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IIT-D demonstrates Quantum Communication over 1 Km

Why in the News?

The Defence Ministry announced a breakthrough as IIT-Delhi and DRDO scientists successfully demonstrated quantum communication over 1 km in free space.

What is Quantum Communication?

  • It is a new way of sending messages so safely that no one can secretly listen in.
  • It uses the laws of quantum physics, especially something called quantum entanglement, to make sure that if someone tries to spy on your message, you’ll know immediately.
  • In quantum entanglement, two tiny particles (like photons of light) are connected in a mysterious way—whatever happens to one instantly affects the other, even if they’re far apart.
  • Because of this, if someone tries to distort one particle, it changes, and the system knows the message isn’t safe anymore.
  • This makes quantum communication perfect for defence, banking, and sensitive messages that must stay secret.

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) – Explained Simply:

  • Imagine you want to lock a box and send it to your friend, but you also want them to have the key—without anyone else being able to copy it.
  • QKD is a special way to share that key safely, using quantum particles instead of metal keys.
  • Two people use entangled particles to create the same secret key, without anyone else knowing it.
  • If someone tries to intercept the key while it’s being shared, the particles will show signs of disturbance, and the system will know to discard it and try again.
  • Once both people have the same key, they can use it to lock and unlock messages using regular encryption tools.
  • QKD doesn’t send the actual message—it just safely shares the key that keeps messages secret.

What did the IIT-Delhi team achieve?

  • A team led by IIT-Delhi, in collaboration with DRDO, successfully demonstrated entanglement-based quantum communication over 1 km in free space.
  • This was done within the IIT-Delhi campus and marks a key advancement from previous experiments using only optical fibre.
  • The demonstration achieved a secure key rate of 240 bits per second and maintained a quantum bit error rate (QBER) of under 7%, which is considered acceptable for real-world QKD.
  • This capability is a step toward achieving satellite-to-ground quantum communication, enabling encrypted keys to be distributed across vast regions without physical links.

India’s Quantum Communication Journey So Far:

  • In 2022, Prof. Kanseri’s team first demonstrated quantum communication between Vindhyachal and Prayagraj.
  • In 2023, they expanded this capability to 380 km using standard telecom fibre, achieving a low QBER of 1.48%.
  • By 2024, the team established a QKD link spanning over 100 km of optical fibre, further pushing the reliability and reach of India’s quantum infrastructure.
  • These achievements are part of India’s larger effort under the National Quantum Mission (2023–2031), which has a budget of ₹6,000 crore to support R&D and deployment in quantum computing, sensing, and communication.
  • India now joins an elite group of nations—alongside China and the US—actively building toward a quantum-secure internet, with potential applications in defence, finance, telecom, and cybersecurity.

 

[UPSC 2025] Consider the following statements:

I. It is expected that Majorana 1 chip will enable quantum computing. II. Majorana 1 chip has been introduced by Amazon Web Services (AWS). III. Deep learning is a subset of machine learning.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Options: (a) I and only I (b) II and III only (c) I and III only* (d) I, II and III

 

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