Pune's Blackberry Experiment To Go Global

After having won accolades from the government and people alike, the traff-i-cop experiment started in the city is set to reach to international level. The designers of the Blackberry-based system presented it to a conference in Orlando and countries like Bermuda are looking at it for the implementation.

"Right now Kolkata and states like Assam, Punjab and Gujarat have asked us for the implementation of this system. In a conference at Orlando, US, the company officials had a presentation on this system to which Bermuda has responded positively,” said Hitesh Shah, Director, Commercial Relationship India of Research In Motion (RIM), the producers of the Blackberry. The conference was organised by RIM for its worldwide partners showing their applications where traff-i-cop was applauded by all.

In November 2009, the traff-i-cop system was experimented by the Pune Traffic police with the application for the system developed by Omni Bridge Systems, a city based company. The system envisages tracking down the traffic offenders with the help of Blackberry. Initially the project was meant to be for three months but it was extended to 13 months.

"Right now we are in talks with the Pune police, RTO and other officials. Even though it is away from public glare, the work is underway to update the system and removing whatever shortcoming which came or might come in future,” said Shah.

The application has been awarded ‘Best innovative project/technological application’ by Ministry of Urban Development last week.  By using this application, traffic police could easily identify the offenders and trace them real time. Now, this is set to be used for detecting the stolen vehicles which are taken to other cities.

"National Informatics Centre (NIC) is digitising the databases of all Regional Transport Offices in the state. Once it will be available on the server, the stolen vehicles or vehicles found violating traffic norms will also be traced easily,” said Amit Shitole, director of the Omni Bridge Systems Pvt. Ltd.

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Mark Of A Controversy

The jewellery professionals in the city are now up into arms agaisnt a recent directive by the central government to make the hallmark certification mandatory. The professionals have termed this order as an impractical one and say that it will create more problems for the sarafi pedhis.

The Union Cabinet had decided in January that all the gold jewelleries sold in the country should bear the Hallmark stamp. Apparently, the decision was taken to ensure the quality and authenticity of the gold jewelleries. A large part of the jewellery sold in the country carries this stamp already but it was a voluntary step and not the mandatory one.

However, the decision has not gone down well among the jewellers. Fattechand Ranka, president of the Pune Saraf Association, told Pune Mirror, “At the moment, there are not enough Hallmark centres. To get the Hallmark stamp means that jewellers from far off places will have to put off their business for at least four hours a day. Also, carrying the jewellery will pose danger to the person.”

The Jewellers are also dissatisfied with the provision that if the jewellery is found faulty even after the Hallmarking, then the responsibility will have to be carried by jeweller himself rather than the Hallmarking centre.

Ranka said, “We have given a presentation to the Union government in this regard. We have requested to set up more centres and clear these shortfalls. It has not come up with the draft of the law. If the law is enacted in the current form, then we will have no other option but to go to court.”

The Hallmarking of the gold and silver jewellery is done in India by the Bureau of Indian Standards, under the Consumer Affairs Ministry. 
The mandatory Hallmarking oof gold jewelleries, among others, will be implemented once the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986, bill will be amended.

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Bio-Diversity Map Of India Ready : Kasturirangan

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Department of Bio-technology (DBT) has prepared a biodiversity map of the country on the landscape level. It has also prepared digitized inventories of important bio-resources which includes medicinal plants, other economically important plants, animal, marine and microbial resources. This map will be instrumental for strategic planning, said Dr. K. Kasturiranga, member of the planning commission and former chairman of ISRO.

Dr. Kasturirangan was speaking after inaugurating the National Conference on BiodiversityAssessment, Conservation and Utilization which was organised by Abasaheb Garware College along with BAIF Development Research Foundation. He praised Madhav Gadgil, senior scientist and chairman of Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, who was present on the dais. He said, “You are lucky to have Prof Madhav Gadgil , who is the world recognized expert on ecology and for his work on the Western Ghat as your patron. His work evokes pride in all of us. Prof Gadgil had kindly consented to be the chairman of Steering Committee on Environment & Forests which was constituted for the 12th plan preparation.”

He outlined the key course of action taken by planning commission based on recommendations made by the Prof. Gadgil's working group as greening 5 million hectares under Green India Mission including 0.75 million ha. of degraded lands and afforestation and eco-restoration of 2.0 million ha of ecologically sensitive areas, Reclaim wetlands/inland lakes /ponds of 0.1 million Ha by 2017, Improve forest production and maintain biodiversity, Prepare and implement recovery plan for identified 16 wildlife species and assess ,Coastal Biodiversity resource, use and sustainability.

He said that the Planning Commission is developing a Environmental Performance Index (EPI) that combines ecological performance with economic delivery for purposes of fiscal planning and social delivery.

Prof. Gadgil reminded that Western Ghats is one of the two biodiversity hotspots in the country other two being Eastern Himalaya. Eminent scientist Dr. Vasant Gowarikar, principal secretary of revenue and forest, Maharashtra, Pravinsingh Pardeshi were also present on the occasion.

The Biodiversity Facts

• India has over 91,000 species of animals and 45,500 species of plants in its ten bio-geographic regions have been documented so far.
• Nearly 6,500 native plants are used in indigenous healthcare systems.
• Thousands of locally-adapted crop varieties are grown traditionally since ancient times, and nearly 140 native breeds of farm livestock, continue to thrive in its diversified farming systems.
• The country is recognized as one of the eight Vavilovian Centres of Origin and Diversity of Crop Plants, having more than 300 wild ancestors and close relatives of cultivated plants still growing and evolving under natural conditions.
• It is estimated that about 4,00,000 more species may exist in India which need to be recorded and described.
• In addition over 3 lakh samples of cultivars , which have gone out of cultivation are under long term storage in the National Gene Bank.
• An estimated 41 percent of the country’s forest cover has been degraded to some degree.
• As much as 78 percent of forest area is subject to heavy grazing and about 50 percent of the forest area is prone to forest fires.

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Maharashtra's Stale Politics

Ever since Prthviraj Chavan has taken over as the chief minister of Maharashtra, the politics of the state has become too stale and bereft of political drama. One reason behind this is that Chavan is not a shrewd and professional politician like his predeccecors Ashok Chavan and Vilasrao Deshmukh. He is more of a bureaucratic personality which pervades his political acumen. Much unlike his fraternity, he is not a public figure in the sense that he rarely is seen sorrounded by workers or common public. He has carefully placed himself away from the masses creating a halo around himself. Chavan has spent most of his tenure in centre and in that sense, he is yet to accommodate himself in the state's politicians.

In the initial days of his tenure as the CM of Maharashtra, Chavan was seen superceded by his deputy Ajit Pawar, who is a Nationalist Congress Party leader. Pawar had then conducted separate meetings with bureaucrats and appeared to have taken many decisions much against the wishes of Chavan. But soon, that euphoria also got disappeared. 

 

What we are now seeing is a kind of a boring drama where all the actors are just bidding their time before their final exit. Their body language gives an expression that they are not happy with the stage but their invisible director has forced them to show themselves before the audience, which in any way is not entertained at all.

It is not that Chavan himself does not understand this. But he is preoccupied himself with the task of appearing clean in the eyes of public which was least bewildered to see his predeccecor Ashok Chavan leaving his office in the aftermath of the Adarsh Society scam. Apparently, the Prithviraj Chavan's brief is to keep his party, Congress, away from scandals or scams. In the bargain, it is nobody's concern that performance is compromised.

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Centenary of An Ispiring Book

A book that inspired an entire generation of freedom fighters in Maharashtra is celebrating centenary this year. 
 

The celebrations for the centenary of Gitarahasya, the commentative treatise by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak startrd from March 27 to 30. The occasion was marked by lectures of eminent speakers during this period. 

 

The Kesari Mahratta Trust in Pune, headed by Lokmanya's great-grandson Dr. Deepak Tilak, organises Gitarahasya Jayanti (birth anniversary) each year on March 30. Since 1962, a lecture is organised bringing out aspects of philosophy in Gita. This time, the series of lectures are organised because of special occasion.

Lokmanya wrote Gitarahasya as a commentary on Srimad Bhagwadgita. It advocates the way of works as against way of renunciation as propagated during Lokmanya's time. The new thinking was easily lapped up by the patriots, providing inspiration to the thousands.

The popularity of the book can be gauged by the fact that till now, 24 editions of the book have been sold. It has been translated into English, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. 

 

The book is also special because of process of its creation. Lokmanya Tilak started writing this book on November 2, 1910 and completed it on March 30, 1911. He was placed in Mandalay Jail (Now in Myanmar) then on sedition charges. He was released in 1914. In the meantime, he wrote the book sitting in his cell, many a times yearning for right references.

After coming out of jail, Lokmanya once quipped that he could wrote his scholarly books only because he was placed in the solitary cells, away from hustle-bustle of politics. Commenting upon Gitarahasya, Mahatma Gandhi had once said, “ThIs book is the perpetual memorial of Lokmanya Tilak.”

Even though Tilak wrote the book in jail during 1910-11, he was influenced by the greatest theological book of Hinduism since 1872 when he was just 16 years old. Little Bal (Lokmanya's original name) was made to read the holy book when his father was very ill.

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So Sorry For Japan...

Photo courtesy: AP & Yahoo News

After World War II, Japan was always seen as a role model for the developing countries. For an Indian like me, the country had a special space because of its cultural affinity to us.

Radio Japan was the first international radio station which I started listening to in 1992. Soon, I was hooked to it and got to know many interesting things about this 'land of cherries'. That also prompted me to try learning that language in 1993.

Even after trying for six or so years, I could not make much progress on that front. My knowledge of Japanese never went beyond Sumimasen and Arigato or Dozo Yoroshiku.

But that did not deter me from loving this tiny nation with highest moral character possible. When the deadly quake wiped off much of country's wealth during last week, all those memories came back to me. During this time, one of the comments on a news item made me think.

The anonymous writer said, 'Even after so much destruction and chaos, there was no chaos or looting. That speak volume about the character of the nation.”

I could not agree more. Having gone through so many natural tragedies made us Indian admire more and more the tiny but great nation on this earth. Japan...we are so sorry for you!

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Will Prithviraj Prove His Mettle In Budget Session?

Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan is facing the budget session of state legislature first time since taking over charge of his post over 100 days ago. The timing is not so right main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party is roaring with rants against the rule of Mafias in the state. On the other side of political spectrum, Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are preparing themselves for the impending elections of Zilla Parishads and municipal corporations. The quadrangle is completed by Nationalist Congress Party which does not let go any chance of showdown against its ruling alliance partner.

Even though Congress enjoys the most MLAs and MPs from Maharashtra, it is still groping in dark because of lack of able leadership. CM Chavan, even though a good hand at the administration, has no nose for politics. Former CM Ashok Chavan was a seasoned politician who talked in same language with NCP when he lead the cabinet. However, he had to part with chair because of one of the worst scandals that hit the state.

Ashok Chavan resigned after it was surfaced that his relatives owned flats in the now infamous Adarsh Society. With this background in mind, it was completely obvious that Prithviraj chosed to play it safe. He ensured to create an image of Mr. Clean and reigned over the builders' lobby.

However, in his endeavour to mend the administration, he forgot to make it move. The administration came to a standstill. Now, the Congressmen themselves started to blame own government. On February 3, some 25 Congress MLAs held a meeting at former minister Baba Siddiqi's house. Those who attended the meeting criticised the tardiness of administration. Interestingly, Chavan was present in the meeting. 

 

Even as Prithviraj steered clear of corruption allegations and scandals, he could not evade the controversies. The state government first faced the ire of media and public when additional collector of Nashik,was burned alive by oil mafia Popat Shinde in Manmad on January 25. Last week, CM Chavan again found himself in thick of fire when Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh named him as culprit for appointing P. J. Thomas as Chief Vigilance Commissioner. Chavan, thanks to his academic skills and graciousness of PM, could avert the allegations. 

 

These chain of affairs has not helped the Congress party in view of impending civic bodies elections. Matters are made worse because CM Chavan is not elected to any house of legislature. Sanjay Dutt, the member of Legislative Council has shown readiness to vacate his seat for CM. But a definite course of events is still far away.

With Congree in search of impressive leadership and opposition's armoury full with weapons, the budget session is sure to prove a hard nut to crack for CM.

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