Hyderabad

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has extended the deadline for mandatory implementation of recently notified electric vehicle battery testing standards, following requests from the industry. The first phase implementation must be completed by December 1, 2022, while the second phase implementation must begin on or before March 31, 2023. MoRTH stated: “For the OEMs to be better equipped to comply/implement the provisions prescribed under the standards AIS-156 and AIS-038 (Rev 2), the Ministry has decided to implement Amendment 3 of the said AIS, in two phases.” The ministry earlier announced more stringent battery safety regulations for EVs would take effect from October 1. This notification came on September 1, meaning that the industry had less than a month to prepare for the big change. An expert committee was established by the ministry and it was led by Tata Narsingh Rao, Director of Hyderabad’s ARCI, in response to recent reports of fire incidents … [Read more...] about MoRTH Decelerates Rollout of New EV Battery Testing Norms; Industry Experts Say Step ‘Much Needed’

Judgment and rights The judgment by the Supreme Court of India recognising the abortion rights of unmarried single women is progressive (Page 1, September 30). The patriarchal mindset prevalent in the country has shackled women for too long and the time has come to liberate women. This judgment breaks one of those shackles. Abortion should be an absolute right of any woman subject only to the condition that it does not endanger her life. There are many cases of single women being exploited and facing distress. This judgment comes as a life saver to them. The Court has also protected the absolute right of women over their bodies. Further, the observation on marital rape is another instance of progressive thinking. One cannot help contrasting this judgment with the recent judgment of the U.S. Supreme Court on abortion rights of women in that country. Kosaraju Chandramouli, Hyderabad Women are vulnerable in what is basically a man’s world. More rights to women is the way to … [Read more...] about Letters to the Editor — October 1, 2022

The Krishna district police arrested five persons in a loan apps case under various police stations on Thursday. Superintendent of Police P. Joshua presented the accused before the media at a press conference at Machilipatnam. The accused include brothers Rahul Singh and Rohit Kumar of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Jay Sankar Upadhyay, a news reporter from Ayodhya, and Abhishek Kumar Sinha of Utham Nagar in New Delhi. One more person Haktar Hussain from Hyderabad was also arrested. Mr. Joshua said that the gang was involved in collecting sensitive data of their victims through social media and other platforms, offering loans and harassing the victims later. He said that accused handled over ₹91.84 crore through 15 bank accounts so far. They were booked in five cases. … [Read more...] about Loan apps cases: Five arrested by Krishna police

A special postal cover was released in memory of noted Telugu poet Duvvuri Ramireddy by the Department of Posts on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, Zilla Parishad Chairperson Anam Arunamma recalled the contributions of Duvvuri Ramireddy for education of girls. Nellore Collector K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu wanted the youth to emulate the eminent poet who had been conferred with the title ‘Kavikokila’ by the Andhra Maha Parishad, Vijayawada. The event was sponsored by Duvvuri Ramireddy Sadana Samiti Secretary B. Surendranath Reddy. Duvvuri Ramireddy wrote prabandhas, kandakavyas and also translated romantic poetry from Sanskrit and Arabic. He also had written lyrics and dialogues for Telugu films. He also wrote ‘Hyderabad Paryatana’ in Telugu language. … [Read more...] about Andhra Pradesh: Special postal cover on Telugu poet Duvvuri Ramireddy released

The United Nations marks today as International Day for Older Persons (October 1), as part of the organisation’s efforts to draw attention to healthy ageing. Recently, a report by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), “World Population Prospects 2022”, has projected big shifts in global demographic patterns in the coming decades. As global birth rates stabilise and shrink, 16% of the world population by 2050 is expected to be made up of people over 65 years. India will be home to the largest population in the world which would include a large elderly sub-population. This demographic change will have a profound impact on its health systems. In this, eye care service delivery is uniquely placed to be the first point-of-contact with the elderly and to also help with health surveillance and planning. Changes to population structure ‘The HOMES data show us that the first step towards tackling basic issues of access and confidence in the elderly is to address … [Read more...] about As India ages, keeping an eye on the elderly