Reviews / Releases

CIFA Leads in the Country in Aquaculture CDROM Creation

On 16^th January, 2001, on the occasion of the inauguration of the National Workshop on Bioinformatics and Statistics in Aquaculture Research, Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) released two CD-ROMs, namely, (i) Proceedings, National Workshop on Bioinformatics and Statistics in Aquaculture Research-2001 and (ii) Fish Disease Database Information System. The former CD-ROM was designed, developed and created by Bioinformatics Centre of CIFA while the later one was done in collaboration with IVLP-TAR-NATP of CIFA. The first CD-ROM contains thirty articles presented during the Workshop by subject specialists covering biotechnological information resources, search engines, search technologies, artificial intelligence, expert system, system dynamics, probit analysis, modeling and aquaculture data analysis using statistical packages. The second CD-ROM being first of its kind contains Fish Disease Database Information System for aquaculture farms. It includes standardized definitions of disease events, systematic classification of diseases, standard disease indices for recording and processing of epidemiological data. The CD-ROM contains 400 pages which include 250 photographs depicting fish disease events. It may be mentioned here that these are the third and fourth CD-ROMs in the series produced by the Centre. The CDs with auto run facility may be run on Windows 95 or higher version. The products have been developed with the financial assistance from Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India and NATP, ICAR.

Details about the CDs may be obtained from Mr A K Roy, Senior Scientist and Coordinator, BTIS; or Dr B B Sahu, Senior Scientist and In-Charge, IVLP-TAR-NATP; or Dr C Saha, Director, CIFA, Kausalyaganga, Bhubaneswar.

— Reported by Mr A K Roy, Senior Scientist and Coordinator, BTIS

Empowering Indians with Economic, Business and Technology Strengths for the Twenty-first Century / by Y S Rajan. New Delhi, Har-Anand Publications Pvt. Ltd*.: May 2001. 238p. ISBN 81-241-0070-X .Hard cover. Price : Rs.395/-

The author communicates with the reader directly as he weaves in considerable details a vision of remarkable clarity about coordinates of where India is now and where we can take it. The conversation is about us Indians, with our traditional strengths, learning and value systems; having come through decades of planned growth and now finding ourselves on the world stage, a little bewildered.

The book is divided into five sections which are sequenced more or less in logical order starting from vision to its realisation and finally ending with the role of S&T in human happiness. Section I envisions India of the near future keeping in view the cutting edge technologies and rural transformation. The author descends down to realities in Section II and takes a stock of the web of trade, technology, foreign policy and national security as well as our S & T policy. In Section III the author discusses such factors as the process of research, technology _ the outcome of research, industry and business that finally utilize technology. For the realization of any vision, the deployment of human resources are but sine qua non, that is what is discussed in Section IV. The last section (Section V) addresses the issue of the factors and values that are likely to sustain the world and ensure human happiness.

Five sections of the book comprises fourteen chapters. Chapter I provides a glimpse of technologies. Technology vision for India 2020 figures in chapter II, and a vision of rural transformation: science and technology-based initiatives in chapter III. The growing nexus of trade, technology, foreign policy and national security is discussed in chapter IV and policies for science and technology in the era of liberalisation in chapter V. What can be India's strategy in duel use technologies is deliberated upon in chapter VI. Institute _ industry linkages in R & D, Indian experiences as to the creation of technology and knowledge networks, technology assessment that functions as a tool for SMEs, and R & D imperatives in India's capital goods industry are dealt with in the next four chapters (Ch VII to X). The Indian perspective of technology dynamism and employment is the subject matter of chapter XI. The last four chapters dwell on such diverse areas as technology as a binding force in an interdependent world (Ch XII), science communication in the twenty-first century (Ch XIII), inspiration for Indian science and technology (Ch XIV), human happiness : role of science and technology (Ch XV).

The book is likely to inspire anyone whether he is a teacher, an academic, a manager, a businessman, a scientist, a technologist, a policy maker, a science communicator, a student or an individual. The book also provides a list of references for further reading and an index.

*Har-Anand Publications Pvt. Ltd., D-9, Anand Niketan,
New Delhi-110021 (INDIA)

Ph : 4101962, 4101983; Fax : 011+5121049
Email: haranand@mantraonline.com
Website: http://www.har-anandpublications.com

-------
Information Today & Tomorrow, Vol. 20, No. 2, June 2001, p.27
http://itt.nissat.tripod.com/itt0102/rev0102.htm