Lok Sabha Question No. 4280 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: Women's Participation in Quantum Research and Entrepreneurship including Fellowships
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Omprakash Bhupalsinh Alias Pavan Rajenimbalkar, Shri Arvind Ganpat Sawant

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4280 ANSWERED ON 18/03/2026

## WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN QUANTUM RESEARCH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP INCLUDING FELLOWSHIPS

- †4280. SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAVAN RAJENIMBALKAR: SHRI ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT: Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:
- (a) the name of the institutions from Maharashtra (such as IIT Bombay, IISER Pune, TIFR Mumbai, etc.) that have been included as lead or partner institutions in the four thematic hubs under the National Quantum Mission (Rs.  6,003  crore)  -namely  Quantum  Computing  (led  by  IISc  Bengaluru), Quantum Communications (led by IIT Madras), Quantum Sensing (led by IIT Bombay) and Quantum Materials (led by IIT Delhi), along with details of approved projects, timelines and targets;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to increase women's participation in quantum research and entrepreneurship including fellowships,  special  calls,  mentorships  initiatives,  etc.  and  the  data  of Maharashtra in this regard;
- (c) the details of funds approved, released and utilised (out of Rs. 6,003 crore)  for  institutions/projects  in  Maharashtra  along  with  achievements such as patents, prototypes, trained human resources, startups, publications and industry collaborations; and
- (d) the steps taken for transfer quantum technology to MSMEs and to establishing skill centers in Pune/Mumbai?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

(a) to (c): The Government of India is implementing the National Quantum Mission (NQM) to promote research, development, and innovation in quantum technologies with an outlay of ₹6003.65 crore for a period of eight  years.  Under  the  Mission,  four  Thematic  Hubs  (T-Hubs),  namely Quantum  Computing  (led  by  IISc  Bengaluru),  Quantum  Communications

(led by IIT Madras), Quantum Sensing (led by IIT Bombay) and Quantum Materials (led by IIT Delhi) have been established in F.Y. 2024-25. These THubs comprises of 14 Technical Groups having 17 Project Teams bringing together a total of 152 researchers from 43 Institutions across 17 states and 2 UTs, including Maharashtra. The hubs are now fully functional and are engaged in a range of activities including Technology Development, Human Resource Development, Entrepreneurship Development & Industry Collaboration and International Collaborations.

Institutions  from  Maharashtra  participating  as  lead  or  partner  (member) institutions  in  these  T-Hubs  include  Indian  Institute  of  Technology  (IIT) Bombay, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Mumbai. IIT Bombay is the  Host  Institute  for  the  Quantum  Sensing  &  Metrology  Hub,  while  the other institutions participate as Lead Institution and Member Institution in various Technical Groups under different technology verticals. Details of the institutions, approved projects and funding is given in table below:

| Institution   | Approved Projects                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |   Total Sanctioned (₹ Cr till Mar 2031) |   Released (₹ Cr) |   Utilized (₹ Cr) |
|---------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
| IISER Pune    | (a)Neutral Atom Qubits (b)2D Spintronic Materials                                                                                                                                                                                      |                                   30.61 |             18.14 |              4.71 |
| IIT Bombay    | (a)Qmet Tech Foundation (T-Hub for Quantum Sensing & Metrology) (b)Spin Qubits (c)2D Spintronic Materials; (d)NV-centre based Sensors; (e)Superconducting Qubits; (f) Quantum Dots; (g)2D Photonic Qubits; (h)Quantum Enhanced Sensors |                                  558.76 |            114.89 |             22.31 |
| TIFR Mumbai   | (a)Superconducting Qubits; (b)NV-centre based Sensors; (c)Quantum Enhanced Sensors                                                                                                                                                     |                                   71.03 |             36.15 |              3.63 |

The mission is for a period of eight years. However, the implementation broadly has three timelines, i.e. 3 years, 5 years and 8 years. Following are the key deliverables of the mission:

- i. Develop intermediate scale quantum computers with 20-50 physical qubits, 50-100 physical qubits and 50-1000 physical qubits in 3 years, 5 years and 8 years, respectively.
- ii. Develop satellite based secure quantum communications between two ground stations over a range of 2000 kilometres within India as  well  as  long  distance  secure  quantum  communications  with other countries.
- iii. Develop  inter-city  quantum  key  distribution  over  2000  km  with trusted nodes using wavelength division multiplexing on existing optical fibre.
- iv. Develop  multi-node  quantum  network  with  quantum  memories, entanglement swapping and synchronised quantum repeaters at each node (2-3 nodes).
- v. Develop magnetometers with 1 femto-Tesla/sqrt (Hz) sensitivity in atomic systems and better than 1 pico-Tesla/sqrt (Hz) sensitivity in nitrogen vacancy-centers; gravity measurements having sensitivity better  than  100  nano-meter/second2  using  atoms  and  atomic clocks with 10-19 fractional instability for precision timing, communications and navigation.
- vi. Design and synthesis of quantum materials such as superconductors, novel Semiconductor structures and topological materials for fabrication of quantum devices for quantum computing and communication.

Under the NQM, institutions in Maharashtra, including IIT Bombay, IISER Pune and TIFR Mumbai, have contributed to research, capacity building, startups and technology development. Under the call for Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories in Quantum Technologies, VNIT Nagpur has been selected among 23 institutions across India to provide hands-on training in quantum technologies. Further, IISER Pune, TIFR Mumbai and IIT Bombay have been selected under the Technical Groups on Quantum Algorithms. Quantum Sensing & Metrology Hub at IIT Bombay, has developed three prototypes namely Portable Magnetometer, Quantum Diamond Microscope and  Nano-positioner.  Research  groups  in  Maharashtra  have  produced around 10 publications and trained about 500 participants in the area of Quantum Technologies. Entrepreneurship and industry collaboration form an  important  mandate  under  the  Mission.  Accordingly,  the  T-Hubs  have launched a rolling call to support startups in quantum technologies. One startup from Maharashtra, namely QuPrayog Pvt. Ltd., has been supported.

The  National  Quantum  Mission  is  a  pan-India  initiative  implemented through  a  collaborative  network  of  T-Hubs,  academic  institutions,  R&D laboratories,  startups  and  industry  partners.  The  activities  under  the Mission  including  research  projects,  fellowships,  training  programmes, startup support and capacity-building initiatives are open to researchers, students and entrepreneurs across the country, including women. Further, under the Quantum Sensing & Metrology Hub at IIT Bombay, fellowships have  been  awarded  to  eight  women  researchers,  including  three  from Maharashtra, and various training and upskilling programmes have trained about 220 women participants in quantum science and technology.

- (d) Under  NQM,  technology  development  and  skill  development  are carried out through T-Hubs involving academia, R&D institutions, startups and  industry  partners.  These  hubs  facilitate  industry  engagement  and interactions that support technology translation and transfer to industry, including MSMEs and startups. Additionally, the Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) established in the area of Quantum Technologies at IISER Pune, has enabled  technology  transfer  through  the  indigenous  iQuantrol  Arbitrary Waveform  Generator  (AWG)  developed  in  collaboration  with  Sci-Com Software India Pvt. Ltd.

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