Date:15/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/07/15/stories/2004071515010500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

President unveils `Bio-Suite'

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JULY 14. ` Bio-Suite', the country's first state-of-the-art bio-informatics product, catering to all aspects of computational biology from genomics to drug design, was unveiled by the President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, here on Wednesday.

The unique software package has been developed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in collaboration with 18 academic and R & D institutions under the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) programme sponsored by the Council of Industrial and Scientific Research (CSIR). TCS plans to market it across the world and has been assigned all commercial rights by CSIR.

Launching the product at a function held at Deccan Park, the technology development centre of the TCS, Dr. Kalam said Bio-Suite would put India on the global map of computational biology. Advising that it should be used for economic development, he suggested that the new software package should be affordably priced to facilitate widespread adaptation.

Referring to the decision of the CSIR to entrust another project to TCS to develop improved annotation of plasmodium falciparum, the mosquito that causes malaria, he said it was very much needed for health care.

The President formally handed over plaques to S. Ramadorai and the Director-General of CSIR, R.A.Mashelkar, to mark the launch. The executive director, TCS, M. Vidyasagar, also spoke.