ThePan-African e-Network project is aninformation and communications technology (ICT) project betweenIndia and theAfrican Union that seeks to connect the 55 member states of the Union through a satellite andfibre-optic network to India and to each other to enable access to and sharing of expertise between India and African states in the areas of tele-education,telemedicine,Voice over IP,infotainment, resource mapping, meteorological services,e-governance ande-commerce services.[1][2][3] The project is often described as Africa's biggest ever in the ICT sector and is expected to extend ICT infrastructure to rural and previously underserved areas.[4][5] The project is seen as an example of India furthering its economic and strategic interests in Africa through the use ofsoft diplomacy and has been acclaimed as an instance ofSouth–South cooperation, helping to overcome thedigital divide in Africa.[2][6]
The idea for the project came from the thenPresident of India,A P J Abdul Kalam who proposed such a network during his address to thePan-African Parliament inJohannesburg in 2004. TheGovernment of India decided to support the idea and gave the project a funding of $100 million in 2007.[7] The entire cost of the project, amounting to₹540 crores ($125 million) is to be borne by the Government of India through a grant.[8]
The first phase of the project was launched on 26 February 2009 by the thenMinister of External AffairsPranab Mukherjee and included the 11 countries ofSudan,Rwanda,Benin,Burkina Faso,Gabon,the Gambia,Ghana,Ethiopia,Mauritius,Nigeria,Senegal andSeychelles. The second phase of the project that covers 12 countries-Botswana,Burundi,Cote d’Ivoire,Djibouti,Egypt,Eritrea,Libya,Malawi,Mozambique,Somalia,Uganda andZambia- was launched in 2010 by the Minister of External Affairs,S M Krishna.[9][10][11] 47 African countries have joined the project out of which implementation in 34 were completed by 2010 and the remaining were to be completed by the end of 2011.[12]
The second phase of the project called e-VidyaBharti (Tele-education) and e-ArogyaBharti (Tele-medicine) was launched on 7 October 2019.[13]
The e-network is made up of a largeundersea communications cable network and satellite connectivity provided throughC-Band transponders of theIntelsat-904 orRASCOM satellites. AHub Earth Station of the project, located in Senegal, is connected to the participant universities and super specialty hospitals, through anInternational Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) that links it to asubmarine cable landing station in India. Each partner nation from Africa has a tele-education terminal, a telemedicine terminal and a VVIP communication node for thehead of State linked to the network. The network, designed to have 169 terminals and a central hub that delivers services, usesstate of the art technology that is compatible withbroadband technologies likeWi-Fi andWiMax. The network can also be scaled up to support increases in user numbers and to cater to different applications. The project is being implemented by theTelecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) which is responsible for the project's design, operationalisation and maintenance. Adata centre at its office inNew Delhi acts as a hub for all Indian sites.[1] As a precursor to e-Network project, a pilot project was successfully undertaken in Ethiopia in 2006 that provided education services from IGNOU at New Delhi and telemedicine services fromCARE Hospital, Hyderabad.[2][6]
The project links 7 Indian and 5 African universities, 12 Indian and 5 African super-specialty hospitals and 53 telemedicine and tele-education centres in Africa.[7] The Indian educational institutions partnering in the project areAmity University, Noida,University of Madras,Indira Gandhi National Open University,Birla Institute of Technology and Science and theUniversity of Delhi.[10]TheAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Escorts Heart Research Centre and Moolchand Hospital, New Delhi,Apollo Hospitals andSri Ramchandra Medical College and Research Centre, Chennai, Care Hospitals in Hyderabad,Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi,Narayana Hrudayalaya and Health Care Global Hospital, Bengaluru,KEM Hospital, Mumbai,Fortis Hospital, Noida andSanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences are the Indian medical service providers partnering in the project. From Africa, theMakerere University,Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,University of Yaounde,Cameroon,Ebadan Hospital,Nigeria and theBrazzaville Hospital in theCongo are partners in the project.[6]
The Pan African e-Network project aims to benefit 10,000 students over a period of 5 years under certificate, graduate and post graduate courses. The project will help transfer skills to African nations especially throughContinuing Medical Education (CME) programmes that will help train doctors and nurses in remote centres in Africa.[1][6] The response to the project in Africa has been enthusiastic with tele-education and telemedicine facilities allowing for access to Indian expertise in these fields in a cost-effective manner.[14][15][16][17] The success of the Pan African e-Network project promptedPrime MinisterManmohan Singh to propose the establishment of an India-Africa Virtual University during theIndia-Africa Forum Summit atAddis Ababa in 2011.[18][19] The project won the Hermes Prize for Innovation awarded by the European Institute of Creative Strategies and Innovation in 2010.[20]
