News

indianexpress:  AROUND 24,000 admissions to government-aided, unaided and private engineering colleges were confirmed after the first round of the Centralised Admission Procedure (CAP) for engineering admissions, which ended on July 24.

The merit list of students eligible for the second round of the CAP will now be put up on Thursday.
 
The online application procedure for admissions to all government aided, unaided and private engineering colleges — except the five autonomous engineering colleges — began on June 26.

While the submission and confirmation of the online application form was completed till July 17, the provisional allotment list was put up July 20, after which confirmations were accepted till July 24.

“Of the 35,000-odd seats available for allotment, over 70 per cent — that is 24,000 students — confirmed their admissions. The admission procedure this year was carried out in a transparent manner,” said Technical Education director NB Pasalkar. The option forms of those students who failed to confirm their admission by July 24 will be considered as void, and will have to be submitted afresh, Pasalkar also said.

“While the number of options will be increased in the second round, students will have to take admissions if they get them in the first 10 options,” said Pasalkar.
 

indianexpress: THE Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) decided to conduct an Original Destination (OD) survey which will study traffic flow across the length and breadth of the city on Wednesday. This will ensure that infrastructure projects for traffic improvement in the city under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) deliver the desired results.

The implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), construction of flyovers, widening of existing roads and various other efforts to ease the traffic problem would be based on the survey report information.

The survey will be carried out in the next few months by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS). A PMC official said IL&FS has been appointed consultant for traffic-related project in the city and it would conduct the OD survey.

“We want to ensure against a situation where in the traffic woes of the city continue to exist despite the JNNURM projects. Hence the PMC will carry out detailed study of the traffic flow on city roads before going in for implementation of the JNNURM projects,” a senior PMC official said.

Most projects in the city have been so far implemented on a general perception without factual information to back the decisions, he added. “The OD survey will look at all details, registering the movement of each and every vehicle passing on city roads, the movement of vehicle users along with the route followed to reach the destination, the types of vehicles used and the time spent by each vehicle on road and even the parking details,” he added.

indianexpress: PUNE Cantonment Board (PCB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) SK Sardana has terminated the Vehicle Entry Tax (VET) contract awarded to Ghai Constructions and Contractors Private Limited following several complaints of overcharging by attendants at VET booths operational under the limits of the Board.

PCB CEO Sardana said: “The Board took the decision to terminate the contract as we had received many complaints from truck drivers and motorists saying that contractors were overcharging them. Accordingly, we investigated the complaints and issued a month’s notice asking them as to why their contract should not be terminated for the excesses. However, the contractors did not heed to our notice following which we terminated the contract.’’

The PCB CEO had directed Chief Revenue Superintendent to investigate the complaints. “The report indicted the contractors and brought to light the overcharging incidents prompting strict action,” said Sardana.

Meanwhile, fresh tenders for the VET contract have been invited.

Complaints regarding overcharging by the Vehicle Entry Tax (VET) contractors are not new for the PCB. Along with overcharging incidents, complaints by civilian car drivers about the high-handedness of contractors have also been lodged with the PCB. The PCB levied fine on the earlier contractor for ‘being arrogant and imposing a hefty fine on a civilian four wheeler’.The one year VET contract estimated to be around Rs 5 crores was awarded to Ghai Contracts in April 2007.

indianexpress: As a measure to control pollution, the State government is considering a proposal to make Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) compulsory for vehicles in Pune, Thane Municipal Corporation area, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Solapur. The state had already made the use of CNG mandatory for public vehicles in Mumbai and also disallowed the use of old vehicles.

State Environment Minister Ganesh Naik said this in the legislative council on Wednesday replying to a question about deaths in the state due to water pollution related diseases from Arjun Khotkar and others.
 
Pune is among the most polluted cities in the country. An agreement has been already signed between Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to supply Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to Pune.

The Dahej-Uran pipeline (DUPL) was to be extended to Pune to supply gas to the CNG mother station.

The pipeline was to be complete by mid-2007. GAIL would be using the BPCL network of petrol pumps and sales service to leverage the potential of the joint venture company. BPCL has 27 outlets in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, and CNG distribution would not be a problem

indianexpress:  THE Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s General Body on Wednesday passed the annual Rs 1,864-crore budget, its biggest yet, even as the elected representatives expressed concern over the civic administration’s ability to implement such large budget in the remaining eight months.

The PMC has not put any burden on the citizens by increasing the tax rate this year. The emphasis has been on increasing the efficiency of the administration to raise the revenue. “We will increase the revenue through Octroi collection and permission fee,” Standing Committee chairman Bapu Pathare said.
 
The PMC has made a provision of Rs 1,087 crore for capital expenditure and development work to be carried out in the year. Highlights include novel schemes concerning computer training, road safety and housing societies. It also has a provision to improve burial grounds and crematoriums in the city.

indianexpress: THE light spells of rain on Wednesday noon in the city is not the revival of the monsoon, said Met department officials. The light showers measuring 4.3 mm were because of local development due to heat conditions, they added.

Director for weather forecasting, Rohini Lele said. “Maximum temperatures have been between 30-33 degrees in the last few days. So, such local developments are bound to happen,’’ she said.

National Climate Centre director Dr Sivananda Pai said the monsoon which has entered into a weak phase is likely to remain so till the end of July. The condition at present is not conducive for the formation of low pressure over Bay of Bengal and there would be no rainfall activity at least for another 7-8 days, he said.

techtree: Hewlett Packard (HP) has announced the launch of it’s new range of Compaq desktops and notebooks that feature Compaq’s all new brand identity, which is futuristic, stylish, and contemporary - in keeping with HP’s brand philosophy of ‘innovation with elegance’.

The new Compaq logo is a C and a Q combined, and also resembles a thought bubble. The logo will be integrated into all future marketing communication.

Compaq’s new range includes Compaq Presario SG3053IL and SG3043IL desktops, and Compaq Presario V6425TU and V6406TU notebooks.

With their modern silver finish and intuitive easy access design, the Compaq Presario SG3053IL and SG3043IL desktops make computing simpler and natural, according to HP.

With the strategically placed power button on top of the PC, users can stay away from the inconvenience of bending low to switch on the CPU.

The new keyboards are slim, built with easy-to-use low profile keys, and hot keys for easy access to most common functions.

Meanwhile, the new range of Compaq notebooks are designed for users who want fast mobile performance, according to HP.

The V6000 series combines ease-of-use and style with its 15.4-inch wide-screen display with BrightView technology, roomy keyboard, and four-way scroll zone.

Loaded with 8X SuperMulti Double Layer (8.5GB) DVD writer and integrated Altec Lansing speakers, the V6000 notebooks ensure the right mix of productivity and entertainment at a great value, says HP.

techtree: IDLDPL has debuted LaCie external hard drive products in the Indian market.

Designed by world famous designers such as Karim Rashid and Porshce, these lightweight drives meet storage needs of desktop-, portable-, and networking applications.

Available in capacities of 250Gb to 320Gb, and with speeds of 7200 RPM, the drives are suitable for high-end applications.

The drives feature hi-speed USB 2.0 and FireWire interface that enables them deliver faster data transfer rates of up to 480Mbits per second.

With secured rubber feet, the drives can be stacked so as to get the most out of limited storage space.

They are compatible with Windows OS (Windows 98 Second Edition to Windows Vista), and MC OS (Mac OS 9.1 or Mac OS 10.2.1 and above).

Hardware requirements include: minimum configuration of Intel Pentium II 350MHz-compatible processor, iMac, Apple G3/G4/G5/Intel processor, and minimum 32MB RAM.

Commenting on the LaCie products, Surinder Saini, brand manager for LaCie at IDLDPL, said, “LaCie, from the design and quality perspective, is the best, and a class above the competition. It is quite popular in the graphics designers’ market and very popular with MAC users.”

techtree: James Cameron, who has thus far directed Hollywood blockbusters the likes of Titantic, Abyss, The Terminator, and Aliens is reportedly now teaming-up with Paris-based game developer, Ubisoft, for a major game title based on his upcoming big-budget Sci-fi thriller, ‘Avatar’.

After year-long discussions with 4 game publishers, Cameron finally zeroed in on Ubisoft to develop the Gen-Next video game. It is expected to release alongside of Cameron’s movie — a 20th Century Fox production — sometime in May 2009.

Cameron’s first since ‘Titanic’ in 1997, ‘Avatar’ tells the story of an ex-Marine, Jake (played by actor Sam Worthington), who persists in an alien world as an avatar — a human mind in an alien body.

The concept is similar to several video games wherein players create virtual manifestations of themselves, popularly known as avatars.

As Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer of Ubisoft, said, “the game will let us see the world and ourselves from another angle, acting as a mirror that will help us understand the consequences of our choices.”

Meanwhile, the deal with Fox and Cameron is a win-win for Ubisoft — maybe to a greater extent than an earlier deal with Peter Jackson and Universal for the game based on ‘King Kong’.

Jon Landau, producer of ‘Avatar’, said that while other game publishers offered Cameron even larger license fees, Ubisoft’s concept was the clear creative choice for Jim aka James Cameron.

techtree: Logitech recently launched it’s AudioStation speaker system for the iPod, which promises a full range of smooth, balanced audio.

The AudioStation shows-off a relatively compact bi-amplified acoustic design, and can sit atop any end table or bookshelf or nightstand. With a digital AM/FM tuner, the system acts as a replacement for a traditional living room stereo system.

It sports matching satellites with 2 drivers each; 1-inch, high-definition, soft-dome tweeters; and 4-inch high-power, long-throw woofers for powerful bass.

An elegant one-piece system with black finish and removable cloth grille covers, the AudioStation has no buttons or knobs. Rather, there are touch-sensitive controls on the front panel of the system. Besides, when powered on, small LEDs illuminate the touch-sensitive controls with a soft white glow.

Moninder Jain, director India & South East Asia, Logitech, said, “With the AudioStation, we are redefining the premium iPod speaker category. Nothing else delivers this level of full, balanced acoustic performance, the cutting-edge design, and the unanticipated extras. It’s a sophisticated and complete stereo system for any room in the house.”

Above the control panel there’s a large LCD to show information like radio station channels, time, or an audio spectrum analyzer. The LCD also displays track information for FM stations that support RDS by using the Radio Data System (RDS).