India’s first indigenous quantum computing testing facility was formally launched by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on the World Quantum Day, 14th April, 2026. (File photo)
Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget on quantum for today.
India’s first indigenous quantum computing testing facility at SRM University in Amaravati was formally launched by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 14th April. With the launch of the Amaravati Quantum Reference Facility (AQRA), the CM said, the Amaravati Quantum Valley will emerge as an international quantum computing hub.
1. The AQRA was launched on the World Quantum Day (14th April) and with this India now has open sovereign quantum infrastructure. The initiative features two distinct platforms: the 1Q testbed at Medha Towers and the 1S testbed at SRM University, Amaravati.
2. It was launched under the Andhra Pradesh government’s flagship quantum technology hub which is under India’s National Quantum Mission.
3. National Quantum Mission (NQM): Launched at a total cost of Rs.6003.65 crore from 2023-24 to 2030-31, aims to seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial R&D and create a vibrant & innovative ecosystem in Quantum Technology (QT).
4. The mission objectives under NQM:
* Developing intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50-1000 physical qubits in 8 years in various platforms like superconducting and photonic technology.
* Satellite-based secure quantum communications between ground stations over a range of 2000 kilometers within India
* Developing magnetometers with high sensitivity in atomic systems and Atomic Clocks for precision timing, communications, and navigation.
* Design and synthesis of quantum materials such as superconductors, novel semiconductor structures, and topological materials for the fabrication of quantum devices.
* Development of single photon sources/detectors, and entangled photon sources for quantum communications, sensing, and metrological applications.
5. Quantum Technology is often used as an umbrella term for the technological advancements that are specifically governed by the principles of quantum mechanics at its core. It involves developing necessary hardware, software, algorithms, and protocols for the design and development of quantum computing devices like quantum computers.
6. This technology exploits the principles of quantum mechanics, which include superposition, quantum entanglement, and interference to achieve greater efficiency in large-scale computations.
7. Superposition refers to a quantum system existing in multiple possible states simultaneously until measured. This phenomenon persists only until the particle is observed. Once observed, the particle appears at one location and ceases to exist in the others.
8. In classical computing, the fundamental unit for computation is a ‘bit’, represented by either ‘0’ or ‘1’. A bit can only take either of these two values because these are the only possibilities. In contrast, quantum computing uses ‘qubit’ (or quantum bit) as its fundamental unit. Unlike classical bits, qubits can exist in a superposition of both ‘0’ and ‘1’ (described by a linear combination of ‘0’ and ‘1’ and represented through the probabilities of the qubit being in the ‘0’ or ‘1’ state when measured).
9. Entanglement: It is a phenomenon that explains how two subatomic particles get linked to each other irrespective of distance such that a level of change in one particle gets reflected on the other. This intriguing property can help in preventing security breaches in quantum communication by entangling qubits of sender and receiver.
10. Interference: It is a wavelike superposition of subatomic particles’ states that affect the probabilities of states of these particles when measured. While entanglement is a phenomenon between two particles, interference is an effect of many particles surrounding each other.
Interference can be constructive as well as destructive which makes it suitable for use in quantum algorithms for improving accuracies by suppressing less probabilistic outcomes and amplifying high probabilistic outcomes.
1. Ultracold atoms sit at the heart of the quantum-technology revolution. India has built a strong and growing presence in cold- and ultracold-atom physics, with leading groups at institutions such as Tata Institute of Foundational Research Mumbai, IISc Bengaluru, IISER Pune, and the Raman Research Institute.
2. TIFR was the first laboratory in India to create a Bose–Einstein condensate, marking a major milestone in the field, and continues to work on ultracold atoms and molecules.
3. In physics, the coldest possible temperature is called absolute zero, which is −273.15°C. At this temperature, atoms – which normally jiggle around providing temperature to matter – will, at that point stop moving. They are as still as nature allows.
4. Scientists have learned how to bring atoms incredibly close to this limit – just a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero. In that frozen-still world, atoms stop behaving like tiny billiard balls and start acting like waves that overlap and interfere.
5. Quantum mechanics, which normally hides at the scale of electrons and atoms, suddenly becomes visible on a human scale. Atoms are slowed so much that their quantum nature dominates their behavior.
6. At ultralow temperatures, an atom’s wave-like nature expands and overlaps. If enough atoms are cold enough, they all fall into the same quantum state and begin behaving as one. This state of matter is called a Bose–Einstein Condensate. Instead of billions of atoms doing their own thing, they act like a single “super-atom.”
7. In quantum technology, by arranging cold atoms in regular patterns using laser light, physicists can create artificial materials that mimic the behavior of exotic solids, superconductors, or even black-hole-like systems. These “quantum simulators” allow scientists to explore problems that ordinary computers cannot handle.
8. Cold atoms are also being developed as building blocks for quantum computers, which promise to solve certain problems — such as molecular design or cryptography — far faster than today’s machines.
(1) Consider the following statements:
1. India has launched the National Quantum Mission in the Union Budget 2025-26.
2. Superposition refers to the ability of particles to exist in multiple locations simultaneously.
3. At a temperature close to absolute zero, atoms start acting like waves that overlap and interfere.
Which of the statements mentioned above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(2) Which one of the following is the context in which the term “qubit” is mentioned? (UPSC CSE 2022)
(a) Cloud Services
(b) Quantum Computing
(c) Visible Light Communication Technologies
(d) Wireless Communication Technologies
| Answer key |
| 1. (b) 2. (b) |
(Sources: Amaravati: India’s first quantum computing testing facility launched, Ultracold atoms: From the world’s best clocks to future quantum computers, National Quantum Mission: How does India seek to harness the potential of quantum technology, https://dst.gov.in)
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