PUNE: With a view to systematically document scientific data on the biological diversity of India, a task force formed under Pune-based environmentalist Madhav Gadgil has suggested formation of a network of scientists and taxonomists.

Vinay Agrawal, a Mumbai-based eye surgeon and entrepreneur, has broken new ground by using the polymer science technology from the Pune-based National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), a laboratory under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), to manufacture ocular and maxillofacial implants.

Pune With the state government coming out with an IT policy that lays special emphasis on the animation and gaming industry last Friday, private educational institutes have begun introducing courses for animators. Not without reason. Pune is gearing up to witness $5 billion worth of business from animation and gaming in the next five years. It had taken the entire IT sector in the city as much as 11 years to generate a similar volume of business.

PUNE: The next time you watch a Hollywood special-effect movie and marvel at the talent the West has, think again. The man behind the on-screen
spectacle could well be someone sitting in a studio in Pune.

The Indian animation and visual effects (VFX) industry now has clients beyond Hollywood as projects come pouring in from countries like China as well. Pune has a major stake in VFX's success considering the increasing number of animation and visual effects studios in the city.

PUNE: Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair on Sunday said that the space organisation is considering a proposal
sent by the University of Pune (UoP) students to launch a small satellite "over the next few months" for scientific study purpose.

Nair had a brief interaction with the TOI on the sidelines of a function organised at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch here to felicitate successful candidates from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) 2008 examination.

Metropolitan Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology (MIHMCT), which is affiliated with the Pune University, will be the first institute in Pune to offer students a Masters Programme in Food Processing Technology and also launch community colleges in the state. The courses offered by the UOP will offer the students Quality Assurance of University with Potential for Excellence (UPE) accorded by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

MUMBAI: Pune, the Oxford of the East which is also an IT-hub, would have yet another distinction. The Maharashtra Government has succeeded in obtaining in-principle approval from the Center for setting up of an Indian Institute of Information and Technology (IIIT) in Pune.

This is part of the efforts to establish IIIT and IIM involving public and private partnership, Finance Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said announcing the budget proposals for the year 2009-10. Another such IIIT would come up in Aurangabad. These would be international-status institutions.

PUNE: The Pune model of zero load-shedding in the city will continue for at least one month now, until the Maharashtra State Electricity
Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) submits its final plan to the Maharashtra electricity regulatory commission (Merc) on how it can keep the model running.

The Merc has set June 30 as the deadline for the MSEDCL to submit its plan specifying the roadmap for a permanent arrangement for the Pune model. For the next one month, the present arrangement, by which additional power is secured from the Tata power company, will continue.

The extravaganza TRANSTECH- 2009 discussing ‘Recent Trends in Transportation Sector’ concluded at Tolani Maritime Institute on March 21, 2009. It was a marathon event with over 100 participating cadets and 40 papers on various issues pertaining to the above theme. A variety of topics like ship design, propulsion, alternative fuels, IC Engines, Materials etc were discussed during the above conference. Five invited talks by eminent academicians and professionals made the event a wonderful learning opportunity.

PUNE - Lending a helping hand to farmers, an engineer has developed a mobile phone device which enable them switch on and off their water pump motors in distant fields from their homes.

The device—Nano Ganesh mobile modem—which has won an award of the Nokia Forum in its ‘calling all innovators’ competition category of emerging markets in Asia Pacific region, was invented by Pune-based engineer Santosh Ostwal.

Ostwal said that the device was being used by around 15,000 farmers in Maharashtra to switch on and off their water pump motors in distant fields, while at home. (PTI)