The department of science and technology (DST) has asked start-ups engaged in quantum technologies to submit their proposals to receive the government funding. The selected proposals will be funded with up to Rs 25 crore each under the National Quantum Mission (NQM), DST secretary Abhay Karandikar told FE.
He said that there are 45-50 start-ups in India which are working in the area of quantum technology, and the department will shortlist the most promising start-ups for funding in the next two months. “NQM has two parts. One is the funding of the start-ups and the other is research funding. On the research side, we have already received 384 proposals from a consortium of academic institutions,” Karandikar said.
The selected start-ups will also get mentorship, industry connections and infrastructure support. “The department has approved the guidelines for NQM. We firmly believe that India can be a leader in sensing and cryptography,” he said.
In April 2023, the union cabinet approved NQM with a total outlay of Rs 6,004 crore for a period of eight years. Currently, the mission is being implemented by the technology innovation hub (TIH) at IISER Pune, and it aims to establish four thematic hubs in domains such as quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing & metrology and quantum materials & devices.
On the issue of national deep tech start-up policy, the DST secretary said that the policy is in the works, and the office of principal scientific adviser is leading the charge. In the interim Budget 2024, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore to boost private investment in sunrise technologies. The corpus will be established with 50-year interest free loan, and will provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil interest rates.
Experts said that deep tech startup policy along with NQM will position India as a leading player in the quantum sector globally. These missions seek to harness the potential of quantum technologies to drive innovations and economic growth.
