National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)

• 06 May 2025

Key Points 

• Launch Year: 2015 
• Type of Scheme: Central Sector Scheme 
• Nodal Ministries:  
  • Department of Science and Technology (DST) 
  • Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) 
• Implementing Agencies: 
  • Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune 
  • Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru 

 Overview of National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) 

• About: The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), launched in 2015, is a Government of India flagship initiative to boost High-Performance Computing (HPC), strengthen technological capabilities, and advance R&D across key sectors. 
  • The mission is jointly led by DST and MeitY, and implemented by C-DAC, Pune and IISc, Bengaluru. 
• Objective: The mission aims to empower academic and R&D institutions across India by installing supercomputers of varying capacities. 
  • Access is provided via the National Knowledge Network (NKN), a government-backed high-speed network connecting research and academic institutions. 
• Skill Development: The mission promotes HPC skill development to meet the demands of advanced computational research. 
  • Five dedicated HPC training centres have been set up at Pune, Kharagpur, Chennai, Palakkad, and Goa to train students and researchers in supercomputing. 
• Significance: 
  • The mission plays a crucial role in advancing scientific research across diverse fields such as drug discovery, climate modeling, disaster management, and material science. 
  • It will enhance capacity building by training professionals in HPC and AI, while also supporting start-ups and MSMEs in innovation and product development. 

Note 

• FLOPs, or Floating-Point Operations per Second, is a commonly used metric to measure the computational performance – processing power and efficiency – especially in the field of HPC and AI.  
  • Floating-point operations are a certain kind of mathematical calculation using real numbers with fractional parts. 

NSM Infrastructure Development Plan 

• The NSM aims to achieve self-reliance in supercomputing, promote R&D and problem-solving across scientific and societal domains, and build a globally competitive HPC ecosystem through a three-phase infrastructure development plan. 
  • Phase 1: Set up six supercomputers with components assembled in India to begin building domestic capabilities. 
  • Phase 2: Moved towards local manufacturing and software development, achieving 40% indigenous value. 
    • Phase 3: Aims for full indigenization by designing and manufacturing all key components in India and establishing a national HPC facility. 

What is Trinetra? 

• About & Objective:  
  • Under the NSM, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has developed "Trinetra". 
  • It is an indigenous high-speed communication network designed to enhance data transfer and communication between computing nodes. 
    • This development marks a critical step toward self-reliance in HPC infrastructure, enabling India to compete globally in the field of high-speed computing networks. 
• Phases: 
  • Trinetra is being implemented in three progressive phases: Trinetra-POC, Trinetra-A and Trinetra-B. 

 

PARAM Rudra Supercomputers 

• About: In 2024, three advanced PARAM Rudra supercomputers were officially commissioned for scientific research at Pune, Delhi, and Kolkata. 
  • PARAM Rudra supercomputers are built using indigenously designed and manufactured HPC servers, known as "Rudra”, along with an indigenously developed system software stack. 
  • Rudra servers are the first made-in-India servers that match international high-performance computing (HPC) standards. 
• Purpose: To facilitate advanced research in physics, earth sciences, and cosmology. 

Other Key Installations under NSM 

• PARAM Shivay (2019): 
  • First supercomputer of India under NSM 
  • Installed at IIT-BHU, Varanasi 
• PARAM Pravega (2022): 
  • Installed at IISc Bengaluru 
  • It is the largest academic supercomputer in India and one of the most powerful supercomputers in the country. 

 

AIRAWAT (India's AI Supercomputing Platform) 

• About & Objective:  
  • The Government has initiated a project AI Research Analytics and Knowledge Dissemination Platform (AIRAWAT) for providing a common compute platform for AI research and knowledge assimilation. 
• Global Recognition:  
  • AIRAWAT, ranked 75th in the Top 500 Global Supercomputing List at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC 2023) in Germany, firmly positions India among the world’s leading AI supercomputing nations. 

 Current Status & Future Prospects of NSM  

• As of March 2025, 34 supercomputers deployed across premier and regional institutions with a combined capacity of 35 Petaflops (PF). 
  • The institutions involved include IISc, IITs, C-DAC, and several others from Tier-II and Tier-III cities. 
  • System utilization rates are high, with over 85% usage and many systems exceeding 95% efficiency. 
• In 2024-25, around 45 petaflops of additional computing infrastructure is planned to be developed using indigenously designed servers and technologies. 

 Role of India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) in NSM 

• The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) is playing a crucial role in boosting the NSM by enabling domestic production of critical components like processors, memory chips, and accelerators. 
  • Until now, India relied heavily on imports for these advanced semiconductor technologies. 
• ISM aims to make supercomputers more affordable, energy-efficient, and customized to India’s scientific and industrial needs. 
• This synergy will help NSM achieve its goal of self-reliance and position India as a global leader in supercomputing.