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09 November 2009

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Press Release 08.01.10

EU-IndiaGrid2 - Sustaining and enabling interoperability between Europe and India

Launch Event – Indian Institute of Technology Delhi – 11/1/2010

Advancing the Frontiers of Scientific Research

Climate change and world-wide health threats are two of the grand global  challenges which can only be effectively addressed through co-operation on a worldwide level. Investment in e-Infrastructures is enabling collaborative research across national boundaries. Innovative large-scale science is bound up with new methods and experiments for complex problem solving underpinned by Grid Computing, which provides key resources to scientific researchers all over the world with modest investments in local infrastructures.

Both Europe and India embrace this vision of a worldwide grid for research as it effectively responds to the need for scientific collaboration in a networked world to address some of the grand global challenges. “EU-IndiaGrid has proven to effectively mobilise actors on both sides for the benefit of the research community”, says Ms Viviane Reading, European Commissioner, Information Society and Media in recognition of the instrumental role of the EU-funded EU-India Grid initiative in fostering international co-operation with scientific challenges high on the agenda.

“The EC-funded project EU-IndiaGrid2 (2010-2012) builds on the achievements of the original EU-IndiaGrid initiative (2007-2009) by strengthening efforts to improve the interoperation of e-Infrastructures and Grids between Indian and European Grid initiatives, with the aim of supporting the development of  sustainable e-Infrastructures across Europe and India.” Alberto Masoni, Director of Research at INFN – the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics  & EU-IndiaGrid Project Manager.

“The EU-IndiaGrid project has allowed Indian scientists to access major European and Indian Grid infrastructures exposing them to grid technology. India is effectively participating in the major international experimental programmes in Europe such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).” Dr Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commsssion and Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy.

EU-IndiaGrid will forge strategic alliances with other European initiatives in the Asian region and worldwide such as Grid initiatives in the Meditteranean (EUMEDGRID), Latin America (EELA) and China (EUChinaGrid) to maximise opportunities for co-operation and knowledge exchange.

“The EU-IndiaGrid project is playing a key role in fostering the co-operation between the GARUDA and regional WLCG projects and EGEE, the major European Grid Initiative and has achieved significant progress. EU-IndiaGrid2 harnesses the expertise and alliances needed to ensure further advances in the field”, says . Dr R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to Indian Government.

“EU-IndiaGrid2, will connect major European e-infrastructures to the National Knowledge Network (NKN), an all-optic nation wide core backbone based e-infrastructure in India, which will enable any scientists, researchers and students from different background and diverse geographies to work closely with any one across the globe for advancing human development in critical and emerging areas” says  Prabhakar Dhekne, Scientific Consultant Principal Scientific Adviser to Govt. Of India, Raja Ramanna Fellow at Bhabha Atomic Reserach Centre and  EU-IndiaGrid Deputy Project Manager.

In addressing global research challenges, EU-IndiaGrid2 mobilises the provision of global cross-disciplinary research services by supporting specific user communities benefiting from Grid infrastructure in four strategic areas for EU-Indian user communities:

•    Climate change – developing studies on South Asian climate change scenarios with a worldwide perspective
•    High Energy Physics – driving EU-India collaboration in Large Hadron Collider data research
•    Biology – increasing detail and scope of simulation software
•    Material Sciences – testing and extension of complex applications

EU-IndiaGrid2 is holding its official launch event on 11 January 2010 at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, one of the EU-IndiaGrid2 project partners, taking the opportunity of the India-EU Thematic Workshop on Research Infrastructures hosted by the Department of Science and Technology - Government of India, with the participation of Scientific Delegations from India and the European Commission. The Workshop is co-sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology - Government of India and the Information Society and Media Directorate Generals of the European Commission as one of the agreed bilateral actions under the overall ambit of India – European Union Science and Technology Cooperation agreement. Eu-IndiaGrid2 will contribute to the Workshop Program as bridge project across European and Indian e-Infrastructures.

EU-IndiaGrid2 starts right at a crucial moment for India – European Union Science and Technology Cooperation and its Launch Event represents a perfect opportunity for a Networking meeting of the Research Infrastructures Workshop delegates together with the Representatives of EU-IndiaGrid2 partner Institutes.   The Launch event will welcome the participation of Dr Chidambaran, Principal Scientific Advisor to Govt. of India, whose office is actively following the e-Infrastructures development in India and the scientific cooperation with Europe.

The Launch Event and the succesive Project Kick-off meeting on January  14-15 will be hosted  once again by the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and will define the first steps towards advancing cross-border research through virtual collaborative environments; tools for education and research as well as planning and simulation tools for complex problem solving.

Funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme, Research Infrastructures, Information Society and Media Directorate General, EU-India Grid2 commences 1 January 2010. For more information, visit the website - http://www.euindiagrid.eu/. Alternatively, you can contact Alberto Masoni, Project coordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

EU-IndiaGrid_Press Release 08Jan2010 - Advancing the Frontiers of Scientific Resaearch