ICMR's NAKSHATRA to analyse genomic data faster, help efficient outbreak response

New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) High performance computing cluster for virological research NAKSHATRA will enable faster analysis of complex genomic data and help detect new disease threats sooner besides responding to outbreaks more efficiently, National Institute of Virology Director Dr Naveen Kumar said on Thursday.

NAKSHATRA aims to revolutionise how genomic and bioinformatics data are processed, addressing limitations faced during the COVID-19 pandemic due to conventional computing infrastructure, he said.

Developed under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM- ABHIM), the High Performance Computing (HPC) facility forms the cornerstone of a new project titled "High Performance Computing Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Hub".

The computing cluster was inaugurated by Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary of the Department of Health Research and Director General of ICMR last month.

Dr Kumar emphasised the critical role the HPC cluster will play in supporting rapid, data-driven responses to outbreaks.

"These days new Covid variants, viruses, or pathogens are being reported. Previously, analysing millions of sequences would take lot of time due to limited resources. Doing extensive sequence analysis of multiple strains, used to take months. Now we can do the same work in 24-48 hours," Dr Kumar said.

It has increased the capability of our country for genomic surveillance, which will help us in pandemic preparedness, he stated.

The commissioning of the NAKSHATRA HPC facility is not just a technological upgrade - it is a national investment in speed, precision, and preparedness, Dr Kumar said.

"By enabling faster analysis of complex genomic data, the facility positions India to detect new disease threats sooner, respond to outbreaks more efficiently, and accelerate AI-driven vaccine and drug development," he stated.

In essence, this initiative makes India future-ready for public health emergencies, he said.

Dr Sarah Cherian, group leader of the Bioinformatics and Data Management Group and principal investigator of the project, provided a comprehensive overview of the cluster's capabilities and its role in genomic research.

The newly commissioned HPC cluster features 12 compute nodes, offering a total of 700 cores and 1 petabyte of storage, she said The infrastructure is tailored to support complex bioinformatics workflows, including next-generation sequencing, transcriptomics, phylogenetics, metagenomics, and structural bioinformatics.

Initially, the facility will serve five ICMR institutes across the country, acting as a central repository for sequencing data and extending support to Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) in the near future, Dr Kumar said.

This makes the Pune-based institute a critical hub for outbreak investigations and pandemic preparedness, with the potential to accelerate AI-driven drug and vaccine discovery. PTI PLB DV DV