by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship
Mr. Subrahmanyam V. V., CEO, Verzeo
Bangalore: In today’s world, where there are colossal options for online training, it’s significant for the aspirants to know about the right EdTech companies that can help them navigate through their dreams and reach their goals.
An inspiring story of a young entrepreneur who provided numerous online learning opportunities that reached people beyond the urban crowd during this pandemic.
Mr. Subrahmanyam V. V. is the man who marked his territory in the online education sector. He started this venture when he was only 20 years old with an ambitious bag filled with quality and determination.
He founded this EdTech company, Verzeo, in 2018 that uses Artificial Intelligence to train the students to be industry-ready. The certified courses provide practical training to the outgoing students and allow them to intern from remote locations.
The company believes that to savor each aspirant of the country with the taste of good tutoring, it’s necessary to bridge the gap between technology and education. So, the CEO trod on a different trail of online education. He made sure that each global corner has equal access to the training they are providing.
With more than 700 employees, the CEO aims to hit the company’s valuation worth 500 crores at the end of 2022. The crew works day in and out to achieve their CEO’s target to have more than 1500 employees by 2021.
With a vision to provide students with vital resources and proper navigation in terms of mentorship, Verzeo has introduced courses starting from kids programmes like coding to other verticals like upskilling sections, banking, CA training, and many more that train people to tackle the latest technical proficiency.
The company was now one of the most suitable platforms due to a quick peek in online educational training enrollment in 2020. They also provide networking opportunities for students with trainers.
“We aim to enhance the potential of the kids worldwide by providing them practical skill sets that will allow them to bring in maximum results. By providing AI-enabled real-time insights, we deliver customized services to a wide range of customers. Our courses allow people to learn the necessary skills regarding their subject which will holistically develop them for their profession. We aim to provide efficient and quality learning to people all over the globe,” added Verzeo, CEO, Mr. Subrahmanyam V. V.
Verzeo plans on taking its courses to different nations in the following half a year. The company has a good grip in Singapore and Dubai and now plans to offer substance and classes in all the significant languages over the extended world.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Opinions
MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi at a election rally in Bihar
Wooing away Muslims from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is no easy job. The Muslims of West Bengal have learnt a lesson from Bihar experience
By Soroor Ahmed | Patna
OF the five states going to poll in April-May West Bengal, Assam and Kerala have substantial Muslim populations. In fact, in Assam where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power, almost one-third of the population is Muslim.
Yet the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen’s chief, Asaduddin Owaisi, has not disclosed any plan to fight election in Assam and Kerala, which along with Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are going to polls in the summer.
Till now he has focussed only on West Bengal. On January 3, Owaisi met a ‘spiritual’ personality of Furfura Shareef in Hooghly district of West Bengal, Abbas Siddiqui, with a view to contesting Assembly election in the state.
It can be argued that the presence of the All India United Democratic Front of Badruddin Ajmal in Assam and Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala may have compelled him from not throwing the hat in the ring in these two states. But in Bihar, AIMIM did not shy away from the contest even as the Popular Front of India, essentially a Muslim outfit, was in the fray.
While AIMIM joined hands in the recently held election in Bihar with Bahujan Samaj Party and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, the PFI formed an alliance with former MP Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav’s Jan Adhikar Party.
Except AIMIM and BSP, which won five and one seat respectively, the rest three failed to open their account. All the five who won on the AIMIM tickets, had their association with either the Congress or RJD in the past.
By Owaisi’s own logic the first priority should be to wage a big battle against the Indian Union Muslim League because it is in alliance with the same secular Congress, whom the Hyderabad MP blames for all the ills plaguing Muslims of India. It is other thing that AIMIM only broke the two decades long relationship with the Congress in Andhra Pradesh in 2012, that is after the resurgence of the BJP across India.
It remained a mystery as to why Asaduddin Owaisi is not exposing IUML when he is quick to blame former PM Rajiv Gandhi, former UP and Bihar CMs Akhilesh Yadav and Lalu Prasad respectively and the present West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Is it not a fact that AIMIM chief’s late father Salahuddin Owaisi, former MP from Hyderabad, once had good relationship with Rajiv Gandhi?
Should it be understood that AIMIM’s chief is not poking his nose in Kerala as the BJP would not be benefited there as it is too weak.
In the same way it would be perhaps a futile exercise to plunge into the complicated politics of Assam where the BJP is already in power.
The AIMIM has every right to contest from anywhere in India. At the same time citizens of the country have full right—if it is so possible—to ask him why is it that he is so selective in choosing the states and constituencies to fight elections? In his own state, Telangana, the AIMIM hardly goes out of Greater Hyderabad. If Akhilesh, Mamata, Lalu or his son Tejashwi are so bad for Muslims how good K Chandrashekar Rao is for the community in Telangana where his party is in alliance with the ruling Telangana Rashtriya Samiti.
Perhaps Owaisi might have been a more respectable politician had he been honest in approach and quite open in support of the BJP. Secretly supporting the BJP is, in the long run, going to harm his own brand of politics. After all Owaisi should be aware of the fact that the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is thinking in terms of dissociating himself from the AIMIM after the very good performance of the saffron party in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election last month. The BJP’s tally jumped from four to 48 while the TRS got reduced to 56 from 99 in the 150 wards civic body. The AIMIM managed to retain 44 seats as it contested only in 51.
Owaisi should look into his own future as the BJP has performed better than AIMIM in Hyderabad itself. If the trend continues and the TRS abandons Owaisi the AIMIM may be reduced to 1994 Assembly election like situation in which it could win only one seat as the Telugu Desam Party of N.T. Rama Rao swept the polls winning 216 seats.
If Owaisi is encouraged by the result of Bihar election he is somewhat overrating himself as there is a crucial factor which many political pundits had overlooked. That was the presence of a full-fledged politician in the state unit of AIMIM. Akhtar-ul-Iman, the Bihar unit president, had been two-time RJD MLA from Kishanganj district and is the tallest leader of the Surjapuri Muslims. Besides Akhtar, the other four MLAs who won are no novice politicians. One of them, Shahnawaz Alam, is the son of late RJD stalwart and former Union minister, Mohammad Taslimuddin. Shahnawaz himself was a RJD MLA but at the time of distribution of ticket Tejashwi Yadav preferred his elder brother and former MP Sarfaraz Alam. In the contest between the two brothers Shahnawaz won. Owaisi has taken all the credits for AIMIM’s performance when the ground reality was something else. Apart from this the first AIMIM’s victory came in October 2019 by-election four years after it set its foot in Bihar.
In contrast Abbas Siddiqi in Bengal has no political experience. Reports coming from Bengal say that he may float his own party as he nurses political ambition. Owaisi himself is not sure whether Siddiqi will join hands with him or not. Not only that, wooing away Muslims from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is no easy job. The Muslims of West Bengal have learnt a lesson from Bihar experience.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business
Survivors of the Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal demonstrating in support of the ongoing agitation of the farmers. (File Photo)
By Pervez Bari
BHOPAL: At a virtual Press conference organizations of survivors of the Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal on Sunday called upon the Prime Minister to immediately stop the ongoing clinical trial of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin in Bhopal.
In a letter to the Prime Minister and the Union Health Minister sent this morning, the organizations have also sought punishment for all responsible parties who were negligent in ensuring the safety, well being and the rights of the trial participants and monetary compensation for damages caused during the Covaxin trial in Bhopal.
Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh and a recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, said: “At least 700 of the 1700 people on who this vaccine, with unknown efficacy, is being tested, are people poisoned by Union Carbide. One gas victim has already died within 10 days of getting the trial shot and many continue to have health complaints of serious nature. No one has been punished for the death of 13 gas victims who died during trials by Pharma companies at the Bhopal Memorial Hospital & Research Centre some twelve years back. We are writing to the Prime Minister to ensure there is no repeat.”
On behalf of Bhopal survivors’ organisations, she demanded that the family of the gas victim who died during the Covaxin trial be paid Rs. 50 lakhs as is done in the case of deceased “Corona warriors”.
Highlighting some of the irregularities of the ongoing trial, Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information & Action said: “People whose health is compromised due to Union Carbide’s poisons are being given the Covaxin trial shots without their knowledge or consent. No records are kept of the health problems the trial’s participants have had following the shots and several have been turned away without tending to the adverse effects of the shots. Trial participants who leave or are excluded halfway are denied care and are not followed up.”
Describing the demands of the Bhopal survivors’ organizations, Shehzadi Bee of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha said: ” In addition to immediate stoppage of the trial and compensation for the gas victim who has died during this trial we demand a thorough and impartial audit, criminal punishment of officials and institutions responsible for this public health disaster and compensation for injuries caused due to trial vaccines.”
Nousheen Khan of the Children Against Dow Carbide said that by ignoring the ongoing criminal irregularities in the Covaxin trial in Bhopal, the Government is potentially unleashing a public health disaster on the 16th of this month.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, News
Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has directed all its offices to halt the import of poultry items from India
The Ministry has instructed all local offices and quarantine checkposts to remain vigilant and stop the import of poultry items.
KATHMANDU — Nepal has stopped importing all kinds of poultry items from India after some states in the neighbouring country recently reported the outbreak of bird flu.
The ban came into effect on Thursday, officials said.
Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has directed all its offices to halt the import of poultry items from India, which is the primary market for the Himalayan nation’s multi-billion poultry industry.
The Ministry has instructed all local offices and quarantine checkposts to remain vigilant and stop the import of poultry items.
It also urged the local authorities to stop open trading of poultry items close to the Nepal-India border.
There are several other border, as well as entry points between Nepal and India through which besides poultry, other items are also coming freely.
“It is very difficult to check the import and exports of all trading items in this time of urgency between Nepal and India because the countries share a long open border and is not possible to deploy officials to check the malpractices that take place in bordering areas,” a senior Nepal government official told IANS.
Shree Ram Ghimire, spokesperson at the Ministry of Agriculture, confirmed that only certified poultry products are permitted to be imported inside Nepal.
Nepal has set up 16 quarantine centres across the Nepal-India border on the Nepali side and told them to gear up to stop importing poultry products, Ghimire said, adding as of now, no single case has been detected in the Himalayan nation despite a surge in the bird flu cases in India.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, News
Syed Khalique Ahmed | NEW DELHI
While the Aligarh Nagar Nigam ( or the Aligarh Municipal Corporation) has seized the bank accounts of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on ground of not clearing house tax dues of several years, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), which is also a central university like the AMU, says that it never paid house tax.
Speaking to India Tomorrow over phone, BHU Public Relations Officer Dr Rajesh Singh said, “BHU has never paid house tax for the buildings on its premises”.
Asked if the university has received any notice in the last few weeks from the Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) claiming house tax for the university hostels, residences, laboratories, classrooms and guest houses etc on its premises, Dr. Singh said, “We received a notice in this regard about five years ago as far as my memory goes but the notice was withdrawn after we convinced the municipal authorities that it does not apply to BHU. We never received any notice regarding house tax after that”.
“We also did not receive any notice in the last one month or a fortnight”, Dr. Singh informed.
Surprisingly, AMU received a notice with regard to Rs. 14.98 crore house tax dues on it a fortnight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) as “Mini India” and released a commemorative stamp on the university on its centenary celebrations.
But the university says that the matter is pending before the Allahabad High Court for adjudication.
“The matter is sub-judice “, a statement released by the university said, in reaction to the civic body’s action.
A university official said that “the AMU has been paying house tax for residential areas, and it got exemption for the classrooms, laboratories and libraries from the Aligarh Nagar Palika (or the Aligarh Municipal Committee)”.
However, the decision was reversed in 2006 when the Aligarh Nagar Nigam came into existence.
“The university approached the Allahabad High Court following the decision and the matter is still pending”, said a statement released by AMU’s Public Relations Department.
According to AMU’s statement, AMU also owes an outstanding dues of over Rs. 9 crores towards Aligarh Nagar Nigam but the latter has not paid it to the university. The dues pertain to electric consumption charges of the university tubewells which are used by the corporation for water supply.
AMU pointed out that “the Banaras Hindu University and some other central institutions also got house tax exemption from the High Court and no tax is levied on classrooms, laboratories and libraries”.
An AMU official said that the AMU was also qualified for the same exemption.
The official said that the civic body should have waited for the High Court judgement in the case of AMU as well. “It should not have taken a hasty decision to seize the banks accounts of the university”, the official pointed out.
A university official said that the action of the AMC will adversely affect the war against Covid pandemic the university’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital is fighting.
The Phase III trial of Covaxin, the Bharat Biotech Covid-19 vaccine developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV), has been going on at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC). “The first two doses have already been given to 1000 volunteers. The trial will go on for the next six months. JNMC, a dedicated Covid L2 Hospital, is treating coronavirus patients and has so far conducted over two lakh Covid tests”, according to an AMU official.
Aligarh Nagar Nigam’s chief assessment officer (CAO) Vinay Rai, when questioned about the AMU’s bank account attachment, said, “the university was issued several notices in the past with regard to the outstanding dues of Rs. 14.98 crore but it was not paid. Hence, the Nigam took the action of seizure of bank accounts to realise its dues”.
Regarding BHU having been given house tax exemption by the High Court, he said, “The AMU has not produced any such document or court order regarding BHU. We will certainly withdraw our orders if the High Court order regarding BHU is given to us or the High Court gives an exemption to AMU as well”.
Rai said that the UP Nagar Palika Act had the provision to give exemption to certain institutions for house tax but “there is no such provision under the UP Nagar Nigam Act”.
As for AMU’s Rs. 9 crore dues towards Aligarh Nagar Nigam, Rai said, “The issue was raised by the AMU after we served them notices to claim our dues. We have forwarded the AMU’s claim to Aligarh Water Works Department and are awaiting their reply to sort out the matter”, he said.
