Quantum Bharat: India's National Quantum Mission

The four verticals and their official targets

The mission's detailed objectives spell out staged, measurable goals. Quantum computing aims for intermediate-scale machines with 20–50 physical qubits within 3 years, 50–100 within 5 years, and 50–1,000 physical qubits within 8 years, on superconducting and photonic platforms. Quantum communication targets satellite-based secure communication between two ground stations over 2,000 km within India (and with other countries), inter-city quantum key distribution over 2,000 km on existing optical fiber, and multi-node (2–3 node) quantum networks with quantum memories. Quantum sensing & metrology aims for magnetometers sensitive to 1 femto-Tesla, gravity sensors accurate to 100 nm/s², and atomic clocks stable to one part in 10¹⁹. Quantum materials & devices covers superconductors, novel semiconductors, topological materials, and single and entangled photon sources and detectors. These are approved targets — the finish line, not the current position.

The money, year by year

The approved year-wise outlay ramps up through the mid-mission years: ₹704.1 crore (2023-24), ₹1,178.6 crore (2024-25), ₹1,261.0 crore (2025-26), ₹1,113.7 crore (2026-27), then tapering to ₹804.3, ₹556.9, ₹212.1 and ₹172.9 crore. But allocation is not spending. In FY 2024-25, ₹86 crore was allocated, ₹43.07 crore was disbursed, and only ₹32.77 crore was utilized — about 76% of what was disbursed, and barely a third of what was allocated. Analysts have flagged absorptive capacity — the system's ability to actually deploy the money into labs, equipment and people — as the mission's quietest risk.

The four Thematic Hubs

Established in FY 2024-25 and incorporated as Section-8 (not-for-profit) companies, each with its own governing board, the hubs are the mission's research backbone:

• Quantum Computing — IISc Bengaluru ("Foundation for QC Innovation").
• Quantum Communication — IIT Madras, in association with C-DOT, New Delhi ("IITM CDOT Samgnya Technologies Foundation").
• Quantum Sensing & Metrology — IIT Bombay ("Qmet Tech Foundation").
• Quantum Materials & Devices — IIT Delhi ("QMD Foundation").

Together they comprise 14 Technical Groups and 17 Project Teams. Central fabrication and research facilities are being set up at IISc Bengaluru, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur and IIT Delhi — the shared workshops where India's quantum hardware will actually get built.

Startups under the mission

In November 2024, the Minister of State for Science & Technology announced eight startups selected under NQM guidelines — QNu Labs, QpiAI, Dimira Technologies, Prenishq, QuPrayog, Pristine Diamonds, Quanastra and Quan2D — spanning quantum-safe communication, full-stack quantum computers, cryogenic components, precision lasers, atomic clocks and single-photon detectors. Selected startups can receive grants of up to about ₹25 crore each, and a second cohort of up to 16 more was planned. The startup pipeline is run with the I-HUB Quantum Technology Foundation at IISER Pune.

Targets vs. delivery — an honest scorecard

Approved for the coming years, but not yet delivered: 397 technology-development projects and a 1,400-strong trained headcount in FY 2026-27 (peaking at 1,417 in 2027-28). Genuinely delivered so far: the four hubs are functional, the startup programme is running, and Indian teams have demonstrated real hardware milestones — including QpiAI's 25-qubit Indus system (April 2025) and multi-hundred-kilometre quantum key distribution. India's quantum research output itself has nearly tripled, from 222 papers in 2019 to 596 in 2023. The mission's status was most recently reviewed in the Lok Sabha in February 2026.