India must make itself quantum secure, says HCL Co-founder Ajai Chowdhry

Speaking at BS Manthan, HCL Co-founder Ajai Chowdhry emphasised the urgent need for India to embrace quantum technology and take proactive steps to ensure the country's digital and strategic autonomy

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India must prioritise its quantum security to safeguard critical infrastructure, financial systems, and national security, said HCL co-founder Ajai Chowdhry in a fireside chat at the second edition of Manthan, Business Standard's annual summit, in New Delhi on Friday.

 

Chowdhry highlighted that nations across the world, including smaller countries such as Finland and Singapore, are heavily investing in quantum research, with funding ranging from $400 million to $1 billion. He warned that once a quantum computer with the right speed emerges, it will pose a "significant cybersecurity threat to every country."

 

Securing critical infrastructure

 

According to Chowdhry, the proactive approach of implementing technologies like Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) will help India in becoming quantum secure. It will further prevent potential disruptions, like the financial systems' failing or electrical grids going down, in the event of a quantum-based cyber threat.

 

"We have products developed by startups that are already available for people to implement to ensure security against quantum threats," he said.

 

Highlighting the need for becoming quantum secure, Chowdhry stated that during the Galwan incident, China brought down India's electrical grid at the border and they did it without using quantum technology. "Imagine the threats once quantum computing reaches full potential,” he said.

 

Chowdhry also shed light on the need to focus on how we can utilise quantum for India and how India should use it to speed up its development.

 

He also clarified that the classical computers cannot be replaced by quantum computers. While a classical computer will be used for normal applications, a quantum computer, on the other hand, is meant for specialised applications like financial modelling, he said. 

On manufacturing semiconductor chips

 

Chowdhry noted the need to focus on Make in India chips, saying that the country is still learning the game of manufacturing semiconductors. "If you do not have your own semiconductors, you are really asking for trouble," he said.

 

For this, Chowdhry noted the need to train people to power the manufacturing sector. "A lot of work has been done to train 50,000 people for manufacturing. All universities across the country have been given targets to actually achieve that," he said.

 

He also said that artificial intelligence should be used to design chips faster.