Chandigarh, December 13
Students of the University Business School (UBS), Panjab University, have set a new record in placements.

Like other years while almost all students of the department have found top jobs in various sectors, this time the number of students who have managed to get the elusive Rs 8-lakh-per-annum package is much more than last year.

The Head of the Department, Prof S.C. Vaidya, said though they were waiting for the placement process to end before revealing the exact status, the achievement of the students was good news for the university.

Mr Sanjay Kaushik, who is coordinating the placements in the department, said this year the largest share of jobs had come from the fast emerging information technology sector.

The next highest lot of students were picked up by banking organisations, the service industry and the manufacturing industry.

Sources in the department said the students had performed extremely well this year and despite the fact that students would pass out in April next year, the department would achieve 100 per cent placement by the end of this week.

Interestingly, academic performance had little impact on the company representatives who had come to the department to pick up students.

The students were picked up on the basis of a psychometric test followed by group discussion and an interview.

The sources said most students had got jobs outside Chandigarh.

"Though the IT scene in this part of the country has improved, yet it is still not as good as in other cities. However, in the coming years students from the region can expect to get equally well-paying jobs in Chandigarh and Mohali," said a faculty member.

Chandigarh, December 13
Dr Anil Kumar, Reader in Pharmacology at the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has been selected for the ISN CAEN Travel Award in the young scientist category. He will attend an IBRO-sponsored neuroscience workshop on neurochemical techniques for neuroscientists to be held at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology from December 29 to January 17 next year.

Chandigarh, December 13
The Chandigarh Police today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the order of a Chandigarh court granting bail to the accused of the infamous petro-scam, in which petro-chemicals were sold to petrol pumps across the country, in black.

In its application, the police has stated, in turning down its request for extension of remand of the accused, the Chandigarh court did not consider the need for custodial interrogation of the accused as pivotal to solving the case.

It has also alleged that the accused, who are influential persons, are likely to interfere in the ongoing investigations, if released on bail.

The police have stated that while they sought remand for 10 days, the court granted it only for one day. The following day, when cops sought their remand for 10 more days, the court put the accused behind bars for only five days.

Chandigarh, December 13
A classic play “Panchwan Sawar” marked the fourth day of the ongoing third ‘Theatre for Theatre’ festival at Tagore Theatre here today. The five-day festival is being organised in collaboration with the Fashion Technology Park (Mohali), the North Zone Cultural Centre, the Department of Public Relations, UT, and the Department of Public Relations and Cultural Affairs, Haryana.

The play talks about how a middle-class young man turns into the neglected ‘panchwan sawar’ hopeful of rising and making it big in life. The play was originally written and directed by the famous playwright Balraj Pandit, dotingly called “Pandit ji” by all. Interestingly, the play has been staged by veterans like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Manohar Singh and Jaspal et al.

Staged by the ‘Natakwala’ group of Patiala today, the presentation traces down the dreams and aspirations of today’s youth showcasing their struggle with the shortcuts to success. The artistes convincingly portrayed the desire on the part of the parents’ for their children to follow their pathways and the dilemma in the minds of children about the same.

The father-son argument regarding a hike in fees provided some lighter moments in the otherwise serious play. The play ended with a good round of applause by the audience.

Chandigarh, December 13
A film festival is being organised by the Chandigarh Administration in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industries and the National Film Development Corporation, 
which will begin on December 15.

Sixteen films are to be showcased during the festival at the Fun Republic as part of the three-day event. The festival is being organised for the first time as part of efforts to promote cinematic tourism in Chandigarh and the region.

The movies scheduled for the festival include "Jaane bhi do yaaro"; "Clean" (French); "Mirch Masala"; "Salaam Bombay"; "The Ax" (French); "Slap Jack" (Hungarian); "Dance Like a Man"; "Hanuman"; "Violence Des Echanges En Milieu Tempere" (French); "Lage Raho Munnabhai"; "Rudali"; "Suraj Ka Satvan Ghora"; "Little Vilma" (Hungarian); "Veer Zaara" and "Les Mauvais Joueurs" (French).

"Travaux On Sait Quand Ca Commence" (Work is known when it begins"), directed by Birgitte Rouan, is about Chantal Letellier, a lawyer who always wins. But in her private life, Chantal, a divorcee with two badly brought up children, is a "loser".

French filmmaker Jean-Marc Moutout's feature debut with the drama "Violence Des Echanges En Milieu Tempéré" (Work hard, play hard) will also be screened. Jérémie Rénier stars as Philippe Seigner, an ambitious young executive at a management consulting firm. Things are going well for him at work and he starts dating single mom Eva (Cylia Malki). Soon his boss, Hugo Paradis (Laurent Lucas), chooses him for a special job auditing a company outside of Paris.

When Philippe realises that he's been effectively downsizing a company, he begins to feel a moral opposition to his task. The movie was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the 2003 Locarno International Film Festival.

Eminent Bollywood personalities have been invited to the film festival. A mega musical evening will be organised on December 16 at the Leisure Valley to celebrate the festival.

Bollywood singer Sudesh Bhosle will perform.