India offers NKN prog to Afghanistan to connect universities using high-speed Internet

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Wednesday said India is willing to help Afghanistan with the National Knowledge Network (NKN) programme, a move that will enable educational institutes in the war-torn country to connect using high-speed Internet.

Prasad said the Indian government is conducting a robust programme to bridge the digital divide in the country.

"We have got a National Knowledge Network. We have connected 1,668 universities and (educational and research) institutes in India on high-speed internet. I wish to offer NKN in universities of your country, too," Prasad told Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani.

He said this during a civic reception organised for Ghani by India Foundation, a think tank.

The Afghan president was on a one-day visit to New Delhi.

He said some of the Indian programmes such as e-hospitals, e-scholarship, digital literacy initiative can be extended to Afghanistan.