India Advances Quantum Technology | 29 Nov 2025

Source: PIB

Why in News? 

The Union Minister of Science & Technology visited the Quantum Research Laboratories at IIT Bombay and inaugurated the Institute’s new Liquid Helium Facility, marking a major step in India’s quantum science, cryogenics, and advanced materials. 

What are the Key Advancements in India’s Quantum Research? 

• Liquid Helium Facility: It lays the foundation for indigenous dilution refrigeration units for ultra-low temperature quantum computing and boosts India’s capabilities in cryogenics, superconductivity, quantum computing, sensing, photonics, healthcare (e.g., MRI), and green energy.  
  • Quantum computing depends on dilution refrigerators at ultra-low temperatures (below –272°C), and the Liquid Helium Facility enables indigenous units, key to India’s technological self-reliance. 
  • Helium turns into liquid helium at its extremely low boiling point (-268.93°C), creating the cryogenic conditions needed for superconductivity, superfluidity, and quantum computing, crucial for quantum research. 
• QMagPI (Portable Magnetometer): QMagPI is India’s 1st portable magnetometer, measuring ultra-low nanotesla (nT) magnetic fields for defense, strategic sectors, mineral exploration, and research, making India one of the few nations with this technology. 
• Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDM): India’s first indigenous QDM, developed by IIT Bombay, enables nanoscale 3D magnetic field imaging. With AI/ML integration, it advances neuroscience, materials research, and next-generation chip testing, bolstering India’s technological leadership. 
• Q-Confocal System: The Q-Confocal system, a homegrown confocal microscope, detects intracellular changes like Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), aiding early-stage cancer diagnostics. 
  • A confocal microscope is an advanced optical instrument that uses a pinhole to block out-of-focus light, producing sharp, high-resolution images with enhanced clarity and contrast. 

What is Quantum Technology? 

• About: Quantum Technology refers to advanced technologies that utilize the principles of quantum mechanics—such as superposition, entanglement, and tunneling—to perform tasks that are impossible or highly inefficient with classical technologies. 
• Core Principles: 
  • Superposition: Quantum particles (e.g., electrons or photons) can occupy multiple states at once until measured. 
  • Entanglement: Two or more quantum particles can become strongly correlated, so the state of one instantly influences the other, even across distances. 
  • Quantum Tunneling & Coherence: Particles can pass through energy barriers and maintain a stable quantum state, allowing precise computation and sensing. 
• Conventional Vs Quantum Computing: Conventional computers process information in bits, representing either 0 or 1 at a time, based on classical physics.  
  • In contrast, quantum computers use qubits (quantum bits), which follow atomic-scale quantum behavior and probabilistic principles, allowing them to perform tasks beyond the capabilities of classical, deterministic systems. 
• Applications: 
  • Pharmaceuticals: Quantum computers simulate molecular behavior and protein folding, accelerating drug development for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. 
  • Disaster Management: Quantum applications improve prediction of tsunamis, droughts, earthquakes, and floods and streamline climate change data collection. 
  • Secure Communication: Quantum satellites like China’s Micius enable ultra-secure communication, vital for military and cybersecurity. 
  • Quantum Cryptography: Provides unbreakable encryption, protecting sensitive data against future quantum computing threats. 
• National Quantum Mission: It is a flagship initiative by the Ministry of Science & Technology promoting quantum research, development, and applications from 2023–24 to 2030–31.