India Enters New Quantum Era with Breakthrough in Secure Communication by DRDO & IIT Delhi
- DRDO and IIT Delhi demonstrated free-space quantum secure communication using entanglement over 1 km with high security and low error rate.
- The project marks a major step toward real-time applications in quantum cyber security, quantum networks, and future quantum internet.
- This technology enables unbreakable encryption for defence, finance, and telecom, eliminating the need for costly optical fibre infrastructure.
In a significant scientific breakthrough, India has stepped into a new quantum era by successfully demonstrating free-space quantum secure communication using entangled photons over a distance of more than one kilometre. The experiment was carried out at the DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE) at IIT Delhi under the project titled ‘Design and Development of Photonic Technologies for Free Space QKD’, sanctioned by the Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management (DFTM), DRDO.
The research team, led by Prof. Bhaskar Kanseri of IIT Delhi, achieved a secure key rate of approximately 240 bits per second with a quantum bit error rate of less than 7%, using a free-space optical link established on the IIT Delhi campus. The demonstration was witnessed by several dignitaries including DRDO DG (MED, COS & CS), Director SAG, Director DFTM, Dean (R&D) IIT Delhi, Director (DIA-CoE), and scientists from DRDO laboratories.
This entanglement-assisted communication marks a milestone for India's quantum capabilities, offering significant advantages over traditional prepare-and-measure methods. Quantum entanglement ensures highly secure key distribution even if the devices are imperfect or compromised. Any interception attempts disturb the quantum state, alerting users of eavesdropping threats, thereby offering fundamentally unbreakable encryption.
Quantum communication is poised to play a crucial role in safeguarding critical sectors such as defence, finance, and telecommunications, particularly where conventional encryption can be vulnerable. The use of free-space links for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) also eliminates the need for physical infrastructure like optical fibres, which are costly and challenging to deploy in difficult terrains or dense urban areas.
India has been consistently advancing in quantum communication. In 2022, DRDO and Prof. Bhaskar’s team successfully demonstrated India’s first intercity quantum communication link between Vindhyachal and Prayagraj using underground dark optical fibre. More recently, in 2024, the team achieved quantum key distribution over 100 km using a spool of telecom-grade optical fibre under another DRDO-supported initiative.
These achievements are a result of collaborative R&D through DRDO-Industry-Academia Centres of Excellence established at top institutions like IITs and IISc, aimed at developing next-generation defence technologies.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh lauded this accomplishment, declaring it a game changer for secure communication and future warfare. Secretary of Defence R&D and DRDO Chairman Dr. Samir V Kamat, along with IIT Delhi Director Prof. Rangan Banerjee, also congratulated the team for leading India into a new age of quantum communication.
