Quantum technology: NITI Aayog's 10-year roadmap eyes larger slice of a trillion dollar global pie

The next century is going to make a lot of money for the disruptors of quantum technologies.

It may sound like an overstatement. But once you get a clear, nuance-rich view of the potential this technological vertical carries, it’s going to blow your mind! So much so that NITI Aayog has charted a roadmap for India to capture 50% of the global quantum software and market value. 

“Quantum technologies are still in their formative stages globally, offering India a rare opportunity to shape the trajectory of a foundational technology—unlike previous technological waves where India often had to play catch-up,” NITI Aayog said in its report.

To start with, what are quantum technologies? They include four major verticals – quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing and metrology, and quantum materials.

Quantum computing

Think of a normal computer like a student who solves problems one at a time. A quantum computer is like a magical student who can try many paths at once. It’s not always faster, but for certain puzzles – like finding new medicines or super-strong materials – it can be unbelievably powerful.

Going by NITI Aayog’s own example, imagine a situation where a child in a remote village in Rajasthan is diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. While diagnosis through genomic sequencing is becoming increasingly feasible, designing personalised treatments remains complex and time-consuming. 

NITI Aayog hopes that by 2035, India’s homegrown quantum computing platforms may help accelerate drug discovery by simulating molecular interactions between disease-relevant proteins, coded by the child’s genome, and thousands of therapeutic candidates.

Instead of relying solely on expensive wet-lab screening, researchers could use quantum-enhanced algorithms to identify promising molecules, simulate their properties, and predict their efficacy, substantially reducing early-phase discovery timelines. 

Although clinical validation will still require years, these advances could pave the way for faster, more accessible precision medicine, even in rural healthcare settings. The medicine would be delivered via India’s health digital public infrastructure (DPI) and monitored using quantum enhanced diagnostic sensors. The child receives life-saving treatment not in a top tier urban hospital, but in a digitally connected primary health centre nearby.

Quantum communication

In normal messaging, there are chances of someone spying on your message. In quantum communication, the message is carried by tiny particles (like photons) that get disturbed if someone touches them. So essentially, if a spy tries to peek, the message changes, and you instantly get to know.

According to NITI Aayog, as quantum computing threatens to break existing cryptographic systems, quantum communication networks will become essential for safeguarding military, government and critical infrastructure communications against even the most advanced adversaries. 

“Quantum key distribution (QKD) has already been demonstrated in long-distance scenarios in multiple countries, including India, China and the US,” the report said.

This means that scientists have actually tested QKD technology in real-life over long distances, like across cities, or hundreds of kilometres using fibre, or even using satellites. India, China and the US have all run experiments showing they can send quantum particles (usually photons) over long distances, and create ultra-secure cryptographic keys.

Quantum sensors

Imagine getting glasses that can see things your eyes normally can’t – like invisible clues. Quantum sensors are super-sensing gadgets that can see inside your body with super-detailed scans, detect things underground, and help airplanes navigate without GPS.

Quantum materials

They are materials, like building blocks, that don’t follow normal rules. Instead, they act like superpowers because of the strange behaviour of tiny particles (mostly electrons) that do things that ordinary materials can’t do.

For instance, electricity without resistance – some quantum materials can let electricity flow without losing any energy. Scientists call this superconductivity.

Some quantum materials behave like super strong magnets that can flip magnetism on or off, and can store information in tiny spaces. They can help make faster computers.

In normal materials, electrons move like balls. In quantum materials, electrons move like waves, and sometimes they all move together in special patterns that can create effects like electricity flowing only along the edges of a material, or materials that can act like they have no inside, only a border.

NITI Aayog report says quantum materials “leverage quantum mechanical properties for novel materials and devices that power and enable the other three vectors.”

Okay, that’s enough science! Now let’s see the “ambitious but achievable vision” NITI Aayog has set for India’s quantum economy in 2035.

1. Incubating at least 10 globally competitive quantum start-ups, each surpassing USD 100 million in revenue

2. Capturing over 50% of the value in the global quantum software and services market by harnessing our software and engineering strength

3. Achieving meaningful, scaled deployment of quantum technologies—home-grown and global—in strategic sectors across India

4. Commanding critical positions in the global quantum supply chain for both hardware and software, creating strategic dependencies and value

5. Becoming a source of foundational scientific breakthroughs, with world class research and intellectual property creation in quantum science and engineering.

According to the NITI Aayog, India must rapidly bridge current gaps through coordinated national action to realise this vision. Key priorities would include:

1. Expand the quantum workforce: Grow the scientific, deep engineering and professional workforce that is deployment-ready by an order of magnitude in 2-3 years.

2. Catalyse industry engagement and investment: Significantly increase the awareness among industry leaders and in government sectors of the potential of quantum technology for their sector and stimulate much higher investment into quantum technologies in 2-5 years.

3. Accelerate lab-to-market transition: Significantly improve ease of doing research, of technology validation and of taking technology from lab-to-market, within 2 years.

4. Grow fundamental science and risk appetite: Take steps to substantially grow quality and quantity of fundamental scientific research, while also growing the risk appetite in our funding entities and research institutions in 2-5 years.

5. Make Indian domicile attractive for Indian start-ups so that >90% deep tech Indian start-ups choose to stay domiciled in India.

6. Lead in global standard setting: Engage actively with global standards bodies and take leadership in international standard setting related to quantum technologies to ensure that Indian products have access to global markets.

7. Strengthen trade: Ensure strong trade relations and ease of technology export and import, especially in quantum related technology areas.

Quantum technologies – whether through quantum computing, ultra-secure communication, or the powerful new world of quantum materials – are transforming ideas that once sounded like science fiction into real engineering frontiers.

They are still in their formative stages globally.

“Quantum technologies stand at the threshold of becoming one of the most transformative forces of our time. Their impact will cut across sectors, redefining healthcare, finance, logistics, materials, energy and national security. The nations that act decisively today will not only command the next generation of computing, communication, and sensing capabilities, but will also shape the very architecture of global innovation and trust… The Quantum race is already underway. India has the scientific strength, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the national resolve to win it — but only if we act together, and act now,” NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said in the report.

The government of India has already launched the National Quantum Mission (NQM) in April 2023, allocating ₹6,003.65 crore (about $730 million) through 2030-31 to “seed, nurture, and scale up” domestic quantum R&D.

Globally, even as India features among the top countries that have significant public funding in quantum technologies, the difference between India and the top 3-4 countries is quite substantial, especially when compared to China that has invested about $15.3 billion compared to India’s $0.7 billion, NITI Aayog noted in its report.

With a total funding of about $6.9 billion, the US is by far the leader when it comes to private investments. It is followed by the UK, Netherlands, and China that have each invested a little over $1 billion. India doesn’t feature anywhere in the top 10 list of countries that have private investments in quantum technologies.

The report noted that India can benefit substantially from much higher private investment that is in balance with public funding, while at the same time seeing much higher levels of public funding.