National Quantum Mission gets a massive boost with Rs 477-crore allocation in budget

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The National Quantum Mission (NQM) of the government, aimed at nurturing and scaling quantum computing-related industrial research and development in the country, received a Rs 477-crore allocation in the Union Budget for 2024-25. This was a massive increase from Rs 5 crore earmarked last year.

The NQM got the green light from the government in April 2023, with an estimated cost of Rs 6,003.65 crore from 2023-24 to 2030-31.

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“The Mission aims to seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial R&D and create a vibrant and innovative ecosystem in quantum technology (QT). This will accelerate QT-led economic growth, nurture the ecosystem in the country and make India one of the leading nations in the development of quantum technologies and applications (QTA),” the government said in its budget expenditure fine print for 2024-25.

Quantum computing involves using quantum mechanics or mathematical descriptions of motion and interaction of subatomic particles for superfast calculations by superposition, interference, and entanglement.

India is the seventh country to have a dedicated quantum mission, apart from the US, Austria, Finland, France, Canada and China.

The Central government is also in talks with the Union Cabinet for approval to set up Rs 10,000-crore supercomputing and quantum hubs in public-private partnership mode, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said.