Pune: The government has approved the Rs 6,000-crore National Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications last week. With this, scientists feel that Pune will emerge as a key centre of action.
The mission is focused towards developing capabilities for quantum computing and a range of associated technologies and applications.According to scientists at IISER Pune, in more than 50 institutions and laboratories in the country the research groups are working in these areas.
There will be four thematic areas in the mission – computing, communications, sensing and measurement technologies, and materials and devices. DST will place a call and the teams of institutions across India, which will carry out work, will be selected through a competitive process.
A few scientists from Pune and Mumbai working in the area of quantum technologies had an interaction with journalists at IISER Pune on Friday. Dr. Umakant Rapol from IISER Pune said the launch of the mission would enable India to leapfrog into the leadership league in quantum technologies. He said the mission would work on delivering specific outcomes that would include both solutions as well as hardware.
He also said that the benefits from the mission were immense and spread over areas as diverse as defence, cyber security, medical research, encryption and cryptography and genetics.
added that the mission will encourage private entrepreneurs. It will help them to collaborate and various new start-ups are expected to arise.
The mission would encourage start-ups to enter the process of hardware as at present almost every bit of it is imported.
He said more than 200 researchers in different scientific institutions were currently working on associated technologies. “Thanks to the work that is already being done, many institutions in India already have a foundation to build this mission,” he said.
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