The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi):Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju has voiced his dissatisfaction with the prolonged delay in the delivery of two supercomputers by the French firm Eviden, part of the Atos Group, to Indian meteorological research institutions. Last year, the Indian Earth Sciences Ministry allocated USD 100 million for the acquisition of these supercomputers to enhance the computational capabilities of the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).
Rijiju, in a video interview with PTI, expressed his concern over the missed December deadline, underscoring the significance of expanding India’s computational power from four petaflops to a target of 18 petaflops. The delay, attributed to financial difficulties faced by Eviden, has prompted Rijiju to call for intervention from the French government, reflecting the deep-seated bilateral relations and the high stakes involved in this transaction.
The minister highlighted the legal precautions taken by the Indian government to ensure a secure transaction, given the substantial investment and the risk of potential bankruptcy of the company. He hinted at ongoing measures to expedite the delivery process but stressed the need for direct payment arrangements with the principal company, as per the original Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The supercomputers, based on Eviden’s BullSequana XH2000 model, are expected to significantly enhance India’s weather and climate modelling capabilities, with a total computing power of up to 21.3 petaflops. The NCMRWF’s system will focus on weather and climate modelling with an 8.3-petaflop capacity, while the IITM’s system in Pune will concentrate on atmospheric and climate research with a 13-petaflop capacity. Both systems will incorporate cutting-edge technology, including AMD EPYC 7643 processors, NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs, NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand networking, and substantial storage capacities, marking a significant upgrade from the current computing facilities.