PARAM Embryo Supercomputing facility inaugurated at NIPER Guwahati

A CORRESPONDENT

RANGIA: In a landmark step toward strengthening the scientific & technological infrastructure of India’s North-Eastern region, the PARAM Embryo Supercomputing Facility was inaugurated on Thursday at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati, at Changsari under Kamrup District of Assam. The inauguration was done by the chief guest of the programme Jayant D Patil, former Whole Time Director and Member of Executive Management Committee of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in the presence of Prof (Dr) USN Murty, Director, NIPER Guwahati.

The PARAM Embryo facility, housed within the Advanced Centre for Computer-Aided Drug Design (ACAD), is a first-of-its-kind in the North-East, bringing world-class high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure to the region. Established with funding support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, the facility is a strategic investment aimed at addressing the unique and often neglected healthcare challenges of the North-Eastern states.

The ACAD centre was created in 2021 with a vision to build a region-specific drug discovery ecosystem, focusing on the disease burden and public health priorities of the North-East. With the commissioning of PARAM Embryo, equipped with 312 Teraflops of computational power for molecular dynamics and 150 Teraflops for AI/ML applications, researchers in the region now have access to cutting-edge tools for virtual screening, quantum chemistry, and AI-assisted drug design.

Speaking at the ceremony, Jayant D Patil lauded the initiative, noting that such facilities are essential for ensuring equitable scientific progress across all regions of India. “The North-East is rich in biodiversity, talent, and traditional knowledge. With the PARAM Embryo facility, NIPER Guwahati is poised to become a hub for advanced pharmaceutical research that leverages these regional strengths,” he said.

Prof (Dr) USN Murty, Director of NIPER Guwahati, emphasized the strategic importance of this facility in empowering the scientific community of the North-East. “This is not just a supercomputing facility —it’s a gateway for the region to contribute significantly to national and global drug discovery efforts. PARAM Embryo allows us to collaborate with premier institutions and industries while offering world-class infrastructure to local students, researchers, and startups,” he said.

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