India seeing ‘tremendous interest’ in quantum computing

India has seen “tremendous interest” in quantum computing and is among seven countries in the world with a government mission for the technology, said Professor SD Sudarshan, executive director, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), at the Mint Digital Innovation Summit on June 9.

The Indian government has allocated ₹6,000 crore under the National Quantum Mission in April this year for the development of quantum computers, application and communications. The Mission, launched under the Department of Science and Technology, aims to facilitate efforts in quantum computing through academia and more. The country had also built a quantum simulator (Q-SIM) back in 2021 to aid research in quantum computing.

Even though the technology remains in early stages, it could open doors for new scientific discoveries, life-saving medicines, and more, Sudarshan added.  

“India is seeing tremendous interest in quantum computing and is one of the seven countries in the world with a mission for quantum computing with specific deliverables for a given timeline.” The other six countries include the US, Austria, Finland, France, Canada and China.

However, Sudarshan also added that despite India taking a quantum leap in this space, quantum computing as a concept remains ambiguous to most people. “If you understand quantum, you are probably getting closer to experiments around the Higgs Boson,” he said.

According to Sudarshan, the quantum computers yet to come will be “special purpose machines” that could be used for specific targets in logistics, fintech, crypto etc. The technology will also emerge as a major frontier in cybersecurity, Sudarshan noted, adding that it will significantly expand computing power, and create new opportunities for improving cybersecurity.

That said, Sudarshan also clarified that such quantum computers will not replace traditional computers in the near future. They will be used for special classes of problems with support from traditional computers.