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The private sector’s long wait to get access to the robust National Knowledge Network (NKN) is likely to end soon.
The Government has received several appeals from the private agencies to consider opening up the network to them.
“How to bring in a private sector into the network is a policy issue, not a technical one. I hope it will get resolved soon,” Raghavan S.V., Scientific Secretary (Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor) in the Union Government, has said.
He was responding to a query from Prof. K. Ganapathy, President of Telemedicine Society of India, at the inaugural of the two-day international conference on ‘Transforming healthcare with information technology’ here on Friday.
National Knowledge Network is aimed at providing powerful Internet bandwidth and connectivity among various centres of excellence in the public sector.
Various national long distance carriers have provided 1Gbps / 2.5Gbps capacity links for the Knowledge Network. Further, the carriers are in the process of upgrading (using DWDM) to 10Gbps or more connectivity. Prof. Ganapathy asked the Government official to allow the private players to use the network to take advantage of the IT backbone to offer services quickly and extensively. “It should give access to everyone (private players), not just to Government agencies,” he observed.
Addressing the gathering on Next Generation ICT and Healthcare through videoconference, Raghavan said the network could connect 815 institutions, including 160 medical institutions, in 18 months.
“My bank account can travel with me and I can access it from anywhere. But there is no technology available now to offer such mobility in healthcare records,” he said.
Samir K. Brahmachari, Secretary (Department of Science and Industrial Research in the Union Government) and Director-General of CSIR, said technology could bridge the huge mismatch in the availability of doctors. “About 80 per cent of doctors live in urban areas whereas 80 per cent of population is in rural areas. The challenge is to bridge this gap through technology,” he said.
> Kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in
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