India is now among the seven elite countries in the world that are using Quantum Technology, said the Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh while addressing the Indian Military Heritage Festival in New Delhi, yesterday.
To recall, in December 2021 a quantum-powered secure communication trials were succesfully conducted between two physically distant DRDO labs. Later, in December of last year, Indian Army begun the process of procurement & Deployment of QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) systems
developed by QNu Labs, a Bengaluru-based startup.
Bharat today is armed with state-of-the-art technology in the Defence sector, Dr Jitendra Singh said.
Unlike in the past, our Armed Forces are equipped with advanced weaponry including drones, heliborne operations and UAVs and are ready to adapt to new frontiers like Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security, he said.
Dr. Singh, the Science & Technology Minister said, ‘i-Hub Quantum’, set up at IISER, Pune, is working in the area of Quantum Technologies and developing atom interferometry-based sensing and navigation devices; TIH at IIT Madras, namely, IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation is working on developing a secure mobile phone for defence personnel.
TIH at IIT Roorkee, namely, iHUB Divya Sampark supporting IDR Doot Mk-1, India’s first indigenous Nano drone for helping Indian Armed Forces during counter terrorist/counter insurgency and room intervention operations; i-Hub Quantum, set up at IISER, Pune working in the area of Quantum Technologies developing atom interferometry-based sensing and navigation devices; TIH at IIT Mandi, namely, Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Foundation developing the Naval Combat Management System (NCMS), TIH at IISc
Bengaluru developing integrated robotic joint actuators for precise control of automation systems etc.
The three major defense applications of quantum technology are — quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum communication.
In April this year, Raman Research Institute (RRI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Navy's R&D unit Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE) for research in developing quantum key distribution techniques that the Indian Navy
could leverage in the nation's efforts towards securing free space communications.
In the same month, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH) partnered with Synergy Quantum India (SQ India) to establish Quantum Solution Lab with an aim of developing financially feasible quantum technologies and their applications in both military and civilian use cases.
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