Promotion

If you thought the successful launch of a record 104 satellites by ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in a single mission would be the single scientific highlight for India in 2017, prepare yourself for yet another chapter for the history books. Soon, the country will be unveiling its most powerful supercomputer.

In fact, once it is functional, it will be one of ten fastest supercomputers in the whole world!

Image for representation. Photo source

According to a report in The Hindu, the supercomputer will be a million times faster than even the fastest of consumer laptops. The project has been sanctioned by the government to the tune of ₹400 crore and it will most likely come to fruition in a matter of just months.

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Speaking to the publication, Madhavan Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, said, “The tender [to select the company that will build the machine] is ready and we hope to have it [the computer] by June.”

Promotion

The system will be mostly used for weather updates, specifically when it comes to forecasting the monsoons. The supercomputer, which has not been given a moniker yet, will be able to forecast the likely outcomes months in advance with accuracy.

What makes this supercomputer so special is that while India has been home to some terribly fast computers, none have been able to go past cracking the top 200 or 100 in the list of supercomputers across the world.

For instance, the fastest supercomputer in India called Aaditya (iDataPlex DX360M4) is currently at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and is ranked at 139. There is also one in the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi called HP Apollo 6000 Xl230/250 ranked at 217.

While details are still being finalised, it has been decided that this particular system will be hosted by both National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting at Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, which is in Pune.

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