In a significant stride toward bolstering India’s public health research infrastructure, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune has inaugurated a high-performance computing (HPC) facility designed to dramatically speed up genomic sequencing and pathogen surveillance across the country.
Named Nakshatra, the facility is India’s first centralized HPC cluster dedicated to next-generation sequencing (NGS) research under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Officials say it could mark a turning point in how India responds to emerging infectious diseases, pandemic threats, and genomic data analysis.
Born Out of a Pandemic’s Lessons
The creation of the HPC facility stems from challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. With global attention focused on the swift evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants, researchers in India faced major computational bottlenecks due to limited local data-processing capacities.
“We needed to cut down the time it takes to analyze sequencing data—not in weeks or months, but hours,” said Dr. Naveen Kumar, Director of ICMR-NIV. “Nakshatra will allow that transformation.”
The cluster comprises twelve high-end compute nodes with 700 cores and one petabyte (PB) of storage. It can perform complex data workflows in structural bioinformatics, metagenomics, phylogenetics, and AI-powered molecular modeling. The facility has been developed under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), aligning with the national vision of “Viksit Bharat 2047.”
A National Genomic Hub
In its initial phase, the facility will serve five ICMR institutes and is expected to eventually support the nationwide network of Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs). This expansion could transform Pune into a national hub for genomic data processing and real-time outbreak investigations.
The move was inaugurated by Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research and Director General of ICMR, who emphasized the government’s commitment to using advanced technology to safeguard public health.
Powering the Next Frontier of Disease Surveillance
The launch of Nakshatra is not merely a technological achievement—it represents a systemic shift in India’s preparedness and response mechanisms. The facility is designed to analyze large volumes of data from pathogens rapidly, helping scientists detect mutations, track transmission, and inform vaccine design or drug discovery in record time.
According to officials, computational analysis that once took weeks can now be completed in 24 to 48 hours, reducing response lag during an outbreak.
Toward a Data-Driven Public Health Future
Experts believe the supercomputing initiative will pave the way for greater integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in biomedical research.
“This is more than a hardware upgrade,” said an ICMR official. “It is a foundational step toward a future where India is not just participating but leading in global genomic science and digital epidemiology.”
With the launch of Nakshatra, India joins a small league of nations equipped with public health-focused genomic supercomputing infrastructure—a development that may have long-lasting implications for disease forecasting, precision medicine, and pandemic prevention.
