Pune, March 26, 2001

On the occasion of the 14th Foundation Day, C-DAC announced the launch of a new range of products and software, namely, Mercury (An Integrated Telemedicine Solution), Web LILA (Learning Indian Languages through Artificial Intelligence) Beta version and C-DAC's VYASA. The occasion, which happened to fall on the auspicious eve of Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian New Year day), was graced by Shri. Vinay Kohli, Secretary, Department of Information Technology; Govt. of India, Professor V.S. Ramamurthy, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology , Govt. of India, Professor A. Paulraj, Stanford University, USA; O.M. Belotserkovskii, Director, ICAD, Moscow; amongst others.

Speaking on the occasion, R.K. Arora, Executive Director, C-DAC, said, "The scope of C-DAC's activities in diverse areas of information technology cover as wide a canvas as to catapult the organization truly to a position of an established IT solution provider." Reflecting on the achievements and C-DAC's plans during the new millennium, he added that C-DAC has been interacting with State Governments on their proposed eGovernance initiatives.

Presiding over the function, Mr. Kohli said, "The recent advantages in the development of Indian languages and Indian language processing tools are additional feathers in the cap of C-DAC. Today, the organization has made its presence felt all over the country especially in the area of computer education, multilingual computing, multimedia, and in developing solutions for eGovernance and eCommerce."

As the chief guest for the function Prof. Ramamurthy congratulated C-DAC and said, "In a liberalized environment where market forces have taken a front seat, C-DAC has been able to maintain its position as a leading R&D institution in the area of IT. This has been possible through the challenges it offers to young scientists in their work, and a unique environment of a workplace that is devoid of traditional restrictions in a Government institution." Moreover, he said, "I have recently witnessed C-DAC doing its "hat-trick" when it commercially sold the third in the series of its Supercomputer PARAM 10000 to Russia. This has been one of the most successful activities of an Integrated Long Term Programme of Cooperation in science and technology between India and Russia" he added.

Among the newly launched products, Mercury is an Integrated Telemedicine Solution, which helps physicians to consolidate the patient's Electronic Medical Record (EMR) rapidly and also provides sophisticated TeleConsultation tools with integrated Videoconferencing facilities. Mercury helps maximize the utilization of precious resources like bandwidth and, more importantly, the specialist time, keeping the operating costs low; thus helping care providers build viable telemedicine services.

The Systems Software Group of C-DAC based in Bangalore was awarded the ISO 9001 certificate on the occasion. The certificate was presented to Shri. N. Mohanram, Project Coordinator, Systems Software group by Dr. S.L. Sarnot, Director General STQC.

Web LILA, is the web version of LILA Hindi, a comprehensive software that facilitates learning the language on the net, more systematically and with ease at the click of a mouse. This has been made possible through such contemporary technologies as audio/video streaming on broad brand and interactive on-line tutoring simulating a virtual classroom.

C-DAC's VYASA is a Sanskrit Authoring tool that incorporates several features that will assist Sanskritists in their creative scholarly pursuits. It has a large data base/content of all 14 Vidyasthanas and provides online readers for Bhagwad Gita, Vishnusahasra Nama and so on.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Information Technology, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, in his brief message, which was read out at the commencement of the ceremony, said, "There is a great need to make sustained efforts towards increasing the use of Indian languages in IT. He added that this can only be possible when "we harness the capacity of Information Technology to deliver social services to the people at large." Thus, further extending the objective of taking IT to the masses and empowering them to use it effectively, the National Multimedia Resource Centre (NMRC) of C-DAC has been involved in training in areas of Low Cost Multimedia and in bringing out products of affordable cost for diverse multimedia applications. The latest offering is their 'Digital Karigari' a web-based exhibition by multimedia artisans.

C-DAC has already been offering advanced IT solutions in various sectors such as power, telecom, health, banking and finance and to the Government and masses through its Advanced Computer Training School. Prof. Paulraj, who emphasized on the future vision of C-DAC, in his conclusion, added: "Thirteen years is a long time in computing and IT, everything changes and therefore, C-DAC should reinvent itself in its role and focus."

A cultural program for C-DACians and their families was organized on the eve of the foundation day, which featured a group dance presentation by renowned classical dance exponent Sucheta Chapekar and the Kalavardhini Troupe. Titled, 'Darkness to Dawn', the dance was based on Pt Nehru's Discovery of India.

For more details Click here to send an eMail