Researchers from ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat & Barley Research, Karnal, and ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi, have proposed a faster and reliable approach to identify different varieties of wheat. Using a mix of software engineering, mobile application development and genetic analysis, they have developed a new web-based server called VISTa—the first-ever plant variety identification system in the world—to identify wheat varieties.

India’s Information and Technology industry has served as a great success story for the outsourcing model. However, in order to sustain the growing competition and provide increasing value proposition, the industry must innovate and carve a niche for domestic talent too. In the recent past, the rise of IT clusters - geographical aggregation of related companies in IT -- have emerged as a ray of hope that not only provides jobs, but also enhances the value proposition, thanks to the ample talent pool. A new study has now identified factors that have led to the growth of these IT clusters in the metropolitan cities of India and the model followed by these clusters to spread to other cities.