"Each technological revolution rearranges the hierarchy of nations. Quantum technologies will rearrange not just economies but the architecture of security, competition, and trust." — Adapted from Dr. Henry Kissinger's reflections on disruptive technologies.
In 2025, India approaches a defining inflection point in its technological and strategic evolution. Having secured a respectable presence in information technology, space science, and digital governance, the nation must now confront a far more complex and consequential frontier: quantum technologies. The task ahead is not simply participation in the emerging ecosystem but deliberate positioning as a serious architect in shaping the global quantum future.
India's National Quantum Mission (NQM) signals policy ambition. Yet ambition alone is insufficient. For India to capture value, industry stakeholders, Deeptech founders, and corporate R&D leaders must transform this opportunity from speculative potential into operational and strategic reality. 2025 marks the threshold year. Beyond this, the global ecosystem will begin to consolidate around entrenched leaders.
As Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, remarked at Davos 2024: "AI will accelerate your decisions, but quantum will redefine the very problems you can solve."
For India, this is not a technological luxury it is a question of sovereignty, security, and sustained relevance in the evolving architecture of global competition.
Scientific Depth: Quantum Technologies Ready for Industry Engagement
Quantum Computing: From Supremacy to Advantage
Global technology leaders have moved beyond demonstrations of 'quantum supremacy', the ability to perform specific tasks faster than classical computers toward the more commercially relevant 'quantum advantage': the capacity to solve real-world problems currently unsolvable by classical means.
IBM's Quantum System Two, announced in late 2024, embodies this shift towards modular, scalable architectures. MIT's Lincoln Laboratory predicts such systems will "bridge today's noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices with tomorrow's fault-tolerant architectures." Applications in finance, pharmaceuticals, energy, and materials science are already within sight.
India's premier institutions—IISc Bangalore, IIT Madras, and TIFR—are contributing meaningfully to algorithmic research, hybrid quantum-classical systems, and materials for quantum computing. The transition India must make now is from scientific leadership to commercial and strategic deployment.
Quantum Communication: The New Backbone of National Security
Global trends underscore the strategic urgency of quantum communication. China's Micius satellite, the EU's EuroQCI, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Quantum Internet Blueprint all point to quantum networks becoming the backbone of state and corporate cybersecurity in the post-classical era.
India's progress through ISRO and DRDO, especially in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) via satellite, is commendable. However, these capabilities must transition from experiments to nationally secured operational infrastructure.
Dr. Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman of the Quantum Ecosystem Technology Council of India, rightly warned in 2023: "Cybersecurity will not survive the quantum decade without radical rethinking, and quantum-safe communication will be the backbone of that shift."
Quantum Sensing: From Lab Curiosity to Strategic Asset
Quantum sensing technologies are rapidly advancing from laboratory experiments to deployable field assets. These include NV centers in diamonds, atomic clocks, and cold atom interferometry with applications in navigation, medical diagnostics, geological surveys, and defence surveillance.
For India's strategic community, the potential is evident: submarine detection, autonomous navigation in GPS-denied environments, and radar systems capable of seeing beyond stealth. These are not technological curiosities they are future pillars of national defence.
The Real-World Potential Across Industry Domains
Quantum technologies are poised to rewrite the fundamental assumptions of industry operations. Below is a sector-wise view of emerging applications and their strategic implications:
- Pharmaceuticals - Molecular simulations, protein folding, drug discovery
- Finance - Portfolio optimization, fraud detection, risk modelling
- Telecom & IT - Quantum-safe encryption, network optimization
- Energy & Materials - Battery innovation, grid optimization, climate modelling
- Manufacturing - Supply chain optimization, advanced materials
- Defence & Aerospace - Secure communication, quantum navigation, stealth detection
- Agriculture & Climate - Precision sensing, environmental monitoring
India's National Quantum Mission: More than Policy, a Strategic Imperative
The ₹6,000 crore National Quantum Mission (NQM) is not merely a funding mechanism; it is a declaration of strategic intent. As Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri, had emphasized: "Quantum technology is where AI was in 2010; those who lay foundations now will dominate the next technological epoch."
India's roadmap through IITs, IISc, TIFR, and DRDO focuses on:
- Quantum Computing: Algorithm development, hybrid platforms
- Quantum Communications: Secure networks, satellite-based systems
- Quantum Sensing: Military and civilian applications
- Quantum Materials: Superconductors, photonics
Yet success demands deep, deliberate industry participation, not passive observation.
Global Context: Quantum as Geostrategic Asset
The world's leading economies understand quantum's implications extend beyond commerce. The U.S., China, EU, and Japan are embedding quantum into national security strategies. The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, China's 14th Five-Year Plan, and Europe's Quantum Flagship each recognize that technological sovereignty increasingly defines geopolitical influence.
As Henry Kissinger warned in "The Age of AI and Our Human Future" (2022):
"Quantum computing's capacity to decrypt the past century's secrets or invalidate current encryption reshapes not just conflict but history itself."
India's positioning within Quad frameworks, Indo-Pacific digital security alliances, and emerging standards regimes must reflect this urgency.
Strategic Imperatives for Indian Leadership in 2025
- Industry Stakeholders: From Observation to Integration
- India's major corporations Reliance, Tata, Adani, Mahindra, Infosys, TCS, Wipro must move decisively from awareness to execution:
- Establish dedicated quantum innovation units
- Invest in domestic quantum startups
- Integrate quantum readiness into cybersecurity frameworks
- Participate actively in global standard-setting bodies
Deloitte's 2024 Global Quantum Survey reveals 72% of CXOs expect quantum disruption within 5 years, but fewer than 20% have integrated quantum into strategy. This is the moment for visionary leadership.
Deeptech Founders: Building Strategic IP
Opportunities abound in:
- Quantum middleware and platforms
- Quantum-secure communications tailored to Indian markets
- Simulation solutions in energy, healthcare, materials
India's entrepreneurs must prioritize creating IP, not merely replicating Western models, and align innovations with India's strategic autonomy objectives.
- Corporate R&D: Quantum Competence as Core Strategy
- Quantum literacy is no longer optional for future resilience:
- Establish cross-functional quantum taskforces
- Engage with global platforms (IBM Q Network, Azure Quantum)
- Integrate quantum into long-term innovation roadmaps
India's Structural Challenges to Address
Talent Deficit
India must cultivate 50,000 quantum-skilled professionals by 2030. This demands integration of quantum science into higher education, skilling platforms, and executive learning programs.
Hardware Dependencies
India remains vulnerable in supply chains for cryogenics, superconducting circuits, and photonics. Strategic policy must prioritize domestic capabilities and diversified sourcing.
Policy and Ethics
India must take a proactive role in shaping global norms on quantum export controls, IP frameworks, and ethical guidelines, learning from its proactive engagement in AI governance.
Conclusion: 2025 as India's Quantum Crossroads
2025 is not the year quantum will reach ubiquity. But it is decisively the year when nations will define their trajectory whether as architects, participants, or spectators of the quantum future.
India's opportunity lies in aligning policy ambition with industrial execution, scientific excellence with entrepreneurial drive, and global engagement with strategic autonomy. Those who act now will shape not only corporate futures but India's sovereignty, security, and standing in the quantum age.
"The future is already here it's just unevenly distributed." William Gibson
For India, the challenge is to ensure the distribution of quantum futures aligns with its aspirations, capabilities, and strategic interests.
[Major General Dr. Dilawar Singh, IAV, is a distinguished strategist having held senior positions in technology, defence, and corporate governance. He serves on global boards and advises on leadership, emerging technologies, and strategic affairs, with a focus on aligning India's interests in the evolving global technological order.]
