Pune Discussions

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Pune, an education paradise

With 100 B-schools in the city, Pune tops the list when it comes tohigher education.

When Mr Jawaharlal Nehru bestowed upon Pune the title ‘Oxford of the East', he probably knew that it was the beginning of a journey that would take the city far ahead in times to come.

From a handful of sterling institutes like Fergusson College, the College of Engineering and the Deccan College in the days of yore, Pune today has a total of seven State and Deemed Universities with a few hundred institutes under them. Thousands of students descend upon the city with stars in their eyes in search of sound higher level education.

The opportunities the city offers in this area undoubtedly rank among the best in the country. The one-time pensioner's paradise leads the country in B-schools with over 100 recognised institutes in Pune alone. As Mr Chetan Wakalkar, Group Director and Trustee, Indira Group of Institutes puts it, “Pune is most easily the B-School capital of India today.”
Students spoilt for choice

Students who wish to pursue higher education today are spoilt for choice. Besides the conventional streams like engineering and medicine offered by long-standing institutions like the College of Engineering, BJ Medical college, Armed Force Medical College among others, they can choose from a plethora of new disciplines such as catering, design, aviation, hospitality, tourism, foreign languages, animation and gaming, fitness, courses in construction, petroleum and infrastructure related streams, aeronautical engineering, marine engineering, advanced IT techniques, insurance among several others.

I2IT located in the IT destination Hinjewadi is an institute that offers Masters Programmes in varied areas like computational fluid dynamics, advanced IT in Intelligent Systems & Robotics, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Satellite Communication & Space Science, Biotechnology and Services Management, to name a few.

The National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR) offer specialisation in construction and related research. B-Schools too offer far more choices in specialisations. The Symbiosis International University offers along with conventional specialisations, MBA in banking, telecom, logistics, operations, geo informatics, agri-business, energy and environment and even fashion communication. “These are growing sectors and have a lot of takers, because of the dearth of trained human resource in these specific sectors,” says Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Principal Director, Symbiosis.

Another emerging trend is tie-ups with companies. The Indira Group has a tie up with ICICI and HDFC Banks where students are given special training for about 3-4 months in banking. This is a fairly new trend and largely ups the ‘employability' or ‘employment quotient' of the students. As Dr Yeravdekar puts it, “When students are trained in that particular industry, companies find them a better prospect as they are well-versed in that industry and can start delivering on the job within a few days.”

The corporate mindset is moving towards ‘spending less time in training and getting the young recruits to start delivering ASAP'.

“The other trend on the rise,” says Chandan Chatterjee, Director, Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication “is the setting up of campuses by corporates like Birlas, Reliance, Vedanta, RPG and many more for profit or philanthropic motives. But, finally, it is the size of the industry, its manpower requirement and growth that will be key drivers to new education models and verticals coming up over time.” This trend, however, comes with its share of downs and is not perceived by some as a healthy as it curtails the exposure a student will receive and may limit his ‘placement' potential.
Brain drain

The International Institute of Information Technology (I2IT), had a very unique way of planning its curriculum. The founders examined the reasons for the rampant ‘brain drain' from India and decided to design such programs easily available in the western world but missing in India. The guiding principle was that even if the number of students was small, there would be no compromise on quality.

Ms Aruna Katara, Dean, I2IT does not mince words when she says, “There's nothing wrong in looking at business schools from a ‘business' point of view, but nurturing a mall culture in the name of education and compromising on quality should be a strict no-no. 40 per cent of I2IT students have had rural beginnings, but as long as they had the right attitude and aptitude, nothing matters.”

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City will soon lose Infosys edge to Pune

Thanks to the apathy of successive Karnataka governments, the company has decided to shift its operational base to Pune. Within a year, its Pune campus will surpass the Bangalore headquarters both in terms of employee strength and the built-up area

Sameer Ranjan Bakshi
Not Bad Not Bad Not Bad Not Bad Not Bad

Posted On Friday, January 21, 2011 at 02:31:04 AM

Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. The tag has been the city’s pride. But now, it is about to be robbed of the tag — blame it on the apathy of successive state governments. Over the years, the netas had been busy getting land allotted promptly to their kith and kin at throwaway prices. And companies like Infosys Technologies, the mascot of Indian infotech industry, had been kept waiting for the land it needed for expansion.

Infosys made several representations to successive governments, seeking land near Sarjapur Road, but got nothing apart from bundles of assurances. The company waited quite some time, expecting the state to grant it land for setting up a second software development centre in the city. But in the end, it ran out of patience and shifted expansion plans to Pune.

Now, Infosys, though headquartered in the city, will have its largest operational base in Pune. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, T A Mohandas Pai, human resources director, Infosys, said there had been a shift in the focus of the company, which was once synonymous with Bangalore. “In another 12 months’ time, Pune will have more seats/employees than our Bangalore campus,” he said. Even the Infosys-Pune campus would soon become bigger than that of Infosys-Bangalore.

But why would a Bangalore-based company choose to strengthen its base in Pune? After all, Bangalore is the information technology (IT) capital of India. An IT industry source said, “The move has got nothing to do with the cost factor. Blame it on Karnataka’s political indifference and bureaucratic laxity in land allotment and registration.”

Pai said, “It is easier to get land in Pune than in Bangalore. For three years we tried in vain to complete the land registration process in Bangalore. Now, we have more land in Pune than Bangalore. Honest people can’t work in Bangalore.”

Asked whether the shift in Infosys’s focus would affect Brand Bangalore, Pai made no comment. But IT industry sources painted a grim future. According to them, the political situation in the state is making IT companies change perception about Bangalore as their preferred base. The “corrupt” leaders and the “lethargic” bureaucracy have frustrated India Inc time and again. So, the companies have decided to shift base. “Giants like TCS and Wipro have kept Bangalore out of their major expansion plans. HCL is looking at centres like Chennai and Pune. The semi-conductor industry, too, is shipping out of the city to Noida and Pune,” rued a source.

Bureaucrats, when told about the bleak scenario, chose to keep mum. One among them, who has recently served in the infrastructure department, said, “There are so many conflicting signals sent out by our political bosses that we prefer to adopt the wait-and-watch policy.”


Tell-tale figures
A recently-released fact sheet pertaining to Infosys’s third quarter (Q3) results for fiscal 2011 has outlined how its Pune centre is all set to overtake Bangalore both in terms of number of techies employed and built-up area of the company campus.

Infosys-Bangalore currently has 28,905 employees. In Pune, it will soon have 32,914 employees. An IT-industry tracker told Bangalore Mirror, “Conventionally, a corporate firm has the maximum number of employees working at its headquarters. However, things might turn out very different for Infosys Technologies, as its Pune centre has grown much more than its Bangalore HQ. Brand Bangalore will take a beating as it is proof that IT firms are looking for greener pastures away from the tech capital of India.”

Even in terms of campus size, Infosys-Pune will be bigger. The built-up area of Infosys-Bangalore is 42,94,728 sq ft, while the Pune campus will soon expand to 54,07,284 sq ft. “On both the parameters — employee strength and campus area — Bangalore will fall behind Pune on the Infy turf,” the industry tracker commented.

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/artic...e-to-Pune.html

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Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and his deputy, Ajit Pawar, on Sunday announced that the development plan (DP) of Pune would be approved by the state government by the end of August.

Both leaders were in the city to inaugurate the Rajiv Gandhi Academy of e-Learning at Shiv Darshan.

Chavan said the deadlock on whether to allow constructions on hills would be resolved to facilitate the development of Pune. However, he did not spell out whether or not the state government would permit such construction.

The DP of 2007 of the Pune Municipal Corporation is under uncertainty for several years as the state government has not taken any decision on it. The fate of the hills surrounding Pune is the bone of contention between environmentalists and political parties.

While the environmentalists want the hills to be reserved as bio-diversity parks, the politicians want permission for partial construction on the hills. Chavan said the state government is looking at a viable alternative to octroi collected by municipal corporations.

Pawar said sanction of the DP will speed up the development of Pune. Urging Chavan to approve the DP as soon as possible, he hoped that many development projects will get a boost.

Pawar said permission will be granted for standard VIII, IX and X at Rajiv Gandhi Academy of e-Learning and emphasised on maintaining the standards of education even if more funds are required for such schools.

He said semi-English medium schools need to be started in Pune Municipal Corporation schools to prepare students from economically backward sections for a bright future. The Rajiv Gandhi Academy of e-Learning is arguably the first school of its kind in the state, with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus and e-classes

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/repor...th-end_1578394

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PUNE: 'Germany and India 2011-2012: Infinite Opportunities,' a 15-month programme series to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Germany and India, will be inaugurated with an opening concert by the internationally known, 67-member, Deutsche Philharmonic Merck, on September 24 at the Symbiosis auditorium in Vimannagar. The series will showcase Indo-German collaborations in the field of politics, business, culture, sports, education, science, technology and research.

The event will be inaugurated by Leopold-Theodor Heldman, consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany, Pune mayor Mohansingh Rajpal and municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak. Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of the Executive Board of Merck, will be the guest of honour.

The series will be themed on 'StadtRaume - CitySpaces,' to highlight implications of rapid urbanisation and challenges posed by the enormous changes cities of both the countries face today. Featured prominently will be issues like mobility, energy, sustainable city development, architecture, cultural spaces, urban art and education.

'Mobile Space,' the main focus of the project, will comprises a set of modern multi-purpose pavilions designed especially for the Year of Germany in India by well-known German artiste Markus Heinsdorff. The pavilions combine state-of-the-art steel and textile technologies from both the countries. It will be set up in Pune from January 13 to 23, 2012, and will host interactive presentations by various German corporations and organisations on 'StadtRaume - CitySpaces.'

The German Federal Foreign Office, the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the Goethe-Institut have jointly initiated this project. "Public spaces are essential in urban development and their importance for urban living will be highlighted through various projects that explore new areas within the cities and target a broad audience," said Michael Flucht, director of Max Mueller Bhavan, at a press conference on Thursday.The Indo-German relations have only strengthened over the decades. Indian culture, spirituality and Bollywood are extremely popular in Germany, Flucht said. Student exchange programmes between India and Germany are well-known. "But, we need to focus on stronger academic collaborations between the two countries. We have about 3,500 Indian students visiting Germany every year, as compared to many more German students visiting India on a yearly basis. We would like to highlight German universities and academic institutions as viable options of higher education to Indian students," he said.

With a number of German companies operating within Pune, the city is home to about 1,250 German families. Pune will also see further growth in terms of investment by German companies, said Zubin Kabraji, regional director of Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. "We have about 225 German companies in Pune, and by mid-201, this number should rise to 300. There's been a revenue growth of about 10 to 15 per cent generated via Indo-German collaborations. We need to focus more on areas like infrastructure, energy and connectivity," said Kabraji.eom/Laxmi

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/10083851.cms

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PUNE: The city is all set to host the 26th edition of the Pune International Marathon on December 4, which will see participants vying for a total prize purse of Rs 25 lakhs in three different categories.

One of the country's oldest events will feature men's half and full marathons besides women's half-marathon.

The registration for the event will start on October 21. Participants can register for the championship against a fees of Rs 500, to be paid in the Hi tech branch of Bank Of Maharashtra.

No entries will be entertained after November 6.

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: Following the ‘beggar free Pune’ campaign launched by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) last week, the civic administration has rehabilitated 16 beggars.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Dnyaneshwar Molak, deputy commissioner, urban community development department (UCD), said the PMC has identified 479 beggars in city. “Our campaign will conclude on Saturday. Till now, we have succeeded in nabbing 32 beggars. Of this, 16 were sent to the government-run beggars acceptance centre on Alandi road while the rest were freed as per the order of the court of judicial magistrate,” said Molak.
Molak said the PMC has the authority to arrest beggars under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959. “Pune now features on the global map as an IT and educational hub. Hence, the rising number of beggars harms the image of the city while also causing nuisance to the citizens. The drive has been launched to improve this situation. We will continue sustained action against the beggars” said Molak.
The civic administration had took up the issue of the rising number of children begging on the streets, with the Pune police.
During the general body meetings in the recent past, all party corporators also observed that the number of small children begging on city roads has risen. Corporators expressed fears that these kids were being exploited by some groups.

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The Pune traffic police have decided to implement the walking plaza plan on a trial basis from November 12 on Laxmi Road, between 9 am and 9 pm.

On Monday, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Vishwas Pandhare, and officials of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) inspected the area, including the traffic junctions where it would be implemented.

According to the police, the walking plaza would start from Ganpati Chowk on Laxmi Road and culminate at Shagun Chowk.

Vehicular movement from Belbaug Chowk to Shagun Chowk via Laxmi Road would be diverted from Belbaug Chowk. Commuters would have to take a right turn on Shivaji Road, proceed from Shani Mandir to Nagnath Par Chowk to Tilak Chowk.

The city police have also identified six dedicated parking lots along the stretch. At Shagun Chowk it will be Haribhau Sane parking lot and Hamalwada parking lot. In Mandai area, Satish Misal parking lot and Aryan Parking lot will be available for visitors.

Visitors can also park their vehicles near Omkarshewar temple, or use the space between Belbaug Chowk and Ganpati Chowk.
For people’s convenience, the city police have identified four rickshaw stands at Belbaug Chowk, Laxmi Road, Kunte Chowk and Shagun Chowk.

In addition, the city police have asked PMPML authorities to start a shuttle bus service for residents. Pandhare told DNA,“We have asked PMPML authorities to start a special bus service from Belbaug Chowk to Tilak Chowk at Rs5 per ticket. People can alight at any stop. PMPML authorities have given the green signal for the proposal,’’ he said.

The decision has been taken after eliciting the consent of all local traders.

Pandhare said, “We have taken the decision after several meetings with civic officials and local traders.”

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/repor...ber-12_1606010

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Lokmat Media Ltd. has come up with the first-of-its-kind coffee table book “Icons of Pune” to honour the inspiring stalwarts who have helped shape Pune into a multi-dimensional business epicentre today. The unveiling of this magnum opus initiative will be held in Pune on Monday, November 7th 2011 by the hands of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee & Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan.

Icons of Pune by Lokmat Media Ltd. is a compilation of profiles of men and women who have shaped the Pune of the 21st century and are the leaders who shall shape the future. It depicts the success stories of the leading industrialists of Pune, a first-of-its-kind initiative. It traces the journey of some legendary entrepreneurs like – Rajiv Bajaj (M.D., Bajaj Auto Ltd.), Amit Kalyani (Executive Director, Bharat Forge), Sanjay Kirloskar (Chairman & M.D., Kirloskar Brothers Ltd.), Sanjiv Bajaj (M.D., Bajaj Financial Services), Ravi Pandit (Chairman & Group CEO, Kpit Cummins) and many others.

Announcing this unique initiative, Vijay Darda, Chairman, Lokmat Media Ltd. said, “Over the years, Pune has demonstrated immense potential across various sectors and domains. If Mumbai is the financial capital of India, Pune deserves to be the cultural and educational capital of the country. Pune has proved to be the economic epicentre of Maharashtra.”

Speaking on the occasion, Jwalant Swaroop, COO, Lokmat Media Ltd. said, “Historically, Pune has been the birth place of stalwart from Shivaji Maharaj, Lokmanya Tilak, G K Ghokhle to D K Karve. It’s a part of their DNA and today’s new era that has come up has set bigger benchmarks for themselves taking their family legacy to greater levels. Icons of Pune traces the journey of these wizards who have transformed their company with the changing time and embraced their legacy. Lokmat has witnessed this transition in Pune and Icons of Pune depicts this journey.”

With more than 5 million ambitious and upwardly mobile citizens, Pune has already emerged as one of the top ten cities in an increasingly empowered India. Pune has metamorphosed from a middle class town to a throbbing hub of multi-dimensional business activities that have seamlessly integrated into a globalised economy. This transformation of the city of Pune has been navigated through challenging times by entrepreneurs. They have demonstrated the skill, tenacity and the patience to reach the top.

http://www.bestmediainfo.com/2011/11...-of-pune-2011/

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Kamat Hotels (India) Limited (KHIL) has opened a pillarless convention centre in Maharashtra at Pune. The Orchid Convention Centre is spread across 56,000 square feet and is situated in the premises of VITS Pune. Designed for trade fairs and conferences, it has a capacity to accommodate approximately 5,000 guests and can also hold three exhibitions simultaneously. The convention centre was inaugurated by Vithal Kamat, Chairman and MD, KHIL.

Orchid Convention Centre has modern facilities which enable it to host two conferences and one exhibition simultaneously; it has a total of six entrances for easy access to the venue; three service entries for service personnel for smooth functioning and parking facility for up to 200 cars.

Speaking at the launch of the new centre, Vikram Kamat, Executive Director, KHIL said, “Construction of such a huge Centre without the support of pillars is an engineering marvel. The idea behind having the convention centre of these strata in Pune is to be able to provide both business and F&B related services to corporate travellers with four different types of boardrooms and travel desk with all travel itineraries.”

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/khil...-at-pune-14910





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India's most desirable cities

1. Chandigarh

2. Bengaluru

3. Pune

Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Pune have emerged as the three most desirable Indian cities to live in, reveals a survey conducted by real estate portal 99acres.com and YouGov, an international Internet-based market research firm.

India's most preferred cities for education

1. Chandigarh

2. Pune

3. Bengaluru

An in-depth study of the city ratings revealed some interesting insights on what citizens feel. Among the metros, only Bengaluru features among the top three desirable cities across most metrics.

Indian cities high on the health index

1. Chandigarh

2. Bengaluru

3. Delhi

In this survey on 'Most and Least desirable cities to live in India', Chandigarh with a mean rating of 4.43 (on a scale of 1 to 5) emerged on top of the list across most parameters that were taken into consideration while arriving at the overall desirability index.

India's safest cities

1. Chandigarh

2. Vadodara

3. Shimla

It was the preferred city for education, health, living conditions, safety, human rights, and recreation and to some extent for financial aspects, career opportunities and salary.

Indian cities best for human rights

1. Chandigarh

2. Shimla

3. Ahmedabad

Each of these elements plays a crucial role either directly or indirectly in shaping the overall quality of life.

Indian cities high on recreation

1. Chandigarh

2. Bengaluru

3. Pune

Barring career opportunities and salaries where Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi are top rated cities, Chandigarh has scored top ranks in all the other parameters

Indian cities with most attractive people

1. Mumbai

2. Bengaluru

3. Delhi

On the contrary, Varanasi, Agra, Patna, Kanpur and Meerut performed poorly across most of the parameters. Meerut, the lowest rated city scored only 2.8.

Indian cities high on financial opportunities

1. Bengaluru

2. Mumbai

3. Delhi

Delhi along with Patna, Kanpur and Meerut emerged as one of the most unsafe city in the country. Delhi ranked as the most unsafe metro and among the top four unsafe cities in the country.

India's least desirable cities to live in

1. Meeerut

2. Kanpur

3. Patna

Chandigarh, Vadodara and Shimla emerged as the safest cities in the country

Indian cities least preferred for education

1. Meerut

2. Agra

3. Patna

Delhi appears in the top five rankings in education, health and career prospects, and Mumbai features in the top five list for the quality of education, recreation and career prospects.

Indian cities low on the health index

1. Agra

2. Patna

3. Kanpur

Interestingly, Shimla has been rated among the top three cities in human and civil rights and safety parameters

Indian cities with not-too-good living conditions

1. Kanpur

2. Meerut

3. Varanasi

Meerut, Varanasi, Agra and Patna have been consistently rated with a low score across all parameters.

India's most unsafe cities

1. Meerut

2. Kanpur

3. Patna

When respondents were asked about their opinion on which city in India has the most attractive citizens then 24 per cent of them said Mumbai, 15 per cent said Bengaluru and 14 per cent said Delhi. Almost 11 per cent respondents said that Patna has the least attractive citizens.

Indian cities lowest on human rights

1. Meerut

2. Kanpur

3. Varanasi

Methodology: Fieldwork was conducted online between August 23 and September 28, 2011, by YouGov.

Indian cities low on recreation

1. Meerut

2. Kanpur

3. Patna

Respondents were drawn from the real estate portal's database and the total achieved sample was 6,161

Indian cities low on financial opportunities

1. Meerut

2. Agra

3. Varanasi

The sample is broadly representative of the online population of India.

Respondents were only asked to rate a particular city on a particular rating (excluding attractiveness of citizen), if they were residents or recent visitors to that particular city.


http://www.rediff.com/business/slide...n/20111129.htm

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Pune: Witness a celebration of Kannada culture, with the Kanada Samskuti Samavesha, which includes folk music, dancers and seminars on Karnataka. The two-day festival has been organised by the Government of Karnataka's Department of Kannada and Culture, Bangalore in association with Kannada Sangha. The festival is organised every year in different cities in India, and this time Pune has been chosen as a destination.

An array of events has been planned for the two days. Throwing some light on the event, K Ramdas Acharya, PRO, Kannada Sangha, says, "It's a fest-cum-annual meet to promote the culture of Karnataka. The festival will feature folk music, rural dance and seminars. The idea is to bring people from the community together along with people who would like to understand Kannada culture through these events."

With an interesting line-up planned, the festival will showcase Kannada songs, light Kanada music, dance drama, Hindustani and Karnataka music, Mahila Yakshagana and Kanada folk dance. Apart from the cultural events, the festival will also be conducting seminars on Kannada Marathi Samskrutika Kolu Koduge (Cultural exchange in Karnataka-Maharashtra) and Horanadinalli Samskrutika Bhandhavya (Cultural Harmony outside Karnataka), which will be addressed by Chandrakant Pokale, Belgaum and Dr Tamil Selvi, HOD, Kannada Division, Madras University, Chennai.

Kannada Samskruti Samavesha is a cultural fest organised to promote the culture of Karnataka.
"There are a lot of similarities between Maharashtra and Karnataka in terms of culture and art. There are a lot of Kannada books that have been translated in Marathi and vice versa. Apart from exchange in art and culture, we have people traveling to both the cities for education and jobs. The relation among people is very cordial and we hope to have engaging discussions through these seminars," informs Acharya.The event is open to all.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/pune-to-h...94-62-129.html

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Three 16-year-olds from Loyola High School, Pune, have won the first prize at the inter-services/ industry training, simulation and education conference (I/Itsec) held in Orlando, Florida, US, last week.

Chinmay Chobhe, Kanak Kulkarni and Mandharr Dareykar, all class XI students, won for simulating a traffic management system which promises quicker and faster movement of ambulances on Pune’s roads.

The I/Itsec is considered the world’s largest modeling and simulation conference, with participation from more than 50 countries. The trio took part in the ‘Future leaders programme’ for high school students, demonstrating technical projects which focus on modeling, simulation and training.

The trio presented their paper, ‘Simulation of traffic signal prioritising for emergency services using predictive control and distributed intelligence’, which beat back eight other teams.

The trio’s traffic management system essentially looks at a traffic signal system which allows ambulances to move ahead with minimum hindrance.

They made use ofpredictive control and distributed intelligence to run the system. They wrote the software using the LabView computer language and created the database using Microsoft Excel.

The system rides on the existing timer based signaling system in Pune city.The lads have suggested the division of the city’s traffic signals into several nodes (distributed traffic controllers).Each node will be in charge of multiple, smaller signals.

According to the trio, these nodes would need to be fitted with the trio’s predictive control and distributed intelligence software. This would enable each node to automatically detect an approaching ambulance. The moment one is detected, it would turn green and inform the next node also to turn green, thereby allowing the ambulance easy passage.

The trio is confident that their system is implementable. Their confidence stems from the fact that they are making use of existing technology like GPS (global positioning system) and GSM (global system for mobile communication).

“We will be very happy if our system is implemented in Pune. It will go a long way in saving lives,” chorus the trio. Chinmay’s father, Bipin Chobhe, a mechanical engineer who manufacturers simulators for the Indian Railways, agrees. “Yes, the boys’ system can be implemented cost effectively, as we can leverage the existing hardware in our existing traffic system,” he said.

The trio worked for three months at a stretch to put their system together, in the course of which they interviewed ambulance drivers, fire brigade officials and traffic policemen.

“The homework was a very fruitful experience. Working on a system to save lives is a big motivator,” said Chinmay, who is keen to pursue engineering.

Kanak, who also wants to become an engineer, feels that the conference enabled him to hone his presentation and programming skills. Mandharr, who wants to study at IIT-Bombay said, “It was exciting to watch the other simulation models in the conference and interact with participants.”

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/repor...-prize_1622666

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PUNE: The ministry of science and technology has cleared a proposal for setting up a Rs 36-crore biotechnology business incubation centre at the University of Pune (UoP).

Union minister for science and technology Vilasrao Deshmukh said here on Monday, "We cleared the proposal recently and Rs 5 crore towards the first instalment for the project will be released before the end of the ongoing financial year in March."

The Science and Technology (Scitech) Park at the UoP is an autonomous body of the ministry and had moved the proposal through the university to the central department of biotechnology.

Rajendra Jagdale, director general of Scitech Park, Pune, said, "The proposed centre will come up on a sprawling one lakh sq ft space on the UoP campus."

He said, "The centre will go a long way in helping young and upcoming biotechnology graduates and professionals to start their own entrepreneurial ventures in the field of biotechnology."

Earlier, Deshmukh said the ministry has applied a renewed thrust on promoting research and innovation in basic sciences. "The focus particularly is on producing as many PhD degree holders as possible to meet the growing demand for scientists and researchers in various fields."

As part of this, the ministry has established an Academy for Scientific Research and Innovation (ASRI) in New Delhi by way of a special enactment, which has long been cleared by the Lok Sabha, he said.

"The ASRI Act is now pending before the Rajya Sabha and we hope it will be cleared once the ongoing stalemate in the Parliament over some key issues like the foreign direct investment in retail is resolved," he added.

The ministry, however, has gone ahead with admitting 450 students, so far, who will work on various PhD research projects at nationally important institutions like the 37 laboratories of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), he said. "Eventually, these students will get their PhDs and will also be absorbed in service," he added.

A national-level competitive entrance examination for admissions to the ASRI is also being worked out, he said. "We have plans to see that 1,000 students are admitted to the ASRI every year and as many as 10,000 PhD degree-holders pass out in the next 10 years," said Deshmukh.

He said, "The effort to shore up the number of PhDs in the country is crucial considering that countries like China, which were once behind India in the field of scientific research, have now gone way ahead in terms of rolling out as many as 25,000 PhD holders every year."

Deshmukh said, "We have also planned a major exercise for modernisation of our existing research laboratories, including those under the CSIR. The idea is to equip these labs with modern state-of-the-art instruments and equipments, which are in line with the present-day requirements of scientific research."

He, however, avoided putting a figure on the financial allocation for the modernisation drive. "Funds can always be generated through our internal resources as well as the allocations granted by the Prime Minister," said Deshmukh.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/11012962.cms

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German film festival in Pune from December 12

DEFA (Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft) Retrospecktive, a film festival of German masterpieces, was inaugurated at National Film Archive of India (NFAI) on Monday.

To commemorate the 60 years of Indo-German diplomatic relationship, Max Muller Bhavan (Pune), in collaboration with NFAI, Pune Film Foundation and Pune International Film Festival (PIFF), has organised the festival from December 12-14. Ten feature films and a set of short films will be showcased in the festival.

DEFA board head, Helmut Morbach said, “The DEFA Foundation was founded ten years ago, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Our aim is to bring movies from the West Germany to the world audience.”

The DEFA retro is designed to be the curtain-raiser to the country focus section of Germany at the 10th PIFF 2012. The films, an open event, will be screened till December 14.

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Pune's Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav ends on a soulful note

It was a sublime experience to witness the performance of three generations of violin players at the 59th Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav on the concluding day on Sunday.

Violin virtuoso N Rajam made the concluding concert of the festival memorable, along with her daughter and two granddaughters. Her daughter Sangeeta Shankar has trained under her, and the legacy is being carried forward by Shankar’s daughters, Ragini and Nandini.

The Padma Bhushan awardee is credited with bringing a new realm into the world of classical music by introducing the Gayaki Ang, a technique which presents the vocal style of music on the violin. Ragini has completed her engineering studies, while Nandini is studying to be a chartered accountant. They picked up the right lessons from their mother and grandmother, as was evident from their skilled presentation. Despite performing with their grandmother and mother, they left a mark of their own at the festival.

Rajam chose Raag Jog to start with, and then the quartet went on to create a divine atmosphere with their performance. They later entertained the audience with the bhajan Payo Ji Maine and natyageet. On demand from music lovers, Rajam presented the natyageet, Narvar Krishna Samaan.

The co-ordination among the four was great, and with the able support of Ajit Pathak on the tabla, the experience was further enhanced.

Rajam recalled that it was in 1959 that she was invited by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi to perform at the Sawai. She felt that Panditji’s music was immortal and his presence would always be felt at Sawai.

The concluding day started with the performance of Omkar Dadarkar, the disciple of late vocalist Manik Verma. He learnt light classical under the tutelage of the legendary Girijadevi and music composer Shrinivas Khale.

He presented Raag Multani, and impressed music lovers with his concluding bhajan Radha Raman Govind Jai Jai. Padma Deshpande, granddaughter-in-law of Sawai Gandharva, revealed the beauty of Raag Sham Kalyan. Nagaraj Rao Hawaldar, Hindustani classical vocalist from Karnataka, started with Raag Yaman. Later Vyankatesh Kumar regaled the audience with his performance. The festival concluded with the performance of Prabha Atre, a tradition being followed at Sawai over the last few years.

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The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Tuesday made public a Rs3,215-crore comprehensive ‘City Cleaning Plan’ (CCP) under the national urban cleanliness policy, focussing on water supply, sewage and solid waste management, and protection of environment.

It will seek budgetary support of Rs603 crore from the PMC standing committee, which is expected to take it up on Thursday (December 22).

A major component of the CCP is ensuring toilet facilities for all and management of toilets, estimated to cost Rs70 crore.

Sewage treatment (Rs845 crore), solid waste management (Rs170 crore) and water supply (Rs1,167 crore) are the important components of the plan.

The PMC also proposes rainwater management by developing 23 basins in the city at an estimated cost of Rs957 crore.

Emphasis would be given on spreading awareness about cleanliness and changing citizens’ attitudes to sanitation, for which a provision of Rs4.16 crore has been sought.

Although the total estimated budget for CCP is Rs3,215 crore, the PMC is supposed to provide Rs603 crore, with the remaining expected to be provided by the state and central governments.
The process of preparing the CCP was on for a long time. The first meeting was held under the chairmanship of the municipal commissioner on July 30, 2010.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/repor...r-pune_1628373

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PUNE: The draft Development Plan (DP) for the old city has proposed to increase the maximum permissible height of a high-rise building in the city to 150 metre from the present ceiling of 100 metre, thus paving the way for the vertical growth of Pune.

This proposal is critical for the city which is seeing unprecedented population influx buoyed by growth in various sectors. Besides, for a land-starved city like Pune, the concept of vertical growth works well, according to the draft DP.

Technically, a tower block or a high-rise is a tall building or a multi-storied structure for residential and/or office purposes, also referred to as a multi-dwelling unit. The city's first tall luxury residential tower, which is about 100-metre high with 24 floors, has sprung up at Koregaon Park recently.

"The 150-metre height is proposed so that agriculture land surrounding the city is used for agriculture purposes for a maximum period and that land should be available in the middle of the city," said the draft DP, which is being discussed by the City Improvement Committee (CIC).

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) hopes that high rises will pave the way for more residential constructions by utilising minimum land. CIC members discussed that skyscrapers are an increasingly common sight around the world where land is expensive, especially in the central parts of the city.

CIC chairman Arun Dhimdhime told reporters on Thursday that tall buildings have an economic advantage in areas with high population density. "However, building a skyscraper is costlier than a normal building."

Some of the other initiatives proposed in the DP include night shelters for temporary stay. "A number of initiatives have been taken to ensure that housing is affordable in the city. Houses of nearly 160 sq ft will be built for rental purposes and builders constructing such houses will be given a floor space index of three. These houses will serve the needs of working class people, who come to the city looking for work. Such affordable housing will help curb growth of slums," Dhimdhime said.

The Environment Status Report (ESR) of the PMC states that Pune continues to grow rapidly, thanks to strong economic conditions, favourable demographics and consumer spending, while the residential market in Pune continues to remain strong, aided by an increased demand from the IT/ITES sector. "Construction in all parts of the city is on the rise. Last year, the city added 63,49,667 sq m (floor area) construction, of which 53,51,845 sq m was residential construction, while 9,97,822 sq m was for commercial purpose," states the ESR.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/11212959.cms

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Great

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Adventurous park for kids to be opened tomorrow

PUNE: City's first adventure park for kids will be inaugurated at Peshwe park near Sarasbaug by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday.

The park for children up to 15 years has 60 types of adventure games, including rope balancing, hill and wall climbing, rappelling, bicycle rope, monkey climbing, confidence games, self weightlifting and tower climbing.

The Pune Municipal Corporation will charge Rs 30 as entry fee for Indians and Rs 100 for foreigners. The private agency, which has developed the park, will run the facility for five years.

Corporator Nilesh Nikam, who had initiated the project, said: "A budgetary allocation of Rs 1.5 crore was made by the civic standing committee. The inauguration of the park was delayed because of the delay in getting permission from the government."

"Efforts will be made to bring all kind of adventure games to the park. All safety measures are taken care of and CCTVs have also been installed," Nikam added.

PMC officials said that the civic body has put maximum efforts to safeguard the children by having many innovative systems. It has also planned to impart awareness about the uses of renewable energy and protection of the environment.