A brief history of EU-IndiaGrid 1 - 2006-2008

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Within a very short timeframe [2006 to 2008], India has witnessed and achieved dramatic improvements in the area of e-Infrastructures. Indian partners involved in the EU-IndiaGrid project [2007-2009] have been instrumental in this process with the support from its European counterparts.  This cooperation thus allowed the EU-IndiaGrid project to be central to the impressive evolution of e-Infrastructures in India. In addition EU-IndiaGrid has played a bridging role between European and Indian e-Infrastructures with indisputable benefit for Euro-Indian scientific and technological cooperation.
The goal of the Project EU-IndiaGrid2 [2010-2012] proposes to capitalise on the achievements of the first EU-IndiaGrid project and to make use of the momentum attained in e-Infrastructures evolution in Europe and India aiming at proceeding towards sustainable e-Infrastructures across Europe and India for the benefit of scientific, educational and technological cooperation across the two continents.

Over its two-year lifespan, EU-IndiaGrid [2007-2009] brought together over 500 multidisciplinary organisations to build a Grid-enabled e-Science Community. This networked Community helped develop a sustained base of potential users from key science domains and business, bringing the advantages of Grid technology and boosting R&D innovation across Europe and India.

EU-IndiaGrid achievements:

  • Supporting improvement of Indian network infrastructures both at national and international level;
  • Establishing excellent collaboration with the Indian National Grid Initiative, GARUDA and with the Department of Atomic Energy grid Project (WLCG-GRID);
  • Makeing available a grid infrastructure to its community;
  • Bridging across European and Indian grid initiatives supporting international cooperation;
  • Offering access for Indian Researchers to Grids Worldwide. First through temporary Certification Authority and finally through the establishment of an internationally recognised Indian Grid Certification Authority.

Find out more about EU-IndiaGrid in the EU-IndiaGrid e-Infrastructures across Europe and India booklet produced in 2008.

icon eInfrastructures across Europe and India

 

Further Project achievements include:

- Favouring the conditions for the development of internal and international connectivity, which represents the sustaining pillars;
- Setting up a grid infrastructure available to its community, consisting of over 1000 processors;
- Making possible, since the very beginning of its activity, the registration of Indian researchers within an international recognised Certification Authority, thereby allowing immediate access to the international grid infrastructure;
- Having taken the necessary steps for establishing in India a National Certification Authority recognised by the Asia-Pacific Policy Management Authority;
- Having been capable of building up a community of over 500 participants from about 300 organisations across Europe and India and the rest of Asia who are interested in and can benefit from the development of a grid infrastructure;
- Promoting the co-operation of European and Indian researchers in the context of its main application areas and set up the premises to favour and disseminate the use of grid technology for new institutions and new applications;
- Enhancing the role and the perspectives offered by grid technology enabling scientists across Europe and India to work together in addressing scientific challenges and has effectively mobilised actors on both sides for the benefit of the research community.
- Disseminating the first version of the sustainability plan to policy makers in India and Europe through the partners and at related e-Infrastructures events
- Reaching a community of 570 representatives from Europe and India with the following organisational breakdown: 63% from Academia & Research, 18% from Governmental institutions, 5% from the Business sector and 6% from International Organisations.
- Supporting the official accreditation of the Indian Grid Certification Authority by the Asia-Pacific Grid Policy Management Authority, implying full access to worldwide grid infrastructures for Indian researchers.
- An EU-IndiaGrid Infrastructure currently able to achieve computational results in three months that would have required 20 years of work on a single computer.
- A full involvement of the project in Indian main e-Infrastructures development:

- Contribution to the creation of a multi-gigabit research network:

- Active participation in the National Knowledge Network Plan by supporting the improvement of the international connectivity;

- Research network link to GÉANT (the European Research Network) upgraded from 45 to 100 gigabit/s;

- Dedicated link to CERN at 1 gigabit/s for LHC;

- Involvement of India in TEIN3 (is the successor of the TEIN2 project which has established the first regional network across the Asia Pacific Region);

- Explicit expressions of EU-IndiaGrid support from the government of India and from the European Commission.

The following articles also give insight into the achievements of the project.

icon EUIndiagrid Brochure - Joining Indian and European Grids

icon EU-IndiaGrid - paving the way for a Grid enabled eScience Community

icon iSGTW Feature - EuIndiaGrid