India to build quantum chip and sensor facilities under National Quantum Mission

New state-of-the-art facilities
India will set up two major quantum fabrication centres at IIT Bombay and IISc Bengaluru. The plan was announced by the Union Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, during his visit to IIT Bombay. The investment is about ₹720 crore. Two smaller facilities will also come up at IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur. These centres will support the development of quantum computing chips and quantum sensors in India.

Reducing foreign dependence
Until now, Indian researchers and companies had to depend on fabrication units abroad. This caused delays and increased costs. The new facilities will speed up development, testing and small-scale production of quantum devices in India. This will also help startups, MSMEs, defence and space agencies working in advanced technology.

Three main focus areas
The centres will work across three verticals:
• Quantum sensing and metrology at IIT Bombay to build next-generation sensors with use in healthcare, defence and industry.
• Quantum computing chip fabrication at IISc to make chips using superconducting, photonic and spin qubit technology.
• Two additional support facilities at IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur for research and design.

Support for innovation and skills
Dr Jitendra Singh said the mission is part of India’s effort toward Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047. He said these centres will help build Indian quantum hardware, create skilled talent and boost the startup ecosystem.

New liquid helium facility launched
The minister also inaugurated a Liquid Helium Facility at IIT Bombay. It will reduce costs for cryogenic research and lower reliance on imported helium. This will support experiments in superconductivity, quantum sensing, photonics, space and green energy. The facility will be open to industry and research institutions.

Progress in AI and IoT
The minister highlighted BharatGen, a mission that is developing large language models covering over 22 Indian languages in text, speech and vision formats. He also praised the Technology Innovation Hub at IIT Bombay for supporting around 50 deep-tech startups and advancing close to 100 research projects in IoT and AI.

A strong research ecosystem
DST Secretary Prof Abhay Karandikar said IIT Bombay and partnering institutions are showing strong progress. He noted that all four quantum hubs under the mission have advanced well in recent months. He said the combined work from basic science to technology deployment is helping India become a global leader in emerging technologies.

The government hopes these initiatives will give India a major role in the future world of quantum technology and high-tech innovation.