India’s quantum leap: Can quantum communication secure India’s digital future?

In the modern age, when banking services and national security are vulnerable only to safe storage of data, quantum operating systems may bring an end to familiar cryptosystems. Quantum computers are edging closer to becoming reality by the minute and would have the potential of cracking existing encryption algorithms within seconds, letting out sensitive information to hackers across the world. And understanding this, India is not only in the race of quantum-safe communication in the world, but it is leading the race to come up with these innovations, especially ISRO and DRDO.

Quantum communication: From sci-fi to reality

Quantum communication, previously giving the impression of being the title of a science fiction film, is emerging as a very significant means of ensuring our data is secure. In India, ISRO ( Indian Space Research Organisation) and DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) are the two major bodies which are in the forefront of this new technology.

A major landmark was achieved by ISRO when it sent secure quantum messages up to 300 meters but without wires. They even applied this to safe encryption of a live video call by the use of special quantum keys. ISRO successfully demonstrated free-space quantum communication over 300 meters, encrypting a live video conference using quantum keys (ISRO, Press Release, March 2021). This is only the starting point and ISRO has the future plan of using satellites to relay messages securely over even further distances. As Dr. K. Sivan, former ISRO Chairman, stated on LinkedIn, “Quantum communication is the next frontier for secure data. ISRO’s innovations will ensure India’s sovereignty in the digital age.”

Simultaneously, DRDO in collaboration with IIT-Delhi, demonstrated sending secure quantum messages across 1 kilometer distance through a method known as entangled photons, which are small parcels of light connected together in an unusual manner. They had been able to share secret keys at the rate of 240 bits per second making minimal errors. DRDO also demonstrated that they could relay these secure keys more than 100 kilometers via standard optical fibers that currently provide internet connectivity and phone lines. India’s quantum push is also about global leadership. Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, former DRDO Chairman, posted on X “DRDO’s quantum encryption breakthroughs will shield India’s critical infrastructure from future cyber threats.”

These are some of the success stories that India is now prepared to employ quantum technology to secure important information and it will be very difficult to read or steal our information by hackers or enemies.

India’s quantum communication strategy

India is leading a flexible and futuristic application towards quantum communication, by integrating fiber optics, free-space, and satellite-based quantum key distribution (QKD) to guarantee secure use of data in any given situation. Fibre-based QKD can be applied with existing infrastructure of optical fibre cable within the country to generate secure connection between cities and key objects, thus feasible in daily and large-scale applications. 

The free-space QKD can be deployed quickly and utilised to mobile systems, a feature that would be handy in a military operation or disaster management where cables cannot be set up. The most ambitious one is QKD satellites based application whose target is to provide secure and international communication through sending quantum signals through satellites. ISRO is quite underway with this, benchmarking itself on the successful 1,200 km quantum satellite connection of China (ISRO Annual Report 2023). The approach is a multi-layered strategy that puts India in the quantum cybersecurity forefront as the innovators.

The conventional encryption schemes are based on mathematical complexity that can be decrypted with the quantum computers almost instantly. A quantum technique known as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which exploits the quantum effect of entanglement, provides the same kind of security because any eavesdropping event would modify the key in a way that could not be hidden and (as long as the laws of physics remain unchallenged) is immediately detected, thus securing communication by the laws of physics as well as mathematicians.

Quantum secure communication is important to civilian and military sectors. India is developing a national quantum net that will safeguard military secrets to online-banking using the resources of ISRO satellites and the DRDO cybersecurity.

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