India has made a breakthrough in advanced communication by successfully demonstrating how quantum technology can be used to send information securely over a distance of more than one kilometre, according to an ANI report.
The demonstration was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)–Industry–Academia Centre of Excellence at IIT Delhi, utilising a method known as free-space optical transmission on campus.
Rajnath Singh lauds DRDO and IIT-Delhi
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO and IIT Delhi for the landmark achievement in the field of cybersecurity, showcasing India’s entry into a new quantum era of secure communication, “which will be a game changer in future warfare”.
The experiment, conducted on the IIT Delhi campus, secured a key rate of nearly 240 bits per second with a quantum bit error rate of less than 7%.
“This entanglement-assisted quantum secure communication paves the way for real-time applications in quantum cybersecurity, including long-distance Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), the development of quantum networks, and the future quantum internet,” said the Defence Ministry.
The Ministry disclosed that under the project “Design and development of photonic technologies for free space QKD”, sanctioned by the Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management of DRDO, the demonstration was given by Prof. Bhaskar Kanseri’s research group in the presence of several dignitaries.
“Quantum entanglement-based QKD offers several significant advantages over the traditional prepare-and-measure method by enhancing both security and functionality. Even if devices are compromised or imperfect, the use of quantum entanglement ensures the security of key distribution. Any attempt to measure or intercept the entangled photons disturbs the quantum state, allowing authorised users to detect the presence of an eavesdropper,” it said.
Quantum communication provides fundamentally unbreakable encryption, making it a dual-use technology with applications in securing data in strategic sectors such as defence, finance, and telecommunications, as well as in protecting national security-related communications.
“Free-space QKD eliminates the need to lay optical fibres, which can be both disruptive and expensive, especially in challenging terrains and dense urban environments,” the Ministry added.
Earlier, DRDO scientists, along with Prof. Bhaskar’s team, demonstrated India’s first intercity quantum communication link between Vindhyachal and Prayagraj in 2022, using commercial-grade underground dark optical fibre.
In 2024, the team successfully distributed quantum keys using entanglement over a 100-km spool of telecom-grade optical fibre in another DRDO-supported project.
These technologies are being developed through DIA-CoEs, 15 of which have been established at premier academic institutes like IITs, IISc, and universities.
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