India’s Supercomputing Ecosystem Under National Supercomputing Mission

Source: PIB
GS III: Science and Technology

Why in the News?

A recent PIB article highlights India’s progress in building an indigenous High-Performance Computing (HPC) ecosystem under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

News in Brief

• The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) was launched in 2015 with an outlay of about ₹4,500 crore and is jointly steered by DST and MeitY.
• India plans to establish 50 supercomputers with more than 123 PF capacity across academic and research institutions.
• The PARAM series, beginning with PARAM 8000 in 1991, marked India’s entry into indigenous supercomputing.
• NSM is developing indigenous servers, networking, cooling systems and software to reduce dependence on imported technology.

What is Supercomputing?

• Supercomputers use large numbers of processors working simultaneously to perform complex calculations and process massive datasets.
• Their performance is measured in FLOPS (Floating Point Operations Per Second).
  • 1 TeraFLOPS (TF) = 1 trillion calculations/second
  • 1 PetaFLOPS (PF) = 1 quadrillion calculations/second
  • 1 ExaFLOPS (EF) = 1 quintillion calculations/second
• India generates nearly 20% of the world’s data.
• This efforts strengthens indigenous capabilities and supports India’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

National Supercomputing Mission

• India launched the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) in April 2015 to strengthen the country’s computing capabilities.
• The Mission aims to build self-reliance in supercomputing and strengthen India’s high-performance computing capabilities.
• It promotes the use of supercomputing for research, development and problem-solving across scientific and technological domains.
• It also supports the development of solutions for societal applications.
• The Mission seeks to establish a globally competitive supercomputing ecosystem in India.

Implementation

• The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, implement the Mission.
• NSM follows a ‘Build approach’ consisting of three concurrent phases to create indigenous supercomputing infrastructure: assembly, manufacturing, and design and manufacturing support.
• This approach combines the expansion of computing infrastructure with the development of indigenous capabilities.

India’s Progress

• Under NSM, India has established an ecosystem focused on achieving self-reliance in supercomputing.
• It covers supercomputer design, development, manufacturing, system software and specialised applications.
• This growing indigenous capability can reduce dependence on imported technologies.
• It also strengthens India’s domestic high-performance computing ecosystem.
• As of September 2026, India had deployed 40 supercomputers with a combined capacity of 68 PF.
• This includes 13 high-end systems exceeding 1 PF.
• Additionally, 12 mid-range systems have capacities between 500 TF and 1 PF.
• Another 15 systems have capacities below 500 TF.
• These machines have been built locally and commissioned across the country.
• The Mission continues to advance infrastructure, applications, research and development, and  human resource development.

Applications

HPC under NSM is being used for strengthening research, supporting evidence-based decision-making and addressing complex challenges across health, environment, energy and advanced science.

• Genomics and Drug Discovery Platform
  • It studies large sets of molecules to help find and test drugs.
  • It was used during COVID-19 to screen existing drugs and also predict side effects like heart risk.
• Urban Environment Decision Support System
  • It uses detailed models to track weather and air pollution.
  • It predicts heavy rain and pollution so cities can prepare and mitigate damage.
• Seismic Imaging Suite
  • It aims to improve oil and gas exploration by using advanced algorithms to map subsurface structures.
  • Its performance matches commercial seismic imaging tools.
• Early Warning System for Flood Prediction for River Basins
  • It leverages data analysis and predictive models to forecast floods up to 2 days in advance.
  • It is being used for the Mahanadi River basin to protect communities and infrastructure.
• The Forest Fire Spread Model
  • It combines satellite remote sensing with computational models to predict how forest fires will spread.
  • It has been tested in regions like the Sikkim Himalayas using a HPC system.
• Materials Science and Computational Chemistry Applications
  • It provides a suite that allows simulations of atoms, molecules, and alloys.
  • These facilitate the study of their behaviour.

Indigenous components developed under NSM

• NSM has developed:
  • Rudra series servers – indigenously designed by C-DAC.
  • PARAM Rudra supercomputers using indigenous servers and system software.
  • 100 and 200 Gbps high-speed interconnect networks.
  • Indigenous cooling technology.
  • Indigenous HPC software stack.
  • PARAM Shavak, a compact HPC system for students and researchers.

National Knowledge Network

• The NKN serves as the backbone of India’s supercomputing ecosystem under the National Supercomputing Mission.
• It connects supercomputing facilities across academic and research institutions through a high-speed national network.
• This enables researchers and institutions to access advanced computing resources and collaborate across geographical boundaries.
• The network strengthens the sharing of computational resources, research capabilities and scientific knowledge.
• Through this connected infrastructure, the Mission is expanding access to High-Performance Computing across India.

Significance for India

Supercomputing can strengthen;

• Scientific research and innovation
• AI and advanced computing
• Climate and disaster resilience
• Healthcare and drug discovery
• Agricultural forecasting
• Strategic and technological autonomy
• Atmanirbhar Bharat

The NSM also contributes to 11 UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly through applications in climate action, education, skills and innovation.

Way Forward and Conclusion

India should focus on expanding HPC capacity while making supercomputers faster, energy-efficient and reliable. Greater integration of AI with HPC, stronger indigenous hardware and software, and wider access for researchers, academia and industry can further strengthen India’s technological capabilities.

A strong partnership between government, academia, industry, startups and research institutions can turn advanced computing into practical solutions for healthcare, agriculture, climate, energy and scientific research. This will help India build a secure, sustainable and self-reliant supercomputing ecosystem and support long-term technological innovation.

UPSC Prelims and Mains Practice Question

Consider the following statements regarding the National Supercomputing Mission:
1. It was launched in 2015 to strengthen India’s high-performance computing capabilities.
2. C-DAC and IISc are involved in its implementation.
3. PARAM 8000 was developed under the National Supercomputing Mission.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a)

Mains Practice Question

Q) India’s progress in supercomputing is important not only for scientific research but also for technological self-reliance. Discuss the significance and challenges of developing an indigenous High-Performance Computing ecosystem. (250 words)

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