Pune stamp duty collections rise faster than Mumbai's
Pune: The Pune zone has recorded the highest percentage increase in collection of registration fees and stamp duty during the current financial year, overtaking the Mumbai zone mainly to the booming real estate market in the zone. The Pune zone has already surpassed the targeted revenue mop-up of Rs710 crore.

At the end of February 2006, the Pune zone had collected a revenue of Rs825.14 crore, which is 116 per cent of the targeted figure.

The Thane zone follows with a revenue mop-up, which is 109.90 per cent of the targeted figure of Rs580 crore. The Mumbai zone recorded a collection of Rs2,591 crore which is 104.49 percent of targeted figure for the year.

The Pune zone comprises Pune, Satara, Sangali, Kolhapur and Solapur districts. Of the total revenue of Rs825.14 crore collected till February, Rs639.52 crore is non-court fee revenue.

The Thane zone, which includes Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurga districts, has collected a non-court fee revenue of Rs520.75 crore, the Mumbai zone has mopped up Rs2,427.32 crore non-court fee revenue.

The Nagpur zone, which stands fourth with a collection rate of 102.82 per cent, has recorded a total revenue of Rs1,799.29 crore, of which Rs1390.54 crore is in the form of non-court fee.
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Gaming, animation SEZ coming up in Kerala
The Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) has received government clearance for setting up a special economic zone (SEZ) for animation and gaming.

The SEZ is spread across 25 acres of land at the KINFRA Film and Video Park (KFVP) in Thiruvananthapuram and is expected to house around 10 air-conditioned studios — on the 1.5 lakh square feet allotted for this purpose — when it's thrown open to occupancy, by July end.

The park is modelled on similar theme parks in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

S Ramnath, MD, KFVP said the infotainment industrial park is a cluster of media companies including post-production facilities like recording theatres, editing and dubbing studios. Export oriented units in the animation industry can also set up shop inside the zone.

KFVP has a total area of 75 acres of which 50 acres have been alloted for non-EOUs (export-oriented units). The first phase, which had in-principle government clearance, was over around three year back at a cost of Rs15 crore.

KFVP already houses around five clients - the largest outfit being Prasad Labs (who did most of its work earlier in Chennai) which now processes all its Malayalam language films within the park.
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An exclusive radio station for farmers
Baramati: In what is possibly Asia's first broadcaster dedicated to farmers has come up near Pune in the small town of Baramati. The station is supported by an engineering college in the Baramati township, the region politically dominated by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, who in turn acts as the benefactor of development in the region.
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S P Jain to beat IIMs in setting up Singapore centre
Bangalore: While IIM-Bangalore is planning to open a centre in Singapore, leading private B-schools like the Mumbai-based SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) and XLRI, Jamshedpur have also climbed on to the globalisation bandwagon.

SPJIMR is setting up 'Centres of Excellence' for management education and research in specific areas, partnering with institutions in the US and Europe.

Other centres in the areas of manufacturing and family-owned businesses are being planned with partners, including Roland and Virginia Tech in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.
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