Injection of $730 million! How can India realize its quantum ambitions

Although still in the development stage, quantum computers have the potential to perform complex calculations several times faster than "classical" computers. As a result, these devices could accelerate scientific breakthroughs, streamline supply chains, enhance navigation and detection systems, and provide a foolproof form of encryption. The fast math of quantum computers could allow them to completely overwhelm our current encryption standards: researchers have dubbed this pivotal event "Q-Day." Emily Harding, a senior researcher in the International Security Program at CSIS, went so far as to say, "If it works, it will change everything. everything."

Theoretically, anything from secret government communications to bank transactions could be decrypted by a functioning quantum computer.

-That's why people are so keen to unravel its mysteries: whoever can be the first to utilize the technology will be the first to reap the rewards it promises.

As a result, quantum is increasingly seen as a game-changing technology, both for economic development and for international security. That is why even before many of the ambitious promises were realized, the technology had turned into a geopolitical minefield. India, which had previously lagged behind other countries in this field, was now frantically trying to outpace its competitors: it was charting an ambitious path; the government was providing huge financial support and was collaborating extensively with researchers spread across the globe.

On April 19, 2023, India's federal government approved a $730 million funding package for India's first National Quantum Mission (NQM). The program aims to deliver mid-scale quantum computers with 50-1,000 physical bits by 2031 and to make India "one of the leading countries in the field of quantum technology and applications (QTA) development."

Jitendra Singh, India's science and technology minister, spoke to reporters on April 19 after the National Quantum Mission was approved.

The Indian government said the program, which covers everything from indigenous quantum computing capabilities to quantum key distribution (QKD) and quantum sensing, will boost industries such as communications and health. The program is also bound to be used to improve the country's military capabilities. Specifically, India also hopes to enable secure satellite-based quantum communications at a range of 2,000 kilometers and establish intercity, land-based QKD capabilities at the same distance. This would be a major advancement over India's current capabilities.2022 QNU Labs, a local startup working with the Indian Army on this project, announced that it could share encryption keys over distances of up to 150 kilometers.

India's current push towards quantum development makes a lot of sense. Not only does India have a wealth of technical expertise, but it also has many avenues for international collaboration: including with global leaders such as the United States, which has been actively exploring a number of avenues to foster cooperation with India.

However, it is not surprising that it has taken so long for India to launch a national quantum mission, Harding says: "It is very difficult to energize a large government for a theoretical threat. The price tag for this kind of work is also quite high, to the point where you see the big corporations and wealthy powers as the ones who are actually doing the work."

While India's goals are certainly ambitious, CQuERE researchers say they are trying to blaze their own trail. "It's important to note that we're not going to be fighting to build a mainframe computer with more bits. That would be a losing battle. Especially given the power of US giants like IBM, which have set their sights on building a machine with up to 100,000 quantum bits by 2033. We are concentrating on making smaller computers with fewer bits."

Prof. Bhanu Das, director of CQuERE, agrees that India is a late starter and must take a different approach if it doesn't want to be stuck playing catch-up forever. "We have to think about new problems, new applications and they will have an impact. If we just repeat what others are doing in different countries, it will not help much."

India has clearly identified quantum computing as an area for international collaboration and knowledge sharing. To this end, India has established important partnerships through the US-India Critical Emerging Technologies Initiative (IcET) and the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC). India has also received individual overtures from eminent personalities from all over, from Singapore to Finland.

In fact, CQuERE has established key partnerships with the University of Tokyo and Keio University in Japan, the University of Wisconsin, and Spanish startup Qilimanjaro. By collaborating with overseas teams, Das's research group has been able to conduct experiments on existing quantum computers in the U.S. and Japan-even before building its own.Says Das, "We've collaborated with people who have actually built quantum computers, so quantum computers are not a black box for us is not a black box."

Researchers from Russia are also pursuing collaboration with India. This is not the first time Delhi and Moscow have worked together on technology: after the 1971 Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty, India and the Soviet Union worked closely on everything from nuclear development to space launches (India's first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched from a Russian launch site in 1975). This technological cooperation has not diminished in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union - although there have been some cracks in recent years as India has begun to move closer to the United States.

Ruslan Yunusov, co-founder of the Russian Quantum Center (RQC), recently told reporters that he is keen to promote the establishment of a collaborative quantum laboratory under the BRICS group of countries (currently comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and soon to be expanded). "Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Technology Forum in Moscow, Yunusov said, "No contracts have been signed yet, but a lot of work has been done in India around quantum technology. We are already in talks with a number of research institutes in India to explore areas where we can utilize their expertise while sharing our knowledge and work in the field."

Apart from India's non-aligned status, which has helped it build a wide range of international partnerships, India has several key factors. Researcher Achyut Chandra explains that India has a large and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, so emerging scientific research can quickly find a practical (and profitable) home; it also has a large number of students, which may be India's greatest asset, and Chandra says, "If it can be capitalized on, I think India has a great future in this This is an area that has a lot of promise," Chandra says.

Sharing may be at the heart of India's quantum computing development, but how long can this continue? Indeed, U.S. leaders have begun to ask at what point an export control/security classification for quantum devices would be considered prudent.Harding admits, "I don't have an answer to that question. However, I think it will be a hotly debated issue among governments for years to come."

For the time being, is India's network of international alliances sufficient to help the country catch up with its more advanced competitors?Das voices his attitude saying, "I am cautiously optimistic. I think we have the manpower. If we can plan well both in terms of research and education, I think India can succeed."

Reference link:

[1]https://techmonitor.ai/hardware/quantum/quantum-encryption-seeks-its-first-and-final-frontier

[2]https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1917888

[3]https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/world/australia/quantum-technology-aukus.html