By Dinesh C Sharma, Deccan Herald, May 18, 2015
The cabinet committee on economic affairs recently approved a National Supercomputing Mission with an outlay of Rs 4,500 crore spread over seven years. It is the first time in several years the government has committed such a level of funding for one single science-related mission.
In addition, it marks India’s return to investments in a strategic area of scientific activity – supercomputing – after a gap of more than two decades. The decision also emphasises continuity in government policies in science and technology. The supercomputing mission was originally conceived during the previous UPA’s tenure and formally announced by then prime minister Manmohan Singh in his address to the Indian Science Congress in January 2012.
India’s efforts in supercomputing have been rooted in the technology denial regime unleashed by America and other Western powers for decades. India was forced to develop its own supercomputer after it was denied one for weather forecasting by America on fears that it may be used for weapon-related research. Then PM Rajiv Gandhi, egged on by his Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), approved establishment of a dedicated agency - Centre for Development of Advanced Computing based in Pune.
With its PARAM supercomputer unveiled in 1991, India joined a truly elite club which till then included only America and Japan. China, currently a global leader in supercomputing, joined the race a decade later but surpassed India soon. Sometime in 2010, SAC pushed the idea of reviving the supercomputer programme, resulting in the 2012 announcement by Manmohan Singh. The Planning Commission followed up by approving an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore for a National Supercomputing Roadmap for the 12th five year plan (2012-2017).
The revival of India’s supercomputer ambitions, however, got caught in turf wars and delays. This was despite the fact that CDAC already had a blueprint for the next level of development, and the country had a robust high performance computing community including a private sector player – Tata’s Computational Research Laboratories. But when the question of a new supercomputer project popped up, CDAC was overlooked despite it having all the necessary credentials. Instead, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore was chosen to steer the effort. The supercomputer centre in the city is involved in education and research relating to supercomputers but not so much in core development activity.
Read full story here in Deccan Herald
The cabinet committee on economic affairs recently approved a National Supercomputing Mission with an outlay of Rs 4,500 crore spread over seven years. It is the first time in several years the government has committed such a level of funding for one single science-related mission.
In addition, it marks India’s return to investments in a strategic area of scientific activity – supercomputing – after a gap of more than two decades. The decision also emphasises continuity in government policies in science and technology. The supercomputing mission was originally conceived during the previous UPA’s tenure and formally announced by then prime minister Manmohan Singh in his address to the Indian Science Congress in January 2012.
India’s efforts in supercomputing have been rooted in the technology denial regime unleashed by America and other Western powers for decades. India was forced to develop its own supercomputer after it was denied one for weather forecasting by America on fears that it may be used for weapon-related research. Then PM Rajiv Gandhi, egged on by his Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), approved establishment of a dedicated agency - Centre for Development of Advanced Computing based in Pune.
With its PARAM supercomputer unveiled in 1991, India joined a truly elite club which till then included only America and Japan. China, currently a global leader in supercomputing, joined the race a decade later but surpassed India soon. Sometime in 2010, SAC pushed the idea of reviving the supercomputer programme, resulting in the 2012 announcement by Manmohan Singh. The Planning Commission followed up by approving an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore for a National Supercomputing Roadmap for the 12th five year plan (2012-2017).
The revival of India’s supercomputer ambitions, however, got caught in turf wars and delays. This was despite the fact that CDAC already had a blueprint for the next level of development, and the country had a robust high performance computing community including a private sector player – Tata’s Computational Research Laboratories. But when the question of a new supercomputer project popped up, CDAC was overlooked despite it having all the necessary credentials. Instead, the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore was chosen to steer the effort. The supercomputer centre in the city is involved in education and research relating to supercomputers but not so much in core development activity.
Read full story here in Deccan Herald
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