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The government on Wednesday approved the National Quantum Mission to encourage and intensify scientific and industrial research and development in the field of quantum technology. The mission involves a cost of ₹6,003.65 crore from 2023-24 to 2030-31. The National Quantum Mission (NQM), endorsed at a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will accelerate economic growth powered by quantum technology and nurture the country's ecosystem.
"NQM will give India a quantum leap in this field," Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh told reporters here.
India will be the seventh country to have a dedicated quantum mission after the United States, Austria, Finland, France, Canada and China.
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"The new mission aims to develop intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50 to 1,000 physical qubits in eight years on various platforms, such as superconductors and photonic technology," he said.
He said that secure satellite quantum communications between ground stations within a range of 2,000 km in India, long-distance secure quantum communications with other countries, long-distance quantum key distribution within 2,000 km, as well as a quantum network of multiple nodes with quantum memories are also some of the mission deliverables.
Singh said the mission will help develop highly sensitive magnetometers in atomic systems and atomic clocks for precision timekeeping, communications and navigation.
It will also support the design and synthesis of quantum materials such as superconductors, new semiconductor structures and topological materials to make quantum devices, Singh said.
He said single photon sources/detectors, entangled photon sources for quantum communications, sensing and metrology applications will also be developed.
Singh said that four T-Hubs will be established at leading academic and national research and development institutes in the fields: quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing and metrology, and quantum materials and devices.
"The poles that will focus on the generation of new knowledge through fundamental and applied research as well as the promotion of R+D+i in the fields entrusted to them", declared the Minister.
Singh said the mission can bring the country's technology development ecosystem to a globally competitive level.
The mission would greatly benefit the communication, healthcare, finance and energy sectors, as well as drug design and space applications.
This will give a huge boost to national priorities like Digital India, Make in India, Skill India and Stand-up India, Start-up India, Stand-alone India and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Singh said.
