Parliament Question: Research and Development in Quantum Technologies

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2939 ANSWERED ON 06/08/2025 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES

2939. SHRI VISHNU DATT SHARMA:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is implementing the National Quantum Mission (NQM) to promote Research and Development in quantum technologies;

(b) if so, the status of the creation and functioning of the four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs) under the mission along with the details of the institutions selected, milestones achieved, and timelines proposed; and

(c) if not, the reasons for delay and steps taken/being taken to operationalize these hubs effectively? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH) विज्ञान और प्रौद्योगिकी तथा पथ्ृ िी विज्ञान मंत्रालय के राज्य मंत्री (स्ितंत्र प्रभार) (डॉ. जितेंद्र स हं )

(a) Yes, Sir, the Government is implementing the National Quantum Mission (NQM) to promote research, development, in quantum technologies with an outlay of ₹6003.65 crore for a period of eight years.

(b) to (c): Under the Mission, four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs), each focusing on a specific domain of quantum technologies—Quantum Computing, Quantum Communication, Quantum Sensing & Metrology, and Quantum Materials & Devices—have been established in the financial year 2024–25, comprising of 14 Technical Groups having 17 Project Teams across 43 institutions. The list of institutions is placed at Annexure I. These hubs have been incorporated as Section-8 Companies by their respective host institutions and have constituted their respective Hub Governing Boards

(HGBs) for effective governance and administration. Funds have been released to all four T-Hubs to initiate their operations. The hubs are now fully functional and are engaged in a range of activities including Technology Development, Human Resource Development, Entrepreneurship Development & Industry Collaboration and International Collaborations. The

details of the Thematic Hubs are placed below:

Page 1 of 4Name of the Technology S. Name of the Host

Section-8 Vertical No. Institute Company Quantum Indian Institute of Foundation for

1.

Computing Science, Bengaluru QC Innovation Indian Institute of IITM CDOT Technology, Madras in Samgnya Quantum

2. association with C-DoT, Technologies Communication New Delhi Foundation Quantum Indian Institute of Qmet Tech

3.

Sensing & Technology, Bombay Foundation Metrology Quantum Indian Institute of

4. QMD Foundation Materials & Technology, Delhi Devices The mission is for a period of eight years. However, the implementation broadly has three timelines, i.e. 3 years, 5 years and 8 years. Following are

the key deliverables of the mission: i. Develop intermediate scale quantum computers with 20-50 physical qubits, 50-100 physical qubits and 50-1000 physical qubits in 3 years, 5 years and 8 years, respectively.

ii. Develop satellite based secure quantum communications between two ground stations over a range of 2000 kilometres within India as well as long distance secure quantum communications with other countries.

iii. Develop inter-city quantum key distribution over 2000 km with trusted nodes using wavelength division multiplexing on existing optical fibre. iv. Develop multi-node quantum network with quantum memories, entanglement swapping and synchronised quantum repeaters at each node (2-3 nodes).

v. Develop magnetometers with 1 femto-Tesla/sqrt (Hz) sensitivity in atomic systems and better than 1 pico-Tesla/sqrt (Hz) sensitivity in nitrogen vacancy-centers; gravity measurements having sensitivity better than 100 nano-meter/second2 using atoms and atomic clocks with 10-19 fractional instability for precision timing, communications and navigation.

vi. Design and synthesis of quantum materials such as superconductors, novel Semiconductor structures and topological materials for fabrication of quantum devices for quantum computing and communication.

Page 2 of 4Annexure I List of Institutions supported under National Quantum Mission (NQM) S. No. Institutes 1 Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi 2 Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 3 Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 4 Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay 5 Indian Institute of Technology, Madras 6 Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar 7 Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati 8 Indian Institute of Technology, Patna 9 Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani, Hyderabad 10 The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai 11 Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida 12 Society for Electronic Transaction and Security, Chennai 13 Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Bengaluru 14 Indian Institute of Technology, Indore Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, 15 Thiruvananthapuram 16 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune 17 Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru National Institute of Science Education and Research, 18 Bhubaneswar 19 Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 20 Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, 21 Bengaluru 22 Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 23 Indian Institute of Technology, Bhilai 24 Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu 25 Indian Institute of Technology, Tirupati 26 Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 27 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal 28 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, 29 Thiruvananthapuram Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, 30 Thiruvananthapuram Page 3 of 4S. No. Institutes 31 Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar TCG Centres of Research and Education in Science and 32 Technology, Kolkata 33 Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Prayagraj 34 Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata 35 Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Goa 36 University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 37 S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata 38 Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar 39 Indian Space Research Organisation, Ahmedabad 40 Solid State Physics Laboratory, Delhi 41 Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad 42 Centre for Development of Telematics, Delhi 43 Indian Space Research Organisation, Bengaluru ***** Page 4 of 4