News

IndianExpress: When the Israel based Magic Software Enterprises Ltd was scouting for a location in India to set up their R&D centre in the country about a decade ago, the hunt stopped at Pune. So did it for over a dozen other companies of Israeli origin - Plastro International, Ador Powerton, BMC, Amodocs, Veraz Networks and Bermad being some of them.

The intriguing aspect of this Indo-Israeli affinity is that these companies leave their footprints in a wide spectrum of businesses. It is not merely the IT sector that has been attracting the Indo-Israeli joint ventures. Biotechnology, environment, telecommunications, medical services, defence and security and agro-technology are other areas where these collaborations have bloomed.

According to SV Hasbanis, Managing Director Ador Powerton, the Israel-Pune connection is a mix of business sense and historical perspective. ‘‘There were many Israelis staying in Pune in the past. Many of them probably retained their contacts and connections, which have translated into business partnerships today. Also Israelis has a high level of technical skill and are known for their reliability,” he says.

IndianExpress: THE State government will spend Rs 20 crore and restore Sinhagad, one of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forts, some 25 km from Pune, before handing it over to private parties to manage. The fort is among the 244 monuments put up for adoption by the State government. Cultural affairs minister Ashok Chavan and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation managing director Bhushan Gagrani had announced the new scheme which will allow private companies and trusts to manage the monuments on Friday.

‘‘Sinhagad would be given to a private company or trust after the restoration is over. All the 244 monuments were identified on the basis of a list prepared by the Archaeology Department. The list contains 34 forts,18 caves, 99 religious places and 93 other monuments,’’ Gagrani told Pune Newsline.

The Rs 20-crore Sinhagad restoration project was launched in December 2005 by district guardian minister Ajit Pawar and Rs 5 crore has already been disbursed. The project was intended to develop the fort as a tourist spot. The Rs 5 crore was meant to restore crumbling structures, construct the retaining wall along the ghat on the road leading to the fort, repair the steps and conserve the flora and fauna found in the valley. As per the plan, the entire restoration was to be done in a manner to bring back the 350-year-old fort’s glory.

IndianExpress: THE State government will henceforth purchase land required for various projects after negotiations with farmers instead of acquiring it directly, State rehabilitation minister Patangrao Kadam said on Monday.

He said the decision was taken in the wake of the controversy over acquisition of land at Hinjewadi for extension of the Rajiv Gandhi Information Technology park.

Kadam said the negotiations would be held by either the collector or the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) officials and the move was to prevent opposition to land procurement.

On allegations that there was a move to give unused lands acquired to private parties on lease or sale, Kadam said he would decide a course of action after discussing the issue with the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) Minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar

IndianExpress: THE Pune Cantonment Board’s anti-encroachment drive against hawkers outside Shivaji Market in Cantonment area on Monday suffered a setback when the squad was allegedly threatened by a group with one of them flashing a knife at Cantonment revenue inspector Vijay Nair who led the drive.

The incident happened when a 12-member team from the Anti Encroachment Squad and the PCB’s Nuisance Prevention Squad (NPS) began a drive to evict over forty hawkers at about 11 am on Monday. According to PCB officials, the hawkers did not allow the squad to confiscate their wares. They abused the squad members and refused to vacate the spaces they had encroached upon outside the market.

Despite the PCB submitting a written application to the Cantonment police station seeking police protection for the staff members, there were no policemen present when the drive was

IndianExpress: FOR the first time in the country, a sexual assault care and forensic evidence kit (SAFE kit) for collecting high quality evidence has been launched by the Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT).

CEHAT works with health care providers to improve care and justice for women facing violence. CEHAT Joint Coordinator Amita Pitre told Newsline that SAFE was a medical kit for use by doctors in giving care and collecting high quality evidence in cases of sexual assault. Medical evidence plays a crucial role in the trial of a rape case. Unfortunately lack of uniform protocols and guidelines, lack of facilities and trained staff translates into poor quality evidence and may damage the case, says Pitre.

CEHAT has provided the kits to doctors and forensic experts at public hospitals across the country to decide on a common strategy for use. A workshop was held in Mumbai on Sunday for the purpose.

TechTree: After SMC Networks and Panasonic, now RTX has introduced the Dualphone for Skype that does not require a computer.

The Dualphone 3088 is a cordless phone, which can be used as a normal telephone as well as for Skype calls without a PC, enabling cost cutting and more flexibility. Skype calls can be made using a broadband Internet connection. It gives users the option to either make a free call via the Internet between Skype users, or to use the regular landline connection.

According to RTX, the Dualphone has a simple Skype user interface with almost all Skype voice features. The phone base station connects easily to the broadband router and the phone line. It has a color display with an operating time of more than 10 hours of talk time, as well as up to 140 hours at standby.