National Knowledge Network (NKN)

• India has started the process of appointing a telecom company that will connect and extend its state-of-the art National Knowledge Network (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.

About National Knowledge Network:

• National Knowledge Network (NKN) project is aimed at establishing a strong and robust Indian network which will can provide secure and reliable connectivity.
• Globally, frontier research and innovation are shifting towards multidisciplinary and collaborative paradigm and require substantial communication and computational power.
• In India, NKN with its multi-gigabit capability 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.
• By facilitating the flow of information and knowledge, the network addresses the critical issue of access and creates a new paradigm of collaboration to enrich the research efforts in the country.
• The network design is based on a proactive approach that considers the future requirements and new possibilities that this infrastructure may unfold, both in terms of usage and perceived benefits. This will bring about a knowledge revolution that will be instrumental in transforming society and promoting inclusive growth.

Role of NKN:

• Establishing a high-speed backbone connectivity which will enable knowledge and information sharing amongst NKN connected institutes.
• Enabling collaborative research, development and innovation amongst NKN connected institutes.
• Facilitating advanced distance education in specialized fields like engineering, science, medicine etc.
• Facilitating an ultra-high speed e-governance backbone.
• Facilitating connection between different sectoral networks in the field of research

By: Vishal