Centre for Development of Advanced Computing

Coordinates: 18°33′06″N 73°49′26″E / 18.551747°N 73.823750°E

Centre for Development of Advanced Computing

Established	1988
Field of research	High Performance Computing, Multi-lingual Computing, Professional Electronics, Software Technologies, Health Informatics, Education
Address	Pune University Campus, Ganesh Khind, Pune - 411 007, Maharashtra, India
Location	Pune, India (Headquarters)
Nickname	C-DAC
Operating agency	Department of Electronics and Information Technology, India
Website	cdac.in

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is a research and development organization under the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Govt of India. The National Centre for Software Technology (NCST), ER&DCI and CEDTI were merged into C-DAC in 2003.^[1][2]

History

After being denied a Cray supercomputer by the United States in 1987 due to a fear of it being used for military purposes, India started a program to develop an indigenous supercomputer in collaboration with Russia.^[3][4] Supercomputers were considered a double edged weapon capable of assisting in the development of nuclear weapons.^[5] For the purpose of achieving self-sufficiency in the field, C-DAC was established by the Department of Electronics in 1988. Vijay Bhatkar was hired as the Director of C-DAC.^[6] The project was given an initial run of 3 years and an initial funding of ₹30,00,00,000 as the same amount of money and time was usually expended to secure the purchase of a supercomputer from the US.^[6] In 1990, a prototype was produced and was benchmarked at the 1990 Zurich Supercomputering Show (CONPAR 1990?). It surpassed most other systems, placing second after US.^[6]

The final result of the effort was the PARAM 8000, which was installed in 1991.^[7] It is considered India's first supercomputer.

Research activities

Originally established to research and assemble High Performance Computers, the research of C-DAC has spread to

• High Performance Computers
• Grid Computing
• Electronics
• Speech and Natural Language Processing
• Information and Cyber Security
• Ubiquitous Computing
• Bioinformatics
• Geomatics
• Digital forensics

Branches

C-DAC branches and training centers include:^[8]

• C-DAC Pune (Headquarters)
• C-DAC Bangalore
• C-DAC Chennai
• C-DAC Delhi^[9]
• C-DAC Hyderabad
• C-DAC Kolkata
• C-DAC Mohali
• C-DAC Mumbai
• C-DAC Noida
• C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram^[10]
• C-DAC Silchar

Education and training

C-DAC provides several courses in the field of advanced computing and software development. Among these are the hpc certification course C-DAC Certified HPC Professional Certification Programme (CCHPCP).^[11] CDAC organises advanced computing diploma programmes through the Advanced Computing Training School (ACTS) located all over India. The PG Diploma courses include specialisations in Embedded System Design, VLSI, etc.^[12]

Products and developments

• PARAM series of supercomputers
• Anvaya Workflows, a workflow environment for automated genome analysis.^[13]
• Namescape, the search engine for the Aadhaar unique-ID project.^[11]
• GARUDA, India's National Grid Computing Initiative^[14][15]
• Bharat Operating System Solutions, a Linux-based general purpose operating system
• TaxoGrid, a grid-based molecular phylogenetics and drug discovery system^[11]
• GIST, Graphics and Intelligence based Script Technology
• DARPAN, a real time network monitoring, visualization and Service Level Agreement monitoring tool developed by C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram.^[16]
• Punarjjani, a web based integrated assessment tool for mentally challenged children developed by C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram.^[17]

Notable researchers and alumnus

• Vijay P. Bhatkar, founding director, recipient of Padma Bhushan award^[18]
• Rajkumar Buyya, professor at Melbourne University, formerly worked as a Senior Scientist at C-DAC Bangalore^[19]
• Srinivasan Ramani, contributed in bringing the internet to India in 1987 through the academic network ERNET,^[20] served as an adviser on UN ICT Task Force, and was the first director of HP Labs, India^[21]
• Sudhir P. Mudur, former director of C-DAC, current head of Computer Science Department, Concordia University.^[22]
• T M Vijayaraman, head of Persistent Systems's research, formerly worked at C-DAC Mumbai.^[23]

Notable awards and accolades

• Manthan Award 2013 for Mobile Tele-Ophthalmology Units,^[24] e-safeT,^[25] ONAMA.^[26]
• Manthan Award 2012 for Interactive Museum,^[27] Megh Sushrut,^[28] National e-Governance Service Delivery Gateway.^[29]
• National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, 2012
• See more at CDAC website

Project(s)

NDCRTC

• e-mahashabdkosh

See also

• Supercomputing in India

References

1. "Merger of IT R&D bodies: a sign of the times". Express Computer. 19 May 2003. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
2. "New domain name registration policy soon". The Economic Times. 26 October 2004. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
3. "India orders review of US supercomputer deal". Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 25 March 2000. India started supercomputer development in the early eighties after it was denied the technology by the US.
4. Beary, Habib (1 April 2003). "India unveils huge supercomputer". BBC News. India began developing supercomputers in the late 1980s after being refused one by the US.
5. Nolan, Janne E. (1994). Global engagement: cooperation and security in the 21st century. p. 532. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
6. "God, Man And Machine". Outlook India. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2011. "Three years, because that was about the time it took to import a supercomputer then, and Rs 34 crore because it was the prevailing prices of the machine," explains Bhatkar
7. Rajaraman, V. (1999). Super Computers (1st ed.). Universities Press. p. 75. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
8. Unless otherwise indicated, sourced from C-DAC: Contact (cdac.in)
9. "C-DAC Delhi". Cdac.in. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
10. "C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram". Cdactvm.in. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
11. "C-DAC launches country's first HPC certification in high performance computing". The Times of India. 8 September. Retrieved 16 September. The certification will be called the 'C-DAC Certified HPC Professional Certification Programme' (CCHPCP) and the exam will be conducted online every quarterly, on the lines of software programming certifications. There won't be any eligibility requirements to appear for the certification, and the paper will contain objective questions. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
12. "CDAC ACTS homepage". Acts.cdac.in. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
13. "C-DAC launches computing tools". Sakal Times. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
14. "Garuda, the nationwide computer grid, takes wing". Livemint. 18 Dec 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
15. "GARUDA". CTWatch. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
16. "Darpan". CDAC. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
17. "Punarjjani". CDAC. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
18. "List of Padma Shri award recipients". Government of India. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
19. "Home Page of Professor Dr. Rajkumar Buyya". Retrieved "29 December 2013". Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
20. "Srinivasan Ramani: Innovating for India". HP Labs. February 2002. Retrieved 15 September 2011. He played a pioneering role in bringing the first Internet connection to India in the 1980s
21. "HP Labs India: Past Directors". Retrieved 15 September 2011.
22. "Faculty: Mudur, Sudhir P.". Concordia University. Retrieved "15 September 2011". Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
23. "About: Management Team". Persistent Systems. Retrieved "15 September 2011". Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
24. "Mobile Tele-Ophthalmology Units". Manthan Awards 2013
25. "e-SafeT".- Manthan Awards 2013
26. "ONAMA". - Manthan Awards 2013
27. "Interactive Museum : e-Culture and Heritage". Manthan Awards 2012
28. "Megh Sushrut : e-Health".- Manthan Awards 2013
29. "National e-Governance Service Delivery Gateway : e-Infrastructure". - Manthan Awards 2012