Bengaluru: Bengaluru is set to become the epicentre of India’s high-performance computing landscape with the installation of the country’s most powerful supercomputer, capable of operating at a speed of 30 petaflops. The system, built by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the National Supercomputing Mission, is expected to accelerate research in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, climate science, and other critical areas.
Bengaluru chosen for its tech ecosystem
While Pune was initially considered for the installation, officials cited Bengaluru’s robust technology ecosystem, engineering talent, and infrastructure as decisive factors. Magesh Ethirajan, Director General of C-DAC, said, “Despite a few challenges, the presence of better technology, workforce, and capacity availability led us to install it here. The system is currently undergoing testing and is expected to be operational by December.”
Industry experts highlighted Bengaluru’s status as a hub for semiconductor and chip design, noting that nearly 20% of the world’s chip designers are based in the city. This new supercomputer will cement Bengaluru’s role in India’s next phase of technological innovation.
Supercomputing in India: An overview
India currently has 37 supercomputers, collectively providing a speed of 39 petaflops. These machines support over 10,000 researchers and have contributed to more than 1,250 research papers, according to S Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
For context, one petaflop represents a quadrillion calculations per second, underscoring the immense computational power of the new system. The supercomputer involves over 3,000 servers working together via UNISOFT, requiring stable power and utilities during testing to achieve optimal performance.
Applications and impact
The 30-petaflop supercomputer is expected to transform research and innovation across multiple sectors. Critical applications include:
- Weather forecasting and climate modelling
- Space exploration and satellite data analysis
- Drug discovery and genomics research
- Nuclear simulations and national security
- Urban environmental planning and flood prediction
- Optimisation of telecom networks
Bengaluru already hosts Param Pravega at IISc, a 3.3-petaflop system, marking the largest supercomputer in an Indian academic institution. The new infrastructure will significantly enhance computational capacity for both academic and industry research, helping India compete on the global high-performance computing stage.
Future initiatives
C-DAC will host the event ‘Powering the Future: HPC, AI, Quantum’ from December 9 to 13 at Manipal Institute of Technology, Yelahanka. The conference aims to foster global dialogue on supercomputing, AI, and quantum technologies, furthering India’s National Supercomputing Mission objectives of building a strong network of supercomputers for research and innovation.