Graphics processing unit
Also called: GPU · Topic: Remote Sensing, GIS and GNSS · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a computer chip with thousands of small cores. A core is a unit that does calculations. All these cores work at the same time, which is called parallel processing. GPUs were first built to draw pictures on screens. Today they are the main chips used to train and run AI models, which need huge numbers of calculations. They also speed up other heavy work, such as processing large satellite images. India does not yet make GPUs and buys them from abroad. Supply comes mainly from one country, so access to GPUs is a question of strategic autonomy, meaning a country's freedom to act without depending on others.
Example
Under the IndiaAI Mission, run by MeitY and approved on 7 March 2024, the government gives startups subsidised access to shared GPU compute. That means it pays part of the cost of using the chips. This shared capacity grew to more than 45,000 GPUs by June 2026, and most of it is rented from private providers. The state also has its own system at the NIC Data Centre in Delhi and is building a secure 3,000-GPU cluster for strategic use.
Don't confuse with
- Central processing unit (CPU): the computer's general-purpose chip. It has a few powerful cores that handle varied tasks mostly one after another, while a GPU runs thousands of simple calculations at once.