Indian angle to oceanic data transmission

Friday, 03 January 2003, 20:30 IST
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BANGALORE: Did you know that squeezing 2.4 terabits of data per second across the Atlantic Ocean has an Indian angle to it? Japanese major Fujitsu has announced sending gigantic amounts of data along 7,400 km of fibre. But, at the heart of it is a "fibre amplifier based on the Raman Effect", said K. Kasturirangan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), referring to the late Indian Nobel laureate C V Raman's discovery. Kasturirangan was giving the presidential address at the 90th session of the Indian National Congress here. "This is equivalent to simultaneously sending 24 million near symphony quality telephone conversations along one cylinder of silica, thinner than a hair, straddling the Atlantic Ocean. "We have been granted an unimaginable amount of capacity to store and transmit information. All we need is the wisdom to use it!" he said. Kasturirangan's point was that fundamental science may appear to be of very little practical significance, but it turns out eventually that it has far greater impact on human society than much of the so called applied research. "Our forays into basic sciences hold the key to our future. He added: "It will be ironic if this very flood of simulation and entertainment distracts future Ramans from a life dedicated to research and learning." Kasturirangan is among many top scientists in India who have been relentlessly campaigning to attract students towards science and basic research. India's achievements in science and technology are based on a rich human resource base. "The next logical question than is how do we deal with a regime of limited, but quality resources?" he asked and then answered it himself. For optimal use of our resources and maximum returns, "it is important that our institutional framework should address creation of an environment for dynamic assessment and appraisal to keep in tune with contemporary trends and needs. "A new wave of investment into the Indian science and technology system, including the education sector, is necessary to develop world class research facilities in fundamental sciences and in frontier areas of technology." "A critical analysis of our future needs of human resources in frontier science and technology areas is necessary for planning and development of our human resources," Kasturirangan said.
Source: IANS