Friday, 2 October 2026

Surgeon Rear Admiral Jandhyala Sridhar assumes charge as Command Medical Officer

Surgeon Rear Admiral Jandhyala Sridhar assumed charge as Command Medical Officer, Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, on Thursday. Commissioned into the Indian Navy on June 30, 1993, Surgeon Rear Admiral Sridhar is an alumnus of Timpany School, Visakhapatnam, and the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. A specialist in dermatology, he has over three decades of service. He has held key appointments, including Commanding Officer of INHS Kalyani, Visakhapatnam, during COVID-19, Director and Dean of the Institute of Naval Medicine, INHS Asvini, Mumbai, and Senior Adviser at INHS Asvini and INHS Sanjivani. Before his present appointment, he served as Consultant Dermatology at Command Hospital (Eastern Command), Kolkata.

The Hindu

4 hours ago · 1 min read★ 3.9 trust

Surgeon Rear Admiral Jandhyala Sridhar assumed charge as Command Medical Officer, Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, on Thursday.

Commissioned into the Indian Navy on June 30, 1993, Surgeon Rear Admiral Sridhar is an alumnus of Timpany School, Visakhapatnam, and the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. A specialist in dermatology, he has over three decades of service.

He has held key appointments, including Commanding Officer of INHS Kalyani, Visakhapatnam, during COVID-19, Director and Dean of the Institute of Naval Medicine, INHS Asvini, Mumbai, and Senior Adviser at INHS Asvini and INHS Sanjivani. Before his present appointment, he served as Consultant Dermatology at Command Hospital (Eastern Command), Kolkata.

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Prison room, bed, newspaper — That is ‘baron’ Veeramani’s world now

R Veeramani CHENNAI: The world of a granite baron, who had his corporate footprint in about 22 countries, has now shrunk to a 10X15 feet prison room, a bed, a chair, an English business newspaper and brief walks along a CCTV-monitored corridor at Puzhal prison in Chennai. First arrested on Aug 29 in connection with a child rape case, Gem Granites chairman R Veeramani, 84, is now a Goondas Act detenue facing four child rape cases so far.Veeramani is today Puzhal Central Prison’s VIP inmate housed at the High Security (HS) block, where he is under round-the-clock surveillance. CCTV cameras cover the corridors, entrances and exterior of the block. He has prison intelligence personnel-monitored access to the corridor and interaction with prison staff and inmates.A prison guard stationed before a bank of monitors watches the screens showing different sections of the HS block. When Veeramani steps out of his room, the guard follows his movement on the monitor. And Veeramani steps out only to pick up a newspaper kept beneath a small stone and return to his room.Being an A-class inmate, Veeramani has been accommodated in a room larger than a regular prison cell. He has also been provided with a bed and chair and permitted to receive a newspaper of his choice. Veeramani preferred an English business daily. He was also permitted to receive books cleared by prison authorities.His movement outside his room is limited and he walks along the corridor two or three times a week and rarely interacts with other inmates. His interaction with prison personnel too is muted. Prison officials said Veeramani maintained a low profile inside the prison and appeared withdrawn during his interactions with inmates and staff. He is seen at the prison hospital during routine blood pressure checks and other medical examinations.“We are not providing any special facilities to Veeramani apart from those instructed by the court concerned. He remains stiff and rigid while speaking to the prison staff,” a prison official said.Veeramani had initially been housed in the A-class block located behind the prison hospital. About 15 other inmates were also staying in the block. He was later shifted to the HS block after prison authorities assessed that his safety required greater restrictions on his movement and access. Veeramani’s visitors include his daughter and a few lawyers.Veeramani’ss health is being closely watched by the prison authorities, as he is a heart patient. Prior to his arrest, though he had been given medical advice to go in for a surgery, he opted for medication. He had also been undergoing treatment for diabetes and hypertension.Prison officials said he was taking at least 15 tablets prescribed by his family doctor. In recent days, he developed severe vomiting following stomach upset and was treated in the prison hospital. Additional medicines were prescribed after his health condition worsened a few days ago.Jail officials said they were in an unenviable position, as they would be blamed for the ill-health of Veeramani. At the same time, they cannot extend him additional services or personal assistance, as it would lead to allegations of favouritism or extraneous considerations. “The case has attracted a lot of public attention, and the movements of Veeramani are being watched closely,” another prison official said.According to prison sources, director of prisons and correctional services Sandeep Rai Rathore has instructed that prison personnel who enter the block without authorisation would be shunted out. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Chennai | Silver Rate in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Petrol Price in Chennai | Diesel Price in Chennai | CNG Price in Chennai | LPG Price in Chennai

Times of India·4 hours ago·3 min read

NBFCs first stop for many new borrowers

Mumbai: Non-banking finance companies (NBFC) originate about half of India's new-to-credit customers by number, up from 24% a decade ago, as consumer-durable loans increasingly bring first-time borrowers into the formal financial system. NBFCs' share of new-to-credit, or NTC, originations rose to 50% in the three months ended June 2026 from 24% in the corresponding period of 2016, according to a report by TransUnion CIBIL and the Finance Industry Development Council. Banks and other lenders accounted for the balance. NTC borrowers are customers taking their first loan reported to the retail credit bureau. Consumer-durable loans have emerged as the leading product among NTC borrowers, followed by personal loans, reversing a decade-old trend when farm loans were the main entry products into formal credit. Consumer-durable loans accounted for 30% of industry-wide NTC originations between January and June 2026, followed by personal loans at 12%, gold loans at 11% and two-wheeler loans at 10%. Other products accounted for the remaining 37%. Live Events In the first half of 2016, Kisan Credit Cards were the leading entry product, accounting for 18% of NTC originations. Agricultural loans followed at 11%, two-wheeler loans at 10%, gold loans at 8% and consumer-durable loans at 6%. Other products made up 46%. The study covered about 2,000 NBFCs across the upper, middle and base layers, TransUnion CIBIL said. Bhavesh Jain, managing director and chief executive of TransUnion CIBIL, said phone financing was the fastest-growing part of consumer-durable lending. "A mobile phone is often among the first products bought by a young borrower and provides a natural route into formal credit," Jain said. Nearly 46% of credit originations to Generation Z borrowers in the first half of 2026 came from NBFCs, he said. While CIBIL does not receive end-use information that would allow it to separately quantify phone loans, ticket size can be used as a broad proxy. Loans below ₹50,000 accounted for 93% of consumer-durable loans in the quarter ended June 2026. The number of such loans was 2.6 times the level recorded in the quarter ended June 2019. Jain said consumer-durable loans had overtaken two-wheeler loans as the product bringing the largest number of NTC customers into the formal credit system. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, two-wheeler loans were the leading entry product. He suggested that improved public transport in major locations after the pandemic may have reduced some young borrowers' need for personal vehicles, while phones have become essential for work, communication and content creation. Jain clarified that this was an observation rather than a conclusion based on reported credit data. NBFCs accounted for 43% of retail-loan originations by volume and 30% by value in the three months ended June 2026, compared with 33% and 22%, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2016, according to the study, titled Bharat Nirman: NBFC Forming the Foundation of Credit Dispersion. Raman Aggarwal, chief executive of FIDC, said NBFCs' 50% share of NTC customers reflected their role in bringing borrowers into the formal financial system, helping them build a credit record and potentially become eligible for bank loans later. However, NTC customers account for only about 10% to 15% of loans originated across the market. The remaining 85% to 90% go to borrowers with an existing credit history. The NTC share is generated largely by private, retail-focused NBFCs rather than government-owned lenders, which generally focus on infrastructure and other large-ticket financing, Agarwal said. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

Economic Times·5 hours ago·3 min read

CMC opens Paediatric Speciality Centre at its Ranipet campus

A new Paediatric Speciality Centre Fairfax-Quess Block was inaugurated at the Christian Medical College (CMC) campus in Ranipet on Friday. According to a press release, the new 346-bedded centre, which was built at a cost of ₹420 crore, marks a significant milestone in the institution’s continuing commitment to provide comprehensive, compassionate and advanced healthcare for children. Around 12 departments including Paediatric Neurology, Paediatric Rheumatology, Paediatric Nephrology, Paediatric Respiratory Medicine and Paediatric Oncology are being shifted from CMC’s Vellore campus to the new centre. The new facility is expected to be commissioned in January 2027, with the transition and commencement of functioning of the clinical departments planned in phases during February and March 2027. The project has been made possible through the generous support of Fairfax (through the Vellore CMC Foundation) and Quess Corp, along with contributions from other donors and well-wishers, the release said.

The Hindu·5 hours ago·1 min read