EDITORIALS FROM 22^nd Sep 2025

EDITORIAL 01

How different are supercomputers to normal computers?

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/how-different-are-supercomputers-to-normal-computers/article70076989.ece

Issue: Supercomputers are high-performance machines designed to perform massive, complex, and data-heavy computations, far beyond the capability of normal computers. They play a crucial role in weather forecasting, climate modelling, nuclear simulations, astrophysics, and AI research.

How Do They Work?

Parallel Computing: Thousands/millions of processors work simultaneously, each solving a fraction of the problem.
Architecture: Processors (CPU + GPU) grouped into nodes, connected by high-speed networks with petabyte-scale storage.
Cooling & Power: Require advanced cooling systems and power equivalent to a small town.
Software: Run on specialised parallel programming languages (MPI, OpenMP) with load-balancing algorithms; performance measured in FLOPS (now reaching exascale).

User Interaction:

Accessed remotely via terminals, not like personal PCs.
Scientists submit job scripts → scheduler allocates resources → results retrieved for analysis.

Supercomputing in India:

Indigenous effort began with PARAM 8000 (1991) by C-DAC.
National Supercomputing Mission (2015): DST + MeitY, target 70+ HPC facilities, with indigenous hardware (Rudra, AUM nodes).
Major machines:
- Pratyush (IITM Pune),
- Mihir (Noida),
- AIRAWAT-PSAI (C-DAC Pune – India’s fastest, Top 100 globally).
Used for monsoon prediction, Himalayan and Indian Ocean studies, drug discovery, nanotech, AI training, and defence simulations.

Future Prospects:

Exascale Computing: Machines capable of quintillions of operations/sec, e.g., JUPITER (Germany, 2025).
Quantum Computing: Promises revolutionary breakthroughs in problem-solving and energy efficiency.
Neuromorphic Computing: Brain-inspired architecture combining memory & processing for speed and energy gains.

Supercomputers are not just computing machines but strategic assets for national security, climate resilience, scientific research, and AI development.

For India, achieving self-reliance in HPC hardware and software under NSM is vital to secure global leadership in science and technology.

EDITORIAL 02

A leader who has connected power to the people