ITDA Seethampeta Super-60 proves a boon to Srikakulam tribal students

As many as 40 students from Super-60 special campus have secured seats in prestigious IITs and NITs while others got admissions in reputed engineering colleges.

Akin to the famous Super-30 concept of a teacher from Bihar coaching 30 poor students to excel in entrance tests, Super-60, has achieved the distinction of grooming tribal students of Srikakulam to get admission in IITs, NITs and other premier institutions. As many as 40 students from Super-60 special campus have secured seats in prestigious IITs and NITs while others got admissions in reputed engineering colleges.

In 2019, the then Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) Seethampeta Project Officer Saikanth Varma came up with the idea of Super-60 and started the special campus at the youth training centre in Srikakulam. The campus was inaugurated on August 3, 2019. Varma, a former IIT student, selected the faculty by conducting interviews. He handpicked 60 students by conducting entrance test in district Gurukulams and tribal welfare colleges. He developed amenities on par with corporate colleges in the campus to groom tribal students for entrance tests. 

In 2020, 12 students of the first batch of the campus had secured seats in IITs and NITs by getting just five months of coaching. The campus topper of 2020, Savara Raviteja is studying BTech in IIT Varanasi. Another topper M Earthasing got a seat in NIT Allahabad. The remaining students had got admission in reputed engineering colleges in the State. The successive ITDA Project Officer Ch Sridhar continued the legacy of Varma. He arranged special classes by renowned motivational speakers for the benefit of students taking coaching at Super-60. 

He named a classroom as Raviteja Sadan, the 2019-20 batch campus topper, who secured admission in IIT Varanasi, to inspire students.Speaking to TNIE, Savara Raviteja said, “I lost my parents in my childhood. I grew up in my uncle’s house. I got admission in Super-60 in 2020. By getting coaching for just five months, I got 832nd rank in ST category and secured admission in IIT Varanasi. When I visited the campus after joining IIT, I saw one classroom in my name and felt happy as it is a privilege for me to inspire juniors.’’   

ITDA PO B Navya said, “We will extend all possible support to Super-60 campus. We conducted the entrance test recently for the 2021-22 batch. We have allotted 30 seats for social welfare students and 30 seats for tribal welfare students this year. About 50 per cent of seats are allotted for girls in each category.’’
Navya said she was in touch with the social welfare department to get funds to improve facilities in the campus further. “I hope we will achieve better results next year.”       

Coming to the 2020-21 Super-60 batch, 18 students had secured admission in IIT, Preparatory IIT and NITs out of 58. Other students got good ranks in AP EAPCET and are waiting for counselling. Three from Super-60 have received laptops from Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for their achievement. Biddika Uday, 2021 campus topper, said, “The ITDA has been providing experienced faculty, best food and accommodation in Super-60. This has become a famous destination for tribal students who want to achieve career heights.”

Morning Digest | India will achieve net zero emissions by 2070 says PM Modi; former Maharashtra Minister Anil Deshmukh arrested in corruption case, and more

A select list of stories to read before you start your day

CoP26 summit | India aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, says PM Modi

India will achieve net zero emissions latest by 2070, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the COP26 summit in Glasgow on Monday.

Until Monday, India was the only major emitter that hadn’t committed to a timeline to achieve net zero, or a year by which it would ensure its net carbon dioxide emissions would be zero.

After 12 hours of questioning, Anil Deshmukh arrested

Former Home Minister of Maharashtra Anil Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of corruption and money laundering.

On Monday, Mr. Deshmukh appeared before ED and was questioned for 12 hours by the Central Agency.

U.S. Senators introduce amendment supporting CAATSA sanctions waiver for India

Three Republican Senators have introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act FY2022 – an annual defence budget bill – to make it harder for the executive branch of the U.S. government to impose sanctions on members of the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue (Quad) for buying Russian arms.

Major reshuffle of diplomatic postings announced

Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Pavan Kapoor has been appointed as the envoy to Russia, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Monday, part of a major reshuffle of postings in the neighbourhood and other major capitals.NEET-UG results declared, three candidates share top rank scoring full marks

Mrinal Kutteri of Telangana, Tanmay Gupta of Delhi and Karthika G. Nair of Maharashtra have scored a perfect 720 marks in the NEET examination to jointly snag the All India number one ranking.

They topped the list of 8.7 lakh candidates who qualified for medical and dental counselling through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) this year. This is the first year that there is no age-based tie-break for candidates with identical scores, allowing three students to share the top ranking.

Modi, Johnson discuss enhanced cooperation on renewables and clean tech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson on Monday discussed the evolving situation in Afghanistan on the sidelines of the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said the two leaders discussed bilateral partnership in the context of climate change, Indo-Pacific strategy and post-COVID global economic recovery.

October exports 5% higher than previous month, deficit cools

India’s merchandise exports were $35.47 billion in October, 35.2% higher than the pre-pandemic level of 2019 and 42.3% above the same month in 2020. However, imports grew faster to $55.37 billion, 62.5% higher than a year ago and 45.8% over October 2019.

Festive season fires up GST revenues to ₹1.3 lakh crore in October

India’s gross GST revenues crossed the ₹1.3 lakh-crore mark in October, the second highest collection since the tax regime was implemented in July 2017.

The Finance Ministry said that October’s GST revenues reflect the recovery in economic activity and would have ‘still been higher if the sales of cars and other products had not been affected on account of disruption in supply of semi-conductors.’

T20 World Cup | Buttler serves up yet another feast as England virtually seal semifinal berth

Jos Buttler hit the first century of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, his unbeaten 101 steering England to 163 for four against Sri Lanka on Monday.

In reply, the Sri Lankans blew hot and cold before getting dismissed for 137 in 19 overs. Bhanuka Rajapaksa (26), Dasun Shanaka (26) and Wanindu Hasaranga (34) tried their best but in vain. For England, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan took two wickets apiece.

Tottenham fires coach Nuno Espírito Santo after losing half of EPL matches

Tottenham fired manager Nuno Espírito Santo on Monday after losing half of his 10 Premier League matches in charge of the club.

The dismissal, after only four months in the job, followed a 3-0 home loss to Manchester United on Saturday when Nuno was booed and fans chanted “You don’t know what you’re doing” at the Portuguese coach.

T20 World Cup | Pakistan primed to secure semifinal berth

Pakistan’s hat-trick of wins in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup means it is close to sealing its spot in the semifinals when it takes on Namibia on Tuesday.

Babar Azam’s men began by ending their India hoodoo at World Cups with a record 10-wicket win in Dubai. It has set the tone for a tournament where Pakistan’s uncharacteristic consistency and enviable chutzpah have become the hallmarks.

Congress launches nation-wide membership drive PTI

It will continue till March 31 and will be followed by organisational elections

The Congress on Monday launched its membership drive across the country that will culminate in organisational elections, including electing a new president.

Heads of Congress State units launched the drive along with an online membership campaign “JoinCongressSaveIndia” to urge people to join the party in order to protect the country from forces that is “trying to destroy constitutional values”.

The membership drive, which started on Monday, will continue till March 31 next year and will be followed by organisational elections. It includes election of State unit presidents, vice-presidents, treasurers, executives and AICC members by the Pradesh Congress Committee general body. It will be held between July 21 and August 20 next year.

The election for the new Congress president will be held between August 21 and September 20 next year.

Those wishing to take up primary members

U.S. Senators introduce amendment supporting CAATSA sanctions waiver for India.

The move comes head of India’s delivery of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Moscow

Three Republican Senators have introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act FY2022 – an annual defence budget bill – to make it harder for the executive branch of the U.S. government to impose sanctions on members of the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue (Quad) for buying Russian arms.

The move comes as India is expected to take delivery of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Moscow — possibly this month or next, potentially attracting sanctions under U.S. domestic law , the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) of 2017.

The latest legislation , called the Circumspectly Reducing Unintended Consequences 15 Impairing Alliances and Leadership (CRUCIAL) Act of 2021, requires the U.S. President to certify to “appropriate congressional committees” that a U.S. Quad partner country (India, Australia, Japan) is not cooperating on “security matters critical to the United States strategic interests,” prior to applying CAATSA sanctions on entities from that country. Effectively, this would mean the administration would have to say the Quad is dysfunctional, before imposing invoking CAATSA sanctions on its members.

The amendment is sponsored by Ted Cruz, a Republican Senator from Texas who is part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and co-sponsored by Republican Senators Todd Young (Indiana) and Roger Marshall (Kansas).

If the amendment goes through, this certification requirement will be in effect for ten years from the date of its passage.

While it is not certain that the amendment will pass, its introduction is one of several recent signals that some U.S. lawmakers have recently been sending the administration to convey their desire not to see India sanctioned under CAATSA.

“Now would be exactly the wrong time for President Biden to undo all of that progress through the imposition of these sanctions, which were meant to deter Russia. Doing so would accomplish nothing except undermining our shared security goals of combatting China’s aggression and forcing India to become dependent on Russia,” Mr, Cruz said in a statement.

Speaking to The Hindu, a Senate Republican aide said that lawmakers recognised the security situation India has with China.

India is at the “centre” of the Quad countries “cooperating to counter China,” the aide said, and is “the only Quad member that actually shares a border with China, the only Quad member that has actually lost soldiers in combat with China.”

However, the authors’ intent is to also see a change in India’s procurement practices within a ten year time frame.“So I think I the consideration is that 2033-2034 and beyond, if India is still going to Russia, and is not taking steps to deepen ties with the Quad, I think that’s when it would be a different conversation,” the aide said. “So I do think there needs to be steps taken over time.”

Release funds for MGNREGS payment, Stalin urges PM

Stalin said the entire amount of Rs 3,524.69 crore released from the Centre to Tamil Nadu during FY 2021-22 has been fully utilised

Stalin said MGNREGS is considered as a “stable livelihood opportunity” in rural areas.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday flagged a “wage liability” of over Rs 1,000 crore to the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the state and urged the Centre to release funds immediately, considering the festival season.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Stalin said MGNREGS is considered as a “stable livelihood opportunity” in rural areas and the present delay in wage payment was causing hardship to many thousands of rural households. He said the entire amount of Rs 3,524.69 crore released from the Centre to Tamil Nadu during FY 2021-22 has been fully utilised by crediting into the workers’ account up to September 15, 2021.

“Since then no further funds has been released towards wages by Government of India which led to the wage liability of Rs 1,178.12 crore up to 1-11-2021. MGNREGS is considered as a stable livelihood opportunity in rural areas and the present delay in wage payment is causing hardship to many thousands of rural households and may lead them to disowning the scheme and lead to urban migration for employment opportunity which is to be averted by MGNREGS,” he told Modi.”Hence, funds towards wage payments may be released immediately particularly considering the festival season,” he added.

India for austerity from rich nations

Seeks cut in ‘luxury, power-intensive life’

As global leaders at the G-20 summit pledged to phase out coal power “as soon possible” and take “meaningful and effective action” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, India urged the developed nations to reduce their “luxurious and energy-intensive lifestyles” so that the developing countries get the margin to meet their required targets for climate goals.

Speaking after the summit ended, India’s “sherpa” Piyush Goyal said the G-20 summit had delivered a strong message as energy and climate was clearly the centrestage of discussions. He said India and several other developing countries had pushed for safeguarding the interests of the developing world. “We were also joined by developed countries to increase the ambition from current levels of commitment,” said Mr Goyal at the end of the summit, where recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, in terms of economy, health, employment, education, tourism and climate action, was also discussed.

Army’s Parachute Brigade conducts airborne exercise in eastern Ladakh

The airborne exercise and combat manoeuvres along the northern borders in the region was conducted to validate Indian Army’s rapid response capabilities

As the Army prepares to remain deployed in large numbers in the high-altitude areas of eastern Ladakh with the stand-off with China still unresolved, the 50th Parachute Brigade is conducting an airborne exercise and combat manoeuvres along the northern borders in the region to validate its rapid response capabilities.

“On Monday, airborne troops were inserted to a Drop Zone at an altitude of more than 14,000 feet,” an Army source said on Monday. “Pre-acclimatised troops, along with specialist vehicles and missile detachments, were transported via C-130 and AN-32 aircraft from five different mounting bases to validate inter-theatre move, precision stand-off drops, rapid grouping and capture of designated objectives with speed and surprise.”

The drop was particularly challenging due to the low temperatures of upto minus 20 degrees and rarefied atmosphere in super high-altitude terrain, the source said. “The exercise is in progress.”

The exercise also involves conduct of oxygen combat free fall jumps and integrated battle drills by airborne forces, mechanised columns and attack helicopters, validating capabilities and seamless integration.

With winters approaching, the Army has mostly completed its winter stocking to support the troops for the next few months.

The brigade, also known as Shatrujeet Brigade, held an airborne exercise in the Rajasthan desert in June also involving mechanished forces.

The News Editorial Analysis 1st November 2021