The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) has recently commissioned a high-performance computational facility, the PARAM Ganga, at IIT Roorkee. This state-of-the-art supercomputer showcases a superior computing power of 1.66 Petaflops. The initiation of this sophisticated technology follows the successful installation of the ‘Param Pravega’ supercomputer at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
Establishment and Purpose of PARAM Ganga
This innovative supercomputer has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) as part of the National Supercomputing Mission’s approach. The essential aim of creating a Petascale Supercomputer using made in India components is to spearhead the path towards self-reliant India or Aatmanirbhar Bharat. It will significantly boost the problem-solving capacity across multiple domains. In addition to aiding researchers in solving complex matters of national and international significance, it will also serve as an indispensable computational environment for modern research along with their theoretical and experimental work. The focus lies primarily on extending computational power to the user community of IIT Roorkee and nearby academic institutions.
Understanding the Concept of a Supercomputer
A supercomputer is characterized by its ability to perform at or near the topmost operational rate for computers. PETAFLOP, representing a thousand trillion floating point operations per second, is generally utilized as a measure of a supercomputer’s processing speed. Floating point operations per second (FLOPS) are commonly used to measure a computer’s processor performance. Supercomputers are primarily engineered for enterprises and organizations that demand colossal computing power, such as weather forecasting, scientific research, data mining, etc.
The Global and National Scenario of Supercomputers
On a global level, China possesses the highest number of supercomputers, topping the chart, followed by the US, Japan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In India, the first supercomputer was PARAM 8000. Following that, numerous supercomputers have been installed at several IITs and other prestigious institutions. PARAM Siddhi, the High-Performance Computing-Artificial Intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer, secured a global ranking of 62nd in Top 500 most powerful supercomputer systems in the world in 2020.
The National Supercomputing Mission: An Overview
The National Supercomputing Mission was launched in 2015 with a primary objective to amplify the country’s research capacities and capabilities. The aim is to establish a robust Indian network that can provide secure and reliable connectivity, utilizing the National Knowledge Network (NKN) as the backbone. As part of this mission, efforts are being made to build and deploy 24 facilities with a total compute power of over 64 Petaflops. These will support the government’s vision of ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives. The Mission is jointly guided by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The implementation is carried out by the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune, and the IISc, Bengaluru.
Phases of the National Supercomputing Mission
The NSM unfolds in three phases: Phase I focuses on assembling supercomputers. Phase II emphasizes manufacturing certain components domestically. Phase III involves the design of an entirely Indian supercomputer. In this regard, ‘Rudra’, a server platform developed indigenously, is currently being tested in a pilot system. An interconnect for inter node communication named ‘Trinetra’ has also been developed.
