Salil Parekh re-appointed as CEO and managing director of Infosys

HT Daily News Wrap

Salil Parekh re-appointed as CEO and managing director of Infosys, Telangana BJP president challenged AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to excavate all mosques of Telangana, Arvind Kejriwal has directed all sports facilities to remain open for sportspersons till 10pm and other top news in today's bulletin

Salil Parekh, re-appointed as CEO and managing director of Infosys till 2027, was paid a massive Rs 71 crore as salary in fiscal 2022 – a nearly 44 per cent jump from 2020/21, when he was paid Rs 49.7 crore – according to reports released by the company. Last week Infosys, in a regulatory stock filing, said Parekh had a strong track record of driving digital transformation for enterprises, executing business turnarounds, and managing successful acquisitions, and that his term would be extended to March 31, 2027, pending shareholders’ approval. The filing further said that to ensure continuity and commitment of the organisation’s leadership, the NRC has approved a grant of 104,000 shares to six KMPs (key managerial personnel) and another 375,760 shares to 88 other senior executives of the organisation.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed all sports facilities under his government to remain open for sportspersons till 10pm. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on its official Twitter handle that the decision will allow athletes and players to practice till night. “There should be no inconvenience to athletes who wish to play till late night,” AAP tweeted. The order came after a report by The Indian Express which claimed the athletes and coaches were being forced to wrap the training at Delhi government-run Thyagraj Stadium earlier than the usual time. The report, citing the athletes, suggested that the reason behind the forced wrap-up was Delhi’s principal secretary (revenue) Sanjeev Khirwar’s evening walk with his dog at the facility. Khirwar, however, dismissed the claims as “absolutely incorrect”, Express reported. Taking note of the report, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia tweeted: “News reports have brought to our notice that certain sports facilities are being closed early causing inconvenience to sportsmen who wish to play till late night. CM Arvind Kejriwal has directed that all Delhi govt sports facilities to stay open for sportsmen till 10pm.” Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar unleashed an attack on AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and challenged him to excavate all mosques of Telangana. If shivlingas are found, then the Muslims will have to hand the mosques to the Hindus and if bodies are found, Muslims can take those, the BJP leader said. “If dead bodies are recovered, you (Muslims) claim it and if Shivlinga is found, hand it over to us. “I am challenging Owaisi that we will dig all mosques in state. If dead bodies are recovered, you (Muslims)claim it. If Shivam (Shivalinga) is found, hand it over to us. Will you accept it?” he said amid controversies over Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque. When BJP comes to power in Telangana, minority reservations will be abolished and the Urdu language will be banned, Sanjay Kumar said adding that a BJP government in Telangana will stop love jihad. The BJP leader’s statements came as he addressed the Hindu Ekta Yatra in Karimnagar on Wednesday. “Shall we keep quiet if my sisters are trapped and cheated in the name of ‘love jihad’. Hindu society will not tolerate if the poor are made to change their religion. Bandi Sanjay will not tolerate,” he said adding, “We will make sure those who say ‘love jihad’ get a taste of lathi. We will act tough against those doing religious conversions.” The University Grants Commission (UGC) plans to do away with the mandatory requirement of publishing research papers in peer reviewed journals for the submission of PhD thesis, officials said. The commission will allow higher education institutions to formulate their own rules and regulations on the matter. The reason for doing so is because many PhD students were resorting to publishing their articles in so-called predatory journals — basically those that publish articles in return for a fee, without adequate due-diligence of the sort academic publications are expected to ensure. The commission is currently making amendments to the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D Degree) Regulations, 2016. Under the 2016 regulations, it was mandatory for PhD scholars to publish at least one research paper in a UGC refereed or peer reviewed journal before the submission of the dissertation/thesis for adjudication. Under the new, 2022 regulations, the commission will replace the term mandatory with “strongly recommended”. The quality assessment of Phd degrees will be a responsibility of the universities and they are free to come up with their own guidelines in this regard. “This mandatory requirement led to a “journal business” in India. Making anything mandatory does not improve the quality of research. Therefore, UGC is now considering doing away with this requirement while strongly recommending research scholars to publish the research outcomes of their PhD in peer reviewed journals, apply for patents, and present in conferences,” UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar told HT. Salvador Ramos, the accused of the horrific Texas elementary school shooting which killed 21, including 19 children, had a minor argument with his grandmother over the payment of a phone bill, Ramdos’s grandfather Rolando Reyes said, expressing shock at how his grandson is at the centre of one of the most tragic mass shootings in the United States. In an interview to ABC News,  he said he came to know from the neighbours that Salvador Ramdos shot at his grandmother at their home in Uvalde before driving his grandparents’ car to Robb Elementary School where he opened fire. Ramos was killed by the police, while his grandmother is in the hospital — in critical condition. Rolando Reyes said he had no idea that his grandson had bought rifles. Had he known about those, he would have reported the weapons to the authorities. Ramos has been staying with his grandparents for the past few months after a fight with his mother. The morning the tragedy befell, there was no sign; only Ramdos had a minor argument with his grandmother — not a major one, Reyes insisted. Social media platforms Twitter, Reddit are rife with unfounded claims about Ramos that he was an immigrant living in the US illegally and a transgender. While all this is not true, Salvador Ramos had warned about his plans on social media in the minutes before the attack. He posted on Facebook that he was going to shoot his grandmother and then announcing that it has already been done, he posted that he was going to shoot an elementary school.