rs 2,000 crore to augment its capital base.
 

9:43 PM

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar asks for white paper on Bengal govt's expenditure on various events

9:01 PM

Punjab to collectively move apex court for NEET, JEE exams deferment

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has asked his Advocate General Atul Nanda to coordinate with his counterparts in opposition-ruled states for filing a collective review petition in the Supreme Court, seeking a deferment of the NEET and JEE exams being conducted amid the Covid-19 pandemic. A directive on this was issued on Wednesday by Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi in a meeting with Chief Ministers of seven opposition-ruled states.

 

There was no time to take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the issue of deferment of exams, said Amarinder Singh in response to a suggestion to this effect. "Let us all get together to move the Supreme Court for postponement of the exams, which are threatening the lives of lakhs of students," he said.

With exams being held online around the world, the Chief Minister suggested that the JEE and NEET and other professional exams like medical and law could also be held online and there was no need to put the students at risk. READ MORE...

8:52 PM

Conducting JEE Main, NEET crucial for admission to premier institutes: IIT Kharagpur director

Amid concerns over holding JEE and NEET exams in September despite the pandemic situation, IIT Kharagpur Director Virendra Kumar Tewari has said conducting these exams is crucial since admissions to premier institutes like IITs and top medical colleges will not be possible otherwise.

 

Urging students to put their faith in the organising bodies who have been working tirelessly to offer a safe environment to hold the exams in the current situation, Tewari said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, "Necessary facilities have been arranged for the students to ensure social distancing, hygiene protocols and even facilitation for probable asymptomatic cases."

 

Mentioning that he was aware of the apprehensions of aspiring students, he said, "I urge the aspirants to take it up as a challenge and show their mettle and sincerity to the world....to take it as an opportunity to adapt to the new normal and strive for a brighter future."

8:41 PM

Gujarat govt seeks Rs 12,000-crore GST compensation from Centre

The Gujarat government on Thursday said the state is supposed to get a compensation of Rs 12,000 crore from the Centre under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act. Though the state is in dire need of "financial assistance" in the form of GST compensation, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said the Centre's hands are also tied due to its dwindling cess revenue, news agency PTI reported.

 

Patel, who holds the finance portfolio, took part in the crucial GST Council meet via video conference on Thursday.

 

"The main agenda of this meeting, attended by finance ministers of all states, was to find out a way to compensate states for the revenue shortfall due to coronavirus. "Gujarat is supposed to get Rs 12,000 crore towards GST compensation," Patel said in a statement.

8:35 PM

We are not happy with outcome: Congress after GST Council meeting

The Congress Thursday said it was "dissatisfied" with the outcome of the GST Council meeting and accused the Centre of adopting a majoritarian approach and thrusting "solutions" on states, according to a PTI report. The finance ministers of Congress-ruled states are not happy with the outcome of GST Council meeting as decisions were thrust upon them by the Centre, Punjab's FM Manpreet Badal said at a virtual press conference after the GST Council meeting.

 

"We are not happy at the outcome. But, we have no choice," he said.

 

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, who represented the Union Territory at the meeting as he also holds the finance portfolio, said it is unfortunate the Centre was not helping the revenue-starved states by honouring its commitment to pay them GST compensation at 14 per cent.

8:26 PM

IPL Sponsors: RR ropes in TV9 Network, RCB gets Max Insurance on board

Rajasthan Royals has roped in TV9 Bharatvarsh as their principal partner for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, to be held in UAE from September 19, according to a PTI report. The channel replaces EXPO 2020 Dubai as Rajasthan Royals' front of jersey brand after the much awaited mega-event was postponed to 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Meanwhile, the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will have Max Life Insurance as their official life insurance partner and also apparel partners for upcoming edition.

8:13 PM

Don't privatise Nagarnar steel plant, Baghel writes to PM Narendra Modi

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged the Centre not to privatize a steel plant which the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is seting up in Bastar district.

 

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Baghel said that as per media reports, the Centre is planning to hand over the Nagarnar steel plant, being constructed at a cost of over Rs 20,000 crore, to private firms.

 

"The state was very enthusiastic that the commissioning of the steel plant in Bastar will not only ensure utilization of minerals but also provide thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities in the area," he said in the letter.

8:06 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 14,718 new Covid-19 positive cases in Maharashtra today

7:59 PM

With collaborative, cooperative efforts we will achieve 'Make for World' in defence sector: Rajnath Singh

With collaborative and cooperation efforts India will achieve not just 'Make in India' but also 'Make for World' in the defence sector, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday.

 

Singh along with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and others took part in the Defence Industry Outreach Webinar organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Defence Ministry, cnews agency ANI reported.

 

"I am confident that through our collaborative and cooperative efforts, we will not only achieve 'Make in India' but also 'Make for World'... We want to become self-reliant to contribute to the world in a better way. In this direction, some bold policy reforms have been taken like the ban on import of 101 defence items," Singh said.

7:42 PM

States lost 60-70% tax revenue in GST regime: Telangana Finance Minister

States have lost 60-70 per cent of their tax revenues after joining the GST regime while the Centres loss was pegged at 31 per cent only, Telangana Finance Minister Harish Rao who participated in the GST Council meeting said on Thursday.

 

According to an official release, Telangana demanded that the Group of Ministers headed by the Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on the Integrated GST to finalise the modalities and release Telanganas due share of Rs 2700 crore towards IGST.

 

"All the states have joined the GST as the Centre had assured them that joining the GST will not cause any loss to the revenue of the states. The responsibility for paying GST compensation lies entirely with the Central government, news agency PTI reported.

7:37 PM

LIVE: Students want NEET, JEE exams to be held, says Education Minister

Over 1.7 million candidates have already downloaded their admit cards for JEE and NEET, and this shows that the students want the exams to be conducted at any cost, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said on Thursday. The minister's comments come against the backdrop of a growing chorus for postponement of the medical and engineering entrance exams in view of spike in COVID-19 cases, according to a PTI report.

 

"National Testing Agency (NTA) officials told me that over 7 lakh candidates have downloaded JEE-Main admit cards while over 10 lakh aspirants have downloaded NEET admit cards. This shows that students want the exams be held at any cost," Pokhriyal said.

 

"We have received mails from students and parents who are in favour of holding exams as they have been preparing for the exams from at least two three years," he added.

7:28 PM

FM Nirmala Sitharaman hits out at opposition for politicising GST compensation issue

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday hit back at the opposition for "unnecessarily trying to politicise" the GST compensation issue when their previous government was to be blamed for "building an environment of mistrust" between the Centre and states.

 

Reacting to charges that several states, particularly those ruled by the opposition, were blaming the Centre on going back on its commitment to pay GST compensation to states, she contended that it was the former government, which did not keep its promise on Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation issue that created an atmosphere of mistrust. This mistrust, she said, initially even affected GST implementation.

 

"But I am grateful to states that there was no attempt to politicise the compensation issue at the Council's meeting today. There were just worries about the current situation and an anxiety to find a solution to the compensation problem," Sitharaman said, after coming out from five-hour-long meeting of the GST Council on the sole issue of GST compensation, according to an IANS report.

7:26 PM

Complete disengagement needs troops redeployment by India, China: MEA