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TOI : PUNE: Top scientists from the defence research and development organisation (DRDO) and key public sector undertakings (PSUs) converged in the city on Friday to discuss India’s ongoing effort at indigenously developing air breathing engines like the supersonic combustion ramjet (SCRAMJET).

The meet, hosted by the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), assumes significance against the backdrop of India’s ambitious plans for lunar mission, besides the need for developing air breathing propulsions for supersonic cruise missiles like the BrahMos.

Indian space research organisation (ISRO) is already working on a revolutionary, ‘reusable launch vehicle’ (RLV) that will use a scramjet hyperplane for the lunar mission.

Air breathing rocket systems are the ones which use the atmospheric oxygen from their surroundings and burn it with the stored on-board fuel for producing the forward thrust in contrast to the conventional chemical rocket systems, which carry both the oxygen and the fuel on-board. As a result, the air breathing systems become much lighter and more efficient leading to reduced overall costs.

The scramjet propulsion is seen by the scientific community as a viable technology to overcome the high-costs involved in the existing space transport system that use conventional chemical rocket systems for propulsion. Scramjet provides the advantage of operating at speeds in excess of Mach 10, which is higher than Mach 3 attained by aircraft turbojets.

While the United States is regarded as having gained an upper hand in the development of scramjet, countries like India, Japan, China, Russia and Australia, among others, have launched efforts of their own on this front.

“There are issues that need a wider discussion in the ongoing effort for development of scramjet systems,” G.C. Pant, dean (academics) at the DIAT, told TOI. “Issues such as identification and use of specific materials, instrumentation, utility of computational fluid dynamics and tests, among others, require…More

TOI : PUNE: Software engineer Anita Ajay Sharma (26) of Pimpale-Gurav was on Friday remanded to further police custody by the court, till December 30. Sharma, allegedly leaked confidential information and the source code of 3DLM Software Solutions Ltd at the Software Technology Park in Hinjewadi. This is the third time her custody has been extended.

Police sub-inspector Ravindra Daundkar of the Chatushrungi police station produced Sharma before judicial magistrate first class S.N. Yadav, following expiry of her police custody.

Assistant public prosecutor Laxman Maindad sought to further extend police custody for seven days so that the police had more time to conduct a detailed investigation and find out how she had hacked the source code of the software firm.

The police hope to find out the name of Sharma’s accomplices and the mastermind behind the hacking. Vital information and data was allegedly stolen between October 8, 2006 and September 3, 2007, which was transferred by the accused to her husband and others via e-mail.

Defence lawyer K.B. Verma opposed the prosecution plea of further extending the police custody of the accused on the grounds that the court had granted sufficient time to the police to conduct investigations.

However, the court upheld the arguments of the prosecution.

Though the remand report submitted before the court was silent on the damages suffered by the software company, the assistant public prosecutor Ashok Khamkar, who had appeared on behalf of the police at the last hearing, submitted that the firm had suffered damages the tune of US$ 13 million.

Meanwhile, Daundkar, who is assisting assistant commissioner of police M.P. Kharade in investigating the case, told TOI that the accused was not co-operating with the police.

Daundkar said that the police had recovered two hard discs and some documents from Sharma’s locker and had recorded…More

TOI : PUNE: The BSNL has installed new broadband equipment (DSLAM) in about 90 per cent of exchanges in the city and rural areas, enabling it to enhance the capacity of broadband connections by nearly one lakh.

The new equipment will also help the BSNL bring down the waiting list for broadband and for the first time it will be able to provide broadband connections ‘on demand’. However, some suburbs and outskirts of the city will get the ‘on demand’ facility only after two months.

BSNL, the biggest broadband provider in the city, currently has around 42,000 broadband connections. Many exchanges in the city were running in full capacity and were not in a position to provide new connections.

To overcome this problem, the BSNL has come out with an enhancement plan. It has installed new broadband equipment in 90 out of the 100 exchanges in the city. This will enhance the overall capacity by 70,000 connections. The exchanges like Dehu Road, Ammunition Factory and Aundh will get the equipment by January 2008.

In November, the BSNL has provided the equipment to exchanges in rural areas like Baramati, Daund, Lonavla, Chakan and Talegoan.

The company is extending this service to Manchar, Narayangaon and Rajgurunagar exchanges. By this, the BSNL is aiming to add 30,000 broadband connections in rural areas.

The BSNL has also made available the ‘modems’ required for broadband connections,” said D.K. Maheshwari, principal general manager, Pune. When asked about the pending applications, Maheshwari said the new equipment would help BSNL to bring down the waiting list.

Currently, there are nearly 1,000 pending application with the BSNL for broadband connection. Most of the cases are pending due to technical snag and non-feasibility. Apart from this, there are around 2,000 cases of duplication. These are cases of non-payment of bills, false applications, etc….More

TOI : PUNE: Pune guardian minister Ajit Pawar has come down heavily on the Congress for hindering development projects in the city.

Speaking at a function after laying the foundation stone of a 132-kv GIS sub-station, Pawar said implementation of major projects like the slum rehabilitation authority schemes and road-widening, were getting delayed as to the Congress’ was ‘playing politics’. Hinting at MP Suresh Kalmadi and the Congress party’s role in this, Pawar said, “Despite the fact that slum-dwellers are getting houses from SRA schemes, some people are instigating them to demand bigger houses, without considering the technical problems”…More

TOI : PUNE: Come December 31, and it’s time to wine and dine and shake a leg. And the state government will ensure that you get the precise measure of drink in your glass —not a drop less than the amount you have paid for.

The weights and measures department will be closely watching city hotels and bars on December 31 to ensure that partygoers get their peg full.

“The legal metrology wing will ensure that consumer’s rights are protected. It has been noticed that hotels serve less liquor to customers than they paid for. Action will be taken against hotels and bars indulging in such malpractice,” said C.G. Jadhav, deputy controller of legal metrology department (Pune division).

The legal metrology department deals with implementation of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 and the Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1985.

Jadhav said that recently, when the department raided some prominent hotels and bars in Pune district, it was noticed that much less liquor was served to consumers than they should have got. The department registered cases against owners of 43 hotels and bars, including 11 from the city.

On the New Year eve, if consumers feel that they are being cheated by being served less liquor, they can complain to the legal metrology department on 26693176, Jadhav said.

Revellers in the city are happy with the move. “At many places liquor charges are included in cover charges, but the actual liquor served is less. Hardly anyone notices this as everyone is in a party mood. Bar owners should be questioned on this,” said Rohit Soman, a software engineer.

“Many times drinks are diluted with spirit. But hotel owners are not questioned by consumers as no one wants to spoil the party. It is good if the government is cracks…More

TOI : PUNE: City hotels, restaurants and clubs planning to use their lounges, pool side and garden areas to serve liquor on December 31 will have to pay a fee.

“If hotel and club owners are planning parties outside the permit rooms they need to procure a special licence or else they will face action,” said Vijay Chinchalkar, superintendent of state excise, Pune. The fee for the one-day license is Rs 6,050 and the application is cleared on priority, said Chinchalkar.

“We will serve on-the-spot notices to organisers who violate the norm,” Chinchalkar said, adding that they have made elaborate arrangements to launch a crackdown against erring hotels/clubs. Special squads have been formed for this purpose…More

TOI : PUNE: Sleuths of the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) caught land superintendent of the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB), Nutan Vasudeo Kadve while accepting a bribe of Rs 1,500 on Saturday. PCB chief executive officer S.K. Sardana has placed Kadve under suspension.

Kadve, a resident of Manish Darshan apartment in Fatimanagar, was arrested on a complaint lodged by one Padmini Vijay Gujar (42) of Kondhwa Khurd. ACB deputy superintendent of police Subhash Anirudh said that Gujar had filed an application at the PCB office in October, 2007 for deleting the name of her father in-law Shivajirao Gujar and putting the name of her mother in-law Manik Gujar instead in respect of three properties owned by them at Bhimpura and Solapur Bazaar.

Gujar submitted the required documents for effecting the change in name and her application was transferred to Kadve for nominal approval. Despite the paper work done and all clearances obtained, Kadve delayed the transfer demanding Rs 1,500. So, Gujar lodged a complaint with the ACB.

The ACB team comprising deputy superintendent of police P.D. Patil and inspectors B.R. Patil and Radhika Phadke laid a trap at the PCB and caught Kadve red-handed. A case under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against Kadve with the Wanowrie police station. Kadve will be produced before special judge R.Y. Shaikh at his residence, as the district and sessions court remains closed on Sunday…More

TOI : PUNE: Here is some good news for new year party-goers! The city police have granted permission to hotels, restaurants and clubs to let the December 31 celebrations continue till 5 am the next day.

Deputy commissioner of police Ravindra Sengaonkar (administration) on Saturday issued a statement asking the organisers to obtain a premises licence from the zonal deputy commissioner of police of the area. They have also been told to ensure sufficient arrangements for vehicle parking to avoid action. Loudspeakers are allowed on till midnight and noise levels are restricted to 75 decibels, he added.

Deputy commissioner of the traffic branch police Mahesh Ghurye appealed to motorists to carry the original documents of their vehicles. There will be heavy bandobast at all important locations and joint squads of traffic police, highway safety patrol and regional transport officers equipped with speed guns and breath analysers will be deployed across the city to keep a check on high speed and drunken driving.

Traffic signals will operate till 2 am, while at major chowks they will stay on till 4 am. Barricades will be affixed at M.G. road, F.C. road and J.M. road. A “no-vehicle zone” has been declared between Hotel Aurora Towers and Nussarwanji Chowk on M.G. road. Heavy vehicles will be diverted via alternative routes from the outskirts of the city to avoid congestion.

Meanwhile, district superintendent of police, Pune rural, Vishwas Nangre-Patil has also appealed to motorists visiting Khadakwasla lake and Sinhagad fort to carry original vehicle documents and not drive under the influence of liquor…More

TOI : PUNE: The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has been approved by the Union government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The project is worth Rs 309 crore.

Additional commissioner Subhash Dumbre told reporters on Friday that the approval was given by the central sanctioning and monitoring committee under JNNURM at a meeting held in New Delhi.

He said that approval was given to BRTS on two important roads in the township. These are the Aundh-Ravet road from Rajiv Gandhi bridge to Ravet at an expenditure of Rs 191 crore and the old Pune-Mumbai highway from Dapodi to Nigdi at an expenditure of Rs 118 crore.

Dumbre said the Aundh-Ravet road has to be completed on a priority basis in view of the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) to be held at Balewadi in October 2008. Subways will be constructed Every 600 m on the road with the use of advanced technology, he said.

Neelkanth Poman, computer officer, PCMC, who monitors the preparation of project reports under JNNURM, said that the work of calling tenders for the project will begin soon.

The BRTS project to be implemented on these roads will be on a pilot basis. The PCMC has demanded Rs 1,640 crore for road and transport projects under JNNURM, he said.

Dumbre said the PCMC will create parking areas and terminals for two-wheelers and four-wheelers through public private partnership (PPP). This is the first time the PCMC has received funds to develop roads of this kind.

“Approval was also granted for the second instalment of Rs 20.89 crore for drainage projects at the meeting,” Dumbre said…More

TOI : PUNE: Several fake currency notes were discovered among the Rs 7.75 crore seized by the city police in the Unique Fin Corp Private Limited cheating case last month.

Inspector Narayan Khaire, who is in charge of the economic offences wing (EOW) of the city police, told TOI that two notes of Rs 1,000 and 21 notes of Rs 500 denomination were mixed with the original ones, were recovered from the accused from Pimpri, Thane and Kolhapur. A chargesheet was filed against the five accused before judicial magistrate first class S.N. Yadav through assistant public prosecutor H. V. Doiphode on Friday…More