India launches phase-II of e-network project

New Delhi, Aug 17: India launched the second phase of pan-Africa e-network on Monday, Aug 16. This e-network project added 12 more countries to the New Delhi-aided long distance education and tele-medicine programme.

"The pan-African e-Network project is one of the finest examples of the growing partnership between India and Africa," Krishna said after the launch of the e-network in front of African ambassadors.

"I understand that this is the biggest project of distance education and tele-medicine ever undertaken in Africa," he added.

Eleven countries included in the first phase of the project launched in 2009 were Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Seychelles.

Other countries that formally joined the network included Burundi, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia and Uganda.

Institutes like Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Amity University, University of Madras, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, University of Delhi and Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur are associated with the e-network project.

A brainchild of India"s former president A P J Abdul Kalam, the e-network seeks to bridge the digital divide across the 53-nation African continent and seeks to provide tele-medicine and tele-education through a fibre-optic network.

OneIndia News