India launches grid computing initiative

Bangalore, INDIA — India's Department of Information Technology (DIT) is launching a national grid computing platform.

Called the Garuda National Grid Computing Initiative, the grid will link 45 universities and research institutes through a high-speed connection that will support IPv4 and IPv6 applications. The communication backbone will link institutes in 17 Indian cities, according to the DIT.

Among the participating institutions are several of the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Vkiram Sarabhai Space Center in Thiruvanathapuram and the Institute of Plasma Research in Ahmedabad.

The aim is to create a test bed for research on technologies, architectures, standards and applications in grid computing. The project will also bring together R&D that will lay the foundation for next-generation networks.