FIRE 2015

Forum for Information Retrieval Evaluation

DAIICT , Gandhinagar

4 - 6 December

Gandhinagar is the capital city of Gujarat established as a modernized twin city for Ahmedabad. Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, the city is the administrative centre of Gandhinagar and Gujarat as well. Several institutes of international and national repute are located in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, inter alia, Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), the National Institute of Design (NID), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), LD Institute of Indology, Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) and Space Applications Centre (SAC) of Indian Space Research Organization, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) etc.

Besides this uniqueness of being developed as a Knowledge Corridor, Gandhinagar (including Ahmedabad, which is actually the commercial capital of Gujarat) has so many other attractions too. Places to visit in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad are Siddi Sayyed Jali, Jumma Masjid, Gujarat Science City, Akshardham (Gandhinagar), Law Garden Market, Vaishnodevi Temple, Kankaria Lake, Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, Sarkhej Roja, Adalaj Wav, Rani Sipri Mosque, Iskon Temple, Sola Temple, CG Road, Gandhi Ashram (Sabarmati), Calico Museum of Textiles (Shahibaugh).

The airport and the railway station, both located in Ahmedabad, are within easy reach from the campus in Gandhinagar (a 20 minutes drive to the airport, and about a 50 minutes drive to the main railway station, popularly known as Kalupur Railway Station). The airport has international connectivity, with direct flights to most of the places in Europe and the USA.

Apart from the monsoon season, the climate of Gandhinagar is normally dry. Winter is pleasant here. It is mostly hot weather throughout the year except monsoon. The maximum temperature stays in the range of 36°C (97°F) and 42°C (108°F), and the minimum in the range of 7°C (44°F) and 20°C (74°F). From November to February, the average maximum temperature is around 29°C (85°F), the average minimum is 14°C (57°F), and the climate is extremely dry. Sometimes it rains heavily in Gandhinagar due to the southwest monsoon during mid-June to mid-September.