Author: Pramod Sinha
Alternate names: Pramod Kumar SInha; P.K. Sinha; Balaji
Bio: **Summary**

      
I have a long and varied experience of working in information centers, libraries and software consulting firms within and outside of India. This includes a stretch of fifteen years of my service as the Head of Information Services and Libraries in two of the International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) managed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, The World Bank.   IARCs provide information services in support of the global research on their mandated areas of research. As part of IARCs, I had the opportunity to interact with librarians, documentalists and scientists of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and semi-arid tropical regions of the world and design, develop and organize information services specific to their needs. I organized special refresher courses on modern methods of information handling and computerized management of information for the benefit of information centers and libraries of these regions. I have special skills in the following areas: 

 - management and administration of library and information center;
 - design, development and management of structural, textual and graphic databases;
 - publication of bibliographical, textual and graphic information on CD-ROM;
 - conducting surveys of users’ needs and design and development of relevant 
     information services;
 - organizing and conducting workshops and conferences;
 - organizing and conducting training programs;
 - design and development of dynamic web pages for Internet and  Intranet 
     applications; and
 - development of software for specific applications using C++, Java and VB. 

I have experience of working in international organizations with people of different nationality. I possess good human resource management and communication skills. 

**Experience:**

***1.  Analyst International, USA and Eue-Rachie and Associates, USA*** 
Position held: Software consultant
Work Experience: Design and development of Active Server pages using VBScript and HTML; and application software using Visual Basic 5.0, C++ and Java. 

***2. International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Nairobi, Kenya*** 
Position held: Head, Library and Information Services
Work Experience: ILRI provides information services in support of global 
research on livestock. The user group of these services includes ILRI scientists and a large number of scientists, researchers, academicians, planners and extension workers from NARS (National Agricultural Research Systems), academic institutions, governmental organizations and NGOs. ILRI information services are built around its two large databases - a bibliographic database on animal agriculture and a statistical database which has data on livestock production and trade of 231 countries. ILRI provides a computerized SDI (Selective Dissemination of Information) service to scientists from all over the world.

As the Head of Information Services, I supervised the staff and activities of the Libraries and Information Services at the ILRI campuses at Nairobi, Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

I designed and developed a global time-series database on livestock production and trade. 

ILRI achieved CD-ROM publishing capability and produced on campus African Livestock Research Database, Statistical Database and ILRI Bibliographic Database. These products were distributed widely among NARS libraries and other users. 

I acted as coordinator and faculty member for the training courses organized on computerized management of information resources and services. The courses were conducted annually for the benefit of librarians, documentalists and scientists from the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

I attended several international seminars and workshops and contributed papers in them. I served as member in several international committees created on documentation and information. 

***3. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics ICRISAT),  Patancheru, A.P., India*** 
Position held: Senior Documentation Officer and Manager, Library and 
Documentation Services

Supervised and managed ICRISAT Library and Information Unit. I designed
and developed software on VAX 11/780 computer for the following applications:

(i). production of bibliographies. The software provided capability for interactive data-entry, data editing, sorting, index generation, and arrangement of entries in sorted order according to subject, author and title; 

(ii). a new subject indexing system, called PASI (Pragmatic Approach to Subject Indexing), to produce permuted subject index of bibliographies and other publications; and 

(iii). an author index production system for bibliographies and other 
publications. 

I developed program in Data Definition Language (DDL) of BASIS software to define system options for organizing a bibliographic database.
 
Written computer programs to work on VAX system to select relevant   records based on subject profiles from AGRIS and CABI tapes, reformat them and download to the ICRISAT bibliographic database. 

While at ICRISAT, I compiled, edited and produced five subject bibliographies on sorghum and millets. These bibliographies were produced  on VAX 11/780 computer using software developed by me.
 
Served as faculty for the courses on information organized by the University 
Grants Commission, India and NISIET Institute, Hyderabad, India. 

***4. Research and Development Center for Iron and Steel (RDCIS), Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), Ranchi, India*** 

Position held: In-charge, Information and Documentation Center 
Work Experience: Helped RDCIS to set-up an Information and Documentation 
Centre (IDC) and a technical library for the iron and steel industry in India.        
Surveys were conducted and based on the assessment of information needs of iron and steel technologists, action was initiated to  design, develop and provide information services. 

***5. Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, ISRO, Trivandrum, India***

Position held: Documentation Officer & In-charge of the Documentation Section
of Project SLV
Work Experience:  I had the responsibility to start an Information and Documentation Unit to provide information and documentation support to the project group engaged
in the development of India’s first satellite launch vehicle. The tasks completed during my stay were:

(i). design and development of information services and create a library of patents and standards relevant to the technologies in  use for the development of SLV; and 

(ii). edit and print monthly technical bulletin of SLV Project to disseminate 
progress of work conducted at various work centers.

**Qualification:** 

1. M.Sc. [Mathematics] 
2. B.Sc.[Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics] 
3. Associateship in Information Science (Indian National Scientific
Documentation Center, New-Delhi, India) [Recognized as equivalent to 
Master’s Degree in Library and Information Sciences by the Govt. of 	
India]
       
**Special Training:** 

1. Modern Methods of information handling and on-line information processing at 
    the Metal Society, London. 
2. Computer Programming at CMC and NIIT, India. 
3. Use of Computers in Library, Information and Documentation at Tel-Aviv, 
    Israel. 
4. Microcomputers and Computerized Information Management, VITA, Arlington, 
    USA. 
5. Advance System Design for on-line Applications, CMC Ltd., India.
6. Design and Development of Expert Systems with Special Training on
    VP-Expert Software Package at NIIT, India 
7. In-house training at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
   Tropics (ICRISAT) on Organization of Human Resources and Human 
    Relations. 
8. In-house training at the International Livestock Center for Africa (ILCA) on 
    Performance Management. 
9. Training on CD Author/Answer software package for organizing structural, 
     textual, and graphic databases on CD-ROM at the Dataware Technologies, 
     Munich, Germany. 
10. C++ and OOPS 
11. HTML, JAVA and Internet 
12. Visual Basic and VBScript 
13. Active Server Pages 
  
**Special Assignments:**

1. Acted as a member of the team formed to evaluate the performance of an Indian NGO in the implementation of  the developmental projects funded by IDRC and CIDA of Canada. My specific responsibility was in the areas of information and computer services. 

2. I was a member of the Technical Advisory Committee on Information, AHI    (African  Highlands Initiative) project coordinated by the International Center for Research on  Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya. 

3. I have provided consultancy service on the design and development of 
   databases using  Micro CDS/ISIS software developed by UNESCO. 

4. I acted as a faculty member for the courses on modern methods of information 
    handling sponsored by the University Grant Commission (UGC),India for the 
    benefit of librarians  and college lecturers of Library Science. 

5. I had been a faculty member for the International Courses on Information run 
    by the NISIET Institute, Hyderabad, India. 

6. I was a technical co-ordinator and faculty member for the International 
    Courses on  Computerized Management of Agricultural Information conducted
     by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and International
     Center for Research on  Agroforestry (ICRAF). The courses were sponsored 
     by CTA, The Netherlands. 

7. I have conducted information workshops for the benefit of agricultural 
    scientists, documentalists and librarians in the countries of Eastern Africa and 
    India. 

**Date of Birth:**

        20 January 1940 
       
**List of Selected Publications:**

1. SINHA, P.K. 1969. Computerization of routines for the acquisition of serials -  an experiment with IBM 1620. Thesis, Indian National Scientific Documentation Center, New Delhi, India. 
2. SINHA, P.K., GARUDADWAJAN, B and SRIVASTAVA, R.K., 1970. Evolution and development of a versatile machine-based information system. Journal of the 
American  Society for Information Science 21(1): 75-85. 
3. SINHA, P.K. [Ed.] 1974. SLV Project Bulletin. Trivandrum, India: Project SLV, Vikram Sarabhai Space Center. 
4. RAMACHANDRAN, S. and SINHA, P.K. 1977. Planning for improvement of steel consumption in rural areas in India. In Proceedings, Annual Seminar 15, DRTC, 
Bangalore. Bangalore, India: Documentation Research and Training Center. 
5. SINHA, P.K., MEHTA, S.C. and RAMACHANDRAN, S. 1978. Information system for the iron and steel industry - a plan. Submitted for the Third Indo-USA Seminar. October  1978. USA. 
6. SINHA, P.K. 1978. Information sources. Presented at the first users’ information 
orientation course, 3-7 July 1978, R & D Center for Iron and Steel, Ranchi, India. 
7. SINHA, P.K. 1978. Key to the use of a library - initiation to the library. Presented
    at the first users’ information orientation course, 3-7 July 1978, R & D Center for
    Iron and Steel, Ranchi, India. 
8. SINHA, P.K. 1979. Technical information system for iron and steel  industry in
    India. IASLIC Bulletin. 
9. SINHA, P.K.[Ed.], 1979. Steel Abstracts. Ranchi, India: R & D Center for Iron and  
      Steel.
10. SINHA, P.K., DUTTA, S. and PRASANNALAKSHMI, S. 1983. Pragmatic approach 
      to subject indexing. Presented at the DRTC Twentieth Annual Seminar, 21-25 
      February  1983, Bangalore, India. 
11. DUTTA, S. and SINHA, P.K. 1984. Pragmatic approach to subject indexing a new 
      concept. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 35(6): 325-     331. 
12. NAIDU, R.G. and SINHA, P.K. 1985. Millet Bibliography 1981. Patancheru, India: 
      Sorghum and Millet Information Centre (SMIC), ICRISAT. 
13. JOTWANI, D. and SINHA, P.K. 1985. Millet Bibliography 1982. Patancheru, India:
      Sorghum and Millet Information Centre (SMIC),  ICRISAT. 
14. SINHA, P.K. 1986. Library and documentation services at ICRISAT. Presented at 
      the Workshop on Information Services Management in ICAR Institute Libraries
     and Information Centers, 8-11 July 1986, National Academy of Agricultural 
      Research Management, Hyderabad, India. 
15. SINHA, P.K. 1986. On-line bibliographic information search and retrieval.      Presented at  the second workshop on Bioinformatics, 27 October  - 1 November     1986. Tata Energy  Research Institution, India. 
16. SINHA, P.K. 1986. Microcomputers for management of information resources. In 
       Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Convention and Conference of the Society for 
       Information Science, 9-11 December 1985, Indian Institute of Technology, 
       Bombay. New Delhi, India: Society for Information Science. 
17. JOTWANI, D. and SINHA, P.K. 1986. Millet Bibliography 1983. Patancheru, India: 
       Sorghum and Millet Information Centre (SMIC), CRISAT. 
18. NAIDU, R.G. and SINHA, P.K. 1986. Sorghum Bibliography 1982. Patancheru, 
      India: Sorghum and Millet Information Centre (SMIC),  ICRISAT. 
19. PRASANNALAKSHMI, S., BASAVARAJ, N. and SINHA, P.K. 1986. Sorghum 
      Bibliography 1983. Patancheru, India: Sorghum and Millet Information 
      Center (SMIC), ICRISAT. 
20. HARAVU, L.J. and SINHA, P.K. 1987. Semi-Arid Crops Information service 
      (SATCRIS). Presented at the CGIAR Documentation and Information Services 
      Meeting, 4-8 May 1987, International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru. 
21. HARAVU, L.J. and SINHA, P.K. 1987. BASIS application at ICRISAT. Presented at 
      the CGIAR Documentation and Information Services Meeting, 4-8 May 1987, 
      International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru. 
22. SINHA, P.K. 1987. BIBCOMP - Bibliography production software of ICRISAT. 
      Presented at the CGIAR Documentation and Information Services Meeting, 4-8
      May 1987, International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru. 
23. SINHA, P.K. 1987. Computer based circulation control system. Presented at the 
      Indian Library Association Workshop on Computer Application to Library and 
      Information Activities, 3-8 August 1987, Department of Library and Information 
      Science and Computer Center, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. 
24. SINHA, P.K. 1987. File Organisation. Presented at the Indian Library Association 
      Workshop on Computer Application to Library and Information Activities, 3-8 
      August 1987, Department of Library and Information Science and Computer
      Center, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. 
25. SINHA, P.K. 1989. Report on the SATCRIS workshops at Addis Ababa, Nairobi
      and Mogadishu from 7 -23 November 1988. Presented at the CGIAR
      Documentation and Information Services Meeting, 16-20 January 1989,
       ICRISAT, Patancheru, India. 
26. SINHA, P.K. 1989. Front-end system for SATCRIS database. Presented at the 
      meeting of library professionals, 7 June 1989, ICRISAT,  Patancheru, India. 
27. SINHA, P.K. and HARAVU, L.J. 1992. The Semi-Arid Tropical Crops Information 
      Service (SATCRIS): Information Products and Services on Groundnut. Pages 
      233-239 In Groundnut - A Global Perspective: Proceedings of an International 
      Workshop, 25-29 November 1991, ICRISAT, India (Nigam, S.N. ed.). Patancheru, 
      India: ICRISAT. 
28. SINHA, P.K. 19943. ILCA Information Services: Present capabilities and future 
      plans. Presented at the CTA sponsored workshop on agricultural information 
      needs in East  Africa, 6-10 December 1993, Seychelles. 
29. SINHA, P.K. 1994. Partnerships for subject specific global information services. 
      Presented at the CGIAR Inter-Center Workshop on Information, 13-1Jun1994, 
      ISNAR, The Hague, The Netherlands. 
30. SINHA, P.K. 1995. ILRI information services in support of livestock research in 
      Africa. Presented at the First Conference of Animal Health Information Workers, 
     3-6 July 1995, Onderstepoort, South Africa