Government to support 100 engineering colleges in quantum research: Mumbai DST secretary

MUMBAI: The government is planning to support 100 engineering colleges in Quantum research with Rs 1 crore for setting up laboratories for teaching undergraduate minor programmes, Department of Science and Technology (DST) Secretary Prof Abhay Karandikar said on Monday.

Addressing a function at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, he said DST is also planning to set up a quantum algorithms technical group for capacity building to support start-ups and for development of research and technology.

"We are going to set up teaching labs in hundred engineering colleges and institutions for teaching undergraduate minor programs. In fact, we have already received more than 500 proposals for this, of which we will be selecting about 100," Karandikar said.

"DST is proud to see strong progress under he National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems and the National Quantum Mission, where IIT Bombay continues to play a key leadership role," he said.

Also read Soothing kits, sound bath, pet therapy among IIT Bombay’s student wellness initiatives

IIT Bombay's advancements

The Technology Innovation Hub at IIT Bombay has made remarkable advances by way of supporting startups, developing new technologies and recently launching work on Indian-language large language models, he said. Under the National Quantum Mission, all four hubs (viz IISc Bengaluru, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay) have shown impressive progress in the last few months and the quantum sensing hub at IIT Bombay has been particularly noteworthy, he added.

Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on Monday announced the establishment of two major state-of-the-art Quantum Fabrication and Central Facilities under the National Quantum Mission (NQM) during his visit to IIT Bombay .

With total investment of Rs 720 crore, these two central fabrication major facilities to be set up at IIT Bombay and IISc Bengaluru will indigenise fabrication of quantum computing chips and quantum sensors thereby accelerating their development in India. Two additional small scale facilities will also be set up at IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur, he said.

Fabrication of quantum devices

So far India had to depend largely on facilities located abroad for fabrication of quantum devices, leading to challenges in pacing up the processes of technology development, he said. These facilities, which would be accessible to academia, science and technology institutions, industry, start-ups, MSMEs and strategic sectors across the country, will help fast track the fabrication process and support technology development, prototyping, and small-scale production particularly in startups and MSMEs, said the minister.

Singh said this will significantly boost India's capabilities in cryogenic engineering, superconductivity, quantum computing, quantum sensing, photonics, healthcare technologies, and green energy devices. Liquid helium is indispensable for MRI systems, advanced materials characterization, and cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), he noted.

New facility open for use

"The new facility, now dedicated to the nation and open for use by industries, universities, and research institutes, is equipped with an efficient helium recovery system that is expected to reduce the cost of cryogenic experiments to nearly one-tenth of current expenses while conserving one of the world's rarest resources," Singh stated. The minister said that as global demand for quantum computers rises, India must simultaneously strengthen its cryogenics infrastructure.

Both the Quantum Lab advancements and the new cryogenics facility reflect India's fast-expanding leadership in next-generation science and technology, he asserted. He added that IIT Bombay's work demonstrates how academia, government, and industry can jointly build a world-class scientific ecosystem capable of shaping the technologies of the future.