The Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur has been designated as a management coordinating centre for four thematic hubs as part of the National Quantum Mission (NQM). Photo: iitk.ac.in

The Centre has made operational “hubs” in four leading institutions to develop quantum computer technology and earmarked funds for them, according to information made public in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (March 12, 2025).

Uttar Pradesh, with an allocation of ₹28.7 crore during 2024-25, leads States funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for developing quantum computer technology. The next two highest-funded States are Maharashtra at ₹3.34 crore and Karnataka at ₹3.7 crore. Delhi and Tamil Nadu follow at ₹2.4 crore and ₹1.7 crore respectively.

The National Quantum Mission (NQM) was approved by the Union Cabinet in April 2023 at an outlay of ₹6,003.65 crore for a period of eight years. Under the NQM, four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs), have been established in key technology verticals of quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing & metrology and quantum materials & devices. These T-Hubs consist of 14 technical groups, covering 17 States and two Union Territories. Activities in these T-Hubs would include technology development, human resource development, entrepreneurship development & industry collaborations and international collaborations, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said as part of a written response.

Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, DST told The Hindu that this did not mean U.P. as a State would be recipient of all the money. The Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur had been designated as a management coordinating centre for the hubs. It had started functioning a year ago and was responsible for programme management. “Allocation to hubs, which started working two months ago, would be done in the forthcoming financial year and the money reflected was seed money for two months,” he added.

The four hubs were to be located at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai; Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai. IIT Kanpur was not one of the hubs. “All the hubs will get roughly equal amounts. The expected spend is nearly ₹1,500 crore in the coming year,” he underlined.

Quantum computers are a work-in-progress globally and exploit properties of the atom, which are only explainable by the principles of quantum mechanics. The promise is a reliable class of computers that work several times faster than the speediest machines of today and also facilitate exponentially secure communication networks, with wide applications.

The plan, according to a government note in 2023, involves developing “intermediate scale” quantum computers with 20-50 physical ‘qubits’ in three years, 50-100 physical qubits in five years and 50-1,000 physical qubits in eight years. Just like bits (1 and 0) are the basic units by which computers process information, ‘qubits’ or ‘quantum bits’ are the units of process by quantum computers.

Other ambitions include developing “…satellite-based secure quantum communications between ground stations over a range of 2,000 kilometres within India, long-distance secure quantum communications with other countries, inter-city quantum key distribution over 2,000 km as well as multi-node quantum network with quantum memories are also some of the deliverables of the mission”.

The mission will help develop magnetometers with high sensitivity in atomic systems, atomic clocks for precision timing, communications and navigation. Fabrication of quantum materials such as superconductors, novel semiconductor structures, and topological materials for fabrication of quantum devices.