New Delhi: India’s entry into research and development of quantum technology got a major boost on Wednesday as the Union Cabinet approved the National Quantum Mission (NQM) at a cost of Rs 6,003.65 crore. The mission will have defined milestones which are expected to be achieved over a period of eight years (2023-24 to 2030-31).
Speaking at the cabinet briefing, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said the mission aims to promote, develop and promote scientific and industrial research and development in quantum technology in India and create a “vibrant and innovative” ecosystem.
It will accelerate quantum technology-led economic growth, nurture the ecosystem in the country and make India one of the leading countries in the development of quantum technologies and applications (QTAs). He added.
Six countries, the US, Finland, Austria, France, China and Canada are already working on quantum technology. Singh said that in terms of R&D, India is at par with these countries in progress.
Uses the principles of quantum technology quantum mechanics, a theory in physics that deals with the behavior of matter and energy at the most fundamental level – the scale of atoms and subatomic particles, The field of quantum mechanics was born about 100 years ago in the time of Albert Einstein, Werner Karl Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, when the structure of the atom could not be explained by mechanical physics.
The principle is used in semiconductors, lasers, Blu-rays, transistors, mobile phones, USB drives, MRIs, electron microscopes, and even the basic light switch.
Quantum computers, which are still far from achieving their true potential, can perform some calculations much faster than classical computers. Several countries have built prototypes, led by the United States, China and the Netherlands.
To understand the potential of quantum computing, imagine that you have to search through a long phonebook to find a specific name. A conventional computer would have to search the book one page at a time, whereas a quantum computer could search all pages at once. Furthermore, it is far more secure and difficult to hack.
Speaking to ThePrint on the sidelines of the cabinet briefing on Wednesday, Akhilesh Gupta, in-charge of the mission and senior advisor in the Department of Science and Technology, said: “This is the first time that India is not borrowing new technology from another country, rather, we Developing it myself.
‘Aim to develop 1,000 qubit computer’
The new mission aims to develop intermediate scale quantum computers with 50–1,000 physical qubits in 8 years on a variety of platforms such as superconducting and photonic techniques. In classical computing, youngest and most basic unit of information that can be processed and stored called ‘bit’. In quantum computing, the basic unit of information is called a ‘qubit’.
At the briefing, Science Minister Singh said: “We will try to achieve 20 to 50 qubits in the first three years, 50-100 in the first five years. By the end of this mission, we aim to develop A 1,000-qubit computer.
Although several companies have developed and are currently working on quantum computers, they are still in the early stages of development, pointed out Gupta, the mission in charge. Qubits are extremely fragile and prone to errors, and increasing the number of qubits while maintaining their stability is a major challenge in the development of quantum computers.
Secure communications, atomic clocks and superconductors
During the cabinet briefing, Jitendra Singh said satellite-based secure quantum communication between ground stations within a range of 2,000 kms within India, long-distance secure quantum communication with other countries, inter-city quantum key distribution over 2,000 kms as well as node quantum network with multi-quantum memory are also some of the deliverables of the mission.
The mission will help develop magnetometers with high sensitivity in nuclear systems and atomic clocks for accurate timing, communication and navigation. It will also support the design and synthesis of quantum materials such as superconductors, novel semiconductor structures and topological materials for the fabrication of quantum devices. Single photon sources/detectors, entangled photon sources will also be developed for quantum communication, sensing and metrological applications.
Four ‘Thematic Hubs’ (T-Hubs) will be set up at top academic and national research and technology institutions on the domains of quantum computing, quantum communications, quantum sensing and metrology and quantum materials and devices.
According to Gupta, mentioned earlier, India’s nanotechnology mission has already helped develop several quantum materials. However, he said, India is still behind in the field of semiconductor sensing devices as well as quantum computing, not all of which will get a push under the quantum mission.
‘strategic advantage’
Minister Singh during the briefing said that the National Quantum Mission can take the technology development ecosystem in the country to a globally competitive level.
According to a statement from the science ministry, the mission will greatly benefit the communications, health, financial and energy sectors, as well as drug design and space applications. It will give a huge boost to “national priorities” like ‘Digital India’, ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’ and ‘Stand-up India’, ‘Startup India’, ‘Self-reliant India’ and Sustainable Development Goals. (SDG).
On the sidelines of the briefing, Singh also told ThePrint that the development of quantum technology gives India a strategic advantage. He further said that this technology will not only secure the country’s defense communications, but will also act as a deterrent to prevent other countries from attempting to hack India’s communication network.
India’s Quantum Mission
India’s quantum mission has been in the works since 2018, when the Department of Science and Technology called for proposals on projects related to the field of quantum computing. Search (Quantum-Enabled Science and Technology) comes under the Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (ICPS) Division of the Department.
In January 2019, the first mission meeting of the QUEST program was held at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Hyderabad. The event was attended by around 50 delegates, most of whom were academics working in the field of quantum physics. Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the government K. VijayRaghavan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) K. Sivan, and top science representatives from various research arms of the government, including NITI Aayog member and former defense secretary Vijay Kumar Saraswat. were also present.
In her 2020 budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Said that India was ready to invest Rs 8,000 crore over the next five years in the National Mission or Quest program on quantum technology.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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