India has made a significant breakthrough in secure communication using quantum technology.Scientists from DRDO and IIT-Delhi successfully tested a new method of sending information safely using quantum entanglement without using wires.This achievement marks the beginning of a new era for India in quantum cybersecurity and could help protect essential data in areas like defence and finance.
Quantum Signal Sent Over 1 KM in Major Tech Breakthrough
India has taken a significant step forward in the field of quantum communication, opening the door to real-time applications in quantum cybersecurity, according to the Ministry of Defence.
In a significant breakthrough, Indian scientists have successfully demonstrated quantum secure communication using a special phenomenon called quantum entanglement over a distance of more than 1 kilometre.
This was achieved through a free-space optical link at the IIT-Delhi campus.
With this achievement, India has officially entered a "new quantum era", according to government officials. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated both DRDO and IIT-Delhi for this significant milestone. He called it a "game-changer" for the future of secure communications and warfare. The demonstration used quantum entanglement to enable secure communication. This technique is expected to help in several areas, such as: Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) over long distances Building quantum communication networks Developing a Future Quantum Internet During the experiment, researchers achieved a secure key rate of around 240 bits per second, with a quantum bit error rate of less than 7%, a strong performance for early-stage quantum communication systems. This project was part of a DRDO initiative titled "Design and development of photonic technologies for free space QKD". The demo was carried out by Prof Bhaskar Kanseri's research team at IIT-Delhi and witnessed by top officials from DRDO and IIT. Why Is This Special? Quantum entanglement-based communication is more secure than traditional methods. Even if the communication devices are faulty or hacked, the entanglement ensures the security of the communication. That happens because any attempt to tamper or listen in on the entangled signals changes their state, alerting users to the presence of an eavesdropper. This technology can provide unbreakable encryption, making it highly valuable for sectors like: Defence Banking & Finance Telecommunications National security One significant advantage is that this method works in free space, which means there is no need to lay optical fibre cables, a process that can be very expensive or difficult in some areas. India has already made progress in this field. Back in 2022, a secure quantum communication link was set up between Vindhyachal and Prayagraj using underground fibre cables. Then, in 2024, scientists successfully transmitted quantum keys over 100 km of fibre using entanglement in another DRDO project. These developments are part of DRDO's broader program with academia and industry, called the DRDO-Industry-Academia Centres of Excellence (DIA-CoEs). These centres, set up at top institutes like IITs and IISc, are working on developing advanced defence technologies. Finally, DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V. Kamat and IIT-Delhi Director Prof. Rangan Banerjee also praised the team for this cutting-edge achievement.
