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DATA : March - April 1999
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UGC gets on-line access to ISID
Budget announces setting up of National Statistical Commission
Lagging behind in Internet Race
Maps in digitised form should be made available
Seismic Zone Map
Networking ICAR Institutes
Children’s health records on net
UGC gets on-line access to ISID
University Grants Commission (UGC) and Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID) have signed an agreement to provide free access to ISID’s databases to teachers and researchers through Internet. Now researchers in remote areas like Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerela or even abroad can easily access ISID databases, which provides relevant reading material, articles and debates which are very helpful for the researchers. The database will be available in retrieval form on the Internet, and ISID is working for full text down loading of its working papers and access to other materials.
http://isidev.delhi.nic.in
Budget announces setting up of National Statistical Commission
Streamlining the methodology
To keep the Statistical institutions’ working and methodology streamlined, the new budget has announced setting up of a National Statistical Commission (NSC). This commission will be autonomous and will work independently of the government. The main aim for setting up of NSE is to centralize collection and dissemination of economic data in order to create a more transparent framework for these institutions to function, and to meet the government’s commitment to the International Monetary Fund under its Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS).
At present, CSO (Central Statistical Organization) is working under the Ministry of Planning and has been criticized for the manner in which it has reviewed statistical indicators from time to time. The CSO has indicated need for more resources in terms of manpower for collecting data as lack of reliable data leads to wrong estimation.
Lagging behind in Internet Race
ISP policy may boost online access to scientific data
The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) is launching two Internet enabled database services for the Indian market: Current Contents Connect (an awareness and alerting tool) and Citation Indexes (which helps measure scientific output via journal references). In academic and corporate research, online scientific and business databases with full text search, citation indexes, email alerts, customization features, and rich cross-reference are heavily used. The recently liberalized Internet Service Provider (ISP) policy may boost the market for companies providing online access to scientific data. ISI produces information databases for researchers, information specialists, and administrators in fields like chemistry, technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, engineering and business.
Infomatics is another company involved in the data compilation, consolidation and distribution of CD-ROM and online databases. Unfortunately, many CSIR labs are not yet networked. Academic networks like ERNET have been able to provide only low-bandwidth access to a small number of users. Indian research organisations need to pool their resources to overcome some of the information access gap. In this background, there is a need of stronger and more efficient linkages between industry and educational institutions. Also, online infrastructure should be designed so as to be economically viable as well. Otherwise, there is a danger of widening existing information gaps and participation opportunities in international scientific endeavor, between developing countries and the West.
Maps in digitised form should be made available
IT Task force recommends core status for content industry
IT task force has suggested that content industry should be recognised as a priority sector for lending and should be promoted as an infrastructure sector. Task force officials estimate that the industry has a potential to generate revenues of over $ 5 billion a year within the next ten years, besides generating a large number of jobs. The task force’s third back ground report has devoted an entire chapter to content creation and made around 40 recommendations to strengthen the content industry.
The report prods the government to make available huge amounts of information and statistics which it has collected over the years to enable rapid growth of content creation and content industry. All non classified or declassified information in the possessions of the government agencies should be made available to the content industry on non-exclusive basis. It has even suggested that the government should evolve policy guidelines and a set of standards to classify or declassify the information at the point of origin or compilation. Besides, it adds that all information –budget documents, customs and excise rules, railway time tables, telephone directory, maps including public domain digitised maps, should be made available in electronic form.
Seismic Zone Map
India’s seismic zoning map is being updated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) with guidance from the Indian Meteorological Department. The map, which is a guide to seismic status of a region was last updated in 1984. It also provides an index of perceptibility of the quake.
BIS is collecting data from Geological Survey of India and the Oil and Natural Gas Commission. The map is expected within a few years, according to Mr. S.M. Bhattacharya, Head of Seismology Division, at Indian Metrological Department.
The Chamoli area, which was recently hit by a severe earthquake, has been marked as the most vulnerable in the existing map. India has been divided into five seismic zones, based on the intensity of past quakes.
Of these, Zone 5 is the most active one, where earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more, can occur. Part of Jammu and Kashmir, Kumaon-Garhwal region in U.P., the entire Northeast and some areas of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh come under it.
Networking ICAR Institutes
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has launched a programme to connect its various research institutes, regional stations, State Agricultural Universities and Krish Vigyan Kendras spread across 832 locations in the country through an updated agricultural Research Information System (ARIS), is to be completed over a three year period.
Children’s health records on net
More than 10,000 children have been examined as part of the coordinated health care programme ‘School Health Annual Report Program that has been running for two years in Delhi and surrounding areas. Health analysis and records have been posted on the internet.
www.schoolindia.com
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