Computer Science Research in India *
Krithi Ramamritham
Dept. of Computer Science
University of Massachusetts
NOV 0 2 19951 I Amherst, Mass. 01003
([email protected])
F
October 7, 1995
Contents
1 Introduction
2 Nature of Computer Science Research in India
3 Computer Science Research Institutions
4 Students and Faculty at the Educational Institutions
5 Research Equipment and Infrastructure 11
6 Research Publications 12
7 Influence of Industry on Research and Education 14
8 Conclusions 17
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Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
Glossary of Terms
Educational Institutions:
IISc - Indian Institute of Science
IIT - Indian Institute of Technology
REC - Regional Engineering College
UoH - University of Hyderabad
UoP - Pune University
VRCE - Visweswarayya College of Engineering, Nagpur
Government Sponsored Organizations:
BARC - Bhabha Atomic Research Center
CAIR - Center for AI and Robotics
CDAC - Center for the Development of Advanced Computation
CDOT - Center for the Development of Telematics
CMC - Computer Maintenance Corporation
ECIL - Electronics Corporation of India, Limited Accesion ror
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ISI - Indian Statistical Institute
NTiS CRA&i S1
ISRO - Indian Space Research Organization DTiC TAB
Mat Science - Inst. for Mathematical Sciences, Madras Una;i;:Oi.;r.c'£d
NAL - National Aerospace Laboratories Justification
NCST - National Center for Software Technology
NIC - National Informatics Center
NRSA - National Remote Sensing Agency
TIFR - Tata Institute for Fundamental Research Availability Codes
Avail and • or
Private Organizations: Dist Special
SSF - SPIC Science Foundation, Madras
TCS - Tata Consultancy Services
TRDDC - Tata Research, Development, and Design Center
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PSPL - Persistent Systems Private Limited, Pune
Professional Organizations:
CSI - Computer Society of India
NASSCOMM - National Association of Software and Service Companies
IMA - Indian Manufacturers Association
Infrastructure :
ERNET - Educational and Research Network
NICNET - National Informatics Center Network
STP - Software Technology Parks
VSAT - Very Small Aperture Terminal
Government (Funding) Agencies
AICTE - All India Council for Technical Education
DAE - Department of Atomic Energy
DoE - Department of Electronics
DoS - Department of Space
DST - Department of Science and Technology
MoD - Ministry of Defence
Conferences:
COMAD - Conference on the Management of Data
FSTTCS - Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science
IWPP - Intl. Workshop on Parallel Processing
CONSEG - Intl. Conference on Software Engineering Practices
Networks - Conference on Computer Communication Networks
CISMOD - Conference on Information Systems and Management of Data
1 Introduction
India prides itself in having one of the largest technical manpower in the world. Her software
industry has seen tremendous growth - over 50% each year during the last 10 years - which
is the envy of many software exporting countries throughout the world. The students from
India's top science and technology educational institutions are highly sought after by research
universities in the US and Europe. India is one of just half a dozen countries to have
successfully built and deployed their own satellites and launch vehicles.
Given these much-publicized accomplishments, an obvious question is: Has the potential
for high-caliber research, indicated by the above facts, been realized? This report addresses
this question, in the context of Computer Science. The observations and findings are based on
visits to research and educational institutions and discussions with researchers - undertaken
during a one-year sabbatical stay in India.
This paper begins with a discussion of the nature of Computer Science Research in India.
The type of institutions in which Computer Science research is conducted is considered next
followed by a discussion of the students and faculty at the educational institutions. Support
for conducting research in the form of equipment, infrastructure, and publications, is the
next topic discussed. We then examine how Indian researchers publish their work. Finally
we study the influence on Indian Computer Science research of the phenomenal growth in
exports by the Indian software industry and the arrival of multinationals since the recent
liberalization and globalization of the Indian economy.
Readers interested in knowing more about the research conducted at the Indian Computer
Science R&D establishments mentioned in this report should refer to the detailed trip report
[5] which complements this summary paper. Additional reading material on Indian Science
in general can be found in some of the references listed at the end of this paper.
2 Nature of Computer Science Research in India
Computer Science (CS) research in India started in earnest only in the mid-80's triggered by
the establishment of post-graduate programs in many institutions throughout the country
at that time. Today, almost all areas of computer science research are covered by researchers
in India, including topics that are "hot" elsewhere such as multi-media, workflow automa-
tion, virtual reality, and hardware-software co-design [5]. The territory covered by Indian
researchers is impressive and most of the research problems tackled are of current interest
globally. Some of the research has even attracted international attention including work
on neuro-fuzzy systems, machine learning, genetic and neural algorithms, the modeling and
control of flexible manufacturing systems, speech synthesis, databases, and complexity the-
ory.
One area where solutions unique to Indian conditions have been developed is machine-
assisted language processing. With a vast population conversing in a multitude of languages
(there are over twenty officially-recognized regional languages!), many with their own scripts,
the problem of translation and transliteration from English to these languages and from
one Indian language to another is daunting, but one which has the potential for a huge
pay-off, - socially, politically, and economically. It is not surprising that many computer
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Computer Science Research in India N00014-95-1-0126
i. AUTHOR«)
Krithi Ramamritham
p 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) ANO AOORESS(ES)
University of Massachusetts
Dept. of Computer Science
L PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
REPORT NUMREft
CMPSCI TR95-84
Amherst MA 01003-4610
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AGENCY REPORT NUMRE«
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11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
12a. OISTRIWiT]ON/AVAR>WUTY STATEMENT 12b. OlSTRJRUTlOft! CO©€
m 13. ARSTRACT (Majomwn 200 wordtf
This paper begins with a discussion of the nature of Computer Science Research in
India. The type of institutions in which Computer Science research is conducted
is considered next followed by a discussion of the students and faculty at the
educational institutions. Support for conducting research in the form of equip-
ment, infrastructure, and publications, is the next topic discussed. We then
examine how Indian researchers publish their work. Finally we study the
m influcence on Indian Computer Science research of the phenomenal growth in
exports by the Indian software industry and the arrival of multinationals since
the recent liberalization and globalization of the Indian economy.
m
1«. SUIiECT TERMS IS. NUMRER Of PAGES
computer science, developing country, research and m
It. PRICE COOE
development, international science
17. SECURITY OASSVKAT10N It. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OP ARSTRACT
0« REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ARSTRACT
UNCLASSIFIED .UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED SAR
NSN 754O-01-2SO-55OO Sundard form 298 («•». 2-39)
i o» AM«! MO. m->»
