President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam has called for transforming India into a knowledge power. The setting up of a high band width with rural connectivity was the minimum requirement to take education, healthcare and economic dynamism to the rural areas, the President said.

Speaking at a function in connection with the dedication of the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) to the nation, Dr Kalam said the potential of information technology could be harnessed to extend telemedicine, healthcare and education to the rural areas by making the projects viable.

The President also launched the Robotic and Interactive Surgery Technology Development Project being jointly developed by IIIT and CARE Hospitals.

Launching the project, he said that robotics would become a vital component in the medical world. India should venture into such futuristic technologies, he said and hoped that equivalent and indigenous systems could be developed at 25% of the international price.

By providing the use of a variety of technologies to enhance the capabilities of human surgeons, robotics will facilitate and complement them to perform the most delicate operations with little risk, less pain and reduced post-operative discomfort. The great advantage of robotics surgery was that only a small incision was needed for instrument entry, instead of opening up the body.

The IIIT-CARE project would develop indigenous robotics within two years, though CARE Hospital would be providing the facility by using imported equipment till then.

AT the IIIT function, the President also released software, 'Reading Aid for the Visually Impaired' developed by the Institute. The aid allows the computer to speak out what was on the screen. Such text-to-speech solutions exit in English. IIIT Hyderabad, with funding from Satyam Computers, had developed a text-to-speech engine for Hindi and Telugu, too.