Received: 4 February 2023

DOI: 10.1049/qtc2.12056

OPINION
- Accepted: 6 March 2023

- IET Quantum Communication

Quantum computing in India: Recent developments and future

Varun G. Menon1 | Mainak Adhikari2

1
SCMS School of Engineering and Technology, Ernakulam, India
2
Indian Institute of Information Technology Lucknow, Lucknow, India

Correspondence
Varun G. Menon.
Email: [email protected]

Quantum computing combines mathematics, quantum physics, innovation, and new businesses to solve problems that are
and computer science to optimise, learn, and simulate chemical, important to the country. By putting the mission into action,
physical, and biological systems. It offers the ability to solve India would be able to develop and use quantum computers,
problems in a unique method and to speed up solutions secure communications through fibre and free space, quantum
compared to standard procedures. This computing may solve encryption and cryptanalysis, and other related technologies. It
issues with intractable inputs. With the capabilities of quantum would also be able to deal with national and regional problems
computers and the availability of quantum development kits, that are unique to India.
quantum computing is expected to become ubiquitous, and the International Business Machines (IBM) and the Indian
demand for trained people is expected to rise significantly. Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT‐Madras) joined forces in
Quantum technologies are rapidly developing globally with September 2022 to help India learn more about quantum
substantial disruptive potential. Quantum technology is opening computing and accelerate research [2]. With this partnership, IIT
up new frontiers in computing, communications, and cyber Madras becomes one of the more than 180 members of the IBM
security with widespread applications. The range of quantum Quantum Network around the world. IIT Madras is also
technologies is expected to be one of the significant technology the "first Indian institution" to join the global community of
disruptions that will change the entire paradigm of computation, Fortune 500 companies, start‐ups, academic institutions, and
communication, and encryption. It is perceived that the coun- research labs working with IBM quantum technology to
tries that achieve an edge in this emerging field will have a more improve quantum computing and find business uses for it. As a
significant advantage in garnering multifold economic growth member of the IBM Quantum Network, IIT Madras will have
and dominant leadership roles. It is expected that lots of com- cloud‐based access to IBM's most advanced quantum
mercial applications will emerge from the developing theoretical computing systems and IBM's quantum expertise. This will
constructs in this area. In India, there is a growing interest in allow to look into real‐world applications and see how this
quantum computing and communication with active participa- technology can help business and society in a wide range of ways.
tion from students, developers, industry, and academia, leading International Business Machines has also taken a number of
to many recent initiatives and developments. This article pro- steps to promote quantum computing in India and make it more
vides an overview of some of the recent developments of well‐known. IBM has made Qiskit, an open‐source software
quantum computing in India and the future ahead. development kit for the quantum developer community. The
In its 2020 budget, the Indian government announced the textbook "Qiskit" is available in Tamil, Bengali, and Hindi, and
National Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications, students in India accessed it more than 30,000 times in 2021
which will be run by the Department of Science and Technology alone. Through the IBM Quantum Educators Programme, IBM
with a budget of 80 billion INR over five years [1]. Among the works together with some of India's best schools. For educa-
next‐generation technologies that will be pushed by this mission tional purposes, teachers and students at these schools will be
are quantum computers and computing, quantum communi- able to use IBM Cloud to access quantum systems, quantum
cation, quantum key distribution, cryptanalysis, quantum de- learning resources, and quantum tools.
vices, quantum sensing, quantum materials, quantum clocks, and With help from the National Security Council Secretariat,
so on. The mission will focus on basic science, technology the Indian Army set up a laboratory for quantum computing
development, building up human and infrastructure resources, and a centre for artificial intelligence at the Military College of

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
© 2023 The Authors. IET Quantum Communication published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

IET Quant. Comm. 2023;4:93–95. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/qtc2 93

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- MENON and ADHIKARI

Telecommunication Engineering in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, in Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and IIT‐
December 2021 [4]. The Indian Army's work on quantum Delhi successfully demonstrated a Quantum Key Distribution
technology will help it jump to the next generation of link between two cities in UP — Prayagraj and Vindhyachal —
communication and change the Indian Armed Forces' current located 100 km apart. The following are some of India's top
cryptography system to Post Quantum Cryptography. Quan- quantum computing research groups and institutions.
tum key distribution, quantum communication, quantum
computing, and post‐quantum cryptography are all the focus � Indian Institute of Science Quantum Technology Initiative
areas. In July of 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding [5].
(MoU) was signed between the Defence Institute of Advanced � IIT Jodhpur's Quantum Information and Computation
Technology and the Centre for the Development of Advanced (QIC) group [6].
Computing (C‐DAC) to collaborate on the study and devel- � Centre for Quantum Information, Communication, and
opment of quantum computers. The group is working together Computing (C‐QuICC) at IITM [7].
to develop quantum computers for both commercial and � TIFR's Quantum Measurement and Control Laboratory
military applications. In 2020 December, a quantum random (QuMaC) [8].
number generator was developed at India's DRDO Young � I‐Hub Quantum Technology Foundation (I‐Hub QTF),
Scientist Laboratory for quantum technologies. It can detect IISER, Pune [9].
and convert random quantum events into a stream of binary � Quantum Information and Computing (QuIC) lab at the
numbers, and it represents a significant advancement for Raman Research Institute, Bangalore [10].
quantum technology in India. � Quantum Information and Computation Group at Harish‐
There have been some more noteworthy developments in Chandra Research Institute [11].
this research direction recently. Department of Science and
Technology and around 13 research groups from IISER Pune A quantum computer is extremely challenging to design,
have established the I‐HUB Quantum Technology Foundation construct, and write code on due to its robust nature. It should
(I‐HUB QTF). Additionally, in January 2021, a Quantum not be surprising how challenging it will be to train an AI
Computing Applications Lab was launched by the Ministry of model to recognise things within a picture. Quantum com-
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in collabo- puters and programs are susceptible to errors in noise and
ration with Amazon Web Services. Projects motivated by defects, as well as a loss of quantum coherence, because of the
quantum computing will receive assistance from this facility. complex nature of quantum computing. As the number of
The Centre for the Development of Telematics (C‐DOT) qubits increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain
launched its quantum communication lab in October 2021, and the isolation of these qubits from their surroundings. As a
it is capable of communicating over 100 km of standard optical result, decoherence is almost certain to occur, which results
fibre [3, 4]. In February 2022, a joint team of the Defence in several errors being introduced. Some of the major

FIGURE 1 Summary of recent developments and future plan ahead in Quantum Computing.
MENON and ADHIKARI
- 95

applications areas of quantum computing, along with artificial Conceptualisation; Formal analysis; Project administration; Su-
intelligence, include financial services and healthcare, finding pervision; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing.
solutions to mathematical issues, and detecting fraudulent ac-
tivity and cyber‐attacks. Figure 1 summarises the recent de- DA TA AVAI L A B I L I TY S TA TE M E N T
velopments in quantum computing and communications in Data sharing not applicable – no new data generated.
India and the plan for the future.
O RCI D
Varun G. Menon https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3055-9900
1 | FUTURE OF QUANTUM
COMPUTING IN INDIA R E F E RE N CE S
1. Budget 2020 announces Rs. 8000 cr National Mission on Quantum
In India, there is a tremendous interest in quantum computing, Technologies & Applications [Internet]. [cited 10th December 2022]
https://dst.gov.in/budget-2020-announces-rs-8000-cr-national-mission-
with active participation from students, developers, industry, quantum-technologies-applications (2020)
and academia, leading to many initiatives and developments 2. IIT Madras becomes first Indian institute to join IBM Quantum Network
that have taken place recently. The country is also expected to [Internet]. [cited 10th December 2022] https://www.indiatoday.in/
emerge as a talent hub for quantum computing very soon. The education-today/news/story/iit-madras-becomes-first-indian-institute-
need of the hour is to popularise the quantum computing to-join-ibm-quantum-network-1999583-2022-09-13 (2022)
3. India & Quantum Computing. [Internet]. [cited 10th December 2022]
technology and its advantages and applications among all, https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-
simultaneously build sufficient quantum computational ca- quantum-computing (2022)
pacity and develop skills in building and operationalising a 4. Indian Army Establishes Quantum Laboratory at Mhow (MP). [cited
practical size and affordable cost quantum computer. Intro- 10th December 2022] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=
duce more educational courses at the university level to 1786012 (2021)
5. Indian Institute of Science Quantum Technology Initiative (IQTI). [cited
develop quantum science and engineering as a discipline that 18th December 2022] https://iqti.iisc.ac.in/ (2022)
will produce a large number of science and technology heads. 6. IIT Jodhpur's Quantum Information and Computation (QIC) group.
India plans to develop a quantum computer with approx- [cited 18th December 2022] https://iitj.ac.in/qic/ (2022)
imately 50 qubits by 2026, joining many countries such as 7. Center for Quantum Information, Communication, and Computing (C‐
Australia and Israel looking to drive broader adoption of the QuICC). [cited 18th December 2022] https://quantum.iitm.ac.in/ (2022)
8. TIFR's Quantum Measurement and Control Laboratory (QuMaC). [cited
nascent technology. Over the next 5 years, India will invest one 18th December 2022] https://www.tifr.res.in/~quantro/ (2022)
billion dollars in various programmes to advance its capabilities 9. I‐Hub Quantum Technology Foundation. [cited 18th December 2022]
in quantum information and meteorology, quantum applica- https://www.quantech.org.in/ (2022)
tions and materials, and quantum communications. India esti- 10. Quantum Information and Computing (QuIC) lab at the Raman
mates that the percentage of businesses using quantum Research Institute. [cited 18th December 2022] https://www.rri.res.in/
quic/ (2022)
technology will increase from less than one percent in 2022 to 11. Quantum Information and Computation Group at Harish‐Chandra
between 35 and 45% by 2030. There are currently 14 or 15 Research Institute (HRI). [cited 18th December 2022] https://www.hri.
startups in the country working on commercial uses of quan- res.in/~qic/ (2022)
tum technology, but that number is expected to climb to be-
tween 400 and 500 over the next decade.
How to cite this article: Menon, V.G., Adhikari, M.:
AUTH OR C ON T R I BU T I ON S Quantum computing in India: Recent developments and
Varun G. Menon: Conceptualisation; Data curation; Investi- future. IET Quant. Comm. 4(2), 93–95 (2023). https://
gation; Resources; Validation; Visualisation; Writing – original doi.org/10.1049/qtc2.12056
draft; Writing – review & editing. Mainak Adhikari: