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Vintage car used in Gandhi film steals limelight MRITYUNJAY BOSE MUMBAI, Jan 20/2003: A vintage car used by Sir Richard Attenborough for making his famous movie ‘Gandhi’ stole the limelight at a rally organised by the Vintage and Classic Car Club of India and the Sahara Group here yesterday. The car — a 1919 ‘Fiat’ was the oldest car to participate in the 125-km rally from the Flora Fountain to Amby Valley Sahara lake city near Lonavla — and it completed the entire distance. "She is my second wife," said Peter Cajetan Travasso, the proud owner of the vehicle. Travasso said it was his father, who bought the car merely for Rs 300 some six decades ago and it was the same car which was used in the film ‘Gandhi’ to shoot period locations. "It was used to provide a backdrop of pre-independence era near the Bhayender Creek, where the ‘Salt Satyagraha’ was filmed," he told UNI. "I love this car very much," said Travasso, now in his seventies. His car was the oldes...

Device to prevent train collisions MUMBAI, Oct 16 /1999(UNI) — In a revolutionary breakthrough which promises to change the safety scenario in the Railways in the whole world, the Konkan Railway has developed an innovative device which will prevent collision of trains. According to Konkan Railway Managing Director B. Rajaram, the device, called as the anti-collision device (ACD), will prevent “Khanna’’ and “Ghaisal’’ kinds of railway accidents in future and render railway travel safer. The first laboratory prototype of the device has been made ready by the Konkan Railway within a record 40 days of the launching of the project.

Nuclear scientist Raja Ramanna dead MUMBAI, Sept 24/2004: Eminent nuclear scientist and former Minister of State for Defence Raja Ramanna, who played a key role in the Pokhran I nuclear test, died here this morning following a brief illness. He was 79. He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters. Bombay hospital sources said Ramanna, who was admitted to the intensive care unit in a critical condition on Monday, passed away at 0315 hrs. Ramanna was the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) during 1983-87 and the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre during 1972-78 and 1981-83. He played a key role in the May 18, 1974 peaceful nuclear test in the Pokhran ranges of Rajasthan. In 1990, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha and the scientist-statesman was the Minister of State for Defence. Ramanna had been a consistent campaigner for the important place to be accorded to nuclear power in energy planning. In matters concerning nuclear weapons and the non-proliferation treaty...

Mumbai Mint Mumbai, October 31/2004 The Mumbai Mint, one of the important landmarks of the country's commercial capital, completed 175 years yesterday. The Mumbai Mint has been serving the nation since the 19th century, meeting not only the nation's demands for coins, but also of some other countries of the world. Coins for Pakistan were also minted here during the Partition period. — UNI

Netaji shook hands with nazis to rid India of British rule MUMBAI, Mar 22/2000: BY MRITYUNJAY BOSE Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was not a fascist or a nazi but had to shake hands with them in his mission to set the country free from the Britishers, says his daughter Dr Anita Bose-Pfaff. The Professor of economics and expert in international relations also pointed out that her father was not a Communist as, he had formed the Forward Bloc—rather than aligning with left forces after leaving the Congress following differences with senior leaders. "Netaji was a devout Hindu and believed in spiritualism and his ultimate aim and goal was to serve the nation," she said at a function organised by the Maharashtra unit of All India Forward Bloc and Netaji Subhas Research Institute at the Dr D Y Patil Academy of Education. "He was a tremendous personality and a totally secular man," she added. Dr Bose-Pfaff, to a query on partition, said, "he would never had allowed this to...

Cloning of human embryo raises debate MUMBAI, Nov 27/2001: The successful cloning of a human embryo in the United States has once again raised a debate with doctors not only claiming that it will throw open a new era of research and help in curing several diseases, but also warning that it would have dangerous consequences. "Scientifically it is a good exercise — but it may lead to multiple problems," feels noted Cardiologist Dr B K Goyal, Head of Department of Cardiology of the Bombay Hospital and Research Centre here. It would help in curing cardiac disorders but the ethical issue is the core of this scientific exercise, he said. Pioneer of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in India and Head of Inkus IVF center here, Dr Indira Hinduja said that stem cell research is a cutting edge technology that has "definite potential" if it is ethically channelised. Stem cells are cells which have the ability to give rise to specialised cells — which means specialised organs of the ...

Nehru Planetarium will have all-sky videos MUMBAI, June 22/2003: The Nehru Planetarium at Worli here will soon have new digital equipments in place making education in astronomy more thrilling, its Director Dr Piyush Pandey said today. "We are in the midst of the installation of the new equipment," he said. The equipments had been designed and made by Evans and Sutherland of America and will be the first of its kind in the country. Dr Pandey revealed this to UNI at the sidelines of the three-day second International Conference for Science Communicators, that concluded at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre here today. He said that the equipment is capable of running all sky videos and is more advanced than the conventional equipments. However, he said that education in astronomy will be the focus of the planetarium. Earlier presenting a paper at a discussion on ‘astronomy education through planetaria’, he said that soon there may be a new generation of planetarium that will hav...