Why In News?

India’s National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) has strengthened the country’s High-Performance Computing (HPC) capacity, with 40 supercomputers offering a combined 68 PetaFLOPS (PF) as of September 2026.

What are Supercomputers?

Supercomputers use large numbers of processors or computing nodes that work simultaneously to handle huge datasets and complex calculations at very high speeds.

• Parallel Computing: High-speed interconnects allow different computing nodes to exchange data rapidly. Multiple CPUs can therefore work on different parts of the same problem at the same time.

• Measuring Performance: Computing capacity is measured in FLOPS (Floating Point Operations Per Second). 1 TFLOPS = 1 trillion operations/second, while 1 PFLOPS = 1 quadrillion operations/second.

• Exascale Computing: The fastest supercomputer in the world can achieve around 2.19 exaflops in 2026, equivalent to nearly 2.19 quintillion calculations per second.

• Major Uses: Supercomputers support climate modelling, healthcare, space research, agriculture, engineering and large-scale simulations. Applications include crop-yield estimation, drug discovery, disease monitoring and flood forecasting.

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• India’s Growing Need: India generates nearly 20% of global data, while AI, weather forecasting and space programmes are increasing the demand for advanced computing infrastructure.

National Supercomputing Mission

• Launch: The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) began in April 2015 with an estimated outlay of ₹4,500 crore.

• Nodal Ministries: The programme is jointly guided by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

• Main Goal: NSM seeks to develop indigenous supercomputing capabilities, reduce dependence on imported technology and support scientific research, innovation and national applications.

• Implementation: C-DAC, Pune and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru implement the Mission.

• Build Strategy: NSM follows a three-part Build approach covering assembly, manufacturing, and design and manufacturing support.

Progress Under NSM

• Planned Capacity: NSM targets 50 supercomputers with a combined capacity of more than 123 PF across Indian academic and research institutions.

• PARAM Journey: PARAM 8000, developed by C-DAC and launched in 1991, marked India’s first major indigenous supercomputing effort with a speed of 1 gigaflop. Later systems such as PARAM Yuva reached 54 teraflops and supported applications including weather forecasting and computational fluid dynamics.

• Current Deployment: By September 2026, India had installed 40 supercomputers with 68 PF capacity:

• 13 systems above 1 PF

• 12 systems between 500 TF and 1 PF

• 15 systems below 500 TF

• Indigenous Ecosystem: NSM is developing capabilities in computer design, manufacturing, system software, specialised applications and human-resource development.

• Sustainable Development: NSM contributes to 11 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through applications such as flood forecasting, forest-fire management, climate modelling and indigenous technology development.

Applications of High-Performance Computing (HPC)

• Drug Discovery: HPC systems process large molecular datasets to support drug screening and testing. During COVID-19, they helped assess existing medicines and identify possible side effects, including cardiac risks.

• Weather and Pollution: Detailed atmospheric and pollution models help forecast heavy rainfall and air-pollution levels, improving urban preparedness.

• Seismic Studies: HPC-based algorithms map underground geological formations and support oil and gas exploration.

• Flood Forecasting: The Early Warning System can forecast floods up to two days ahead and is being applied in the Mahanadi River basin.

• Forest Fires: The Forest Fire Spread Model combines satellite data with computational modelling to predict fire movement, including applications in the Sikkim Himalayas.

• Materials and Chemistry: HPC simulations help scientists study the behaviour of atoms, molecules and alloys, supporting materials science and computational chemistry.

Indigenous Technology Developed Under NSM

• Rudra Servers: C-DAC has developed the Rudra series of indigenous servers for complex simulations, AI workloads and scientific computing. Their technology has been transferred to Indian Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) companies.

• PARAM Rudra: These systems use Rudra servers and an indigenous software stack. They support research in astronomy, materials science, atomic physics and earth sciences.

• Deployment of Rudra Servers: By September 2026, around 6,000 Rudra servers had been deployed in PARAM Rudra systems, with another 1,500 under production.

• Indigenous Interconnect: India has developed high-speed interconnect technology operating at 100 Gbps and 200 Gbps to enable rapid communication between computing nodes.

• Cooling Technology: Indigenous cooling systems have been developed and demonstrated and are now moving into the deployment stage, helping control HPC temperatures and improve energy efficiency.

• HPC Software: India has developed a complete HPC system software stack for efficient operation and management of supercomputing infrastructure.

• PARAM Shavak: PARAM Shavak is a compact, indigenous “supercomputing-in-a-box” designed for students and researchers in universities and engineering institutions.

• National Applications: Indigenous HPC applications in areas such as genomics and drug discovery have been deployed for institutions including IMD, CWC, CPCB and the Ministry of AYUSH.

Source: PIB