Meity calls for plans on India-EU cooperation on high-performance computing

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) on Wednesday announced a joint call for proposals for India-European cooperation on high-performance computing (HPC).

“Meity, India, and EuroHPC, EU are pleased to announce the joint call for proposals for India-EU cooperation on HPC. This collaborative initiative seeks to foster high-performance computing (HPC) research and development, as well as strengthen international partnerships in the field of HPC between India and Europe,” read the official announcement from Meity.

The objective of the joint call is to create solutions and use cases in the mutual areas of interest using high-performance computing, said the ministry.

Domains including climate change, natural hazards, and bioinformatics have been identified as potential areas of research under the joint collaboration.

“It is believed that the collaboration between India and the EU in HPC will help to address the challenges (such as better anticipation of natural hazards, etc.) faced by both sides in the implementation of HPC systems,” said the Ministry.

The collaboration seeks to promote research and development in HPC technologies and also to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange between Indian and European HPC communities.

Further, it will enable reciprocal access to advanced India and EuroHPC supercomputing facilities, according to the IT Ministry.

The Ministry also said that the proposals should focus on optimizing specific applications and software codes, with a comprehensive development plan, including clear timelines, KPIs, and deliverables demonstrating cooperative benefits.

“Most resources should be allocated to technical tasks, with potential for supplementary activities like knowledge exchange,” the announcement further read.

In 2021, during the India-EU Leaders’ Summit, both the countries inter alia agreed to deepen technological cooperation on quantum and HPC.

The cooperation on HPC was also discussed during the Working Group meeting of “Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance, and Digital Connectivity” under India-EU Trade and Technology Council, 2023, said Meity.