The National Quantum Mission will have four verticals: quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensors and metrology, and quantum materials and devices.
Though research in all these spheres promises revolutionary changes in all the fields where data networks and computing are important, it is quantum communication that requires quick scaling up in view of an emerging threat from China. And by committing Rs 6,000 crore to the Mission, the government is taking the China threat seriously.
Besides its important civilian application such as in business and governance, quantum technology is the new frontier in military communication and can be a deciding factor in wars. The National Quantum Mission will boost India’s fledgeling attempts to match China in quantum communication technology which has claimed to have made huge leaps in this field. The US and China are rivalling in a race to develop this technology and now India too has joined that race though currently it lags both of them by far.
The promise of quantum communication
The race to develop capabilities in quantum communication is as crucial as the nuclear race of the cold war, because quantum communication technology gives a country the ability to totally cripple the enemy before or during a war. Essentially, quantum technology offers unhackable communication ability which can mean a country’s electricity, aviation, defence, energy and other critical infrastructure remain safe from attacks by an enemy country, while a country with an edge in quantum communication can cripple an enemy country by hacking its data and communication networks.
As the power of computing increases, including advances in quantum computing, no conventional data network will remain safe. And the fact that almost everything these days is based on data networks, hacking can bring a whole country to a grinding halt if not plunge it into utter chaos. Military communications and defence infrastructure are equally vulnerable. Quantum communication technology both makes a country safe and gives it the power to disable another country.
How it works
Quantum Key Distribution, or QKD, is the concept at the core of quantum communication technology which makes communication safe from hacking.
Currently, communication data is encrypted using mathematics but as computing advances by the day it becomes more and more capable of complex mathematical calculations and thus decrypting the encrypted data. QKD encrypts data in quantum states instead which can’t be decrypted due to a basic principle of quantum mechanics — measuring tiny bits of matter like electrons or photons automatically changes their properties.
The QKD takes advantage of this principle. Since any intrusion alters the keys, it immediately alerts both parties to the existence of a security breach by a third party. This quantum principle behind the QKD also makes it safe from any future advancement in computing because hacking quantum communication is not a matter of mathematics but physics.
QKD communication requires optic fibre cables though the signal attenuates at long distances. A better option is using satellites for communication but that too poses a challenge since photons are light sensitive.
China’s achievements in quantum communication
China has claimed that it has built the longest QKD network in the world of thousands of kilometers between Shanghai and Beijing. China is making strides in satellite-based QKD communication too.
For now, the United States maintains superiority in the development of quantum computing and quantum sensing capabilities, but China is gaining momentum, already leading in the development of quantum communications and total number of quantum technology patents, according to an article published in The DIplomat.
In 2016, China claimed to have launched the first QKD satellite in the world called Mozi. It claimed QKD transmission was achieved between two ground stations 2,600 km apart through Mozi. Last year, China launched a satellite to conduct QKD experiments in lower-Earth orbit. China is said to be guarding its electricity grid with QKD technology through the Mozi satellite.
Where does India stand in quantum communication?
India has already started testing quantum communication technology but it lags far behind China. In March 2021, India’s space agency ISRO for the first time in the country demonstrated free-space quantum communication over a distance of 300 metres, a precursor to using satellites for transmitting data for strategic purposes. Compare the 300 metre distance with China’s claimed capability of achieving quantum communication over thousands of kilometres. In February 2021, researchers at the Raman Research Institute too had demonstrated free-space QKD between two buildings at RRI across an atmospheric free space channel.
In December last year, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) signed an MoU with Bangaluru-based deep tech startup QNu Labs to develop indigenous satellite QKD products. QNu Labs, with the support of ISRO and IN-SPACe, will aim to demonstrate unlimited distance satellite QKD-based quantum-secure communication.
India is clearly far behind China in quantum communication which is a grave strategic vulnerability. The Rs 6,000 crore the government has announced for the National Quantum Mission will address this gap, besides helping India deploy quantum technology for business, governance and research.
(WIth agency inputs)