National Quantum Mission (NQM)

The National Quantum Mission (NQM) is the Government of India's eight-year programme to build quantum technologies in India. These are machines that use the strange rules of the tiny world of atoms and light. The mission covers four areas: quantum computers, quantum communication, quantum sensors and the special materials needed to build them. It was approved by the Union Cabinet on 19 April 2023 with a budget of ₹6,003.65 crore for 2023-24 to 2030-31, and is run by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Why does India need it?

Quantum technology may change computing, banking security, defence, medicine and navigation, the way the internet did. A country that only buys these machines from others could be left exposed, especially for secure communication. So the mission aims to make India a maker, not only a buyer, of quantum technology, in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).

Where did it come from?

The 2020-21 Union Budget first announced a national mission on quantum technologies, with ₹8,000 crore over five years. That plan was later reworked. The Cabinet finally approved the present NQM on 19 April 2023. India thus joined a small group of countries with a dedicated national quantum mission, along with the USA, China, the European Union, the UK, France, Canada and others.

What will it build? (The targets)

• Quantum computers: Intermediate-scale machines with 50 to 1,000 physical qubits within eight years, on platforms such as superconducting and photonic technology. The target rises in three steps: 20 to 50 physical qubits in 3 years, 50 to 100 in 5 years, and 50 to 1,000 in 8 years.
• Quantum communication: Satellite-based secure quantum links between two ground stations 2,000 km apart within India; long-distance secure links with other countries; inter-city QKD over 2,000 km; and multi-node quantum networks with quantum memories.
• Quantum sensing and metrology: Very sensitive magnetometers (devices that measure magnetic fields) and atomic clocks for precise timing, communication and navigation.
• Quantum materials and devices: Superconductors, new semiconductors and topological materials, plus single-photon sources and detectors and entangled-photon sources.

How is it organised?

The work is done through four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs), each set up as a not-for-profit foundation in a top institution. DST announced the four hubs on 30 September 2024:

1. Quantum Computing: IISc Bengaluru
2. Quantum Communication: IIT Madras, together with C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics), New Delhi
3. Quantum Sensing and Metrology: IIT Bombay
4. Quantum Materials and Devices: IIT Delhi

These hubs have 14 Technical Groups with 152 researchers from 43 institutions across 17 states and 2 Union Territories. A Mission Governing Board (MGB), chaired by Ajai Chowdhry (co-founder of HCL), guides the mission. A Mission Director in DST runs it day to day. The mission also supports start-ups; eight start-ups were selected in its first round.

Indian examples under or linked to NQM

• QpiAI-Indus, a 25-qubit superconducting quantum computer by Bengaluru start-up QpiAI, was released on World Quantum Day, 14 April 2025. QpiAI is one of the eight NQM start-ups.
• QNu Labs, another NQM-supported start-up, makes QKD devices and quantum random number generators.
• Field trials of QKD over fibre and free-space by DRDO, IIT Delhi, ISRO and QNu Labs feed into the communication targets.
• In September 2026, QNu Labs, BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics) and IIT Gandhinagar sent secret quantum keys 5.56 km through open air in Gandhinagar. It was described as India's first free-space QKD link at this scale. Free-space links matter because a satellite talks to the ground through open air, not through a fibre cable.

Getting ready for quantum-safe security

A powerful future quantum computer could break many of the digital locks (encryption) that protect bank, power-grid and government data today. In February 2026, a DST task force under the NQM released the report Implementation of Quantum Safe Ecosystem in India. It is a roadmap for moving India's systems to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). It proposes moving Critical Information Infrastructure (systems like power grids, banks and telecom, whose failure would hurt the whole nation) by 2029, and wider adoption by 2033.

Commonly confused concepts

• NQM vs National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS): NM-ICPS (approved 2018, DST) funds 25 Technology Innovation Hubs on AI, robotics, data and so on. One of them, at IISER Pune, worked on quantum technologies. NQM is the dedicated quantum mission.
• NQM vs IndiaAI Mission: The IndiaAI Mission (approved March 2024, Ministry of Electronics and IT) is about artificial intelligence and computing power (GPUs), not quantum technology.
• Physical qubits vs logical qubits: Physical qubits are the real, error-prone hardware units. A logical qubit is a reliable, error-corrected qubit built from many physical qubits. NQM's 50–1,000 target is in physical qubits.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Money: About ₹6,000 crore over eight years is much less than what the USA or China spend, so India must focus on chosen areas.
• Talent and brain drain: Quantum experts are few, and many trained Indians work abroad.
• Supply chain: Key parts like dilution refrigerators, special lasers and single-photon detectors are mostly imported.
• Industry link: Turning lab results into products needs more private investment and government buying of Indian quantum products.
• Way forward: Quantum courses in universities, Indian manufacturing of key parts, standards and testing labs, partnerships such as the India–US iCET (Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology), and early use in defence, banking and power grids.

Concepts to Know

• Quantum technology: Machines that use the special rules of very tiny particles, such as being in two states at once (superposition) or being linked across distance (entanglement).
• Superconducting qubit: A qubit made from tiny electrical circuits cooled close to absolute zero (about minus 273°C), where electricity flows with no resistance.
• Atomic clock: A clock that keeps time using the regular vibrations of atoms. It is so precise that it loses less than a second in millions of years. GPS and NavIC satellites depend on such clocks.
• Quantum memory: A device that can store a quantum state for a while, needed to build long-distance quantum networks.
• Quantum Key Distribution (QKD): A way to share a secret key using single particles of light. If anyone tries to listen in, the light changes and the two sides find out.
• Post-quantum cryptography (PQC): New maths-based locks for data that even a quantum computer cannot easily break. Unlike QKD, it runs as software on today's computers and networks.