MUMBAI: Over 2,000 candidates in the state are awaiting clear directives from the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) for permanent registration after the National Medical Commission (NMC) clarified guidelines allowing foreign medical graduates (FMGs) who attended online classes during Covid to register in India. The FMGs studied in Georgia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, China and the Philippines, among others.MMC has stated that each case is different and not all graduates have completed the compensatory internship as prescribed by NMC, which is why NMC guidelines need to be implemented with care.Some of the graduates who completed their compulsory rotating medical internship (CRMI) are trying to repeat their internship in India, waiting to hear from MMC. “We cleared the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE). We have completed our mandatory one-year internship in our country of degree completion. We… ensured that all our online classes were supported by offline classes and practical hours. Still we are not getting registration to practice here,” said Rachita Kurmi, who completed her MBBS in China.Candidates alleged that while states such as Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have been reluctant to grant permanent registration, others like UP had been allowing FMGs to practice, and J&K issued a directive following the NMC guidelines.Another candidate, said, “Countries like the UK and the USA also faced the pandemic, India wasn’t the only one. However, those countries granted registration to students who had studied abroad after they cleared the screening exam. We are concerned that the MMC may require us to undergo an additional one or two years of internship here as well.”The candidates have approached RTI activist Faisal Shaikh, who has approached MMC and the medical education minister seeking relief for the affected ones. “Given that these doctors have already lost significant time, we demand a fast-track redressal mechanism,” he said. MMC administrator Vinki Rughwani said there are over 2,000 FMGs from the state who have been seeking permanent registration in the last year. “We will have to deal with this on a case-by-case basis. We will have to implement the NMC guidelines with care, to ensure there is no deviation from their policy,” he said. “The state council will take a student-friendly decision.”

MUMBAI: IIT-Bombay has taken a unique approach to convert ‘dormant’ early-stage technologies developed on campus into commercially viable industry solutions. The Powai institute is the first IIT in the country to set up a Section 8 company called the Translational Research Yielding Solutions for Tomorrow (TRYST) for the purpose. The company will identify technologies that remained unused after the proof-of-concept stage, often because students graduate and faculty shift focus to new research areas, and transform it into industry-relevant products.Engineers, from within and outside the IIT system, will be hired at TRYST. It will follow a corporate-style structure, led by a CEO, and will also engage business development managers to bridge the gap between the lab and the market. Unlike the regular academic research timelines (PhDs in five years), TRYST plans to deliver products with market potential in shorter timelines.

CEO hired, Managers coming soon

Explaining the concept, Prof Milind Atrey, deputy director (academics, research and translation), said, “Only about 1% of the campus population become entrepreneurs, and just a fraction of these start-ups survive beyond five years. Since most professors and students are not trained for entrepreneurship, many great ideas do not take off despite funding. But if a technology has real-world value, it shouldn’t remain unused at IIT Bombay.” The institute estimates that about 20-30% of their technologies hold potential for further development and industry adoption.TRYST was mentioned by director, Prof Shireesh Kedare, during the recently concluded Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit, which focused on taking India’s translational research to the global stage. The initiative will function in two ways, first by translating existing laboratory technologies into industry-relevant products, and by developing solutions based on specific industry demands. In the second, companies can approach the centre with problem statements, which will be addressed using the institute’s technical expertise. TRYST’s professor-in-charge Chandra Sekher Yerramalli said, “If a technology is currently at a readiness level (TRL) of 3, we aim to advance it to levels 6 or 7, demonstrate a pilot to industry partners, and subsequently take it to the product stage for commercialisation.”Dr Jitendra Balakrishnan has been hired as TRYST CEO.Prof Atrey added, “Today, when industry collaborates with a professor, they end up handling everything, from timelines, hiring, and project management, leaving less time for core technical work. With TRYST, these responsibilities can be centralized, allowing faculty to focus purely on their expertise.”The institute recently invested Rs 200 crore in the Centre for Sophisticated Instruments and Facilities. TRYST will make use of this centre for development of technologies. The institute hopes to raise funds from alumni as well as govt under Research, Development and Innovation scheme.

The Ministry of petroleum and Natural Gas on Saturday dismissed reports suggesting that an Iranian crude oil shipment meant for India had been rerouted to China due to payment-related hurdles, asserting that such claims are incorrect.Clarifying the situation, the ministry said, “The news reports and social media posts of an Iranian crude cargo being diverted from Vadinar, India to China due to “payment issues” are factually incorrect. India imports crude oil from 40+ countries, with companies having full flexibility to source oil from different sources & geographies based on commercial considerations.”Taking to social media platform X, the ministry assured that Indian refiners have already secured their energy supplies, for the upcoming months. “Amid Middle East supply disruptions, Indian refiners have secured their crude oil requirements, including from Iran; and there is no payment hurdle for Iranian crude imports, contrary to the rumours being circulated,” it stated.“It is reiterated that India’s crude oil requirements remain fully secured for the coming months.”Commenting on allegations of pending payments the ministry it also explained that changes in vessel destinations are not unusual in global oil trade. “Claims on vessel diversion ignore how oil trade works. Bills of Lading often carry indicative discharge ports destinations and on-sea cargoes can change destinations mid-voyage based on trade optimisation and operational flexibility.” The clarification comes after recent reports indicated that a tanker carrying Iranian crude had altered its destination mid-voyage due to payment problems. The Aframax tanker Ping Shun, which had earlier been indicating Vadinar in Gujarat, was later reported by ship-tracking firm Kpler to be heading towards Dongying in China. The cargo was expected to be India’s first Iranian crude shipment since 2019.On liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies, the ministry also rejected related claims, stating, “On LPG too, some claims being made are incorrect as LPG vessel Sea Bird carrying around 44 TMT Iranian LPG berthed at Mangalore, India on April 2 and is currently discharging.”India had been a significant buyer in the past, importing around 518,000 barrels per day in 2018 before volumes fell in 2019 during a sanctions waiver period and eventually halted. Iranian crude once accounted for about 11.5 per cent of India’s total imports.Despite a recent US waiver permitting limited purchases of Iranian oil at sea for 30 days, financial constraints, including Iran’s exclusion from the SWIFT system, have continued to affect transactions. The waiver is set to expire on April 19, with an estimated 95 million barrels of Iranian oil currently stored on vessels at sea.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reached out to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), expressing interest in strengthening existing ties and exploring new avenues of cricketing cooperation between the two nations.Nazmul Abedin Fahim, BCB’s Director of Cricket Operations, confirmed the development in a conversation with ANI. He stated that communication between cricket boards is routine and part of maintaining strong international relations.“We maintain regular communication with various countries’ cricket boards. As part of that regular communication, we recently reached out to the Board of Control for Cricket in India via a letter, through an email, to communicate with them”, Nazmul Abedin Fahim, Director (Cricket Operations) of BCB, told ANI, over the phone. “In the letter, we mentioned that the Indian national cricket team is scheduled to come to Bangladesh in September to play a series, and after that, our women’s team is supposed to go to India. We also included in the letter a request to explore any other possibilities for reciprocal cricket collaborations,” he added.

How the BCB and BCCI Rift Began

The outreach comes after a period of tension between the two cricketing nations. Ahead of IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders had signed Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman. However, due to political objections from local groups, the BCCI ordered KKR to release him, which led to friction between the boards. The situation escalated further when Bangladesh decided to boycott the T20 World Cup hosted in India, straining cricketing relations.However, diplomatic ties between the two countries have recently shown signs of improvement. Following the February 12 elections, the new government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has taken steps toward strengthening bilateral relations with India.In a significant diplomatic move, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Khalilur Rahman, is scheduled to visit India on April 7 and 8. With improving political relations, cricketing cooperation between the two nations also appears to be back on track, signaling a positive phase for future engagements.

India’s tour of Bangladesh

The Indian national cricket team is set to tour Bangladesh in September 2026 for a six-match white-ball series, comprising three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). Originally scheduled for August 2025, the tour was postponed due to scheduling and security concerns. Following the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s proposal to the BCCI, the final schedule is expected to be confirmed between the two boards.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay

NEW DELHI: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay on Saturday criticised both the BJP and Congress for failing to grant statehood to Puducherry despite ruling at the Centre for years. “Neither Congress nor BJP could give statehood to Puducherry despite holding power at the Centre. A TVK government will make a 100% effort to secure full statehood legally, free from interference by the lieutenant governor,” Vijay said at an election rally in the poll-bound Union territory.Puducherry, a former French colony, officially merged with India in 1962 and was granted Union territory status the following year. It is administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the President on the Centre’s recommendation, while the elected regional government has limited powers—fuelling a long-standing demand for full statehood.Meanwhile, the actor-politician also urged voters to support TVK’s “whistle” symbol to usher in a “one-finger revolution,” an apparent reference to a dialogue from one of his films.Vijay took a swipe at both major alliances in the region. “The ruling All India NR Congress (AINRC)-BJP combine is an exhausted alliance. Just like in Tamil Nadu, the opposition DMK-Congress alliance in Puducherry is a confused one,” the Tamil superstar, popularly known as “Thalapathy” (leader), added.He also introduced TVK’s candidates, describing them as leaders who “stand with the people,” and outlined a series of welfare promises. These include:

The Puducherry legislative assembly has 33 members, of which 30 are elected and three are nominated by the Union government. Voting for the 30 seats will be held on April 9, with over 9.4 lakh voters set to decide the fate of 294 candidates. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, alongside assembly election results in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, which are voting around the same period as Puducherry.

VIJAYAWADA: A 32-year-old woman govt employee was was brutally assaulted and raped by an unidentified man inside her home in Andhra Pradesh’s Macherla town on Thursday afternoon. The assailant raped her at knifepoint, beat her up and then inserted an iron rod into her private parts.Police officials said the survivor was initially taken to the Narasaraopet area hospital but was shifted to the Guntur Govt General Hospital’s gynaecology ward for better treatment. “Her condition is stable. She has been brought here as a precautionary measure,” Guntur GGH in-charge superintendent Dr Srinivas Prasad said. Sources added that luckily for the woman, the assault did not cause extensive damage to her private parts.

Special teams deployed to nab accused in Macherla rape case Officials added that the woman, who works as an attender at a govt department, was separated from her husband and had shifted from Sattenapalli town last year. Her young nephew too lives with her but had gone to Sattenapalli to spend time with his family after the class X exams. As a result, the woman was alone at home when the assailant knocked on her door.“The assault took place between 3:30pm and 4pm. The accused entered the survivor’s house by asking for some drinking water. He then forced himself on her,” Macherla police inspector Venkata Ramana said.The accused tied the woman up with a scarf, gagged her with a piece of cloth, raped her and thrashed her severely. To save herself from the brutal attack, the woman reportedly told him that she was suffering from an infectious disease. However, the accused continued the assault and inserted an iron rod into her private parts before running away, police officials said.The assault came to light when her nephew could not contact her on the phone. The boy called her multiple times, but received no response. Sensing something was wrong, he alerted his friends and family to check on her.When relatives reached the house, they found the woman unconscious and informed the police, who shifted her to Macherla govt hospital initially and later to Narasaraopet area hospital.Speaking to TOI, Palnadu district superintendent of police B Krishna Rao said, “We have deployed special teams to analyse CCTV footage and other clues from the scene of the crime. Our officials have identified a suspect and a manhunt has been launched. The accused will be arrested soon.”Macherla MLA Julakanti Brahmananda Reddy expressed shock over the incident and spoke to Guntur range inspector-general Sarvashreshth Tripathi.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)