The Indian government will support 100 engineering colleges for quantum research, Department of Science and Technology (DST) Secretary Prof Abhay Karandikar announced Monday. Each selected college will receive Rs 1 crore to establish laboratories. These labs will facilitate undergraduate minor programs in quantum technology.
Prof Karandikar made the announcement at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. The DST received over 500 proposals for the initiative. The department plans to select approximately 100 institutions from these applications.
Expanding Quantum Capabilities
The DST is also establishing a quantum algorithms technical group. This group aims to build capacity, support startups, and drive research and technology development in quantum computing. Karandikar highlighted IIT Bombay’s leadership role in the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems and the National Quantum Mission.
Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh concurrently announced new quantum fabrication facilities. He visited IIT Bombay on Monday to launch these initiatives. Two major state-of-the-art Quantum Fabrication and Central Facilities will be established under the National Quantum Mission (NQM) . These facilities represent a total investment of Rs 720 crore .
New Fabrication Hubs
The primary fabrication facilities will be located at IIT Bombay and IISc Bengaluru. Their goal is to indigenize the fabrication of quantum computing chips and quantum sensors. This move will accelerate India’s development in quantum technology. Additionally, two smaller fabrication facilities will be established at IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur.
| Facility Type | Location | Investment (Total) | Primary Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Fabrication & Central | IIT Bombay, IISc Bengaluru | Rs 720 crore | Indigenizing quantum chips, sensors |
| Small-Scale Fabrication | IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur | Supporting technology development |
India currently relies on foreign facilities for fabricating quantum devices. This dependence has slowed technological progress. The new facilities will change this. They will be accessible to academia, science and technology institutions, industry, startups, MSMEs, and strategic sectors nationwide. This access will fast-track fabrication, support prototyping, and enable small-scale production, particularly for startups and MSMEs.
Minister Singh stated these facilities will boost India’s capabilities across several fields. These include cryogenic engineering , superconductivity, quantum computing, quantum sensing, photonics, healthcare technologies, and green energy devices. He emphasized the critical role of liquid helium for MRI systems, advanced materials characterization, and cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM).
Advancements at IIT Bombay
IIT Bombay’s Technology Innovation Hub has already made significant progress. It supports startups, develops new technologies, and recently initiated work on Indian-language large language models. Under the National Quantum Mission, all four hubs—IISc Bengaluru, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, and IIT Bombay—have advanced. The quantum sensing hub at IIT Bombay has shown particularly noteworthy progress.
A new facility, dedicated to the nation, is now open for use. This facility includes an efficient helium recovery system. It aims to reduce the cost of cryogenic experiments by nearly one-tenth. It also conserves helium, a rare global resource. Minister Singh stressed India’s need to strengthen its cryogenics infrastructure as global demand for quantum computers rises.
Both quantum lab advancements and the new cryogenics facility underscore India’s expanding leadership in next-generation science and technology. IIT Bombay’s work demonstrates effective collaboration among academia, government, and industry in building a world-class scientific ecosystem.