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| The underconstruction State Data Centre in Ranchi that will house the NKN hub. Picture by Prashant Mitra |
Premier cradles of the state will soon follow IIM-Ranchi to become high-tech, plugged-in campuses.
Close on the heels of the premier B-school, state-based universities and institutes of repute will get connected with national knowledge network (NKN), implemented by the National Informatics Centre (state wing), enabling them to share resources.
“We are working to provide national knowledge network connectivity in reputable universities and institutes. A special hub for it will be set up at the under-construction State Data Centre in the capital,” said state informatics officer Shahid Ahmad, who heads National Informatics Centre (NIC) facilities in Jharkhand.
A pan-India network, NKN has been designed as a high-speed backbone connectivity to facilitate development of India’s IT infrastructure, stimulate research and create next-generation apps.
It was approved in March 2010 by the Union cabinet with an outlay of Rs 5,990 crore.
In Jharkhand, the NKN was inaugurated at IIM-Ranchi as recently as on December 19. But now, most reputable cradles of the state will soon jump on the hi-tech bandwagon.
The list of campuses to get wired include Ranchi University, Vinoba Bhave University, Sidho Kanhu Murmu University, Kolhan University, Nilambar Pitambar University, Birsa Agriculture University, Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ) and BIT-Mesra (a deemed university).
Centres of specialised learning include Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Institute of Forest Productivity (IFP), Central Mining and Fuel Research Institute, National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology in Ranchi; Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College (MGM), National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML), National Institute of Technology (NIT), Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research in Jamshedpur; Patliputra Medical College and Hospital, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad; Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), Jadugoda.
“The top floor of the State Data Centre building will be dedicated to the NKN hub. To start with, 100 MBPS connectivity will be given which may go up to 1GB,” said Ahmad.
Applications will include countrywide virtual classrooms, collaborative research, virtual libraries, sharing of computer resources, e-governance, among others.
The ambitious network will enable knowledge sharing through e-classrooms, access libraries, aid net surfing at lightning speed and academic connectivity with the IIMs, the IITs and other universities and institutes in India.
When used to its full capacity, it will enable collaborative research and innovation. It will also facilitate advanced distance education and support e-governance.