Top science centres in the country like Isro, IISc and select IITs have started work on a mission to build and run the fastest supercomputer that will work at exaflops per second, faster than the current Petaflops performance worldwide.
There is no exaflop supercomputer in the world yet and the first one is expected to emerge around 2019-2020, which is exactly when India has planned to launch its own.
India’s proposed new supercomputer is set to work at 132 exaflops per second as against an 1 exaflops per second machine being built by Cray Incorporated, the iconic American computer company which has projected that its machine would be ready by 2020.
The IISc-Isro project has the backing of the Centre which has set aside Rs 11,000 crore for its development (roughly $2 bn), apart from support to the other major initiative of having 100-150 supercomputers at the local, district and national levels under a national programme.
Prof N Balakrishnan, Professor at the Supercomputer Education and Research Centre (SERC) and Associate Director, IISc, told Deccan Herald: “The world does not have an exaflop supercomputer yet. The first one is to come up around 2019. Research work on exaflops is underway at IISC, Isro and a few IITs and C-DAC for India’s own proposed exaflop supercomputer. It is a collective project and scientists from around the country are involved in it.”
But what India’s science institutions are working on is no easy task, with the senior professor expressing caution about the project. “Taking up research on exaflops itself is a big step. An exaflop machine is not only hard to build, but it is also very difficult to just run it. The system requires a level of energy way above normal levels. We need to have energy-efficient systems in place to build and run this machine. Higher the energy consumed, higher the costs. Good system and energy management will be crucial in cutting down costs.” India’s supercomputer program was initiated in the late 1980’s when the US government launched sanctions against India that was seeking to establish supercomputing base in the country. The US thinking was that India would use the same for military objectives, not just civilian, and so, is best denied.
But India managed to come up with PARAM 8000 supercomputer, considered India’s first. Built in 1990 by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, it was replicated and installed at ICAD Moscow in 1991 with Russian collaboration. The fastest supercomputer in India now is the one at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the second fastest one at Pune’s Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and the third fastest at Bangalore’s CSIR Fourth Paradigm Institute.
NAGPUR: Indian scientists have always responded well to challenges and crises. One such challenge that lies ahead is the development of a 'super-supercomputer' along with USA and China who are already rushing for it. The Indian supercomputer man Vijay Bhatkar , who developed the Param supercomputer when USA denied technology to India, expressed confidence that India would be able to meet this challenge too by 2020. He believes India will become the world's largest economy by 2047 through developments in science and technology.
Bhatkar was speaking at the 56th foundation day programme of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri). The idea of Exascale computer (computer with a capability of at least one exaflops -which is thousandfold increase over the first peta-scale computer developed in 2008. One exaflop has a computing ability of a quintillion, 1018, point operations per second.)
The idea of such a computer was first floated in 2009 at the supercomputing conference in 2009. Intel has announced it would develop the computer by 2018. USA has put aside a substantial sum for it while India too has committed $ 2 billion. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore are expected to develop a supercomputer with 132.8 exaflops by 2017.
Even granting it is developed by 2020, Bhatkar called upon the environmental scientists and mathematical modelling experts to make extremely precise weather predictions and effects of ongoing climate change in future at regional and national level. Environment science, he said, would be at the centre of all sciences and hence Neeri had a big role to play in future.
Calling upon younger generation of scientists to focus their minds for innovations in all fields, Bhatkar cited examples of innovations like the supercomputer, Apple's gadgets that changed the lives of millions. He said innovations should be capable of being converted into commercial products. Scientists should also innovate for solving people's problems and this, he said, would be possible with the recently announced science technology and innovation policy of the country.
Earlier, in his foundation day address, Neeri director Satish Wate listed the achievements of the institute in past one year. Neeri, after 1992-93, has for the first time generated an earning of over Rs 23 crore from sponsored research projects, an indication of the faith of industry and the people in the institution, he informed. Neeri this year won the prestigious world level award for development of electrolytic deflouridation technology. The institution also started its journey towards upgradation of infrastructure in next five year plan with a financial support of Rs 60 crore, he added.
To mark the occasion, Neeri had put up an exhibition of 70 breakthrough technologies from different laboratories of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in fields of health and medicine, agriculture, water, leather etc for the public and it received good response. The institute also organized a model making competition for schools and college students.
Jaya Sabjiwale compered the programme and Prakash Kumbhare summed up.
Scientists get awards
Continuing its tradition of encouraging scientists for better research, Neeri director Satish Wate gave away prizes to scientist and technical staff for their contributions during the past year. The list of awardees included Nitin Labhsetwar-outstanding senior scientist, Pravin Naoghare-- outstanding junior scientist, C Padmakar-- outstanding technical officer, V M Kulkarni, outstanding technician, Vandana Cinthray--outstanding office personnel, Sharvari Deshmukh- outstanding young researcher, and Piyush Mahore-outstanding project personnel.
Awards were also given to best performance by various departments. These included Environmental Materials Division for best publications, Environmental Biotechnology Division for an international patent (which went to D B Satpute and D M Dharmadhikari), and Environmental Impact Risk Assessment division for maximum earning from extra budgetary resource and Water Technology and Management Division for electro-deflouridation technology.
