By Sandip Patel and Jay Gambetta

India strives to become a Viksit Bharat—a fully developed country—by the hundredth anniversary of its independence in 2047. Viksit Bharat means building economic prosperity, social advancement, environmental sustainability, and effective governance. Becoming a leader in quantum computing will prove central to this vision.

The country has already begun its transformation. Over the past decade, India has laid down an extensive digital framework, ensuring widespread internet access, digital services, and e-governance initiatives. And now the launch of India’s National Quantum Mission (NQM), approved in April, 2023, represents a definitive move toward developing its own world-class quantum ecosystem powered by R&D, skills and industry engagement.

Quantum computing has reached a point of “utility,” where it can now be utilized as a scientific tool for discovery beyond brute-force classical simulations. The ability to achieve quantum advantage—solving problems more accurately, efficiently, or cost-effectively than classical machines—is on the horizon. As quantum hardware advances, the opportunity to develop algorithms that bring us closer to quantum advantage continues to grow. India can leverage its distinguished research institutions, and tremendous software and algorithm expertise, to be a leader in this era of quantum algorithm and application discovery to shape the future of quantum computing and realize a leap forward in its technological evolution towards Viksit Bharat @2047.

IBM is eager to support this mission by enabling institutions with world-leading hardware and software tools and by supporting India's growing quantum computing community. Customers in sectors like telecom are using quantum computing to explore use cases that include network optimisation, network anomaly detection, contextual customer segmentation and cybersecure network. IBM is enabling customers to explore the use cases in different sectors and domains which will lead to quantum advantage.

IBM maintains the world’s largest fleet of cloud-hosted, utility-scale quantum computers such as those powered by our new 156-qubit IBM Quantum Heron processor, along with Qiskit, the world’s highest-performing quantum software development kit.

IBM’s commitment to India’s quantum future

IBM Quantum is a global leader in quantum computing. And in India, it has established a world-class research team that sets a high standard for excellence in this rapidly advancing field. IBM is committed to accelerating the development of a comprehensive quantum computing ecosystem in India by sharing its global expertise, including working with governments, start-ups, academia and industry. The focus areas aligned to this commitment include: enhancing workforce development, driving cutting-edge research and development, supporting economic growth through industry engagement, and providing critical quantum services and infrastructure. The groundwork for this robust quantum ecosystem in India has already been laid, thanks in part to IBM’s active involvement:

Skills development: IBM’s local quantum experts in India collaborate extensively with universities, driving research and education initiatives that span undergraduate, postgraduate, and faculty development programs. As part of these efforts, IBM Quantum has invested in education by providing system access, for example, resources which have already led to significant growth in India’s future quantum workforce who have the potential to create the next-generation of quantum applications. This robust training pipeline has contributed to published research in areas such as quantum circuit optimization, protein folding, finance, and energy operators in quantum systems, placing India at the forefront of global quantum research.

Research collaboration: In 2022, the IBM Quantum Network’s first Quantum Innovation Centre in India was established at IIT Madras. A notable example of this research collaboration between IIT Madras and IBM, where scientists are using IBM’s quantum computers to explore the complex problem of protein folding, vital for understanding diseases and developing new drugs. To accelerate algorithm discovery, empowering the ecosystem with access to the most capable quantum systems will be critical.

Industry collaboration: Beyond academia, IBM has empowered key Indian startups, such as our work with BosonQ Psi to boost the performance of complex engineering simulations using Qiskit libraries, simulators, and IBM quantum systems via the cloud. And industry in the quantum computing space, is helping to foster innovation and growth, such as LTIMindtree, the first Indian Global System Integrator (GSI) to join the IBM Quantum Network. LTIMindtree, which has premium access to our quantum systems over the cloud, is now able to help their customers benefit from the transformative value of quantum computing technologies.

Government collaboration: Additionally, IBM formalized a significant collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) through a Memorandum of Understanding. This collaboration is focused on joint exploration and advancement in quantum computing, further solidifying IBM's role in India’s quantum journey.

As we look toward the future, IBM remains fully committed to supporting India's quantum ambitions by working closely with the National Quantum Mission. Through advancing workforce development, fostering cutting-edge research, and driving industry innovation, IBM supports India's vision of becoming a global leader in quantum computing, helping to pave the way toward Viksit Bharat by 2047.

Sandip Patel is Managing Director, IBM India and South Asia

Jay Gambetta is an IBM Fellow and Vice President, IBM Quantum