Mihir (supercomputer)
| Company type | Government project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Supercomputing, Meteorology |
| Founded | January 8, 2018 |
| Headquarters | Pune and Noida , India |
Area served | India |
Key people | Suryachandra A Rao (lead engineer) |
| Products | High Performance Computing systems for weather forecasting and climate research |
| Parent | Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) |
Pratyush and Mihir are advanced supercomputing systems installed at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) located in Noida, respectively. As of January 2018, these represent the most powerful supercomputers within India, collectively achieving a peak computational speed of 6.8 PetaFlops with an investment totaling INR 438.9 Crore. The inauguration took place on 8 January 2018, officiated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Science and Technology. The designation 'Pratyush' () translates to "rising sun."
Functioning as a High Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure, Pratyush and Mihir comprise multiple interconnected computing units that together provide a peak performance of 6.8 PetaFlops, establishing India’s inaugural multi-PetaFlops supercomputing capability.
Specifically, these two HPC installations deliver 4.0 PetaFlops at IITM in Pune and 2.8 PetaFlops at NCMRWF in Noida, which combined yield the aggregate capacity of 6.8 PetaFlops.
These systems significantly bolster India’s meteorological forecasting and climate science endeavors by enhancing predictive accuracy for monsoons, fisheries, air pollution levels, and severe natural phenomena including tsunamis, cyclones, earthquakes, lightning, floods, and droughts. India ranks as the fourth nation worldwide to deploy dedicated HPC resources for weather and climate research after Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
History
India's High Performance Computing capabilities grew from 40 TeraFlops in 2008 to reaching 1 PetaFlops around 2013–14; however, the country’s global HPC infrastructure ranking remained relatively low. In 2017, the Indian government sanctioned a budget of 400 crore Rupees to establish a supercomputer system with a target performance of 10 PetaFlops. Under the guidance of Suryachandra A Rao, engineers at IITM Pune developed Pratyush in 2018 at an approximate cost of 450 crore Rupees.
The deployment of Pratyush alongside Mihir is intended to elevate India’s standing from 165th to within the top 30 positions in the Top500 global supercomputer list while advancing capabilities in weather prediction and scientific investigation.