National Quantum Mission 2026: 4 T-Hubs & MCQs

Approved in April 2023, the National Quantum Mission has a budget of ₹6,003.65 crore spanning from 2023-24 to 2030-31.

DST leads the execution of NQM, establishing thematic research hubs across premier academic and R&D institutions.

NQM sets up four T-Hubs: Quantum Computing, Quantum Communication, Quantum Sensing & Metrology, and Quantum Materials & Devices.

The mission targets 50 to 100 physical qubits in 5 years and scaling up to 1,000 physical qubits across superconducting and photonic platforms by 8 years.

Unlike a classical bit which is either 0 or 1, a qubit can exist as 0, 1, or any linear combination of both states simultaneously.

Entangled photon pairs form the unbreakable cryptographic foundation of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).

NQM targets satellite-based secure quantum communications between ground stations over a range of 2,000 km and multi-node metropolitan networks.

NQM supports diverse physical modalities: superconducting transmon circuits, trapped ion systems, neutral atoms, and diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers.

Dilution refrigerators use a mixture of Helium-3 and Helium-4 isotopes to cool quantum chips down to millikelvin temperatures (around 10 to 15 mK).

First claimed by Google in 2019 using its 53-qubit Sycamore processor, it marks proof of computational advantage over classical algorithms.

Shor's algorithm can factorize large prime numbers in polynomial time, posing a systemic threat to classical RSA encryption and driving Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC).

PQC uses lattice-based and hash-based mathematics (e.g., Kyber, Dilithium) to secure classical data before large fault-tolerant quantum computers emerge.

DRDO and IIT Delhi successfully demonstrated secure QKD transmission between Prayagraj and Vindhyachal over commercial optical fiber.

Founded by Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman, RRI in Bengaluru leads India's Quantum Experiments using Satellite Technology (QuEST) with ISRO.

QuEST validates optical communication links from low Earth orbit satellites to ground receivers for secure diplomatic and defense communications.

Quantum sensors enable GPS-denied navigation, underground mineral detection, and ultra-precise atomic clocks for defense and space missions.

Atomic clocks rely on the quantum frequency transitions of electrons between energy levels in rubidium or cesium atoms, accurate to nanoseconds over centuries.

Superconductors allow electrical currents to flow indefinitely without energy loss, creating dissipationless quantum circuits.

Quantum tunneling is fundamental to the operation of flash memory, scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs), and alpha decay.

Quantum annealing uses quantum tunneling to find the global minimum energy state among trillions of potential permutations.

IISER Pune hosts the Quantum Technology Foundation, fostering technology incubators, photonics labs, and academic research.

Decoherence introduces computational errors, requiring fault-tolerant Quantum Error Correction (QEC) codes.

Topological quantum computing provides hardware-level error protection by braiding non-Abelian anyons in exotic condensed matter systems.

Indian quantum startups are developing quantum-safe encryptors, hybrid quantum-classical algorithms, and QKD hardware supported by DST grants.

The no-cloning theorem guarantees that an eavesdropper cannot intercept and copy quantum communication keys without disturbing the quantum state and alerting the sender.

Because measuring a quantum state collapses its superposition, eavesdropping increases the Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER), terminating the key exchange automatically.

The BB84 protocol uses polarized single photons in non-orthogonal conjugate bases to distribute secret keys securely between two parties.

Demonstrated experimentally in physics labs, quantum teleportation transfers quantum states across nodes in a future ‘Quantum Internet'.

With the NQM, India joined an elite league of industrialized nations investing sovereign capital to lead the second quantum revolution.

NQM positions India as a global quantum leader, safeguarding defense grids from quantum decryption while revolutionizing battery chemistry and materials research.