New Delhi: UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar has said that central universities will make public university entrance examination (CUET) scores compulsorily for admission of students to degree programs this year. Speaking to media persons, Kumar said that from the academic year 2022-23, the National Testing Agency will conduct CUET for NTA undergraduate and postgraduate programs. He said the syllabus of the CUET would be similar to the 12th class model syllabus of the NCERT. The UGC chairman said the CUET would be held in the first week of July.

The application process for the graduate CUET will begin in the first week of April. CUET will have Section 1A, Section 1B, General Examination, and domain-specific subjects. The examination will be conducted in Section 1 F and 13 languages.
Students can choose the language of their choice. Options are English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

New Delhi: The government has hiked the price of cooking gas by Rs 50 per cylinder. With this, in Kochi, the price has gone up to Rs 956 per cylinder. The price has also been increased by Rs 13 per five-kilogram cylinder. Fuel prices also rose yesterday. The revised price will come into effect at 6 am today.

Crude oil prices have soared in international markets since the Russia-Ukraine war. As part of this, there are reports of a change in fuel prices in India as well.

New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices have been hiked in the country after four months. Fuel prices have remained unchanged since the election in five states. Petrol price was hiked by 87 paise per liter. Diesel price has been hiked by 85 paise per liter. Despite reports that fuel prices will rise sharply after the election results, the current hike comes more than a week after the results came out.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has informed dealers that the new change in fuel prices after 137 days will take effect from 6 am on March 22. Despite the record high of $ 130 per barrel, crude oil prices have not risen in India so far.

New Delhi: The Central Government has said that there should not be even a slight drop in the covid defense amid concerns that a new wave of covid is spreading around the world. The central government has asked the states to focus on five areas: test, track, treatment, vaccination, and covid protocol. The alert comes in the wake of rising cases in Southeast Asia and other European countries.

In the last 24 hours, 2528 covid cases were reported in the country. Adequate testing should be done to detect new variants on time. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to the states and union territories that the importance of vaccination should be made known to the public and the remaining should be vaccinated. Ensure that adequate samples are submitted for genetic sequencing. The Center also demanded that the clusters be closely monitored. The necessary covid awareness should be created in the states.

Ensure that covid meets standards, including mask and sanitizer and social distance. The Center’s key proposal comes amid active discussions on the removal of covid restrictions, including the removal of masks in public places. The BA2 virus, a subspecies of the covid omicron variant, is currently being challenged in China. BA2, also known as stealth omicron, is more potent than omicron. Some preliminary studies have suggested that stealth omicron may be able to easily overcome the immunity acquired through vaccination and previous covid infection.

Authorities are cracking down on the spread of covid in China. Lockdowns have been announced in several cities, including Jill, in the northwestern province. The virus has spread to both rural and urban areas. Schools in Shanghai province were also closed. Covid cases have been reported in the US, South Korea, and other European countries.

New Delhi:  Under the new UGC guidelines, students who complete a four-year degree course with a minimum of 7.5 CGPA (CGPA) will soon be eligible for Ph.D. admission. The 556th meeting of the UGC on March 10 approved the UGC’s draft of the minimum qualifications and criteria for obtaining a Ph.D. degree. The document is published on the official website of UGC, ugc.ac.in.

Under the current proposal, students who have completed a four-year degree with a minimum of 7.5 CGPA, as well as postgraduate students, will be eligible for Ph.D. admission. Although there will be no change in the admission process, adjustments in the eligibility criteria have been made in the wake of the abolition of M.Phil courses and the introduction of four-year degree courses in line with the National Education Policy 2020.

“The UGC has prepared a draft to implement the recommendations on minimum eligibility for Ph.D. degrees. This document is available on the official website of the UGC,” the UGC said in a statement. The UGC has also directed the public to submit suggestions and responses in this regard by March 31.

Under the National Education Policy 2020, various colleges and universities will start four-year degree courses. Students who complete the course will receive an honors degree and a research degree. The UGC has also recommended that the minimum duration of a Ph.D. be reduced from three years to two years. However, it is proposed to extend the maximum period to six years.

UGC Chairperson Jagadish Kumar said the new proposals would improve the country’s higher education system. He added that the newly launched four-year undergraduate courses offer students the opportunity to combine multiple subjects into research or to complete their final year of study focusing on a particular subject. Those who complete a four-year degree can also qualify for a Ph.D.

Students who complete the M.Phil degree with at least 55% marks will continue to be eligible for Ph.D. admission. The UGC has also proposed to reserve 60 percent of the total seats in the higher education sector for students who pass the National Eligibility Test (NET) and the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). In the remaining 40 percent of the seats, students can get admission based on entrance examinations conducted by the universities separately or in general. Candidates who have secured NET / JRF can appear for the entrance examination by appearing directly in the interview or Viva.

Srinagar: Six terrorists linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba have been arrested. Police nabbed the terrorist group from Pulwama. Police have arrested a group of terrorists who were involved in providing shelter, logistics facilities, fundraising for terrorism, money laundering, and inciting youths to join terrorist organizations.

Rauf Ahmed Lon Amjid, a resident of Lelhar Kakapora, Akhib Maqbool Bhat, a resident of Alochibagh Pampore, Javed Ahmed Dar, a resident of Larv Kakapora, Sajad Ahmed, Arshid Ahmed Mir, a native of Pulwama, and Rameez Raja were arrested. Police have intensified their probe into the arrests.

New Delhi: The Home Ministry has decided to reinstate e-tourist visas issued to citizens of 156 countries, which have been suspended since March 2020 due to the covid epidemic. Permission was also granted to apply for a new e-tourist visa.

 The decision comes as the covid situation in the country improves. The move comes in the wake of the situation in the country and the need for further easing of visa and travel restrictions.

The ministry has reinstated 10-year tourist visas for the US and Japanese nationals, the issuance of new visas for citizens of both countries, and the valid regular (paper) long-term.