In an exclusive interview with BW Businessworld, Dr Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman, Mission Governing Board of the National Quantum Mission of India, shares a critical update on India’s rapid quantum advancements. Against a backdrop of shifting global dynamics and tightening tech export controls, Dr Chowdhry outlines India’s product-driven blueprint to achieve absolute technological sovereignty across quantum computing, communication, and sensing. Excerpts:
Where does India stand in the quantum space in 2026?
A lot has changed over the last year. Due to geopolitical shifts, the world is becoming highly insular, and advanced technologies like quantum are being heavily guarded with impending export controls in the US and Europe. Because of this, the National Quantum Mission’s (NQM) core focus is the entirely indigenous development of products and subsystems to ensure absolute self-sufficiency.
What is India’s progress across different quantum computing modalities?
We are developing multiple platforms in parallel such as superconducting, photonics, semiconductors, and trapped ions because it is too early to tell which will ultimately dominate globally.
We started with a 7-qubit superconducting system. This year, we will deliver a 64-qubit product. While our initial target was 1,000 qubits in eight years, we are ahead of schedule: we expect to touch 300 qubits in one to two years, and reach 1,000 qubits in five years.
What milestones have been reached in quantum communication?
India is world-class in this segment. Last year, we had 500 kilometres of secure fibre network; this year, we hit 1,000 kilometres. We expect to achieve our 8-year target of 2,000 kilometres by the end of next year.
Why is accelerating this timeline so critical?
“Q-Day”, the point when quantum computers can crack existing cybersecurity algorithms, is arriving faster than anticipated, with threats now expected around 2029 or 2030 due to rapid progress in error correction and algorithms. In response, an NQM task force has created a step-by-step roadmap to make India quantum-secure. Under Phase 1, which is targeted for completion by 2028, critical national infrastructure, including financial systems, electrical grids, defence, security, and major government databases like UID, must transition to quantum security. This will be followed by Phase 2 by 2029, where commercial enterprises will make the transition. To ensure absolute data integrity, the roadmap emphasises that India must strictly rely on indigenous communication products rather than international alternatives, noting that quantum data protection will also effectively neutralise data-harvesting threats like Mythos attacks.
What progress has been made in quantum sensing and localised manufacturing?
Our diamond-based quantum sensing projects, including magnetometers and microscopes, have reached TRL-7 and will hit TRL-9 within 6 to 12 months. We have already released a sensing microscope for commercial use. Quantum sensing is vital for GPS-free environments, such as underwater submarine navigation and underground mineral exploration with partners like IIT Dhanbad.
For infrastructure, our fourth T-Hub is focusing on component localisation. Many quantum components are currently imported and subject to foreign restrictions, so we are systematically indigenising them.
Are the planned quantum materials fabrication facilities functional yet?
Equipment has been ordered. A primary, large-scale fabrication facility (fab) will be operational at IISc Bangalore by mid-to-late next year, supplemented by smaller hubs at IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi. This ensures our custom quantum chips are manufactured entirely in-house.
How is the NQM engaging commercial industries and financial regulators?
We have engaged the top eight domestic software companies via two models to bridge the gap between research and commercial application. Through the global integration model, software firms can package India’s indigenous quantum hardware to provide specialised quantum-security system integration services across markets in the US and Europe. Under the lab-to-market commercialisation model, these industries are actively designing algorithms, control systems, and software specifically tailored to our upcoming quantum computers. Alongside these industry partnerships, we have also briefed key financial regulators, including Sebi and RBI, to prepare them for the mandatory quantum transition.
What is the trajectory for quantum startups and specialised education?
The ecosystem is expanding rapidly. Building on the initial eight startups funded last year, we have added 10 to 12 more companies. We now run open funding cohorts every two months.
On the talent side, 27 universities have been approved to integrate quantum technology into undergraduate curriculums, with an MS program selection following shortly to build a robust human resource pipeline.
How are individual Indian states contributing to the overarching national policy?
State-level participation is strong despite the broader media buzz surrounding generative AI. Andhra Pradesh has established a dedicated ‘Quantum Valley’ with startup models and a reference computer for product testing. Karnataka has implemented a specialised policy backed by dedicated funding and guided by IISc leadership. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are also actively drawing up plans.
The quantum secure network policy is a major milestone. Will Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) be legally mandated?
The task force report is out, and it serves as an authoritative recommendation. While NQM itself does not issue legal mandates, the government will handle enforcement separately. Organisations must act early on these recommendations to avoid severe vulnerability.
How can India compete with global superpowers that possess vastly larger quantum budgets?
Our current funding is entirely adequate. Because the cost of R&D in India is significantly lower than in western nations, our budget effectively delivers three to four times its nominal value in purchasing power.
Our goal is not to copy or directly compete with the US or China, but to build sovereign self-reliance. We are already globally competitive in communication and sensing. Within the next three to four years, our domestic computing capabilities will match that premium standard.
Tech giants like IBM and Google operate at a massive scale. Can India truly rely on purely sovereign alternatives?
We have no choice. Foreign nations are actively placing embargoes on advanced technology exports. Reaching 300 qubits in two years and scaling up to a 3,000-qubit sovereign computer ensures India controls its own technological destiny rather than being locked out of international supplies.
Is India generating enough specialised talent to sustain this ecosystem?
Yes, there is significant interest because the future of computing lies in hybrid data centres where classical systems, AI accelerators, and quantum processors work in tandem to optimise power and performance.
Thanks to early pre-NQM initiatives by the Department of Science and Technology, India entered the mission with a base of 750 trained scientists. Combined with roughly 300 engineers within the startup ecosystem, our pool of 1,000 specialists is virtually unmatched outside the US and China.
Will this sector become a major driver for national employment?
Absolutely. Securing national networks is an enormous logistical task. Over the next three to five years, the country will require at least one lakh quantum professionals. The vast majority of these opportunities will be for specialised implementation and deployment engineers.
As Chairman of NQM’s Mission Governing Board, what does ultimate success look like for the NQM by the end of its tenure?
From day one, we shifted the institutional mindset away from simply publishing academic research papers. The NQM is strictly product-driven. Success means meeting our technical timelines and delivering functional, field-ready quantum technologies made entirely in India. |
