Maharashtra News Archive: November 2006

Dutt convicted of possessing illegal firearms
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 | AY

Sanjay Dutt, 47, was convicted of possessing illegal firearms but cleared of conspiracy in the 1993 Mumbai attacks. He was among 123 defendants facing trial over 12 blasts that killed 257 people and injured more than 700. Dutt was acquitted on four more serious counts, including being part of the wider conspiracy behind the bomb attacks and trying to destroy evidence. He denied those charges but admitted possessing the weapons, saying they were to protect his family.

Naghma in a Marathi film
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 | AY

Actor Naghma, the reigning queen of Bhojpuri cinema, is presently shooting for the Marathi film ‘Thaamb Lakshmi Thaamb’. Produced by Hari Om Sharma, the mythological is directed by Vicky Kharat. She plays the double role of a devi and an ordinary woman in ‘Thaamb Lakshmi Thaamb’.

Naghma in a Marathi film
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 | AY

Actor Naghma, the reigning queen of Bhojpuri cinema, is presently shooting for the Marathi film ‘Thaamb Lakshmi Thaamb’. Produced by Hari Om Sharma, the mythological is directed by Vicky Kharat. She plays the double role of a devi and an ordinary woman in ‘Thaamb Lakshmi Thaamb’.

Laataji to be honoured by French govt
Monday, November 27, 2006 | AY

When the French government conferred its most prestigious civilian honor the Legion D'Honour on our Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar she had only one reservation. And it had something to do with air travel. In an unprecedented move the authorities in Paris have decided to fly down to Mumbai to confer the Legion d'Honour on Asia's most prized jewel of the croon. The function to be held in Mumbai on December 13 is expected to be attended by numerous Bollywood dignitaries. Lataji is the second super-icon from Bollywood to be conferred with the Legion d'honour this year. Earlier this year Amitabh Bachchan received the same honor.

Phone, cable, net on a cable
Sunday, November 26, 2006 | AY

The country’s first triple play, that is, telephone, cable and internet connectivity over a single broad band connection, is now available in Pune. Soft launched today by the state-owned BSNL, the service is available on the existing copper wire infrastructure. BSNL officials added that this puts Pune in the same category as Tokyo, London, Palo Alto and other select cities where trials for triple play are currently running. While tariffs are still to be firmed up, the service is free till December 31, 06 or till the commercial launch of the service. The beta testing of the service has been done with 100 customers, providing them over 80 TV channels. BSNL has called it multi-play, referring to the customer being able to simultaneously access the phone, surf the net and watch cable TV on the same phone line with broadband modem/set top box.

Sales tax on diesel reduced
Saturday, November 25, 2006 | AY

The Maharashtra Cabinet today decided to reduce the sales tax on diesel from 33 per cent to 28 per cent in Mumbai and Thane and from 30 per cent to 25 per cent in the rest of the state. Petroleum dealers from the state had launched a “no purchase” agitation to press their demand to bring down sales tax on diesel because they were losing the business to petrol pumps from neighbouring states. Today’s reduction has brought the rates of sales tax on diesel in the state on par with neighbouring states except for Andhra Pradesh and Goa, where the sales tax rate is around 22 per cent.

Heritage sites on hire
Saturday, November 25, 2006 | AY

The private players may now exploit the tourism potential of Mumbai's Gateway of India, Banganga Tank, five forts and August Kranti Maidan along with some historic Maratha forts and ancient caves in Maharashtra. The State Cabinet approved the scheme called the "Maharashtra Vaibhav-Sanrakshit Smarak (protected memorial) Yojana", opening the avenues of commercialisation. In all, 244 heritage sites including forts, caves, gardens, tanks, temples and birthplaces of historic personalities will be up for the five-year adoption project. The ownership of these places will remain with the state. In return, the private parties will get permission to use pictures of the site as advertising monogram, rights to photography and using the images shot for commercial purpose and income tax exemption on the amount spent on development.

24-hr Marathi radio station
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 | AY

Worldspace has launched Surabhi, channel no 110 on the its satellite radio network. The aim of Radio Surabhi is to capture the cultural ethos of Marathi tradition as well as poetry, literature and theatre. The channel will broadcast Marathi music with a strong repertoire of film and non-film music with various genres enjoying equal popularity. The channel will have special shows for bhavgeet, abhangas, powadas, natyasangeet, lavani and lokgeet among other exciting programmes. Worldspace currently offers seven other dedicated radio channels with programming in Tamil (KL Radio), Malayalam (RM Radio), Telugu (Spandana), Kannada (Sparsha), Bengali (Tara), Punjabi (Tunak Punjabi) and Urdu (Falak).

Aishwarya has a clean chit 'as of now'
Monday, November 20, 2006 | AY

Customs authorities today gave a clean chit to Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai "as of now" after questioning her for over two and half hours during which she disowned a packet in her name containing Euro 23,000 (around Rs 13 lakhs). The sender of the parcel has been identified as one Avineshwar who is a Dutch national of Indian origin. During her over two-and-half hour questioning at the Customs Office at Mumbai International Airport where she appeared after taking a break from a film shoot in Jaipur, Rai denied she knew its sender either personally or professionally.

John Deere to hike Pune unit capacity
Sunday, November 19, 2006 | AY

US tractor and agri-equipment major John Deere is planning to expand the capacity of its plant at Sanaswadi, Pune by 50%. John Deere India currently makes tractors with capacities between 40 and 65 HP. Top company sources said the company may consider expanding the capacity range but continue with the 5,000 platform on which the current products are based. The company is in the process of doubling the number of professionals in its technology centre in Pune to 800.

Bodyguards of Hollywood celebrities arrested in Mumbai
Sunday, November 19, 2006 | AY

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s bodyguards have been accused of saying racial slurs to parents of an Islamic school in south Mumbai. Brad Pitt appeared in an interview with NDTV and denied all charges on the bodyguards. He said that the bodyguards were fathers too and would never say such a thing. The incident occured when the gates of the school, in which they were filming, were opened up to allow parents to pick up their children.

FM channel 92.7 launched
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 | AY

Adlabs Films, the entertainment division of Anil Ambani-controlled ADAG, has launched its FM channel 92.7 in Mumbai. It said it expects a total of 45 stations across the country to be on air by April 2007. Investment entailed is to the tune of Rs 400 crore. Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan has been signed as the channel's brand ambassador for two years. The company will project its station as an adult contemporary station for young people in the 21-plus age group.

11th International Astronomy Olympiad
Sunday, November 12, 2006 | AY

The 11th International Astronomy Olympiad (IAO) which is being hosted by India, was inaugurated at the Nehru Science Centre in Worli on Saturday. The primary aim of the Olympiad is to promote excellence among talented students and challenge them to attain greater heights. HBCSE, the nodal centre of the country for Olympiads in different subjects, is the organising institution for IAO. Approximately 120 people from 18 countries including teachers, students and observers will take part in the event from November 10 to 19. The 11th IAO will comprise of three rounds—theoretical (solving problems in theoretical astronomy and astrophysics), practical (analysing local observatory data) and observational (sky watching). While the theoretical and practical rounds will be held in Mumbai, the last round will be carried out at the Giant Microwave Radio Telescope near Pune. The International Astronomy Olympiad of the Euro-Asian Astronomical Society began in 1996 with India participating from 1999.

Sweeper wins Rs 2-crore jackpot
Saturday, November 11, 2006 | AY

This sweeper at the KEM Hospital here still can't believe that he is the latest entrant to the multi-millionaire club, having won a Rs 2.09 crore jackpot in Playwin lottery. As was his practice for the past three years, Rathod had purchased a Playwin ticket for the latest draw. When he went to a lottery centre yesterday to check the winning numbers, he almost fainted. He, however, has no plans to quit his job which fetches him around Rs 10,000 a month. He has been working at the state-run hospital for over two decades.

Passenger train derailed in Mumbai
Saturday, November 11, 2006 | AY

Seventy-six people were injured when a passenger train derailed between Navapur and Kolde stations on western railway route. The 113 down Surat-Bhusawal passenger derailed at 5 am (IST). The accident spot is on the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, about 300 km from Mumbai. Railway teams have rushed to the site and rescue and restoration work is on in full swing.

UK asks Mumbai's help
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 | AY

The United Kingdom is seeking the help of the Mumbai police to prevent terrorist attacks during the 2012 Olympics in London. It will also collaborate with India for a similar security exercise during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The UK has been working hard to expedite India's membership to the Financial Action Task Force, the world's leading body for countering terrorism finance. The two governments have decided to set up a mechanism so that the police forces of the two countries can exchange experiences.

DC plans own facility in Pune
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 | AY

DaimlerChrysler India Ltd (DCIL) is planning to set up its own facility near Pune. The plant is likely to come up in one of the MIDC estates either at Ranjangaon, Chakan or Talegaon. The demand for the Mercedes Benz series of cars in the country is increasing and a new plant with enhanced capacity is an obvious step to cater to the Indian market. The company assembles the entry-level C-Class, the E-Class and S-Class Mercedes Benz cars at its Pimpri facility. In terms of volumes, the company registered a growth of 10 per cent across the C, E and S classes, while the company bagged Rs 540 crore worth of sale in 2005.

Delta's service between Mumbai & New York
Sunday, November 5, 2006 | AY

Delta Air Lines, the world’s fastest growing international airline, today inaugurated the first non-stop flight between Mumbai and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, making history as the only carrier to operate non-stop service between Mumbai and the United States. Between Mumbai and New York, Delta will operate service using Boeing 777-200ER aircraft seating up to 268 passengers with 50 seats in BusinessElite, Delta’s award-winning business class service. Also, in 2008, Delta will be the first U.S. airline to introduce fully horizontal lie-flat seats on its Boeing 777 fleet, offering improved comfort for all business class customers flying between New York and Mumbai.

TIFR scientists in Britain to check ‘Astrosat’
Saturday, November 4, 2006 | AY

A delegation of scientists and engineers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, is currently on a visit to the University of Leicester`s Space Research Centre to finalise design elements of an X-ray camera for inclusion in Astrosat, India`s first national astronomy satellite. The camera, which has been designed at Leicester and will be sent to Mumbai for installation in Astrosat, has involved close collaboration between scientists in the two countries. Astrosat will carry five instruments to observe exotic objects such as black holes, neutron stars, and active galaxies at a number of different wavelengths simultaneously from the ultraviolet band to energetic X-rays.

Pune to host Second World Ayurveda Congress
Saturday, November 4, 2006 | AY

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss will inaugurate the Second World Ayurveda Congress and Expo 2006 at Pune University on November 5. Over 3000 delegates from more than 50 countries, as well as policy makers, industrial experts, academic leaders and researchers are coming together to discuss the challenges and opportunities for traditional science. Subjects that will be covered in the Congress would range from the fundamental principles of Ayurveda to frontier areas in Ayurveda research like the standardisation of drugs, their patenting and IPR, treatment for different diseases, autoimmune disorders and use of biotechnology. Also two workshops have been planned on `panchakarma' and on developing methods and skills for writing scientific publications for researchers.

IBM opens SOA solution centers
Thursday, November 2, 2006 | AY

IBM announced the opening of two new development centers in Beijing in China and Pune in India that will focus on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions for industry-specific business services. The company is the leader in the $160 billion SOA market, with market share of 46 per cent. The new SOA solution center at Pune will develop repeatable business services for insurance industry and the health care verticals while the Beijing center will look at solutions for the banking and government verticals. The specific verticals like insurance, banking and health care have been chosen since the SOA uptake is higher in these verticals. The IBM officials said that they would expand into more verticals in 2007.

New housing policy
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 | AY

The Maharashtra Cabinet discussing a change in the urban land ceiling policy may come up with a revised housing policy on November 1. The suggested changes include allowing more built up area on small plot. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is all set to announce revised housing policy on November 1 and the people can expect real estate to finally become affordable.

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