Tech companies are excited about the budget allocating ₹8,000 crore quantum technology

• Nirmala Sitharaman ₹8,000 crore of the Budget 2020-21 towards the development of quantum technology.
  
• She claims that the National Mission of Quantum Technology will make India the third biggest nation in the field.
  
• Tech companies in India are excited about the prospects that this may hold for them.
  

The Budget 2020-21 has allocated ₹8,000 crore for the National Mission of Quantum Technology. According to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, “Quantum technology is opening up new frontiers in computing, communication, cybersecurity with widespread applications.”

Around the world, quantum technology has already started to change the world as we know it. MRI scanners are the size of smartphones, batteries can last up to 10 years on a single charge, and medical sensors are capable of diagnosing diseases with nothing more than a simple breath sample.

“Will be crucial to ensure we focus the mission on priority areas which will see the max benefit. This is another very progressive move,” said Debjani Gosh, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM).

Quantum technology -- which is an emerging area that is miles ahead of AI and ML -- can speed up any conventional search algorithm. In simple terms, it can find the optimum solutions among a huge number of different possibilities

“It is expected that a lot of commercial applications will emerge from theoretical constructs which are developing in this area. It is proposed to provide an outlay of ₹8,000 crore over a period of 5 years for the National Mission of Quantum Technologies and Applications,” Sitharaman said.

India - the third biggest pioneer

Being able to manipulate even as few a 1,000 quantum bits is much more powerful than any of the options that are currently available. If a computer is powerful enough, it can even break through any encryption or coded message.

“India would be the third biggest and pioneering nation if we’re able to break into this technology,” said Sitharaman.

Quantum computers that operate on quantum principles can solve immensely complex problems for the optimal result. It can also make businesses more profitable.

“The thrust on quantum computing as a key focus promises to further consolidate India’s position in the global digital transformation landscape,” said Keshab Panda, CEO and managing director of L&T Technology Services.

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