11-Mar-2019: PM Modi, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, jointly unveil e-plaques for development projects in Bangladesh, via video conference
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, jointly unveiled e-plaques for development projects in Bangladesh, through video conference. Both leaders unveiled e-plaques for supply of buses and trucks, inauguration of 36 community clinics, 11 water treatment plants, and extension of National Knowledge Network to Bangladesh.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister noted that this is his sixth video conference with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He said that PM Sheikh Hasina’s vision is the biggest inspiration for stronger connectivity between India and Bangladesh. He said today’s unveilings will boost not just transport connectivity, but also knowledge connectivity. He said the National Knowledge Network will connect scholars and research institutes in Bangladesh, to India and the world. He said the buses and trucks would assist the efforts towards affordable public transportation; water treatment plants will help supply clean water; and community clinics will benefit about 2 lakh people, in Bangladesh. He said these projects show that India-Bangladesh relations are playing a key role in improving the quality of life of people.
3-Jan-2018: India excludes Pakistan from a SAARC initiative
India has excluded Pakistan from the list of SAARC member countries with which it will be connecting its state-of-the art National Knowledge Network (NKN) for sharing scientific databases and remote access to advanced research facilities.
The government has kicked off the process of appointing a telecom company that will connect and extend the NKN to research and education networks in six South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation member states — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is the only SAARC nation that has been left out of this initiative.
India has for long suspended official talks with Pakistan due to continuing terrorist attacks launched by groups from across the border and chill in the relations is now evident in sphere of research cooperation too.
NKN is a multi-gigabit pan-India network which facilitates the development of India’s communications infrastructure, stimulates research and creates next generation applications and services. It enables collaboration among researchers from different educational networks such as TEIN4, GARUDA, CERN and Internet2. It also enables sharing of scientific databases and remote access to advanced research facilities.
India has now decided to extend the NKN to the global research and education networks in SAARC nations. NKN will be connected from Afghanistan to Delhi or Mumbai, from Bangladesh to Kolkata or Delhi, from Bhutan to Kolkata or Delhi, from Nepal to Kolkata or Delhi, from Maldives to Chennai or Mumbai and from Sri Lanka to Chennai or Mumbai.
A state-of-the-art management centre and Network Operations Centre will also be set up to run the NKN network. The connection from Afghanistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka to India would be through a submarine cable for international connectivity.
With its multi-gigabit capability, NKN aims to connect all universities, research institutions, libraries, laboratories, healthcare and agricultural institutions across the country to address such paradigm shift. The leading mission oriented agencies in the fields of nuclear, space and defence research are also part of NKN. To strengthen research facility in various critical and emerging areas for NKN community, the network has established its international points of presence or PoP in Geneva, Amsterdam and Singapore, and plans to soon establish a PoP in New York too.