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Project ARIS, New Delhi.

The project "Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS)" is being implemented to bring information management culture to National Agricultural Research System (NARS) so that agricultural scientist can carry out research more effectively by having systematic access to research information available in India as well as in other countries, better project management of agricultural research, and modernization of the office tools. The basic infrastructure requied for linking all ICAR institutes has already been created. The E-mail connectivity has been established to 72 out of 86 ICAR institutes by linking through dial-up including six institutes with VSAT connectivity using NICNET and ERNET services.

ARIS has four information modules nemely Agricultural Research Personnel Information System (ARPIS); Agricultural Research Financial Information System (ARFIS); Agricultural Research Library Information System (ARLIS) and Agricultural Research Management Information System (ARMIS).

The ICAR is also running an Agricultural Research Information Centre (ARIC) as the Central source of information on all research projects and schemes financed by the ICAR. Databases on A.P. Cess Fund Schemes, Deputation reports and research projects of institutions were computerized and updating of the databases is taken up. The ARIC is the national input centre for the AGRIS and CARIS agricultural databases of the FAO, which is the largest information system of its kind in the world. The ARIC is also the national focal point for the SAARC Agricultural Information Centre (SAIC). It has published several directories in addition to a half-yearly Directory of conferences, seminars, symposia and workshops in agriculture. It is being upgraded to provide on line uplinking and downlinking facilities to the ICAR system, and to the agricultural information system of the entire world.