Annual Report 2008-2009.pdf - INFLIBNET Centre

agency. The scheme was inaugurated by the then Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri
Atal Bihari Vajpayee with the commencement of UGC's Golden Jubilee celebrations on
25th December, 2002.
All universities covered under Section 12B of the UGC Act, 1956 (currently 171) are
eligible to join the UGC-INFONET Connectivity Programme. Initially, 50 universities with
potential for excellence in research were covered under the scheme. Subsequently, the
service was extended to 100 universities. The scheme has now been extended to 157
universities and all Inter-University Centres of the UGC in the year 2008. All universities in
North-East have been given 2 Mbps Internet bandwidth on priority basis under the special
drive. New universities can join when the university gets 12 B status from UGC.
Services of a national Internet Service Provider (ISP), having national presence, are hired
to provide Internet connectivity as well as for resources conceptualization, planning,
establishing and maintaining network and communication infrastructure for all
universities covered under 12 B Act of the UGC. The ERNET India is the ISP for the UGC-
INFONET since the inception of the scheme in 2002. The UGC had signed an MoU with
the ERNET India in April 2002 for providing Internet connectivity to the beneficiary
universities. The INFLIBNET, as an IUC of the UGC, acts as a coordinating agency for
monitoring the network and Internet bandwidth provided to the universities under the
scheme and liaisons between ISP and universities. The UGC-INFONET is based on open
IP platform, deploying state-of-the-art technologies like IP multicast, TCP spoofing and
other Internet tools that provide interactive education on PC and TV, enabling on-line
response to queries. Open systems architecture ensures support for current and future
applications.
7.3.1.1. Aims and Objectives
Communication and networking technology is evolving at a rapid pace to meet the ever
growing requirement of providing information in any form, at anytime, anywhere. Deviceindependent
networks are set-up to enable flexibility of access, and also meet the
requirements arising out of convergence of technologies. Regular technological inputs
are necessary to upgrade the network infrastructure and to ensure delivery of upcoming
applications and content to the education and research community in the country. The
UGC and the INFLIBNET have joined hands with ISP to meet these challenges. The
UGC-INFONET provides Internet bandwidth, a pre-requisite for delivery of scholarly
content subscribed through the UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium. Salient
features of UGC-INFONET Connectivity Programme are as follows:
a) Serves as a vehicle for distance learning and facilitates spread of quality education all
over the country;
Annual Report (April 1, 2008 – March 31, 2009)
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INFLIBNET Centre