NEW DELHI: India will not share with Pakistan but with other SAARC membercountries National Knowledge Network (NKN) for sharing scientific databasesand remote access to advanced research facilities, reported The EconomicTimes.link>
The government has kicked off the process of appointing a telecom companythat will connect and extend the NKN to research and education networks insix South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation member states —Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Pakistan isthe only SAARC nation that has been left out of this initiative.
India has for long suspended official talks with Pakistan due to allegedcontinuing terrorist attacks launched by groups from across the border andchill in the relations is now evident in the sphere of research cooperationtoo.
NKN is a multi-gigabit pan-India network which facilitates the developmentof India’s communications infrastructure, stimulates research and createsnext-generation applications and services. It enables collaboration amongresearchers from different educational networks such as TEIN4, GARUDA, CERNand Internet2. It also enables sharing of scientific databases and remoteaccess to advanced research facilities.
India has now decided to extend the NKN to the global research andeducation networks in SAARC nations.
NKN will be connected from Afghanistan to Delhi or Mumbai, from Bangladeshto Kolkata or Delhi, from Bhutan to Kolkata or Delhi, from Nepal to Kolkataor Delhi, from the Maldives to Chennai or Mumbai and from Sri Lanka toChennai or Mumbai. A state-of-the-art management centre and networkoperations centre will also be set up to run the NKN network. Theconnection from Afghanistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka to India would bethrough a submarine cable for international connectivity.