Marking a giant leap in India's Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) ecosystem, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the state-of-the-art 'PARAM Pragya' AI-powered supercomputer facility.
Inauguration: Formally launched by PM Narendra Modi on August 8, 2026, during the 57th Convocation Ceremony of IIT Delhi at its Sonipat Campus, Haryana.
National Supercomputing Mission (NSM): Commissioned under the NSM—a joint flaghip initiative of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY)—implemented by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing).
Project Investment: Total project cost stands at ₹135 Crore (₹110 Crore funded under NSM and ₹25 Crore contributed by IIT Delhi).
Exam Relevance for MPPSC & UPSC: Highly essential for MPPSC Mains (Paper 3 Unit 7 & 10) and UPSC GS-3 Science & Tech coverage on indigenous AI infrastructure.
PARAM Pragya AI Supercomputer: India's Journey from PARAM 8000 to High-Performance Computing (HPC) & AI Dominance | MPPSC & UPSC Notes
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 250 AI Petaflops 'PARAM Pragya' AI supercomputer at IIT Delhi Sonipat Campus. Developed under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) by C-DAC, this facility marks a watershed moment in India's journey from PARAM 8000 to self-reliant AI infrastructure.
Deep Learning Efficiency: Enables training of multi-billion parameter AI models at unprecedented speeds.
3. 10 Petabytes Parallel Storage
Data Subsystem: Equipped with a 10 PB Parallel File System allowing instantaneous multi-gigabyte data throughput across nodes.
4. Green Data Center & Energy Efficiency
Power Profile: Operates within an optimized 800 kW energy envelope utilizing advanced liquid cooling solutions to minimize carbon footprint.
5. 40% External Research Access
Democratizing AI Compute: In line with NSM guidelines, 40% of compute cycles are explicitly reserved for non-IIT Delhi scholars, research labs, and Indian deep-tech startups.
Figure 2: Cluster of 400 NVIDIA A100 GPUs providing high-throughput 250 AI Petaflops compute performance for PARAM Pragya.
Creation of C-DAC: In response, the Government of India established C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) in Pune in 1988.
Father of Indian Supercomputing: Renowned scientist Dr. Vijay Bhatkar spearheaded the indigenous supercomputing mission.
3. Launch of 'PARAM 8000' (1991)
First Indigenous Supercomputer: In 1991, C-DAC successfully unveiled PARAM 8000, surprising the global scientific community.
Global Recognition: Built at a fraction (1/28th) of the cost of a Cray machine, PARAM 8000 was exported to Germany, UK, and Russia.
4. Key Milestones in India's Supercomputing History
India's 1st Dedicated AI Supercomputer → PARAM Siddhi-AI (2020)
Global Supercomputer Ranking → TOP500 List (Published biannually)
Crucial Abbreviations
C-DAC: Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
HPC: High-Performance Computing
NSM: National Supercomputing Mission
Petaflop: 10^15 Operations Per Second
FLOPs: Floating-Point Operations Per Second
Mains Answer Writing Booster Capsule
"India's trajectory from PARAM 8000 (1991) to PARAM Pragya (2026) represents a transition from technological denial to self-reliant AI dominance, cementing India's stature as a global leader in High-Performance Computing and indigenous AI infrastructure."
